freelancer – Page 30

The Oct. 7 attack on Holit

Adam Korbin, regional president, Metro Vancouver, for BGU Canada, left, with Jacqui and Yaron Vital, who visited Vancouver last month. On July 21, they shared the story of the murder of their daughter, Adi Vital-Kaploun, by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. (photo from BGU BC & Alberta)

One family’s tragic experiences during the Oct. 7 terror attacks were shared in an intimate, emotional gathering in a private Vancouver home recently.

Yaron and Jacqui Vital shared the story of the murder of their daughter Adi Vital-Kaploun. Jacqui, an Ottawa native who has lived in Israel for 50 years, and her husband, Yaron, who survived the invasion of Kibbutz Holit, told their stories July 21.

The evening was convened by Ben-Gurion University Canada. Adi studied at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at BGU’s Sde Boker campus and the university has set up a special scholarship fund in her memory.

For the Simchat Torah holiday in 2023, Yaron Vital joined daughter Adi and her partner, Adani, and their two kids, 4-year-old Negev and 4-month-old Eshel, at their home on Kibbutz Holit. They were joined by another daughter, Ayala, and her family, who live in another kibbutz in the Gaza Envelope area. For the first time since the COVID pandemic, Jacqui was visiting family in Ottawa and watched the confusing news from afar, with mounting alarm.

“We had a nice day on Friday,” Yaron recalled. “Adani and Adi made a nice supper, we played with the kids a little bit and then Ayala left and went back to the kibbutz.”

Because Adi was nursing the baby and would be up in the night, she suggested her father sleep in the nearby guest house.

“It’s an apartment that nobody uses most of the year and it doesn’t seem in such good shape, but it’s a place to sleep,” he said. “In the end, this apartment saved my life.”

At 6:29 a.m., he woke up to “a noise like thunder” and a changed world.

The sky was so bright from rockets that his eyes were seared and he could see the lights for days when he shut his eyes.

Yaron returned to the safe room in the guest house and called Adi, who told him to stay where he was. Adani had left the kibbutz earlier and, when the attacks began, Adi texted him not to return.

Yaron was in the army for 24 years, and served in a special unit in charge of the security along that very border. While the density of rockets overhead was unprecedented, he soon realized how different the scenario was from anything he, or the country, had seen before. Looking out a window, he saw terrorists running throughout the kibbutz. He heard screaming and shooting. From experience, he expected the military to respond almost instantaneously. He had no idea that there were more than 3,000 terrorists already in the country and that Holit was far from the only kibbutz under attack.

The safe room door in the guest house did not have a lock – they are created to protect from rockets and missiles, not from on-the-ground terrorist invasions – and so Yaron rigged up a rope to create a makeshift lock.

The rampaging terrorists skipped the guest house and Yaron had no idea why. Later, in piecing together some of the disparate threads from the day, it emerged that the invaders had detailed maps of the various kibbutzim, clearly based on intelligence from Gazans who had worked at or visited the border-adjacent communities – the maps indicated who lived where, which homes had dogs, where jewelry was kept. Presumably, the terrorists knew the guest house was usually vacant and so didn’t waste their time kicking in the door.

At 12:30 p.m. – six hours after the horrors began – Yaron received a text message from Adi.

“They’re breaking into my house,” she wrote.

“That was the last time she sent me a message,” Yaron said. “I tried to call her back after 10 minutes. She didn’t answer. I heard some shooting from her direction.”

He waited in silence all afternoon. After 11 hours, Yaron heard people in the house. He wouldn’t open the door, knowing it could be a trap. They hollered to see if anyone was in the building.

“I didn’t answer until they came close to the door of the safe room,” he recalled. “They said, ‘Is somebody inside? Is somebody here?’ It seemed like a Hebrew accent. I decided I couldn’t take it anymore, to tell you the truth, so I decided I’m going to answer them.”

Once he was freed, he went with the soldiers to Adi’s house across the street.

“They tried to open the door and it was locked, so I had a feeling maybe there was a chance,” he said. “The commander kicked the door, they jumped inside, disappeared for a few seconds and then they came to me and said, ‘Listen, we saw a dead body in the kitchen.’ When they said that, I lost my … I almost fell down. But, they said right away, ‘Don’t worry, it’s a man.’”

It was evident almost immediately that the body was that of a terrorist. There was no sign of the kids and, while the safe room was a shamble, there was no sign of Adi either. There were hundreds of bullet casings on the floor of the living room.

“I called Adani and I told him that there is nobody in the house. Don’t worry, she’s hiding someplace,” he recalled Adani telling him.

Dead dogs were scattered throughout the kibbutz. Doors to most of the houses were open and Yaron could see bodies inside. Late in the day, he got in his severely damaged car and began to drive home to Jerusalem. On the way, he received news that his grandchildren were safe and comparatively healthy.

Al Jazeera was on site with the terrorists and had footage of the two boys being abducted. Negev had been shot in the foot and a terrorist was bandaging his wound while another terrorist had Eshel on his shoulders and rocked him in a carriage.

In a scene broadcast on Anderson Cooper’s CNN program on Monday, Oct. 9, the terrorists set the boys free right around the Gaza border. The footage showed Negev and Eshel returning with a woman toward the kibbutz. The Vitals believe this was a propaganda move to show the humanity of the terrorists, who were depicted as kindly releasing a mother and her (presumed) children. Around midnight, Adani was reunited with his sons.

After four days battling the terrorists, Holit was finally secured and a special unit came to the kibbutz and started to clear the bodies.

“One of the soldiers bent down and suddenly saw a hand sticking out from under the sofa,” Yaron said. They took a picture of the hand with a wedding ring and that is how the family learned that Adi had not been kidnapped but killed.

It would turn out that she had courageously fended off the terrorists for some time with the gun Adani had in the house – killing one of the terrorists, the body the soldiers discovered in the home. Eventually, though, she was murdered in front of her children. The kids were taken by the terrorists and handed over to a neighbour, who was the woman pictured on CNN.

