(photo from Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver)
The JWest project recently announced two significant milestones in its journey from vision to reality: the implementation of a new governance structure that will serve the project moving forward, and a $5 million founder-level gift from the Cristall family.
JWest represents the Jewish community’s most ambitious capital endeavour undertaken in Western Canada. It is the result of three community institutions – the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and King David High School – envisioning a community hub that would be bigger and serve more people than any one institution alone.
What began as a partnership between these three founding partners has now evolved into two formal boards: the JWest Foundation and the JWest Development Corp. These bodies will provide independent expert oversight of the project and work in the long-term interests of the community as they relate to JWest.
Both boards boast key leaders from the community, who represent the three founding partner organizations, as well as members at large who bring expertise in the fields of governance, fundraising, real estate development and finance.
The JWest Foundation, a charitable organization, will provide financial oversight of the project’s costs and revenue. The JWest Development Corp. will manage the construction of the campus, including the new JCC, KDHS space and residential towers, and the ongoing maintenance of the future campus.
“Stepping into the leadership role for the JWest Foundation is a privilege,” said Bill Levine. “Our dedication to this project marks a significant step forward. Together, we’re shaping the future of our community while upholding our treasured value of building for those who come after us.”
Bringing decades of experience in fundraising, governance and strategic planning from having served on multiple boards, the JWest Foundation includes Alex Cristall, Diane Friedman, Hodie Kahn, Lana Marks Pulver, Diane Switzer and Alvin Wasserman.
On the JWest Development Corp. board, Jewish community members with significant real estate, finance and community development expertise, including Andrew Abramowich, Chris Andison, Michael Berkson, Alfonso Ergas, Phil Gertsman, Geoff Glotman, Mark Gurvis, Lana Marks Pulver and Lawrence Zimmering, will work with Vancouver real estate developer David Porte, who has taken on the role of chair.
“JWest is going to be the heart of the community and the expanding Oakridge neighbourhood, with amenities to benefit everyone across Metro Vancouver,” said Porte. “The JWest Development Corp. has been entrusted to help drive the project forward, and I am honoured to work with extraordinary leaders to bring JWest to life and ensure its success.”
The two-phase redevelopment project on 41st Avenue and Oak Street begins with a new state-of-the-art JCC that will include an expanded Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, a new gymnasium for KDHS and a home for more than 20 not-for-profit organizations. Once complete, construction of a new King David High School will begin and include classroom spaces and an outdoor playing field. The final addition to the campus will be two towers of rental housing to serve the region.
The Cristall Family, who were early donors to the project, were pleased to see the new governance boards established. As a family, they have supported multiple capital campaigns, and understand the complexities inherent in projects of this scale.
“Jewish institutions have always been important for our community,” said Alex Cristall. “They provide a safe place to gather across generations and, in the case of JWest, a place to invite others to share in our culture and traditions. Our family sees this as our opportunity to build for our children and for the future of our city.”
JWest is grateful to the Cristall family – Lorne z’l and Sylvia Cristall, Alex, Jodi, Sydney, Tyler and Andrew Cristall, Jodi Cristall and Paul Diamond, Jackie Cristall Morris, Gary Morris, Justin and Ashley Morris – for their founder-level gift to the capital campaign.
Amy Chodos, a Grade 4 student from Vancouver Talmud Torah, was chosen as the winner of ADI’s fourth annual Make the Change Challenge. (photo from ADI)
In its fourth year, ADI’s Make the Change Challenge STEM accessible design contest drew more than 254 entries from students across North America, but Vancouverite Amy Chodos secured the contest’s $1,000 grand prize by envisioning a simple application that can make the world a more accessible place for people struggling with ADHD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Run by ADI (adi-israel.org), Israel’s network of specialized rehabilitative care for those touched by and living with disability, to mark Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (#JDAIM) in February, the contest promotes “selfless STEM” and encourages students to hack the modern world to help people with disabilities overcome the challenges that hinder their independence and inclusion.
Chodos, a fourth-grade student from Vancouver Talmud Torah, drew from her own challenges in the classroom to conceive of the Step-O-Maker, an app that uses artificial intelligence to record complex spoken instructions and then break them down into easy-to-follow checklists that can guide students through an entire process.
“As someone with ADHD, I find that starting tasks is often overwhelming, and I need help to understand where to begin. My mother teaches children with hearing loss, and I realized that an app like this could also help her students in the classroom,” explained Chodos. “I wanted to create something that could help a lot of people by making listening and understanding easier in class and making learning more fun and enjoyable.”
Instead of developing prototypes, contest entrants were asked to prepare compelling presentations that clearly explain how the original solutions they are envisioning would solve the persistent accessibility issues they choose to tackle. Chodos prepared a PowerPoint presentation that clearly explained her challenges and brought her inspired solution to life.
“Year after year, our ADI Bechinuch (ADI in Education) disability inclusion programming spotlights the inaccessibility of our world and our communal responsibility to make a change,” said Elie Klein, ADI’s director of development for the United States and Canada. “From November through February, students from our partner schools across North America become true agents of change while researching and developing original accessible design ideas in order to participate in our STEM contest, and the results are always awe-inspiring.
“We are so impressed by Amy’s poise and creativity, and the brilliant simplicity of her idea,” continued Klein. “But it’s clear to me that this exceptional young inventor always saw beyond the contest. At just 9 years old, Amy is on a mission; she genuinely wants to see this app developed so it can start to help people. This kind of leadership is what ADI Bechinuch is all about.”
More than 40 Jewish schools across North America used the ADI Bechinuch programming this year, employing the in-class activities, virtual tours and STEM contest to encourage the next generation of Jewish leaders to see the world through the eyes of others.
On Feb. 25, ADI’s panel of experts, including members of ADI’s professional staff, innovation journalists and specialists in the field of accessible design, met with the contest’s top-five finalists and their parents and teachers via Zoom to discuss the entries in greater detail. Following an uplifting discussion, the proceedings concluded with Amy Chodos being chosen as the contest winner and presented with the $1,000 prize, a gift from the Avraham and Esther Klein Young Entrepreneurs Fund.
