Harper will announce at the dinner he finally intends to make his maiden voyage to Israel, a country whose hardline prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, gushes openly with public affection for the friend he simply likes to call „Stephen.“

Sunday night‘s tribute will also be about money. On this evening, the love for Harper will be in measurable in cold hard cash — the Jewish National Fund‘s Canadian chapter plans to announce the tally of a fundraising effort to build a bird sanctuary in Israel to be named after the prime minister himself.