Jerahmiel Samson "Jerry" Grafstein (born January 2, 1935) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and retied politician who served as a Canadian senator from

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

from 1984 to 2010. Grafstein was the longest-serving member of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He served as co-chair of the Canada-

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Inter-Parliamentary Group and as a senior officer of the

Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly for over a decade. He is a former partner of Minden Gross LLP, a business law firm in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario. Grafstein is also known as one of the founders of

CityTV Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...

, MTV-Multilingual (now Omni TV), YTV, and a series of other media companies in Canada, the United States,

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. He served on the board of several enterprises, including

Petro-Canada Petro-Canada (colloquially known as Petro-Can) is a retail and wholesale marketing brand subsidiary of Suncor Energy. Until 1991, it was a federal Crown corporation (a state-owned enterprise). In August 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor En ...

. Most recently, he co-founded a series of online newspapers, including ''The Wellington Street Post'' (Ottawa), ''The Penn Ave Post'' (Washington, DC), ''Israel News Cloud'', ''HollyPost'' (Hollywood, California), ''China News Cloud'', ''Africa News Cloud'', ''Brazil News Cloud'', ''India News Cloud'', ''Russia News Cloud'', ''Fashion News Cloud'', and ''Animation News''. Grafstein is well known for his participation in the community and his key role in the organization of events such as "Canada Loves New York" in the aftermath of September 11, "Toronto Rocks" Concert during the

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the virus SARS-CoV-1, the first identified strain of the SARS-related coronavirus. The first known cases occurred in November 2002, and the ...

outbreak, and the "Canada for Asia"

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...

for relief aid of

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

victims. Grafstein holds numerous awards, including honorary chief of the

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...

and honorary commandant of the

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

by the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. He was named one of Canada's 100 most important "public intellectuals" in 2005 by the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

''.

Early life

Grafstein was born Jerahmiel Samson Grafstein in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, on January 2, 1935, the son of Solomon S. Grafstein and Helen Rose Grafstein (née Bleeman). His late sister was Pauline Wayne. His father came to Canada in 1927 after he had served in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and then the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921). He married in 1930 in Toronto and settled in London that year. Grafstein was raised in London and attended public primary and high schools. He was active in sports, school governance, and acting and served as an officer in the Army Cadets. He completed his undergraduate studies at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

in 1955, where was active in debates and acted in local theatre and musicals.

Legal career

Grafstein graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1955 and from the University of Toronto Law School in 1958. He was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1960. While at law school, he was active in intramural sports at Hart House, debates, and class governance and received the highest standing in

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

. He was a member of the Bar of North West Territories for almost a decade in the 1970s and early 1980s. He lectured in

commercial law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of Legal person, persons and organizations ...

and later instructed in the Bar Admissions Course at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

. He has given lectures to law students on the role of lawyers in civil society. Grafstein is a former partner of Minden Gross LLP, a business law firm in

in communications law, corporate financing and administrative law. He served as chairman of the Media and Communications Law subsection of the Canadian and Ontario Bar Associations. Grafstein was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

by the province of Ontario in 1972. Since his retirement from the Senate on January 2, 2010, Grafstein has served as counsel to Minden Gross LLP in Toronto, a firm he joined in 1960.

Political career

Liberal Party of Canada and Canadian government

Starting in 1961, Grafstein held offices of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

from the riding level to national campaigns. He was active in federal, provincial, and municipal elections for over four decades. He has taken a leading role in mayoralty elections in Toronto since 1960. In 1966, he founded and edited the ''Journal of Liberal Thought''. During 1966-1968 he served in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

as executive assistant to

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposit ...

, then

Registrar General of Canada The registrar general of Canada () is responsible for registering all letters patent, commissions, instruments, proclamations, and any other documents that may, from time to time, be issued under the Great Seal of Canada or the Privy Seal of C ...

, and later as special advisor to the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs during its founding period. From 1974 to 1986, he co-founded and was president of Red Leaf Communications Company, the advertising consortium for the

during national elections. He also served as advisor to the Ministry of Transport and the Canadian International Development Agency of the Department of External Affairs and as a member of the Department of Justice Advisory Committee.

