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Survivors play brings tears

On Oct. 29, six young actors offered a powerful rendering of Survivors, a play by Wendy Kout, at the University of Victoria’s Phoenix Theatre. The production will tour BC and other Western provinces. (photo by Peter Nadler)

On Oct. 29, six young actors offered a powerful rendering of Survivors, a play by Wendy Kout about 10 Holocaust survivors. The performance at the University of Victoria’s Phoenix Theatre had the audience, many of whom were decades older than the actors, reaching for handkerchiefs as the last words of the play, “never again,” were spoken in unison on stage.

The Victoria organizers, who have been given the rights to perform Survivors across the Western provinces, are hoping the play and its message will eventually reach, inform and educate students about the Holocaust and the dangers of hate.

Suitable for audience members from Grade 6 and up, Survivors is intended to provide students the ability to recognize the short- and long-term effects of prejudice, discrimination and, ultimately, genocide. Other objectives are to foster critical thinking in young (and older) people and impress upon them the importance of human rights and social justice advocacy.

The six actors – Julie McGuire, Ryan Kniel, Sarah-Michelle Lang, Nolan McConnell-Fidyk, Sophie Radford and Brandon Sugden – took on the roles of the 10 Holocaust survivors and dozens of other characters pertaining to their respective stories during the 65-minute performance.

Survivors progresses chronologically, portraying events leading up to, during and after the Holocaust, bringing to the stage the experiences of Jewish children and teenagers from Europe. The professional cast portrays the survivors, starting at innocence and continuing through the terrifying rise and rule of bigotry, xenophobia and violence, before they immigrate to America.

Among others, the play includes the stories of a teen who watched her boyfriend being taken away to a concentration camp, a girl who was separated from her parents and relocated to England through the Kindertransport, and a boy whose family struggled to escape to China.

Four of the 10 survivors on whom the play is based were still alive when the play premièred in New York in 2018. Though each story is unique, all the survivors “went through this horror and came through the other side to build meaningful, contributing, beautiful lives,” notes Kout. “We’re not just telling history. We’re telling history as a cautionary tale for the present and the future.”

Several prominent members of the public, such as MLAs Murray Rankin and Rob Fleming, were in attendance at the UVic performance. In remarks made after the show, Rankin suggested he would press the Ministry of Education and Child Care to bring Survivors to schools in the province.

Rankin’s comments preceded the announcement by Premier David Eby the following day, Oct. 30, that Holocaust education would become mandatory in high schools throughout British Columbia beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. The move made British Columbia the second province, after Ontario, to mandate study of the Shoah.

There is a tangible sense of urgency by the organizers of Survivors to have the play viewed as widely as possible.

“We need to capture young minds of young people at an early stage before hate and racism becomes normalized,” their literature states. “We need to do this in the schools, because that is where most young people can be reached and it’s an opportunity to educate children and engage teachers.”

Survivors, with its aim to educate young people about hate, comes at a time when clear evidence of the ignorance of history has been in the news. In September, Anthony Rota, the speaker of the House of Commons, stepped down after honouring a Ukrainian veteran who fought with a Nazi unit during the Second World War.

More broadly, the organizers of Survivors cite a report by the Azrieli Foundation, Yad Vashem and others, which found that 62% of millennials did not know that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, 22% of millennials had not heard or were not sure if they had heard of the Holocaust, and 23% of all Canadians believe that two million or fewer Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

The Victoria production of Survivors that played last fall in school auditoriums, theatres and libraries, and had four public performances was the first international tour of the play. (See jewishindependent.ca/survivors-a-cautionary-tale and jewishindependent.ca/theatre-that-educates.) There are other tours currently on both coasts of the United States, and Kout, along with the New York company that developed Survivors, is creating a documentary on how the play came to be.

Survivors was originally commissioned and developed by CenterStage Theatre in Rochester, NY, in 2017, when Kout was asked to write a Holocaust play about survivors who had immigrated to the city. Shortly thereafter, while watching neo-Nazis march in Charlottesville, Va., Kout expressed the feeling that she was not simply writing an historical play but also a “warning play.”

For the Victoria troupe, Zelda Dean, the director, said, “Our goal is to expand the tour to more of Vancouver Island, to Vancouver on the mainland, and to select schools in the interior. The following year we will expand to include more schools throughout BC and other Western Canadian provinces.”

To learn more about Survivors and to donate, visit holocausttheatre.com.

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

Learning opportunities

While a report this spring by the New York-based Jewish Education Project showed a decline in Jewish supplementary education in North America over the past 15 years, participation in after-school and weekend educational programs in British Columbia is on the rise.

Since the 1990s, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver has provided small grants to local supplementary schools; at present, it funds 11 programs. And, in 2015, Federation convened the Jewish Education Task Force to look into the state of part-time education.

“Through this work, we recognized the importance of focusing on innovation and change to attract a new generation of families,” said Shelley Rivkin, Federation’s vice-president of local and global engagement. “We were able to provide innovation grants and professional development opportunities for supplementary school educators to learn new and diverse ways to offer Jewish education. More importantly, we expanded the definition of fundable supplementary schools to include Shabbat, family and Hebrew literacy programs.”

According to Rivkin, while the Jewish Education Project report brought attention to the fall in enrolment elsewhere (see jewishindependent.ca/drop-in-jewish-learning), Federation’s experience has been that enrolment here has either remained stable or grown in the last few years.

“We have seen significant gains in supplementary school enrolment in both the regional and emerging communities, where families are seeking opportunities to connect with other Jewish parents and provide opportunities for their children to have Jewish experiences,” Rivkin said.

For example, BC Regional Hebrew Schools, operated through Chabad and funded in part by Federation, has become an important part of building Jewish community life in places like Langley, Coquitlam and Whistler. Likewise, programs directed toward Hebrew-speaking families, which have a broader focus on Israeli culture, are attracting new families who are looking for different content.

“We have seen all of our supplementary school providers adapt and change in response to changing demographics. All offer a range of activities utilizing innovative teaching methods and engaging content to appeal to a diverse group of children and their families,” Rivkin said.

