freelancer – Page 389

Miller play remains relevant

Arthur Miller’s Incident at Vichy is set in a Nazi detention centre in Vichy France, where a group of prisoners are being held. (photo from Theatre in the Raw)

Theatre in the Raw is bringing Arthur Miller’s Incident at Vichy to the Studio 16 stage April 11-22.

The play was chosen and recommended to the theatre’s board of directors in 2017, said Jay Hamburger, artistic director of Theatre in the Raw and director of the theatre’s production of Incident at Vichy. “It had been a piece that had been suggested previously as well,” he said. “But, with the recent political developments in the U.S. as well as worldwide, I felt that, as a theatrical piece, it spoke closely to issues today perhaps even more so than when it was written in the 1960s, and these events were behind the popular consciousness in some way.”

In Incident at Vichy, Miller – whose most popular plays include Death of a Salesman, The Crucible and A View from the Bridge – explores our moral responsibility to act in the face of intolerance and hate. The one-act play, which was first performed in 1964, is set in a Nazi detention centre in Vichy France, where a group of prisoners are being held. “Their unease, fear and confusion is stirred up as they contemplate what may divide or unite them. And what fate awaits them,” reads the press material.

Panel discussions will follow each performance and explore the question, Can it happen here?

“That is the overall and main question placed before the audience as well as to ourselves,” said Hamburger. “Can fascism, or a wave of totalitarian, racially dividing politics take place in Canada? We see fragments of such distressing political and socially oriented movements happening worldwide. Even in the U.S., so close to Canada, there are semblances of divide and conquer. Sadly, it seems to come from the current administration in Washington, D.C. This is cause for real concern.

“Now more than ever this may be the time to warn people that eternal vigilance is key to the well-being of our daily lives, especially given the rise of violent hate crimes against Jews, Muslims, South Asian and First Nations communities, even in Canada…. The play finds a way to touch on economic and class concerns related to the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. It notes that certain people are at an insurmountable disadvantage in seeking ways to survive. Certain characters in the play point out the way prejudices are manufactured and fomented, often condemning people because of misconceived notions concerning races of people, ethnicities or religions.”

Incident at Vichy doesn’t only examine how genocide can happen, however, but what people could do to prevent it.

“Each character in the play has their own experience and background in relation to being interrogated for being Jewish or perhaps seen as an ‘undesirable’ in some way,” explained Hamburger. “The play is basically a dramatized account of events that took place in 1942 in the unoccupied ‘free zone’ of Vichy France,” he said, and it presents many of the attitudes that “people had who weren’t quite ready to accept the extent of what was happening around them until it is completely undeniable – and too late.

“It also includes as an important aspect the perspectives of characters who are non-Jewish Germans, and Austrians as well,” he added. “It implores members of the society to not be complacent in the face of governments and demagogues that wish to grab power by lying and oppressing the large swaths of society.

“A question and statement is placed forward within the play: who is responsible for such horrendous acts of cruelty leading to genocide? At what point must one consider themselves also responsible? The play suggests it is for all in society to give a damn or have a sense of responsibility to such terrible events. There is an important act of human kindness in the play, but I won’t give away the ending here. But, obviously, Miller is writing about shattering events, with shreds of hope that a holocaustal deluge will not repeat itself, that such human massacres will not happen again.”

Audiences should come away from Incident at Vichy with some answers, but perhaps as many questions about the nature of evil, how we perceive it and deal with it.

“I think the play is trying to answer the question, How did things get so far out of hand without people rising up and stopping the madness?” said Hamburger. “The play tries to answer that question, even though you get the impression of how relentless the evil and suffering was once certain powers were in control and the momentum of a horrific madness got going…. I think the play insists that ordinary people are instrumental in realizing evil actions, without necessarily wanting to see the bigger picture themselves. Thus, a vigilant eye is necessary on governments and draconian racial laws implemented upon a citizenry. Such policies must be watched, debated and fought against in a fair and free manner without fear of punishment or reprisal.”

Theatre in the Raw artistic director Jay Hamburger directs the theatre’s production of Incident at Vichy. (photo from Theatre in the Raw)

Theatre in the Raw’s mission statement is on their website. Part of it is to be “risk-takers, willing to give exposure to voices seldom heard, striving for artistic excellence, in the presentation of unusual, awakening and exchanging theatre.”

