freelancer – Page 146

Helping people stay at home

People are living longer and, ideally, they’d be living longer at home. Pragmatically, this means that they and their primary caretaker(s) would need support not just for medical care, but for errands and companionship, as well. Enter Rona Goodman and her small business, Bubbymobile.com.

“Bubbymobile.com is a senior concierge service that offers a multitude of non-medical services to families. They include companionship, lunch, errand running, grocery shopping, accompanying to medical appointments and check-ups, transportation, walks and more,” Goodman told the Jewish Independent.

photo - Rona Goodman — Rona Goodman *(photo from Bubbymobile.com)*

Goodman thought of the concept for Bubbymobile.com a few years ago but waited until the pandemic subsided and it was safe to launch.

“I would say it’s been around a year since I started, and it is going very well,” she said. “It’s growing organically and that’s the way I wanted it. Mostly word of mouth and recommendations, and that’s the best advertising you can get. I would love to meet more families in the community.

“The concept came to fruition when I was visiting my friend’s mom who was in a seniors home. I would take her for walks and be her companion. I met several people in the facility who didn’t have anyone visit them or assist with their non-medical needs. After researching, I thought this service would be a great resource to complement what is already out there.”

Goodman named her business after her maternal grandmother.

“My bubby was the best and the matriarch of our family,” said Goodman. “I’m from Montreal and grew up with a close family because of my bubby and zadie. Every Friday night since I can remember, we would have dinner at their house with my family, aunts, uncles and cousins. We all grew up together and I wanted to honour my bubby with the name.”

Goodman said she had two wonderful grandmothers, but “my dad’s was my grandmother…. Both were lovely but I did spend more time with my bubby cause of Friday night dinners. But we (me, my brother and sister) did visit my grandmother and would take her out for drives and lunches/dinners and had lovely visits. She made the best coleslaw…. Both of my grandfathers passed when I was pretty young. Everyone has had a bubby or grandmother or grandfather, so it’s really in honour of them all!”

For Goodman, two of the best things about being Jewish are family and giving back. “You take care of the ones you love and give back to others who may not be as fortunate,” she said. “There was always an extra plate for dinner at Bubby’s house for drop-ins and friends. You also must be compassionate, patient, a good listener, understanding, kind and giving to do this kind of work. That’s how I walk through this world and this service is a natural fit for me. I also do volunteer work for VCDS (Vancouver Cancer Drivers Society), a wonderful organization that involves transportation.”

In addition to Bubbymobile.com, Goodman is a musician and a public-relations professional.

“My professional life has always been about passion, creativity and being of service,” she said about the common threads that tie her diverse endeavours together. “I’ve worked in the music industry for over 25 years in many areas of the business. From record labels, musician, songwriter to sales, marketing and publicity. As a PR person, I’ve learned a lot about communication, understanding people’s needs, listening to their stories and reaching out and engaging community – I think it brings out the kid in me and keeps me vibrant and young. These qualities are important when working with seniors, as it’s parallel in many ways.

“As a composer, songwriter and producer, I tell stories through music, lyrics and composition,” she added. “Music is a healer and there is nothing better to lift the soul. To be a composer, you need to write about life’s experiences and adventures. That’s why I love hearing the stories shared by my seniors. What a gift to be in their presence really. I would happily pick up my guitar and sit and play some music for someone that I’m working with. It’s fun and I’m grateful that I can give that little extra service to my clients. There is nothing better than to share the love of music.”

Ultimately, Goodman would like to be able to offer Bubbymobile’s services in every community in the province.

“In the long term,” she said, “I would like to build the business so it can develop into a franchise opportunity across Canada. The more I talk with people, the more excited they are that I’m doing this and how much it is needed. As we grow older, we are living longer, and I find it does provide some relief for families looking for that extra support. I’ve talked with families who may not be living in Vancouver who need extra assistance for their loved ones. Many are also too busy with work and raising families to visit during the week. That’s why I’m here – for that extra support.”

B’nai mitzvah tutoring

Sasha Kaye (photo from B’nai Mitz-Van)

Sasha Kaye recently launched B’nai Mitz-Van, a tutoring service that prepares b’nai mitzvah students for their Torah and Haftarah readings. She also offers basic voice training, performance anxiety management and d’var Torah writing support.

Kaye completed a double major in voice performance and psychology for her bachelor’s degree from the University of British Columbia, and she has a master’s degree in performance science from the Royal College of Music in London, England. In her master’s thesis, Kaye examined the experiences of musicians with moderate-to-severe performance anxiety in simulated performance environments.

“I came back to Vancouver in January 2023,” Kaye told the Independent. “Most of my time so far has been spent unpacking and readjusting to life in Vancouver!”

Kaye grew up attending Congregation Har El, where she is a member. She has led services as a lay cantor. “I performed at various holiday and milestone community events, and participated in extracurricular, Jewish-led activism with peers from King David High School,” she said about her younger years.

Kaye has performed with the University Singers choral ensemble, UBC Opera, the Vancouver Orchestra Club and Postmodern Camerata, among other groups. She performs as a solo recitalist and has almost 10 years of teaching experience.

