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Video shares Spiers’ legacy

Artist Naomi Spiers explains the first panel of her wood-framed paper-cut mechitzah (partition) at the Chabad of Vancouver Island location in Victoria. A new video by David Cooperstone highlights some of Spiers’ creative path. (still from film)

Salt Spring Island sculptor Naomi Spiers, who celebrated her 90th birthday in March, is the subject of a new film, Naomi Spiers: A Legacy, released in January by Vancouver videographer David Cooperstone.

Available on YouTube, the film follows Spiers’ path from her artistic beginnings and initial work in Ontario, through to her experiences abroad and her designs found on the mechitzah (partition) at the Chabad of Vancouver Island location in Victoria.

Born in Toronto in 1935, Spiers was allowed to have a penknife, and she carved her pencils into totem poles as a child. “I carved anything I could find and, when I was 14, I got a summer job with a potter,” she recalled. “Later, I got my hands in clay and started making all kinds of things.”

image - Naomi Spiers — Naomi Spiers *(still from film)*

Spiers went to the Ontario College of Art (OCA), where she studied sculpture. At the end of the four-year degree, she won a scholarship to study at the University of Edinburgh College of Art. Afterward, she returned to the OCA to assist a former instructor teaching first-year sculpture.

There, she met Reuven, a fellow artist who, along with his two brothers, had immigrated to Canada from the United Kingdom in 1952.

“I was very impressed by his talent and very astonished when he asked me to marry him,” Spiers said.

The couple opened a studio in Collingwood, Ont., on the shores of Lake Huron, and had various shows during their time there, with Reuven, whom Spiers said “was born knowing how to draw,” receiving several large commissions.

She, meanwhile, created sculptures for the Catholic Church. Though not born into a Jewish home, Spiers came from a background steeped in biblical stories. She had to memorize many of them and, because of that, she was able to make works of a religious nature.

After several trips to British Columbia, she and Reuven moved to Salt Spring Island. Reuven did house renovations, while Naomi taught at Cariboo College (now Thompson Rivers University) in Kamloops. The two would see each other on weekends in Vancouver, where, on one occasion, they met an Israeli doctor who invited them to stay at a kibbutz.

The couple fell in love with Israel and moved there in 1987, eventually settling in Safed. They refurbished a centuries-old home – with no electricity, plumbing or windows – and set up a gallery: he painting, she sculpting.

It was in Safed that Naomi began to develop an interest in paper cuts, after seeing an exhibition in Jerusalem. At this point, a light went on in her head, and Spiers thought to herself, “I could do that.”

“It was quicker and cheaper than sculpture and people used to ask me to do family trees and things like that. I sold quite a lot of them,” she said.

Their time in Israel turned out to be very successful professionally. Naomi would have liked to have remained there, but Reuven’s physical constraints necessitated coming back to Canada.

Upon their return, the couple bought and renovated another property on Salt Spring Island. In 2009, Reuven, however, became ill and passed away. Within a short period, it was decided that a monument be established in his honour, and thus the Chabad mechitzah saw its beginnings.

With the help of Reuven’s brother, Martin, who assisted with the woodwork, the five paper-cut panels that form the partition got underway, each with its own theme.

The first panel in the Victoria shul shows the seven fruits of Israel – the ones that could be offered at the Temple. The second features the 12 tribes of Israel, with the symbolism being taken from inscriptions in the Hebrew Bible.

In the middle of the partition is a Star of David panel, with hexagons that depict various Torah tales. This is followed by a panel based on the Jewish calendar – here, for example, the month of Adar takes the viewer to a scene from the Book of Esther.

The last of the panels represents the Jewish holidays: a shofar, apples and bees making honey for Rosh Hashanah; a tent for Sukkot; a menorah and oil for Hanukkah; noisemakers and masks for Purim; four cups of wine and matzah for Pesach; and the 10 Commandments for Shavuot.

“My dear brother-in-law Martin built all this lovely woodwork,” Spiers said. “It wasn’t something he had ever done before, so we went around the house and looked at things that Reuven had made and tried to get the same style he would have done if he were doing it.

“Martin went ahead and built them,” she said. “I think they’re very nice and they matched the other furniture in the shul, and they were his monument to his brother – they were very close. Between the two of us, I think we did a good job of it.”