Louis Brier Home and Hospital and Weinberg Residence (LBHH&WR) has officially been recognized as a 2023 Nonprofit Employer of Choice (NEOC) Award Recipient for its commitment to providing an exceptional work life experience for its employees.
“I am so proud and grateful for us to have received this recognition award, now four years in a row, from 2020 to 2023. It’s incredible how much our work culture has improved over the last four years,” said Loren Tisdelle, director of human resources in a special announcement held during the organization’s monthly Louis Brier LIFE Day. “The ‘Louis Brier LIFE’ is felt as soon as you walk into the building. Every year, we offer new and exciting programs while improving upon our current engagement initiatives. Last year, we launched Take Our Kids to Work Day and a masquerade ball, which were enormous successes. Engagement, inclusion and appreciation continue to be hallmarks of our work life at LBHH&WR.
“This is our award. Each and every employee makes LHBB&WR what it is today,” said Tisdelle. “We all come to work to make a difference, we actively engage in work life and, as a community, we make working at LBHH&WR a second-to-none employment experience.”
The LBHH&WR leadership team and its board of directors recognize the contributions and impact of its employees towards achieving the organization’s mission and vision to become a centre of excellence. It is through their hard work and dedication that the organization continues to make a positive impact on residents and families while upholding the positive reputation LBHH&WR has as a home and an employer.
More information about the NEOC Awards can be found at neoc.ca.
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On April 2, just as National Autism Acceptance Month begins, Rowman & Littlefield will release the paperback edition of the multi-award-winning parenting and travel guide Traveling Different: Vacation Strategies for Parents of the Anxious, the Inflexible and the Neurodiverse by Dawn M. Barclay.
In 2023,the hardcover and e-book edition won the Lowell Thomas Gold Award (guidebook category) from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, garnered first prize in the Maxy Awards (inspirational/self-help category), was a finalist in the Best Indie Book Awards in both the travel and parenting categories, and won honourable mention in ASJA Arlene Awards for Books that Make a Difference. Traveling Different also received a starred review in August 2022 from Library Journal, who called the book “an essential read, not only for parents of autistic or otherwise neurodivergent children but for all families.”
In Traveling Different, Barclay presents travel strategies and anecdotes from a range of sources. The heart of the book outlines suggested itineraries for spectrum families as well as venues that cater to the unique special interests that are characteristic of individuals with invisible disabilities, culminating with a guide of travel agents who specialize in special needs travel and lists of organizations that advocate for special needs families. (For more on the book, see jewishindependent.ca/invest-the-time-to-prepare.)
“I’m thrilled the book will now be available in paperback, which makes it more affordable for all families,” said Barclay, who has appeared on close to 100 podcasts and interviews on video, radio and television since the book’s initial launch. Barclay prints updates on her Traveling Different website (travelingdifferent.com), as well as exclusive content on medium.com.
הקבלן היהודי קנדי ממוצא איראני סם מזרחי לא ימשיך לבנות את המגדל הגבוה ביותר בקנדה הנקרא “האחד”, הממוקם בצומת הרחובות יאנג ובלור בטורונטו. הפרויקט נמצא בחובות של קרוב לשני מיליארד דולר ולכן הושט עליו הליך של כינוס נכסים מאז חודש אוקטובר אשתקד, בניהול חברת אלברז ומרשל
“האחד” שיכלול שמונים וחמש קומות (בגובה שלוש מאות עשרים ושמונה מטרים) היה לעלות כמיליארד דולר. דחיות בבניית הפרויקט שהעלויות להקמתו הוכפלו לשני מילארד דולר, וחוסר שביעות רצון מצד בעלי ההלוואות ובעיקר בנק גדול בדרום קוריאה, הביאו אותו לכינוס נכסים. כונסת הנכסים אלברז ומרשל שמונתה על ידי בית המשפט העליון של מחוז אונטריו, הודיעה כי החל מהחודש (מרץ) מזרחי והחברות שבבעלותו, לא יהיה מעורבים עוד בבניית הפרויקט
במשך שנים הופצו שמועות על הפרויקט היוקרתי הזה “האחד” שהעבודות להקמתו החלו כבר לפני כעשר שנים. יש לזכור שהוא ממוקם בצומת החשובה והיוקרתית ביותר בדאון טאון טורונטו בצמוד לשכונת יורקוויל היוקרתית. משרד האדריכלים הבריטי פוסטר ושות’ נשכר לתכנן את הבניין. רבים תהו איך בכלל יכול קבלן בסדר גודל כמו מזרחי לבנות פרוייקט כל כך גדול. אגב מזרחי השקיע כשלוש מאות מיליון דולר ברכישת מגרש עליו נבנה “האחד”. הרבה תקלות ליוו את תחילת הפרויקט כולל עיכובים בבנייה, חריגות גדולות בעלויות הבנייה, תלונות על רעש, כשלים במתן היתרי בנייה, בעיות מימון ופירוק שותפויות. במקור הפרויקט היה אמור להסתיים לפני כשנתיים, אך בפועל עד כה נבנו רק ארבעים הקומות הראשונות. מזרחי עצמו מאמין שדרושות עוד כשלוש שנים לסיום הבנייה של מגדל המגורים היוקרתי. הוא הוסיף כי כונסת הנכסים חייבת לו כחמישה מיליון דולר עבור עמלות שונות שלא שולמו עד כה. מזרחי אמר לעובדי הפרויקט באסיפת פרידה מהבניין, כי עכשיו זה יהיה קל יותר עבור הקבלן שיחליף אותו לסיים את הבנייה, לאחר כל הקשיים הרבים שבהם הוא נתקל בהם מאז תחילת העבודות. למזרחי יש מעט חרטות על מה שקרה לפרוייקט שהוא ניסה לבנות במשך שנים ללא הצלחה. לדבריו במבט לאחר הוא היה עושה את אותו הדבר
“האחד” יכלול לכלול מסעדות וחנויות מפוארות בהן חנות ענקית של “אפל” שתתפרש על פני שלוש קומות בשטח של כולל של כחמישה עשר אלף סקוור פיט. “אפל” תבעו לא מכבר את מזרחי על הדחייה בעבודות להקמת הבניין והחנות שלהם, והם דורשים ממנו שבעה מיליון דולר על הנזקים שנגרמו לחברה. הבניין יכלול ארבע קומות של חנייה תת קרקעית. חמש עשרה הקומות הראשונות במגדל מיועדות עבור מלון היאט היוקרתי. ואילו קומות המגורים שמעליו יכללו ארבע מאות ושש עשרה יחידות דיור מפוארות. ובהן ארבעה פנטהאוזים