“We are an independent grassroots theatre that has been in production and functioning for 24 years, residing on the Eastside of Vancouver,” said Hamburger. “We have produced comedies, tragedies, radio play works, original one-acts and full-length mainstage plays, as well as original and revived musicals of quality and enjoyment. Our process is to take the art of theatre and performance seriously and to present it first on a local level to Vancouver audiences and then beyond.”

The audition process for Incident at Vichy started seriously in early January and continued to the end of February.

“We saw dozens of actors (actually over 50 for weeks on end) that also included an extensive call-back set of days,” said Hamburger. “A few actors were called in to audition because I attended the unified general auditions that the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance provides for theatre company members in the province. That proves an invaluable resource for those involved in the theatre arts.”

Rehearsals started at the end of February and will continue until the opening of the play on April 11 at Studio 16, which is housed in La Maison de la francophonie de Vancouver. “We are meeting three to four times a week, as well as individual meetings and sessions with each of the 15 actors cast in the show,” said Hamburger.

Incident at Vichy features some longtime Theatre in the Raw company members, he said, naming Roger Howie, Jacques Lalonde, David Stephens, zi paris, Brian Leslie, Stanley Fraser, Michael Kruse-Dahl and Ralston Harris. Hamburger is also part of the cast, as are Rob Monk, Julie Merrick, Daniela Herrera Ruiz, Laen Avraham Hershler, Giuseppe Bevilacqua and Simon Challenger, with Amanda Parafina as stage manager.

“We are fortunate to have such a dedicated and hardworking group of able thespians on the boards for the April run of the show Incident at Vichy,” said Hamburger, adding that fellow Jewish community member Cassandra Freeman also has been helpful.

“Cassandra has been an invaluable advisor and advocate for a number of years with Theatre in the Raw,” he said. “She has been a coordinator with the Tuesday night Vancouver Actor’s Drop-In sessions. We have cast at times from those evening sessions for some of our shows. She is a creative writer and has made the effort to report about Theatre in the Raw in a column or two she does for the press.”

Tickets for Incident at Vichy are $25/$22 and can be purchased from theatreintheraw.ca or 604-708-5448.

* * *

In his interview with the Jewish Independent, Jay Hamburger, artistic director of Theatre in the Raw and director of the theatre’s production of Arthur Miller’s Incident at Vichy, said, “A question and statement is placed forward within the play: who is responsible for such horrendous acts of cruelty leading to genocide? At what point must one consider themselves also responsible? … There is an important act of human kindness in the play, but … Miller is writing about shattering events, with shreds of hope that a holocaustal deluge will not repeat itself, that such human massacres will not happen again.”

Hamburger added, “The sentiment reminds and brings forth four related historical quotes that speak directly to significant parts of the play”:

“How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause. Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if, through us, thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” – Sophie Scholl, a member of the anti-Nazi White Rose group, who was executed for treason by the Nazis

“Of course, the terrible things I heard from the Nuremberg Trials, about the six million Jews and the people from other races who were killed, were facts that shocked me deeply. I was satisfied that I wasn’t personally to blame and that I hadn’t known about those things. I wasn’t aware of the extent. But, one day, I went past the memorial plaque which had been put up for Sophie Scholl in Franz Josef Strasse, and I saw that she was born the same year as me, and she was executed the same year I started working for Hitler. And at that moment I actually sensed that it was no excuse to be young, and that it would have been possible to find things out.” – Traudl Junge, one of Adolf Hitler’s secretaries

“I don’t believe that the big men, the politicians and the capitalists alone are guilty of the war. Oh, no, the little man is just as keen, otherwise the people of the world would have risen in revolt long ago!” – Anne Frank

“I’ve found that there is always some beauty left – in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you. Look at these things, then you find yourself again, and God, and then you regain your balance. A person who’s happy will make others happy; a person who has courage and faith will never die in misery!” – Anne Frank

Inspired by cultures, nature

Artist Monica Gewurz’s “Woven Tallit” was inspired by her father.

Judaism’s history, traditions and clothing and my Peruvian upbringing are always latent in my inspirations,” artist Monica Gewurz told the Independent.

Gewurz will be one of more than 90 exhibitors at Art! Vancouver, which takes place April 19-22 at the Vancouver Convention Centre East.