Chabad of Vancouver Island’s Rabbi Meir Kaplan, who first met the Spierses in 2008, shortly before Reuven’s death, lauded Naomi’s work, calling it “a stunning piece of art” and “the nicest mechitzah ever created.”

image - Naomi Spiers’ five-panel paper-cut mechitzah she created for Chabad of Vancouver Island in Victoria — Naomi Spiers’ five-panel paper-cut mechitzah she created for Chabad of Vancouver Island in Victoria. *(still from film)*

Spiers had approached Kaplan with her ideas after her husband’s death and, with his encouragement, she proceeded. After seeing the first panel, Kaplan said, “I was blown away. How can you do this with paper?

“As the project progressed, the works became more complex, with more wisdom and more meaning. This has become one of the masterpieces of our organization,” he said. “Local community members are proud of it and always are looking at it, trying to find some additional details and meanings in this beautiful design.”

Kaplan, who advised Spiers on religious aspects during the years-long project – he traveled to Salt Spring Island on several occasions – noted that visitors to the Victoria Chabad have been deeply impressed by the artwork, as well. He hopes that the panels will be part of the synagogue’s decor for centuries to come.

Spiers estimates that it took roughly a year to create each panel. At the time she started, Chabad of Vancouver Island had not yet moved into its present location at 2955 Glasgow St.

Acknowledging that she always likes to have a project in the works, Spiers said she would like to contribute more to the community, possibly to the new school that opened across the street from the Chabad Centre last fall.

“It was an honour creating a video about Naomi Spiers, with the focus on the incredible mechitzah she created for Chabad of Vancouver Island,” Cooperstone told the Independent. “In doing this video, I discovered her amazing talent as an artist. The intricate, detailed paper cutting which Naomi spent five years creating is a marvel to look at and appreciate. I hope this video will be an everlasting legacy to this remarkable woman.”

Cooperstone has made several videos about community members, including The Naiman Family Concert with Vancouver Jewish Folk Choir (2017), Yosef Wosk Book Launch (2023) and L. Cohen, a JCC Interview with Michael Posner (2024).

The music for the Spiers film comes from Tzimmes, the Vancouver-based ensemble. Andrea Zeitz helped to put the film together and Cooperstone gave special thanks to Michael and Dvori Balshine for bringing the film to fruition.

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

Women’s leadership summit

BC emissaries joined the Kinus Hashluchos in February. (photo from chabad.org)

Some 4,000 Chabad-Lubavitch women emissaries and lay leaders from around the globe gathered in February in New York for the 35th annual International Conference of Chabad Women Emissaries, the largest Jewish women’s leadership gathering in the world. BC shluchot (emissaries) who attended were Chanie Baitelman (Richmond), Malky Bitton (Downtown Vancouver), Matti Feigelstock (Richmond), Raizy Fischer (Vancouver), Chana Gordon (Richmond), Fraidy Hecht (Okanagan), Chani Kaplan (Vancouver Island), Riki Oirechman (Vancouver) and Blumie Shemtov (Nanaimo).

While the yearly conference has a celebratory atmosphere, uniting women leaders from Alaska to Zambia, this year’s gathering came during a particularly challenging time for Jewish communities worldwide. From local wildfires to ongoing war in Israel and rising antisemitism on college campuses, the women on the frontlines of Jewish communal service are confronting urgent realities.

photo - The Kinus Hashluchos in February included a visit to the Ohel in Queens, NY, the resting place of the Rebbe, as well as the nearby grave of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka — The Kinus Hashluchos in February included a visit to the Ohel in Queens, NY, the resting place of the Rebbe, as well as the nearby grave of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka. *(photo from chabad.org)*

The conference, known as Kinus Hashluchos, ran from Feb. 19 to Feb. 23, uniting women leaders from all 50 US states and more than 100 countries for five days of workshops, networking and spiritual renewal. The conference is annually timed to coincide with the anniversary of the passing of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, of righteous memory, the wife of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

The Thursday morning saw the emissaries visit the Ohel in Queens, NY, the resting place of the Rebbe, as well as the nearby grave of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka. The women came to pray for their families, communities and humanity at large, carrying countless prayer requests from people around the world.

Friday morning featured the iconic “class picture,” with thousands of women gathered in front of 770 Eastern Parkway, the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Brooklyn, NY.

The capstone of the conference was Sunday’s gala banquet, held at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Centre in Edison, NJ. This year’s theme, “connection,” highlighted the bonds that unite Jewish people worldwide with each other and with their Creator.