סם מזרחי נולד בטהרן באלף תשע מאות שבעים ואחד. בשנת שבעים ושש המשפחה ביקרה במונטריאול כדי לצפות באולימפיאדה. ביקור זה הביא את המשפחה בן ששת הנפשות לעבור שנה לאחר מכן לקנדה, כאשר סם היה בן שש. מאז המשפחה גרה באזור טורונטו. בתחילה מזרחי החזיק ברשת של מכבסות. לאחר מכן הוא עבר לבנייה והקים פרוייקטים שונים בטורונטו והסביבה
מזרחי נחשב לתומך גדול של ישראל והוא אף פעיל בארגון הגג של הפדרציות היהודיות בקנדה. הוא נמנה על האחראים והפעילים של הצעדה השנתית בטורונטו עבור תמיכה בישראל. מזרחי נמנה גם על חברי הנאמנים של ארגון הידידים של המרכז ללימודי השואה סימון ויזנטל
On March 3, many stories of heroism were shared at the weekly rally for Israeli hostages, of whom 13 are women, still being held by Hamas. The gathering marked International Women’s Day, which takes place on March 8. (photo by Pat Johnson)
On Oct. 7, Amit Mann, a 22-year-old paramedic, spent six hours treating the wounded and dying in a dental clinic on Kibbutz Be’eri.
“Six hours during which she did not stop treating the wounded, six hours during which she did not lose hope,” recounted Ruth Jankelowitz at the weekly rally for Israeli hostages March 3. “Amit Mann, a Magen David Adom paramedic, treated the wounded at Kibbutz Be’eri with her dedication and heroism with the sounds of gunfire all around her and the threatening voices of the murderers getting closer. Together with a nurse and a dentist … she tried to do everything to save everybody as she had done since she was 13, until the bullets of the vile terrorists hit her, too.”
Mann’s tragic story of heroism was one of numerous shared at the gathering Sunday, marking International Women’s Day, March 8, where speakers called for the release of all the hostages, including 13 women still being held.
Ofra Sixto, owner of Ofra’s Kitchen restaurant, whose pro-Israel activism in recent months has attracted threats and intimidation, led a moment of silence for female victims of Oct. 7.
“The world is angry when women are being raped, abused, disrespected and brutally murdered by men – unless they are Jewish women,” she said. “Then the world is silent, complacent and, at the time, had the audacity to question the acts.
“What gets me the most is the young and old women that support Hamas, knowing what they know of how they treat women in general and our women in particular,” Sixto said. “It’s beyond me.”
Masha Kleiner, an Israeli-Canadian who co-founded NOAH, Nonviolent Opposition Against Hate, said that, for every Jew, “Oct. 7 is absolutely personal.”
“Each and every single one of us knows it could have been me who was tortured and kidnapped and killed,” she said. “I am selfishly lucky that nobody I personally know was killed or kidnapped on Oct. 7, but many of our tribe have been, so this is a personal loss for every one of us.”
Jews worldwide are grieving the loss of life, she said, but Jews lost something else that day and in the months since, she said.
“One other thing that we are all grieving in the post-Oct. 7 world is our illusions, the illusion that the world around us is safe and sane and friendly,” she said. “We grieve, and this grief can be lonely because some people that we considered friends chose to keep their distance and some of them turned their backs on us. But, while this happens, we become so much closer to the people who do have the moral clarity and the courage to stand with us.”
Mirit Murad – an Israeli who came to Vancouver two decades ago and has two nieces, Gal Klein and Ofek Elias, serving as reservists since the onset of the war – urged people to take time on International Women’s Day to honour and celebrate Israeli women, both civilians and soldiers.
“These women are demonstrating unparalleled strength, resilience, resourcefulness, bravery, intellect and protective instincts,” she said. “They embody the very essence of courage, never hesitating to leap into action or shield others from harm.”
The week’s rally took place at Jack Poole Plaza, rather than the usual location at the Vancouver Art Gallery because that space was provided to organizers of Vancouver’s International Women’s Day event.
That event’s theme was Palestinian women and featured images of “activists” including Fatima Bernawi, Ahed Tamimi and others.
Bernawi served a decade in Israeli prisons after planting a bomb in a Jerusalem movie theatre in 1967, which was discovered before detonation. Tamimi is something of a social media star, a young woman who came to prominence as a 16-year-old when a video of her assaulting an Israeli soldier in 2017 went viral. After the Oct. 7 attacks, Tamimi wrote on social media: “We will slaughter you and you will say that what Hitler did to you was a joke, we will drink your blood and eat your skulls.”
“These women are arbiters of Palestinian resistance who advocated for the rights and freedoms of Palestinian people and are continuing to do so every day,” organizers of the Vancouver IWD event said in a statement.
“International Women’s Day belongs to everyone, everywhere,” said Daphna Kedem, organizer of the weekly vigils. “Where are you, women’s organizations? Believe Israeli women. Release our women.”
Israeli women among the hostages still being held by Hamas
Amanda Alvaro, left, and Rachael Segal cohost the podcast Beyond a Ballot, on which they will interview former BC premier Christy Clark live on stage at the Waterfront Theatre on March 25. (photo from NCJW)
International Women’s Day is marked today, March 8, and this month one of Canada’s oldest women’s organizations is partnering with a new female-focused startup to encourage greater engagement with politics.
