	The B'nai Brith Canada Institute for International Affairs has a mandate to protest the abuse of human rights throughout the world and advocate on behalf of worldwide Jewish communities in distress. The Institute has a special focus on pro-Israel advocacy and education.
Rochelle Wilner President	Frank Dimant Chief Executive Officer	Amos Sochaczevski National Chair	Ruth Klein National Director

REMARKS BY RABBI BARUCH TAUB

Given at Solidarity Rally, Beth Avraham Yoseph Of Toronto Congregation, Thornhill, Ontario

Tuesday October 11 - 12 Tishrei 5761

In a few days the tiny sukka will make its appearance on the landscape here and in israel. The two structural forms of the sukka - the walls which must be sturdy, solid and secure and the roof which must be open to the heavens, represent a dialectic of the condition of our people and our land.

Our borders must be sturdy, solid and secure so that we may dwell in peace inside our sukkas. Shalom - our sukka of peace, while at the same time we are mindful of the ultimate need for divine spiritual protection from the G-d of Israel above and from his Torah.

The Talmud relates: every Jew is worthy of dwelling in one sukka. The mitzvah of the sukka is unique. unlike other mitzvahs, theoretically all Jews could fulfill the mitzvah in one sukka. If one could be so constructed all we would need is one sukka. There is no requirement to build a separate sukka for each person or family. I can live in your sukka and you can live in mine.

We have gathered here tonight in what is nothing less than an oasis of truth. For close to 2 weeks we have been vilified and castigated in ways that defy reason. We have come here tonight to reassert the truth - the truth of the events of the last weeks and the truth of the justice of our cause. The truth that it is necessary to defend the honour of the Jewish state and of the Jewish people.

We have come here to assert proudly and without hesitation that as a people we are unifed in absolute solidarity with the people of the state of Israel.

For too long we have focussed on what divides us as a community. Tonight we come together to affirm our singularity.

Tonight we leave all the labels at the door. we are simply - Jews. Tonight whether we are religious or secular, Ashkenaz or Sephard - we speak with one voice - and the words we proclaim should ring out loud and clear. We are proud to defend the state of Israel and there is nothing for which we need apologize. To paraphrase JFK, “We will bear any burden, endure any hardship to defend the state of Israel.”

For the world the enduring image of the last week will be the tragic picture of Mohammed Aldura who died after being placed in the line of fire. Golda Meir said it best, “we don’t expect our adversary to have mercy on our children. All we ask is for them to have mercy on their own children.”

Tonight is not a night for platitude or euphemism. Tonight we must speak clearly and to the point. After Camp David it became clear that it was Yassar Arafat that was to blame for the halt in the peace talks. Sympathy began to shift to Israel. Arafat employed a time-tested formula to recapture world sympathy and attention. He has willfuly produced a new list of teenage martyrs.

Tonight is not a night for recrimination. Whether you are an Oslo supporter or an Oslo sceptic - it is astonishing that after breathtaking concessions by Ehud Barak after withdrawals from lebanon, soldiers are captured on borders. After an offer to divide Jerusalem there are riots in Jerusalem. What more need be done by Israel to secure peace? What more need be rejected by Arafat for the world community to recognize the true intentions of the other side?

The violence of the last week was made possible by the continuing incitement of the Palestinian media. A call to arms from Palestinian mosques and Palestinian grade school textbooks, where the spirit of Oslo has yet to take hold.

As Canadians we are deeply troubled. No, angered, by the Canadian government vote to condemn Israel. The UN Security Council resolution is nothing but a gross distortion of reality. In essence it condemns Canada and the United Nations.

The destruction of Joseph’s tomb is an affront to Jews and non-Jews alike. It clearly calls into question all the assurances of Palestinian respect for Jewish holy sites.

I would suggest that for those who seek truth the enduring image of the last 2 weeks is the picture in the New York Times of a young man bloodied in front of an Israeli soldier with a caption identifying him as a Palestinian victim of Israeli military excesses. As it turns out the name of this "arab" is Tuvia Grossman.

Let me tell you the story of Tuvia Grossman:
He was on his way to the Kotel for Rosh Hashanah services when his arab cab driver pulled over and a gang of Palestinians quickly descended upon the taxi tearing four yeshiva students out of the cab and continued to beat them. 3 escaped. Tuvia was left to suffer stab wounds, and his head being beaten with a rock. Tuvia thought he was going to die. he did what any of us would have done at that moment. He recited the Shema.

He then remembered the story he heard as a youngster about a rabbi who was being beaten during a pogrom who yelled the word "echad" so loudly while reciting the Shema his assailants were momentarily startled and he was able to flee. Tuvia yelled the last word of the Shema. His assailants taken back by the anguished cry momentarily released their hold and he was indeed able to escape. The caption in the New York Times identifying him as a Palestinian is a microcosm of the inversion to which we have been subject.

The defense of the cause for the State of Israel begins with its friends knowing the truth. We have only one land,

they have 21 lands.

There is no ethnic difference in all 21 lands.

They have essentially the same language, culture , and faith.

We have one land, one language , one culture.

All we ask is one little land, one little sukka, one little peaceful sukka that has miraculoulsy housed our people and will continue to be a homeland for our people.

I urge you, I beg you be not silent. The State of Israel needs you.

Mr. Council General you see tonight that this Toronto community stands rock solid in their support of Israel. Please let the citizens of Israel know they are not alone.

In essence we speak about one idea one word - loyalty.

Loyalty to our G-d, Loyalty to our Torah.

Loyalty to our people.

Loyalty to Israel.

Loyalty to our history.

Loyalty to our destiny and to our future.

Let us ensure that we continue to be worthy of the grandest of all titles.

Members of the Jewish people. am yisroel chai,