Jacqui spoke of the unbearable anxiety of not knowing the fate of her daughter.

“I only had three days of not knowing where she was and I couldn’t touch my neck because I was so tense just thinking about what they might be doing to her,” she said. “And there are still 50 families that can’t touch their neck.”

Of their late daughter, Jacqui said: “We know where she is, she’s in a safe place.”

This sentiment has caused some controversy in Israel. On the 10th day after Oct. 7, Adani was on TV saying he was relieved that Adi had been murdered and not kidnapped because, he assumed, death was the preferable alternative. At the time, probably no one imagined that dozens of hostages would still be in captivity in Gaza almost 700 days later.

According to David Berson, executive director of Ben-Gurion University Canada, British Columbia and Alberta, 118 people from the Ben-Gurion University community have been killed on or since Oct. 7, most of them during the 10/7 terror attacks and others in the ensuing war. These include faculty, students and staff.

Tolerating intolerance

It was mayhem outside the BC Provincial Court, near Main and Hastings, Aug. 20, as anti-Israel protesters screamed, chanted and shouted into megaphones to drown out the words of Dallas Brodie, member of the BC Legislature for Vancouver-Quilchena and leader of the upstart OneBC party.

Brodie attempted a media conference outside the courthouse before filing a “private prosecution” against Charlotte Kates, the Vancouver woman who is international coordinator for Samidoun, a group the government of Canada has designated a terrorist entity.

Kates was arrested by Vancouver police in April 2024 under suspicion of public incitement of hatred and wilful promotion of hatred, a criminal offence in Canada, after a public rally where she led a crowd in a chant of “Long live Oct. 7,” called the Hamas attack “heroic and brave” and described designated terrorists as “heroes.”

She was released on condition that she refrain from participating in any protest activities. Those conditions expired Oct. 8, 2024, when the BC Prosecution Service and the assistant deputy attorney general had not approved the charges recommended by police. It was a week later that her organization, Samidoun, was officially designated as a terrorist entity by the government of Canada.

Brodie’s prosecution – an obscure legal move similar to a citizen’s arrest – is unlikely to have a direct impact on the case, though it might refocus the spotlight on the failure of authorities to follow through on a criminal prosecution.

In a statement, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs noted that a report to Crown counsel has been sitting on the desks of relevant officials for more than a year.

“Every day they do not press charges,” said CIJA’s Pacific region vice-president Nico Slobinsky in a statement, “she acts with increasing impunity, including by flying to Iran to receive a ‘human rights’ award from its government and attending the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. Our legal system must send a clear message: antisemitism and hate have no place in British Columbia or anywhere else in Canada. Charges must be pressed without delay.”

Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, observed that more than two-thirds of the BC Jewish community have reported experiencing an antisemitic hate incident.

“Individuals and organizations like Charlotte Kates and Samidoun have exacerbated this dramatic wave of antisemitism, which is why our community has been calling for accountability since her despicable remarks on April 26, 2024, on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery,” Shanken said. “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

We wrote in this space recently about an incident at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver that clearly violated existing laws banning political protests at locations where official school functions are taking place. Police did not recommend charges in that instance.

The inner workings of the Crown prosecutors’ office and other components of the judicial process are not entirely transparent, the sensitivity of the issues they address necessitating a degree of privacy. However, some observers have suggested that there is a systemic problem up the ladder of the process. Police often do not pursue instances of apparent offences because they have seen prosecutors decline to charge. Prosecutors are said to hesitate to lay charges because they have seen courts throw out cases they presented.

There has been a great deal of hand-wringing about a massive spike in antisemitism, including violent incidents. There are many remediative and preventive opportunities that do not involve criminal charges – public awareness campaigns and restorative justice and diversion programs among them. But, at some point, the laws on the books to prevent the spreading of hatred and incitement to violence must be tested. If they do not stand up in court, then we as a society need a dialogue about what we will tolerate.

We may find that we need new laws that courts will uphold, so that Crown prosecutors will be empowered to lay charges, so that police will know that enforcement is not a waste of energy, and so that Canadians will recognize what is acceptable and what is not in our country.

What is not tolerable is doing nothing.

Almost 700 days of waiting

Almost every Sunday since the first days after Oct. 7, Daphna Kedem has led a vigil for the hostages. People have gathered in solidarity and to hear from a diverse array of speakers, first outside the Vancouver Art Gallery and now at Vancouver City Hall. (photo by Pat Johnson)

Almost 700 days have passed since the horrors of Oct. 7, 2023, and the holding of Israeli hostages in the tunnels of Gaza.

In Vancouver, as in cities worldwide, Jews and their allies gather frequently to mourn the lost, stand in solidarity with Israelis and remind the families whose loved ones are still in captivity that there are people across the planet who hold them in their thoughts.

Almost every Sunday since the first days after Oct. 7, Daphna Kedem has led a vigil for the hostages – first outside the Vancouver Art Gallery and now at Vancouver City Hall. Missing only a few weeks due to Jewish or statutory holidays or, like this month, because police security was stretched thin with the Pride Parade, a stalwart group gathers at 12th and Cambie in solidarity and to hear from a diverse array of speakers.

Another regular gathering also takes place, with the group Vancouver Stands With Israel organizing marches across the Burrard Street Bridge and back, waving Canadian and Israeli flags. This past Sunday, scores of participants were greeted with a few hostile catcalls, an exponentially larger number of supportive messages, and a great deal of nonchalance and curiosity. Joining the parade were members of the Persian- and Indian-Canadian communities, carrying their respective flags.

photo - Jews and allies assemble near Burrard Street Bridge in a march last Sunday, Aug. 24 — Jews and allies assemble near Burrard Street Bridge in a march last Sunday, Aug. 24. *(photo by Pat Johnson)*

Over the summer, the group Vancouver Friends of Standing Together began holding weekly vigils, also at Vancouver City Hall. (See jewishindependent.ca/encouraging-another-way.)

