Diane Weber Bederman

Intolerance in the DNA

Dangerous in a world that is so interconnected-where evil spreads in the blink of an eye, the click of a mouse.

No Signs of Life

Many years ago I visited a patient on my unit whom I had been told was in serious condition and the medical team which included social workers, was trying to decide how to handle her case. She did not appear to have any friends or family. No one visited her. There were no cards, flowers, no balloons or photographs. Nothing. One could say there were no signs of life.

The Answer to Peace in the Middle East

This article was originally published in The Times of Israel I recently had lunch with Dr. Mordechai Kedar from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He had flown into Toronto, Canada, from Israel for a series of speaking engagements and he had to eat lunch-so I joined him. What do you talk about when you have the chance to speak to someone like this? You talk about Israel and the Middle East.

Damage done in the name of shame

My mother told me in my early teens when I was hurt-not the bruised elbows and knees hurt-but the hurts that bruise the soul-that the little hurts make us stronger, prepare us for the truly big hurts. She knew what she was talking about.

One state, two-state-NO STATE for UNRWA

Remember those famous words “he never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity” spoken about Yasser Arafat in 1978 by Abba Eban? Those words echo through time to all who claim they want to see a Palestinian state. Why, to this day, have the Palestinians never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity for a state?

FEMBIZ on the rise thanks to Dalhousie

Now that the tumult over the deaths of 17 people in France-apparently fueled by the “hurt feelings” of some Muslims over cartoons is subsiding, it’s time to return to the serious issue of the “hurt feelings” of the Dalhousie women and their followers caused by the notorious “Class of DDS 2015 Gentlemen.”

Submission: What is the meaning of peace in Islam

Terrorism is in our living rooms, today. We are watching France deal with fear. All the while we hear pundits and every-day people speak about peace in Islam: remind us that Islam is a religion of peace. It is. But the question we fail to ask is "What is the meaning of peace in Islam?"

Dateline:Egypt: Attacks against Christian Copts since June 30 2013.

I'm guessing you didn't hear about this, read about it or see it on television. I didn't this either. I didn't know about these events until I heard about them from my pharmacist-yes my pharmacist-a lovely Egyptian Copt whose pharmacy is in the same small very white Anglo-Saxon rural town near where I live.

Dalhousie Women and Restorative Justice

Girls are nasty. It starts around the age of eight. They form little cliques and always pick on one or two. They often bully. As they get older, their cliques expand. They form cabals. They are more than capable of making the lives of others girls miserable. Lonely. I know. I was once a girl. I am the mother of girls and granddaughters. Nothing has changed.

Mental Illness: The Root Cause of Terrorism?

The other night I came across the 1986 movie “Sword of Gideon,” Israel’s response to the Munich Massacre, 1972. It was written by Canadian George Jonas, now a respected columnist in Canada. I was taken by the last words in the movie.

We Will Remain Undaunted

The terrorist attacks that took place in Canada this past week are an attack on our culture, our way of life, Western civilization. Two of our members in the military were murdered: Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent in Quebec, murdered by Martin Coutrue-Rouleau, a professed Muslim; and the murder by Michael Zeha-Bibeau of Corporal Nathan Cirillo, who was standing guard at the War Memorial in Ottawa, over those unnamed heroes who had given their lives so that we, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, could continue to live in a democracy.

Niqab: Is it an affront to democracy?

Niqab: Is it an affront to democracy?

Feminists call for equality and then scream "unfair"when they get it

As a woman, a mother and grandmother of girls and boys, I am appalled at the attitude, today, of those women who call themselves feminists or liberated and demand that they be more represented in “male” dominated places of work, including government, but are quick to deny responsibility for behavior.

Parents until death -- not divorce -- do us part

We have unfortunately been inundated by nasty news about men. Shameful. There is no excuse for abuse. But, at the same time, let us not let anger toward this behaviour tarnish the importance of men in the lives of their families.

The Normalization of Jew-hatred at Temple University and Around the World

Times of Israel We hear so much today about protecting rights of minorities. But not all minorities. There are 7 billion people in the world, and only 14 million Jews. It seems to me if any group needs protecting it is the Jewish people: the scapegoat for the world’s problems.

Of Good Humour and Dark Pessimism and Consoling Wisdom, with a large Dollop of Humour

“I feel that I am living on the razor’s edge between success and failure, adulation and humiliation-between justifying my existences and revealing my unworthiness to be alive.” Scott Stossel I’ve just read the most unbelievable treatment for anxiety brought on by the imminent approach of speaking in public. It’s the kind of anxiety that grabs the stomach, leaving one buckled over-fearing a gushing -from one end or the other-is about to take place. The treatment is drug based and timed to kick in just when most needed: before that speaking engagement!

Different types of Jihad-including an attack on our economy

Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamed Mahathir told a banking conference in Kuala Lumpur in November 2002 that: "A universal Islamic banking system is a jihad worth pursuing."

Did Robin Williams frighten you?

"So don't be frightened, dear friend, if a sadness confronts you larger than any you have ever known, casting its shadow over all you do. You must think that something is happening within you, and remember that life has not forgotten you; it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall. Why would you want to exclude from your life any uneasiness, any pain, any depression, since you don't know what work they are accomplishing within you?" --The Work Being Accomplished Within You; Letters to a Young Poet August 12 1904 by Rilke

Will that be Qatar or Israel?

Imagine a world where the West is under water and the only places to live are in the Middle East and North Africa. The countries are opening their doors for you. I know that’s a big stretch of one’s imagination but go with me. You will be accorded all the rights and freedoms the citizens of those countries receive. You will be as one with them.

The Devolution of Belgium

Bob Schieffer, of CBS News, recently lamented on the condition of the world. It’s gone mad, he said. Then he quoted Will Durant.