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Federation now across BC

Jewish Federation of British Columbia Community Connectors and others from around the province. (photo from JFBC)

At its June 22 annual general meeting, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver ofﬁcially launched its new identity as the Jewish Federation of British Columbia (JFBC).

The legal name change was approved at last year’s AGM, becoming legally official a few months later. However, it was only soft-launched at the recent Whistler Engagement Summit (May 29-31) and publicly rolled out this week.

“In becoming a provincial federation, JFBC now represents the largest geographic region of any of the 140 Jewish federations in North America, reﬂecting both the scale of British Columbia and the organization’s commitment to serving communities across the province,” reads the press release.

“This moment arrives as Jewish communities everywhere face a substantial rise in antisemitism, heightened security concerns and increasing social fragmentation,” it continues.

“In a moment where distance could easily become disconnection, we are choosing something different,” Ezra Shanken, Federation’s chief executive officer, told the Jewish Independent. “We are choosing to build a network of communities that see themselves as part of a shared whole, where responsibility does not stop at the edge of a city or region, and where no one is left to navigate this moment alone. When people begin to understand that they are not isolated but connected, something shifts. Commitment deepens, relationships strengthen and resilience becomes something we build together, not something any one community carries on its own.”

“Over the past few years, the Federation has steadily expanded its engagement across the province, reaching nearly 9,000 community members this past year alone,” said Mijal Ben-Dori, chief planning officer of JFBC, in an email interview with the Independent. “This growth has been driven by three key initiatives: expanding our team of Community Connectors from a single individual to a robust team of 11; supporting regional supplementary schools through Chabad; and investing in local hubs like Burquest and the White Rock/South Surrey JCC. Our provincial work does not begin with our new name; rather, the name change reflects a reality we have already built.

“This transition is entirely additive,” she said. “At the Federation, we know that our local community’s success relies on the robust network of organizations working day in and day out – including the JCC, JFS, JSA, Hillel, VHEC, the Jewish Museum and Archives, and the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival, to name just a few. We are wholeheartedly committed to supporting this network and ensuring it remains vibrant and thriving.”

The expansion has been possible because of a strategic partnership with the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, “which is deeply committed to supporting thriving Jewish life in smaller communities across Canada,” said Ben-Dori. “Moving forward, our focus is on building capacity throughout the province. By leveraging our collective network, regional communities can access expertise and resources more cost-effectively, moving toward self-sustainability without diverting vital Vancouver-raised funds.”

Initially, the primary shift will be in how support is delivered, she said. “Rather than coordinating remotely with a program manager based in Vancouver, community members will now have a direct link to their local Community Connector. This localized approach ensures our team is deeply connected to the ground, allowing us to provide more responsive, personalized and relevant support.”

Currently, there are 11 connectors, who reside in 10 communities, with additional volunteers in additional communities that work closely with Federation, said Ben-Dori. “Our connectors are based in Victoria (two), Salt Spring Island, Comox Valley, Whistler, Squamish, Delta, South Surrey/White Rock, Tri-Cities/Burnaby, Langley, Kelowna. Each of the connectors serves the adjacent communities as well. For example, our connector in Kelowna serves the entire Okanagan and beyond, and our connector in Langley services Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope, etc. We also have very strong lay leaders who lead communities in Prince George, Revelstoke, Kamloops, Nanoose Bay and others.”

The long-term vision is for the regional communities to become self-sustainable.

“Research consistently demonstrates that true resilience is built from within, rather than through prolonged dependency; strong communities are those equipped to meet their own evolving needs,” said Ben-Dori. “By plugging into our broader network, regional communities can significantly lower their operational costs through shared resources, collective expertise and ongoing grant opportunities. Ultimately, our goal is to help build local capacity from the ground up. We are fully committed to providing the training, mentorship and foundational support necessary to pave the way toward that independent future.”

Federation has already integrated more regional voices into its various committees, as well as its board of directors.

“Regarding our operational model, we believe that local leadership and community members know their unique needs best,” Ben-Dori said. “We are not here to dictate identity or leadership styles; we deeply respect local autonomy. True community sustainability is built from the ground up, allowing each region to develop its own distinct character, culture and governance. Communities will always remain independent entities with full decision-making authority.

“While our Community Connectors are always available to provide guidance and support, there are natural operational boundaries,” she added. “Connectors cannot facilitate events, nor can the Federation’s name or resources be lent to initiatives that fall outside our charitable mandate or diverge from our core organization values. However, local communities retain full independence to host and fund these distinct events on their own.”

According to Ben-Dori, JFBC employs approximately 50 people (full and part time) and has an operational budget of more than $30 million, which includes the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver, all grants, allocations, flowthroughs, etc.

“We are now in the process of figuring out the exact back-office support required,” she said of the anticipated staffing and annual financial requirements for the provincial organization. “It is in flux because we are currently introducing various systems to Federation in general that would create organizational efficiency. In principle, we are looking at an admin position and a manager position to support the 11 connectors (all are already in place). The total operational budget for our work at the regions is approximately $1 million. We have been working with the same budget for the past two years and do not expect to increase the budget in the year ahead or as a result of the change. If anything, we are hoping to find more back-office support efficiencies.”

Regarding how the success of the expansion will be measured, Ben-Dori said, “We will evaluate the success and growth of our regional communities through several key quantitative and qualitative metrics:

“Community engagement: we will track the number of local events and gatherings relative to community size, alongside the depth of the local volunteer base.

“Leadership and governance: we will look for indicators of sustainable leadership, including individuals stepping into leadership roles, participation in our training programs and the formal establishment of local boards or committees.

“Resource development: we will assess financial capacity, measuring a community’s ability to conduct local fundraising or generate independent revenue streams.

“Network integration: we will monitor how deeply a community plugs into the broader ecosystem by tracking metrics such as youth participation in summer camps and Israel travel, the mobilization of local community security volunteers, and regional members joining the boards of other organizations across our network.

“Qualitative impact: finally, we will measure the deeper, qualitative shifts within these communities, specifically looking for an increased sense of community resilience and Jewish identity.”

The overarching benefit of this provincial model, said Ben-Dori, “is the profound strengthening of Jewish identity, the enrichment of community life and the cementing of a vibrant Jewish presence across the province for generations to come.”

The main risks associated with the expansion are financial sustainability and navigating the centre-periphery power dynamic, she said.

“This initiative is currently made possible through the strategic and generous support of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation. However, relying heavily on a single funding source presents long-term vulnerabilities,” she explained. “Our strategic priority is to develop localized capacity as efficiently as possible to diversify and secure our financial baseline.”

About the possible struggles that can develop between an urban centre and smaller regional hubs, even when local independence is explicitly prioritized, Ben-Dori said, “Balancing central support with local autonomy is a continuous, collective learning process. We are committed to maintaining deep self-awareness and open, ongoing dialogue among all partners to successfully navigate this relationship.”

And what happens when a larger urban centre starts working more closely with a smaller urban centre? One of the yet-to-be-determined aspects of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s evolution into the Jewish Federation of British Columbia is its impacts on the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island, the only other federation in British Columbia.

“Because a standalone federation requires a critical mass of residents to sustain a fundraising model, fund local agencies, cover operational overhead and maintain a consistent pipeline of volunteer leadership, this institutional model has historically only been viable in BC’s two largest Jewish centres,” explained Ben-Dori. “Vancouver holds a population of roughly 24,000, Victoria stands at 6,000, and Kelowna follows at just under 2,000.