“I came up with the idea for B’nai Mitz-Van while I was still in London, and the idea was partially inspired by my master’s thesis,” she said of her latest venture. “In addition to struggling with an anxiety disorder, I had particularly vivid performance anxiety as a musician. The two collided pretty spectacularly for my own bat mitzvah. Despite being well-prepared for it, I was constantly ruminating on potential mishaps and catastrophizing the consequences. What if I got so anxious that I forgot the trope for my Torah reading? What if I forgot the words? What if my voice cracked? What if I dropped the Torah? I would let my family down. These cognitive distortions are evident to my adult self, but the distress was very real to 12-year-old Sasha. When I told people I was anxious, they told me I had nothing to be anxious about. While I’m sure they were trying to reassure me, this ultimately dismissed my feelings and made me feel much worse. I had zero tools to cope with or manage my anxiety.”

Kaye said she has little recollection of the bat mitzvah itself. “I was so anxious, I essentially blacked out,” she said. “Based on second-hand information, I did well enough on the day, but I was unable to enjoy the simchah – and that’s ultimately what the day should have been about. B’nai mitzvot should be joyous occasions for everyone, including the b’nai mitzvah themselves.

“As someone who knows how to chant Torah and Haftarah, and knowing what I know now about performance anxiety, my hope is that B’nai Mitz-Van can both teach young adults what they need to know for their special day, and also give them the tools to manage feelings of nervousness or anxiety that they may have.”

Kaye has experience teaching b’nai mitzvah-age kids from when she used to teach singing lessons, which she did for about three years, and she has five more years of experience teaching older students.

“Performance anxiety is extremely common,” said Kaye. “While it may or may not necessarily impact the quality of your performance, that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable to deal with.

“The experience can manifest cognitively, meaning through the kinds of thoughts you have, like fixating on the possibility of making mistakes in performances and overestimating the consequences; physiologically, meaning through bodily sensations like racing heart, dry mouth, shaking or feeling restless; emotionally, like feelings of nervousness, dread or irritability; or behaviourally, like avoiding practising.

“How to manage performance anxiety is the million-dollar question!” she said. “There are a number of techniques and methods that have been researched, and different things may work for different people. Some things that can help pretty reliably, if they are practised, are feeling prepared in your material; breathing exercises, like box breathing; grounding exercises that focus your senses on the here and now; and examining your self-talk, that is, how you talk to yourself in your own mind.

“Retraining self-talk can take a long time and it can be very challenging,” she acknowledged, “but it helps to start by noticing how you talk to yourself. Would you speak that way to a friend who was going through the same thing? If not, chances are your self-talk needs some adjusting from the harsh and self-defeating to the encouraging and self-supporting.”

About working with b’nai mitzvah-aged kids, Kaye said they “are at a really fascinating stage in life. They’re starting to come into their own sense of self, and they’re able to start thinking critically about the world around them without the cynicism that can follow us as adults. There’s an enthusiasm and idealism for tikkun olam that’s really refreshing.”

And, given her years of experience as a tutor of academic writing, Kaye can help students organize their enthusiasm and their ideas into a clear and concise d’var Torah. “More importantly,” she said, “I help them find their own way of relating to their parsha, so they can find the lesson they want to share with the congregation.”

Kaye offers both in-person and online lessons. She can be reached at [email protected] or 236-515-9469.

Avoid being scammed

Millions of dollars have been lost through the schemes of fraudsters who take advantage of trusting, isolated and vulnerable senior citizens, said guest speaker Patrick Harkness at the latest Jewish Seniors Alliance – Phyliss and Irving Snider Foundation Empowerment Series talk.

On Feb. 16, JSA, in partnership with Council of Senior Citizens Organizations of B.C. (COSCO) and L’Chaim Adult Day Centre, sponsored the program Frauds and Scams, which took place at the JSA offices at Mount Pleasant Community Centre. The program was accessible both in person and online, and about 50 people participated, the majority remotely. Its purpose was to investigate the ways in which fraudsters deceive people, especially seniors, in order to rob them of their money and possessions. The question was: what are the main types of scams, and how can people protect themselves?

Gyda Chud, coordinator of the JSA program committee, welcomed participants and introduced Barb Mikulec of COSCO, who introduced Harkness. Before he retired in 1999, Harkness worked for the provincial government in the department of safety and emergency preparedness. Now, he is a volunteer, one of many, who present workshops on topics important to the senior community through COSCO’s Seniors’ Health and Wellness Institute.

In his Empowerment Series talk, Harkness outlined some of the many types of scams perpetrated on seniors. The approaches can be made by phone, email, post and even in person, depending on the type of scam, he said. He warned that one should not respond to unfamiliar phone calls or email requests and one should not open any attachments included with these requests. He also advised people to never give out personal information or send money. If the information provided sounds too good to be true, he said, then, very likely, it is not true.