Senate of Canada

In January 1984, Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

appointed Grafstein to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

. He was elected vice-chair of the Toronto Liberal Caucus and served for over two decades. Grafstein was the longest serving member of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, served on the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, and served from time to time on all Senate committees, including Legal and Constitutional Affairs. He served in the Special Senate/Commons Committee in its review of Canada's foreign policy. He was a chairman of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. During his chairmanship, the committee completed twenty reports, including the following special reports: * ''Falling Behind: Answering the Wake-up Call; What can be done to improve Canada’s Productivity Performance?'' * ''The Public Good and Private Funds: The Federal Tax Treatment of Charitable Giving By Individuals and Corporations.'' *''Passports and PASS Cards, Identity and Citizenship: Implementing the WHTI'' * ''Stemming the Flow of Illicit Money: A Priority for Canada: Parliamentary Review of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act'' * ''The Demographic Time Bomb: Mitigating the Effects of Demographic Change in Canada'' * ''Consumer Protection in the Financial Services Sector: The Unfinished Agenda.'' He also initiated the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce special studies on hedge funds and Canada's interprovincial trade barriers. He was a member of the Special Joint Senate and Commons Committee on a Review of Canada's Foreign Policy. He has long advocated national standards for clean drinking water and introduced numerous private member's bills on mapping and safeguarding Canada's fresh water resources. Grafstein was the longest serving co-chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group (the largest inter-parliamentary group in Canada) for 15 years. In that capacity, he advocated Canadian issues to senators, congressmen, state legislators, governors, and Canada-United States border alliances in states and cities across America. Grafstein introduced numerous resolutions and a private member's bill to establish a national portrait gallery in Ottawa, co-sponsored a private member's bill in the Senate establishing Holocaust Memorial Day in Canada in 1998, and introduced a private member's bill that established the Parliamentary Poet Laureate in 2001. He also introduced a private member's bill (Bill 215) to amend the Criminal Code for the explicit inclusion of " suicide bombing" as a definition of terrorism, which became part of the Canadian Criminal Code in 2011. In 1988, he co-chaired the Preparatory Committee for the G7 Economic Summit held in Toronto. On retirement from the Senate in 2010, he received from Parliament the Canadian flag that flew over Parliament (the "Two Week Flag") and from Congress, the

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

that flew over the

US Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

in Washington (the "One Day Flag") in recognition of his political activities in Canada and the United States, respectively.

International affairs

In July 2007, Grafstein was elected vice president of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, the world's largest parliamentary organization dedicated to human rights, democratic rights, economic security and co-operation (after he had served as its treasurer for six years), and served as president of the Liberal, Democratic Reform Group there for a decade. He served as vice chair and chair of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and the Environment. He served on the OSCE election monitoring missions throughout

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

and, more recently, in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, and on resolving "frozen foreign conflicts." He co-sponsored numerous resolutions condemning racism and

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

at the OSCE PA and in the Parliament of Canada. Grafstein co-chaired Middle East Economic Partnership forums held throughout Europe and across the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. In September 2008 he co-hosted the first OSCEPA meeting held in Toronto. Highlights included the Georgian Crisis and a Mediterranean Forum, which he co-chaired. He served on many Parliamentary Friendship Groups in Europe (east and west),

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and

. In the fall of 2007, he was elected vice president of the Canada-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Group. In 2009, he was elected vice chairman of the Canadian Armenian Parliamentary Friendship Group. He served as a member of the International Political Committee for Co-existence between

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. In April 2009, Grafstein helped organize a counter-conference in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the follow-up UN Human Rights Conference on Durban, held in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, to combat antisemitism and lectured on the topic across Europe, Canada, and the United States. He co-sponsored numerous successful resolutions at the OSCE PA meetings across Western and Eastern Europe against racism and antisemitism. In May 2009, while he was a senator, he helped organize and was a keynote speaker at the OSCE PA Economic Conference in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Grafstein served as a member of Canada/Germany

Atlantik-Brücke Atlantik-Brücke (, ''Atlantic Bridge'') is a private non-profit association to Lobbying, promote German-American understanding and Atlanticism. Founded in Hamburg in 1952, it was located in Bonn between 1983 and 1999 and is now located in Berl ...

for over a decade. He is currently first vice-president of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians.

