To the Editor,

Congratulations on your editor-ship. I used to see your name in the Jewish Independent lots. I was also a regular contributor there for awhile.

Feel free to take a look at my blog from Tel Aviv: http://afreemaninisrael.weebly.com/afreemaninisrael.html

Sincerely,
Freeman Poritz

May 10, 2010

To the Editor,

Today, Israel was admitted as the thirty-second member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). "

Israel’s acceptance into the prestigious European-based economic organization is an extremely significant development, It signals the international community’s recognition of Israel as an important and responsible centre of economic, technological, and social development.”

Israel has experienced unprecedented economic growth in recent years, establishing itself as an international leader in science, medicine, and technology.

Today’s decision by the OECD will provide the world with greater access to the cutting-edge Israeli marketplace.
The OECD’s decision followed three years of comprehensive evaluation of Israeli civil society and government institutions by 18 different committees of the Organization.

“It’s important to note that Israel’s membership required the unanimous vote of the thirty-one OECD members, despite last-minute efforts by the Palestinian Authority to thwart Israel’s acceptance.

We are especially appreciative of the support lent by the Government of Canada throughout the entire process to Israel’s successful application. It is reflective of the close ties the two countries enjoy, based on the shared values of democracy and open markets.”

Shimon Fogel, CEO, Canada-Israel Committee

May 9, 2010

To The Editor,

Thanks for your new web-based newspaper . Looks good.  We have subscribed.   Your readers  might enjoy a link to the NFB documentary "The SoCalled Movie" that has just been released at the  "Hot Docs Festival" in Toronto. The 'subject' of the movie is our son, Josh. 
 
www.nfb.ca/socalled
 
Best wishes with the new publication,
 
AC Berkowitz and Marc Dolgin (both former Winnipegers)
Chelsea, Quebec 

May 9, 2010

To The Editor,

With all respect to Elie Wiesel, the tension between the Obama administration and Israel is not so easily erased.  It is fueled by the President's acceptance of the Arab narrative and his avoidance of antagonizing those whom he wishes to woo.  When  Mr. Obama announced months ago at an AIPAC meeting - for Jewish consumption -  that Jerusalem should remain united under Israel, the pressure from the Arabs brought an immediate reversal - for Arab consumption.

This is part of Obama's style- appeasement of the enemies of the free world; he has been an apologist for the U.S. and for radical Islam whose name he cannot even utter.  He does not understand that a strong Israel is necessary for the safety of the United States and the West. Israel does not need a visit by Obama as Martin Indyk suggests; those of us who understand the dangers to the Jewish state will not be 'charmed' as, unfortunately, was Mr. Wiesel. 

Chana Givon

May 8, 2010

To the Editor,

Thank You for the Winnipeg Jewish Review. Always try to keep current with Winnipeg Events.

Arnold A. Zeal. MD, FACS, FAHA

May 7, 2010

To the Editor,

Good report on Engler.  His version of the Concordia events is spurious.  I was in the crowd, pushed and harassed by Engler's friends.  He becomes a great advocate of free speech, when it is convenient.  I very much liked the point about suppressing the likes of Engler.  It puts the Jewish community in a bad light, as the enemy of civil liberties, and feeds the Galloways, Englers and others of that ilk.

Engler recently contacted me, looking for help to promote his book.  I suppose he knows me as a sometimes critic of Israel's occupation of the West Bank and foot dragging in the peace process.  However, I remember his role at Concordia and offered no help, not even a review of the book.

Steve Scheinberg
emeritus Concordia

May 7, 2010

To the Editor,

I am enjoying reading the articles in the Winnipeg Jewish Review. I do wish you the best in your efforts. Thanks. 

Steve Schaefer, Winnipeg

May 7, 2010

To the Editor,

I appreciate and enjoy the quality of your publication.   I look forward to your publication becoming a paper edition. Thank you.

David H. Diamond, Winnipeg 

May 6, 2010

Shalom. How can we publicize our Sar-El program in your excellent Winnipeg Jewish Review?

Jack Bordan, Acting President
Sar-El Canada www.sarelcanada.org

To the Editor,

Thank you. Keep the newsletter coming.

Terry Miller, Habitat For Humanity, Winnipeg

May 5, 2010

To the Editor,

Have you seen this? http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19027&Itemid=86

Mezuzah-bearing cabbie back in court six tickets now totalling more than $1,600 for carrying a photo of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, two mezuzot and other verboten items in his west-end taxi.

Hart Macklin, Winnipeg

May 5, 2010

To the Editor,

Please advise your readership that a proposal for a nuclear-weapons-free Middle East is seeing new life under the Obama administration.

Mr.John Bolton, former US ambassador to the UN, said that President Obama’s consent to discuss demilitarizing the Middle East of nuclear weapons endangered Israel, and that Obama was playing into Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hands. He told Army Radio: “...The only unknown answer at this point is exactly how much pressure he [Obama] will exert on Israel to do just that. But part of that pressure is being exerted right now by even considering the possibility of a conference on a nuclear weapons-free Middle East.”

