Navigating the Middle East Upheaval: How Israel Is Meeting the Challenges and Opportunities of a Changing World

December 5, 2013

Navigating the Middle East Upheaval: How Israel Is Meeting the Challenges and Opportunities of a Changing World

Chairman: Noble Chummar, President, The Empire Club of Canada

Head Table Guests

John Koopman, Partner, Spencer Stuart, and Director, The Empire Club of Canada;

Jaxson Khan, Student, University of Western Ontario;

Captain Rabbi Lazer Danzinger, Assistant Division Chaplain, 4th Canadian Division HQ/Joint Task Force Central HQ;

Moshe Ronen, Vice-President of the World Jewish Congress, and Head, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affair’s Development Committee;

Bruce Leboff, Vice-President, Risk Management, Glusken Sheff + Associates Inc.;

Verity Sylvester, Director, CV Management, and Past President, The Empire Club of Canada;

Jo Schneeweiss; and

Edward Sonshine, CEO, Riocan Real Estate Investment Trust.

Introduction by Noble Chummar

Today’s speech is about geopolitics. It’s about a region on our planet that has seen centuries of change. It’s a region for many people where modern history begins. In 1970, at this very podium stood Captain James Lovell, and he is the guy who was on Apollo 13 and he is the guy who famously said, “Houston we have a problem.” He was at this podium and he said a very profound statement about life on our planet. He said, “As viewed from space, global unity is the most striking characteristic of planet Earth. We see its cloud systems encircling our world, their beauty startling against the great void where no artificial barriers of national boundaries can be seen. The land areas are only bounded by seas and oceans, and together with the atmosphere and sun, they interact as an ecological unit.” If we are to maintain the earth as a livable dwelling place for mankind, we must learn to view it as a whole. We must understand that our existence depends on the delicate balance of nature and that this balance includes not only all of mankind, but all living things.

The Middle East is a vague geographic area that describes a region in Western Asia, somewhere east of Eastern Europe, west of East Asia, north-east of Central Africa and south of Central Asia. Determining where the Middle East is located is a challenge in itself. The jewel of the Middle East is Israel, a relatively new nation with thousands of years of history. Modern Israel is the home of innovation, culture and promise. It is a thriving and stable democracy situated in a troubled region. Israelis are highly educated, tolerant and keenly aware of the world around them. Israel is a rich country with archaeological treasures, unparalleled natural beauty and a thriving economy.

Mr. Schneeweiss was born in Sydney, Australia. I met him earlier today and I said, “Man, I’ve never really met an Israeli guy before yourself. You sound like you’re Australian.” He has a master’s degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and joined the Israeli foreign ministry thereafter. He served as a policy advisor to two foreign ministers including Ehud Barak and was the press secretary for the Israeli mission in London, England. Until his recent appointment to Canada, he served as the Deputy Ambassador to China. He is here to address the Empire Club of Canada on the challenges Israel is facing around the world and, in particular, the Middle East. Please welcome the Consul General of Israel, Mr. D.J. Schneeweiss.

D.J. Schneeweiss

Good afternoon. Thank you very much, Mr. President for that kind introduction and thank you to the audience for being here and for that very warm ovation. It’s a pity my parents couldn’t be here to hear that because my father would have enjoyed it, and my mother would have believed that you were celebrating something. As far as we’ve been able to ascertain, this is the first occasion that an Israeli diplomat has spoken at the Empire Club since Ambassador Mordechai Shalev in 1976. I don’t know if his speech was so bad that you didn’t want another Israeli back, or it was so good you didn’t want us to outshine your other speakers. All I can say is that it’s been too long. Thank you for the invitation to speak here. I also want to thank Eddie Sonshine of RioCan and Bruce Leboff of Gluskin Sheff for their sponsorship making today’s event possible. Their support of Israel, the dedication to the partnership between our two countries and their personal friendship, are all a source of great encouragement and strength. Ladies and gentlemen, Israel today is a paradox—a country faced by unprecedented threats and challenges, yet safer and more full of promise than at any time in its history. On the one hand, the Middle East has entered a period of turmoil and chronic instability, which is challenging the fundamental underpinnings of our strategic environment. Add to this the nuclear ambitions of Iran and the threat of Tehran’s missiles and those of her proxies and the view from Jerusalem looks stark indeed. Yet, at the same time, our tiny state is displaying strengths and capacities that continue to propel it to the forefront of global achievement and to offer us the opportunity of greater international integration, acceptance and relevance than we have ever known. Canada’s connection and involvement in that story will be the endpoint of my talk today, but first let’s look at the challenges facing Israel, Jerusalem’s inbox if you like.