The competing events reflect divisions in the community. At a rally earlier this month, Kedem acknowledged that she has received “a lot of backlash” from people who believe she and some of her speakers are “too political.” Kedem calls for an immediate end to the war, which she views as the most likely path to get the remaining live hostages home safely.

“If this is too political, then I’m probably very political,” she said.

Over the course of almost two years, the Sunday rallies organized by Kedem have featured diverse voices, both hawkish and dovish, with many speakers expressing personal reflections that cannot be pegged on a political spectrum. Christian pastors have spoken and sung. First Nations representatives have taken part. Rabbis are usually in attendance, including Rabbi Philip Bregman, who, most weeks, leads the group in national anthems.

Kedem begins the events by reading excerpts from the previous evening’s rallies in Tel Aviv, usually voices of family members of those held hostage.

Rabbi Carey Brown, associate rabbi of Temple Sholom and a fellow of the Rabbinic Leadership Institute of Shalom Hartman Institute, spoke this past Sunday of the significance of the month of Elul, which began the night before.

“It’s the time that we as a people and as individuals begin our journey of self-reflection and soul-searching as we prepare for the new year,” she said. “It is a month that whispers to us: return, reflect, renew.”

photo - Rabbi Carey Brown speaks at the Aug. 24 vigil for the hostages, which took place at Vancouver City Hall — Rabbi Carey Brown speaks at the Aug. 24 vigil for the hostages, which took place at Vancouver City Hall. (photo by Pat Johnson)

When she is asked how to live more Jewishly, Brown suggests people let the Jewish calendar guide them.

“It’s a map,” she said. “It’s a heartbeat. It’s the soul’s clock. We measure time in many sacred ways. In Judaism, we count days, months, years … a reminder of the holiness in time, and even our grief and our longing are measured in time. Today is Day 688 … of the captivity of still 50 hostages, living and dead. We count because we care. We count because they matter. We count because time is sacred and their time has been stolen. Think of all the time that has passed: 688 days of missed holidays, 688 days without their families, 688 days of fear, torment and waiting. And now, here we are again, standing on the threshold of Elul, preparing once more for Rosh Hashanah, for Yom Kippur. This time, time feels different. It feels heavy.”

Toby Rubin, local chapter president of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO, urged attendees to stand firm until all the hostages are returned.

“We ask that all of you continue to support, to advocate, to push and to ask your allies and your political leaders to continue to do what they need to do to get every one of those 50 home,” she said. “And, again, whether they’re dead or alive, we want them back.”

Earlier in August, on Tu b’Av, community activist and leader David Berson blew the shofar and reflected on the date, which is a commemoration of love and unity.

“The shofar isn’t only a High Holiday symbol, it’s also a biblical emblem of revelation and covenant,” he said. “As I blow the shofar today, let this be a clarion call to rebuilding the wholeness of our people, of listening and understanding, of hearing what is troubling the other and taking that into consideration, of opening our hearts and being curious about what is hurting. We have all been through so much since Oct. 7 and, while we cannot put the genie back in the bottle, we must stand together and embrace that which does bind us in an eternal bond of community, of belonging and embracing our humanity and the humanity of others.”

That same day featured Karen James, a past board chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and current chair of the local partnership council for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. She is also on the board of governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel.

James reflected on her experiences as a competitive swimmer, including participating in the Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem in 1965, which connected her more deeply not only to her Jewishness and to Israel, but to the branch of her family that had made its way to Palestine in the era when her grandfather settled in Canada.

She shared another personal story that affected her connection to her identity and to Israel.

In 1972, James was on Canada’s Olympic swim team. She and teammates were out celebrating after their competitions were over, watching the Canada-Russia hockey series. As they walked back to the Olympic Village in the wee hours of the morning, they saw four men with a big duffle bag. The four men clambered over the fence to get into the Olympic Village and the Canadians did likewise.

“I went to my dorm, slept for a little bit, but then was woken up to all the commotion in the village,” James recalled. She became a firsthand witness to the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes at the Munich Games.

“I watched the negotiations happen between [the terrorists] and the Germans and, in the evening, I saw when the Israeli team members were led out onto a bus with their hands bound and they were blindfolded,” she said. “Later that night, we’d heard that they were safe and alive, that they’d been freed. But that was wrong. They made a mistake. I don’t know how that got out there because, in fact, the Germans tried to storm the planes and the Palestinians threw grenades and shot the remaining Israeli hostages.”

James went on to describe a more intimate experience with antisemitism. In a consultation with a medical specialist, the doctor repeated the words “It could be worse” twice. On the second occasion, James asked the doctor what she meant by noting that “it could be worse.”

“And she said, ‘Look at what’s happening in Gaza,’” James recalled the doctor telling her. “It was so inappropriate to say that to me.”

Antisemitism is growing, said James. “The main thing that keeps me going is community,” she said. “All of you. All of my community.”

BGU rebuilds after much loss

Jeff Kaye, vice-president for public affairs and resource development at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, was in Vancouver earlier this month. (photo from BGU)

A couple of years ago, many Israelis were beginning to think the country’s legendary solidarity was fraying, that people were less caring, that a split between Israelis and diaspora Jews was growing and that young Israelis had lost some of the fervour of earlier generations. Oct. 7 changed everything. The chasm between Israelis and diaspora Jews evaporated, according to one Israeli who visited Vancouver recently.

“We really are in this together and we are a much stronger Jewish people, both in Israel and outside of Israel,” said Jeff Kaye, a vice-president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, who spoke with the Independent Aug. 7.

Older Israelis who thought younger people took the country for granted have had their assumptions upended, he said.

“They were the TikTok generation,” Kaye characterized the stereotypes about young Israelis. “All they wanted to do was earn some money, take care of themselves. And what Oct. 7 taught us is, underneath this, we had raised a generation of young people who have purpose, who care deeply about the country, who care deeply about values and, without being told, they took responsibility.”

Kaye saw this attitude in action at the university. Administrators were struggling to come to terms with the changed reality and students themselves instantly set up a babysitting initiative, food collections and volunteer teams.

