At the Nov. 9 Kristallnacht commemorative event, left to right: Dr. Janus Møller Jensen, Nina Krieger, Prof. Chris Friedrichs and Abby Wener Herlin. (photo by Rhonda Dent) The rescue of Danish Jews during the Holocaust – an operation that mobilized…
For Jews everywhere, including here in British Columbia, recent weeks have been among the most painful in most of our living memories. Not only are we in deep grief from the events of Oct. 7 and in fear for the…
My mom left Brooklyn, NY, to attend Cornell University in the early 1960s at age 16. Among other things, women students had nighttime curfews. This type of legal responsibility or intervention, called in loco parentis (in place of a parent),…
The author’s husband, Dr. Scott Fields, picking tangerines in southern Israel, on Kibbutz Nitzanim. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields) I have just returned from laundry brigade duty. Of course, your first question is, what is the laundry brigade? As you…
Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver has raised $16.3 million to address the crisis in Israel and is currently distributing $2.8 million to support the needs of survivors and evacuees. This distribution is in addition to the $2.1 million already hard…
Lox Stock and Bagel’s new chef Lina Fainblum, left, and recently retired chef of 33 years Rose Carr, who will still be involved with the deli’s operations. (photo by Sam Margolis) In June, Lox, Stock and Bagel deli at the…
Jeff L. Lieberman – director, writer and producer of Bella! – with his mother, Carole Lieberman, at the documentary’s July screening in San Francisco. (photo by Pat Mazzera) “I could feel defeated now / I could be broken-hearted / I…
Book designer Barbi Braude and filmmaker Cory Bretz, both experienced in family history preservation, have launched FamilyMovieStoryBooks.com, to help “do-it-yourself family historians in crafting and publishing compelling family storybooks and producing cherished family movies.” (photo from Barbi Braude) Irene Jacobson…
On Nov. 5, Dr. Joshua Grayson, a genealogist specializing in Jewish families from Central and Eastern Europe, was the lead-off speaker for the 2023-24 L’dor V’dor (Generation to Generation) lecture series on Zoom, organized by Victoria’s Kolot Mayim Reform Temple.…
Left to right, Caylen Creative, Michelle Avila Navarro and Terrence Zhou co-star in Studio 58’s production of Blood Wedding. (photo by Emily Cooper) Studio 58, the professional theatre training program at snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College, brings flamenco dance to the…
Join writer Marina Sonkina in celebrating the release of her two new books: Ukrainian Portraits: Diaries from the Border and Rupture and Other Stories. About Ukrainian Portraits, she writes: “At the end of March of 2022, I traveled to the…
Domitille Martin in Pli, part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, which runs Jan. 18 to Feb. 4. (photo by Lucie Brosset) PuSh International Performing Arts Festival returns to Vancouver Jan. 18-Feb. 4. The mid-winter event that delivers innovative,…
Cooking Tips for Desperate Fishwives: An Island Memoir by Margot Fedoruk (Heritage House Publishing) won a silver in the Culinary Narrative category at the 2023 Taste Canada Awards. On Oct. 30, Taste Canada announced the winners of the 26th annual prizes…
Chicago a cappella in June 2022. The ensemble released Miracle of Miracles: Music for Hanukkah last month. (photo by Kate Scott) The CD Miracle of Miracles: Music for Hanukkah arrived at the Jewish Independent unsolicited. The album, released last month…
ראש ממשלת קנדה, ג’סטין טרודו, מתח ביקורת קשה על פעילות צה”ל ברצועת עזה וטען כי הרג נשים, ילדים ותינוקות חייב להיפסק. טרודו קרא לממשלת ישראל לנהוג באיפוק מרבי. העולם צופה, בטלוויזיה וברשתות החברתיות. אנחנו שומעים עדויות של רופאים, בני משפחה,…
BC cabinet minister Selina Robinson speaks Nov. 5 at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue. Other panelists at the B’nai Brith Canada event that day were, left to right, Schara Tzedeck’s Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt, BC United MLA Michael Lee and Aron Csaplaros, BC…
Among those on stage as Irwin Cotler received a lifetime achievement award from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs last month were, left to right, Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc Quebecois leader), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ariela and Irwin Cotler, David…
It is said that “truth is the first casualty of war.” There are two aspects to this truth – that the chaos of conflict makes it difficult to discern exactly what is happening, leading to what we might now call…
On Oct. 31, among the ruins of Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel Defence Forces personnel brief a delegation of Conservative rabbis and lay leaders from the United States, Canada and Britain, which was on a three-day solidarity mission organized by the Fuchsberg…
Teenagers are filling in for drafted reservists at Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda market. (photo by Gil Zohar) With the horrors of Oct. 7 embedded in our minds, in our hearts and in our souls, Israel has come together in so many…
The Institute for the Study of Civil Society and Philanthropy in Israel at Hebrew University of Jerusalem recently released a report called Civil Society Engagement in Israel During the Iron Swords War: Emerging Trends and Preliminary Insights. Written by Prof. Michal…
On Nov. 1, about 200 Jewish students and their supporters engaged in a low-key demonstration, with many holding posters of kidnapped Israelis. (photo by Pat Johnson) When the new president of the University of British Columbia arrived for his first…
Rabbi Dr. Michael Berenbaum spoke at Congregation Schara Tzedeck on Nov. 5. He said: “We can’t raise a generation that is scared of being Jewish.” (photo from kolotmanagement.com) The mood at Congregation Schara Tzedeck was solemn Sunday night, Nov. 5,…
People can report misinformation and hateful material at FakeReporter.net. In a world where misinformation and disinformation are coming at us in unprecedented volumes, an Israeli organization is working literally around-the-clock to flag, correct and eliminate online falsehoods – and they…
If you’ve ever seen the movie Monsters, Inc. or its sequels, you may have an immediate visual image of what the craziest monsters look like when kids imagine what’s under the bed or in the closet. A few weeks ago,…
These past weeks have been nothing we diaspora Jews have known for generations. We feel pain, anguish and horror. If our hearts are not just broken, but shattered, how can we begin to imagine theirs, in Israel, when we are…
Left to right: Sophia Paskalidis, David Underhill, Drew Ogle and Mai Stone (seated) co-star in Tragedy, Slander & Wine. (photo by Sarah Cherin) When a community theatre production ends with an actor dying on stage, the media descends on the…
Suzy Birstein is one of the many Jewish community artists taking part in this year’s Eastside Culture Crawl Visual Arts, Design & Craft Festival, which runs Nov. 16-19. (photo by Britt Kwasney) The 27th annual Eastside Culture Crawl Visual Arts,…
Adrianne Fitch is project coordinator for the Vancouver Disability Solutions Network, which is hosting the Mental Wellness for People with Disabilities Forum on Nov. 28 at Heritage Hall in Vancouver. (photo by Adrianne Fitch) Adrianne Fitch has turned her disabilities…
Alexandra Flynn, left, and Dr. Kaitlin Schwan join Lavern Kelly at this year’s Simces & Rabkin Family Dialogue. (photos from Canadian Museum for Human Rights) Housing is recognized as a human right in Canada – so why do 25,000+ people…