The Middle East is in a state of turmoil and tumult, the likes of which have not been seen in generations. In its first blush, the Arab Awakening represented a clear shift in a power balance between the rulers and the ruled, where fear prevailed for decades and suddenly it was gone. The masses were on the streets, and the leaders were on the defensive. This shift in the internal balance of power within the Arab world seemed to promise a new dawn and a quick, popular march towards democracy. With Syria leading the charge, however, what we are seeing now is a reversal of that trend; a reassertion of power by the traditional leadership, which leaves the story very much in flux.

At a more fundamental, structural level, what we are seeing in the Arab world are clear trends, which point to a crumbling of the nation’s state model, superimposed on the region by the Western powers a century ago. Today, the much longer-standing ethnic and religious cleavages, which historically defined the region, are once again coming to the fore, placing the existing state structures under profound challenge. As a result, we see little to suggest that democracy or even anything remotely approaching it is likely to flourish in the Middle East any time soon. There is popular desire for change and freedom but very limited ability or desire amongst key political actors to accommodate it and to allow the full gamut of values and institutions that are necessary for democracy to actually take root. Without these things, the hopes and dreams embodied in the concept of the Arab Spring, so-called, will continue to not just be elusive, but impossible to realize and instead will become a volatile and unpredictable power struggle that may last generations. Israel is most definitely and demonstrably not the eye of this Arab storm. The events of recent years within the Arab world have proved that we are not the story, but we do lie very much in the path of destruction that the storm may wreak. Added to this volatile mix, we also face the nuclear and attended hegemonic ambitions of the repressive terrorist- sponsoring regime in Iran. Tehran’s relentless drive towards nuclear weapons brought the international community to adopt six Security Council resolutions condemning Iran’s actions and imposing biting sanctions.

It is the combination of these sanctions and a credible military threat that recently brought Iran to the negotiating table and we in Israel take pride in the responsible role that we have played alongside the U.S and other likeminded countries, including Canada, throughout this long and arduous process. Having come so far, having brought Tehran to begin to seek a way out of this stranglehold of the sanctions, Israel believes that the interim deal reached in Geneva is a mistake through its de facto recognition of an Iranian right to enrich uranium, the core of the Iranian military nuclear program and a right, I might add, that no other nation on Earth has ever demanded or received. Through allowing Iran to keep its centrifuges intact, and maintain other components of its military programs such as warheads and ballistic capabilities, and through affording sanctions relief that reverses the very psychological and economic momentum that brought Iran to the negotiating table in the first place, and that needs to be in place in order to keep Iran there, we believe that the Geneva deal weakens the positions of the P5+1 in future negotiations towards a comprehensive deal. Iran continues to pose a grave threat to regional and global security and peace. And now the challenge we face, one that too often goes unnoticed, unreported and unaddressed, is the ongoing vilification of Israel and the Jewish people in the Arab and Muslim world.

Consistent reports by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in the United States and others have logged thousands of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel cartoons and articles in the Arab media. Meanwhile, online and in some universities hate speech and vilification of Israel and the Jewish people repeatedly goes unchecked. Put simply, minds are being poisoned, particularly Arab and Muslim minds intentionally and consistently in ways, which severely undercut our ability to forge normal and peaceful relations with our neighbours and others around the world.

I come now to the Palestinian issue. Israel has sought to live in peace and coexistence with our Palestinian neighbours from the outset. In 1947, when the UN voted to partition the British mandate into two states, one Jewish, one Arab, we said, “Yes.” The Arabs states said, “No” and launched a war to destroy us. In the many decades since, particularly in the 20 years since Oslo, we have made repeated offers of territorial compromise, we have withdrawn from territories, we have removed ourselves from governing the daily lives of Palestinians, recognized the need for a Palestinian state and more. But we continue to come up empty handed. Many ordinary Palestinians no doubt yearn, as we do, for the simple blessings of peace. No doubt, many of Israel’s actions have impacted negatively and left Palestinians feeling victimized or worse. But it is a simple and undeniable fact that this conflict began long before a single Israeli community was established in the West Bank. This conflict began with the Arab world’s refusal to accept our very right to exist.