– Courtesy chabad.org

New draw to Ben-Gurion site

In 2023, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev opened a new home in Sde Boker for the David Ben-Gurion archives. (photo from Ben-Gurion University)

For visitors to Israel – and for Israelis looking for an engaging getaway – there is a relatively new destination in the country’s south.

In 2023, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev opened a new home for the David Ben-Gurion archives, with a dramatic exhibition hall to attract visitors. In addition to the many artifacts and documents on display, the exhibitions include interactive activities that allow visitors to speculate how the first prime minister would have responded to various scenarios.

Ben-Gurion was Israel’s first prime minister and the dominant political figure for the country’s first decade-and-a-half, during which time he served concurrently as minister of defence. In addition, no individual is more associated than Ben-Gurion with Israel’s development of the Negev and the entire south of the country.

The new archives facility rounds out a network of Ben-Gurion-related sites in the Sde Boker area, where Ben-Gurion built a desert home and enjoyed his retirement.

David Berson, Ben-Gurion University Canada’s executive director for British Columbia and Alberta, says the facility makes Sde Boker even more of a must-see for visitors to Israel.

There had been an archive at the Sde Boker campus, allowing deep research into Ben-Gurion’s papers and other materials, but these were photocopies because the university did not have the archival capacity to accommodate the originals in the environment they required. The originals were held in Tel Aviv at an Israel Defence Forces archive.

“Everything was there, but it was a reasonable facsimile, as we like to say,” said Berson.

That changed with the opening two years ago of the purpose-built Ben-Gurion Heritage Archive, which includes a 280-square-metre (more than 10,000-square-foot) exhibition hall.

“All the real, genuine archives have been transferred there,” Berson said. “The exhibition hall is basically an interactive tale of David Ben-Gurion’s heritage and questions about things like the ultra-Orthodox serving in the army, his relationship to the diaspora, the Altalena affair, all sorts of different things, as well as his correspondence with Hebrew school students from all over the world, leaders, his perspectives on religion, etc., etc.”

The facility is a partnership between BGU and the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, an educational and commemorative organization committed to keeping Ben-Gurion’s ideals alive, especially his emphasis on developing the Negev. Among other things, they operate the museum at Ben-Gurion’s kibbutz home and other educational programming.

The Ben-Gurion Promenade, a project designed to honour his legacy and connect significant landmarks associated with his life, takes visitors on a 3.5-kilometre walk from his residence at Kibbutz Sde Boker to his burial site overlooking Nahal Zin, and taking in the new archives and exhibition hall. The accessible path is lined with native desert plants and interpretive signs about Ben-Gurion’s life and vision.

photo - The David Ben-Gurion archives includes a 280-square-metre exhibition hall — The David Ben-Gurion archives includes a 280-square-metre exhibition hall. *(photo from Ben-Gurion University)*

The archives are part of a larger complex that also houses the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, and the Azrieli Centre for Israel Studies.

Ben-Gurion’s eponymous university has three campuses in the country’s south.

The main Marcus Family Campus, in Beersheva, is home to the university’s faculties of engineering and sciences, health sciences, humanities and social sciences, business and management, computer science and cybersecurity, among others, and several advanced research institutes. It is adjacent to the Soroka University Medical Centre, where BGU medical students train. The campus is also home to the 10-year-old Advanced Technology Park, which is a joint venture of BGU, the City of Beersheva and real estate development company Gav Yam. The park is part of a national effort to develop the Negev region into a global centre for cybersecurity, defence technologies and tech innovation.

At the Sde Boker campus, about 30 kilometres to the south of Beersheva, specialties include desert studies, environmental science, hydrology, solar energy, sustainability and climate research, and arid agriculture. It is also home to the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research.

The Eilat campus, at the country’s southern-most tip, on the Red Sea, specializes in marine biology and biotechnology, hospitality and tourism management, regional development studies, and interdisciplinary undergraduate programs that allow students from the south to do their initial studies in the area before completing their degrees at the Beersheva campus or elsewhere.

Sde Boker has always been a sort of pilgrimage site for Ben-Gurion fans and history buffs. But, because tourism to Israel has plummeted in the past year-and-a-half, most of the visitors so far have been comparative locals, Berson said, including leaders of the security services and military, educators and other Israelis.

When tourism picks up, Berson hopes the archives will make Sde Boker even more of a destination on the visitors’ map.

