“Unusual In Every Way” Looks At Friendship, Resilience, And Love For Israel 

Q: Jews in Israel also suffer from trauma and stress due to continued war and terrorism, yet the country is thriving.   In your estimation, how can the Israeli experience provide tools to assist aboriginal communities to move forward?

Prof. Dreman: Jews who have experienced the Holocaust have used the trauma and horrors of these events to utilize what psychologists call Post Traumatic Growth and instead of developing a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder leading to psychological deterioration, have used the survival energies precipitated by the Holocaust to develop the flourishing and productive State of Israel. The aboriginal community might also through education and good leadership learn to turn the negative energy emanating from their ongoing frustration and anxiety into productive channels transforming them into a more productive and influential social unit in Canada.

Q: Many in the Jewish community in Canada are concerned about whether our leadership is capable of ensuring good relations with indigenous leadership, particularly at a time when so many First Nations members are radicalized by the progressive left to see Israel as a “colonialist project” of “white supremacy”. What should Jewish leadership be doing to counter the anti- Israeli rhetoric in Canada that indigenous people may identify with?

Prof. Dreman: Jewish leaders in Canada must emphasize how Israel has also made great efforts to assist Arab citizens living in Israel providing numerous opportunities in academia, the legal profession, high tech and other fields of endeavor. For example at Ben Gurion University where I taught, special scholarships were given to Bedouin female students for tuition and also for other expenses since they were perceived as instruments of social  and attitude change in the Bedouin family.

Q: In your story in TheJ.ca in September 2020, you wrote: “On a personal note, I have always had a profound interest in people. In fact, my Master’s and Doctoral theses were on the subject of “Altruism” – which perhaps reflects my own penchant for giving and living. I told Don that I planned to invite him to come to Israel, all expenses paid. In February, 2018, Don arrived.”

Is altruism eroding in our society (referring to the spirit of giving to help others with no conditions attached)?

Prof. Dreman: Although in many ways the younger generation has become a ‘me first’ generation, in Israel where survival is always on the line, the spirit of cooperation and unconditional giving is a survival mode with people giving their lives selflessly on the battlefield, in organ transplants, and many other areas of selfless reaching out to others to ensure the survival needs of this young nation state.

Don Barnard has had a difficult time in his personal journey to healing. As he says near the end of the documentary, he has his good days and his bad days – and he never knows when his disabilities will cause him to have a meltdown. Can you tell us how he is coping now and to what degree this film may have assisted in his recovery?

Prof. Dreman: Don still has his ups and downs but he is doing remarkably well these days as a videographer, film director, actor and many other areas of endeavor. Don is on the autistic spectrum as well as suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and has a genius IQ of 167 so those all factor into his recovery. My wife Orly and myself have in his eyes been his adoptive parents and on Mother’s Day he even refers to Orly as his favorite adopted mom. I am also in constant contact with him by Messenger Video and he views me as the father he never had.