“Over the past few years,” she said, “our two federations have actively deepened our collaboration on key priorities, including community security and advocacy. Last year, we partnered to launch two Community Connectors based directly in Victoria. Today, with Victoria’s Jewish population growing at an incredible rate of 67% – making it the fastest-growing Jewish community in the country – both organizations are actively redefining our relationship. We are focused on designing a new structure that maximizes cost efficiency while delivering the most effective support possible to this rapidly expanding community.”

More about the Federation can be found at jewishbc.ca.

Israel fighting for its existence

Pat Johnson, left, interviews Jonathan Conricus at the Friends of JNF Pacific Negev Event on June 7. (photo by Galit Lewinski)

On June 7, a full sanctuary at Beth Israel Synagogue gathered for the annual Friends of JNF Pacific Negev Event.

Howard Jampolsky, vice-president of Friends of JNF Canada Pacific Region, emceed. He spoke of the rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7, including in Canada, “a country that many Jews believed was among the safest and most tolerant countries in the world,” yet where Jewish schools have been shot at, synagogues vandalized, Jewish students intimidated, and Jewish businesses and individuals targeted.

“Antizionism that denies the Jewish people the right to self-determination is antisemitism,” he said. “Israel is not an abstract political issue to us. Israel is family. Israel is history. Israel is survival…. For 2,000 years, we have said, we have prayed, l’shana haba b’Yerushalayim, next year in Jerusalem. Today, there is a Jerusalem. Today, there is a Jewish state – and we will never apologize for defending it.”

Funds raised by this year’s Negev event will support the Beit Elkana Centre for Holistic Therapy, in the Lakhish region of Israel’s Negev. Established by Galit Wiesel in memory of her late husband, Elkana Wiesel, a reserve combat officer who was killed in battle in 2024, the centre will offer care to those suffering trauma-related conditions.

“Projects like Beit Elkana are about more than buildings,” said Jampolsky. “They are about resilience. They are about healing. They’re about ensuring that Israelis living in the south of Israel know that they are not alone – that Jewish communities around the world stand beside them and with them. That’s what Zionism looks like. Not slogans, not hashtags, certainly not hatred, but building, planting, healing, supporting, creating hope…. Because our answer to hatred cannot be silence. Our answer must be courage. Our answer must be pride, and our answer must be action. We must support Jewish institutions. We must educate the next generation.”

In that vein, Friends of JNF Canada presented Rabbi Stephen Berger, head of Judaic studies at King David High School, with its Education Award, “recognizing his tremendous contribution to Jewish learning, Jewish dignity, a Jewish identity, and the strength of our community.” The honour was presented by two of Jampolsky’s children, Elise and Jake.

Berger started his work in the community with NCSY more than 20 years ago, moving to KDHS about 18 years ago. He considers himself a resource for the Jewish community, not just the high school, and half-joked that he’d been teaching the same one idea in 25 different ways.

“The idea, very simply, is that we are souls…. We are spiritual in nature. We are not just super-smart animals…. [Rabbi Israel] Salanter says the big problem with the world is we’re always worried about our own physical needs and everybody else’s spiritual growth, [and] if we just flip that, if we could just worry about our own spiritual growth and everybody else’s physical needs, then the world will be a much better place.”

photo - Rabbi Stephen Berger holds the Friends of JNF Canada, Pacific Region, Education Award, presented to him by siblings Jake and Elise Jampolsky, whose father, Howard Jampolsky, emceed the event — Rabbi Stephen Berger holds the Friends of JNF Canada, Pacific Region, Education Award, presented to him by siblings Jake and Elise Jampolsky, whose father, Howard Jampolsky, emceed the event. *(photo by Galit Lewinski)*

Pat Johnson, who writes for and serves on the editorial board of the Jewish Independent, in addition to being the founder of Upstanders Canada, among other things, spoke about one of the main things he has learned in his 30-plus years of “hanging around” the Jewish community: “the depths of connection between Jewish people in Canada and the land, the state and the people of Israel.”

Engaged in political activism and progressive causes for decades, Johnson said that, during the Second Intifada, his communities diverged.

“Ostensibly, we were asked to choose to side either with Palestinians or with Israelis,” he said. “The real choice we faced, though, was between coexistence, peace and a negotiated settlement to conflict as characterized by the Oslo process, or supporting chauvinistic fanaticism, violence and the eradication from the Middle East of its only oasis of pluralism, democracy and equality.

“Why did I, and why did you, face that choice and make the right one, when so many others faced the same choice and opted to betray the values we thought we shared? Perhaps because we know Jewish history.

“People asked, ‘Could we be right and, seemingly, the entire world be wrong?’ Jewish history, for everything else it teaches us, reveals that the entire world can indeed be wrong – again and again,” said Johnson, who spoke about the inextricable links between Jews and Israel. He held up a JNF Blue Box, pushka, calling it “a tangible symbol of that bond.”

“In Jewish homes in Montreal and Minsk, in Vancouver and Vilnius, in Casablanca and Krakow, parents and grandparents dropped coins into boxes like this, demonstrating from generation to generation the centrality of this eternal connection.”

With Israel reestablished, the Zionist dream today, said Johnson, is “an Israel that is safe and indestructible. An Israel that exists in a changed region, where peace prevails. An Israel that is respected in a world without hatred.”

Jonathan Conricus believes Israel will have to continue fighting for its existence.

A retired lieutenant-colonel in the Israel Defence Forces, Conricus is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, where he provides analysis and insight on Israel, the Middle East, and the challenges facing democratic societies worldwide. His Vancouver talk was part of a cross-country tour with Friends of JNF Canada.

Significant progress has been made in Gaza and Hamas has been diminished, Conricus said. “In terms of long-range weapons, far less, almost nothing; in terms of capital, far less, almost nothing; in terms of senior terrorists with decades of experience, almost nothing; and, in terms of an ability to project force and to threaten Israeli civilians, almost nothing. But you’ll notice that I said almost in each and every sentence – and almost is a temporary situation. The nucleus of Hamas remains.

“Nobody has disarmed,” he said. And anyone who thinks they will “see a jihadi fighter lay down their weapons, doesn’t know what a jihadi fighter is.”

Laying down weapons “is not in their DNA – they cannot do it,” he said, adding that, if they did, “they are dead men walking … not necessarily because Israel will kill them all … but because there are long lists of grievances within the population in Gaza with most of the thugs and terrorists of Hamas.”

Gaza will continue to challenge Israel, said Conricus, as the IDF continues to fight in Lebanon, “clearing away the last remains of Hezbollah: storage facilities, bunkers, sniper positions and many other things that Hezbollah had built underneath and within civilian homes in Lebanon.”

The goal is to create a cleared area, “where there’s no infrastructure that Hezbollah can use in order to attack Israeli civilians along the border,” he said.

“I believe that, currently, we’re in the best position that we’ve ever been … [to] help our neighbours to the north in being a sovereign state for the first time in their history,” Conricus said. “The Lebanese state was granted sovereignty in 1946 from the French colonial powers [when foreign troops finally left the country], and they haven’t enjoyed a day of sovereignty in their whole lives.”

On the Iranian front, the IDF is ready “to get going against Iran again, with the purpose of dealing much more severe blows against targets that, up until now, have not been engaged by the IDF,” said Conricus, but the Israeli government is holding back.