According to Harkness, here are some of the most common scams, and how to avoid them:

Stealing photos from dating sites and engaging in a trusting relationship. Do not send money or photos, as the photos can be used to blackmail you.
Emails or calls from the federal government indicating that you owe money and should forward it right away. Do not respond to the caller or emailer, and report the call/email to the police and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Purchases online are fake, unless you have ordered the item(s).
Calls from people claiming they are Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) agents. Do not respond – call the CRA yourself (and not on the number you received the call from) to confirm if they really called you.
Prize scams. Ignore them, as you cannot win a prize for a contest that you have not entered.
Do not buy lottery tickets by phone.
Don’t meet with people claiming to be bank investigators, who ask you to meet in a neutral place to give them money.
Grandparent or nephew scam – claiming you must pay bail money to free the relative. They often have the person’s name. But still, don’t believe them. Check with the relative in question. You will likely find that they are fine.
Offers to fix your computer. Don’t accept. Chances are, it is not broken. If it is, call an authorized repair person.
Scams involving cheap prescription drugs. Never give those offering the items your credit card number.
Charity scams. They may say it is, for example, for Ukrainian relief, but check whether this or any other charity that’s calling is a legitimate, reputable charity, and then donate directly.
Home repair people may come to your door offering their services. Be sure to check with Better Business Bureau to make sure they are licensed and legitimate.
Identity theft is very common and dangerous. Thieves may try to get your social insurance number (SIN) and other identifying information from old mail that you have thrown out. Shred all items that have such information on them before putting them into the recycling bin.

As well, do not carry around a lot of personal information with you or leave your purse or wallet unattended. Choose personal identification numbers (PINs) wisely, so they are not obvious: for example, do not use birthdates or family names.

If you do fall victim to a scam, report it immediately to the police and also to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) at 1-888-495-8501. COSCO’s Seniors’ Health and Wellness Institute’s website has several resources on various topics, including frauds and scams: seniorshelpingseniors.ca.

Shanie Levin is a Jewish Seniors Alliance Life Governor. She is also on the editorial committee of Senior Linemagazine.

Canadians Jews doing well

Prof. Dr. Morton Weinfeld was the latest speaker in Kolot Mayim’s 2022/23 series. (photo from Twitter)

On Feb. 5, Morton Weinfeld, a professor of sociology at McGill University in Montreal, presented the talk The Jewish Glass Is Half Full, as part of the 2022/23 Building Bridges Zoom lecture series put on by Kolot Mayim Reform Temple in Victoria.

Weinfeld, the child of Holocaust survivors from Poland and the author of Like Everyone Else But Different: The Paradoxical Success of Canadian Jews, started teaching at McGill in 1977 and has seen more than 4,000 students participate in his course on the sociology of North American Jewry.

The course, Weinfeld explained, formed the basis of his book, in which he uses Jews as a case study for the challenges in Canada of identity, culture and acceptance of the country’s multicultural position. By his own description, he tends to take a more liberal stance on Israel.

Weinfeld confessed at the beginning of his talk that the track record for predicting the future has been, and remains, dismal. The same is the case for sociological studies of the Jewish community, he asserted. As an example, he noted that the social sciences in the 20th century missed the mark on predicting the Holocaust, the triumph of Zionism, and the revival of orthodoxy in North America, among other things.

“Thus, I am doing this presentation with humility, in case anyone thinks I can predict the future,” he stated at the outset.

Accentuating the positive at first, Weinfeld praised Canadian multiculturalism. “Canada is committed to helping promote and enhance cultures, and Canada also will try to offer these cultures maximum participation in Canadian society. So, if you want to be a professor at McGill, or you want to run for a cabinet post in any government, you are free to do that. Canada will remove the barriers that prevent you from achieving that.”

In Weinfeld’s view, the Canadian Jewish community is currently doing quite well in this regard, particularly when compared to other minority groups in Canada and Jewish communities elsewhere in the world.

“One of the reasons why Jews have done well in diasporic settings [like Canada] is because they have been at it for such a long time,” he said. “For at least 2,000 years, since the Roman exile, Jews have had no choice but to learn how to live in a variety of the diasporic settings. Practise makes perfect. Other Canadian minority groups have not had anything like this.”

Weinfeld offered another piece of news: that the Canadian Jewish population is growing. While the number of Jews self-identifying as ethnically Jewish decreased from the 2011 Census to the 2021 Census, the number of Jews self-identifying as Jewish by religion increased from 329,500 in 2011 to 335,295 in 2021. In the context of this statistic, he referred to a 1964 cover story in Look magazine called “The Vanishing American Jew,” which painted a bleak future for North American Jewry, with intermarriage being among the main concerns. Look is no longer around, he noted, but the number of Jews in North America has grown and, “over the past two decades, the fears of assimilation have become muted.”

Further, the pluralism seen in the Jewish community, from liberal denominations to orthodoxy, is a source of strength, said Weinfeld. Together, he said, the different groups combine to make Jews in Canada far more interesting and viable, despite the lack of understanding each group in the community may have for one another.

Weinfeld characterized Jews in Canada as having a high-degree of voluntary self-segregation; that is, each group tends to congregate more within its own circles. However, he said, the comfort of one group can lead to a bolstering of overall Jewish identity.

“Those doom and gloom predictions for Jewish disappearance, certainly in the United States and Canada, have been excessive,” he said.

Weinfeld then spoke about the presence of antisemitism in modern North American society, pointing out that, just a few years ago, it would have been unimaginable for a former American president to dine with an unabashed antisemite like Kanye West.

“There is no question that antisemitism is a reality in Canadian Jewish life,” Weinfeld said, referring to surveys and polls showing that millions of Canadians believe in conspiracies theories, often with Jews as the masterminds behind them.

