There’s immense beauty along Chuckanut Drive whatever time of day you choose to meander those winding roads. (photo by Robert James) The spring sunshine is warming your car, tempting you with a day drive on an open road that promises…
Artist Jody Kramer will be leading one of Draw Down’s many free workshops. (photo by Olga Livshin) Vancouver Draw Down, a city-wide festival of drawing, is turning five this summer. In 2010, it started as a collaboration between the Roundhouse…
Jillian Fargey, back, and Emma Slipp in The Concessions. (photo by Emily Cooper) Sitting outside an East Vancouver rehearsal hall in the bright sunshine of an early spring day, Mishelle Cuttler is philosophical about going unnoticed. The 26-year-old sound designer…
Mahapach-Taghir’s national coordinator Itamar Hamiel and Palestinian co-director Fidaa Nara Abu-Dbai at the organization’s last residents conference in Tel Aviv. (photo from Itamar Hamiel) On June 10, Itamar Hamiel of Mahapach-Taghir will be in Vancouver to speak about his organization and…
Artist Robin Atlas in studio. (photo from Robin Atlas) Midrash has been an integral part of Jewish culture for centuries, mainly in literary form. It also branches into the visual arts, however, and there exists a vibrant, international alliance of…
Woody Allen, left, and John Turturro in Fading Gigolo. (photo from Millennium Entertainment) “My big thing was to not have him wear khaki pants and an army coat,” said John Turturro with a broad smile. “And I got him out…
If there’s one act of tikkun olam to which David Katz is dedicated, it’s an effort to clean up the oceans and waterways of the world by recycling and reprocessing plastic waste. The 45-year-old Port Moody, B.C.-based founder of the…
If there was any doubt that Jews around the world have strong feelings and opinions about Israel, it was disabused by a major new paper produced by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI). Jewish and Democratic: Perspectives from World Jewry…
Mira Sucharov’s debate with Max Blumenthal is on CPAC. In a previous blog post on haaretz.com, I discussed what appears to be an increasing chill factor in our Jewish communities. By way of example, I mentioned a then upcoming debate…
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Bob Bossin (photo by Suzanne Kimpan) Bob Bossin, a well-known Canadian folk musician, recently released a book about his father, Davy the Punk: A Story of Bookies, Toronto the Good, the Mob and My Dad. The book is a compilation…
Naomi Steinberg (photo by Diane Smithers) Clearly, creativity and community involvement run in the Steinberg family. In the April 25 issue of the JI, readers heard from Myriam Steinberg, artistic director of the upcoming In the House Festival. This week,…
The whirlwind visit to the Holy Land by the head of world Catholicism, Pope Francis, left commentators hyperventilating. The brief, two-day excursion was ram-jam full of symbolism, some of it seemingly contradictory. After visiting Jordan, the Pope traveled to Bethlehem,…
While the conflict between Israel and Palestine plays out via an ever-ailing peace process, outside of the Middle East, the relationship is conducted by increasing attempts at silencing opponents. As far as I can tell, this silencing stems from great…
In his book Kosher: Private Regulation in the Age of Industrial Food, American author Timothy Lytton recounts an old rabbinic joke featuring two mythical creatures created by God at the dawn of time: the Behemoth, a giant ox, and the…
“Therefore, the Lord, blessed be He, decreed that we count these days in order that we remember the trepidation of the world.” – Rabbi Moses ben Abraham of Premysl We count 50 days between Passover and Shavuot, officially called the…
(photo from commons.wikimedia.org) By age 20, Elad Peled was a senior commander in the Palmach, one of the branches of Israel’s pre-state army. He was wounded during the fighting and was taken to the hospital. On the way, he passed…
Cheesecake bars (photo by Mollie Katzen) Fresh cheese is a staple in classic Shavuot foods, traditionally wrapped in a soft, egg-like blintz that is then fried lightly in butter. Variations on this theme can keep things interesting and expand your kitchen…
Children rarely pay much attention to what their parents are doing. Children of parents on the wrong side of the law are no different. They may overhear conversations around the house, they may see headlines in the media but they…
Branch #1, Jewish war veterans, Vancouver, B.C., 1976. (JWB fonds, JMABC L.146244) If you know someone in this photo, please help the JI fill the gaps of its predecessor’s (the Jewish Western Bulletin’s) collection at the Jewish Museum and Archives of B.C. by contacting archives@jewishmuseum.ca.
The cast of Spamalot, with Josh Epstein at centre, on one knee. (photo by David Cooper) In any great adventure, that you don’t want to lose, victory depends upon the people that you choose. So, listen, Arthur darling, closely to this…
The Art of Stealing grew from Barton’s desire to explore what’s considered right and wrong in a post-apocalyptic world. (photo by Chris Barton) When Amber Funk Barton was constantly dancing around her house at the age of 4, she didn’t…
Details are slowly emerging about a major initiative to strengthen Jewish identity in the Diaspora. The plan, coming from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, has been in the works for months. But details are seeping out slowly…
Debbie Rootman, community developer and program coordinator for the Jewish Food Bank. On Sunday, June 1, from 1-4 p.m., the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver will be the site of Project Sustenance, a major food drive in support of…
There I stood, 13 and terrified. At Beth Torah Congregation in Toronto, on a bimah that my grandfather had literally helped build, I was chanting from a Torah scroll that his father had saved from their synagogue in eastern Poland…
With the collapse of the U.S.-brokered peace negotiations, the Palestinian leadership has embarked on a plan of unilateral action to gain recognition of a Palestinian state and to isolate Israel internationally. Couple those developments with the Fatah movement’s unity pact with the terrorist group…
Linda Cohen, author of 1,000 Mitzvahs, spoke at King David High School’s Teaching for Tomorrow earlier this month. Imagine channeling your grief at the loss of a loved one into something exceptionally positive and using that something to honor their…
Children in Baka al-Gharbiyah enjoying Maktabat al-Fanoos books and working with their teacher on their storytelling skills. (photo by Akmal Nagnagy) PJ (aka “pajama”) Library is taking the PJ concept to Israel’s Arab population, with the creation of the Lantern Library…
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(Haber, Hayes and Korsch photos by Lorne Greenberg) Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation’s Eight Over Eighty celebration honors eight individuals/couples who have shown exemplary leadership and vision in the community. Last week, the Independent profiled honorees Dr. Marvin and Rita…