“Up until now, Israel has decided not to do so, whether independently or together with the US, mostly thinking about the future of the Iranian people and wanting to leave intact infrastructure for the people of Iran to continue with their lives.”

Before Oct. 7, Conricus said, “We were responding, but we weren’t really fighting strategically back.” Now, however, “all the Iranian proxies that the Iranian regime spent billions and billions of dollars building, arming, training and equipping – none of those are even half as strong as they were before Oct. 7. Most have been dealt significant blows by Israel. And Iran itself, the Islamic Republic, is the weakest that it has ever been in its 47 years of existence.”

While concerned about “the looming threat of an imperialistic Türkiye” and about unity within Israel and between Israeli and diaspora Jews, Conricus said people should take everything they see in international media “with many grains of salt.”

“Please know that the situation in Israel is much happier, stronger, more resolute, united, and better than it is portrayed in international media. Please know that Am Yisrael, in Israel, is strong, committed to prosperity, to life, to creation, to peace, to beautiful things, and that, despite two-and-a-half years, almost three years, of relentless attacks against the very basic legitimacy of the state of Israel to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people, we’re here, we’re fighting and, much to everybody else’s disapproval, we’re going to continue to be so.”

In the conversation between Johnson and Conricus that followed, several topics were covered. One of the last questions was about Malmo, Sweden, where Conricus, who was born in Jerusalem, partly grew up.

“For a lot of us, the word Malmo … is shorthand for European multiculturalism gone wrong,” said Johnson. “Is there something from that experience you would want Canadians to know?”

Malmo is “a cautionary tale,” said Conricus, noting that most young Jews have left the city.

“There’s not really a future,” he said. “Within a generation and a half, I think that the Jewish community won’t exist there.”

He encouraged the community to focus on Jewish education and fostering Jewish identity, “how we love each other, how we nurture the bond between the Jewish people and the Jewish state.”

During the event, David Greaves, executive director of Friends of JNF Western region, and Lance Davis, the organization’s chief executive officer, also offered remarks, and Ilene-Jo Bellas, board member and event chair, thanked the speakers.

Deal strengthens Iran

Many American Jews have given up on the Democratic Party. Seeing intractable opponents of Israel within its congressional ranks, many Jewish and pro-Israel voters decided that their best or only hope was within the Republican Party.

This trend was based partly on the seemingly knee-jerk antizionism of a chunk of the Democrats’ congressional caucus and by the oft-repeated idea that Donald Trump is the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.

There are myriad problems with these assumptions.

First, abandoning one party in a two-party system is a high-risk strategy. Putting all eggs in one basket is not a wise approach in any scenario.

It is especially unwise in a scenario where the egg basket is controlled by a mercurial figure who has demonstrated no consistent loyalty to any person or idea, and whose fits of rage are directed at ostensible allies as often as they are at enemies.

The US-Israeli war with Iran earlier this year held the potential for a complete reshaping of the Middle East region. The defeat of the Islamic revolutionary regime in Iran would have tectonically altered the course of the region’s history, eliminating the greatest source of state-sponsored terror, massively (and further) reducing the capacity of Israel’s nearest enemies, Hamas and Hezbollah.

Based at least partly on the idea that regime change must come from within Iran, the United States in particular (but Israel as a partner in the war) stopped short of pursuing regime change.

The resolution to that war – the memorandum of understanding and ongoing talks aimed at a lasting cessation of violence – is apparently intended to prevent Iran’s drive toward nuclear military capacity. Perhaps it will.

At the same time, however, although concrete details are suspiciously sketchy, indications suggest that Iran is likely to come out of the war not chastened, but strengthened.

What is known about the apparent accord drafted by the United States and Iran is that it will deluge the Islamic regime in hundreds of billions of dollars in “reconstruction and development” funds. Time was that the defeated in a war paid reparations. Under the Trump doctrine, it seems, the historical penance is reversed. The defeated now apparently receive unprecedented windfalls. And this reputed $300 billion avalanche of cash does not include the freeing up another colossal sum of currently frozen Iranian assets.

Many commentators had suggested that a debilitated and humiliated Iran, economically devastated by the war, would be weakened to the point where the Iranian people would be able to rise up and overthrow their oppressors.

Instead, it appears that the regime will see itself in an erstwhile unimagined place of wealth and triumph.

The widespread idea that a weakened Iranian regime would lead the populace to revolution based on continued and worsening daily economic realities seems likely to be averted by a cash bonanza that will allow the ayatollahs to bribe their populace into complacency.

Worse for everyone, the flush regime will be able to rearm Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and its broader network of evildoers.

What several weeks ago looked like the potential for the greatest realignment for the better in regional history now appears like the worst possible outcome. Iran seems to be given a free hand to pursue its darkest agendas, bankrolled by the “peace agreement” improbably crafted by the author of the 1980s bestseller The Art of the Deal.

If there is a single lesson here for Canadians and citizens in other democracies, it is that we must not allow the well-being of the bilateral relationship with Israel to become politicized. Party regulars in challenging environments must remain and fight, rather than abandon the traditional multipartisan approach to Israeli security.

There can be no denying that, at present, one party in Canada has a near-monopoly on pro-Israel policy. This appeared to be the case in the United States until a few hours ago. We can see how quickly things can change, leaving Israel effectively friendless at the highest levels.

Defending Israel in centrist and leftist political environments may seem challenging if not futile. But abandoning those spaces to haters because a mouthy carpetbagger comes along saying the right things until he turns like a mad dog on those who thought they were his friends leaves us in the worst imaginable spot.

Patriotic belonging diminishes

(photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

When I was a kid, living near Washington, DC, my dad would hang an American flag up out in front of our house on US holidays. We’d all go outside for Memorial Day or 4th of July and raise the flag together. It was a solemn ritual. It was uncomplicated and patriotic.

As my understanding of US history and geopolitical actions changed, I still remember feeling a sense of awe as we sat on a blanket under the night sky, celebrating Independence Day with fireworks and Sousa marches. I carried that mostly uncomplicated feeling with me when we moved to Canada in 2009, the feeling of pride in where I lived. I became a dual citizen, believing I could hold that feeling for two nations at once.

A few years ago, Winnipeg changed its celebrations around Canada Day. Some of the huge gatherings resulted in spikes in crime. Many events also didn’t properly acknowledge Indigenous peoples’ roles in this country. We found, with younger kids, that the crowds, loud noises and late nights required to celebrate with others became too hard.

The choice to downplay some aspects of Canada Day reflected a new understanding. Manitoba’s Indigenous population is 18.1%, larger than any other province. Winnipeg is home to the largest urban Canadian Indigenous population. Our kids attend public school in a division where the student population is approximately 30% Indigenous. Indigenous peoples have complex relationship with patriotism for many valid reasons.

I felt this nuanced understanding of patriotism and how it related to my country was only fair as a critical thinker who reads the news. Little of it had to do with my Jewish identity, I thought. Since Oct. 7, I realized that was incorrect.

On June 1, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that “Canada’s civic compact is failing Jewish Canadians.” This speech was, unfortunately, too little, and too late. While he did this, there were more incidents of hate, and little done to enforce the laws to stop it. Carney has created a new advisory council to combat hate, which has only one Jewish person on it. While one of their tasks is to tackle antisemitism, the council has a participant who supports Palestinian resistance via Iranian proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah. Another member is a lawyer who represented Palestinian protesters in a university encampment. This doesn’t strike anyone in the Jewish community as an unbiased or safe environment to combat Canadian antisemitism.