National Council of Jewish Women, Vancouver branch, is holding a special event March 25 with Beyond a Ballot. The social enterprise launched by Rachael Segal, a Vancouver woman with extensive experience in politics and broadcast journalism, aims to encourage women to get more informed and involved in politics at every level. Segal is cohost of the Beyond a Ballot podcast, which will be recorded in front of a live audience for the first time at this month’s event. She and Amanda Alvaro will interview former BC premier Christy Clark on stage at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island.
The collaboration between one of Canada’s oldest Jewish women’s groups and one of the newest innovations on the Canadian political scene is a product of the friendship between Segal and Jordana Corenblum, Vancouver chapter president of National Council.
Corenblum took over less than two years ago as president of the local section of NCJW, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year. The chapter is in the process of a major generational shift, she said, and partnering with a new female-focused organization on a live podcast fit the group’s vision. It is also a consequence of their personal connection.
Corenblum’s first job out of university was as a youth director at Congregation Beth Israel, where she met a 14-year-old Segal. They have remained tight ever since.
Corenblum, who is a career youth worker, said she had been urging Segal for some time to create something that educates and encourages women to get more involved in politics. With
Segal launching Beyond a Ballot last year and Corenblum taking over the local branch of National Council, a partnership was a cinch.
Segal holds a master’s in law and worked on Parliament Hill with Conservative members of Parliament, ministers and senators. She has extensive broadcast experience in TV and radio and is a commentator on CBC’s Power and Politics. During her undergraduate studies at the University of Victoria, she was president of the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students and she has worked with the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee. She has served as senior director of the BC Liberal party.
Segal’s podcast cohost, Alvaro, who lives in Toronto, runs a communications agency and has also worked as a political advisor for provincial and federal Liberals. She is a regular commentator on CBC TV’s Power and Politics and appears regularly in national print media.
“For a generation, we’ve been talking about putting your name on the ballot,” Segal said. “We need more women in the Legislature. We need more women in the House [of Commons]. But nobody was ever talking to the women who didn’t want to put their name on the ballot, [who] just wanted to be more engaged. I decided to launch this company, which uses media product, educational product and the building of community to try to talk to women differently about politics.
“My goal is for every woman in Canada to have a daily touch point with politics, whether that means having a conversation with your girlfriends, talking to your kids about something in the news, reading a news story or maybe that means deciding to run,” she said.
The podcast has been “astronomically successful, beyond belief,” Segal said. “Amanda and I put hours and hours a week on it.”
Future plans for Beyond a Ballot include developing a mentorship model that allows women to engage in smaller, more intimate groups, and hosting national conferences to give a platform to women in politics.
“Nothing like that exists right now in this country,” she said.
Beyond a Ballot is all about multi-partisanship and that comes through in the podcast.
“We don’t care what your position is, just that you have one,” said Segal. “Amanda is from the Liberal side, I’m from the Conservative side, but we have a really interesting conversation, where it is not divisive. We don’t go after people based on their political positions. It’s really about education above all else.”
While Segal started Beyond a Ballot from scratch last year, Corenblum took over as the new face of an established organization already in progress.
The Jewish community has a long history of women’s philanthropic and leadership organizations, which have had huge impacts over more than a century. Social changes – not least the increase in women working outside the home in the past several generations – have had an impact on these groups. Moreover, as happens in any volunteer agency, leaders burn out or simply weary of the commitment.
Local leaders approached Corenblum, who had not been involved previously, and urged her to take a role.
“The people who had been involved in the leadership for decades were all stepping back,” said Corenblum. “They were looking to the next generation and courting me and my friends and really flattered us and said, we need you young people to be involved. When you’re in your mid-40s and somebody’s calling you young, it’s flattering. We’ll listen to anything they have to say.”
The relevance of National Council, she said, has not diminished, as there is backsliding on some of the issues facing women. More than many other women’s groups of longstanding, NCJW has always been deeply engaged in political issues, she said.
“I think there’s a lot of overlap between this vast array of Jewish women’s groups,” she said. “The unique piece about National Council is that it is specifically focused on social justice work. They have a long history of being involved in political advocacy.… The entire focus of the organization is about social justice and engagement of women in tikkun olam.”
Corenblum and the mix of new and experienced local leaders are conscious of the embarrassment of riches the Jewish community has in terms of organizations doing good works.
“There doesn’t need to be another organization that is doing programming,” she said. “We don’t need to get in and continue to offer more, because our community has so much to offer. What we really want to focus on is collaboration with organizations that are doing work or have values that are aligned with ours and doing things with them and supporting them in their work.”
One new NCJW initiative is working with Jewish Family Services on a garden-to-table project where they join with families planting vegetables in a community garden, then nurturing and harvesting the produce and cooking healthy meals.
Ideas sometimes fall into their laps. A thread on an online Vancouver Jewish moms group indicated that several families were coming to Vancouver from Israel for a respite from the chaos there. People were asking for car seats, warm clothing, highchairs, toys and other needs for families visiting for a few weeks.
“With National Council support, we were able to create a new local program called Warm Welcome,” Corenblum said. Before long, they had more donations than they could handle.
Ongoing projects the group runs include Books for Kids.
“It’s about getting kids books to families and institutions that don’t necessarily have access to new beautiful books for families and children to take pride in,” she said.
In January, as a local part of a national fundraiser, NCJW organized a games day that raised $8,000 in Vancouver alone to support a counseling service in Israel that has been overwhelmed with demand since Oct. 7.
“The thing that I love about this organization is that it so incredibly flexible,” said Corenblum. “People who are doing small projects around BC can apply to us for funding to help with whatever projects that are going on.”
She calls on anybody who has a passion project or is excited about an idea to reach out and make it happen together. “We really want this to be a grassroots organization for things that matter on the micro scale – and sometimes on the macro scale,” she said.
Corenblum acknowledged that her own politics do not mesh with those of the guest at the live taping her group is sponsoring – but that dialogue across divides is precisely the point, she said.
For Segal, Clark is a great get.
