Canada’s Stephen Harper is heading to Israel later this month to visit, among other things presumably, a bird sanctuary named after him. As Ron Csillag reports today,  Harper’s support for Israel is so robust it is considered one of, if not the, greatest foreign policy shift in postwar Canadian history. And it has come at some considerable cost.

What Ron doesn’t report, is that Harper’s love for Israel is so great it moves him to song.

At the Jewish National Fund dinner in Toronto last month, Harper announced his intention to visit Israel in a five-minute speech. That was followed 35 minutes — yes, 35 — of rock music covers performed by Harper and his band Herringbone.

“I know tonight is more than just about support, that this really is a show of affection and of love and I really appreciate that,” Harper said, dressed in a stage-ready all-black ensemble. “And I want to show you a little bit of affection and love in return.”

Thus began a set that one could be forgiven for assuming was Harper exercising his prime ministerial prerogative to force audiences of admirers to endure a half-hour indulgence of his teenage rockstar fantasies. (As someone with a few of those myself, I can fully understand the temptation.)

Seated at an electric piano just feet from a bass drum head festooned with JNF’s logo, Harper belted out  (there is no other word) tunes by the Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly and — in what must have been a nod to his particular audience — Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”

Harper looked to be enjoying himself as he introduced each number with some stage patter. The band even came back for an encore — “Wanna hear one more?” — of the Beatles “Hey Jude.”

This is truly one of those moments I thank God for YouTube.

Enjoy:

Ben Harris is JTA’s news editor. In his seven years with JTA, he has reported from more than 15 countries. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, New York magazine, among other publications.