Sorting through my feelings, I found a strange parallel in the Babylonian Talmud Tractate Chullin, which I am studying as part of Daf Yomi (a page of Talmud a day). This tractate, about kosher slaughter, is technical but contains insights that have broader implications. On page 44, there’s a discussion of treifa and how to detect it. In this situation, treifa refers to an animal that has a physical defect and will likely die soon. This type of animal isn’t kosher.

Sometimes, this is discovered only after slaughter. For the animal’s owner, this is a financial loss, too. In Dr. Sara Ronis’ essay on My Jewish Learning on Chullin 44, she highlights Rav Hisda, “who says: Who is a Torah scholar? This is one who sees his own treifa.” This is someone who sees his animal’s status, takes the financial loss and keeps potentially non-kosher meat out of the food supply. This person thinks critically enough to recognize when something might be harmful even when it’s difficult and the outcome doesn’t benefit them.

All my thoughts about patriotism felt emotional but abstract until October 2023. Then it became personal. The following situation is one I had but illustrates multiple Jewish Canadian experiences.

Someone I knew posted on social media. I’d sat on a committee with her. I visited her farm. I supported her business. Right after Oct. 7, this person cheered “resistance.” She promoted a “walkout for Palestine” at an urban high school near me. This person lived out in the country, not in the city. Still, she had lots of followers and this reaction to the Oct. 7 attack contributed to the antisemitism in Winnipeg.

When I asked her why she did this, I heard that this non-Jewish, leftwing Canadian once dated a leftwing Israeli. She believed in “one state” for Israelis and Palestinians. She’d once raised money to visit the West Bank but hadn’t managed the trip. She then defined antisemitism for me. After this online confrontation continued, I broke off contact, but this person still follows me on Instagram. It feels like I’m being stalked by someone who wants to monitor my minority identity.

My kids now attend that public high school, and I imagine how dangerous it could be if they were there during a “walkout for Palestine.” There’s a straight line from having a leftwing non-Jew feel confident enough to define Jew-hate to me, a Jewish person, and the hate we’re dealing with now. If a walkout happens at school, do my Jewish kids stay in the building, thus getting singled out as targets? My kids’ choice to side with Israeli friends and family and the Jewish state means they could be endangered at school by such “resistance” activism.

When I moved to Canada, I reveled in how safe and public Jews felt in Winnipeg. It was a novelty after moving from Kentucky, where I’d often felt worried about my safety. When someone recognized me on a Winnipeg street and called out to me from her bicycle, yelling that she knew me from synagogue, I felt unsettled. Six months later, I too felt safe enough to put my menorah in the dining room window during Hanukkah.

Sadly, that first Hanukkah in Canada, in 2009, is when my house got egged. It felt safe to be Jewish here, but we still couldn’t be that public about who we were.

When my twins were preschoolers, they walked to synagogue with us, wearing kippahs, because they felt proud of their identity. It was also easier than getting the kippahs on just outside the shul. We’re now in a situation where everyone’s toque, sun hat or ball cap comes off and the kippah comes on – sometimes even inside the building. We’ve had to change. It wasn’t safe.

Like many in Canada and the United States, I am now significantly less trusting of government and our country’s actions. I wonder if I will know when it’s time to move, when things are too unsafe. The older me sees value in the ways of Rav Hisda. It’s a sign of wisdom and maturity when we can identify and predict a loss or risk before it happens, and even cut our losses.

Part of me wishes for that uncomplicated time when I could lay back on my blanket, watch the fireworks and feel soaring pride. I’m sad to have lost that pride and the easy feeling of belonging I had in the past. Now, I wonder if I ever really belonged then, either.

Joanne Seiff has written regularly for the Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com.

A campaign to engage

(image from Jewish Federation of British Columbia)

In anticipation of the FIFA World Cup, a series of billboards has been put up across the Greater Vancouver Regional District – across both Canada and Millennium lines, on billboards spanning from Vancouver to Surrey,

Coquitlam and Pitt Meadows, and at transit hubs from Richmond to North and West Vancouver.

The billboards feature messages including:

• Supporting Jews shouldn’t require a PR campaign, but here we are.

• You don’t have to be a Jew to protect Jews.

• Can a billboard end antisemitism? No. But you’re not a billboard.

• Whether you call it football or soccer, antisemitism is a foul.

• You don’t need a whistle to call out antisemitism.

The campaign is designed to be impossible to ignore.

“Antisemitism is rising not only globally, but right here in British Columbia,” said Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of British Columbia. “Jewish people are experiencing increased harassment, vandalism, exclusion and threats in everyday spaces. Too often, that reality is minimized or misunderstood.”

The aim of the campaign is to encourage reflection and dialogue on shared responsibility in addressing hate and exclusion. The billboards are not about provocation for its own sake; they’re about breaking through the silence.

The campaign launched June 8, for its run to coincide with the FIFA World Cup. Sport is intended to reflect fairness, respect and belonging. However, real sportsmanship isn’t passive. It requires active participation, including speaking up and calling out harmful behaviour and supporting one another when it occurs. The campaign asks audiences to consider questions of inclusion and belonging in public life. It asks: Who feels safe, welcome and included in our city – and who does not? The messages are intended to encourage dialogue in homes, workplaces, educational settings and community spaces.

“We are asking for honest engagement with what responsibility looks like when hate is not abstract,” Shanken said.

The billboard initiative was made possible through a strategic partnership with the nonprofit JewBelong and PATTISON Outdoor Advertising and is a direct response to the rise of antisemitism. Following Oct. 7, 2023, Jewish communities in British Columbia and across Canada have experienced increasing incidents of harassment, exclusion and vandalism in public and institutional spaces.

In 2025, Federation, in partnership with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, conducted a community survey to assess the lived experience of antisemitism in British Columbia. Key findings included:

• 85% of respondents reported that antisemitism has “increased a lot,”

• 93% reported feeling less secure than they did prior to Oct. 7, 2023,

• 62% reported experiencing at least one antisemitic incident, and

• 46% reported experiencing multiple incidents.

These findings reflect a widespread perception within the community that antisemitism has intensified in both frequency and impact. Jewish Federation of British Columbia invites the public to engage with the campaign and consider the role of civic responsibility in addressing hate and exclusion. Learn more at jewishvancouver.com/combatting-antisemitism.

– Courtesy Jewish Federation of British Columbia

Upstanders’ first live event

Editor-in-chief of the National Post Rob Roberts, left, in conversation with journalist Dave Gordon at Upstanders Canada’s May 24 Media Bias event at Temple Sholom. (photo by Anna-Mae Wiesenthal)

Media Bias: How Media has Mainstreamed Antisemitism and What to Do About It was the first live event held by Upstanders Canada. It featured a conversation between journalist Dave Gordon and National Post editor-in-chief Rob Roberts, and took place in Vancouver on May 24 and in Ottawa May 26. Roberts was honoured with the inaugural Upstander of the Year Award.

Upstanders Canada, founded by Pat Johnson, encourages Canadians, particularly non-Jewish Canadians, to take a stand against antisemitism and antizionism. He started the event hosted at Temple Sholom by highlighting that Canada, which, until recent years, had been viewed as a nation of decency, fairness and pluralism, is now an international hotspot of antisemitism.