“Both of my parents were Polish Jews,” said Gewurz. “My mother left Poland before the war to Palestine as part of the youth aliyah to help establish Israel. My father left Poland to study in France where, after completing his studies, he went to Peru to work for a French mining company. During the British Mandate, my father volunteered to help build the underground tunnels as part of the Jewish resistance. He met my mother and, in three weeks, they were married. My father had to return to work in Peru, where they both stayed. I was born there and left in 1976.”

Though Gewurz’s mother was a nurse, she “had a passion for rendering still life in pastels and watercolours.”

Gewurz left Peru, she said, because of the military situation there, “and the increased level of antisemitism in Peru and in South America in general.” She obtained both her bachelor of science and her master’s in landscape architecture and environmental planning from the University of Guelph, in Ontario, then worked for the federal government in Ottawa until 1987. She moved to Montreal, she said, “to work in the private sector for pension funds and, later on, for Canadian Pacific Railway, working on both environmental decontamination and commercial real estate planning, marketing and sales until December 1997. I moved that year to Vancouver because of the rise of the separatist movement in Quebec and the lack of professional opportunities because I was not fully bilingual.”

Monica Gewurz will be participating in Art! Vancouver, which takes place April 19-22.

During her career, Gewurz has worked in both large-scale commercial real estate development and sales; eco- and cultural tourism planning and marketing; environmental assessment; and for the Canadian government dealing with aboriginal issues. Her work in jewelry, photography and painting began as hobbies. However, in 2014, she received a fine art certificate from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and embarked on a new career as a professional artist. She is currently enrolled in Emily Carr’s advanced study certificate in painting.

“My textured paintings strive to reflect and connect cultures through the use of ancient and modern materials, colours and techniques,” she said. “I use texture to blur the line between painting and sculpture, integrating man-made elements such as paper, natural elements like semi-precious stones and gravel, and traditional textile designs from various cultures, including Israel and my native Peru.”

Gewurz also travels a lot, which has allowed her to study different art forms, she said. She has been to Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bali, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, India, Israel, Turkey, China and several islands in the Caribbean. She said she always tries to visit museums and historical sites when she’s traveling. Last summer, for example, she participated in a guided art tour through the rivers of Holland, which included visits to UNESCO sites.

Her travels and love of archeology and tribal symbolism inspire her art, she said, and lend it broad dimensions.

“I am attracted to the abstraction of stylized figures done in wood, metal or in textiles that are decorated with simple colours … the myriad high relief textures and multicolour metallic patinas that have been created by weathering and the use of metals to indicate status or ceremonial purposes.

“I am also attracted by their simplicity, honesty and inventiveness, and the fact that they are all made with natural materials and pigments,” she said. “Distorted yet primal in its raw geometry, it provides my inspiration to create a new artistic language with new forms, colours and meanings.

“In my paintings, I use an earthy, quiet palette echoing the colour found in metallic patinas, Raku pottery and ancient glass. To accomplish the above, I use intense turquoises, luminous teals and yellows, haunting blues, earthy ochres and siennas, deep burgundies and mysterious charcoals and blacks. I also use metallic paints and foils to accent textures to give my paintings more luminosity.”

Gewurz really does seem to communicate with the earth. Her sea- and landscapes are alive with colour and texture. In some paintings, it’s almost a wonder how the water stays within the frame, its flowing movement captured somehow into a moving stillness.

“My studio is located amidst the rainforest with an ocean vista,” she said. “I am surrounded by the subtleties of changing skies and rhythms of the ocean. Hikes into the local mountains, forests and beaches up the north coast inspire my abstract work.

“The abstraction of the constant changing of shapes, colours and patterns of light in the reflected water and changing skies during sunrises and sunsets mesmerize me and are a source of my inspiration. I am fascinated with the contrasting nature of the organic and how that can provide an escape to a dream-like place.”

As for works in which her Jewishness played an important role, Gewurz offered the Independent a few examples.

The mixed media piece “Woven Tallit,” she said, “was inspired by the one my father wore until he passed away.” It not only depicts a tallit in the early stages of being made, but also symbolizes, she explained, “the tapestry that we call life, where individually we are nothing much more than a single thread intertwined with others, and also the ‘woven’ aspect of the various cultures and religions that have come together to create modern Israel.”

Gewurz created “Rachel de Matriarch I” and “Rachel de Matriarch II” to honour her mother, whose name was also Rachel, and who was “an artist, and had similar abilities and qualities as Rachel the matriarch,” one of the four spiritual matriarchs of the Hebrew Bible, she said, noting that “Rachel means a small lamb, and she is described as ‘beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance’ (Genesis 29:17).”