The same is true for the Lower Mainland, where Federation notes that supplementary schools are making a difference as well.

“The Jewish Federation’s Supplementary School Grant helps us in many ways,” said Noga Vieman, education director of Congregation Har El in West Vancouver. “First, we believe that every child in every Jewish home deserves an enriching Jewish education and experience. The grant helps us keep the program reasonably priced, and offers us the opportunity to create scholarships for those in need, so that financial challenges will not prove a barrier to getting quality Jewish education and becoming part of the Jewish community.”

The grant also helps Har El provide its teachers with fair compensation, allowing the North Shore Jewish centre to attract and retain quality educators with a passion for working with children and building the future of the Jewish community in the region.

Further, part of the grant Har El receives is dedicated to funding classroom assistants to help increase inclusion.

“In our program, this money goes towards paying for an education assistant for a child who is blind, and also for teens who help children with different learning abilities, and who need personal support during class,” Vieman said. “This helps to create intergenerational connections, and keeps the teens involved in the community past their own education in our program.”

At the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture, the Federation grant has been used for Pnei Mitzvah, its secular humanist program for youth aged 10 to 14 that focuses on the Hebrew language, Bible stories, Jewish holidays and Jewish culture.

“We have been growing the program in recent years and have expanded it province-wide through an online cohort,” said Maggie Karpilovski, executive director of the Peretz Centre. “This growth would not be possible without Federation’s funding. It allowed us to attract expert teachers and innovate the delivery model so that it is accessible to more Jewish families throughout the region. As we are the only secular Jewish humanist organization in BC, and the Jewish community is spread out quite widely, it is important for us to make our programs accessible.”

Jen Jaffe, school principal at Temple Sholom, confirms the value of Federation’s financial support. “The grants allowed us to become more accessible to students of varying learning needs,” she said.

At Temple Sholom, the funding has been used to contribute to the school’s madrichim program and create a “learning hub” space for students with needs including sensory materials and furniture. The space is used each time school is in session.

“We need to celebrate these successes,” said Rivkin, “and applaud the educators and parents who are ensuring the survival of part-time Jewish education.”

To donate to Federation’s annual campaign, visit jewishvancouver.com.

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

המלחמה במזרח התיכון תשפיע לרעה על חיי יהודים וישראלים בכל רחבי העולם

בשלב זה ישראל מקבלת תמיכה ממרבית מדינות המערב. אך יש סיכוי שעם ההתקדמות של מבצע צבאי של צה”ל ברצועת עזה, התמיכה תלך ותרד עם עליית הנפגעים בצד הפלסטיני
(photo by Roni Rachmani)

המלחמה הקשה שמתנהלת בימים אלה בין ישראל לחאמס ויכולה להתפשט לחזיתות נוספות, צפוייה להשפיע לרעה על חיי יהודים וישראלים הגרים בקנדה, ארה”ב, אירופה ומקומות אחרים. הם צפויים לעמוד מול איומים שונים של פלסטינים ותומכיהם שמאשימים את ישראל גם במשבר הנוכחי. תומכי הפלסטינים קוראים להקמת מדינה לפלסטינים מהנהר ועד הים – שפירושה המעשי השמדת מדינת ישראל

העולם המערבי כולל צפון אמריקה מלא כיום מיליוני מוסלמים שהיגרו ממדינות ערב לאורך שנים רבות. חלק לא מבוטל מהם ממשיך לשמור נאמנות למוצאם ודתם בצורה פנאטית ורואה בישראל כמדינת אויב

עוד שגרתי בישראל טענתי שהסכסוך בינה ובין הפלסטינים וחלק ממדינות ערב יסכן גם את חיי היהודים והישראלים הגרים מחוץ למדינה. אמרתי אז שלישראל יש גם את האחריות לשמור על היהודים והישראלים, שבחרו לגור במקומות שונים בעולם ובעיקר במערב. ומוטל על ישראל לשקול בזהירות את צעדיה שכאמור יכולים להשפיע לרעה על היהודים והישראלים שגרים בחוץ לארץ

עובדה היא שאנטשימיות נגד יהודים וישראלים ברחבי העולם הולכת וגדלה, וכבר בסכסוך הקשה הנוכחי, נרשם גידול נוסף בשנה נגדם. וזו רק ההתחלה. אני צופה להרעה משמעותית עד סכנת חיים ליהודים והישראלים בצפון אמריקה, אירופה ומקומות אחרים. כבר עתה ידוע על הפגנות גדולות קשות נגד ישראל ותמיכה בפלסטינים. אלה עלולות להחמיר לעימותים פיזיים קשים עם יהודים וישראלים ואף יותר מכך. משטרות בערים רבות בעולם הדקו את ההגנה על מוסדות יהודים שונים ובהם בתי כנסת. נרשמו כבר לא מעט איומים נגד יהודים, ישראלים ומוסדות שונים בעולם ולכן השמירה מאוד חשובה במיוחד בימים טרופים אלה

בשלב זה ישראל מקבלת תמיכה ממרבית מדינות המערב. אך יש סיכוי שעם ההתקדמות של מבצע צבאי של צה”ל ברצועת עזה, התמיכה תלך ותרד עם עליית הנפגעים בצד הפלסטיני. במקביל צפויים היהודים והישראלים ברחבי העולם לסבול מגידול משמעותי באנטישמיות, התנכלויות, ואף מאיומים פיזיים

חברת אייר קנדה מהירה לפטר טייס מוסלמי שהתבטא נגד ישראל וכתב בחשבון הטוויטר שלו: “היטלר גאה בישראל”. מוסטפא איזו השתתף בהפגנה במונטריאול בעד הפלסטינים נגד ישראל והוא אף הצטלם עם צעיף בצבעי דגל פלסטין. זו לא הפעם הראשונה שאיזו מתבטא נגד ישראל ותומך בפלסטינים אך הפעם מתברר שהוא חצה את הגבול ובאייר קנדה מיהרו לפטרו