Canada, according to surveys by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), is worse than Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands when it comes to levels of antisemitism, but fares better than France and Germany.

Regarding the situation at Canadian universities, Weinfeld said, “I think that, on campuses today, there is a tendency to dismiss the concerns of those Jewish students that like to support Israel. And I’m not speaking of the extreme right, I’m speaking of very liberal, progressive Jewish students who want to also retain Israel’s right to exist.”

Later in his talk, Weinfeld warned, “I think that we may be in for a rocky period – with regard to antisemitism and its links with Israel, Israeli policy and Zionism, in part because of the new Israeli government. But I want to be very clear, the seeds of all of that predate the current Israeli government.”

Rabbi Suzanne Singer of Temple Beth El in California, a former journalist, will wrap up this year’s speaker series on April 9. With a history of leadership at Kolot Mayim, Singer will talk about Hope: How Do We Find Hope in a World with Unending Problems? To register for this talk, visit kolotmayimreformtemple.com.

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

Join rally to support Israeli democracy

The Vancouver action group UnXeptable has been rallying on Sundays, at noon, at Robson Square, as part of an international grassroots movement to save Israeli democracy. (photo from Daphna Kedem)

We are a group of Israelis and Canadian Jews watching the grim news from Israel closely and feel that Israel’s democracy is on a very slippery slope, without brakes. The judicial crisis is leading to a dramatic loss of checks and balances in a state that has been democratic since its inception. It is shaking Israel and tearing apart its very fabric. We are terrified that the road to dictatorship will be quick and abrupt.

Israelis have been going to the streets in masses for the last many weeks. The biggest demonstrations drew more than 300,000 people to the street, yet we don’t see reference to these events in our local community. It seems that Jewish organizations and leaders are choosing to be on the sidelines, by toning down the crisis. Some are choosing to be silent altogether.

We are utterly frustrated by this silence. We know very well the horrific consequences that silence can bring about. But we realize that unprecedented events have been unfolding. Israel has been our source of pride throughout changing times and because events are happening fast, leaders might feel lost, without a compass in an uncharted territory.

We would highlight the facts as we see them: the Israel that we have known has changed.

Recent elections brought to power a group of people with personal interests counter to the public interest. One is a convicted criminal (bribery) who wants to clear his way to be a minister. The religious parties seek to release religious young people from army service, which is compulsory in Israel. A messianic, racist party wants to spread its agenda. And the prime minister is a defendant in three indictments and, in our opinion, to get away from his trial, he is promoting a change of regime in Israel, a radical move that will eliminate the separation of powers and the independence of the Supreme Court. The legal system will become part of the ruling party.

Until now, the selection of judges to the Supreme Court required agreement between the representatives of the judges and the representatives of the government. But the coalition has voted on a series of laws that approve a change in the judicial system. According to the new proposal, only the representatives of the coalition will be able to choose judges for the court. It seems clear that a preliminary committee will appoint judges that will dismiss the defendant, Binyamin Netanyahu, from all his charges.

The core issue is that the Netanyahu we knew from his 15 years in power previously is not the same Netanyahu. In his previous terms, he defended the Supreme Court as an anchor for freedom and justice. The new Netanyahu’s trial is going into its third year.

Israel has no constitution and no other checks and balances. The Supreme Court is the sole judicial body that secures the rights and freedoms of individuals and minorities. We would like to encourage our local leaders and the community at large to address these issues that will no doubt influence the close and delicate relationship we have with Israel. We would like to encourage people to stand up in defence of Israel’s democracy – our family members in Israel, our friends and colleagues, and the democratic forces in Israel need our help.

We urge you to join the Vancouver action group UnXeptable – Vancouver, which is part of an international grassroots movement in more than 30 cities to save Israeli democracy. Rabbis and community leaders have come out to such rallies around the world to speak out and support the movement. We hope that you, too, will join us. Our next rallies will be held on March 12 and 19, at noon, at Robson Square in downtown Vancouver.

Rallying in Rishon Le-Tzion

Protesters in Rishon Le-Tzion Demonstrating against judicial reform February 25, 2023. (photo by Hayden)

It was a valuable experience to attend a protest rally in Rishon Le-Tzion. Several hundred people gathered in a city square to express concerns about the dramatic changes being initiated by the new Israeli government. The rally was more poignant, given that it was held in a square that commemorates people from this city who have died in combat.

As a Canadian, I had mixed feelings about attending. Who am I to be here protesting, as I don’t pay taxes and haven’t served in the army? On the other hand, the changes proposed by the government are going to affect Jews around the world and not just in Israel. Also, having three grandchildren in Israel increases my interest in what happens.

Rishon Le-Tzion, established in 1882, is well known as one of the first cities to be established in modern Israel. Its name, translating as “first in Zion,” says it all. The first Israeli Hebrew school was established here. Baron Edmond de Rothschild established what evolved to be a thriving wine industry here. The city predates the establishment of Tel Aviv by 27 years.

The square itself commemorates the large number of Israelis from Rishon Le-Tzion who have died in combat. Engraved in a monument is a listing, year by year, of names of the deceased. Israel today is one of the most successful countries in the world. When you visualize the large number of names engraved on these walls, it is clear that Israel’s achievements did not come without major losses of life.

