Vancouver Jewish Community Garden coordinator Maggie Wilson took the photo that graces this year’s cover of the Jewish Independent Summer issue. According to the garden’s newsletter, “A few strawberry plants opted to try their luck in the gravel and managed…
למלחמה בין ישראל והחמאס ברצועת עזה יש השלכות חמורות לגבי ביטחונם של הישראלים הגרים מחוץ למדינה. המראות הקשים של ההרוגים הרבים בעזה מסיבים נזק גדול לישראל. רבים בעולם כמעט ושכחו מה הביא לפעילות של ישראל בעזה – אירוע השבעה באוקטובר…
Kineret Tamim Academy founders Dr. Elior and Leah Kinarthy. Kineret Tamim is Victoria’s first Jewish day school. (photo from Chabad) Kineret Tamim Academy, just steps from the Chabad of Vancouver Island’s Centre for Jewish Life and Learning, is now officially…
Members of ZAKA identification, extraction and rescue team search through the destruction in a Gaza Envelope community following the Oct. 7 attacks. (photo from ZAKA) The annual Yom Hazikaron ceremony, marking Israel’s day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims…
Every year, the sun goes down on Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s national day of remembrance for victims of war and terrorism, and the celebratory day of independence, Yom Ha’atzmaut, begins. It’s a stark juxtaposition. The parallel of the two national days,…
Last November, Dror Israel helped evacuees from northern Israel celebrate the holiday of Sigd. (photo from Dror Israel) Noam Schlanger of Dror Israel is returning to British Columbia to discuss the group’s emergency response after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas…
A home in Kibbutz Erez. (photo by Larry Barzelai) Spending a night in late March at Kibbutz Erez in southwestern Israel was an unforgettable experience. Visiting friends, it was somewhat eerie. Most residents have not returned since the Hamas terror…
Dina Goldstein stands in front of two of the 10 works that comprise her In the Dollhouse series featuring Barbie and Ken. (photo from Dina Goldstein) Dina Goldstein had her work pulled from a Vancouver exhibition just days before it was…
MP Anthony Housefather was in Vancouver last week. (photo from Government of Canada) Anthony Housefather, the Liberal MP who openly considered joining the Conservatives, made an urgent plea during a presentation in Vancouver last week for Jews and pro-Israel voters…
Howard Kallner is being honoured at Schara Tzedeck’s MOSAIC gala on June 4 (photo by kenneth88/wikimedia) “I have been very lucky in my life to be surrounded by lifelong volunteers and builders of community, both my parents, my in-laws and…
Chutzpah! Festival acting managing director Jessica Gutteridge. (photo by Tallulah Photography) After nearly 25 years at the forefront of Jewish arts and culture in Western Canada, Vancouver’s international performing arts festival, Chutzpah!, faces an urgent financial crisis. And it needs…
Fay and Ken z”l Golden, whose support has allowed Jewish Family Services to offer two education scholarships. (photo from JFS) Thanks to the generosity of Fay and Ken (z”l) Golden, Jewish Family Services Vancouver has introduced the Fay and Ken…
With antisemitism rising in British Columbia, professionals from three sectors – health care, post-secondary education and K-12 schools – have started organizing so incidents of hatred in their workplace are challenged at every opportunity. The Jewish Academic Alliance of British…
Karen Kaeja and Allen Kaeja in Lasterday. (photo by Kendra Epik) Featuring more than 30 performances June 13-22, Dancing on the Edge audiences will see world premières, Western Canadian debuts and works-in-progress. This year’s lineup includes the Vancouver première of…
Stand Up for Mental Health founder David Granirer. (photo from smhcomedysociety.org) Stand Up for Mental Health (SMH), a program started in Vancouver that teaches stand-up comedy to people with mental health issues as a form of therapy and to destigmatize…
Janice Masur and her daughter, Liora Freedman, on March 3, after unveiling the memorial plaque in Nagoya village near Mbale, Uganda. (photo from Janice Masur) I have just come back from Uganda, where my family used to live, in the…
Rabbi Arik Labowitz (photo from Or Shalom) Rabbi Arik Labowitz will step forward as Or Shalom’s rabbi when Rabbi Hannah Dresner retires. Rabbi Arik is presently serving as the congregation’s half-time assistant rabbi and has signed a two-year contract as…
By the time you read this, I’ll be working on the last days of preparation before my twins’ b’nai mitzvah. This, as many have said, is a big simcha (happy party), a once-in-a-lifetime event, a milestone and an achievement in…
A bike tour with Fitz Montreal. (photo © Fitz and Follwell Co) There’s nothing like a weekend in Montreal, whether you’re in the mood for a classic bagel, a mouthwatering babka dripping with chocolate, or a heaping smoked meat sandwich…
מפעל בונדס ישראל בקנדה מגייס כספים למען ישראל כאשר כלכלה ניזוקה קשות לאור המלחמה הארוכה בעזה הבונדס שהוא בעצם מפעל מלווה העצמאות והפיתוח עוסק במכירת איגרות חוב של מדינת ישראל ליהודים ברחבי העולם, ובעיקר בארצות הברית וקנדה. מפעל הבונדס הוקם…
Child survivor Lillian Boraks-Nemetz speaks at the community’s Yom Hashoah Commemoration May 5. (Rhonda Dent Photography) The pogrom of Oct. 7 and the hurricane of antisemitism that has swirled since then added resonance to commemorations of Yom Hashoah this week. Around…
Berlin’s Nana Schewitz brings her show Florida! Ya Kill Me! to Vancouver May 31-June 2. (photo from Nana Schewitz) Florida! Ya Kill Me! is a “love letter to aging,” says Berlin-based drag artist Nana Schewitz, who created the show with…
Vancouver Police last week arrested a woman for praising the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. The woman, who multiple reports say is Charlotte Kates, a leader in a group called Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, was later released as police develop…
The rally for the hostages at the Vancouver Art Gallery on May 5. (photo by Pat Johnson) The weekly rally for the hostages at the Vancouver Art Gallery carried added resonance Sunday, May 5, hours before the world marked Yom…
A federal bill to address online harassment, bullying and hate has aspects to admire and others to cause concern. What happens in the committee process will determine the success of the proposed law. That is the take of two experts…
At the 2012 groundbreaking, left to right: Catherine Epstein, Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, Stuart Gales, Sylvia Cristall, Michelle Gerber, Gary Averbach, Sam Hanson, Shannon Etkin and Alfonso Ergas. Obscured from view is Elliot Glassman. (Robert Albanese Photography) On June 9, Congregation…
David Wallace, J.D. Dueckman, Matt Ramer and Rachel Craft in Metro Theatre’s Moonlight & Magnolias, which runs to May 18. (photo by Emma Chan) Gone With the Wind (GWTW) is my all-time favourite movie and, if adjusted for inflation, the…
The Options Israeli music cover band closes the Festival of Israeli Culture on May 26. (photo from the JCC) This year’s Festival of Israeli Culture takes place May 21-26, with the main event at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater…
The annual Jewish Family Services (JFS) Innovators event has evolved from the traditional luncheon format into an evening cocktail reception. The decision comes as the organization prepares to celebrate the 18th (chai) anniversary of the event, reflecting on nearly two…
Veretski Pass – Joshua Horowitz, left, Cookie Segelstein and Stuart Brotman – will be joined by clarinetist Joel Rubin to present the world première of music from their new album, Makonovetsky’s Scion. (photo from Klezcadia) Victoria will host Klezcadia, a…