Janet Dirks, a retired CTV National News reporter who worked for a time in Jerusalem, wondered, in her introduction of the featured speakers, why most newsrooms in the country have been reluctant to delve into the barrage of antisemitic incidents in Canada.

“Is there fear of angering those who identify as antizionist, anti-Israel? Is there a dread of covering something that might be too controversial? The fear of getting too many emails criticizing the story treatment from both sides? Is there a narrative I’m not understanding?” asked Dirks, who is a member of the Upstanders board.

Citing a May 9 Toronto Sun editorial, she said, “The problem with appealing to our governments and, indeed, to civil society to combat the unprecedented rise of hatred against Canada’s Jewish citizens is that they were the ones who enabled it. By failing to punish countless examples of Jew-hatred ever since Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, they have normalized antisemitism in Canada.”

The Media Bias event took place on the heels of a May 11 opinion essay by veteran New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, which accused Israeli prison guards and others of sexually abusing Palestinians. The Netanyahu government has subsequently sued the newspaper for defamation.

Roberts faulted the Times for not researching the allegations and examining if they withstood scrutiny.

“It’d be my opinion that every human institution is going to have some problems, but you look at that report and you look at the nature of the allegations, and they just don’t hold the ring of truth,” he said. “The other thing I’ll say is this, you don’t have to publish everything that’s submitted to you, even by the marquee columnists.”

Gordon led the discussion towards the National Post and what he called its decidedly pro-Zionist stance, distinguishing it from other papers in Canada, with the possible exception of the Toronto Sun. Roberts said his newspaper has sought to be “fair and balanced” – not inherently pro-Israel.

The editor spoke about the paper’s decision to drop the Associated Press and the Canadian Press. The decision wasn’t made based on the organizations’ reports from the Middle East, said Roberts, but rather the Post’s preference to not run the same material as other papers. Nonetheless, he did not express a high opinion of the AP’s reporting from the region.

“We all know the story about the bomb that Israel dropped in the hospital – except they didn’t. That was AP, and it took them several hours to fix it,” Roberts said. The Post did not post that AP story, he noted, saying, “… we can’t simply trust even this venerable old wire service to do the job properly.”

Roberts maintained that the Post’s policies of fact-checking and fostering open debate have served the paper well at a time when other publications are struggling.

“We try to be very responsible,” he said. “The fact that people are asking whether journalism is dead is really good for us because we’re thriving at the moment,” adding that the Post is currently hiring.

photo - Pat Johnson, founder of Upstanders Canada, announces the launch of Ask a Jew, an initiative inspired by Selina Robinson, who accepted the honour at the Vancouver event — Pat Johnson, founder of Upstanders Canada, announces the launch of Ask a Jew, an initiative inspired by Selina Robinson, who accepted the honour at the Vancouver event. *(photo by Anna-Mae Wiesenthal)*

Following the conversation, Brandon Lu, an Allied Voices for Israel student ambassador at the University of British Columbia, spoke briefly on the importance of a free press and an informed, discerning public.

At the end of the program, Johnson announced the creation of a new initiative – inspired by Selina Robinson – called Ask a Jew. Modeled on the Human Library concept, Ask a Jew promotes dialogue between curious, open-minded people and Jewish individuals for one-on-one online conversations. The hope is that such conversations will help build understanding and human connection.

Robinson, the author of Truth Be Told – about her experiences with antisemitism, notably within the BC NDP government, in which she was a senior minister for years – has been donating revenues from book sales to Upstanders Canada and the Parents Circle-Families Forum, a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization that advocates for peace. Robinson joined the Upstanders event in Vancouver, presenting Johnson with another cheque in addition to revenues from the book donated previously.

Iddo Moed, ambassador of the state of Israel to Canada, attended the Ottawa event and addressed the audience, emphasizing the importance of allyship.

For more information about Upstanders Canada, visit upstanderscanada.com.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Responding to Carney

Panelists at the event Faith Not Fear: Building Jewish Leadership for a New Era in Canada, left to right: Ben Mulroney (broadcaster), Natasha Pein (researcher), Simon Wolle (B’nai Brith Canada), Matthew Taub (Unapologetically Jewish) and Amir Epstein (Tafsik). (photo by Dave Gordon)

Two weeks after Mark Carney’s address on antisemitism at Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple, Jewish community members offered a counterweight – a gathering led by grassroots activists, journalists and elected officials, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

Called Faith Not Fear: Building Jewish Leadership for a New Era in Canada, the nearly four-hour meeting drew roughly 600 people to the city’s Chabad Flamingo synagogue on June 14. Organizers described it as an unprecedented gathering of local pro-Israel groups – many sharing a stage for the first time – aimed at confronting the question of what kind of leadership this moment demands, and what concrete steps the community must take.

Organized by Yalla, partner groups included Canadian Women Against Antisemitism, B’nai Brith Canada, Chai Tech and Tafsik. Jewish panelists included Matthew Taub of Unapologetically Jewish, Amir Epstein of Tafsik, Jesse Brown of Canadaland and Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman. Non-Jewish allies who spoke included broadcaster Ben Mulroney, educator Ali Siadatan, Juno News reporter Melanie Bennet, former MP Kevin Vuong and Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca.

The central message was that the community can no longer rely on vague reassurances, symbolic gestures or reactive fundraising alone. Speakers argued that the real work now must be proactive: building stronger Jewish identity, demanding governmental accountability, creating civic pressure and abandoning what several described as a culture of managed decline.

photo - MP Melissa Lantsman (Conservative, Thornhill) addresses a June 14 gathering in Toronto that was held in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s June 1 speech on antisemitism — MP Melissa Lantsman (Conservative, Thornhill) addresses a June 14 gathering in Toronto that was held in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s June 1 speech on antisemitism. *(photo by Dave Gordon)*

For Lantsman, the answer begins outside politics. She argued that what this moment demands is “a renewed Jewish identity,” adding that “before lobbying, before the press releases, before the next emergency appeal or the fundraising, more Jewish life is actually what’s necessary.” In her telling, public advocacy will only be durable if it is rooted in private conviction, education and continuity.

She also urged the audience to move outward, into politics and public life, “not as a supplicant” but as citizens who vote, donate, organize and remember. Politicians who abandon the Jewish community, she said, should feel it “at the ballot box,” because “this isn’t a Jewish problem, it’s a Canada problem.”

The insistence on moving from rhetoric to measurable action was sharpened by strategy consultant Maureen Leshem in her remarks. Drawing on conversations with intelligence officials, police, community leaders and counterterrorism experts, she said she had concluded that the community is “dangerously unprepared for what’s currently happening, and even less prepared for what lies ahead.”

Leshem argued that the community must rethink “everything, from our leadership choices, to how we spend our money, to how we work together.” Too often, she said, Jewish institutions and donors are stuck in “reaction mode,” raising funds to mitigate threats rather than forcing governments and public agencies to do the jobs they are already obligated to do.

A shooting at a Jewish institution, she said, is not mere vandalism or mischief but “targeted, potentially lethal violence against the Jewish community that demands the full weight of a national security response.” When Jewish families and institutions are expected to fund their own protection, she warned, the result is “a private tax on Jewish existence,” which risks normalizing public failure.