“Although she is no longer alive,” said Gewurz of her mother, “she continues to guide me in my daily life and artistic journey.

photo - Monica Gewurz’s “Rachel de Matriach” was inspired by her mother — Monica Gewurz’s “Rachel de Matriach” was inspired by her mother.

“In terms of symbolism,” she added, “the pose of Rachel is of deep thought, dreaming and hoping for the well-being of all people in the world. The texture, patinas and colour palette of copper, earth tones and turquoise are inspired by the simple but colourful clothes, jewelry and headdresses that Rachel would have worn while working in the fields.

“The many layers of this painting are reminiscent of the layered depth of a person’s life, and like looking into ourselves. While the surface layer is easily recognized and understood, deeper exploration is needed to reveal the complex and veiled richness of the person within.”

The last example Gewurz gave was her “Friendship Shawl,” which she described as “an abstraction of a silk and gold scarf which can be wrapped around the shoulders of two friends. Friendship is one of the key values of Judaism and a fundamental building block of the global community.” This painting was also inspired, she said, “by the patterns formed by the warp and weft of the friendship bracelets woven over the centuries by aboriginal people from Central and South America. According to tradition, a person will tie a string or fabric bracelet around the wrist of a friend while making a wish or prayer for them … the wish will come true if the bracelet is worn until it falls off by itself.”

Gewurz is represented by four different galleries. “I have been represented by Ukama since 2016, the Kube Gallery and Sooke Harbour House Gallery since 2017 and, this year, I will be also represented by Mattick’s Farm Gallery in Victoria,” she said.

In addition to paintings, Gewurz also creates “wearable art.”

“They are all based on my paintings,” she said of these works. “I take a portion of the image and expand it so it is an abstraction of a painting rather than the whole painting. I have been doing it only for one year, mainly as part of participating in the Slow Clothes fashion show held as part of the Harmony Arts Festival every year, and to give them away as a thank you for people that buy my artwork, i.e. somebody who buys a large painting receives a scarf or a pillow as a gift.”

Gewurz also donates a percentage of her sales to the Brooke Foundation, whose mission is to improve “the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules” around the world, and to the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) in Vancouver. She has donated art to numerous organizations, including the B.C. Cancer Foundation, the Children’s Heart Network Foundation and the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign.

“It is a way of giving back to the community that has supported me in the past and continues to support me,” she said. “I like to donate art, money and time: ‘it’s better to give than to receive.’ I also like doing something useful and helping others, which makes me feel good about myself, which increases my self-esteem, and greater personal empowerment and better health.”

Other Jewish artists in the exhibition include Art! Vancouver director Lisa Wolfin – “I am doing a forest with a pipeline going in front of the forest to show what is going on in B.C.,” she told the JI. As well, Wolfin’s sister, LeeAnn Wolfin, and daughters, Taisha Teal Wayrynen and Skyla Wayrynen, will be showing their work. The event also features artist demonstrations and workshops, speakers and panel discussions, dance and other performances. For schedule and ticket information, visit artvancouver.net.

Art and act of prayer

Alden Solovy leads two sessions at Limmud Vancouver, which takes place April 14-15. (photo from Limmud Vancouver)

Alden Solovy would like you to fall in love with prayer. His own love of prayer has been fueled by his aliyah to Israel, learning Talmud and Torah in Jerusalem, and the liturgy of the siddur. It has been deepened by the tragedies he has experienced, including his wife’s multiple suicide attempts and her sudden death from catastrophic brain injury in 2009.

Solovy will present two sessions at Limmud Vancouver, the festival of Jewish learning that takes place this year on April 14-15 at Congregation Beth Israel. He will speak on An Israeli Life – in which he shares his experience of two wars, a refugee camp and of living in Israel as an older, liberal oleh (immigrant) – and offer Spiritual Chevruta, a workshop-style session in which participants will study a passage of prayer, then break into pairs to delve into personal prayer.

Prior to and in partnership with Limmud, Solovy will be a liturgist-in-residence at Temple Sholom. His program there will include his workshop The Art and the Act of Prayer.