ראש ממשלת קנדה, ג’סטין טרודו, גינה את מתקפות הטרור נגד ישראל בהתייחסו להתקפה של חמאס על עשרות ישובי עוטף עזה בה נרצחו למעלה מאלף שלוש מאות ישראלים, נפצעו למעלה מארבעת אלפים ונלקחו בשבי קרוב לוודאי כמאה וחמישים אזרחים, חיילים, ועובדים זרים. בהודעה שפרסם בטוויטר אמר טרודו כי פעולות אלימות אלה בלתי מקובלות באופן מוחלט. אנו עומדים לימין ישראל ותומכים באופן מלא בזכות להגן על עצמה. מחשבות שלנו תמיד עם כל אדם שנפגע. חייבים להגן על חיי אזרחים, חתם טרודו את הודעתו. מנהיג האופוזיציה והמפלגה הקונסרבטיבית, פייק פוליוויר, גינה באופן חד משמעי את הפלישה של טרוריסטים של חמאס לישראל ואת האלימות האכזרית שהם הפעילו נגד אזרחים חפים מפשע. לדבריו לישראל הזכות להגן על עצמה בפני התקפות אלה ולפעול נגד התוקפים. מנהיג מפלגת השמאל אן.די.פי ג’גמיט סינג כתב בחשבון הטוויטר כי הוא מגנה את ההתקפות הנוראיות שביצע החמאס בישראל. אסור לעולם לפגוע באזרחים וכל החטופים צריכים להיות מחשוררים באופן מיידי. לדברי סינג יש חשש מההתפתחויות עתה. טרור ואלימות לא יפתרו דבר

Open letter – Jewish media outlets worldwide call for combating the surge in antisemitism

The following piece, an initiative of the Jewish News in London and the Jerusalem Post, is being published simultaneously in Jewish media outlets around the world.

Two decades ago, the former British Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, astutely likened antisemitism to a constantly evolving virus. One that, in the modern era, specifically targets the Jewish nation-state.

He aptly described this prejudice as a deeply ingrained malignancy, perpetually lingering beneath the surface of society. For many of us in the global Jewish community, the great man’s words were not merely a statement of truth but also a stark reminder. Until recent days, the extent and intensity of this virulent strain of hatred were tragically underestimated.

While the need for stringent security measures at schools and synagogues has long been a familiar reality, the realization that such profound levels of hatred and indifference to the threat exist on a global scale has been a devastating shock.

We dared to hope such malevolence had been relegated to the annals of history.

Today, in an unprecedented moment in Jewish history, we unite as Jewish news outlets spanning borders, continents, and religious affiliations to issue this open letter – something we never envisioned as necessary or even conceivable.

The events of recent weeks have surpassed even the somber portrayal offered by Rabbi Sacks all those years ago. Some of those who propagate hatred, concealing their prejudice under the veneer of being ‘anti-Israel,’ no longer find it necessary to obscure their malice.

We’ve witnessed raw hatred against Jews in cities across the globe.

In Dagestan, a mob ran towards planes on a runway to check passengers’ passports, hunting for disembarking Jews.

In Sydney, when authorities lit the famous Opera House in Israel’s colors, a crowd sang ‘Gas the Jews’.

In Lyon France, a woman was stabbed at her home, and a Swastika was spraypainted on her front door.

In London, red paint was daubed on Jewish school doors and the Wiener Holocaust Library.

In Berlin, Magen Davids have been spray painted on homes, a haunting echo of scenes in that German city 90 years ago.

On campuses across the United States, ‘martyrs’ who butchered Jewish children in their beds on October 7 are being celebrated, while a student at Cornell University was arrested for posting death threats against Jews.

This is not a call for two states living side by side in peace. This is not legitimate opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.

How could we have been so blind to this malignancy in our midst?

And yet, all that we have seen so far isn’t even our worst fear. Our gravest concerns lie in what the future may hold.

Meanwhile, some world leaders act as cheerleaders, sometimes inadvertently but at other times, not. Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro said: “If I had lived in Germany of 1933, I would have fought on the side of the Jewish people, and if I had lived in Palestine in 1948, I would have fought on the Palestinian side”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Hamas is not a terrorist organization”.

The head of the UN Antonio Guterres said 7/10 “didn’t happen in a vacuum”.

No, it didn’t, Mr Guterres. It required decades of indoctrination, years of holding up terrorists as heroes to be lionized, a sure way to fame and, often, fortune, and the presence of a terrorist organization whose central aim is to wipe Israel – and every one of our a Jewish family and friends – off the face of the earth.

Have no doubt, that Hamas is cheering those ‘from the river to the sea’ chants because a Palestine between the river to the sea leaves not a single inch for Israel.

Why do so many still seek to deny what’s in Hamas’ own charter?

And why are so many good people still silent when cheerleaders for terrorists decide the worst massacre of our co-religionists since the Holocaust is a good moment to open up a second, global front targeting Jews on campus, at work, on the streets, and at home?

Clearly not everyone marching under the Palestinian flag fantasizes about our deaths or the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state.

But please, try to understand that whether it’s one person, 100 people, or 10,000, the chilling impact of seeing so many people echo and excuse hateful chants is profound.

It’s not easy to speak on behalf of Jews in one country, never mind the world, nor do we purport to. As journalists, we report, opine, and comment. But the level of fear among our readers is like nothing in memory. It feels like those two equilateral triangles that combine to form our beloved Star of David represent a six-pointed target.

This is heightened by the fact there will be those who dismiss every word in this piece as having been written in bad faith, part no doubt of our supposed control of power and the media that has manipulated their warped minds. There will also be Jews who tell you this article doesn’t speak for them. Before those in the media feel the urge to put them on the airwaves in an attempt at ‘balance’, please first ask for an ounce of proof that they represent more than a tiny band of misfits. Some are more likely to stand alongside the Iranian regime that is so despised by much of the Muslim world than they would with most Jews.