Kaye, BGU’s vice-president for public affairs and resource development, made aliyah from Scotland in 1981, then spent a decade in special needs education before joining the philanthropic sector. He spent four years as emissary to the Jewish Federation of Detroit and then more than a decade in a senior leadership position at the Jewish Agency for Israel, during which time he helped create the Fund for Victims of Terror. Before joining BGU, he served for five years as executive vice-president and director-general of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Kaye was in Vancouver at the invitation of BGU Canada, one of about a dozen national and regional affiliates of BGU, that include chapters in Argentina, Belgium, France, South Africa, Switzerland and a global chapter for Russian speakers.

“My role is to find people throughout the world and say, this is what we do. This is who we are. This is why we do what we do,” he explained.

With a team of about 35, Kaye helps connect people with projects that meet their objectives and those of the university, whether recruiting people to serve on the board, run activities, sponsor projects, build a building or provide a scholarship.

Oct. 7 and the months since have affected the university profoundly, as they have every aspect of Israeli life. About 118 BGU students, faculty and staff were killed that day or in the war. Of BGU’s approximately 20,000 students, about one-third of them were called up for military service just as the academic year would have been starting in 2023.

“Obviously, universities couldn’t open and we were still under attack,” Kaye said. The first semester after Oct. 7 was delayed to Dec. 31.

Kaye credits the university’s president, Daniel Chamovitz, with ensuring a flexibility that allowed students to access as much education as possible around their military and other responsibilities.

In addition to the semester that began Dec. 31, another semester began a month later for soldiers who had returned in the interim. The university had multiple semesters running concurrently and, like many organizations that adopted new technologies, also offered recorded classes so students did not need to be on campus.

Because Israelis routinely start university after military service, many BGU students are not living at their parents’ homes, and may even have kids of their own. That created economic challenges for many who had lost not only class time but part-time or full-time income and saw spouses away on military duty. The university had to provide laptop computers for people whose homes were destroyed and psychological assistance for students who had witnessed or experienced horrific things.

On June 19 this year, during the war with Iran, a ballistic missile hit the university-affiliated Soroka Medical Centre, destroying a major part of the facility.

“Our labs – teaching labs, research labs, pathology labs – were all entirely destroyed,” Kaye said.

Miraculously, there were no fatalities. In an act of prescience, administrators had moved surgeries into a basement, fearing just such an attack. Kaye said the move – a day before the bombing – may have saved scores or hundreds of lives.

Another blast damaged a university gym. After the formal ceasefire, but when Iran continued sending missiles, an off-campus residence was struck, leaving 50 or more students and faculty homeless.

In Israel, a portion of property taxes are allocated to a fund to restore private property damaged or destroyed by terrorism or war. If your seven-year-old car is hit by a rocket, the fund will reimburse you the value of a seven-year-old car, Kaye said. “But if it’s a microscope that costs $800,000 and it’s 12 years old, you get money for a 12-year-old microscope,” he said. “But there’s no secondhand microscopes out there. So, you have to find the money to buy a new microscope.”

This is one of an incalculable number of examples of expenses incurred as a result of the war in this one university alone.

Kaye is grateful for donors worldwide who have stepped up to assist BGU in its time of challenge, but he noted that almost every organization in Israel faces variations on the same challenge – and diaspora communities have been called upon over the past two years to support umbrella emergency campaigns.

Amid all this, Kaye finds both optimism and hope.

What’s the difference?

“Hope is, you sit by and pray, wonder, hope that something’s good is going to happen,” he said. “Optimism is when you make it happen. I’m an optimist who is actively involved in bringing hope – and that’s incredibly easy to do in our university because we get up every day and we say, how can we make it happen?”

Ruta’s Closet reissued

Lady Esther Gilbert speaking at Vancouver City Hall April 8, when Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim proclaimed Ruth Kron Sigal Day in the city. (photo by Keith Morgan)

Ruta’s Closet, the Holocaust narrative of the late Vancouverite Ruth Kron Sigal, is being reissued for a new generation of audiences – and the book’s author is ensuring the survivor’s inspiring story of survival and resilience reaches the widest possible global audience.

Vancouver journalist Keith Morgan, who completed the book shortly before Kron Sigal’s passing, at age 72 in 2008, has updated the publication – and created an extensive range of multimedia projects to expand the impact of the written volume.

First issued as a fundraising initiative for the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Ruta’s Closet was later published in the United Kingdom, with distribution there reaching new audiences.

The book recounts the harrowing survival story of the Kron family, imprisoned in the tiny Shavl (Šiauliai) ghetto in Lithuania, through the eyes of the youngest daughter, Ruta (later Ruth). Their survival against Nazi persecution hinged on the courage and resourcefulness of her parents, Meyer and Gita Kron, as well as the bravery of non-Jewish rescuers. Depicted with novel-like narrative power but rooted in rigorous research and eyewitness testimony, the memoir vividly portrays atrocities such as mass murder, a Nazi ban on Jewish births and the deportation of children to Auschwitz, while also shining a light on courage, compassion and human resilience amid the evil.

Kron Sigal didn’t live to see the book in print but she saw the final draft.

“She said to me shortly before she died, ‘You are going to carry on telling my story, Keith, aren’t you?’ And I said, of course I am,” Morgan told the Independent. “So, I took that on as a mission.”

Surveys indicating widespread ignorance of Holocaust history, combined with skyrocketing antisemitism, motivated Morgan to launch a series of Ruta’s Closet-related projects.

“We updated the book and decided it was time to go basically worldwide with this,” he said.

In addition to the re-release of the hard-copy, Morgan and his small team of colleagues recorded an audiobook and released an ebook. They revamped the existing Ruta’s Closet website and made it more interactive.

Working with Bill Barnes, a local radio producer, Morgan developed a 25-segment podcast.

“We are doing Zoom interviews with people around the world who are a part of a driving force behind an imaginative, creative initiative in spreading Holocaust awareness and education,” he explained. “I’ve got Ruth’s kids – Michael, Marilee and Elana – each week doing an introduction for book clubs.”

