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Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement to mark Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day:

“I would like to extend my warmest greetings to everyone celebrating the 65th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel.

“Israel, like Canada, is a great nation, and like Canada, Israel serves as a beacon of hope in an uncertain world. That is because it has as its foundation the universal values that our two countries share; freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

“However, unlike Canada, Israel remains threatened by groups and regimes that deny its very right to exist. And yet, through centuries of struggle, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have endured. And endure they must, for the consequences of failure are great and far reaching. If one free and democratic society is threatened, all are at risk.

“As you celebrate the first 65 years of the State of Israel, know this: Canada is your partner, Canada is your friend, and Canada stands with you.

“Happy 65th anniversary!

“Shalom!”

Source: CJPAC.ca

Amar’e Stoudemire’s going back to Israel.

Stoudemire will serve as an assistant coach for the Canadian men’s basketball team in the Maccabiah Games in Israel this summer.

The competition will be held for two weeks in mid-July.

“From a pure basketball perspective, to have someone who’s competed at the highest level of basketball with us is invaluable,” said Alex Brainis, the head of the Canadian delegation for the Maccabiah Games.

Stoudemire is currently rehabbing a knee injury and hopes to be back during the postseason.

The Knicks forward has been active off the court during his rehabilitation. He plans to unveil a documentary titled “Amar’e Stoudemire: In The Moment” on April 19.

Stoudemire is also no stranger to Israel.

Continue reading via ESPN

Canadian hockey greats Darryl Sittler and Paul Henderson dropped the puck at the Roger Neilson Memorial Hockey Tournament, 2010, in Metulla, Israel. They were also feature on CBC’s Hockey Day in Canada live from a sports bar in Tel Aviv!

For the full list of 65@65 facts click here

Trevor Brown never met Zehava Pelach from Israel, but upon hearing her dire need for kidney transplant, he quickly volunteered; husband passes on good deed, donates kidney to father of 7

A Canadian Christian teaching English to children in Africa hears that someone in Israel is in desperate need of a kidney; he packs his bags, gets on a plane and without thinking twice donates of his own kidney. This is no fairy tale, but the true story of Trevor Brown.

Brown, 24, teaches English to Kenyan children. Two years ago his friend told him he had donated his kidney in Israel. Any other person would have felt a few words of praise were enough, but not Brown, he decided to follow in his friend’s footsteps. “I desperately wanted to do something for someone,” he said. “A large part of that is connected to my faith.”

Following his request, the friend put him in contact with a volunteer in Israel, and she in turn connected him to Haifa resident Piaz Abu-Samra, 53, a father of seven, in desperate need of a kidney transplant, after being on dialysis for more than a year because of terminal kidney failure.

“I underwent preliminary tests abroad, and it turned out my kidney was a match,” Brown said. A month later he arrived in Israel and moved in to Abu-Samra’s house.

“He is a splendid man, and he has such great kids. I felt I was doing the right thing,” Brown explains. “My family didn’t like the idea, but at the end of the day they respected my decision and did not fight the donation.”

‘A real idealist’

“I met an amazing person who came to save me,” Abu-Samra emotionally recants. “At first we wrote each other through the internet. When I saw that he was serious, I sent him a flight ticket, and he came. He is an amazing man, a real idealist.”

While Abu-Samra was waiting for his surgery at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Zehava Pelach, 46, a supermarket cashier, was also awaiting for a kidney transplant after suffering renal failure for more than eight years.

Her husband David quickly volunteered to give her one his own kidneys, but sadly he wasn’t a match.

At the beginning of the week, the head of the hospital’s Transplant Unit, Prof. Eitan Mor, came up with the idea of orchestrating a cross-transplant – the Canadian will donate his kidney to Zehava, and her husband will donate his kidney to Abu-Samra.

“I didn’t hesitate for a second,” David, 48, said, “I was up for donating my kidney to Zehava from the get go, but our blood types don’t match. We have been married for 25 years, and it was clear to me that I needed to relieve her of the pain of dialysis. I was very concerned, but the moment the idea came up, I agreed.”

Wednesday, all three went under the knife and the transplant went ahead successfully.

In the interview, following the operation, the three joined each other in an emotional meeting, and they are currently recuperating in adjacent rooms.

“Trevor is an amazing person, I have no words to describe what he has done for us,” Zehava said. “When we get out of here, we will all go out together to celebrate this miracle.

“It is important people know there it is possible to donate a kidney. That is the reason god gave us two,” she concludes.

Prof. Mor summarizes: “Undoubtedly, a donation from a live person is preferred to a donation from someone who is deceased. The matching is mostly based on the blood-types of the patient and benefactor, but today we know how to successfully complete transplants even between those that do not share a blood type by inducing an anti-body neutralizer.”

Source: Ynetnews.com

Zubin Mehta was once the Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. In 1969 he became the Music Advisor to the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1977 he became the Music Director. In 1988 he was awarded the title of Music Director for Life of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra

For the full list of 65@65 facts click here

Outside of North America, Israel was the first country to sign a free trade agreement with Canada. The Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement is a cornerstone of the bilateral relations between the countries.

For the full list of 65@65 facts click here

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