Please don’t, however, mistake this growing fear for a lack of determination to fight our corner as citizens deserving of support and protection in our home nations, or doubt our solidarity as a people numbering just 16 million. In fact, we’ve never been so determined, so energized, so united and so proud, as highlighted by the huge uptick in sales of Stars of David. The incredible response in holding rallies, supporting charities, and fighting running battles on social media is something that will remain a source of pride for as long as those horrific images from Kibbutz Beeri and the peace rave.

This unity has been a light in the darkness. Another has been the support, publicly and sometimes not, of our real friends in all communities. Again, we will never ever forget this.

Our collective Jewish heart bleeds for the families of those who lost relatives in the Hamas atrocities and those facing agonizing waits for news of the kidnapped men, women, and children. Whether directly or not directly, many of our readers will be connected to these innocents. But our hearts bleed too for the innocents killed in Gaza as a result of this entirely unnecessary war launched by Hamas.

Over the unbearably painful days ahead, we – as providers of news for secular or religious Jews, those who frequently critique Israeli policy and those who don’t, those who see Israel are central to their identity, and those who are drawn nearer by crises such as this – call on the world to listen and treat us as you would want to be treated.

It shouldn’t be too much to ask.

המלחמה של ישראל

המלחמה הנוכחית שנכפתה על ישראל מציגה שני מראות עיקריים: אסון וזוועה על מה שעשו מחבלי חמאס וכישלון גדול של הממשלה בראשות בנימין נתניהו, הצבא, מערך המודיעין, השב”כ ואולי גם המוסד

החמאס הוכיח שהוא ארגון טרור רצחני ולא אנושי תוך שהוא מותיר מאות הרוגים ופצועים. אחרים נלקחו בשבי. לא מדובר רק בחיילי צה”ל אלה בעיקר באזרחים, נשים וילדים, גברים וזקנים. חלקם נטבחו, חלקם עונו וחלקם כך סתם נרצחו. החלק האחר הוא אולי במצב הקשה ביותר: נלקח בשבי על מנהרות החמאס בעזה הצפופה. מאז קום המדינה לא היה אירוע כזה בו נהרגו ביום אחד מאות רבות של אזרחים וחיילים. הפוגרום הנורא ביותר בתולדות הישוב היהודי בארץ ישראל. התמונות בערוצי הטלוויזיה ואתרי החדשות באינטרנט על הנרצחים, הפצועים ואלו שנשבו, הם קשות מנשוא. חיות אדם בסגנון דאעש אחראים לדבר הנורא הזה

במקביל הכישלון של ישראל שנתפסה מופתעת לחלוטין מתקפת הפתע של חמאס, ולאחר מכן לקח זמן רב מדי לכוחות צה”ל ומערך הביטחון להגיע אל ישובי חבל עזה, ולהציל את אלה שהמחבלים לא הספיקו להרוג. נתניהו קיבל מידע ואזהרה מהמצרים ממה שחמאס עומד לעשות והתעלם מכך. היה לו הרבה יותר חשבו לעבות את השמירה הצבאית על ההתנחלויות בשטחים הכבושים, שנציגיהם יושבים בממשלתו. נתניהו הזחוח והשחצן ייזכר לדראון עולם כראש הממשלה הגרוע ביותר בתולדות ישראל. זאת, כיוון שהוא לא מנע את האסון הגדול ביותר שקרה למדינה ולאזרחיה. “שותפים מלאים” לכשלונו של נתניהו חברי ממשלתו שאין להם מושג איך לנהל מדינה והם דואגים רק לאינטרסים האישיים שלהם. גם לצבא הגנה לישראל יש חלק גדול בכישלון הנוראי שגב המחיר קשה מנשוא. מערכת ההגנה על יישובי חבל עזה עם כל הטכנולוגיה שלה קרסה תוך דקות על ידי עשרות מחבלי חמאס שנהרו אל הישובים החשופים. מערך המודיעין של צה”ל, השב”כ ואולי גם המוסד לא ידע כלל על הכנות של החמאס לביצוע המבצע לכניסה לשטחי ישראל. לקיום מבצע שזה דרושים חודשים ארוכים תוך תיאום עם גורמים באיראן ואחרים. כל אלה הצליחו להערים על המודיעין הישראלי בקלות בלתי נתפסת

לאחר שהמלחמה תסתיים צפוי שבכירים בצבא, במערך המודיעין והרמטכ”ל, בכירים בשב”כ ובמוסד והעומדים בראשם יתפטרו עוד לפני שוועדת החקירה הממלכתית תדון בסוגיית האחריות והכישלון שאפשר לחמאס לבצע את פשעיו. לעומתם נתניהו כרגיל לא יקח שום אחריות למעשיו. בכל הקריירה הפוליטית הארוכה שלו הוא תמיד ידע להאשים אחרים. אבל שום אחריות אישית. נתניהו יעשה הכל כבעבר להמשיך ולשבת על כיסא המלך כי נתניהו דואג רק לנתניהו

נתניהו מינה חברי ממשלה חסרי יכולת לטפל בתיקים עליהם הם אחראים. לא כישוריהם הביאו אותם לשולחן הממשלה, אלא הנאמנות למנהיג נתניהו. לכן לא מפתיע לגלות את חוסר יכולתם של שרי הממשלה הנוכחית לטפל במצוקות הרבות של ישראל בימי המלחמה הקשים האלה. נשמעה ביקורת נוקבת על שרי ממשלת נתניהו שלא ביקרו פצועים בבתי החולים ולא השתתפו בהלוויות הקורבנות הרבים

בתור אחד שגר בישראל ארבעים וחמש שנים לא האמנתי שהמדינה תגיע למצב שכזה. החברה מפוררת מבפנים בעיקר לתודות הרפורמה המשפטית של נתניהו. הצבא לא ערוך לאתגרים האינסופיים שלו ואת ההנהגה תפסו פוליטיקאים קטנים שנכשלו בתפקידם. ישראל משלמת היום מחיר כבוד מאוד לאור מחדלי ההנהגה שלה. אני לא צופה עתיד ורוד בהמשך הדרך. על נתניהו מוטל לעשות רק דבר אחד: ללכת הביתה

“We are safe,” says Shanken

For safety reasons, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is asking community members to avoid anti-Israel protests or events. (photo by Larry Barzelai)

“We are safe,” says Ezra Shanken. The chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver reassured local Jews that, in light of massively increased tensions globally, there are no specific increased threats to the Jewish community in British Columbia.