The rally itself consisted of many people waving large Israeli flags. There were people of all ages, including many children present.

One of the speakers, Meir Sheetrit, served as minister of several different portfolios in previous Likud governments. Sheetrit was so respected that his name was brought forth as a candidate for the presidency of Israel in 2014. As a Likudnik, he decried the changes taking place and asserted that the current government is deviating radically from the direction of previous Likud governments.

Another speaker was Yair Golan, who was a member of the Knesset and has served on government committees. He was a former general in the Israel army and, at one point, was considered for the position of army chief of staff. He said he values a democracy that is based on law and not on tyranny, a press that is free and not based on peoples’ whims and a government that will protect the rights of minorities.

Merav Michaeli, the leader of the Labour party, was in attendance. She circulated through the audience, but, according to the protocols of the demonstration, being a sitting member of the Knesset, she was not permitted to speak.

The audience was mainly attentive, though occasional side conversations took place. People frequently erupted with Boosha! (Shame) in reference to various proposed government changes. The slogan De-mo-cra-tia frequently reverberated through the audience.

Periodic references were made to the diminishing status of women, LGBTQ+ people and minorities, especially Arab minorities, with the thought that these groups will bear the brunt of the changes.

Jews of non-Orthodox denominations feel that their rights will be diminished under the new government. The Women of the Wall fear they will always be relegated to second-class citizens when they pray at the Kotel. Several of the new government ministers want to cancel the annual Gay Pride parades. Many Israelis and leaders of other countries think the new government will end the possibility of ever having a two-state solution.

Most of all, people are concerned about the future of Israel’s fiercely independent judiciary. In a bill recently introduced into the Knesset, the government will have the ultimate say in who is appointed to the courts. Also, the Knesset will have the ability with a simple majority to overrule decisions of the Supreme Court. Many people, including a large number of Canadian judges and lawyers, have spoken out against these changes.

I came to Israel with major concerns about the new government’s policies and directions. It was instructive to see that a large percentage of the Israeli population shares similar feelings.

The demonstration I attended was only one of many that took place that night. According to reports in the press, there were 40,000 demonstrators in Tel Aviv, 20,000 in Haifa, 2,000 in Beersheva and smaller rallies all over the country. Clearly, a large percentage of the Israeli population strongly objects to the proposed changes. Large demonstrations occur every Saturday night, but also at other times during the week. If public engagement is a sign of a functioning democracy, then Israel is a healthy society.

Will these protests make a difference? So far, the new government has been firm in its conviction that major new directions are needed and is not backing down.

Rallies such as the one in Rishon Le-Tzion raise many questions. Are rallies an effective way to advocate for change in a society? Do democratic governments need to respond to what people participating in rallies are advocating? Are the proposed changes going to lead to a better or worse Israel? Is it important for Diaspora Jews to express their opinions about what is happening in another country far away?

As a Canadian, I came back with a firm opinion about the latter question. Diaspora Jews, who can be greatly affected by what is happening in Israel, need to express their opinions about the changes that may affect them. People who support democratic systems should weigh in anywhere in the world when they perceive that democracy is threatened.

But it is up to Israelis themselves to answer the basic questions as to what type of electoral and judicial systems they prefer. For the sake of the Jewish Diaspora and the rest of the free world, we hope that they will make the right decisions.

Larry Barzelai is a semi-retired physician living in Vancouver. He’s always had strong ties with Israel through the Canadian Zionist Federation, CJPAC and the annual Public Speaking Contest. His main connection now is his three grandchildren who call Israel their home.

Opposition to policies

In Tel Aviv on Jan. 28, Israelis demonstrate against their government’s judicial reform proposals. A majority of Canadian Jews also oppose the proposals. (photo by Oren Rozen)

A new poll shows that most Canadian Jews oppose policies favoured by the current Israeli government. Fully three-quarters of Canadian Jews say they are emotionally attached to Israel. However, 56% claim that Israel’s government is moving in the wrong direction, compared to just 13% who say it is moving in the right direction.

Opposition is especially strong to laws proposed by members of the governing coalition that would allow gender segregation in some public places, ban Pride parades and legalize conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ people on religious grounds, with between 83% and 88% of Canadian Jews expressing opposition to such moves.

Some 73% of Canadian Jews oppose judicial reform that would make it easier for the Israeli government to reverse Supreme Court decisions, thus adding their voices to that of well-known Canadian jurist and former minister of justice Irwin Cotler, among others.

Two-thirds of Canada’s Jews oppose the idea of disallowing Palestinians from serving in the Israeli parliament, compared to just 15% who support the idea. About twice as many Canadian Jews oppose building new Jewish settlements in the West Bank and incorporating parts of the West Bank into the state of Israel as favour such initiatives.

The so-called “grandparent clause” in Israel’s Law of Return allows anyone with one Jewish grandparent to claim citizenship, but religiously Orthodox members want the clause removed. Some 58% of Canadian Jews oppose such a move, while 17% favour it – hardly surprising since fewer than one-fifth of Canadian Jews are Orthodox.