“Christy was on our A-list for our dream conversations,” Segal said, “so she very kindly agreed to do this one not only with us, but in person, which is amazing.”
The partnership with NCJW is an opportunity to reach new audiences, Segal added. “They approached us with this idea,” she said. “I think it’s pretty awesome that they’ve recognized the importance of this conversation and they have been incredible partners and hosts for this event.”
Segal said that, as a Jewish woman in the current climate, finding a supportive community is important.
“We saw everything with Selina Robinson on the provincial level, we’ve seen international issues, and I think there’s a lot of women who are feeling like they want to do more,” she said. “Beyond a Ballot aims to provide women with that opportunity. Engaging with us and knowing that you have a community across the country that is here to support whatever issues are important to you, and give you the tools to be a better advocate for your community, is what women across Canada should know about Beyond a Ballot.”
Tickets for the March 25 event, at 7 p.m., are $18 and available online at eventbrite.ca.
“If you’re going to go and engage in Women’s Month events, please consider putting this one on your calendar because it may not be the sexiest of all topics, but it is definitely the one that impacts your life every day,” Segal said.
On Nov. 1, about 200 Jewish students and their supporters engaged in a low-key demonstration at the University of British Columbia, with many holding posters of kidnapped Israelis. Since the terror attacks of Oct. 7 and the start of the Israel-Hamas war, universities and colleges worldwide have been hotbeds of conflict. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Jewish students and their supporters at the University of British Columbia celebrated a victory last week after the student government overwhelmingly rejected motions that critics say were openly antisemitic.
The Alma Mater Society (AMS), which represents UBC students, voted in the early hours of Feb. 29 not to include a number of referendum questions on the ballot during upcoming student elections.
One proposed question accused Israel of genocide and called for an end to UBC’s exchanges with Israeli institutions. It would have also invited students to vote on whether they believe Hillel BC, the organization that has represented Jewish students, faculty and staff at the university since 1947, should be evicted from campus. (Hillel’s lease is with the university and the AMS has no jurisdiction over whether Hillel does or does not remain on campus.) This question was rejected by a vote of 23 to 2.
A second proposed referendum question would have asked students to massively revamp the governing structure of the AMS, adding dozens of additional elected representatives of marginalized groups. The change would have assigned designated groups representation on student government, including the Social Justice Centre, UBC Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, UBC Trans Coalition, Black Student Union, Indigenous students, and the Women’s Centre. Explicitly excluded from representation were Jewish students and groups that represent them. This proposal was rejected 25-0.
Referendum questions can be submitted anonymously, so it is not known from which individuals or groups these proposals emerged, though they had support from the Social Justice Centre, which calls itself “a resource group that works toward progressive social change, inclusivity and equity through a survivor-centric, harm-reduction, radical, feminist, decolonial, anti-oppression framework.”
“I was very pleased and relieved that the AMS leadership chose not to include what I would say are very antisemitic referendum questions on the student voting ballots,” Rob Philipp, executive director of Hillel BC, told the Independent. The intention of the proposed ballot question was to intimidate Jewish students and the vote is a reassurance to Jewish students, he said. “It’s surprising that it took them close to five hours to discuss this. But the vote, in the end, was pretty overwhelming to turn it down, so that was very heartening for us.”
A few hours later, across town at Simon Fraser University, referendum results were announced, with an anti-Israel ballot question receiving overwhelming support. The compendious policy, adopted by the Simon Fraser Student Society in 2022, was put to a vote by the broader student population, endorsing the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign and repeating the boilerplate condemnations of Zionism as “a colonial ideology” bent on “ethnically cleansing the Indigenous population.”
The referendum question passed 1,801-442 and, while the statement of results did not indicate percentage turnout, there are around 40,000 students at SFU. It appears perhaps one in 20 students voted in the elections, in which a new president was elected with a tally of 878 votes.
These are just two of the foremost fires the Jewish community has been attempting to put out on campuses across the province recently. Universities and colleges worldwide have been hotbeds of conflict since the atrocities of Oct. 7 and the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas. Administrators have struggled to balance preservation of free speech with often dangerously inflammatory, sometimes clearly antisemitic expressions. The presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University were forced to resign after their remarks before a congressional hearing late last year were viewed as insufficiently condemnatory of overt calls for violence against Jews.
Philipp emphasized that postsecondary administrators in British Columbia have all been supportive of the Jewish community’s concerns – the administrations are not where the problems are coming from, although they are inevitably placed in the middle of these dramatic conflicts.
At Langara College, a months-long controversy over the fate of Natalie Knight, an English instructor who called the Oct. 7 mass murder of Israeli civilians “an amazing, brilliant offensive,” may not be over. Knight was put on leave while the college undertook an internal investigation. She returned to work, albeit in a non-instructional role, after the investigation determined her comments were “not clearly outside the bounds of protected expression.” She then spoke at a rally on campus, where she declared: “I’ve been reinstated as an instructor with no disciplinary actions, which means we won. It means we won. It means I did nothing wrong.”
Knight was then fired. While not mentioning her by name, the college said that an employee had engaged “in activities contrary to the expectations laid out by the college and as a result this employee is no longer an employee.” Her union has taken up her case.
Philipp commended Langara’s president, Dr. Paula Burns, for her leadership.
At Emily Carr University of Art and Design, some instructors have encouraged students to leave classes to attend pro-Palestinian rallies, and what Philipp calls “very, very aggressive posters” have appeared on campus. Hillel has been in conversation with administrators there.
“They understand the issue and they are in process right now of making changes to help protect the student body,” said Philipp.
“All our relationships are pretty strong,” he said of administrators at the many institutions at which Hillel BC has a presence, adding that he was recently in Victoria and had dinner with the president of the University of Victoria.
“These administrators,” he said, “are encountering very, very challenging situations that are really stressing their organizations at different levels. Nobody’s able to figure out exactly how to handle these very tricky situations.”