Despite fears, no serious attacks or incidents of vandalism have been reported, with the exception of an incident in Surrey. Someone threw eggs at the home of Rabbi Falik Schtroks, spiritual leader of the Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley, and a swastika was drawn in felt pen on a window of the home.

“One of the things that people who hurt the Jewish people … don’t realize, when that happens, we always come together,” the rabbi told CTV News.

“We’ve seen what happened to Rabbi Schtroks’ place,” Shanken said. “We take that very seriously. But, on the whole, we are safe.”

Jewish community organizations, under the leadership of the Jewish Federation in partnership with other agencies, especially those with physical spaces, like synagogues, schools and community centres, work year-round on security issues, ready for any possible local impacts that so frequently coincide with overseas conflicts.

Shanken credited Federation’s “very active” security committee and the professional security director, all of whom are coordinating among various Jewish agencies.

As he has at successive public events, Shanken heaped kavods on the Vancouver Police Department, the RCMP and other police agencies.

“The amount of resources they are expending on our community, to make sure that we are safe, is astronomical,” said Shanken. “I have just so much gratitude for them and for all they do for us, day in and day out.”

He encourages individuals who encounter police at the Jewish Community Centre, outside synagogues, schools or elsewhere, to take a moment to express gratitude.

“Go up, shake their hand, thank them, give them a hug, give them some cookies, give them some food, make them feel like they are being loved,” he urged.

In addition to simply being a kind thing to do, showing appreciation for the police, Shanken said, is a way to further demonstrate the moral divide between the Jewish community and those who are protesting Israel. Shanken said police working at anti-Israel rallies have been spat on and had things thrown at them.

“I want to make sure that there couldn’t be a clearer distinction in our community from those on the other side when it comes to how we treat our first responders and our law enforcement,” he said. “We are here to say thank you and to engage with them because they are keeping us safe.”

Although schools saw some understandable decline in turnout on the so-called “Day of Rage” called by Hamas against Jewish individuals and institutions worldwide for Oct. 13, Jewish British Columbians are going about their lives.

“People are coming into our JCC,” said Shanken. “They know they should come here and, if anything, they should be here so we’re sending a message that says we will not be dictated to on how it is that we can live within our community by others. We are going to come out and we are going to be strong, proud people within our communities, enjoying the things our community has to offer.”

In a message to the community in advance of the Hamas call for violence worldwide, Federation assured that “we will always act in a proactive, abundantly cautious manner when it comes to community security.”

The communication added that “we also recognize that these calls are also designed as a tool of intimidation and fear to harm our mental and emotional health. They are meant to stop us from going about our daily lives, regardless of whether there are specific security threats.”

The Vancouver Police Department, the RCMP and other security forces are maintaining a visible presence in front of high-profile organizations, including schools, synagogues and the JCC.

“Please note that there may not be a car present at all times and you may not see people in uniform,” the message noted.

Increased patrols are taking place around all Jewish institutions. In addition, Jewish organizations have been flagged by police as priority institutions, which means that any emergency call to law enforcement will result in an immediate and enhanced response, Federation said.

Federation is also working with partner organizations, as they do always, around security protocols.

For individuals and families, Federation is asking people to avoid anti-Israel protests or events. At Jewish community rallies or vigils, people are asked to not engage with protesters. At all times, people should stay aware of surroundings, and report anything suspicious to the police.

To ensure you are receiving all security updates and other communications from the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, click the “Connect” button at jewishvancouver.com. The Federation website also includes resources for talking to children about the situation, and links to specific, up-to-the-minute news on events in Israel and elsewhere.

The opposite of death is love

Hadar Galron in Whistle, which is at the Firehall Arts Centre Nov. 14-15, as part of the Chutzpah! Festival. (photo by Nathan Yakobovitch)

“As a child I was never hugged or kissed; I think my parents did not even see me. I wrote this story to stop being an invisible child,” Israeli author Ya’akov Buchan has said about Whistle: My Mother was Mengele’s Secretary.

The play Whistle is part of this year’s Chutzpah! Festival, with performances Nov. 14 and 15 at the Firehall Arts Centre. Writer, director and actor Hadar Galron, who adapted Buchan’s story for the stage, stars in the monodrama.

“Buchan was born to two Auschwitz survivors, and began writing after he was injured in the Yom Kippur War. He’s written 18 books – four concerning the Holocaust – but he felt that people don’t read so much anymore, and that he wanted to write a play about second generation Holocaust survivors,” explained Galron in an interview with the Independent. “Dramatic writing and prose are very different techniques, and Ya’akov sent me about 30 pages of interesting and well-written content, but not dramatic enough for stage.

“The first meeting with him was out of respect – I thought I’d give him a few tips and let him take it from there,” she continued. “I remember the turning point: I said, ‘You mention twice in these pages the name Mengele. You can’t just throw in a name like that, it needs to have some dramatic payoff, or not to be mentioned at all.’ Ya’akov said nothing, just nodded. And, suddenly, I thought that maybe Mengele had tortured one of his parents. ‘Were any of your parents somehow … (how to say this?!) … connected to Mengele?’ Ya’akov looked me squarely in the eye and said, quietly, ‘My mother was Mengele’s secretary.’ That was when I knew I would take the task, and help him tell his story and the story of the second generation.”

In recent years, Galron has been working on several plays that deal with the lasting impacts of trauma. “We tend not to consider [the] second generation as traumatic,” she said, “but something as horrendous as the Holocaust leaves some people so scarred that they cannot really love anymore, even their children. Or, they love but in a different, obsessive way. The children who grow up without feeling love are traumatized, too, but their wounds are invisible.

“It’s important to understand that, whilst the trauma lasts a minute or a year or five years, post-trauma lasts a lifetime and, when considering [the] second generation, then even more than a lifetime. Long-term traumas such as [the] Holocaust are not a swing of the sword, they are more like the bite of a snake – the venom penetrates the body and mixes with the blood of the victim.”

