The 30^th annual Gay Pride Parade takes place on July 4 at 2:00pm.

Canadian Jewish Congress is proud to support Kulanu Toronto, the only Jewish LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) delegation participating in the event.

Joining Kulanu at the parade will be friends from Canadian Jewish Congress, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Temple Sinai, Holy Blossom, First Narayever Congregation, Congregation Darchei Noam, Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School and Hillel of Greater Toronto.

But we want more! We want this to be the biggest and best Kulanu delegation ever.

Kulanu is not only marching for the LGBT community but is carrying the banner, literally, for Israel. Come join us! Bring your family, friends, and colleagues, your Israeli and Canadian flags, your Kulanu T-shirts (available for purchase by emailing Kulanu at kulanutoronto@gmail.com), your water bottles, hats, and sunscreen, and line up with Kulanu Toronto at 1pm at the corner of Bloor and Church St. (look for a Kulanu Toronto banner and Israeli flags) on Sunday, July 4.  For more details and to sign up to march, or to make a donation to Kulanu, please contact Justine Apple, Executive Director of Kulanu, at kulanutoronto@gmail.com. She can also be reached directly at 416.819.7431.

Kulanu marching at Toronto's Gay Pride Parade in 2009

Canada-Israel Committee, with the support of Canadian Jewish Congress – Pacific Region and Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, called on MEC members to vote “yes” on five special resolutions that safeguard the co-op’s constitution against abuse from single-issue political activists.

“Mountain Equipment Co-op members must be commended for passing these five resolutions. These measures will prevent groups that seek to misuse MEC’s organizational structure to make controversial and divisive political statements from doing so,” stated Dr. Michael Elterman, Chair of the Canada-Israel Committee Pacific Region.

Over the last 12 months, Canada’s pro-Israel community has mobilized in defense of MEC’s ethical sourcing policy. Combined with the support of MEC members, this resulted in the rejection of a boycott proposal at last year’s AGM. The boycott effort ended up backfiring on its proponents, with MEC sales of Israeli products actually increasing by some 2000% in a single day last November, following a demonstration of solidarity by the Jewish community and MEC members.

“Organizations like MEC should never be used as a platform for offensive political messages. We have every confidence that the MEC board will continue its record of support for the co-op’s existing ethical sourcing policy,” Elterman concluded. “These resolutions are a step in the right direction towards preserving MEC the way it should be – a cooperative that unites its members and puts politics aside.”

Dear Friends,

At 7:30 this morning, after an eight-hour debate, the senate of the Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley (ASUC) dealt a blow to anti-Israel forces on the campus by upholding the veto of an anti-Israel divestment measure.

The student activists and professionals of Berkeley Hillel, led by Rabbi Adam Naftalin-Kelman, did an extraordinary job in fighting this anti-Israel resolution, not only strategizing approaches and educating the campus about Israel, but staying up all night on two occasions to make sure that pro-Israel voices were heard during the senate debate. With two more weeks left to the ASUC term, divestment supporters will likely seek to overturn the veto again. Rabbi Kelman and his colleagues cannot rest but must remain vigilant and active – and this is on top of the normal work of building Jewish identities on campus. They deserve our respect, admiration and support.

In a statement to the press, Hillel President Wayne L. Firestone praised the work of Berkeley Hillel and said: “This vote demonstrates that the more campuses learn about Israel, the better they understand the country’s commitment to peace, democracy and human rights. We are confident that Berkeley Hillel will continue to demonstrate extraordinary leadership in the coming weeks.”

Rabbi Naftalin-Kelman added: “President Smelko and the senators demonstrated sensitivity, wisdom, strength and courage. We will continue to lead the effort against this proposal and to educate the campus about Israel as it really exists and not as it is portrayed by its detractors. We look forward to continuing to work with ASUC and all student groups to bring this campus together around Berkeley’s values of mutual respect, free inquiry and the pursuit of harmony on campus and around the world. Berkeley has been, and will always be, a leader in promoting peace around the world.”

The Berkeley divestment fight is not just a local issue. Anti-Israel forces have made this a test case for divestment campaigns around the world. Not only did they request statements from high-level personalities like Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and linguist Noam Chomsky, they flew individuals to Berkeley to present in person to the student senate.

