On Thursday, April 28 at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue at 8 pm, noted political commentator David Frum will deliver the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada’s 6th Annual Sol And Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecture.  With the current turmoil in the Middle East and with efforts in some corners to delegitimize Israel by labeling it apartheid, Frum’s topic “Is Time Running Out for Israel?” is very timely. In 2001-2002, David Frum served as a special assistant to President George W. Bush, and in 2007-2008, he served as senior foreign policy adviser to the Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign. Through his work in government, he has seen at close range the relationship of the US and Israel, and as a Canadian, he is aware of the role of previous Canadian governments in Middle East diplomacy. Generally pessimistic about an Israeli-Palestinian peace, David Frum wrote on cnn.com on January 11 about the release of 1,600 Palestinian Authority documents to Al-Jazeera and the British newspaper The Guardian. To read more, go to: http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/01/24/frum.mideast.papers/index.html

In 1996, The Wall Street Journal acclaimed David Frum “one of the leading political commentators of his generation. The Daily Telegraph’s 2007 and 2009 surveys named him one of America’s 50 most influential conservatives. David Frum is the founder and editor of frumforum.com, a site dedicated to the modernization and renewal of the Republican Party in the United States and of the conservative movement. On frumforum, he writes about political issues, in particular as they relate to the United States at home and around the world.  Frum is the author of six books including two New York Times bestsellers: The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush (2003) and An End to Evil: How To Win the War on Terror (2004), co-authored with Richard Perle. His newest book is Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again (Doubleday 2007, 2009). His first book Dead Right (1994) was described by William F. Buckley as “the most refreshing ideological experience in a generation” and by Frank Rich of the New York Times as “the smartest book written from the inside about the American conservative movement.” He is a regular commentator on American Public Media’s Marketplace program, and is a regular columnist for Time, cnn.com, The Week, and Canada’s National Post. Frum is a member of the board of directors of the Republican Jewish Coalition, along with other notable Republicans such as Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary to George W. Bush, 2001-2003.

The Sol and Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecture Series is part of the JHC’s program of exhibitions, lectures, and publications that preserve, interpret, and present Western Canada’s Jewish heritage and culture to the community. The Distinguished Lecture is the JHC’s major annual fundraiser. The JHC is home to the Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre, the mandate of which is to provide education about the Holocaust. In addition to presenting programs in its museum, which is visited annually by close to 1200 adults and students of all ages, the Centre coordinates the annual Holocaust symposium for Manitoba high school students at the University of Winnipeg Duckworth Centre. Following a keynote speaker’s presentation, this year by Kovno ghetto and Dachau camp survivor Elly Gotz of Toronto, students gather in small breakout sessions in which local Holocaust survivors tell their stories. Attendance at this year’s May 12 conference is expected to be over 1800. As well, the FFHEC administers the Asper Holocaust and Human Rights Study Program for grade nine Jewish students who are not enrolled at the Gray Academy. A nine-week course, it culminates in a trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Lecture sponsorships, with income tax receipts, are available starting at $100. Individual tickets are $36 and $24 for seniors and students. An American Sign Language translator will be present at the lecture. Contact the JHCWC at 477-7460 or at jhcwc.org.