Though she generally directs her own works, Galron said, “When I’m the actress, I need someone on the outside. At first, I thought maybe I’d direct and not act. It was Ya’akov who begged me, after seeing my stand-up cabaret Passion Killer, to act the part.”

Jaffa, Israel-born director and playwright Hana Vazana Grunwald was the first person who came to Galron’s mind to direct.

“We studied theatre together at Tel Aviv University, but that was decades ago! I had no idea where to find her,” said Galron. “We’d met a couple of times in festivals, etc., along the years. I was thinking of her on my morning walk-jog in the park by my home. In the distance, I saw a woman that reminded me of Hana and then we got closer and I saw it actually was Hana! She lives five minutes away from me, but that was the first day she decided to go out and take a power-walk before work. I don’t believe in coincidence – it’s only God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

Grunwald started out in community theatre more than 25 years ago. She is the director of the Frechot Ensemble, a collective of women creators, which she founded some 10 years ago.

“I see myself as a feminist Mizrahi (Middle Eastern Jew) writer, who brings to the forefront my personal story,” she told the Independent. “But my personal story is never just my own, it’s an inherent part of my political story, my family’s story and the collective which I belong to. I feel that my world isn’t really represented in Israeli theatre. I don’t see the household I grew up in, I don’t encounter complexities and dilemmas that interest me. I realized I have the responsibility to represent myself – I have to write these texts, I have to tell these stories. My job is to search through history and prose and to bring back the voice of all those whose voice was taken away from them.”

When Galron sent her the script for Whistle, Grunwald said, “I was immediately hooked. But, after we met again, I felt that the opportunity to work together and find connections would also be reflected in the play’s dramaturgy.

“The challenge that the play Shirika [Whistle, in Hebrew] brings to our door is how to retell the story of the Holocaust and the story of the members of the second generation, who feel transparent. Two images guided me in my search for the keys to directing the play,” said Grunwald.

“The first: whistle. Tammy, the protagonist, lost her ability to whistle, she lost her ability to love and feel loved and, as she says in the play, ‘The opposite of death is not life, the opposite of death is love.’ The way this whistle is expressed on stage is through the prop of a kettle full of boiling water. The boiling and bubbling kettle and the whistler on stage metaphorically tell the story of the Holocaust, a story that never ends.

“The second image we chose is the painting. Tammy is a painter and, when we wondered what was painted on the stage, we realized that the body is the canvas, the body treasures and carries the wounds of the past, the memories – the actress jumps from limb to limb and with the help of simple means such as brushes and paints Tammy marks national history…. This is the way in which the trauma is present again on the stage.

“It seems that precisely now the spectacle of a whistle is given a relevant meaning,” Grunwald added. “We find ourselves facing a terrorist attack in which again Israeli Jews are brutally murdered and mass murdered because of their Jewishness. We again witness horror stories in this war against Hamas. We find ourselves again, 75 years after the establishment of the state of Israel, in a shocking event that reminds us of the fear of being destroyed. The harsh scenes from both sides shake the soul, sow terror and fear, and remind us that the feeling of security is a temporary illusion and we must not forget it. I work at the Hebrew-Arab theatre in Jaffa, a theatre that gives a stage to the binational discourse, it gives a stage to both narratives, and I feel that, these days, it is the first to be hurt.”

Galron also works with artists of different backgrounds and shared one of her experiences.

“Between 2016 and 2018, I was artistic director of the Shalom Festival, a small festival that was an official part of the Edinburgh Fringe fest,” she said. “We created this festival after an Israeli production, in 2014, was shouted down by the BDS [boycott, divest and sanction movement] and, in 2015, there were no Israeli productions.”

She was inspired by Sir Rudolf Bing, founding director of the Edinburgh International Festival, from which the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has its roots. Galron explained that Bing, a Jewish-Austrian opera singer, who fled Nazi Germany, “created the festival as a cultural bridge, inviting, firstly, German artists to take part! With that in mind, I told the sponsors of the Shalom Festival that we cannot make a one-sided Shalom (Peace) Festival and that, as the artistic director, I would like to bring artists from all of Israel, including Israeli Arabs – both Muslim and Christian – and also some Palestinian artists. At first, there was big objection but, eventually, I convinced them that these are Palestinians who believe in peace, in dialogue. Until today, even in these times, I am in contact with my Palestinian friends.

“I believe art is a bridge,” she said. “I believe art and culture and theatre have the power to heal – to give us insight and create empathy. From my very first performance as a stand-up artist – my show was on the status of women in the Jewish law – I made a decision to make my art meaningful, to merge life and stage.”

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel, Galron has been posting related videos and other items on Facebook, including “Creativity in place of survival” writing challenges. She got the idea from a course she took during COVID with Dr. Joe Dispenza. “In one of the online digital courses, he speaks of how our brain can be either in ‘survival’ or in ‘creativity’ mode,” said Galron. “The moment I heard this, I understood many things about myself and how creativity has always been for me a way of surviving. Now I know that, when we begin to be creative, we actually begin to pull ourselves out of ‘survival’ [mode] even if we are being creative whilst we try to survive. A bit like Baron Munchausen explains that he pulls himself by his hair out of the pit.”

About how she is doing since the attacks, Galron said, “I didn’t have a real answer to that question until yesterday, because everything is so chaotic. But I was speaking to a university student of mine who answered, ‘I’m committed to the good.’ I was so moved by this. She told me she adopted it from her yoga teacher. I adopted it from her. I’m committed to the good.”

For tickets to Whistle and other Chutzpah! shows, visit chutzpahfestival.com.

Hope amid the conflict

We are still reeling from what happened in Israel on Oct. 7 and the war that has ensued.

Hamas carried out a brutal terror attack on Israel that targeted civilians, murdering 1,400 people and kidnapping more than 200 Israeli hostages. Jews worldwide are grief-stricken, angry and scared. It is hard to see the hope, as images of dead Israelis mix with images of dead Palestinians.