In the words of a notable Nobel Peace Prize laureate, “The people of Israel have the right to know that their national existence is not at stake.” That seems to me to be fundamental. “Efforts to bring peace and all its benefits,” this Nobel prize laureate continues, “and to bring peace and all its benefits to the Middle East would be of no avail, unless Israel and the people of Israel are released from the overhanging fear, which naturally envelopes the country as a result of the threats of destruction and the political and economic warfare directed against it.” That quote is not from Menachem Begin or Anwar Sadat or President Carter in 1979, and it’s not from Prime Minister Rabin or Foreign Minister Peres in 1994, nor is it a quote from Barack Obama in 2008/2009. These were the words of a certain Lester B. Pearson, at the time foreign affairs minister of Canada, in the House of Commons in Ottawa on January 24, 1956. Today, there is simply too much evidence that the same core of the conflict, of which Pearson spoke of, continues to dominate the Palestinian consciousness and political program. The glorification of terrorists, the consistent denial of any Jewish history in, or connection to, the Holy Land, the unwavering demand for a so-called right to flood Israel even after the Palestinian state was established with the descendants of the Palestinian refugees, create the very wars of aggression against us. All these continue to serve as profound obstacles to the peace we seek.

Ladies and gentlemen, put all this together and you have a neighbourhood that is neither stable, nor predictable, nor easily manageable, nor, from an Israeli perspective, particularly peaceable. Danger lurks, our inbox is full. So what are the policy take-homes? What is Israel doing in response to these challenges? With regards to the turmoil in the Arab world, caution is the name of the game. In a region likely to remain in flux for years, if not decades, Israel will be even more cautious than ever in assessing the threats around it, while always remaining ready to seize new diplomatic opportunities. Outsiders’ promises and wishful thinking will not be allowed to substitute for realistic assessments and our own efforts to deter any misguided adventurousness on the part of our neighbours. Regarding Iran, Israel will continue to work with the United States and other likeminded states and countries to ensure that the diplomatic effort to end Iran’s military nuclear program achieves the necessary goal. John Kerry is in Israel today as we speak on this issue and others. The precedent of North Korea and the time the international community took to act against severe human rights’ violations and aggression in places like Rwanda and Yugoslavia teach us that freezing the situation is not enough. We need to rollback and dismantle Iran’s enrichment capacity and dual uranium and plutonium tracks. Our common interest is not just ensuring Iran doesn’t have military nuclear weapons now, it is to prevent Iran from having the capacity ever to build such weapons. We believe in and support a negotiated settlement; one that ends the threat, not one that perpetuates it.

On the issue of anti-Semitism, on hate, incitement, and so on, Israel will continue to be vigilant and to lobby for greater vigilance on the part of others. The 20th century teaches us nothing if not the need to respect the power of bad ideas and the need to confront them. I am pleased to acknowledge the leadership of Canada on these issues. Canada has understood, perhaps better than any other international actor, how the scourge of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism undermines fundamental Western values and core interests. Ottawa’s principled stand on these issues is the truest expression, not only of Canada’s current interests, but also of this country’s long-standing and principled foreign policy heritage. As regards the Palestinian issue, the policy take-home is simple. Israel will continue to negotiate with the Palestinian leadership in order to reach a fair agreement, one that allows them to realize their legitimate national aspirations, while also safeguarding ours. We are ready for Palestinian statehood and for territorial compromise, which will resolve the issue of the settlements. But we also insist the Palestinians recognize our own inalienable national rights and abandon any further claims on our country. We insist that they educate their people that their imagined right of return does not exist in theory and will not take place in practice and also to agree to secure the arrangements that will safeguard the political accord that we seek. Settlements are not the only issue, security in Palestinian reconciliation with who we are and what our rights are, are equally crucial and speaking these truths to the world and to the Palestinians is not to undermine peace, it is to advance it. There’s an old Jewish story told of the wife who complains to her husband late one night, “Howie,” she says, “shut the window, it’s cold outside.” To which Howie responds, “No, and if I close it, will it get any warmer?”

There is something very fundamental to the Israeli experience in this little nugget. It’s always cold outside, so to speak, and so too in this era and as the joke suggests, we can’t easily change that. But our story isn’t only about what’s on the outside. When you lift up the hood and take a look inside Israel at what makes us tick, what you see is a people of spirit, of determination and inventiveness, passion and commitment, with a national ethos of never giving up and always seeking new and better ways to get the job done; a people with a creativity, vitality and energy that any enterprise would want to patent and cultivate. With these human qualities and the strengths we have built in partnership with our many friends, for all the dangers that lurk, Israel today is better off than it has ever been. In security terms, we have not faced a regular army in battle since 1973. Having convinced our adversaries that defeating us through traditional warfare is impossible, our peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan remain strong for all the instability and challenge they have come under. We have largely overcome the challenge of Palestinian terrorism for the moment, through a mix of deterrent and defensive measures and diplomatic initiatives. We have successfully developed a cutting-edge, three-tiered missile defence system, which offers an effective response to the missile threat posed by Hezbollah and others. Meanwhile, in economic and diplomatic terms, Israel is more integrated than ever in the global economy and the international system, more able not only to look after its citizens and realize their dreams of a better more prosperous future, but also more able to make a tangible and recognized contribution to global wellbeing.