Leshem’s call to action was blunt: enough slogans. “Do not get up here and tell us that antisemitism is unacceptable. We know,” she said. Instead, leaders should explain what they are going to do, what laws they are demanding, what institutions they are pressuring and what risks they are willing to take.

Daniel Warner, co-founder of Yalla, said that, after Carney’s speech and subsequent committee appointments, it “became pretty clear that we’re going to have to take this into our own hands,” both as individuals and as organizations.

Warner said too many people he knows have already left Canada, but he rejected emigration as an answer. “Plan B is not leaving. Plan B is fighting back,” he said, urging attendees to stand up for themselves in new ways and to use their voices “as if their future here depended on it.”

The point, he said, is not simply to denounce antisemitism but to demonstrate Jewish life confidently and publicly in places where falsehoods about Jews are spreading most effectively.

Unapologetically Jewish’s Taub observed that, since Oct. 7, dozens of Jewish organizations have sprung up, but real coordination remains uneven. “Suppressing what others have to say is not unity, that is division,” he said, arguing that calling out institutional mistakes should be understood as honesty rather than disloyalty.

Taub accused parts of the organized community of applying temporary remedies to a crisis. “They are throwing Tylenol at cancer, and it’s not working,” he said, after arguing that some Jewish organizations have spent more energy lobbying internal critics than lobbying governments on behalf of the community.

Bennet addressed what she sees as the nature of the threat itself. Discussing themes she observed at a Muslim Association of Canada convention, she warned of a “destructive anti-Western ideology” in which Jews are often the first target but not the only one. “You guys feel it the strongest,” she said, but the larger struggle, in her view, is the attempt to reshape institutions and public life more broadly. Beware, she said, of “jihadis in Armani suits,” referring to the public propaganda face of Islamist terrorists.

Vuong, another ally, framed the issue in similarly expansive terms. He said his support was motivated not only by solidarity but by “self-preservation,” because “the people who hate you hate me as well,” adding that the old warning holds: what starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews.

Independent of the conference, several of Canada’s national Jewish organizations also have responded to Carney’s remarks.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and Jewish federations across Canada, for example, issued an open letter reading, in part: “Instead of urgent, concrete measures, the government announced an advisory council, tasked first with further evaluating a crisis that has already been studied extensively, and which includes individuals who are not suited to lead government action on antisemitism. For many Jewish Canadians, this felt like the rug being pulled out from under us.”

“This was an opportunity for the prime minister to meet the moment,” said Simon Wolle, B’nai Brith Canada’s chief executive officer, in a release. (Wolle also spoke at the Toronto gathering.) “Instead, Canadians heard a speech that described the problem more than it confronted it. The Jewish community did not require another acknowledgment that antisemitism is raging across the country, we needed a plan proportional to the scale of the crisis.

“Canada is not facing an antisemitism awareness problem. Canada has an antisemitism problem,” he said. “The country has been poisoned with Jew-hatred and we need a remedy.”

The Jewish Independent reached out to other national Jewish organizations, as well.

“Carney is correct to note the rise of antisemitism is tied to larger trends of conspiracism, polarization and hate worldwide,” said Vancouver-based Maytal Kowalski, JSpace Canada’s executive director. “It is important to recognize this, not to universalize or trivialize antisemitism, but, in fact, the opposite – to fight it at its root and along with allies.” She said including “allies and leaders from different minority communities” is important if the work is to happen “holistically.”

Gabriella Goliger, national chair of Canadian Friends of Peace Now, said “Israel” was missing from the prime minister’s remarks. “He could have emphasized that he recognizes diaspora Jews’ emotional ties to Israel, that Canada is a friend to Israel,” she said, while also stressing that Canadian Jews “must not be held accountable for Israeli policy” and that there is “a huge difference between legitimate peaceful protest against Israeli actions, and using protest as a smokescreen for antisemitism.”

For the full reactions and recommendations of CIJA, B’nai Brith and JSpace, visit their respective websites.

Dave Gordon is a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in more than 100 publications around the world. His website is davegordonwrites.com.

Having your own home

Lovena Galyide, left, and Polina Gruzinov took part in Tikva Housing’s recent fundraising campaign. (photo from Tikva Housing)

Polina Gruzinov sits in her Richmond apartment surrounded by photos of loved ones and artwork made by her daughter, Lovena Galyide, who lives in the same building just a few floors above her.

At 87, Gruzinov is living independently. “I have always dreamed of having a place of my own,” she said.

Born to a Jewish family in eastern Ukraine in 1939, Gruzinov was just 2 years old when her family fled advancing Nazi forces during the Second World War. Her mother came from Novo-Kovno, a Jewish agricultural colony, and neighbours had warned the family that Jews were in danger as the occupation approached.

“The only thing I still remember is when we were evacuating by train; it was shelled, and it was very loud,” she said.

That traumatic displacement began a journey that would take her family thousands of kilometres across the Soviet Union into Central Asia, where her mother worked in a hospital. During those years, Gruzinov’s father died in battle and her younger brother disappeared while attending boarding school in Kazakhstan.

After the war, stability remained elusive. When the family returned to Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, much of the city had been destroyed. Promised housing never materialized, and Gruzinov’s mother settled for a tiny apartment where the family shared cramped quarters with another woman and her child.

Gruzinov says she and her mother rarely discussed the suffering they experienced during the war years.

“The Holocaust wasn’t really talked about,” she said.

For Talia Mastai, associate managing director of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre – which has documented the testimonies of hundreds of Holocaust survivors in British Columbia – stories like Gruzinov’s are an important reminder of the varied experiences of survivors.

“It wasn’t just limited to people in camps, people who were in hiding or people who were rescued,” Mastai said.

In the years that followed, Gruzinov built a career in telemechanics, married and gave birth to her daughter. Yet secure housing remained difficult to find. At one point, she lived with her husband, daughter, mother and aunt in just 20 square metres of living space.

The family later moved to Chechen-Ingushetia for her husband’s work assignment, where they lived in harsh conditions without many basic comforts. From their small temporary hut, they had to walk far to fetch water from a well, and heated the home with coal and wood.

“I couldn’t even let the child crawl on the floor,” she said.

Gruzinov eventually returned to Dnepropetrovsk and the marriage to her husband ended.

On her own, she continued to work while raising her daughter and caring for her mother. Then, in retirement, worsening economic conditions following the collapse of the Soviet Union forced her to consider a new life elsewhere.

“The situation in Ukraine was very difficult,” she said. “The pension was small; it wasn’t enough to live on. At that time, all the shelves were empty.”

In 1995, Gruzinov immigrated to Israel, settling in Ashkelon, about 20 kilometres from Gaza. Although she eventually moved into a retirement residence, instability remained part of daily life. From her window, she could see explosions in the distance during periods of conflict.

When her daughter settled in Vancouver, Gruzinov followed, arriving in Canada in 2016. But the high cost of living in Metro Vancouver meant the family’s housing struggles continued.

“When Mom came to Canada, I gave her my bedroom. The second bedroom was for my son, and I was sleeping in the living room,” Galyide said. “This was very tight for us, but rent was so expensive that I could not afford something bigger.”

Gruzinov continued to hope for a place of her own and, the following year, that dream became reality when she secured an apartment with Tikva Housing, which provides affordable housing solutions for Jewish individuals and families across Metro Vancouver. Today, Gruzinov lives independently in one of Tikva’s buildings, with her daughter close by and a renewed connection to the Jewish community.