Hillel is also dealing with a lawsuit from the Social Justice Centre, about which they are unable to speak publicly except to say that an independent contractor, not acting on behalf of the organization, participated in the distribution of contentious stickers around the UBC campus. Hillel terminated its relationship with the contractor but is facing a case that attempts to hold the organization responsible.
These are not easy times for Jewish students, but, in some cases, individuals are finding resources they did not know they have.
Rachel Seguin, a graduate of Vancouver Talmud Torah elementary and King David High School and a second-year psychology student at UBC, has become an accidental activist.
“Since Oct. 7, I’ve seen a new part of me that I didn’t even know existed – neither did my parents, honestly,” she said. The anti-Israel actions of the Social Justice Centre and the repeated stonewalling by the AMS in response to her complaints have driven Seguin to become a public voice against antisemitism on campus, including addressing the council last week in opposition to the referendum proposals.
“I didn’t imagine myself doing something like that,” she said. The fact that the AMS did what Seguin believes is the right thing was, she said, “really refreshing and satisfying.”
Moshe Denburg, founder of the musical ensemble Tzimmes. (photo from Tzimmes)
Tzimmes will take part in the Siyyum Sefer Torah celebration of Tri-Cities Chabad, as the community marks the completion of a Sefer Torah on March 10, 2:30 p.m., at Old Orchard Hall in Port Moody.
Rabbi Mottel Gurevitz, the driving force behind this year-long project and the spiritual leader of Tri-Cities Chabad, expressed the significance of completing a Torah: “The completion of a Sefer Torah is a monumental occasion in the Jewish tradition. It represents the unity of our community, the passing on of our heritage to future generations and the commitment to our shared values. It is a symbol of strength, resilience and continuity.”
Do you defy a stereotype? Have you faced prejudice or stigma in your life? Do you have unique life experience, or a story to tell? Apply now to be a human book for the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library’s Human Library event on Sunday, April 7, and share your lived experience with others.
The Human Library originates in Denmark and has spread across the globe. The program is based on the idea of “unjudging” others, and seeks to challenge our preconceived notions of people through conversation.
The local Sunday event will run from noon to 4 p.m. Community members will come in and ask to take out certain “books,” meaning they’ll have the opportunity to have a conversation with certain volunteers. To give an example, the library currently has three volunteer books and their titles are “Child Holocaust Survivor,” “Brain Cancer Survivor” and “Police Officer,” which indicates the facet of their lived experience/identity that they are willing to talk about. Each volunteer can expect to have four to seven sessions with “borrowers,” either one-on-one or in small groups. There will be a lot of breaks and snacks, and volunteer books are empowered to decline talking about anything that makes them uncomfortable. There will be a training session prior to the event to help everyone prepare.
A Human Library is a way for people to reach out and connect with individuals in their community with whom they might not normally engage. Human Libraries promote tolerance, celebrate differences and encourage understanding of people who come from varied cultural or lifestyle backgrounds.
You may not know his name, but you certainly know his work. Vancouver Jewish architect Richard Henriquez has designed iconic local buildings including Eugenia Place in English Bay (the one with the pin oak on its penthouse terrace), the Sylvia Tower, the Sinclair Centre and the BC Cancer Research Centre. He designed New Westminster’s Justice Institute of BC, the UBC Michael Smith Laboratory, the UBC Recreation Centre and the Presidio. And that’s just scratching the surface of his 53 years of work in Vancouver, and well beyond.
Henriquez, 83, was born in Jamaica in 1941. That same year, his father, Alfred George Henriques, aware of the danger facing the Jews of Europe, joined the Royal Air Force as a bomber pilot. He did not survive the war.
One of Richard Henriquez’s earliest childhood memories is of a powerful hurricane that brought wind speeds of 150 miles per hour, devastating Jamaica’s north coast. At the time, the 3-year-old Henriquez was living on the north coast with his mother, grandmother and sister. “I still remember the sound of the metal roofing being torn off the roof, the screaming of the wind and the crashing of crockery being blown off the kitchen shelves,” he told the Independent. “The next morning, there were fish all over the yard and trees flattened everywhere.”
With their family home ruined, Henriquez and his sister joined their grandparents on a citrus plantation in Greenwood, Jamaica. Later, they moved to Buff Bay, to a new home with their mother and stepfather. Henriquez attended boarding school and Hebrew school in Jamaica. “Over the High Holy Days, I’d go to synagogue but I was never very religious,” he said.
By age 10, Henriquez had already decided on a career in architecture, a choice influenced by his grand-uncle Dossie, an architect, engineer and artist who would take him along on building visits. Rudolph “Dossie” Henriques, whose firm was Henriques and Sons, had designed the Kingston synagogue in 1912, after the original was destroyed by a 1907 earthquake. He also won a competition to design and build Jamaica’s Ward Theatre in 1912, and worked on the structural drawings for New York City’s Grand Central Terminal.
In 1958, after graduating from high school, Richard Henriquez left Jamaica to study architecture at the University of Manitoba. He returned to Jamaica after graduation and spent a couple of years working there before returning to North America to do a master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1967. He then settled in Vancouver.
“My wife, Carol, is from Saskatoon, and she didn’t love Jamaica. She preferred to come back to Canada,” said Henriquez, whose time in Jamaica had a lifelong influence on his architectural style.
“In Jamaica, materials are expensive and labour is cheap, so I tend to want to renovate rather than tear down a house,” he explained. “I think that’s much more interesting than creating a new building. Later on in my career, I designed a couple of buildings that look like they were built a long time ago and renovated, like the Sylvia Tower in the West End.”
His talent as an architect has won Henriquez many accolades. In 1994, he won a Governor General’s Medal. In 2005, he won the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s gold medal. And, in 2017, he received an Order of Canada for his contribution to Canadian architecture.
“To me, architecture is about creating a unique place in the world,” he reflected. “Unlike West Coast modernists, who were inspired by light and connection to the outdoors, I was more interested in the specificity of a site, in researching the history of a site and incorporating it into the concept for a building.”