Solovy grew up in Chicago and made aliyah in 2012. Living in Israel, he said, nurtures his emotional and spiritual well-being. When asked to elaborate, he highlighted a couple of the cultural differences between the United States and Israel. In the United States, he said, following a tragedy, people typically react with pity whereas, in Israel, his experience has been of empathy and of interest in the rest of his life. As well, he said, in the United States, independence is highly valued, while Israelis place more value on interdependence.

Solovy has faced some challenges in Israel. In 2015, he was attacked and injured as he celebrated Torah with women at the Kotel. In an opinion piece following the attack, he cautioned readers to not use his experience as justification for hate and prejudice. Instead, he asked them to continue to rally against misogyny and in favour of justice.

Solovy is a liturgist whose work has been used by people of all faiths. He has written nearly 700 pieces of liturgy and has an extensive publication list. His books are available on Amazon. (His most recent publication, This Grateful Heart, from CCAR Press, has enriched my own daily prayer practice.)

Solovy is a talented teacher and writing coach, and an award-winning essayist and journalist. He shares his work online at tobendlight.com and he also teaches at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem.

Solovy has energized learners at Limmud conferences in the United Kingdom and in the United States. He loves the enthusiasm and joy of learning that bubbles through the conferences. He finds this energy whenever he engages with adults who are active in choosing what they want to learn, which is a central value of all Limmud conferences.

In addition to Solovy’s sessions, Limmud Vancouver offers more than 40 other learning opportunities, everything from current events to Torah, history, music, art and food. This year, Limmud also offers a full day of programming for children and youth. For more information and registration, visit limmudvancouver.ca.

Leora Zalik is a volunteer with Limmud Vancouver.

Be a builder, dreamer

Temple Sholom is hosting Inspired to Act. The event will feature the comedy of Yuk Yuk’s co-founder Mark Breslin, plus the music of young local artists Liel Amdour and Adrienne Robles, and will honour the winners of the 2018 Tikkun Olam Youth Awards.

This annual spring fundraising event will take place the evening of May 6 at Performance Works on Granville Island. It will be an uplifting night of entertainment and inspiration, and the recognition of Vancouver’s Jewish youth’s efforts to repair the world, or tikkun olam.

Yuk Yuk’s is the largest chain of comedy clubs in Canada, and Breslin will keep the audience in stitches. He will also share his view that comedy is a way of life. “You don’t just perform comedy; you live it,” he said. “It’s something you do onstage and off; whether you’re in the business or not.”

After Breslin’s performance, the 2018 Tikkun Olam Youth Awards will be presented to two teenage members of the Metro Vancouver Jewish community. These young community leaders will be honoured for their vision to heal and their passion to make the world a better place. The winner of the Dreamer category will have envisioned an action plan to address an issue in need of repair, while the winner of the Builder category will have volunteered at the grassroots level to cause change.

Community members have until April 9 to nominate a candidate, who is a member of the Jewish community between 13 and 19 years of age. The Dreamers Award is $1,800, while the Builders Award is $270, and the awards are funded by the generosity of the Neil and Michelle Pollock Family Foundation. For more information and the online application, visit templesholom.ca/youth-award.

The entire community is invited to Inspired to Act. For more information, tickets or to make a donation, visit templesholom.ca/inspired.

$10K to Jewish Food Bank

Chabad Lubavitch BC’s 40th Annual Gold Plate Celebration raised $10,000 for the Jewish Food Bank. (photo courtesy)

photo - Chabad Lubavitch BC director Rabbi Yitzchak Wineberg and his wife, Henia — Chabad Lubavitch BC director Rabbi Yitzchak Wineberg and his wife, Henia. *(photo courtesy)*

Lubavitch BC held its 40th Annual Gold Plate Celebration on March 15, 2018. The dinner celebrated 43 years of Chabad Lubavitch service to British Columbia.

Instead of having a sit-down affair this year, Chabad Lubavitch BC had a cocktail reception and donated the money raised (the costs saved by not having a sit-down dinner) – $10,000 – to the JFS Vancouver Jewish Food Bank to help those in need.

There was also a raffle for the grand cash prize of $18,000.

