Who knows where the muse will lead? The original concept for the performance that grew-up to be Israel was a stand-up routine based on my observances of the quirky nature of being a secular Canadian Jew. All of this material was axed in the process of creating Israel. Here's a taste of that earlier vision.

Canada is a great place to be a Jew. You fit right in. The Canadian mentality, the zeitgeist is perfect for Jews, especially in Quebec. Noooooo, I'm not talking about multiculturalism. I'm talking about feeling like a victim, a second-class citizen.

What other nation on earth is in a seemingly never ending debate about its own survival? You couldn't have created a better country for the Jewish psyche if you tried.

And it doesn't get better than in Quebec. There you've got the oppressed people striving to create a nation, to say "YES" to their own destiny and recreate their homeland. And you've got the language issue. Quebecois nationalists and Quebec Jews are psychic brethren.

Then there's the Canadian identity. What is it to be a Canadian? Beavers and the Mounties. No, it's that we're not Americans-unless we want to succeed in music or film in which case we move south, but that's another story. This is the Jewish dream nation. What's a Jew? Yarmulke's, Torah, Passover. Nothing. Let's get down to basics: A Jew is not a Christian. A hell of a lot like a Christian (see the comparison with Canada/U.S.) but not a Christian.

What do Canadians do when they travel overseas? They put Canadian flags on their luggage. Why? Not because of some burning patriotic pride, but to say one very important thing when some really pissed-off mob is approaching: We're not American. It's like the Nazis making Jews wear a yellow Star of David: Not us.

Canada isn't just good for Jews it's great for Jews. Really. Jews have never had it so good. And this is very worrying for many in the Jewish community. Seriously. It's an issue of major concern and hand wringing. The problem? There's never been a better place or time to be a Jew than in Canada today. And this is troubling.

Here's why: There have been three great periods in post-Medieval Jewish history. Spain in the 15 th century. It was wonderful. Christians, Jews and Muslims lived and worked together in an intellectually and culturally heady mix. Then in Europe in the early 19 th century. Huge, vibrant Jewish communities grew in Germany, Poland and throughout Europe. Jews held important academic, professional and business positions. They built beautiful synagogues.

But these are like Matzo crumbs in comparison with Jewish life in Canada today. In Canada today, Jews are the poster kids of success in a multicultural society, their religion legally protected, we're everywhere. And this is the problem, you see?

What happened in Spain? In 1492 Queen Isabel said au revoir to Columbus and then fuck-off to all the Jews and kicked them out of the country. And 19 th century Europe. Like I need to tell you. A wave of pogroms topped off by the rise of Nazism and the Holocaust. Many German Jews stayed in Germany because they were Germans. They just couldn't imagine that German first world war veterans who'd risked getting gassed for the Father Land, would be gassed by their own.

So there's a pattern. Things are really good and then the roof falls in.