Bar-Ilan University’s Dr. Mordechai Kedar spoke in Vancouver Nov. 17 at Temple Sholom on root causes of Jew-hatred. (from idsf.org.il) The Enlightenment of the 18th century carried hopes for Jews that their long history of persecution would end, but the…
When Ariel Louwrier speaks about StressMarq Biosciences – the Victoria-based company he founded that specializes in the development and commercialization of high-quality bioreagents – in terms a layperson would understand, he draws an analogy to another era. “If you think…
Chabad of Nanaimo’s annual Hanukkah menorah lighting gathering is one of its most publicly visible events. Last year, it was held in Maffeo Sutton Park. (© Norm Wolf) When Rabbi Bentzi Shemtov and his wife Blumie established Chabad Nanaimo and…
The lighting of the Silber Family Agam Menorah in the Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza is an annual tradition. This year, the first candle will be lit on Dec. 14. (photo from Lubavitch BC) The lighting of the Silber Family Agam…
(photo from Queer Jewish Art Society) The second annual Drag & Dreidel: A Queer Jewish Hanukkah Celebration, hosted by the Queer Jewish Art Society, takes place Dec. 9 in Vancouver. Created by queer Jews for queer Jews and their allies, everyone is…
Randy Wolfe, left, with Aharon Botzer, co-founder of Livnot U’Lehibanot. (photo from Livnot U’Lehibanot) Reuven (Randy) Wolfe of Winnipeg recently returned to Tzfat, Israel, to reconnect with the founders of Livnot U’Lehibanot and with the place where his Jewish journey…
I recently celebrated Shabbat morning in a way I don’t recommend. I stepped out of my house for the dog walk, thought, “Oh, slippery!” The next thing I knew, I lost my footing. I fell down several stone steps. I…
Buried next to Maharam of Rothenburg’s grave is Alexander ben Salomon of Wimpfen (known in some sources as Alexander Süsskind Wimpfen) – the man who paid for the release of the rabbi’s remains. (photo by Pat Johnson) They say that…
I know what my wife and I will do for at least part of our winter break – go through the latest edition of Robin Esrock’s The Great Canadian Bucket List: One-of-a-Kind Travel Experiences together and make plans. For when?…
Karen Bermann’s The Art of Being a Stranger: A Family Memoir, published by New Jewish Press, an imprint of University of Toronto Press, is a work of art. It is moving in ways hard to describe. It might not capture…
One of my guilty pleasures is Hallmark-style holiday movies. Fine, they’re Christmas movies mainly. But, whenever there is a Jewish character, plotline or, in rare instances, it’s a Hanukkah movie, I am even more a fan. Comfortable in their predictability,…
A postcard featuring the work “In Prayer – In War” by Polish-American artist and cartoonist Mitchell Loeb (1889-1968). (internet photo) Of all the Jewish holidays, Hanukkah is the one most intimately connected to Israel and the Zionist dream. It mirrors…
Last year, a great miracle happened here: Beaver Point Hall on Salt Spring Island. (photo by R. Shefa) Hanukkah is a celebratory festival with oodles of delicious food – mostly fried – songs, candles and gatherings. It is also considered…
These latkes can be made vegan, gluten-free and with reduced oil – or not. (photo by Michelle Dodek) They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat. This refrain encapsulates how Jews celebrate a number of holidays and view our…
French is one of the main languages one hears on the streets of multicultural Jerusalem today, along with Hebrew, Arabic, English and Russian. More than 2,170 French Jews moved to Israel in 2024. The number in 2025 is projected to…
Nico Pallota’s Greek Orzo Salad. (photo from hilltoprecipes.com) My house, my rules. And those rules were recently transformed. No more fatty foods, no more carbs, no more booze. OK, an amendment is in order. Fewer fatty foods, fewer and more…
The editorial in the Dec. 8, 1939, issue of the Jewish Western Bulletin. We’ve come a long way in many ways, though some readers may disagree. I read, kind of in horror, the newspaper’s Dec. 8, 1939, editorial in which…
הכתבה אכן יש אנטישמיות בקנדה כמו במרבית המדינות בעולם לאור מה שישראל עשתה בעזה. לפני כניסת צה”ל לעזה (לאחר השבעה באוקטובר) טענתי שהפעולה הצבאית שם תגרום נזק אדיר לישראל. זה כולל גם את הישראלים והיהודים בעולם. לישראלים בארץ לא היה…
Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor of New York City, was a controversial candidate who won, in part, because of a campaign focused on local concerns, and not global politics. (photo by Kara McCurdy / commons.wikimedia.org) New York City just elected…
The cast of Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto: West Van Story, left to right: Tom Pickett, Ben Brown, Ivy Charles and Meaghan Chenosky. (photo by Emily Cooper Photography) If you want a ticket to East Van Panto: West Van Story,…
At an event hosted by the National Council of Canadian Muslims on Nov. 1, Toronto’s Mayor Olivia Chow said, “the genocide in Gaza impacts us all.” Four days later, protesters attacked a group of Jewish students from Toronto Metropolitan University…
Avi Benlolo of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative was in Vancouver Nov. 5 to screen the AGPI’s new film, Heart of Courage, about Jewish resilience in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. (photo by Pat Johnson) Against…
At the Kristallnacht commemoration in Victoria on Nov. 6, Congregation Emanu-El’s Rabbi Elisha Herb led a community pledge of mutual respect and support, joined by local politicians, faith leaders and law enforcement. (photo by Penny Tennenhouse) “Hate has no boundaries…
Prof. Robin Judd, author of Between Two Worlds: Jewish War Brides After the Holocaust, speaks with community members at the Kristallnacht commemoration in Vancouver Nov. 9. (photo by Sova Photography) The history of war brides – generally British or European…
Yuri Elperin’s solo show, Cycles of Being, opened at the Lipont Gallery in Richmond on Nov. 15. The show consists of Elperin’s large abstract mixed media paintings of the last few years. The art is powerful, eloquent and elegant, reflecting…
On Dec. 3, Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz will speak on Harnessing the Potential of Our Comfort Songs, as part of Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s Building Bridges Speakers Series. (photo from Hadar Institute) Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s annual six-part series of…
Love is at the heart of three new children’s books that would make great Hanukkah gifts. Many different types of families welcome their newborns in Mazel Toes!, written by Dr. Audrey Barbakoff and illustrated by Annita Soble. Each set of…
A friend shared her plans for a “great” day off. This included a deep dive into her refrigerator to clean things out. This household task is necessary. Food safety is important, but that doesn’t make it fun. When the kitchen…
In honour of Jewish Book Month, which runs Nov. 13 to Dec. 13, I’m highlighting a short article that appeared in the Independent’s predecessor, the Jewish Western Bulletin, on Dec. 18, 1970. The focus on the Jewish Community Centre Library,…