The VHEC has produced a downloadable guide for book clubs, as well as a teacher’s guide to the book, which makes it additionally relevant as British Columbia’s education curriculum mandates Holocaust education this year for the first time as part of the Social Studies 10 coursework.

“The beauty of it, for British Columbia, is it’s technically a local story,” Morgan said. “It’s about Ruth. It’s about somebody who came here and did a lot for her adopted society.”

photo - Journalist Keith Morgan, author with Ruth Kron Sigal of Kron Sigal’s memoir, Ruta’s Closet, is ensuring that her story of survival and resilience reaches the widest possible audience — Journalist Keith Morgan, author with Ruth Kron Sigal of Kron Sigal’s memoir, Ruta’s Closet, is ensuring that her story of survival and resilience reaches the widest possible audience. *(photo from Keith Morgan)*

Morgan, who spent many years as the crime reporter at the Province newspaper, met Kron Sigal when his editor asked him to take on a more uplifting assignment and begin a series about people doing good works at home and abroad.

“Somebody said, ‘Oh, you should talk to Ruth Sigal,’” who was sharing her Holocaust story with students. “I went to meet her. I was very impressed. She told her story and it had an amazing impact on me. I just knew this was an important story to tell.”

He found immediate support from Dr. Robert Krell, the founding president of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.

“Robert Krell kind of took me under his wing – he was a close friend of Ruth – and he said, ‘I’ve got just the guy to introduce to you, who will be really helpful to you for pulling the story together.’”

The person was renowned historian Sir Martin Gilbert.

“The British schoolboy in me thought, ‘How do I curtsy?’” Morgan joked.

Morgan met Sir Martin in London and got a one-on-one master course in writing about the subject.

“He looked me right in the eye and said, ‘You have to tell the story as though you were writing it for your newspaper and make it accessible to all people,’” Morgan recalled. “Sadly, Martin died [in 2015], but Lady Esther Gilbert took up his mantle and, since then, she’s been an ally and was very important in this edition in terms of going through it, adding bits here and there.”

She spoke at a ceremony at Vancouver City Hall on April 8 this year, when the mayor proclaimed Ruth Kron Sigal Day in the city.

Kron Sigal’s story resonates profoundly with people, according to Morgan.

“We can all relate to what happened to Ruth and her sister Tamara,” he said. “It also tells us compelling stories about how, through their own devices, they basically survived and helped others along the way. We also see what other members of the family did to help the broader community.… We get this family story, which, in itself, is very dramatic, but we also get this wider picture of how a community in the ghetto work with each other, help each other.”

Morgan sees Kron Sigal’s narrative as an inspiration not only because of her survival against the Nazis but in all she did after becoming a Canadian.

“Ruth came here, an adopted country, and spent 25 years at the Women’s Resource Centre and the VHEC Child Survivors Group,” said Morgan. “That’s an example to everybody: come into a new society, an adopted country, and just roll up the sleeves and get working. Isn’t that an example to anybody that comes in?”

No less a triumph, Morgan said, is the family Ruth and her husband, Dr. Cecil Sigal, created.

“You look at that family and you think, ‘Victory!” he said. “Because they beat Hitler.”

Offering solidarity, support

This summer, Jewish Addiction Community Services (JACS) and Jewish Family Services Vancouver (JFS) launched JACS Family Circle, a group that meets biweekly to provide solidarity and support for family members and loved ones of Jews experiencing addiction.

“Most people are surprised that this exists,” said Rabbi Josh Corber, director of addictions and mental health services. “But alcoholism is a family disease that affects everyone in the family differently. And, regardless of their loved one’s recovery journey, they deserve to have a life that’s happy, joyous and free.”

Nine people showed up for the first JACS Family Circle meeting, on July 28, and, depending on the needs of the attendees, the frequency may become weekly. Corber said gratitude was the main theme that emerged from the first meeting. “We received immense appreciation for the fact that this group exists now, and the attendees were happy to have this group and to have one another,” he said.

Since their Third Seder event in April, JFS and JACS have been busy launching this group and the Jewish Addiction Circle (JAC), a support group for people struggling with addiction, which follows Jewish teachings as they relate to self-care and recovery. JAC also meets biweekly. While participants don’t have to be Jewish to attend, they should be connected in some way with Judaism, or at the least, comfortable with the therapy provided having a Jewish basis.

Corber leads JAC and co-leads JACS Family Circle with Elana Epstein, a certified recovery coach.

In early July, JACS Vancouver participated in the AA International Convention in Vancouver, which was attended by more than 30,000 people. Because AA does not partner with external agencies, JACS rented a booth at “Sober City,” at the Junction Public Market, Granville Square. There, Corber interacted with convention attendees, tourists and cruise ship passengers, educating them about the work of JACS and similar Jewish organizations in other cities in Canada and the United States.

“I was able to make connections with many Jewish addicts in recovery,” he said. “There were sober Jews from small cities in the US who felt very isolated as Jews, and some of them were moved to tears when they spoke with us. Many of the people who approached us were Jewish, and many were not, but all of them were happy that we were there. Some didn’t know of any Jewish agency involved with addictions prior to meeting us.”

Corber worked hard to spread awareness of JACS’s work at the convention, and says addiction services for Jews are needed now more than ever.

“It can be difficult for people who aren’t Jewish to help us if they don’t understand the Jewish culture, though they sincerely want to,” he said. “But what we can build together will benefit the Vancouver Jewish community as well as alcoholics everywhere. The returns on our participation are hard to quantify right now but, on a world level, JACS Vancouver is now much more known. This can bring all kinds of returns, including philanthropic.”

Those interested in joining JAC or JACS Family Circle should email Corber at [email protected] for more information.

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.

Music’s healing power

The annual Music Heals gala raises funds and awareness of the therapeutic use of music. This year’s event takes place Oct. 23 at the Commodore Ballroom. (photo from David Barnett)

Vancouver’s business and entertainment communities are combining their philanthropic forces at the Commodore Ballroom Oct. 23 for a gala to support Music Heals, the charitable foundation that raises awareness and funds for the therapeutic use of music in physical and mental health processes.

