Justice Jules Deschênes, who was appointed by the Canadian government in February 1985 to oversee the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada. (screenshot from B’nai Brith Canada) For nearly four decades, Jewish human rights organizations have been trying…
Almost every Holocaust survivor’s narrative involves some combination of extraordinary coincidence, righteous humanity amid dystopia or a series of chance events that astonishingly result in survival against all odds. The number of such flukes in the life of Vancouver woman…
Next year, for the first time in British Columbia, the Holocaust will be a mandated topic for Grade 10 students. Until now, the task of teaching this most important subject has fallen upon impassioned teachers and dedicated organizations like the…
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Vancouver for the first time to meet with members of the Jewish community and local business leaders. It was a wonderful experience that enabled me to see the Jewish community up close, and…
Jeff Moss (photo from JSA) This summer, Jeff Moss became the first executive director of the Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver. Moss has long served the local community, following the example of his parents, who were deeply involved in…
Ohad Gavrieli (photo from Hillel BC) Ohad Gavrieli is applying his multi-disciplinary background and extensive organizational experience as the new executive director of Hillel BC. This summer, the organization bid farewell to Rob Philipp and welcomed Gavrieli as its head.…
Campers and staff of this summer’s Camp Gan Israel Kelowna. (photo from Chabad Okanagan) Camp Gan Israel (CGI) Kelowna campers experienced a summer packed with joy, adventure and Jewish education. The first week of camp was filled with activities that…
I came across this Rosh Hashanah greeting card in the 2017 Forward article “The Curious History of Rosh Hashanah Cards in Yiddish” by Rami Neudorfer. The image was copyrighted by the Hebrew Publishing Company, New York, 1909, and the high-resolution…
If you were to write a personal “book of life” to express your aspirations for growth in the year ahead, what would its title be? (photo from thisenchantedpixie.org) In the face of the immense sadness and devastation of the past…
Erev Rosh Hashanah, from Shalom Hartman Institute’s Memory and Hope. For each holiday and Shabbat evening in Tishrei, the institute suggests we light a memorial candle before kindling the holiday and Shabbat lights, and offers an intention to recite before…
This year, the High Holidays fall later than usual, with Rosh Hashanah just a few days before the anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023 – the most tragic date in the history of modern-day Israel. The High Holidays offer special opportunities…
When I write articles lately, they’re usually columns with an Opinion header near the editorial section. Most writers try to back their opinions up with research and information. I’m no different. However, some readers can be easily swayed regardless of…
Faith Kramer’s Roasted Salmon with Citrus-honey Sauce. (photo by Clara Rice) Somehow, I missed the cookbook 52 Shabbats: Friday Night Dinners Inspired by a Global Jewish Kitchen by Faith Kramer when it was published by the Collective Book Studio in…
Of course, not everyone in Israel is religious. Yet, there is a rich heritage of Hebrew songs with lyrics taken either directly from the Hebrew Bible or inspired by it. Over the years, these songs have been tremendously popular with…
There is an abundance of street art in Bucharest. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields) What could be more Israeli than the hora? Well, truth be told, the hora is not Israeli! The word hora comes from Romania. And, like the origins…
Starting in 1539, it took Spain 250 years to construct the six-level fortress El Morro in Puerto Rico, and Spain’s former power still emanates from the walls. (photo by Lauren Kramer) I was in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, recently,…
Weizmann Institute’s International Physics Tournament – the “Safe-Cracking Tournament” – is open to students in grades 11 and 12. (photo from Weizmann Canada) Registration is now open for the Weizmann Institute’s International Physics Tournament. New this year – teams from…
Artist Amy J. Dyck sits amid her work “Bed Desk,” one of the pieces in her solo exhibit, Portals to Elsewhere, which opened at the Zack Gallery last month. (photo by Byron Dauncey) The art of Amy J. Dyck is…
Students across British Columbia have returned to the classroom. On university campuses, the activism that had roiled those spaces during the last academic year has returned to a boil. Jewish students are facing more of the horrible same. Even public…
Clockwise from top left: Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alex Lubanov, Ori Danino, Almog Sarusi. (photos from internet). This article is an edited version of a blog posted on Sept. 2, 2024. Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alex…
At the Sept. 26 event Bridging Hope, which takes place at King David High School, Noah Bogdonov, left, and his parents, David Bogdonov and Elana Epstein, will speak about their family’s experience with addiction. (photo from Bogdonov-Epsteins) “We want to…
The Latin American and Spanish Film Week returns to Cinecenta, on the campus of the University of Victoria, Sept. 19-22. (photos courtesy Dan Russek) The Latin American and Spanish Film Week returns to Cinecenta, on the campus of the University…
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has developed an online “election hub” for navigating the issues. Topics that might be considered “Jewish issues” in a political context are generally more federal in nature. Foreign affairs as they relate to…
Students from CJPAC’s 2023/24 Generation: Student Leaders Program cohort (photo from CJPAC) It is Elul, the month before the Jewish new year. Traditionally, this is a time for cheshbon hanefesh, an accounting of one’s soul, before the reflection and repentance of…
(photos courtesy Emanu-El) Gregor Craigie, host of CBC Radio One’s On the Island, interviews Eleanor Wachtel at Congregation Emanu-El on Sept. 15, at 2 p.m., about her career helming the CBC’s premier literary program, Writers & Company. During her 33-year tenure with…
Left to right: Congregation Emanu-El president Ilana Stanger-Ross, MLA Grace Lore, Prof. Richard Kool, Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto, Emanu El’s Rabbi Harry Brechner, MP Laura Collins and MLA Lana Popham on Aug. 18 at the shul’s 160th birthday party. (photo…
Event co-chairs Lee Simpson, left, and Helen Pinsky. (photo by Pat Johnson) Celebration and admiration were the overriding emotions Sept. 5 at the Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation’s first community social event since the pandemic. The festive occasion, which took…
My house smells like chicken soup. That is one of the surefire ways to tell that holidays are on the horizon. It’s a cooler summer day. I have two slow cookers “working” to make that all important broth for autumn…
Peach-blueberry cake à la Ina Garten, made by the Accidental Balabusta. (photo by Shelley Civkin) With Rosh Hashanah right around the corner, I’m already thinking of honey cake … but not honey cake. Wanting to ring in the new year…
לפי נתונים אחרונים של ההסתדרות הציונית העולמית מאז השבעה באוקטובר האנטישמיות בקנדה גדלה בקרוב לשבע מאות אחוזים, לעומת התקופה המקבילה אשתקד. כשבעים אחוז מפשעי שנאה בקנדה מכוונים כנגד הקהילה היהודית המקומית. זאת בזמן שאוכלוסיית היהודים בקנדה מהווה קרוב לאחוז וחצי…