“It’s a wonderful national treasure,” said Berson. “But it’s also something that’s not on people’s radar screens abroad. We really want to encourage people to come and visit there, put it on their itineraries.”

Hebrew U marks 100

Canadian Paralympic athlete and wheelchair racer Rick Hansen, known for his work to break down barriers for people with disabilities, receives an honorary doctorate from Hebrew University from then-Hebrew U president Menahem Ben-Sasson. In December 2010, Hansen visited Hebrew U as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of his “Man in Motion” tour. (photo from Hebrew University)

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem turned 100 this month. Opening officially on April 1, 1925, the university preceded the birth of the state of Israel by more than two decades.

“There was no country yet,” said Dina Wachtel, vice-president, community affairs, for the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University. “It’s the first daughter that gave birth to her mother.”

The history of the campus on Mount Scopus has been tumultuous, like that of the country its alumni have helped shape.

During Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, Mount Scopus became an isolated enclave, and the university was forced to relocate its main activities to facilities in West Jerusalem. In 1954, a new campus was established in the Givat Ram neighbourhood, followed by the creation of additional campuses, including at Ein Kerem, home to the institution’s medical sciences faculty, and, at Rehovot, where the agriculture department is headquartered.

photo - Allan Bronfman, national president and founder of the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University, with Dr. Albert Einstein, honorary president of the Hebrew University, on Sept. 19, 1954, at a Princeton conference called by Einstein to launch a $30 million dollar capital building project for the university, which was in exile from its campus on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem — Allan Bronfman, national president and founder of the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University, with Dr. Albert Einstein, honorary president of the Hebrew University, on Sept. 19, 1954, at a Princeton conference called by Einstein to launch a $30 million dollar capital building project for the university, which was in exile from its campus on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. (photo from Hebrew University)

After the 1967 Six Day War, Hebrew University regained access to Mount Scopus and began to restore and expand the original campus. Today, it is one of Israel’s leading research institutions, ranked among the top universities globally, and it remains a symbol of intellectual and cultural renewal in the country.

“Even the word ‘incredible’ is too small to describe the impact of the Hebrew University on the establishment of the state of Israel and on the state of Israel,” Wachtel said. “Most of the Supreme Court judges are graduates of the Hebrew University faculty of law, which was established in 1949. We have eight Nobel Prize laureates – all of them from 2000 and after.” A ninth laureate, Albert Einstein, a founder of the university, won the Nobel for physics in 1921.

The university was established by the intellectual giants of the last century, said Wachtel. These included Einstein, as well as Chaim Weizmann, the Zionist leader who would become the first president of the state; philosopher Martin Buber; American Reform Rabbi Judah Leon Magnes, who served as the first chancellor and later president of the university; founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud; Ahad Ha’am, dubbed the father of cultural Zionism; poet Chaim Nachman Bialik; and Herbert Samuel, British High Commissioner for Palestine, among many others.

Einstein, Wachtel noted, left his entire intellectual estate to the Hebrew U and the university is in the process of constructing a new Daniel Libeskind-designed archive for his fonds on Givat Ram’s Edmond J. Safra Campus, adjacent to the Knesset, the Supreme Court and the Israel Museum.

“I think it will be the next tourist attraction in the city of Jerusalem,” she said.

Celebratory events will take place in Israel in June, concurrent with the Hebrew University’s board of governors meeting in Jerusalem. Happenings will include a special event at the home of Israel’s president, a special show at the Tower of David Museum, and other ceremonies.

photo - Gail Asper, left, a Hebrew University honorary doctorate recipient and a member of the executive of the board of governors of Hebrew U, with then-Hebrew U president Menahem Ben-Sasson and guest speaker Chelsea Clinton at the 2015 CFHU Einstein Legacy Awards in Toronto — Gail Asper, left, a Hebrew University honorary doctorate recipient and a member of the executive of the board of governors of Hebrew U, with then-Hebrew U president Menahem Ben-Sasson and guest speaker Chelsea Clinton at the 2015 CFHU Einstein Legacy Awards in Toronto. *(photo from Hebrew University)*

The university has been a hub for groundbreaking research, reflecting the institution’s commitment to education, scientific advancement and societal impact.

Marking the centenary, Hebrew U’s current president, Prof. Asher Cohen, credited the thinkers who initiated the school, the groundbreaking for which began in 1918.