David Barnett founded Music Heals in 2012. (photo from David Barnett)

David Barnett, who founded Music Heals in 2012 and currently serves as board president, said tickets will be available after Labour Day and are expected to sell out quickly. Still, the event, which is already fully booked from an artist standpoint, always has room for sponsorship opportunities, according to Barnett.

“It is a great group at Music Heals,” he said. “We bring in all types of artists from all over, including Grammy Award winners, and produce a fun variety show. We don’t reveal any of the artists. We keep everything a surprise.

“It is a super-fun event to produce and it brings the downtown business community and the music industry together for one night to celebrate the power of music.”

Since its beginning, Music Heals has distributed more than $5 million to help vulnerable Canadians gain access to music therapy. That translates to more than 65,000 funded music therapy hours in 85 different facilities, from children’s hospitals to senior centres to burn units, to hospices and rehabilitation centres. The funds have gone towards helping at-risk youth, cancer patients, those needing bereavement support and many others.

The 2024 gala raised more than $450,000, with sponsors such as RBC, BMO, ZLC Financial, Colliers International and Westbridge Capital, among numerous other organizations. DJ All Good, bbno$, CeeLo Green, Jack Thomas, Bif Naked and the Delta Police Pipe Band were some of the performers that appeared.

photo - “We always try to bring in something eclectic. The event itself is a little bit rowdy, and we try to keep the volume up,” says Music Heals founder and board president David Barnett about the organization’s annual gala — “We always try to bring in something eclectic. The event itself is a little bit rowdy, and we try to keep the volume up,” says Music Heals founder and board president David Barnett about the organization’s annual gala. (photo from David Barnett)

As for the upcoming event, Barnett, who calls Music Heals one of his “passion projects,” said, “We always try to bring in something eclectic. The event itself is a little bit rowdy, and we try to keep the volume up. We feature a story that is happening in the community and have a video of how we spent the money in the previous year.

“It is an opportunity for us to build a community of friends, business associates and music industry people to have some fun and raise some money for a very cool kind of cause to support facilities that use music as medicine in their healing for mental and physical health.”

In 2025, Music Heals gave more than $520,000 to 45 music therapy programs that included Ronald McDonald House BC and Yukon, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, BC Cancer Foundation and the Pacific Autism Family Centre.

Countless studies have been conducted on the healing power of music. The overwhelming conclusion is that listening to or playing music has a beneficial effect on overall human health and can mitigate various physical and mental ailments. Music, various research has shown, can lower stress, lift moods, bolster energy and lower pain levels.

Music therapy can benefit people in all age groups, from children with developmental disabilities to older adults with Alzheimer’s. For young people, music can help improve their cognitive and social development, allowing for better communication and emotional expression. For adults, music therapy can be a means of managing stress, anxiety and depression while boosting self-esteem.

For seniors, music therapy can have positive implications for recollection and cognitive function. The Louis Brier Home and Hospital, for example, offers one-on-one individualized and small-to-large group music therapy programs that are supported by Music Heals.

Among the types of music used at the Brier are beat boxing, drum circles and movement to music, as well as the singing of the Brier Choir. Louis Brier states on its website that music therapy for individuals in long-term care can maintain memory recall and reminiscing, fine motor coordination and range of motion, and increase creative expression.

On the power of music, the late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician David Crosby said in an interview done with Music Heals in 2017, “Music is a lifting force in the universe. Just as war drags the human race down and draws out the worst in people, music is a lifting force. It brings out the best in us; it lifts us up. Any time you can do music, it lifts the human race.”

In March, around the time of International Women’s Day, Music Heals hosts Let Her Sing, an annual event meant to provide women with access to music therapy programs in support of their physical and mental health. This year’s event raised $120,000.

Philanthropic causes, whether through Music Heals or other charitable ventures, have played an important role for Barnett throughout his life.

“I grew up in a family that gives back to the community and giving back was a large part of my upbringing,” said Barnett, whose business ventures have included music venues in the city.

“As I was getting older and found myself having kids and trying to get out of the music industry and nightclub space,” he said, “we were looking for an opportunity to get back and give back, and fell into the music therapy world.”

For more information, visit musicheals.ca.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Locals part of first cohort

A first-of-its-kind program will give 30 Jewish social service professionals, including social workers, doctors and therapists, specialized training to better meet the psychosocial and emotional well-being of Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews. Among the participants will be two members of the local Jewish community: Harley Kushmier, a social worker in Kelowna, and Serach Aleria Sarra, a student in spiritual health at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

photo - Serach Aleria Sarra Harley Kushmier (below) are two of the 30 Jewish social service professionals who will participate in an inaugural JIMENA Sephardic Leaders Fellowship program — Serach Aleria Sarra Harley Kushmier (below) are two of the 30 Jewish social service professionals who will participate in an inaugural JIMENA Sephardic Leaders Fellowship program. *(photo from JIMENA)*

The program, part of JIMENA’s Sephardic Leaders Fellowship, is designed to deepen the professionals’ understanding of Sephardi and Mizrahi heritage and equip them to provide culturally responsive care. Chosen from a competitive applicant pool, fellows were accepted based on professional merit and a demonstrated commitment to serving diverse Jewish populations. JIMENA stands for Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa.

“In a post-Oct. 7 world – where so many Sephardi and Mizrahi Americans have been directly affected by events in Israel and the Middle East, and amid rising antisemitism and social strain – our research and community experience point to a clear demand for culturally responsive training for health professionals and social service providers working with Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews,” said Sarah Levin, executive director at JIMENA, in a press release. “This inaugural cohort – comprising therapists, counselors, crisis and trauma practitioners, providers for aging populations and at-risk youth, and clinical social workers – reflects that demand.”

photo - Harley Kushmier — Harley Kushmier *(photo from JIMENA)*

Over a series of sessions, the fellows in the social service providers cohort will explore a range of topics relevant to working with Sephardi, Mizrahi and other unique Jewish communities. These include mental health stigma in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures, intergenerational trauma in immigrant and refugee families from the Middle East and North Africa, and economic vulnerability. The cohort will also engage in discussions on trauma-informed care with a focus on sexual abuse, as well as traditional Sephardi perspectives on identity, belonging and community care. This will include a dedicated session on LGBTQ+ youth, led by JQY. Additionally, participants will receive a foundational overview of Sephardi Jewish history, context and key definitions. Sessions will be led by leading practitioners in their field.