Business career

Grafstein had wide-ranging legal and business experience in all aspects of media, including television, cable, radio, telephony, telecommunications microwave, high speed wireless data transmission, advertising, production, distribution, publishing, and financing. From 1979 to 1984, he served on the board of

, was a member of the Northwest Territorial Bar, and served as counsel to Northwest Territorial Airways for almost a decade. He then traveled across the far north extensively. He was a co-founder of a range of media companies, especially broadcasting/communications/ publication enterprises, including: CUC Broadcasting Limited (Canada's fifth largest cable MSO before it was acquired by

Shaw Communications Shaw Communications Inc. was a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian telecommunication, telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Televisio ...

in 1995, now Canada's second largest cable MSO); national specialty TV channels in lifestyle, youth (YTV) and music; CityTV (Canada's first independent

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...

station);

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

Television (Toronto) (Canada's first independent multilingual broadcasting station – now OMNI TV); CUC Cablevision (UK) Limited ( Telecential) (now part of one of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's larger cable MSOs); Northern Communications, Ontario a Northern Ontario Company, comprising cable, TV (

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

and CTV) and radio stations – French and English. He co-founded one of the longest private microwave companies in Canada that ran from Windsor to Toronto to mid-Northern Ontario, Canbras Communications Corporation, (now part of Brazil's third largest cable MSO); and Multivision Communications Corp. (Bolivia's largest MMDS Hyper Cable and cable MSO). He served on the board of Ukraine Enterprise Corporation, which made early investments in

. He was also a lead director of Toronto Life Publishing Company Limited, which published ''

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...

'' (after it merged with Toronto Calendar) and ''Toronto Life Fashion'', two of Canada's leading lifestyle and fashion magazines, and co-founded Toronto Life Fashion File, which is now seen on television around the world. In addition, he served as a governor of the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...

and, for over a decade, was the chairman and a board member of the O'Keefe Centre (now " Sony Centre for the Performing Arts"), Canada's largest public performing arts centre. He served on the board of the

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a Charitable organization, Charitable theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America, second only to Canada's Strat ...

(Canada's leading theatrical festival dedicated to the works of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

and his contemporary playwrights), the planning committee of the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...

(Canada's leading theatrical festival dedicated to the plays of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

), and the Festival of Festivals (now the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

). He served as chairman of the City of Toronto Asia/Pacific Committee and vice-chairman of the Toronto-

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

Association and Toronto-

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Friendship Association. In 2011 and 2012, he cofounded and currently serves as chair of ''The Wellington Street Post'', ''The Penn Ave Post'', ''Israel News Cloud'' and ''HollyPost'', in a network of online 24/7 news sites around the globe. Those news sites use technology to bring together the diversity of the blogosphere and social networks into timely news and information coverage of political news from

and Washington, and entertainment news from

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. Other international projects include ''China News Cloud'', ''Africa News Cloud'', ''Brazil News Cloud'', ''India News Cloud'' and ''Russia News Cloud''. 2013 additions to the network include ''Fashion News Cloud'' and ''Animation News''.

Community

For over a decade, Grafstein served on the Board of the League for Human Rights of

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International ( ; from ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit Jewish service organization and was formerly a cultural association for German Jewish immigrants to the United States. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the se ...

and the Joint Community Relations Committee of Toronto in the 1960s and 1970s. He served as co-chairman of Toronto Committee for the

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an Intergovernmentalism, intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non- ...

Economic Summit in Toronto in 1988. He served as a member of the executive for the Toronto 1996 and 2008 Olympic Bid Committees. In 1998, the Grafstein Annual Lecture in Communications was established by Grafstein to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his graduation from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Faculty of Law and the 10th anniversary of the graduation of his son, Laurence Grafstein, and daughter-in-law, Rebecca Grafstein (née Weatherhead), both from the Class of 1988. The Grafstein Lecture is hosted by the Centre for Innovation Law and Policy at the Faculty of Law. He and his wife, Carole, established the Grafstein Chair in Jewish Philosophy at the University of Toronto the following year. Grafstein co-organized "Canada Loves New York" in November 2001, when over 26,000 Canadians visited New York City after September 11, to assist New York City's recovery, which was called "the largest peaceful invasion of Canadians since the War of 1812." In 2001, Grafstein was given the War Chief's tomahawk of the Northern Peigan Tribe (

Blackfoot Confederacy The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'', or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or "Blackfoot language, Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up ...