To give you just a few recent examples, Israel joined the OECD in 2010, joining the ranks of the world’s leading economies. Israel is the only non-European member of the EU’s flagship—Horizon 2020 R&D framework—having been welcomed into the program in 1996 and invited back every time since. Just this week, Israel rejoined the Human Rights Council, having successfully been admitted into the West European and others group and negotiated a significant reduction in that body’s “biased and discriminatory approach towards us.” Those, by the way, are not my words. They are the words of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. On another UN front, the General Assembly, this past Tuesday passed an Israeli initiated resolution, adopted by a majority of 138 countries, promoting agricultural technology for development.

Israel’s record in terms of disaster assistance and international development aid is also noteworthy. Our emergency medical teams are consistently among the first on the ground in disaster situations anywhere in the world. Mashav, our national aid agency, has trained 270,000 people and provided international assistance to over 140 countries.

Meanwhile, Israel’s technological prowess has become legendary. We are ranked top in the world by the World Economic Forum for the quality of our scientific research institutions and fourth over all for our innovative capacity. Our innovation system is admired and studied around the world, and Israeli developed technologies, as everybody knows, are continuing to transform computing, medicine, telecoms, agriculture, energy, water, cyber security and a myriad other industries as well. Today, more than 250 multinational companies maintain research and development centres in Israel and 80 of these companies are Fortune 500 members. I could go on and on.

These diverse achievements have not come easy, nor is it ever full of smooth sailing. But that’s the point. Despite the difficulties, despite the noisy clamouring of those who wish us ill or those who only see Israel in caricature as a one-dimensional creation that has no life outside its role as the villain in the never-ending Palestinian saga, the reality is that we are recognized by elite decision makers around the world to be more interesting and more relevant to their own success than ever before, which brings me then to the heart of my remarks here today—the Canada-Israel relationship and how we can carry it forward.

As you know, Israel’s eight million souls live in a territory that would fit pretty comfortably in the slither of territory of Canada between Toronto and Ottawa. I served in China for three years and my ambassador used to sort of lean over to his Chinese counterparts and whisper to them, “You know that China and Israel together make up one-third of the world’s population.” We could do the same about the world’s geography. Canada and Israel together are huge. But if you stop to think just for a moment, you realize that for all the difference in size, Canada and Israel have a lot more in common and a greater affinity than is realized or spoken of. The friendship, which ties our two nations together, is founded on the bedrock of shared democratic values and institutions. Both countries are a magnet to immigrants and have benefited greatly from the infusion of new populations and energies. We are both very globally minded, keenly aware that our national wellbeing requires markets and opportunities and friendly structures way beyond our own borders. With our recent oil and gas discoveries, Israel is now an energy producer like Canada, another line of commonality. We also share different but parallel challenges in resolving with our neighbours exactly how to get that energy to market. Indeed from its very inception, Israel was understood in Canada to be a likeminded state, one which shares Canada’s values and interests and one in whose existence, security and vitality Canada itself has an abiding interest.

A piece of history not often remembered is that Canada was one of the key midwives in securing Israel’s birth, having played a pivotal role in securing passage to the UN for the 1947 Partition Plan. Through the six and a half decades since, at times of war and during times of stalemate and real peacemaking, Canada’s governments and people of every political stripe, except the most radical fringes, have stood by Israel, recognized its fundamental right to peace and security, and worked responsibly within the UN and beyond to help Israel achieve its worthy objectives. We appreciate that deeply.

Central to this dynamic has been Canada’s phenomenal Jewish community, which serves as a bridge between the two societies and a central driver of our respective successes. Captain Danziger mentioned earlier the festival of Hanukah to everybody here. For the Festival of Lights for this week in our weekly Torah portion and Chag Sameach we will read the story of how Joseph reconciled with his brother. The Jewish community of Canada, with many of its leaders here today and I thank them for their presence, is a light, a beacon of tolerance and of communal responsibility. A light and a beacon, which make this society great and help us make our society great too. The bilateral friend- ship that has developed through these years continues to manifest itself in burgeoning economic, scientific, medical, cultural, political, defence, juridical, agricultural and trade ties between the two countries.

At the national level, the Harper government has taken our ties to an unprecedented level of closeness and exchange. We are committed and keen to work with the government to take those ties even higher. Prime Minister Harper has announced he will be travelling to the region in January and both sides are now working intensively to ensure his visit brings concrete outcomes that will carry the bilateral relationship to new heights.

At the provincial and local levels too, we are seeing real interest in forging closer ties. This year alone we expect to host in Israel at least two premiers and various mayors, each bringing business delegations with them just as Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Eric Hoskins, did just recently. We’re also seeing great interest in Israel from the leadership of Canada’s top universities. A formal deal to enhance cooperation was signed last July. There are real synergies and opportunities here and real benefits that can and will accrue across many fields—energy, security, media, education, innovation, global governance and more. There is also an affinity of values of experience. At a recent dinner here in Toronto, former prime minister Paul Martin spoke glowingly of the similarities he sees between our societies and how we address the issue of inclusiveness. All that said, the Canada-Israel relationship is not where it should be. Bilateral trade was less than $1.5 billion in 2012, far from its potential. The number of Canadian tourists to Israel hit an all-time high of 75,000 last year, but it’s still nowhere near its potential. The number of Canadian students using opportunities to study in Israel’s world-renowned universities is tiny. Firms are not even fully utilizing the funds government has made available for R&D collaboration.

On November 25, just a couple of weeks ago, the Israeli company, PrimeSense was purchased by Apple for the princely sum of $350 million. This makes it the thirteenth Israeli high-tech company to be acquired by foreign investors in 2013. Why isn’t Canada getting a greater piece of this seriously nutritious pie? Fully two-thirds of the 250 foreign companies I mentioned earlier who maintain R&D centres in Israel are American companies. Where is Canada in this mix? Where are the investments, the acquisitions, the strategic push to plug into one of the world’s most dynamic and creative economies? Not where it should be. So what do we need to do?

In terms of business investment and trade at the government level, we need to update and expand the free trade agreement, something both governments have committed to do. Minister Ed Fast is due in Israel even before the prime minister to pursue this. More trade delegations and the greater presence on the ground in Israel will also help Canadian industry identify and act upon opportunities much more readily than it can today. The interests of the City of Vaughan in establishing a representative office in Israel is showing the way here. Canadian companies looking to gain market advantage through technology and innovation should utilize the various government-backed R&D funds that we have set up and they should also take a much closer look at the NAS- DAQ and other exchanges where established Israeli companies and new IPOs are consistently creating value for shareholders. We need paths to look into ways of leveraging the intense and robust U.S.-Israel science and technology relationship. The close ties we both enjoy with the U.S. should make this possible. There is no doubt also that great mutual advantage is to be gained from Canadian investment and involvement in Israel’s nascent energy stream. Our need for Canadian expertise, experience, and capacities offers concrete opportunities that have yet to be realized. There’s value to be found also in exploring synergies that build upon Canada’s ethnic diversity, to bring Canada into the burgeoning technology partnerships that Israel is building with Third World countries such as India, something we are working on with local community partners here in Toronto.

Similarly in terms of global development and international affairs, Canada and Israel can do much more to extract and leverage the latent value of our shared agendas and respective strengths.

Closer coordination between CIDA, Canada’s international aid agency and Mashav will see us both enhance our impact on developing countries. We can ensure further academic upgrades in student exchanges and collaboration in the sciences and higher education. Closer diplomatic coordination will also bring benefits in important areas such as counter-terrorism. At the bottom line, there are no losers here—only winners. The more we invest in richer exchanges and interaction between us, the more we will all get along.

Mr. President, from its inception, Israel has sought to anchor itself in the international system in both the hardware of institutions and the more fluid software of values, ideas and solutions. This strategy serves to protect against the many dangers and threats we face and as a platform for making our own constructive contribution to the international community. Israel is and always has been a much greater story than the chronicle of our relations with our neighbours. Today, Israel continues to refuse to be limited by what those around us do or think. Our Zionistic thoughts won’t let us be passive, but rather impel us always to act upon history, to work to realize our highest aspirations, our highest Jewish and democratic aspirations and ideas, and it is precisely these qualities, this drive, which makes us so relevant to Canada.

As likeminded, peace-loving, democratic nations wedded to values and institutions, which guarantee and safeguard our freedoms, Israel and Canada share many profound security, political, and diplomatic interests, and as nations whose economic success is directly linked to maintaining our respective competitive edges, it is bordering on negligent if we don’t work harder to harness the synergies and opportunities that reside in the strengths that we both bring to the table. Canada’s prime minister observed just this past Sunday that Israel and Canada share the same values and face the same threats. He is absolutely right. I believe we can all agree that our two societies also share many, many unrealized opportunities to enrich and strengthen each other and in doing so, help fashion a better world for us all.

Thank you.

The appreciation of the meeting was expressed by Verity Sylvester, Director, CV Management, and Past President, The Empire Club of Canada.