* * *

On Aug. 21, JIMENA released the study Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in the United States: Identities, Experiences and Communities. It offers recommendations for leaders and organizations that want to more deeply engage these communities. Among the findings are that Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews in the United States have higher rates of Jewish communal participation, a stronger connection to Israel and are more likely than Ashkenazi Jews to say that being Jewish is somewhat or very much a part of their daily life.

The research was directed by Dr. Mijal Bitton and based at the New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Research. As part of the research, scholars at the Cohen Centre for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS) at Brandeis University conducted a review of existing quantitative data from national and community studies on Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews in the United States. Based on these figures, the study’s researchers estimate that approximately 10% of American Jews are Sephardi and/or Mizrahi.

The data also show that, compared to Ashkenazi Jews, American Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews have the lowest intermarriage rates, and are more likely than Ashkenazi Jews to be born and/or raised outside the United States, to be politically moderate or conservative, and to be economically vulnerable.

Researchers examined four communities: the Syrian community in Brooklyn, NY; the Persian community in Los Angeles; the Bukharian community in Queens, NY; and the Latin Sephardi community of South Florida. Key findings include:

• While historically underrepresented in mainstream Jewish communal life, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews have built strong, vibrant communities that maintain deep familial, religious and cultural traditions.

• Sephardi religious practice reflects a strong sense of traditionalism, combining respect for religious laws, customs, legitimations and authorities with more flexible personal and family religious observance.

• Community members want to make new lives for themselves in America, while still preferring ethnic connections, especially marriage with other community members and their own cultural traditions, and they maintain abiding connections to their Mediterranean, North African and Middle Eastern cultures.

• Most community members exhibit a notable resistance to language that frames race as their primary identity, categorizes them as Jews of colour or positions them as a minority group in need of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“The research is more than just insights and data; there’s a roadmap here that we hope will be a catalyst for change,” said Levin. “Jewish communal leaders and educators can include Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews – and our history, traditions and current customs – in meaningful, equal ways that reflect the diversity of the Jewish people.”

The report’s specific recommendations are informed by five recommended frameworks to approach diversity work in the Jewish community:

• Avoid viewing Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews only through the lens of exclusion, marginalization and victimhood narratives. Recognize that strong Sephardi and Mizrahi communal identities exist even as barriers and biases exist within Ashkenazi-majority institutional frameworks.

• Avoid centring Judaism exclusively around European Jewish experiences and Ashkenazi cultural norms as the dominant narrative (i.e. Yiddish as the primary language of Jewish tradition and denominational structures as the only legitimate form of Jewish identity).

• Avoid creating inclusion projects that assume everyone agrees with a single set of values (e.g., liberal values) or tools for inclusion (DEI frameworks). Create inclusion projects that allow for diverse viewpoints, values, multiple religious perspectives and norms, and a plurality of political views.

• Avoid viewing diversity in Jewish spaces solely through North American racial and ethnic categories. Jewish diversity should recognize the central role of family origins and communal networks in shaping Jewish identity; the complex intersections of ancestry, ethnicity, religion and culture; and the migration patterns and geopolitical histories that shape identities, perspectives and communal structures.

• Avoid assuming that universal frameworks and solutions for inclusion will be effective for all and that shared priorities exist across all Jewish communities.

For the full report, go to sephardicstudy.org.

– Courtesy JIMENA

Rolls’ poetic Adventures at Vancouver Fringe

The Vancouver Fringe Festival runs Sept. 4-14. For the full lineup and tickets, visit vancouverfringe.com. (photo from festival listing)

Jem Rolls brings Adventures in Canadian Parking Lots to the Vancouver Fringe Festival Sept. 5-14. “Describing the contents of the show is difficult, as it manages to cover so much ground in so little time,” writes Aiden Robert Bruce in a June post on kingstontheatre.ca. “The series of poems answers a variety of questions like: ‘Why are Canadians so good at smiling?’ ‘What is the most sellable title for a show?’ ‘How do the English view history?’ and perhaps most curiously, ‘When is he going to get to the parking lots?’ Amidst this amalgamation of individual topics, there is beautiful poetic imagery, dark science fiction, Fringe history lessons, and throughout it all there is almost always humour. The constant comedy is not only helpful in keeping the audience engaged, but also is used to create extremely powerful moments where the humour ceases and nothing but a striking verse remains.”

Community milestones … August 2025

Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan-Kaplan

Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan-Kaplan has been appointed the new dean of the ALEPH (Alliance for Jewish Renewal) Ordination Program (AOP). She will assume her role on Sept. 8.

Following the leadership of AOP’s retired founding dean Rabbi Marcia Prager, and two years of direction by Interim Dean Dr. Charles H. Silverstein, the AOP governors are pleased to welcome Duhan-Kaplan into this role.

A scholar, teacher and spiritual leader known for integrating mind and heart, Duhan-Kaplan brings decades of experience in Jewish studies, interfaith dialogue and rabbinic education. Most recently, she was professor of Jewish studies, director of inter-religious studies and interim academic dean at the Vancouver School of Theology. Ordained by ALEPH in 2005, she has served as AOP faculty,

a member of the Va’ad – the core administrative and organizational council that directs the seminary – and is rabbi emerita of Vancouver’s Or Shalom Synagogue.

Duhan-Kaplan’s many honours include the American Academy of Religion’s Katie Geneva Cannon Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Carnegie Foundation’s US Professor of the Year Award. A prolific author and editor, she has published 10 books, most recently Mouth of the Donkey: Re-imagining Biblical Animals and The Infinity Inside: Jewish Spiritual Practice Through a Multi-faith Lens.

