הישראלים יודעים הכל, מבינים בכל והם הכי טובים בכל דבר ועניין. ולמרות זאת שורת המחדלים הקשים של השבעה באוקטובר הוכיחה שבמציאות זה רחוק מהאמת המודיעין לא תיפקד, השב”כ לא תיפקד, לקח לצה”ל 6-8 שעות להגיב על קריאת האזרחים (“הורגים אותנו”),…
Robert Krell, left, founding president of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, and Al Szajman, the current president, unveil the monument to Rudolf Vrba at Schara Tzedeck Cemetery. (photo by Pat Johnson) Rudolf Vrba, a scientist who had a significant but…
On Nov. 29, sopranos Jaclyn Grossman, left, and Miriam Khalil will perform Salam-Shalom: Echoes of Home, a program they put together in an effort “to build bridges between our communities.” “Salam-Shalom: Echoes of Home grew out of countless conversations between…
This feels like a turning point. Few people who observe international affairs, especially in the Middle East, would doubt that the conclusion of the two-year-long war means a significant change in the dynamics of the region. It is an understatement…
Created in 1995, the traveling exhibit Anne Frank: A History for Today is on display roughly 300 times a year. Mainly for school groups, people can visit the exhibit at Seaforth Armoury Nov. 11. (photo from Anne Frank House) The…
Before the 2004 Summer Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, organizers installed an elevator in the Acropolis. (photo from greecehighdefinition.com) What does sports have to do with human rights? This was the question posed by Vancouver Jewish community leader Zena Simces…
Ronnie Marmo brings his one-man show I’m Not a Comedian … I’m Lenny Bruce to the Chutzpah! Festival Nov. 18. (photo from dorensorellphotography.com via Chutzpah!) In 2017, with the expectation of a six-week run, creator and performer Ronnie Marmo and…
Suzy Birstein, who creates out of Parker Street Studios, is among the many artists – including Esther Rausenberg, Ideet Sharon, Lauren Morris and others – who are opening their doors to the public during the Eastside Culture Crawl Visual Arts,…
The Team Vancouver delegation at the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games in Pittsburgh, Pa. (photo from JCCGV) When the Jewish community of Greater Toronto hosts the JCC Maccabi Games this summer, it will mark the first time that the Jewish teen…
OneTable dinners – a platform for young professionals to meet on Shabbat – are occurring in 700 cities, including Toronto, but not yet Vancouver. (photo from OneTable) My son moved to Florida in August, choosing the Sunshine State for its…
More than one in four Canadians aged 15 and older, about 27% of the population, are living with a disability, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. That’s an increase from 22% in 2017, and the numbers are expected…
In Grade 9, the English teacher rotates table placements monthly because sitting with different students helps expose everyone to new worldviews. In general, this makes sense; discussions about literature require us to hear lots of opinions. This was also where,…
The passage across the Øresund, the body of water that separates the Danish peninsula from Sweden, is, at its narrowest, about the same distance as Horseshoe Bay to Bowen Island. But the waters can be treacherous – especially when it’s…
Almost every year that the Jewish Independent has entered the American Jewish Press Association’s Simon Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism competition, the paper has been recognized for its editorials. We have won for other articles, too, in several…
Tori Avey’s Honey Apple Bundt Cake before being dusted with sugar powder or decorated with icing. (photo by Shelley Civkin) Rosh Hashanah may well be in the rearview mirror, but Tori Avey’s Honey Apple Bundt Cake (toriavey.com/honey-apple-cake) is guaranteed to…
היום השאלה האם להמשיך ולגור בישראל, לעזוב או לחזור ולגור בה או לעשות עלייה -היא רלוונטית יותר מאי פעם. מצד אחד ישראל נמצאת במצב בטחוני, כלכלי וחברתי לא פשוטים, ומצד שני האנטישמיות ופגיעה בישראלים וביהודים היא ממשית ביותר אני עזבתי…
On the weekend of Oct. 11-12, the Okanagan Jewish Community Centre hosted a memorial exhibit to mark two years since Oct. 7. It was designed as a series of information booths, to allow visitors to engage with the material at…
“The Valley of the Shadow” by Michal Tkachenko. Songs of Deliverance, a solo exhibit by Michal Tkachenko, opened last month at the Zack Gallery and is on display until Nov. 10. While its title is inspired by the lyrics of…
The overwhelming joy of seeing the remaining hostages reunited with their loved ones, and Israelis and Jews heaving a sigh of relief after two excruciating years, is tempered with the sadness of all that was lost on and since Oct.…
Orca Wiesblatt was to play for the ECHL’s Allen Americans this season. The 25-year-old died in a car accident on Vancouver Island Sept. 14. (photo from allenamericans.com) A crowdfunding initiative is underway to honour the memory of Orca Wiesblatt, a…
Jewish agencies have filed a complaint against Sean Orr, a Vancouver city councilor who spoke earlier this month at an event they say has links to terrorism. Orr was elected to council in a by-election last April, representing the Coalition…
An Ontario court has handed down a 12-month prison sentence to a man who incited hate against Jews in public during a vigil last year at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. “We commend the Court for making clear that there is…
(PR photos) Israeli author and filmmaker Etgar Keret will be at the Rothstein Theatre Oct. 30, 7 p.m., in conversation with author and columnist Marsha Lederman. The JCC Jewish Book Festival event is sponsored by the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation.…
White Rock South Surrey Jewish Community Centre’s first-ever Fall Speaker Series, starts Oct. 29, with a talk on Jewish immigration to Canada. (image designed by Chloe Heuchert) On Oct. 29, I will help launch White Rock South Surrey Jewish Community…
Building Bridges, Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s annual six-part free lecture series, returns this year, beginning Nov. 2, 11 a.m., on Zoom. The theme for this season is Kolot Zemirot: The Many Voices of Jewish Music, exploring the role of music…
The South African Film Festival, which takes place Nov. 6-17, is primarily a streaming festival, but there are a few in-person cinematic experiences, including a screening of The Showerhead on Nov. 6, 6:30 p.m., at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the…
Omer Backley-Astrachan and Jana Castillo present the North American premiere of their work Common Place on Nov. 20, as part of this year’s Chutzpah! Festival. (photo by Wendell Levi Teodoro) Intoxicating, moving, compelling, exhilarating – these are just some of…
Last month, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver received the generous gift of $500,000 from the Arnold and Anita Silber Family Foundation toward the postwar renovations and expansion of Beit Vancouver in Kiryat Shmona. The Silber family are long-time supporters of…
I am a Canadian Jew with deep roots in Canada. My grandfathers, one from Winnipeg and the other from Toronto, helped build two of Vancouver’s prominent synagogues in the postwar era. I married a Canadian, also the descendent of Canadian…
The Hebrew month of Cheshvan, or “Mar Cheshvan,” is the second month on the calendar after Tishrei. It comes right after all the fall holidays end. The rabbis called it “mar,” or bitter, because it doesn’t have any holidays or…
