Last week, the Israeli government announced that it would ban the operation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency from operating in Israel, including in East Jerusalem. For Arab citizens in East Jerusalem, this would mean an end to…
Pro-Israel activist Eylon Levy speaks with an audience member before his Oct. 30 talk at Schara Tzedeck, which was presented by StandWithUs Canada. (photo by Pat Johnson) The terrorists who perpetrated the Oct. 7 attacks were products of schools paid…
Saul Rubinek in Mark Leiren-Young’s Playing Shylock, which is playing in Toronto. Leiren-Young wrote the work with Rubinek in mind. (photo by Dahlia Katz) Victoria playwright Mark Leiren-Young spent October in Toronto, where his Playing Shylock is appearing at Berkeley…
Comedian Erik Angel performs his one-man standup show, Speaking Falafel, at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver on Nov. 14. (photo from Erik Angel) “This year, I discovered even more how comedy is an important tool to bring people…
A stained-glass panel in a wood frame by Hope Forstenzer. (photo by Hope Forstenzer) More than 500 artists are opening their studios, galleries or workshops to the public Nov. 14-17 for the 28th annual Eastside Culture Crawl Visual Arts, Design…
Actor Kerry Sandomirsky – who has more than 130 stage and screen credits – is making her producing debut with the Vancouver première of The Sound Inside, written by Adam Rapp, which was nominated for six Tony Awards in 2020,…
The cast of Bound! The Musical (In Concert), a quirky, character-based show, the story of which is a vehicle for the characters’ journeys and personal growth. (photo by Joelle Wyminga) For two nights only, Nov. 19-20, Metro Theatre and Bound…
Dr. Salman Zarka (photo from Ziv Medical Centre) Dr. Salman Zarka is general director of Ziv Medical Centre, in Safed, Israel, which is about 11 kilometres from the border with Lebanon. He visits Vancouver this month, speaking at Congregation Beth…
On the afternoon of Nov. 24, NCJW Vancouver celebrates its 100th anniversary at Aberthau Mansion, which is evocative of the era in which the organization planted its roots in Vancouver. (photo by Chris10Chan / wikipedia) A century is a long…
Los Angeles-based comedian and podcaster Antonia Lassar brings The Best Jew to Vancouver Performing Stars’ theatre on Nov. 30. (photo by Xander DePascale) Ever wonder how Sarah might have welcomed back Abraham and Isaac from their “camping trip”? Who’s the…
It turns out that a war and a worldwide increase in antisemitism may cause more Jewish people to return to Jewish spaces. Some Jewish atheists try out fasting for Yom Kippur. New faces appear at synagogue. Lectures and events that…
I am still running in this race. For those of us who are older, it seems to take much of our strength to show up every morning and run the course. It seemed easier when we were younger, full of…
A crane lifts a tunnel boring machine part out of the excavated Arbutus Station. With all the changes the Broadway Subway Project is bringing, the Accidental Balabusta and her husband are looking for a new condo – going from renters…
ישראלים רבים לאור אירועי השבעה באוקטובר הפכו להיות פסימים ובצדק. הם לא רואים שום תמונה אופטימית באופק ופתרונות לסיום המשבר הבלתי נגמר האחראי הישיר למשבר בישראל הוא ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו, שעושה הכל כדי להמשיך בתפקידו ולא מעניין אותו המחיר…
Samidoun was an organizer of an Oct. 7 rally celebrating Hamas’s terror attacks on Israel a year earlier. Protesters tried to burn the Canadian flag while shouting that Israel should burn. They also chanted “death to” Canada, the United States…
Left to right: Shane Baker, Sasha Lurje and Michael Wex in The Last Night at the Cabaret Yitesh (Di Letste Nakht Baym Yitesh), which closes this year’s Chutzpah! Festival Nov. 9-10. (photo by Shendl Copitman) “The final sketch in the…
The recent British Columbia provincial election was one of the closest in history – so close that the result is not yet certain. By press time, the incumbent New Democratic party was leading or elected in 46 seats, the Conservative…
Gerald Steinberg, founder of the pro-Israel research institute NGO Monitor, recently spoke with Ellin Bessner, host of The CJN Daily podcast, about Samidoun being listed as a terrorist organization. (screenshot thecjn.ca) Canada’s federal government has now formally listed Samidoun as a terrorist…
Therese Joseph’s solo show at the Zack Gallery opened Oct. 12, but the official opening reception, which she will attend, takes place Oct. 30. (photo from Therese Joseph) The new solo show at the Zack Gallery – Women, Words and…
Itamar Erez will be joined by special guests at the Nov. 5 Chutzpah! Festival concert featuring a dynamic fusion of Middle Eastern, Indian and jazz music. (photo by Diane Smithers) Due to unforeseen circumstances related to flight restrictions, the Chutzpah!…
Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s Building Bridges Speaker Series returns on Nov. 3, 11 a.m., with Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch, chief executive officer of Women of Reform Judaism, speaking on Just for this Moment: Stepping Up to Lead. Hirsch hosts the…
In Vancouver, on the evening of Nov. 10, the Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation will present Voices of Resilience, featuring Prof. Ofer Merin, director general of Shaare Zedek Medical Centre, and Glenn Cohen, former Mossad psychologist and hostage negotiator. Part…
Tikva Housing Society’s executive director Anat Gogo stands in front of a poster bearing the agency’s new logo. (photo by Pat Johnson) Tikva Housing Society has a fresh logo and new branding. The big reveal took place Sept. 25 in…
Imre Székely, left, gives his artwork to then-prime minister Jean Chrétien. (photo from szekelygallery.com) From his hometown of Győr, Hungary, a city halfway between Vienna and Budapest along the Danube River, to his studio in Victoria’s Chinatown, Jewish community member…
Michael Lee presented the King Charles III Coronation Medal to Grace Hahn at the Jewish Seniors Alliance peer support volunteer recognition celebration. (photo from JSA) The King Charles III Coronation Medal was created to mark the coronation of King Charles…
There is something somewhat intimate about being woken up in the middle of the night by rocket sirens. Feet and arms lightly intertwined with my wife’s, feeling a slight tug of the cover to her side in the never-ending battle-of-the-blankets,…
I look at all the fancy sukkah kits people use when I cruise Instagram. I wonder how fast the structures go up, and whether they stand up to strong winds, but we’ve never spent the money on one to find…
ישראל נמצאת בסכנה קיומית מהיום שהתחלתי לנשום לפני למעלה משישים וחמש שנים ואני לא אומר זאת כדי להפחית מחומרת העניין. מצער מאוד שחבורת פושעים בלתי אנושית של החמאס וחבריהם “הזכירו” שוב לישראלים בשבעה באוקטובר, כי הם גרים באזור מסוכן ביותר.…
Several hundred held vigil on the Burrard Street Bridge at sundown Oct. 6. Another vigil took place at the Vancouver Art Gallery at the same time. (photo by Pat Johnson) The youngest victim of the Oct. 7 pogrom was born…
On Sept. 28, Temple Sholom unveiled a new group exhibition in its gallery. “This is not a regular art show,” curator Rina Vizer told the Independent. “It is a commemoration of Oct. 7, of its hope and memories.” Vizer has…
