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Article: Civil society values that link Canada, Israel and the world.
- Article from:
- Canadian Speeches
- Article date:
- January 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Canadian Speeches. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Ladies and gentlemen, dear family and friends. When I was asked to serve as this year's Negev honouree, my first fleeting thought was that there had been a mistake because I didn't think I was old enough for this tribute.
I accepted, of course, and with excitement and enthusiasm -- how could anyone not feel honoured at the prospect of this communal recognition -- and on reflection, I realized that I am only a little younger now than my father was when he accepted the Negev Dinner Tribute in 1981.
The motto of the University of Toronto is "velut arbor eavo" which means "as grows the tree" with the implication of "so grows the apple." The Yiddish ...