On Nov. 7, members of the Kalkman family – left to right are Danielle, Victoria, Matthew, Peter and Bonnie – received the Righteous Among the Nations award from the consulate general of Israel in Toronto and Western Canada and the…
Kristallnacht, which took place 80 years ago this month, saw hundreds of synagogues burned, Jewish-owned businesses destroyed, 100 Jews murdered and 30,000 incarcerated. (photo from commons.wikimedia.org) Kristallnacht, which took place 80 years ago this month, was the “Night of Broken…
Jenn Griffin and Paul Herbert in Firehall Arts Centre’s production, The Enemy, which runs to Dec. 1. (photo by Pedro Meza) A doctor in a small B.C. town discovers that the main tourist draw, the springs, are polluted. As she…
Left to right are Megan Laskin, Sherri Wise, Karen James, Jane Stoller, Jeannie Smith, Alyssa Schottland-Bauman and Sharon Goldman. (photo from Jewish Federation) For the past 14 years, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver has organized a women’s philanthropy event…
(photo by Yoram Adler) On Remembrance Day, Nov. 11, a small group of Jewish community members gathered in the Jewish section of Mountain View Cemetery to commemorate Canadians who have served in the armed forces. Organized and led by Rabbi Steven…
In the Wisconsin town of Baraboo, high school students in their final year before graduation take formal pictures on the steps of the town’s courthouse. Census figures say that the town of 12,000 in the country’s heartland is 94% white.…
Isn’t life wonderful? It has such potential to deliver joy, beauty, poetry and music for every one of us. More’s the pity that so many of us get only a small fraction of that potential for our portion. Still, gratitude…
Inside the caterpillar shelter, an orange line indicates where one can safely stand beyond the range of flying shrapnel. (photo by Gil Zohar) Miri Asulin personifies the contradictions of those who live in Israel’s cities and settlements bordering the Gaza…
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin addresses a group of local residents in a protected space in the northern Negev city of Netivot on Nov. 13. (photo by Ashernet) On a tour of the city, Netivot Mayor Yehiel Zohar told President Reuven…
Bennett and Sally Shaywitz co-founded the Yale Centre for Dyslexia and Creativity. (photo from the Shaywitzes) One out of five people has dyslexia. Yet, even with this many people affected, not every school tests for it. This can lead to…
In spring 2015, at Luneburg Regional Court in Germany, the trial of Oskar Groening, “the bookkeeper of Auschwitz,” began. Nineteen-year-old Torontonian Jordana Lebowitz, a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, was among those who witnessed the proceedings. The young adult book To…
Many authors of children’s Chanukah books still perpetuate two mistakes. One is that a chanukiyah is the same as a menorah, whereas the latter is actually the seven-branched Temple lamp looted by the Romans when the Temple was destroyed. The…
שרת החוץ של קנדה כריסטיה פרילנד ניפגשה עם נשיא המדינה ראובן ריבלין. (צילום: Mark Neiman, GPO) שרת החוץ של קנדה כריסטיה פרילנד קיימה ביקור בישראל לפני כשבועיים, שנחשב למוצלח מבחינת שתי המדינות. מדובר בביקור ראשון של השרה פרילנד בישראל. זאת…
The Jewish Federations of North America held its annual General Assembly this year in Tel Aviv Oct. 22-24. (photo by Pat Johnson) The Jewish Federations of North America held its annual General Assembly in Israel, as it does every five…
American political commentator and writer Ben Shapiro addressed more than 900 people at the Faigen Family Lecture, which was held at Congregation Schara Tzedeck on Oct. 30. (photo by Jocelyne Hallé) More than 900 people came out to hear conservative…
Shira Geffen shares how she met her husband, Etgar Keret, in the film Etgar Keret: Based on a True Story, which screens Nov. 14. (photo from facebook.com/etgarkeretfilm) “I want to write stories so the readers will like mankind a little…
Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, speaker of the Knesset, addresses delegates in the parliament’s Chagall Hall. (photo by Pat Johnson) Before the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America began on Oct. 22, a local delegation, headed by Jewish Federation of…
Today, Nov. 9, is the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Seen by some historians as the moment when the Nazis’ legalized discrimination against Jews turned irreversibly toward genocide, the date has been marked by the Vancouver Jewish community for several decades.…
“I’m writing this while the victims are still being buried at the Tree of Life congregation in Pittsburgh. This period, just after any death, is a hard time, and lot of meaningful things have been said in the media already.…
Or Shalom’s Rabbi Hannah Dresner is both the first woman and the first Jewish Renewal rabbi to be elected head of the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver. (photo from Or Shalom) “I grew up in a household of many amazingly powerful…
Richmond Jewish Day School principal Ronit Amihude with the award-winning children’s book What Do You Do With An Idea? by writer Kobi Yamada and illustrator Mae Besom. (photo by Coleen Lou) Ronit Amihude is a leader with a vision. The…
Ben Stein and Ann Coulter at Politicon in Los Angeles on Oct. 20. (photo by Rich Polk-Getty Images for Politicon) From pundits to Hollywood types, there were many Jewish names on the speaker roster at this year’s Politicon, the fourth…
(photo from Tracy Le Blanc from Pexels) I am not normally someone who is especially active on social media. I am not normally someone who curates current events, even though I consume them like undergrads do coffee – habitually, obsessively,…
Israel’s Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, addresses the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, in Tel Aviv Oct. 24. (photo by Pat Johnson) The theme of the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in Tel…
Jewish Seniors Alliance’s AGM was held on Oct. 11 at Congregation Beth Israel. (photo from JSA) The annual general meeting of the Jewish Seniors Alliance was held on Oct. 11 at Congregation Beth Israel. As is customary, the AGM was…
The Jewish Seniors Alliance fall symposium on Oct. 28 was about aging across cultures. (photo from JSA) The Jewish Seniors Alliance fall symposium, Aging Across Cultures, took place on Oct. 28. The program dealt with inclusivity while Jews everywhere were…
Storeys, the Diamond Residences, is among the affordable housing sites where the new TCL will be working. (photo from jfsvancouver.ca) Jewish Family Services has launched a new tenant community liaison (TCL) position to provide stability and support for JFS clients…
Left to right: Anat Gogo, Tikva Housing administrator; Philip Dayson, donor; Shirley Barnett, donor; Heather Kenny, Tikva board member; Alice Sundberg, Tikva director of operations; Eric Fefer, Tikva development committee member; Shelley Karrel, Tikva board chair; and Kasimir Kish, Tikva…
The writer’s father listening to the radio, circa 1940. (photo from Libby Simon) This black-and-white picture, lined with age, was taken of Papa in about 1940. His attire reflects a time when a vest was commonly worn under a man’s…
ז’רמן מן הסיפור הזה כאילו נלקח מאחת האגדות או מסרט בדיוני, ולא מן הנמנע שבקרוב יעשו עליו סרט אמיתי. אם קנדית מברמטון שבמחוז אונטריו שלא ראתה את בנה במשך שלושים ואחת שנים, זכתה סוף סוף לקבל את ההודעה המיוחלת: הוא…