“It’s very nice to have my own space but also having my daughter living in the same building,” she said.

Gruzinov is one of several Holocaust survivors supported by Tikva, where assistance from the Azrieli Foundation helps ensure they can age with dignity, financial security and connection.

“For many Holocaust survivors, housing stability is not something that can be taken for granted. Affordable housing allows them to remain connected to their communities and access the support they need,” said Anat Gogo, executive director of Tikva Housing, which owns 213 affordable units in eight buildings across Metro Vancouver and operates a rent relief program that provides short-term subsidies to people experiencing temporary financial crisis.

“Many survivors have experienced profound loss and displacement. While we cannot change what they endured, we can help ensure they have comfort, housing security and community in their later years,” said Gogo.

In 2025, Tikva first received funding from the Azrieli Foundation to support Holocaust survivors living in its housing units, helping the organization maintain significant rental subsidies in one of North America’s least affordable markets.

photo - Naomi Azrieli, chair of the Azrieli Foundation — Naomi Azrieli, chair of the Azrieli Foundation. *(photo from Azrieli Foundation)*

The initiative is part of the Azrieli Foundation’s broader commitment to supporting low-income Holocaust survivors across Canada. In addition to Vancouver, the foundation supports housing programs in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, working with local agencies that already serve survivors in their communities.

For Naomi Azrieli, chair of the Azrieli Foundation, those partnerships are essential.

“We always want to work with the trusted local agencies that are already there doing the work,” Azrieli said. “They know how best to respond to the specific needs of the populations they serve and they really help us maximize the impact of our funding.”

Azrieli has a deep understanding of the experiences of Holocaust survivors. Her own father, David Azrieli, has a story with remarkable similarities to that of Gruzinov and her family. Born in Poland, he fled to the USSR and eventually to Central Asia in 1941, shortly after the Nazi invasion – and he lived in Israel before building a successful international enterprise in Canada and Israel.

An equally ambitious philanthropist, in 1989 he established the Azrieli Foundation, which supports education, healthcare and research, Jewish life, the arts and Holocaust commemoration.

photo - David Azrieli was a Holocaust survivor who was both an entrepreneur and philanthropist. "He always remembered the people who helped him along the way and, as a result, his legacy really highlights how resilience can pair with responsibility," said his daughter, Naomi Azrieli — David Azrieli was a Holocaust survivor who was both an entrepreneur and philanthropist. “He always remembered the people who helped him along the way and, as a result, his legacy really highlights how resilience can pair with responsibility,” said his daughter, Naomi Azrieli. *(photo from Azrieli Foundation)*

“He always remembered the people who helped him along the way and, as a result, his legacy really highlights how resilience can pair with responsibility,” said Azrieli.

Last year, the Azrieli Foundation provided financial support to well over 1,600 low-income Holocaust survivors. Nearly 30% of the survivors helped were over the age of 90 – an age when housing stability, access to care and community connection become increasingly important.

Azrieli emphasized that the support is not charity.

“It is a reflection of respect and responsibility. It is because of our gratitude for all that survivors have endured and all that they have contributed,” she said. “They deserve care, they deserve dignity and they deserve to live in comfort today and always.”

In 2026, Tikva’s initiative expanded through a partnership with Jewish Family Services Vancouver, a Claims Conference partner organization, to identify Holocaust survivors living in market rentals who could benefit from additional support.

“Supporting survivors means ensuring they have access to the services and relationships they need to age with dignity,” said Tanja Demajo, executive director of JFS, which supports more than 160 Holocaust survivors through care management, financial assistance, home support, advocacy and social programs. “Remembrance is important, but so is responding to the realities survivors face today,” she said.

“What’s most meaningful for me,” said Galyide, “is that my mom struggled all her life, and now, at this moment, she is really happy.”

– Courtesy Tikva Housing

Music a family tradition

Rebecca Sichon will perform a set at the Mission Folk Music Festival on July 26. She, her father Boris Sichon, DIVKA and Nastasia Y share the stage earlier that day as well. (photo by Sara De Ledesma)

Ukrainian-Canadian jazz, soul and R&B artist Rebecca Sichon grew up attending the Mission Folk Music Festival, and performed there as part of the Youth Open Stage in 2017. At this year’s festival, July 24-26, she will take to the stage with her own music and band – she will also perform with her father, Boris Sichon, a festival veteran, as part of the show Unorthodox.

“I believe this will be my 16th time performing at the Mission Folk Music Festival,” said Boris Sichon. “What keeps bringing me back is the atmosphere. It is a very special festival, where there is a real connection between artists, organizers, volunteers and the audience.

“People come not only to listen to music, but also to discover something new,” he said. “As a musician who plays unusual instruments from different cultures, I always feel that people at Mission are open, curious and ready to travel with me through sound.”

Trained in classical percussion in Ukraine, where he was born, and in St. Petersburg, Sichon has traveled extensively – as a composer and performer – learning countless musical traditions along the way. In his performances and workshops, he draws on his collection of more than 400 instruments gathered over decades.

photo - Boris Sichon — Boris Sichon *(photo from missionfolkmusicfestival.ca)*

This year, though, his participation in the folk festival will be a little different than usual.

“I will be supporting Rebecca’s songs by creating atmosphere around her voice and piano,” he said. “I will be playing different instruments, including flutes, the Armenian duduk and maybe the Australian didgeridoo. I will also bring some atmospheric percussion instruments like the ocean drum, rainstick and wind machine. These instruments bring sounds of nature into the music and create a space around the songs.

“I may also share some solo pieces during the festival, with instruments from different parts of the world,” he added.

“For the Unorthodox set, I will be mostly performing with my dad and singing a few tunes that marked the start of my artistry,” said Rebecca Sichon.

“We grew up singing folk songs in Yiddish, Ukrainian and Romani and plan to showcase a few of our favourites,” she said.

Her personal set will include songs from her album, which is currently in the works, and her more popular tunes – “all living in the world of soul, jazz and R&B.” She will be joined in concert by Nicholas Bosman (bass, electric guitar, vocals), Mat Trewhit (backing tracks, cajon, percussion) and Elias Cerpa (keyboards, vocals).

“I grew up immersed in music, thanks to my very musical father, Boris, and my very encouraging and noise-tolerating mother, Faina,” said Sichon about her choice of career. “The radio was always on in the house, playing classical, jazz, world music or whatever CD my dad would bring home from his tours. I was put into piano lessons at the age of 7, my dad hoping it would give me the skills needed to songwrite and accompany myself in the future. I went on to complete six levels of the Royal Conservatory in piano and, just as my dad hoped, started writing and accompanying myself at the age of 11.”

She has always gravitated to jazz, soul and R&B. “I remember transcribing Ella Fitzgerald’s ‘Airmail Special’ at the age of 9, and loving the complexity of rhythm, enunciation and melody,” she said. “However, in my teens, I primarily wrote and listened to pop, thinking it was the ‘right’ direction to go in artistically. In my early 20s, I realized soul, and its relative genres, are exactly where I want to be musically.”

In addition to the piano, her father encouraged her to try out different instruments when she was young.

“I was a bit resistant to it,” she admitted. “But, as I’ve gotten older, I have slowly started a collection of instruments he’s gifted me, and I have a much bigger appreciation for it now. I do love the guitar and find it the most versatile, but I always come back to the piano; it feels the most grounding and inspiring for songwriting.”