Israel’s minister of national security was once convicted of incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organization. Israel’s minister of finance recently described himself on radio as a “proud homophobe.” JSpaceCanada and the New Israel Fund of Canada have proposed that the Canadian government refuse to meet or build relationships with these ministers. Nearly six in 10 Canadian Jews agree with that proposal, while just two in 10 disagree.

Commenting on the results, Joe Roberts, board chair of JSpaceCanada, said, “These results couldn’t be clearer, Jewish Canadians are overwhelmingly concerned with the direction and policy decisions proposed by Israel’s radical governing coalition. These are not the shared values that the Canada-Israel relationship was built upon. Jewish Canadians, like the hundreds of thousands of Israelis taking to the streets to protest the undermining of democracy and assault on the human rights of Palestinians, expect bold and decisive leadership on this issue from the government that represents us in Ottawa.”

Ben Murane, executive director of the New Israel Fund of Canada, said, “Canadian Jews are worried that a country that removes basic democratic checks and balances and eviscerates the independence of the judiciary can no longer be referred to seriously as a full democracy. They overwhelmingly oppose the Israeli government’s legislation stripping power from the country’s judiciary, one of the few remaining institutions willing to protect the rights of Palestinians, LGBTQ people, women and other vulnerable populations.”

The poll was funded by JSpaceCanada and the New Israel Fund of Canada, organizations that promote democracy and equality in Israel, as well as a two-state solution to end the Israel-Palestine conflict. It was designed and analyzed by Prof. Robert Brym of the department of sociology and Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto. Brym commented, “To corroborate these findings we need more polls with larger samples asking similar questions. However, this poll provides a fair baseline representation of Jewish community perspectives on issues of vital importance to the approximately 404,000 Canadians who identify as Jewish by religion or ethnicity.”

The poll, fielded between Feb. 16 and 28, 2023, by EKOS Research Associates, is based on a nationally representative sample of 288 Canadian adults who identify as Jewish by religion or ethnicity. Nineteen of 20 polls like this one would likely yield results with less than a 5.8% margin of error.

– Courtesy JSpaceCanada

Condemn Smotrich’s comments

Independent Jewish Voices Canada is calling for immediate action by the Canadian government in response to comments by a senior Israeli minister that the Palestinian town of Huwara should be “wiped out.”

Speaking at a conference hosted by news publication TheMarker, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also the minister in the defence ministry, in charge of civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, said he thinks “the village of Huwara needs to be wiped out” and that “the state of Israel should do it” rather than private citizens. Huwara is a Palestinian town on the outskirts of Nablus, surrounded by settlements, long subject to violence from Israeli settlers and orchestrated infrastructure shutdowns from the Israeli government.

The minister’s comments came a few days after Israeli settlers went on a violent rampage in Huwara and neighbouring villages, which has been widely labeled a pogrom, including by the Israeli military general in charge of troops in the West Bank and the former director of the Anti-Defamation League. Four hundred-plus Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian villages of Huwara, Zaatara, Burin and Asira al-Qibliya, burning dozens of homes and killing a 37-year-old Palestinian man while wounding hundreds as Israeli forces stood by. The man who was killed, Samih al-Aqtash, had just returned from volunteering in Turkey to help earthquake victims. He was the 67th Palestinian killed by either the Israeli army or vigilante settlers this year alone.

A pogrom is a violent riot with the specific intent to massacre or expel a specific group of people. It emerged as a Yiddish word in the late 19th century to describe the attacks on Jews across the Russian empire. We use the word “pogrom” to recognize that Israeli settlers are recreating the kind of targeted, racialized terrorism that targeted Jews in Europe. We use this word to recognize the hypocrisy of claims that Jewish settler riots are protecting Jewish safety.

Many Canadian and Israeli Jews, including many of our members, have ancestors who lived through these horrific, targeted antisemitic riots in Europe. Many of our members are also descended from, or are themselves, survivors of ethnic cleansing and genocide. These atrocities often started with pogroms that were officially ignored or officially enabled.

The comments by Smotrich on March 1 are a clear validation of the previous Sunday’s pogrom and constitute an explicit call for ethnic cleansing if not outright genocide. To this we say loudly and unequivocally: “not in our name.”

What we are witnessing in Israel is shocking, but it is by no means an aberration. Emboldened by the impunity afforded to them by the likes of Canada and other Western governments, the Israeli government and settler groups are simply more explicit about their settler-colonial aims to displace, replace and keep Palestinians out from the lands they claim. Israel was founded on the ethnic cleansing of 750,000 Palestinians, known as the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” which continues to this day, 75 years later.

IJV calls on Canada to clearly articulate what the Israeli government is calling for as ethnic cleansing and condemn Minister Smotrich’s comments in the strongest possible terms. Canada cannot claim to be vigilant against ethnic cleansing and genocide while refusing to name Israeli action and incitement to these heinous acts.

IJV also joins calls on the Canadian government to boycott the new far-right Israeli government and to advocate for international protection for the undefended Palestinian people living under Israeli rule.

Finally, IJV calls on organizations representing Canadian Jewish communities to loudly condemn the settler pogrom and government officials’ incitements to violence. Our communities need clear moral leadership to hold Israel to account.

Israel isn’t shying away from saying it as it is. Neither should Canadians.

