From left to right, Julius Maslovat, Carmel Tanaka, MP Murray Rankin and MLA Rob Fleming at the Victoria Holocaust Remembrance and Education Society’s annual Kristallnacht Commemoration on Nov 9. (photo from Victoria Hillel) The following remarks have been slightly modified…
This is not about Dachau, although these things happened there. When my son and I visited the Denkmal, as the Germans refer to Dachau, it was late afternoon, and it was deserted. The weather was rainy and cool. Vancouver weather:…
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström has accused Israel of “extrajudicial executions” of Palestinian terrorists. The minister said, in the country’s parliament, that Israel has a right to defend its citizens, but went on to clarify that such defence should not…
While American political discourse around whether to accept Syrian refugees smolders under the embers of xenophobia, Canadians have been opening their hearts and their wallets to bring in Syrian refugees. Canada is one of the only countries with a private…
Tal Brody, left, with Richard Poritz at the Vancouver screening of On the Map. (photo by Kyle Berger) It was a warm Israeli summer in 1965 when Tal Brody made the journey across the Atlantic to visit Israel for the…
Shane McNeil, formerly of Bridges Restaurant, is the new executive chef at Weinberg Residence. (photo from Weinberg Residence) For the Weinberg Residence’s recently hired executive chef Shane McNeil, formerly of Bridges Restaurant, his new job is about more than just…
The Jewish Renewal synagogue in East Vancouver, Or Shalom, is marking the eight nights of Chanukah by honoring eight “lights” of life on the city’s east side. “I had this idea that it would be really special to open ourselves…
Classmates congratulate Oz Attal, second from the left, after he completed Alyn Hospital’s Wheels of Love bike-a-thon. (photo from Canadian Friends of BTJ) This Chanukah, Boys Town Jerusalem is celebrating its own miracle. Student Oz Attal is taking an active role…
דבריו החמורים של המועמד הרפובליקני לנשיאות בארה”ב, דונלד טראמפ, בגנות המוסלמים, מעוררת תגובות נזעמות גם בקנדה. (צילום: Gage Skidmore via wikimedia.org) סערת דונלד טראמפ מגיעה גם לקנדה: פוליטיקאים קוראים להחרימו וחברי מועצות בערים קוראים להסיר את שמו מהמגדלים דבריו החמורים של…
“Ganesha,” from Dina Goldstein’s Gods of Suburbia series. (photo © Dina Goldstein) You have to speak more than one language if you want to read all of the articles on Vancouver photographer and Pop Surrealist Dina Goldstein’s art. English, of…
Cynthia Fidel was the coordinator of AMIA’s literary contest, which resulted in the publication Primer Concurso de Cuentos Infantiles. (photo by Rebeca Kuropatwa) When the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) bombing occurred in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, there…
Current president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Dr. Alan Bernstein has been a scientist all his life. “When I was asked if I was interested in the [CIFAR] position, it was a…
The nights were getting longer already, but when we changed the clocks a few weeks ago, it seemed to change very suddenly into a new season. For our cousins in Israel, the days might be a bit brighter – a…
The last time there was a Liberal government in Canada, this country took a “go along to get along” approach to the annual Israel-bashing at the United Nations each autumn. Government officials offered excuses, but still our representatives at the…
In March 2013, 833,098 persons were served by food banks in Canada. Food bank use remains high and many Canadians depend on food banks for weekly, semi-monthly or monthly grocery items in order to put food on the table. One-half…
Simon Fraser University biologist Dov Lank with some of the ruffs he and his team have been studying. (all photos from SFU Communications) Simon Fraser University biologist Dov Lank and a team of researchers have identified the genes responsible for…
Winnipeg Klezfest co-producers Bev Aronovitch, left, and Miriam Bronstein. (photo from Rady JCC) After attending the week-long KlezKanada Laurentian retreat near Montreal, Miriam Bronstein and Beverly Aronovitch wondered, why not do the same in Winnipeg? And so, they began planning…
The author’s one photograph of her great-grandmother, Betty Brotman, “stiff-necked and corseted, with her dark hair combed tightly across her head.” (photo from Shula Klinger) I have been researching my family history for many years, on and off. Much of…
Eight of 11 B.C. shluchim joined 5,200 other Chabad rabbis and guests in New York City Nov. 4-9 for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. (photo by Shneor Shif) Eight local B.C. rabbis made their way to New York City…
Leah Stern in Haiti, where she was helping orphaned and abandoned children. (photo from Leah Stern) While London-based journalist and content producer Leah Stern was unable to be the guest speaker at this year’s Choices, the annual campaign event of…
Jacob sheep Molly and Leah. (photo by Mustard Seed Imaging) Chabad Rabbi Falik Schtroks of the Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley delivered a lecture on the meaning of the Jacob sheep in conjunction with parashat Veyetzei during…
Jonathan Pollard and his wife Esther in the first photograph following his release from prison. (photo from Justice for Jonathan Pollard via jns.org) After spending 30 years in a U.S. federal prison, American-Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard was freed on parole…
The Western Canada Jewish Book Awards are a new initiative of the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival. The initiative is designed to celebrate excellence in writing on Jewish themes and showcase the achievements of authors residing west of the…
Rarely has a book worked me up as much as More Than Just Games: Canada and the 1936 Olympics by professors Richard Menkis (University of British Columbia) and Harold Troper (University of Toronto). More Than Just Games was published by…
It’s a wonder any of us are alive. And it’s even more a wonder that we are each the result of generations (not to mention stardust). Not only do genes past and present influence who we are, but the actions…
During the Festival of Lights, Chanukah, we light up candles in a special candleholder called a chanukiyah. Chanukiyot come in all kinds of designs, shapes and colors. That is why we will make our own unique version. To be more…
Amelia Saltsman’s background makes for an interesting source for her cookbook The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen (Sterling Epicure, 2015). Her mother is Romanian and her father is Iraqi; they met in the Israeli army and then immigrated to Los Angeles, where…
Food writers are privy to a lot of recipes, and many of them, sadly, are repeats of ones already widely familiar, with small variations in ingredients. Infrequently, though, we get access to a compilation of recipes by a skilled author…
The New Kosher: Simple Recipes to Savor and Share by Kim Kushner is a beautiful cookbook with more than 100 recipes that reflect many cultural traditions. There are full-color photos aplenty (by Kate Sears), easy-to-follow instructions, and each recipe has…
It’s a wonderful concept. A family flees from Russia in 1928. By 1933, they are running a lodge in Canada – the only place Jews can stay. Among their more known guests are the Marx brothers, in particular for the…