There is no doubt in our minds that Hamas needs to be incapacitated – its covenant explicitly states their intention to eliminate Israel and kill Jews. On Oct. 7, they reasserted their intention with a vengeance that cannot be ignored. Their unambiguous goal is genocide.

Posters we see around Vancouver that simultaneously accuse Israel of genocide for defending itself and call for the genocide of Israelis – “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” – are abhorrent. People who support Hamas’s genocidal actions, implying, or outright stating, that Israelis deserve such cruelty do not care about humanity, do not believe in peace.

The people who are putting up the posters that ask, “Do you support indigenous rights? Then you support Palestine” are implying that Jews are colonizers and, therefore, deserve to be expelled, no matter how. But the Jewish connection to the land goes back thousands of years; we were dispossessed of it but never ceded it.

There are some two million Palestinians in Gaza, and they cannot be similarly dispossessed. More than half the population has been asked to leave their homes. Reports are that more than 4,500 have been killed from Israel’s bombing campaign.

Our hearts break at the type of war that fighting Hamas entails. The terror group uses civilians and civilian infrastructure as shields, ensuring that hundreds or thousands of innocent Palestinians die every time Israel defends itself militarily, even when it adheres to international law in its actions, including allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza.

One way or another, the people who live between the river and sea must find a way to coexist. That is quite literally the only way forward. As simplistic as this sounds, it is nevertheless true. That is impossible with Hamas as the controlling force in Gaza. But, when they are removed, what then? Replacing the figures at the top – whether in Gaza or in the Israeli government, the latter of which is something that will certainly be discussed in the aftermath of this horror – will not automatically negate deep mutual distrust among populations.

There are so many complexities and no end of theories as to how we have arrived at this point. What will happen next is less discussed, though there is the all-too-real possibility that the conflict will become regional – already the 22,000 residents of Kiryat Shmona, the largest community in the Vancouver Jewish community’s partnership region of the Upper Galilee, are being evacuated because of terrorist attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon, which are expected to increase once Israel begins its ground offensive in the south. Some fear that the Hamas attack is less the main event than a distraction, a trap to lure Israel into an even more existential fight on multiple fronts.

Closer to home, there are security threats to Jews in the diaspora. Thankfully, Hamas’s call for a day of rage on Oct. 13 did not result in serious incidents. But the fear is real, and that is the purpose of terrorism. Jewish organizations and law enforcement agencies are working together to keep us safe. We must continue to live our lives as Jews, and not hide.

Some of our local community members have gone to Israel to fight. Other community members are rallying, marching and postering to make sure that the Israeli hostages being held captive in Gaza are returned home. More than $15 million was raised for Israel in just two weeks by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s emergency campaign.

And, there are Israelis (Jewish, Muslim, Christian and others) and Palestinians who, despite the terrorist attacks and the war, continue against so many odds to work for peace. Groups such as Standing Together, Women Wage Peace, the Parents Circle, and others are working to shore up hope for peace, equality and coexistence. These groups deserve our support, moral and financial.

At the same time as we support our family and friends in Israel and one another here, as we call for the immediate return of the hostages and as we raise funds for aid, we must also support those activists and dreamers on the ground who advocate for a better postwar world.

Rally and march for hostages

Hundreds marched on Oct. 22, calling for the release of the more than 200 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza. (photo by Pat Johnson)

Erez, aged 12, and his sister Sahar, 16, had spent the night at their father’s house in Kibbutz Nir Oz when Hamas terrorists stormed the home. The kids jumped out the window and hid in the bushes while gunmen rampaged their community, shooting entire families in their beds and safe rooms. “Mom, be quiet, don’t move,” he texted his mom, Hadas. She texted back: “I love you forever. I hope you survive.”

Erez did not reply. For hours, Hadas called Erez’s cellphone repeatedly, even as she fought for her life, physically blocking terrorists from breaking down her safe room door. Then Erez’s older sister found an 18-second video circulating on social media. It showed Erez in a black T-shirt, being gripped by both arms and led into captivity.

In all, five members of the Kalderon family were taken: Erez, Sahar, their 50-year-old father, Ofer, their 80-year-old grandmother, Carmela, and 12-year-old cousin, Noya, were grabbed from another house in the community.

This was one of many individual stories shared at a vigil and march in Vancouver Sunday, Oct. 22, where hundreds of Vancouverites chanted “Bring them home!” and “Let our people go!” as they marched from the Vancouver Art Gallery, protected by a large police presence, along Georgia Street, over to Robson and back to the original site. The steps of the art gallery’s north side were packed with people holding posters of the hostages – and these posters represented only half of the total number of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza.

The faces are also seen on thousands of posters around Metro Vancouver and elsewhere. Activists in communities worldwide have downloaded and printed the sheets, plastering them around city streets. The Vancouver efforts – which have seen probably 20,000 posters distributed so far – are led by Daphna Kedem, who also initiated the Sunday afternoon event and an earlier vigil two days after the Oct. 7 terror attacks.

photo - About 20,000 posters – the cost of which was covered by two anonymous non-Jewish donors – have been put up by volunteers all around Metro Vancouver — About 20,000 posters – the cost of which was covered by two anonymous non-Jewish donors – have been put up by volunteers all around Metro Vancouver. (photo from Daphna Kedem)

Kedem is also a lead organizer of the local branch of UnXeptable, which, until the current crisis, was agitating against proposed Israeli government efforts to undermine responsible government there. Her current activism, she stressed, is done in her capacity as an individual, but she expressed gratitude to Rabbi Dan Moscovitz of Temple Sholom for helping organize, and to other synagogues, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and others for unhesitatingly jumping in to help.

Putting a human face to the hostages is the right thing to do, Kedem said.