Born in New York City, Duhan-Kaplan is a dual Canadian-American citizen and lives in Vancouver with her spouse, musician and retired psychologist Charles Kaplan. For more information about the ALEPH Ordination Program, visit aop.aleph.org.

* * *

photo - Rabbi Harry Brechner, who retires from Congregation Emanu-El this month, was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York earlier this year — Rabbi Harry Brechner, who retires from Congregation Emanu-El this month, was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York earlier this year.

After 24 years of service, Rabbi Harry Brechner retires this month and Rabbi Elisha (Eli) Herb is welcomed as the new rabbi at Congregation Emanu-El. Herb joins the Victoria community from Salem, Ore., where he has served as a congregational rabbi for nine years.

In 2024, Brechner received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his significant contributions to interfaith connections, social justice and community dialogue in British Columbia. In 2025, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City for more than 25 years of distinguished service. A retirement party for him is planned for September and a formal installation ceremony for Herb will be held later this fall.

* * *

photo - Shayna Goldberg — Shayna Goldberg

Shayna Goldberg is the new artistic managing director of the Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre and the Chutzpah! Festival.

From Toronto, Goldberg has lived in Vancouver for almost 12 years. She has worked in the theatre and music industries, and been involved in the Jewish community, taking on roles within Moishe House, Axis Young Professionals and Na’amat Canada.

This year’s Chutzpah! Festival is scheduled for Nov. 13-23.

* * *

The 2024 campaign of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver raised $13.17 million: $9.38 million through the annual campaign, $1.78 million in additional funding directed to special projects, $1.86 million to combat antisemitism and $150,000 in additional funding thanks to corporate partners.

With the theme “Power of Together,” the support came at a critical moment for our community. In the face of rising antisemitism and a deepening affordability crisis, community members chose to act – with tzedakah and with a commitment to collective impact.

Because of community donors, Jewish Federation and its partners can support families and individuals struggling with the rising cost of living; enhance community security at institutions and events across the region; counter antisemitism with strength and resolve; provide care and connection to Jewish seniors, Holocaust survivors, young families and those most vulnerable; and offer hope and aid to all those living in our partnership region in the Upper Galilee, most of whom were evacuated post-Oct. 7 and have only recently returned home.

For more information, visit jewishvancouver.com.

* * *

On Aug. 7, Omatidio Media announced that production has begun in Vancouver on actor-turned-writer/director Elyse Levesque’s debut short film Hot Chocolate, which she wrote and is co-directing with Michael Driscoll.

photo - Jay Brazeau — Jay Brazeau *(photo from imdb.com)*

The film, shooting in Vancouver and Port Coquitlam, features a cast including multi-award- winning musician and actor Jann Arden, Clare McConnell (Star Trek: Discovery, Murdoch Mysteries), Paul Campbell (Battlestar Galactica), Kristian Bruun (Orphan Black), Leah Gibson (Jessica Jones), Jana Morrison (Astrid and Lilly Save the World), Alvin Sanders (Riverdale), Jay Brazeau (Day of the Dead), Luisa d’Oliveira (The 100) and Paula Giroday (Family Law).

Based on a true story, Hot Chocolate centres on Margot, who is on her way to a wedding with her boyfriend Cameron, when she finds herself the plus-one to a most unexpected event: his uncle’s assisted death.

* * *

Over the past months, there have been updates about the what, when and where of JWest, but one important question remained: Who are the people behind this project?

JWest was born from a shared vision between the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCC), Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver (JFGV) and King David High School (KDHS). Several years ago, leaders from these organizations came together with the idea to not just to update the existing JCC, but to completely reimagine the space as a multi-use Jewish campus. Since then, a broad network of people has been working to bring this vision to life.

The JWest Foundation Board, the JWest Development Corp board and several volunteer committees, together with leadership from the JCC, Federation and KDHS, have been guiding the project.

JWest Foundation: Responsible for the oversight of campus development and management of future revenue. Chair: Alex Cristall. Directors: Diane Friedman, Martin Gerber, Hodie Kahn, Lana Marks Pulver, Diane Switzer and Alvin Wasserman.

JWest Development Corp: Responsible for the management of campus construction. Chair: David Porte. Vice-chair: Joe Khalifa. Directors: Andrew Abramowich, Chris Andison, Michael Berkson, Alfonso Ergas, Phil Gertsman, Geoff Glotman, Mark Gurvis, Lana Marks Pulver and Lawrence Zimmering.

The JWest staff team supports volunteers and partner organizations in delivering the day-to-day operations:

• Executive director: Emily Pritchard, who led fundraising efforts over the last four years, raising – with the efforts of the campaign cabinet – $147 million, completing the first phase of the campaign. Pritchard stepped into the ED role in July, expanding her leadership beyond fundraising to overseeing the full scope of the project.

• Director of finance: Roni Greif, who brings a strategic financial lens to the team, shaped by years of professional experience and community involvement through KDHS and Congregation Beth Israel. Greif is instrumental in building the financial systems and structures that will support JWest not only through construction, but well into the future. She is helping lay the financial foundation for this project’s long-term success.

• Vice-president, development: Maurice Ouellette. With a background in architecture and a track record in real estate development, Ouellette plays a key role in shaping and delivering the physical campus. He works closely with Acton Ostry Architects and liaises with the City of Vancouver to make sure that planning, approvals and design meet (and exceed) expectations, from sustainability to architectural excellence.

• Development manager: Hayden Kremer, who is involved across all areas of project development and operations for JWest Development Corp. Whether he’s reviewing Oakridge Energy’s proposal for the JCC’s future energy needs, working with Grosvenor on temporary parking during construction, or negotiating rezoning conditions with the City of Vancouver, he is solving problems, managing logistics and keeping everything moving forward.

To learn more about the project and explore the community of donors helping bring it to life, visit JWestNow.com and follow JWest on Instagram and Facebook.