* * *

Editor’s note: This letter does not acknowledge that more than 850,000 Jews were forced to leave their homes in Arab countries in the 20 years following the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.

Making room for compassion

I’ve been under stress lately. It’s the usual: money, household, family and work concerns. Some of it is my own doing: in our enthusiasm for extracurricular activities, I somehow managed to sign our twins up for three different weekly ones during January and February. Yet, even though rushed dinners and drives through snowstorms and -30°C windchills aren’t my favourite activities, I found a silver lining. As my kids learned to use sewing machines at the studio, I got to knit and read quietly in the renovated waiting area overlooking river skating trails and watching the sunset. During chess club at the local Chabad, I saw friends briefly, then I hid, reading alone.

Thinking about the two sides of these activity nights made me reflect further. Having the time and energy and, yes, money to manage these extra enrichments is a gift, even if schlepping kids around can be hard and tiring for parents. The few moments of relative quiet, while the kids are happy, occupied and learning, usually enable me to regain my composure.

Once I have had those moments, I find room to be more patient, kind and compassionate. I’m not big on spas or manicures or tropical vacations. For me, something as simple as a few moments alone in a warm, quiet place with a good book or a good view can give me that reprieve.

I thought of this while speaking with my mom recently. She mentioned that, while on neighbourhood forums, sometimes she feels that all people do is complain. Worse, she feels that, in a Jewish forum, there is always someone who reads everything that happens to her as antisemitic. There was a pause in the conversation as I sensed her frustration. I was able to reach back into one of those warm, calm moments and suggest, in response, that perhaps in an era of rising antisemitism, the person concerned about antisemitism had actually experienced trauma. That, maybe, her fearful responses and anxiety were a response to a real incident.

Similarly, I wondered about those who were “always complaining” online. Perhaps those people also had bad experiences, but had no one offline to comfort or hear them. No one “saw” them. As a result, they were seeking that attention and reassurance online instead.

There is no shortage of distressing stuff happening, particularly if you’re reading about the ongoing earthquakes and displacements in Turkey and Syria, the deaths and violence between Israelis and Palestinians, or the increased crime or fatal drug overdoses at home in Canada. There is plenty of “awful” to go around.

The big challenge is in finding that space in which to compose ourselves and respond to others with compassion and patience. It can be as simple as a cheerful conversation or joke, and as difficult as listening to someone’s painful cries for help, on repeat.

As someone who grew up in the United States, I dreaded what I would hear after the Shabbat recently described as a “Day of Hate” proposed by neo-Nazis. All day, I remained tense, worried. What happened? Thank goodness, nothing much. My brother’s family attended a lovely bat mitzvah at our family’s long-time congregation … like many in the States, they went to synagogue and nothing happened. Yet, the overall increased antisemitic activity afoot made it hard for me to just relax and hope for the best. Even if nothing happened on that day, the amount of hate going around has increased. Almost worse though is the response that Jews who are anxious about this are simply “crybabies” or “crying wolf” or worried about nothing. The bad feeling comes from fear. Some of it, due to intergenerational trauma, is internalized.

My husband’s father was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany after the Second World War. Although my husband’s grandparents lived, they lost most of their families. They managed to survive the war, with harrowing stories. My husband’s bubbe, may she rest in peace, talked about her experiences over and over. I often sat next to her, holding space for her stories, as she repeated her trauma in different ways. She’d effortlessly shift languages, speaking whatever language – among them, Hebrew, Yiddish and English – to whomever also had that room to hear her, see her and listen.

By contrast, my husband’s zayde, z”l, spoke less about the war, but, in his final years, when he lived in a nursing home, he replayed a scary story over and over. At every door of the care home, the healthcare workers posted photos of him, because he’d try to escape. Mimicking what must have happened during the war, he’d trick someone or sneak past or do something that allowed him to leave the home. They were the enemy, trapping him, and he needed to get out. Zayde often succeeded, showing up on the doorstep or sitting in his car in the driveway. He scared the heck out of Bubbe when she found him. He, too, was replaying his traumatic past.

We’re lucky to have new kinds of therapies and medications that help some people cope with trauma, but many of us still are working through issues. Even with access to basics like housing, food, medication and, hopefully, love, we all struggle to be seen and heard, to find enough compassion and love to make it through. We need to each find that quiet, well-lit space to regain our composure, so we can then reach out and help others.

As Hillel says in Pirkei Avot: “In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man.” It could also mean: “In a place where no one is acting like a good person, strive to be one.” Nowadays, some of our places for listening are online. Our social encounters are different than before, and finding that patience or inner strength can require more effort.

Love, and its close cousin, compassion, are not limited commodities. A heart full of kindness can find more space to help. As my crazy wintertime parenting and worry load lightens, I realize that I wish everyone could have that gift of an hour of solitude, watching the sun set over a river, seeing a rabbit’s tracks or a biker commuting home. We can’t singlehandedly fix or stop the world’s trauma, but we can gift each other our time and patience to help others feel seen and to heal from it.

Joanne Seiff has written regularly for CBC Manitoba 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.