“We have to bring it out to the public because it’s a humanitarian crisis,” she told the Independent. “Once you personalize it and you see that it’s an innocent baby or a child, you care more.”

photo - Left to right: Flavia Markman, Ezra Shanken, Anet Bernadette and William Wolff. The four are among the many volunteers who have put up around the city approximately 20,000 posters with the faces, names and ages of Israelis taken hostage by the terrorist group Hamas. For more on the Bring Them Home Now effort — Left to right: Flavia Markman, Ezra Shanken, Anet Bernadette and William Wolff. The four are among the many volunteers who have put up around the city approximately 20,000 posters with the faces, names and ages of Israelis taken hostage by the terrorist group Hamas. For more on the Bring Them Home effort. *(photo by Flavia Markman)*

Kedem said the cost of printing the thousands of posters was covered by two anonymous non-Jewish donors and, at the rally this past Sunday, Christian clergy spoke, including a Catholic representative and two evangelical ministers.

Nevertheless, frustration over the silence of so many others was evident in the words of Moskovitz to the rally.

“Once again, Jews are being slaughtered and violently attacked and the world is silent,” he told hundreds of attendees, many carrying Israeli or Canadian flags. “Or they say, ‘Yes, but.’ There is no ‘but’ to murder. There can be no ‘but’ to hate. There can be no ‘but’ to the kidnapping of civilians, of children, of grandparents, of pregnant mothers, of disabled people. There can be no ‘but’ to that. There can be no justification for that. This is 2023, not 1943. And yet ‘Never again’ is happening again right now. The Jewish people will not be silent. You must not be silent.”

Moskovitz slammed the moral equivocation heard in commentary and seen in street rallies worldwide.

“This was not an act of resistance,” he said. “This was not a military campaign. This was not a popular uprising. This was cold, calculated and barbaric murder and rape and kidnapping of innocent civilians, the vast majority of them Jews.”

Motioning to the posters of the hostages, he added: “We call on those in our own city who cheer and celebrate what Hamas has done to these people and thousands of others on that horrible day to stop. Stop cheering the terrorists. Stop denying our grief, our human value. Stop your whataboutism. Stop tearing down pictures of children who have been kidnapped. Stop helping the terrorists. Stop justifying their brutality. Simply, stop.… Find your moral compass. Find the compassion you have for everyone and everything except Jews. Join us in this most basic of human cries: return our children to their parents, return our families to their homes.”

A WhatsApp group, “BTH – Vancouver,” is coordinating the postering activities: to join, visit bit.ly/BTH-Vancouver. Posters are downloadable by anyone at kidnappedfromisrael.com.

Funds to help Israel pour in

Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver chief executive officer Ezra Shanken on Victoria Rumble Room Oct. 14. Shanken has very much been the face of the Jewish community in recent days. (screenshot)

An emergency fundraising campaign in response to the devastation in Israel raised more than $15 million in Metro Vancouver in less than two weeks.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is spearheading the Israel Emergency Campaign. In his weekly email last Friday, Oct. 20, Federation chief executive officer Ezra Shanken announced the record total that had been raised to that point. By comparison, last year’s entire annual campaign raised $10.2 million.

Shanken told the Independent that, within the $15 million-plus total, is another new record for the local community: nine gifts of $1 million and a gift of $2 million.

Despite the great success, Shanken said the money will barely begin to approach the needs created by the human and material destruction caused by the Hamas terror attacks and the ongoing aftermath.

“As excited as I want to be,” he said, “I felt like $20 million, which is where we would like to get to, is not even going to be enough. The destruction, both in human life and in physical property, is so immense in the south, the risk is so high in the north, the mental health needs are so huge over there, that those alone are multi-, multi-million-dollar needs.… The damage is so deep that it’s going to take a lot for us to be able to make an impact.”

The Jewish Federations of North America set a goal of $500 million for the combined campaign and was already well past the two-thirds mark at the end of last week. Other Israel-based and Israel-supporting charities are also raising money and delivering support through funds and on-the-ground projects.

The speed and magnitude of the local emergency fundraising effort, Shanken said, may be a consequence of the community campaign already underway for the redevelopment of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. He calls it the “JWest effect,” referring to the name of the redevelopment project. Sensitizing philanthropists to community needs may have sowed the field for the extraordinary generosity shown when this unanticipated catastrophe occurred. The feeling that this is an unprecedented historical moment is also a factor.

For media in British Columbia and at public events, Shanken has very much been the face of the Jewish community in recent days. Speaking personally, he described the flood of contradictory emotions he has experienced.

“This time has been a mix of incredible pride and incredible pain,” he said. “They come in different waves. I have incredible moments of pride and incredible moments of resolve and strength and incredible moments of weakness and pain and depression.”

Shanken continued: “It’s a tough time for all of us, it’s a tough time for me.… But I believe more than ever that these are the moments where we are really forged in these fires and we will be a stronger community because of what we’re going through in this moment.”

The inhumanity witnessed not only in Israel but closer to home, with protests and statements effectively supporting and celebrating the mass murders, has stiffened his resolve, he said.

“I feel a need to stand up against those who are really trying to push us down in this moment,” he said. “I feel strong, I feel determined, I feel righteous in this moment in pushing back against those who are going to minimize the deaths of these folks, that are going to make us feel that we don’t have a right to grieve, we don’t have a right to defend ourselves, we don’t have a right to care for each other. I have no stomach for that anymore and we’re not going to keep our mouths shut on this.”

Funds raised will be allocated through several different projects working directly in Israel (click here for story). While most of the devastation from the Oct. 7 attacks is in the country’s south, the Vancouver Jewish community’s partnership region, Etzba HaGalil, the Galilee Panhandle, and other parts of northern Israel, have experienced attacks from the terror group Hezbollah, from their bases in southern Lebanon. Kibbutzim, villages and towns within a several-kilometre range of the Lebanon border have been largely evacuated. In all, about 200,000 Israelis from the north and south have so far been displaced by the crisis.

“The north is a major, major concern for Israel, it’s a major concern for us,” said Shanken. “So, we are trying to get them prepped up and ready, get emergency war rooms together in community centres, those kinds of things. We’re looking at some other kind of resiliency-building pieces in subsequent tranches of money that will be sent.”

Donations to the Israel Emergency Campaign can be made at jewishvancouver.com/israel-fund.