While her dad is a musician through and through, Sichon said, “My mom would tell you she isn’t, but she’s got a beautiful voice, can play piano and is immensely creative in visual arts (she makes clothing and accessories out of wool, aka felting).”

Growing up, her parents instilled in her “a deep respect and admiration for Judaism and its traditions,” she said. “Growing up in a small town, I didn’t have much access to Jewish community, something I later found through attending Camp Miriam, a Jewish summer camp that gave me a meaningful sense of connection and belonging. While I no longer actively practise Judaism, being Jewish remains an important part of my identity. I carry a lot of love for the community and feel proud of my heritage and the generations of family history that came before me.”

Boris and Faina Sichon have five children. “Music was always a natural part of our family life,” said Boris Sichon. “At different times, all of the children played instruments…. Today, Rebecca is the only one who is a professional musician, but, for us, music was never only about becoming a musician. It was about creativity. We often improvised together at home. It was not important whether someone was a great player or just starting. The important thing was to listen, experiment and create something together.”

Father and daughter were making music together long before they shared a stage.

“What I remember most is how emotional those moments were. Of course, she is my daughter, and I love her very much. I shared with her everything I knew about music and the world of instruments,” said Boris Sichon. “But there was also something special in her from a very young age. Even when she was 2 or 3 years old, she could sing children’s songs very clearly, with perfect pitch. She had a natural gift. Her voice always had something that could touch people. She has always been a very sensitive and caring person, and I think that feeling comes through in her singing and in the songs she writes.

“Our first public performance together was around 2011, when she was 10 years old,” he said. “I remember feeling that I was not only accompanying my daughter anymore – I was sharing music with another artist.

“What I admire most about Rebecca is that she has always been herself. She never tried to copy anyone else.”

Both Sichons have a busy summer ahead.

Rebecca Sichon will take part in Canada Together on July 1, at Canada Place. She also has an engagement on July 9 at Intrigue Wines, in Lake Country, BC, and at the Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival Aug. 8, at Burnaby Village Museum. For more information, visit rebeccasichon.com.

Boris Sichon will take part in a festival on Hornby Island in July, “with the Borealis String Quartet and composer Paul Alexander, who has written music especially for this event,” he said. “Before that, I will be involved in a summer camp, sharing music and instruments with young people and encouraging creativity.

He’s looking forward to the Mission Folk Music Festival and, later in the season, the Mission Renaissance Faire.

“All of these projects,” he said, “are connected by the same idea: using music to bring people together, create curiosity and remind us that sound is a universal language.”

The Mission Folk Music Festival takes place at Fraser River Heritage Park. It offers more than 25 acts from across North America and elsewhere, performing a range of genres. Both the show Unorthodox, which also features DIVKA and Nastasia Y, and Rebecca Sichon’s concert take place on July 26. Visit missionfolkmusicfestival.ca.

Musical to warm heart

In Newfoundland, if you’re not from the island, you’ve “come from away.” On Sept. 11, 2001, after the terrorist attacks in New York, the United States shut down its airspace. As a result, 38 planes – carrying 7,000 passengers – were diverted to Gander, Nfld., population 9,000 or so. The local community quickly mobilized to provide their unique maritime hospitality to the unexpected guests from around the globe, welcoming them to their home, “the Rock,” for five days.

This is the premise for the aptly named musical written by Jewish-Canadian husband-and-wife songwriting team David Hein and Irene Sankoff, that took Broadway by storm in 2017. Now, this made-in-Canada opus comes to the Arts Club’s Stanley Stage, in partnership with Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre.

photo - Andrew Wheeler, left, and Vance Avery in Come From Away, which is at the Stanley until Aug. 16 — Andrew Wheeler, left, and Vance Avery in Come From Away, which is at the Stanley until Aug. 16. *(photo from Moonrider Productions)*

The essence of the show is quite simple, with 12 actors playing 20 characters on a minimalist set, courtesy of designer Lorenzo Savioni. It consists of 12 mismatched chairs – a metaphor for the eclectic mix of strangers that descended upon the island. The chairs are constantly being reconfigured, morphing from an airplane interior to a bus to a Tim Hortons to a school gymnasium to a pub. These transitions provide the background for the dozens of vignettes that make up the heartwarming story.

The actors move smoothly between their various roles with most costume changes done right on stage. While this is truly an ensemble production, every one of these performers has stand-out moments.

It all starts with veteran actor Andrew Wheeler as avuncular Mayor Claude, who introduces the audience to Gander, its inhabitants and their idiosyncrasies. Jacelyn Gauthier is outstanding as American Airlines pilot Beverley (America’s first civilian female captain) – and, boy, can she sing. Vance Avery and Kamyar Pazandeh play the two Kevins, a gay couple navigating their rocky relationship. Pazandeh also plays Ali, a Paris-trained Muslim chef, who endures the suspicions of his fellow passengers.

Then there is Englishman Nick (Garett Ross) and Texan divorcee Diane (Janet Gigliotti), who find love amid the chaos; take-charge Beulah (Stephanie Wolfe), the quintessential organizer, who bonds with Hannah (Lisa Michelle), a worried mother awaiting the news of her New York City firefighting son; SPCA worker Bonnie (Catriona Murphy), who goes out of her way to care for all the stranded pets; local cub reporter Janice (Daphne Charrois), who gets to break the news to the world; and Bob (Tenaj Williams), who worries about the cost of it all.

Finally, Charlie Gallant plays Oz, the quirky constable, but his real strength comes in his portrayal of the Orthodox rabbi who must cope with both the challenge of keeping kashrut in Gander and taking care of the spiritual needs of a Holocaust survivor’s relative, who is looking to make meaning out of the events of the day. Gallant does an admirable job as the rabbi and delivers a poignant rendition of Oseh Shalom during the multi-faith prayer scene. Community member Josh Epstein is the Hebrew/Jewish consultant for the production.

As their island sojourn comes to a close, the passengers are treated to an East Coast kitchen party replete with Celtic-infused, foot-stomping songs and the chance to become an honorary islander, which is a three-step process that culminates in the kissing of a cod fish (you will have to see the show to find out about the first two steps).

Savioni’s back wall of seven rotating panels/doors frames the actors’ entrances and exits and features Sophie Tang’s impressive lighting design, which often resembles airport runway lights. Ken Cormier’s seven-piece band and Gianna Vacirca’s energetic choreography complete the effect. Kudos to director Ashlie Corcoran for bringing this production to Vancouver.

These salt-of-the-earth islanders give a master class in what it means to be Canadian. It makes you feel proud to be one.

For tickets to the show, which runs to Aug. 16, go to artsclub.com or call 604-687-1644.

Tova Kornfeld is a Vancouver freelance writer and lawyer.

***

Come From Away’s rabbi

As are many of the vignettes in the musical Come From Away, the rabbi’s story is based on that of British Rabbi Leivi Sudak. Prior to the High Holidays, he was on his way to New York to pray at the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s grave, when his plane was part of the redirected fleet. Under his direction, the islanders scavenged the grounded planes to find kosher meals to feed the 30 or so Jewish passengers among the stranded. A kosher kitchen was set up in one of the schools housing the group and efforts were made for Shabbat to be observed and for the passengers to reach their destinations before Rosh Hashanah.

– TK