Calgary B’nai Brith Lodge celebrates 72nd annual gala

by Irena Karshenbaum

(AJNews) – On April 2nd, close to six hundred guests gathered for the 72nd annual B’nai Brith Calgary Dinner honouring Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, and former Ambassador of Canada to Israel, Vivian Bercovici. Writer and producer for the television show, The Simpsons, and Calgary native, Joel Cohen, entertained guests as MC. The evening was made especially moving with Dr. Robert Barsky, the longest serving B’nai Brith Calgary president, receiving the Ben Docktor Award of Excellence.

The event was a family affair. Not only was Dr. Barsky’s family in the audience, but so was Premier Smith’s parents, Sharon and Doug Smith, along with Bercovici’s daughter as well as her meting for the first time that evening a possible “cousin,” one of the dinner guests, noted Canadian military historian, Dr. David Bercuson. Both draw their roots from Romania and both share the same last name — Bercuson was once Bercovici.

Danielle Smith has deep, and mostly not well known, ties to Calgary’s Jewish community. Long before she was Premier of Alberta, Smith visited Israel, had Shabbat lunch at the home of the House of Jacob’s rabbi, attended numerous Beit Halochem concerts, watched a 1930s Molly Picon movie — in Yiddish with English subtitles — at Beth Tzedec Congregation, was a gold-level sponsor of the grand opening of the Little Synagogue and served as a media relations volunteer for that event and can count numerous friends in the community, this author included.

Aside from the dinner being a return to a community Premier Smith knows well, she brought a message the event’s guests needed to hear.

Smith acknowledged the work of B’nai Brith stating that, “Your goal has been to build a safer, fairer and freer society not only for the Jewish people, but also as a champion for the rights of all marginalized people. You understand that our nation cannot allow antisemitism or any form of hate to take root. It weakens democracy from within and undermines the values that Canada is built on. Either everyone is secure, or no one is, and you never hesitate to remind Canadians of this truth.”

Smith discussed the encampments on university campuses since October 7 with Alberta being “different” on account of the police in both Calgary and Edmonton, along with members of the board of governors of the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta who, “Enforced the law and did not allow trespass. They created a very safe environment for the Jewish students on campus.”

Smith stated, “Albertans do not apologize for doing what is right. We will not be swayed by the shouting of a tiny minority of radicals and we will never turn away from Israel. Alberta is, and always will be, a home for the Jewish people.”

Smith acknowledged that since October 7, Canada has seen a dramatic rise in schools and synagogues being attacked and intimidation on Jewish communities, and said, “Alberta’s government will never let antisemitism go unchallenged. We will always condemn terrorism and hate and we will always keep Jewish communities safe.” She explained that the provincial government has increased funding for security and officer presence at faith-based organizations and encouraged organizations that need extra protection to apply for these grants.

Toronto-born Bercovici noted that this federal election was the most critical election of her life and, “The situation in Canada is being watched with great interest in Israel.” She explained that the foreign policy and business communities know that the fourth largest Jewish community in the world — after Israel, United States and France — is under attack and they are “really, deeply concerned.”

Stating antisemitism is raging all over the world since October 7, “We here and everywhere need to start making more noise. In the UK and Australia, they punch way above their weight. We are too polite.”

Bercovici recounted how she recently attended anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protests in Berlin and compared the experience to attending the same type of protests in Toronto explaining, “In Berlin, the police, they protect us and they care. In Toronto, I felt very differently. We really have to wake up.”

Bercovici who served for two and a half years as Canada’s ambassador to Israel and remained in the country after her assignment ended, described leading a vibrant life as a private citizen first in Tel Aviv before moving, in 2024, to a kibbutz near Sderot, close to the Gaza strip, “Which has been pummelled by rockets.” This kibbutz took in all of the 140 displaced families from Kibbutz Kfar Aza that was attacked on October 7.

She explained that the real danger in Israel is, “Internal and that October 7 shattered everything about the country, the people’s belief in themselves. We also rebounded very quickly and realized that we have to fight again. We went into that war being told we have two goals. We have to defeat Hamas and to bring the hostages home. And we are now eighteen months later and neither goal has been achieved.”

She said that for two years prior to October 7, Israel was roiled by domestic dissent resulting from the proposed judicial reforms, “The enemy sensed weakness and they attacked.”

Bercovici continued that eighteen months later judicial reform legislation is still an issue and the government has managed to push through the first tranche of the legislation despite being in the middle of a war.

The second issue tearing apart the country, she explained, was the IDF draft. The standing army has 165,000 members while the reserve army, “the real army,” being about 460,000.

In the last year, she said many reservists had served over 200 days and, “The families are falling apart and a huge cohort, the ultra Orthodox, who until now had a blanket exemption from service. Their leadership is refusing to cooperate with the State in that regard.” She explained that people from the reserve army are starting to not show up to serve, “They’re fathers. Some are grandfathers. We have men in their 50s falling on the battlefield in combat when fifteen percent of the population is refusing to serve. It’s unconscionable.”

The hostage situation is the third issue tearing apart the country. Bercovici noted there are 59 in captivity and 22 are known to be alive, “Israel is founded on an ethos that we leave no one behind. There is a large group in the current government that says, ‘No, too high a price to pay to bring them home. We’re not going to deal with Hamas.’”

Bercovici closed her remarks asking the audience to ponder their vote for the April 28 federal election, “Within days of becoming prime minister, Mark Carney announced yet another gift of $100 million to UNRWA. That makes Canada one of the top donors in the world to an organization that we know works very closely with Hamas and Hezbollah.”

The Ben Docktor Award of Excellence was presented by dinner co-chair, Joel Grotsky, along with Diane Docktor, the widow of the late philanthropist for whom the award is named. Grotsky explained the award was established in 1993 and is presented to an individual who, like Ben Docktor (1940-2022), “Has a passion for promoting B’nai Brith Calgary, exemplifies generosity, leadership, who contributes to the success of the annual B’nai Brith Calgary dinner and the community at-large.” Dr. Robert Barsky, who served in the role of B’nai Brith Calgary president for nearly twenty years, and under whose leadership the organization was able to provide financial support to over eighty charities, was bestowed the honour and received a standing ovation in recognition of his years of service to the Calgary community.

The B’nai Brith Calgary Dinner is organized by a committee of volunteers with the support of one part-time paid professional and the event is the charity’s largest annual fundraiser. It has a tradition of not paying its honourees and instead provides them with the opportunity to direct a donation in their honour to a charity of their choice. Premier Danielle Smith chose to direct her gift to Beit Halochem Canada, Aid To Disabled Veterans of Israel, while Vivian Bercovici directed her gift to The Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

Irena Karshenbaum is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. She writes in Calgary. irenakarshenbaum.com