) of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

for advancing the cause of clean drinking water on First Nations' Reserves across Canada. On April 4, 2003, Grafstein co-organized, with Friends of America, a pro-Ametican rally at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto with over 1,000 participants. In July 2003, he co-created and co-organized "Toronto Rocks" to offset the negative impact on Toronto in the global media as a result of the

outbreak. Headlined by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, it is considered to be the largest ticketed band concert in history and was attended by almost half-a-million people. In December 2004, Grafstein co-organized "Canada for Asia", a three-hour broadcast telethon in aid of relief for tsunami victims that raised over $15,000,000. On August 5, 2014, Grafstein led more than 500 Canadians, including five Members of Parliament and a senator, on a solidarity mission to Jerusalem.

Awards and honours

In 1992, Grafstein was the recipient of the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal. In December 1996, he was named the "Man of the Year" by the

Chabad Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a Hasidic dynasty, dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi Judaism, Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasi ...

of Ontario. In 2002, Grafstein was the recipient of the

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal () or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was ...

. In 2003, Grafstein was honoured by the Canadian Society of New York for his dedication to strengthening ties between Canada and the United States. As a senator, he was made an honorary chief of the

and an honorary commandant of the

by the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. On November 4, 2005, he was named one of Canada's 100 most important "Public Intellectuals" by the ''

'' in its series "Beautiful Minds." On November 12, 2005 he was made a Duke of Friulani, Italy (Ducato dei Vini Friulani). In November 2010, the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University (CFHU) created The Honourable Jerry and Carole Grafstein Network for Cancer Research at the

Institute For Medical Research, Israel-Canada Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada (IMRIC) is a research institute affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. History The Institute for Medical Research was founded in 2008. It conducts fundamental ...

(IMRIC), part of the Faculty of Medicine of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

. Later in 2011, the CFHU named him "Man of the Year" in Toronto. On November 27, 2011, he was installed as honorary chairman of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Yeshiva & Rabbinical School, University of Toronto, at its inaugural convocation, the first such rabbinical school of its kind in Canada. On July 7, 2014, Grafstein was honoured by Chief Ron Cooper of the

Mohawk Nation The Mohawk, also known by their own name, (), are an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people of North America and the easternmost nation of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the Five Nations or later the ...

and presented with a handcrafted

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

stick. Grafstein is the president and chairman of the National Board for the Canadian Friends of the Tel Aviv University and a governor of Tel Aviv University.

Author

Grafstein has written numerous articles and delivered papers on broadcasting regulations; communications; computers; travel; international relations; technology; transportation, politics; international trade; and constitutional matters in Canada, the United States, and Europe. He has written articles on key aspects of the public life of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. His first book, ''Beyond Imagination'', is an anthology of some of Canada's outstanding authors and poets that he edited; it published by McClelland & Stewart Inc. in 1995. His second book, ''The Making of the Parliamentary Poet Laureate : Based on a Private Member's Bill '', was published by the Porcupine's Quill. He co-authored his third book, ''The Passage Through Parliament to Establish Holocaust Memorial Day'', in Canada in 2004. His fourth book, ''Suicide Bombings: Parliament Speaks'', is the parliamentary history of Bill 215, an Act to amend the Criminal Code (Suicide Bombing) and was published in 2012.

Personal life

Grafstein is married to Carole (née Sniderman), a community activist, a volunteer leader, a leading fundraiser for cancer research across Canada, and a member of the Order of Canada. They have two sons: Laurence and Michael. Laurence Grafstein was a Rhodes Scholar and president of the Oxford Union and is now a New York investment banker married to Rebecca (née Weatherhead) from

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, a member of the Ontario and New York Bars.

References

External links

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Liberal Senate Forum TRIBUTE TO CANADIAN SENATOR JERAHMIEL 'JERRY' GRAFSTEIN ON THE RETIREMENT OF SENATOR JERAHMIEL ‘JERRY’ GRAFSTEIN OF CANADA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grafstein, Jerry 1935 births Canadian political consultants Canadian political fundraisers Canadian senators from Ontario Canadian television executives Jewish Canadian politicians Lawyers in Ontario Liberal Party of Canada senators Living people Politicians from London, Ontario University of Toronto alumni University of Western Ontario alumni Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Canadian King's Counsel 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada