 Former President Clinton Addresses ORT Montreal |
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Former U.S. president Bill Clinton was guest speaker to a sold out crowd of 2,600 at Place des Arts in
Montreal on Monday 18 February. The ORT Montreal benefit lecture's proceeds of more than $500,000 will be shared by the Sunflowers project in Israel and a similar project at two other Montreal children's hospitals. This is a new venture for ORT Montreal, whose dollars have traditionally gone directly to ORT schools in Israel, said Emmanuel Kalles, Executive Director of ORT Montreal. Kalles said that he hopes that the new relationships with Montreal institutions and business leaders will make the wider community aware of the remarkable work that ORT does around the world. "It is very exciting to bring together leaders of the Montreal community, who volunteered their time to ensure the success of this event and to raise awareness of the educational and skills training that ORT offers people around the world," Kalles said. The Sunflowers Project, initiated by ORT Israel three years ago, trains students to go into pediatric oncology wards throughout the country to teach young patients the technological skills they are learning at their ORT schools. In a fascinating 45-minute speech, Clinton made an impassioned appeal for a resumption of the Middle East peace process, saying the building blocks are there if the leadership wants to use them. Clinton also said that Western societies can build a better club to beat back the terrorist threat, but the real solution is building a better world that shares with the have-nots. "The United States and Canada can no longer rely on a strategy of prevent, defend and punish," Clinton said in a lengthy analysis of the September 11 terrorist attacks. "What happened September 11 was the dark side of interdependence. We have to do something to make more friends out there. For not much money, we could build a world with more friends and fewer terrorists. For if we live in a world without walls, we simply have no choice but to make it a home for all our children." |