Fashion with a long history

“Consecration of Aaron and His Sons,” an illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible, 1890. Aaron’s high priest attire is elaborately described in the Hebrew Bible. (photo from Wikipedia)

Fashion in the Bible? What does that mean? The biblical text actually offers us an idea of what people wore in those times – and even why.

For the majority of us, the most familiar example of biblical fashion is found in Genesis 37:3 in the description of young Joseph’s problematic coat of many colours. This coat, which was gifted by Joseph’s father Jacob, served to anger and increase the jealousy Joseph’s brothers towards him. Consequently, they throw him in a pit to be left to his fate: to die of thirst, to be killed by a wild animal or to be picked up by traveling merchants.

From a chronological point of view, however, the first real example of Old Testament fashion comes at the very beginning of Genesis. In this instance, G-d has decided to exile Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. As we all know, G-d was angered by Adam and Eve’s disobedience in eating from the Tree of Knowledge. While He is upset with them, He obviously still cares enough to provide them with warm coverings, more than the fig leaves they chose for themselves: “the Lord G-d made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)

Moving on in the Book of Genesis, we read that, when Abraham’s servant Eliezer escorts Rebecca (who will become the second Matriarch) back from Aram-Naharaim, she sees Isaac (who will become the second Patriarch) for the first time. She asks Eliezer about Isaac’s identity. After he tells her, she modestly conceals her face: “‘It is my master.’ And she took her veil, and covered herself.” (Genesis 24:65)

Veils are used for a different purpose in the story of the widow Tamar and her widowed father-in-law Judah. In this story, Judah does not fulfil his promise to make his youngest son her husband in accord with the practice of levirate marriage. (Judah thinks that Tamar has basically brought about the death of his first two sons when, in fact, it was G-d’s doing.) Judah also subjects Tamar to widowhood when she should have been free to remarry.

In response, Tamar takes drastic action. She hides her true identity behind a veil. She sits at the side of the road, where, presumably, she could be taken for a harlot or public woman: she “put off … the garments of her widowhood and covered herself with her veil and wrapped herself.” (Genesis 38:14) Without Judah being any the wiser, she allows him to have intercourse with her and, when a pregnant Tamar presents Judah with his staff and seal, he realizes what he has done and acknowledges his wrongdoing. The Bible tells us that she secures her place in the family by having twin sons from this union. The biblical reader doesn’t know more about Tamar, but one knows that Perez, one of her twins, will provide the lineage for King David.

One might think that, after hundreds of years of slavery, the Hebrews would want no reminders of their life in Egypt. But, according to the biblical text, the Hebrews took clothes from the Egyptians: “And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed from the Egyptians … clothing.” (Exodus 12:35) Significantly, before the Hebrews hear G-d declare the 10 Commandments, Moses instructs them to prepare themselves by laundering their clothes: “And Moses went down from the mount unto the people and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments.”(Exodus 19:14)

According to Rabbi Simeon – a scholar who was active between 135 CE and 170 CE – at the time of the Exodus from Egypt, the Hebrew weavers did not take their looms. Yet the Hebrews’ clothes never wore out in the 40 years of desert wandering. In Deuteronomy 8:4, it states: “Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee.”

We read that, in keeping with her status as part of the royal family, King David’s daughter Tamar (like Joseph before her) wore a vibrant robe: she “had a garment of many colours upon her; for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins appareled.” (2 Samuel, 13:18) Not befitting royalty, King David’s firstborn son Amnon rapes Tamar, his half-sister, then throws her out.

Both violated and rejected, Tamar tears her robe, going into mourning: “And Tamar put ashes on her head and rent her garment of many colours that was on her; and she laid her hand on her head and went her way, crying aloud as she went.” (2 Samuel, 13:19) Absalom, her full brother, has her stay in his household for the rest of her life. Two years later, Absalom takes revenge by having Amnon killed.

When Queen Esther had to talk with her husband, King Ahasuerus, she put on her royal apparel (Scroll of Esther 5:1). Had Esther been made wary by the fate of her predecessor, Queen Vashti? As we recall, King Ahasuerus ordered Queen Vashti to appear “wearing her royal crown.” (Scroll of Esther 1:11) One rabbinical tradition interprets this to mean that the king’s instructions were to wear only her royal crown; in other words, to appear naked (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 12b). According to that tradition, Queen Vashti refused because she did not want to be put on display before a bunch of guys who had been drinking for a week straight. Vashti’s refusal apparently resulted in her banishment. Admittedly, she paid a heavy price, but it would appear as if both these queens admirably set the terms for how they would respond to their husband.

Of all the given examples, the most elaborate description is given to the clothes Aaron (Moses’s brother) wore as the high priest. The description is more or less repeated in a few places, but here is the narrative of Moses dressing Aaron: “And he put upon him the tunic, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the skilfully woven band of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he placed the breastplate upon him…. And he set the mitre upon his head; and upon the mitre, in front, did he set the golden plate, the holy crown.” (Leviticus 8:7-9) The clothing, like the text itself, is meant to impress.

The Hebrew Bible has been around a long time; in its present form, most likely since the second century CE. The clothing it describes may truly be termed sustainable fashion.

Deborah Rubin Fields is an Israel-based features writer. She is also the author of Take a Peek Inside: A Child’s Guide to Radiology Exams, published in English, Hebrew and Arabic.