The Eugenia is a perfect example of Henriquez’s respect for the specific history and culture of a community. That 35-foot pin oak, brought to Vancouver from Oregon, represents a first-growth forest that covered the area decades ago. By incorporating it into the building, he paid homage to the landscape.
Henriquez’s son Gregory has followed in his footsteps and works alongside him at Henriquez Partners Architects in Vancouver, where Gregory Henriquez is overseeing the Oakridge Park complex in Vancouver, valued at over $5 billion. Richard Henriquez’s grandson is completing a master’s degree at the University of Toronto and will soon be joining the firm as the newest architect in the family.
Among his varied works, Henriquez designed Vancouver’s Temple Sholom Synagogue and, at one time, he had hoped to build something in Jerusalem, a goal that now seems remote.
These days, there are many projects competing for his time. A man keenly interested in genealogy, he traced his family history back more than 12 generations to Portugal, learning that his eighth-great-grandmother, Anna Rodriguez, was burned at the stake in 1643. He’s working on his second book on that family history, while also devoting time to art and sculpture, lifelong passions. Some of his work was on display at the Monica Reyes Gallery in Vancouver last month.
To learn more about Henriquez’s work, watch the 30-minute documentary Richard Henriquez: Building Stories on Shelter, an architecture streaming service. Commissioned by Marcon Developments, it celebrates his 53rd year of work in Vancouver and beyond. Also interesting to peruse is henriquezpartners.com/work.
Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.
You broke my heart – not just on February 5 when the Premier told me that after the caucus talked about me he did not see a way back, that folks were wondering why I hadn’t already resigned and that the only path forward was a resignation. Resigning was not my choice but I told the Premier that if this was what he wanted and what caucus wanted I wouldn’t fight him on it – but let’s be clear – others asked for my resignation, so I gave it.
You actually broke my heart in the days after October 7 – the day terrorists went into Israel and brutally murdered, slaughtered, raped, mutilated, killed and kidnapped 1,200 civilians. These terrorists didn’t target the military, they killed children, concert goers, grandmothers, peace activists and a young British Columbian named Ben Mizrachi.
The Jewish community was in shock – we are about 40,000 here in British Columbia and we were reeling.
I had offered to the Premier that as a member of the Jewish community, I could speak at a vigil that was being planned a few days after the massacre – this was my community and our two Premiers had tasked me with strengthening the NDP relationship with the community. I put out the call for you to join me. The community was grieving, in mourning and we needed to show them as a caucus and as a government that we are there for them.
I sent out a group email. Two maybe three responded – that’s it. How is it that with more than 35 lower mainland/valley MLAs only three or four would be on stage with me – I had no idea how many UCP would be there and a poor showing would not reflect well on us. I did not have the emotional capacity to reach out individually, so Alissa offered to help … still not much response. My heart cracked.
In the end there were 7 or 8 of us, two came from the island but I was terribly embarrassed.
And then, within days of the massacre, Aman and Katrina decided that it was appropriate to ‘reply all’ to my initial email asking folks to stand with the Jewish community in grief and mourning, and ask that government make a public statement about the plight of the Palestinians.
We just witnessed the slaughter, rape, mutilation and murder of 1,200 mostly Jews. We watched as the terrorists celebrated this horrific act. Ben Mizrachi hadn’t yet been buried. The IDF hadn’t yet taken any action. The world was stunned. And two of my colleagues wanted to move quickly past what had happened and refocus government on a geopolitical conflict that has been going on for years.
But it wasn’t their antisemitism that broke my heart. It was your silence to their antisemitism that hurt the most. Not a single one of you responded to their insensitive, disrespectful and inappropriate email. No one.
Your silence broke my heart that day.
You abandoned me and my community that day.
I would have hoped that someone, anyone would have replied all to Aman and Katrina and suggested that their email was inappropriate – your silence spoke volumes to me and suggested that either you agreed with them or that you just didn’t want to deal with it because it’s messy.
It is messy. It’s complex. It’s emotional. It’s hard. You just want it to go away. I understand. I want it to go away too – but my community needed you in that moment to be there in their grief and in my grief and none of you were prepared or willing to stand up to colleagues who were antisemitic – minimizing the Jewish experience, the slaughter of innocent civilians by terrorists countering with mirrored message about the plight of Palestinians. In that moment it was not so complex – People were murdered because they were Jewish and people here in British Columbia were needing us to mourn with them.
How eager you all are to join in the #NeverAgain campaign – that the crime of being Jewish that resulted in the death of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis should never happen again. That we should fight against Jew hatred – a hatred that repeats itself over and over and over again throughout history. How eager you all are to join the few remaining Holocaust survivors as Nicholas plays Kol Nidre on the cello and we bow our heads, light candles in honour of those murdered – yet when the hordes gather and chant “from the river to the sea” – a Hamas mantra referring to their desire to destroy Israel and the Jews, you are nowhere to be found.
Holocaust survivors have been retraumatized and some have wound up in hospital in the days and weeks after the massacre as they relive the horrors they experienced some 75 years ago. They see the marches, the chanting in our streets, the threats to Jews around the world and they say “it’s happening again.”
Where are you when protesters, their faces covered, march through our campuses intimidating young Jewish adults who now hide their Jewish identity? Where are you when young Jewish students who get trapped in bathrooms on campus because the marching is happening in hallways, and they are afraid to step out into the hall for fear of becoming a target of their hate? Where are your ideals of a broad, inclusive society? How have you been standing up for your declared values?
Almost 300 Jewish physicians signed a letter calling on UBC medical school to address antisemitism on campus. Students are bringing their hate into healthcare and they were speaking on behalf of their Jewish patients and their families. In fact, it was so bad that Ted Rosenberg, a prominent physician quit, citing a toxic work environment and antisemitism in the Faculty of Medicine – I am not sure how we expect to train more physicians when almost 300 of them are refusing to work with students coming from UBC’s faculty of medicine. It was a public leaving and I heard nothing from any of you – not the Minister of Health who committed to more physicians in the system, not the Premier – no one.