Berkeley Hillel has enjoyed the support of many active partners in the local Jewish community and strategic advice from the Israel on Campus Coalition and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Center. Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel wrote a letter opposing divestment: “I have witnessed apartheid and fought it wherever I spoke throughout the world. I ask you to believe me: Any such comparison is malicious and untrue.” Other Nobel laureates who protested the divestment measure were Roald Hoffman, Walter Kohn, Claude Choen-Tannoudji, and Steven Weinberg.

Groups who wrote in opposition to the divestment measure included the Board of Rabbis of Northern California and the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council. The South African Board of Rabbis wrote a letter rejecting divestment as a tactic, saying: “We agree with leaders and liberators of our great country, President Nelson Mandela, President Thabo Mbeki, current President Jacob Zuma and the ruling African National Congress who reject that divestment will contribute to peace in the region.”

On the day before the debate, Berkeley Hillel organized a seminar titled “Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State: Challenges and Perspectives,” to educate the campus about Israel and to fulfill the university’s mandate as a venue for high-level discussion. Renowned Israeli jurist Ruth Gavison delivered the keynote address. The seminar was coordinated by Jewish Agency for Israel Fellow Chaya Gilboa, Prof. Hanan Alexander, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Visiting Israeli Professor at UC Berkeley. It was cosponsored by Center for the Study of Law and Society of Berkeley Law School, Haifa University’s Center for Jewish Education, the Berkeley Jewish Student Union, Berkeley Hillel and ASUC.

In these days between Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, and Yom Haatzmaut, Israel Independence Day, we are reminded about the continued importance of watchfulness and advocacy. We are fortunate to have colleagues like Rabbi Naftalin-Kelman working on behalf of Jewish students at Berkeley and representing the Hillel movement.

We need to show our continued support for MEC’s commitment to corporate responsibility, while opposing its politicization by members only interested in demonizing Israel.

MEC members as of January 8, 2010 are asked to attend the MEC AGM on Thursday, April 29, 2010 between 6 pm and 8:30 pm at the Simon Fraser University Segal School of Business at 500 Granville Street.

Please watch for more information about the MEC AGM, which we will share as it becomes available.

For more information, please contact Dan Schloss, Canada-Israel Committee Pacific Region Manager, Advocacy at 604-622-4242 or danschloss@cicweb.ca.

Last year this boycott proposal was turned down. I believe that it will reappear this year and I want to be on the board to ensure that MEC does not adopt this measure as policy. I would be very pleased if you could distribute my message. Thank you for your support.

Ron Factor

Congratulations to Israel supporters in Davis, and especially to the Davis Food Co-op for firmly rejecting the malicious BDS arguments.

Please contact H&M to express your support for its expansion into Israel. To find contact information for your country, use the pull-down menu on this H&M web page (currently set to Canada): http://www.hm.com/ca/abouthmcom/contact__contact.nhtml

Vote YES on all MEC Special Resolutions.

For the last year, Israel supporters across Canada have been working towards preventing anti-Israel forces from imposing a boycott of Israeli goods on MEC.

This year, 5 special resolutions are being brought forward for electronic voting prior to the MEC annual meeting. Approving these resolutions will change MEC’s governance rules so as to make it much more difficult for anti-Israel forces to hijack future MEC annual meetings. Only current MEC members can vote on these special resolutions.

While we do not endorse specific candidates, this article may be of interest.

If you are a MEC member as of January 8, 2010, go to the MEC website today and VOTE YES ON SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS 1 THROUGH 5. Voting ends on April 9, 2010 (noon Pacific Time).

Please forward this e-mail to your friends and family. Help protect MEC’s ethical sourcing policy from abuse by anti-Israel activists.

For more information on specific resolutions, please contact Dan Schloss, Pacific Region Manager, Advocacy, Canada-Israel Committee at 604-622-4242 or danschloss@cicweb.ca.

BUYcott Month is a little offbeat, but promises to be a lot of fun. Supporters of Israel from around the world are being asked to send in photos of themselves or friends buying and enjoying Israeli products, taking part in Israel-related cultural events, “breaking” a boycott, or doing anything that celebrates Israel or fights anti-Israel activity during the month of March. As part of this campaign, these photos should include people giving what’s called a “Finger-B” hand gesture to indicate their activity is part of the BUYcott Month project.

You can already see some of the fun submission that have already been made at the BUYcott Month home page, and the people behind the program are already cooking up some surprises, so you should visit the site often.

Most importantly, BUYcott activists should contribute to the BUYcott Month site as soon as you can so that we can get as many stories out as early in March as possible.  Instructions for submitting your photos/stories appears here: http://www.buycottmonth.com/send-us-your-story.html.