In 2013, the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival in partnership with the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library announced a new initiative: the Jewish literary laureate project. “It is a vision of Yosef Wosk,” said book festival director Nicole Nozick…
Terra Breads’ Granville Island Market location is one of four in Vancouver. (photo by Joanne Leung) When the first Terra Breads opened in Kitsilano 20 years ago, owner Michael Lansky would probably not have expected to be part of a…
The three current Museum of Jewish Montreal tours can be taken online or while in Montreal, either self-directed using a mobile device or led by museum staff. The Museum of Jewish Montreal was created when the city’s Jewish community turned…
Marissa Freed (photo by Rebeca Kuropatwa) The garment industry has played a vital role in the development of the Jewish community, the city of Winnipeg, and even the province of Manitoba over several generations. On May 8 at Rady Jewish…
Group of women holding honor scroll certificates, State of Israel Bonds, Marjorie Groberman second from the left, Vancouver, B.C., 1971. (JWB fonds, photographer Franz Lindner, JMABC L.14624) If you know someone in this photo, please help the JI fill the gaps of its…
For most Canadians, depending on the weather in our locale, Canada Day represents the real kickoff of summer. The kids are out of school, many workplaces are beginning a summer lull, families are looking forward to spending time together outdoors.…
As three abducted Israeli teens ended their first week of captivity, communities from across Canada and around the world held vigils, gathered in solidarity and said prayers for their safe return; prayers that continue. From Halifax to Vancouver, Jews gathered…
Tom and Tzameret in studio. (photo by Galit Reismann) An Israeli mother and daughter duo have combined to create designer pieces that use exclusively natural textile, with a focus on nature, and creations that become an extension of the wearer…
Shanghai’s famous Bund district, where most of the buildings were built and owned by wealthy Sephardi Jewish families. (photo by Anthony Hartman via Wikimedia Commons) It was a long trek: 6,000 miles by boat from central Europe to East Asia.…
Toronto physician Sharon Baltman treats her patients by listening. Author of the self-published memoir Escape from the Bedside, Baltman, 66, takes readers on the journey of her decision to go to medical school until she ultimately gave up being a…
Created in 1984, Holy Blossom Temple’s “rainbow chuppah” was inspired by imagery from the story of Noah’s Ark. (photo from cjnews.com) Had they gotten engaged one year later, Orrin Wolpert and his husband, Mitchell Marcus, would have been married by…
When driving in the area, be careful, as deer sometimes meander across the roads. (photo by Lauren Kramer) I’ve lived in Vancouver for just 14 years, so I know I’ve just barely begun to discover all the beauty in the…
Canadian participants in a meeting earlier this month with French President François Hollande came away impressed with the French leader’s sincerity and determination to address the terrorism and antisemitism that has France’s Jews on edge. Avi Benlolo, president and chief…
Environmentalists usually agree that making fresh water from brackish (salty) water is a last resort. Building desalination plants requires millions of dollars in technology, and it’s costly to produce potable water – both in terms of energy to run the…
The Palestinian professor who touched off a maelstrom of controversy by taking a group of students to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps in Poland is now at odds with his former employer after the school accepted his resignation. Dr. Mohammed…
Left to right are Shoshana Burton, Fred Miller and Jessie Claudio. (photo by Shula Klinger) School curriculum can seem abstract, separate from the “real” world for which it is intended to prepare our children. What can a teacher do to…
Rabbi Philip Bregman (photo from students.ubc.ca) Rabbi Philip Bregman is a longstanding leader in the Jewish community. He served as senior rabbi at Temple Sholom for 33 years and is still connected with the congregation as rabbi emeritus. He is…
Extremists have taken over much of Iraq, spreading medieval theology using modern weaponry, leaving hundreds of corpses and severed heads in their wake. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, has been disowned by the umbrella that spawned…
Avodah volunteer Daryl Levine makes latkes for last year’s latke lunch during Chanukah. (photo by Penny Tennenhouse) Before 2003, Rabbi Harry Brechner of Congregation Emanu-El in Victoria had focused mostly on religious services and education. But that year, an Israeli…
A 28-year-old struggling writer walks up to a checkout counter at Whole Foods. “Where is the Torah study?” he asks. “Oh, the class with the rabbi? That’s in the back, near the nuts.” The clerk wasn’t being pejorative – the…
Reuven Rivlin votes in the presidential election in the Knesset. (photo by Ashernet) On June 10, Israel’s 120-seat parliament chose longtime Likud member Reuven Rivlin as the country’s next president. He will succeed Shimon Peres, who retires next month at…
An American neo-Nazi group cannot inherit the estate of a New Brunswick man, a court in that province ruled June 5. In a 43-page decision, Justice William Grant of the Court of Queen’s Bench invalidated the will of the late…
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Nozone Swimwear has a full range of cover-all swimsuits for kids. (photo from Nozone) As summer begins to show its face in Vancouver, it’s time to replenish those supplies that keep us safe and entertained throughout the season. Here’s my…
Canada’s Israeli embassy and the Jewish Federation of Ottawa say that an art exhibit on display at Ottawa City Hall’s Karsh-Masson Gallery glorifies Palestinian terrorism and have urged the city to review its policy on how exhibits are approved. The…
This year’s Summer Celebration cover is a collaborative effort between Jewish Independent production manager Josie Tonio McCarthy, JI publisher Cynthia Ramsay and archivist Jennifer Yuhasz of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, which granted the JI permission to…
For more cartoons, visit thedailysnooze.com.
A Lufthansa Airbus A320 takes off at Berlin Tegel Airport. From legacy carriers such as Lufthansa to low-cost carriers such as Great Britain’s easyJet, new flights to and from Israel are popping up all over the grid following the EU-Israel…
The Frank family on the Merwedeplein, May 1941. (photo from AFF BASEL, CH / AFS AMSTERDAM, NL) Since her diary was first published in 1947, Anne Frank’s story has reached many millions of readers. Her precocious wisdom, her courage and…
The release of American soldier Bowe Bergdahl has raised in the United States many of the same difficult questions and recriminations Israel has faced over the years. The Bergdahl trade, in which five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,…