The Obama administration’s newfound opposition to Israel’s formally undisclosed nuclear program reverses nearly 50 years of American silence on the subject.

President John F. Kennedy pressured then-Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion to drop Israel’s plans for nuclear weapons in 1963.

In his seminal book Israel and the Bomb, Dr. Avner Cohen, wrote that Ben Gurion defended Israel’s need for nuclear weapons in the context of the mass murder of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis and the “scenario of a united Arab military coalition launching a war to liberate Palestine and destroy the Jewish state.”

President Kennedy continued to push Israel to abandon its nuclear option until his death in 1963. No American president had made an issue of Israel’s nuclear capability — until now.

Sincerely,
David Bedein, Middle East Correspondent

May 4, 2010

To the Editor,

I found your site by chance for the first time. I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I love your site.

Shosh Kohen

May 3, 2010

To the Editor,

Please let your readership know that the Palestine Media Watch [PMW], a nonprofit research institute, will launch a TV ad campaign in Washington to highlight the need for peace education to help bring peace to the Middle East. PMW focuses on the messages that the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, Fatah and Hamas send to the population through the broad range of institutions and infrastructures they control. PMW monitors and analyzes the Palestinian Authority through its media and schoolbooks.

PMW founder and director Itamar Marcus has said.”As long as terrorist attacks are glorified by the Palestinian Authority and media, a peaceful solution will be much harder to find.”

The PMW television ad will run nearly 1,000 times on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC and Headline News in the Washington area over the next month, and will shine a spotlight on some of the Palestinian Authority’s most recent actions to glorify terrorists. ( Palestinian President Abbas recently supported naming a city square after the leader of an attack that killed 37 civilians. Prime Minister Fayyad just sponsored a sports tournament for teens named after terror-mastermind Abu Jihad. )

PMW material has been presented before the US Congress and the US Senate. PMW reports regularly on how foreign aid is misused by the PA for terror promotion. These reports have led to changes in legislation and funding procedures.

Sincerely,
Marty Irom

Dear Editor,

Would you accept articles concerning my fields of interest, mainly Islam and Palestinians, to be published on WinnipegJewishReview.com?

For your interest, attach here with my CV.

David Bukay (Ph.D.)
School of Political Science, The University of Haifa

Editor’s response:  Thank you Dr. Bukay for offering to contribute to the Winnipeg Jewish Review. We will be running your first piece shortly.

To the Editor,

You do a great job.

Avigdor Ben-Dov
Yad Lezahava Holocaust Research Institute

To the Editor,

Thank you Rhonda for the wonderful coverage of the Yom HaShoah service our school held.

Eileen Monkman

To the Editor,

I am based in New York and write about the topic of Jihad and Israeli-Palestinian issues for the Examiner.com and I am interested in running a condensed version of your article about the JNF project to clean up and protect the Alexander River. Will you give me permission to reprint and permission to use your photos?

Richard Shurman, Examiner.com

Editor’s response: We are delighted that you have picked up this article for the American national publication Examiner.com on an important aspect of Israeli-Palestinian co-operation. Our readers can see Mr Shurman’s reprinting of a version of The Winnipeg Jewish Review’s article on the JNF Project to Clean Up the Alexander River by clicking on the following link: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-7095-NY-Israel-Conflict-Examiner~y2010m4d23-Jewish-Nation-Fund-fosters--Palestinian-ArabIsrael-cooperation

To the Editor,

I wanted to let you know we have two long time members have opened a Kosher Food Store first ever in the history of the Okanagan Valley. Many of our members have strong roots in Winnipeg... most of us do.

Shalom,
Michele Guttormsson-Troup
Okanagan Jewish Community Administrator

To the Editor and Readers of the Winnipeg Jewish Review,

At the end of April the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of MEC Canada (www.mec.ca) should take place. There will be protestors at this event calling for the management to divest of all Israeli business relations.

Source is a great outdoor brand making outdoor sandals and hydration systems. Our customers are enthusiasts engaged with outdoor activities. Millions of people are using our products traveling the world with joy and probably with respect to values such as tolerance, brotherhood of man, care, acceptance of the different, the fundamental longing for peace. Our products are sold successfully in MEC shops all over Canada for almost a decade now and are known for their quality and the values they represent. We are now facing a situation where an organized group is trying to expel Source from MEC shops on the base that we are an Israeli firm producing in Israel. According to the protestors our "only sin" is the fact that we are an Israeli company. Does it sound familiar…..? Haven't we been there before….?

We have faced a similar situation in the 2009 MEC AGM and thanks to the efforts of all our friends, associates and customers the decision has been opposed successfully.

We would appreciate the support of everyone who knows that Source' products, technology and spirit reflect Source' commitment to human values, integrity, responsibility and strive to satisfy the genuine needs of people who experience the great outdoors.

This is a call for your support. MEC is a co-op so who ever buys becomes a member with the right to vote at the MEC AGM. If you are not a MEC member please consider buying a Source product and become one. If you happen to be on April 29 around Vancouver please join the AGM, vote and make the sane voice sound.

All the best and shalom.

Yoki Gill, President
Source Vagabond Systems Ltd.