Vancouverites excel at Chidon

Left to right, Rabbi Yerachmiel Benjaminson, executive director of Tzivos Hashem, philanthropist George Rohr, Grade 7 gold trophy winner Mendel Bitton and his father, Rabbi Binyomin Bitton. (photo courtesy)

Out of some 4,000 kids from 96 schools worldwide, four B.C. students qualified to attend this year’s Chidon Sefer Hamitzvos Shabbaton two weeks ago in New York: Mendel Bitton (Grade 7) and Levi Bitton (Grade 5), Sholom Baitelman (Grade 5) and Mendel Kaplan (Grade 5). All of the boys did well, receiving plaques and medals, and Mendel Bitton took home the gold trophy for Grade 7, one of only 15 trophies awarded.

Students from the 96 schools competed over several months, roughly from September to February. During these months of study, they took three major tests. Based on the results, 853 qualified to attend the Shabbaton weekend and the grand finale in New York. These 853 students from grades 4 through 8 competed in the individual competition, where there were gold, silver and bronze winners in each grade.

“The competition was inspired by the Rebbe’s request to unite Yidden through the study of the 613 mitzvos of the Torah. The Rebbe repeatedly emphasized that this effort will hasten the coming of Moshiach,” explains chabad.org about the tournament.

Meron tops UBC Triathlon

Daniel Meron (photo courtesy)

In his first Olympic-distance triathlon, Daniel Meron placed first in the men’s 30-34-year age category. He topped his category in the University of British Columbia Triathlon March 10.

Olympic triathlons see participants swim one-and-a-half kilometres, cycle 40 kilometres and run 10 kilometres. In a sprint triathlon, which also took place the same day, participants swim, cycle and run half those distances. Meron competed in his first sprint triathlon last August.

“I did my first triathlon on a whim,” he said. “I take part in a local boot camp called November Project [a free fitness movement that began in Boston and has spread to other cities]. They exercise at Queen Elizabeth Park every Wednesday morning. I started going over the summer and just began to get to know some truly phenomenal people, people who regularly win or place in ultramarathons, which are 100-kilometre runs that take place over two or three days. I thought I would like to try some sort of event.”

Meron regularly cycles about 16 kilometres to work and has been a lifeguard and swimming teacher for the City of Burnaby since 2004.

UBC Triathlon participants were equipped with timing sensors that measured when they began and finished each segment of the competition. Results were not released on the day of the event, and Meron was pleasantly shocked when he checked his results online.

“It came as a bit of a surprise,” he said. “It was obviously a huge accomplishment just doing an Olympic distance for the first time and so, honestly, winning my age category was just gravy.”

Meron, a UBC alumnus, is a former Hillelnik and served as vice-president of the UBC chapter of the traditionally Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi. He is also an actor and acting teacher.

He is slated to do three or four more triathlons in the coming months.

Mystery photo … March 30/18

B’nai B’rith, circa 1970. (photo from JWB fonds, JMABC L.09551)

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 [email protected] or 604-257-5199. To find out who has been identified in the photos, visit jewishmuseum.ca/blog.

The import of pigeons

Pigeon bones from 1,500 years ago. (photo from University of Haifa via Ashernet)

Israel’s Negev Desert has not always been a dusty, almost treeless place – 1,500 years ago, many parts of the Negev were green and produced basic foods. And a new study – led by Dr. Nimrod Marom of the University of Haifa and Tel Hai College, in cooperation with Prof. Guy Bar-Oz and Dr. Yotam Tepper of the Institute of Archeology at the University of Haifa and Dr. Baruch Rosen of the Volcani Centre – reveals the first archeological evidence of the role played by pigeons in Byzantine agriculture: improving and fertilizing soil in vineyards and orchards. Among other goals, the researchers are interested in understanding how the Byzantines managed to maintain a broad-based agricultural system in the desert, and what led to the sudden abandonment and eventual collapse of these flourishing communities.

מפגש בוונקובר

שגרירת קנדה בישראל, דברה לאיונס. (צילום: Twitter)

שגרירת קנדה בישראל, דברה לאיונס, נפגשה לאחרונה עם ראשי הפדרציה היהודית של ונקובר, נציגים של ארגונים יהודים ואנשי עסקים בוונקובר. השגרירה לאיונס כתבה בעקבות הביקור מכתב לפדרציה ובו אמרה בין היתר: “קנדה מאמינה בפתרון שתי המדינות והיא תמשיך לעבוד לקראת מטרה זו, כדי להשכין שלום בין בין ישראל לפלסטינים. לדברי שרת החוץ הקנדית לאור הכזרתו של נשיא ארה”ב” דונלד טראמפ, “מעמדה של ירושלים יבוא לידי פתרון רק במשא ומתן בין הצדדים. אנו ממשיכים במחויבות שלנו להשגת שלום במזרח התיכון, הכולל הקמת מדינה פלסטינית לצד ישראל”. אני עובדת מקרוב עם שגריר ארה”ב בישראל, דיוויד פדרמן, כדי שלקנדה יהיה תפקיד יעיל לתמוך בישראל ובפלסטינים, לצד הקולגות האמריקניים.