In December the four Tri-Cities MLAs received a letter from the Coquitlam Teacher’s Association rife with rhetoric, misinformation and lies about the modern state of Israel. The letter was also posted on their website (which has since been taken down). Jewish parents in SD 43 are now considering pulling their children from public schools because they don’t have faith that teachers in the district will keep their Jewish children safe. I asked Fin if he received the same letter. He did and when I asked him what he was planning to do with it he said, “nothing – I am going to ignore it.” Ignore the fact that Jewish constituents feel unsafe – Is this how we stand up for our constituents?
In January the Vancouver Police Department publicly shared a startling report about the dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents since October 7. And what was government’s response to this report?
Silence.
Shortly afterward I reached out to the Attorney General, as the racism file is under her ministry. Niki had been assigned the point of contact for the Jewish community given the historical antisemitism that the Jewish community has experienced from Mable, the parliamentary secretary for antiracism.
Let me refresh your memory, in 2004 during an interview with Seven Oaks, Mable claimed “we have vocal Zionists in our work sites, and we have had to battle them” regarding her anti-war activism in her union. Carole James, as leader, had to disavow and apologize for the comments. But the Jewish community carried on noting a certain mistrust of Mable, as she never apologized for her comments and when Mable’s recent 2-minute statement in November alarmed the community again of Mable’s antisemitism and asked for her resignation the Jewish community was merely told that Niki would now be the point of contact for anti-racism work in the Jewish community.
So I reached out to Niki at the end of January, two months after she became the designated point of contact for a community that is experiencing a spike in antisemitism, a community that is grieving and fearful. It turns out that the community leadership hadn’t even heard from her. And when I asked her what she is doing about the rise in antisemitism all she could talk about what legislation she is working on, collecting data and the small amount of money that I worked on with PSSG and the PO to make available for additional security measures that the community needed.
Her response to my query was a response you would give the opposition.
There was no acknowledgement of my personal connection to the community or how my contacts and relationships could be useful. There was no sense of understanding that this community is feeling threatened, that people are afraid, that antisemitism was on display in civil society, that Jewish parents don’t want to send their children to public school, that Jewish post-secondary students are being terrorized on campus, that Jewish owned businesses need additional security, that Holocaust survivors are reliving trauma, that plays with Israeli content that actually help to provide dialogue about the conflict are being silenced, that hundreds of Jewish physicians are calling on UBC leadership to address antisemitism on campus, that members of our own public service have started incorporating the Palestinian flag in their email signature and even making a Palestinian land comment when doing a First Nation land acknowledgement at the beginning of meetings resulting in discomfort and fear. No acknowledgment and no action.
Over the past five months a few of you have reached out after caucus discussions about me without me in the room, the first right after Aman and Katrina sent their emails and then again after the February caucus meeting, offering hugs and heart emojis. My response to many of you is that I don’t need your hugs and your emojis. What my community needs however is for you to stand up to antisemitism. When I shared this with Lisa just a few weeks ago, she responded “of course, we always do.” As a government we have not been standing up to antisemitism. If you believe that then it would appear to me that you haven’t been paying attention or you don’t know what antisemitism is or what Jew hatred looks like.
Antisemitism is calling for the destruction and annihilation of Israel, where half the world’s 15.8 million Jews live. Antisemitism is making Jewish people afraid to show their identity. Antisemitism is silencing an openly identified Jewish person who is speaking out about antisemitism. Your collective decision to silence me is antisemitism and you don’t even know it.
Antisemitism is the double standard that we have consistently shown. When any of my colleagues have made antisemitic remarks it was expected that apologies should suffice. It’s not only Mable who has made antisemitic comments. In 2012 Jennifer Whiteside shared content from the anti-Israel website the electronic intifada and posts from Occupy Wall Street that attributed Israeli ‘theft’ of Palestinian land to capitalism and in 2014 shared articles that accused Israel of ‘pinkwashing’ for their acceptance of LGBTQ2S+ community and again in 2016 shared content promoting the BDS movement and was forced to apologize and distance herself from her past support of the BDS movement.
In 2017 it came to the attention of the Jewish community that Ronna Rae invited people to support Haneen Zoubi, a former Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset who negated the existence of Israel. Ronna Rae also compared the police to Nazis in 2013.
Jagrup quoted Goebbels in 2020 when he was pushing back at the Official Opposition during a speech in the house saying “Someone has said – if you repeat a lie often enough people will believe it” – he apologized the next day for his offence, retracted his comments and that was to be sufficient.
Last year Janet Routledge apologized for comments of Holocaust minimization by comparing the criticisms by the official opposition to Nazi rhetoric when she said “the Holocaust ended in death camps, but started with words.”
I raise these examples not to humiliate or shame any of you, but to point out the double standard. When an elected person says something that harms the Jewish community whether the comments or position is intended or unintended, the expectation is that a simple apology is sufficient. But when a Jewish elected person says something she “has deep work to do” according to the Premier and is no longer trusted. This double standard is antisemitism.
The final straw came for me last week.
I pitched an idea to the Premier 10 days after I was asked to resign that perhaps government could show leadership on this hate and division we are seeing in two hurting communities by bringing these communities together. I suggested that perhaps I could work with the Jewish community and engage with the Arab Muslim community to facilitate dialogue – find a different path for two communities in agony. As part of that work all of caucus could participate in anti-Islamophobia and antisemitism training – set an example of how as leaders we could better understand their respective pain and fear. And government could show leadership by bringing people together.
Last week Matt Smith told me that this work was ‘too political’ and that government was not interested at this time. Antisemitism and anti-Muslim sentiment are at an all-time high and government doesn’t see itself as having a role in helping these communities.
This shattered what was left of my broken heart.
This is not the party I signed on with – it has become a party that is afraid to stand with people, people who are hurting. It is now a party that puts politics and re-election before people.
It is with all of this in mind that I am leaving caucus to sit as an independent. I can no longer defend the choices this government is making, and I need to mend my broken heart and I can’t do that when you simply offer me hugs and heart emojis but don’t care to educate yourselves or understand the fear and anguish of being Jewish in this moment.