קדימה אחורה-אחורה קדימה: בית קפה בוונקובר אוסר להכניס מחשבים בסופי השבוע

בבית קפה בדאון טאון ונקובר החליטו לחזור אחורה ולעצור את הטכנולוגיה בסופי שבוע, כדי לאפשר לקהל הלקוחות כמו בעבר לנהל שיחות עם אחרים, במקום להמשיך ולהסתתר מאחורי הלפטופים שלהם.

הבעלים של קפה מוסאט ברחוב בורארד פינת רחוב הארווד, החליט בשבועיים האחרונים לשנות את המדיניות של המקום ולהנהיג טרנד ישן. מעתה נאסר על הלקוחות לבוא עם מחשבים ניידים בשבת ובראשון. במקביל חלות מגבלות על השימוש בווי פיי לחצי שעה בלבד. וזאת רק למי מהלקוחות שרכשו מוצרים בקופה. השימוש בווי פיי מעבר לכך אינו בחינם עוד בסופי שבוע. שלט על החלון בכניסה לקפה מזכיר ללקוחות להשאיר את הלפטופים בבית בשבת ובראשון.

מעבר לכוונה לאפשר ללקוחות לדבר אחד עם השני כמו פעם יש גם היבט עיסקי מאחורי המדיניות החדשה: לאפשר תחלופה גדולה יותר של לקוחות. לפני השינוי במדיניות רבים מהלקוחות שבאו עם מחשבים ניידים בשבת ובראשון העמוסים יותר, ישבו סביב השולחנות שעות רבות והתמקדו במסכים. המתבונן מהצד ראה “ים” של מסכים אלקטרוניים כאשר המשתמשים בלפטופים שלהם, פשוט הפכו את המקום למשרדם הפרטי, בזמן שאף אחד לא מדבר עם רעהו והמקום היה שקט להחריד. מעתה מאמין המנהל של בית הקפה, קולטר ג’ונס, כי התחלופה של הלקוחות תגבר ואף אחד לא יתפוס מקום לזמן רב מדי.

קפה מוסאט הפך כבר מזמן למוקד מפגש קבוע של רוכבי אופניים חובבים ומקצועים מרחבי העיר. ג’ונס חושב שהאיסור על שימוש במחשבים ניידים בסופי השבוע, יאפשר לקהל הלקוחות לנהל מפגשים של שיחות והתקשרות של אחד עם השני, בצורה נעימה יותר. הוא מציין כי הלקוחות אוהבים את השינוי המרענן ורבים יותר פוקדים את הקפה. רק מעטים כועסים והודיעו כי יחפשו לעצמם בתי קפה אחרים. והם אלה שבוודאי מסוגלים בעזרת המחשבים שלהם לכתוב ביקורת שלילית, על המדיניות החדשה של מוסאט, שלא מתאימה לאורח החיים “האלקטרוניים” שלהם.

בתי קפה נוספים בוונקובר בודקים מקרוב מה נעשה במוסאט, וגם הם שוקלים להנהיג את המדיניות החדשה-ישנה ולאסור על השימוש במכשירים האלקטרוניים בסופי שבוע. חלק מהם פנו למוסאט וביקשו לבדוק לפרטים את המדיניות החדשה שלהם.

בבתי קפה בערים אחרות בקנדה כמו טורונטו, מונטריאול והליפקס כבר נוקטים במדיניות דומה, ומגבילים את שעות השימוש במחשבים הניידים בסופי השבוע וכן בחגים, ואפילו גם בשעות אחר הצהרים העמוסות בימי השבוע הרגילים. חלק מבתי הקפה בערים אלה אף מונעים מהלקחות להטעין את הסלולות של הטלפונים הניידים שלהם. כך נעשה גם במדינות שונות באירופה בהן בריטניה ודנמרק, כאשר הטרנד הישן צובר תאוצה והלקחות מסתבר אוהבים זאת.