“They and many others founded a pioneering academic institution to cultivate future leaders in research, science, public service and society – for the benefit of Israel and all humanity,” Cohen said in a statement. “From the moment this vision became a reality, the university has upheld excellence in research and education as its highest priority. Today, it continues to be a hub of knowledge, innovation and groundbreaking research across diverse fields, nurturing generations of leaders, scholars and thinkers.”

Prof. Tamir Shafer, rector of the Hebrew University, contextualized the university in Israeli society.

photo - NBA superstar Amar’e Stoudemire visited Hebrew University in 2013, meeting with students at the Rothberg International School, and with the then-president of Israel Shimon Peres — NBA superstar Amar’e Stoudemire visited Hebrew University in 2013, meeting with students at the Rothberg International School, and with the then-president of Israel Shimon Peres. *(photo from Hebrew University)*

“As a leading research institution,” Shafer said in a statement, “the Hebrew University sees itself as responsible for educating future generations, conducting groundbreaking research across nearly all fields of study, fostering extensive international engagement in both research and teaching, building strong ties with advanced industries in Israel and abroad, nurturing a diverse academic community, and maintaining deep social involvement in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.”

Diversity is a cornerstone of the institution’s success, according to Prof. Mona Khoury-Kassabri, vice-president of strategy and diversity.

“At the Hebrew University, we believe that diversity is not a substitute for excellence but a driving force that enhances it,” she said. “Our commitment to inclusion ensures that students and researchers from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to thrive, contribute and shape the future of society. By fostering a multicultural environment, we enrich both scholarship and community, proving that true innovation emerges when different voices are heard and valued.”

The centenary will also be celebrated with special events in Canada, some of which will be announced soon. Check cfhu.org for updates.

A theme of “Am Israel Run”

The Jerusalem Winner Marathon encompassed multiple races, from a full marathon to a 5K circuit and a 1.7K family run. (photo from Jerusalem Municipality)

On April 4, approximately 40,000 runners participated in the 14th International Jerusalem Winner Marathon, which broke all previous records for participation. Held under the theme “Am Israel Run,” the event paid tribute to the Israel Defence Forces, security forces and emergency responders, serving as a powerful symbol of resilience, hope, strength and the enduring Israeli spirit.

The winner of the marathon in the men’s category was Bohdan Semenovych, 39, from Ukraine, with a time of 2:22:47. The winner in the women’s category was Salgong Pauline Gepkirui, 37, from Kenya, with a time of 2:51:58.

photo - The full marathon — *(photo from Jerusalem Municipality)*

Among the runners were around 15,000 IDF soldiers – both reservists and active-duty personnel – and members of Israel’s security and emergency services. The marathon drew about 1,800 international participants, all of whom ran along a course that passed landmarks including the Knesset, the Old City walls, Sultan’s Pool, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, Mount Zion, the German Colony, Rehavia, the Armon Hanatziv Promenade, Ammunition Hill, Sacher Park, Mount Scopus, the Mount of Olives, and other notable places.

photo - The 5K marathon — *(photo from Jerusalem Municipality)*

Among the participants this year was the mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Lion, who ran in the five-kilometre race.

The 14th International Jerusalem Winner Marathon featured six race categories: the full marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K and 1.7K family run. Additionally, the event included the Community Race, an exclusive feature of the Jerusalem Marathon.

The event was organized by the Jerusalem Municipality, in collaboration with the Jerusalem Development Authority and with the support of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, and the Ministry of Tourism. The event’s main sponsor was Toto Winner, and Saucony partnered in the event. Additional sponsors included Hapoel Centre, Eldan, Cinema City, Reidman College and Bezeq Business. The marathon was produced by Electra Target.

– Courtesy Jerusalem Municipality

Ruchot Hatzafon headlines

Ruchot Hatzafon members, left to right: Gil Melamood (bass guitar), Adam Halfi (keyboards), Ofir Baz (drums), Liraz Moalem (stage manager) and Eyal Shavit (vocals and electric guitar). (photo by Yannay Shifron)

“We will dance again” is the theme of this year’s Yom Ha’atzmaut community gathering on April 30 to celebrate Israel’s 77th anniversary amid the heartache that continues since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. In addition to Nova Festival survivors, other special guests will be the band Ruchot Hatzafon, some of whose members still have not returned to their homes in Israel’s northern region because of the continued threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Better now, but it was very traumatic for everyone,” Eyal Shavit told the Independent about how he and his fellow musicians were doing since Oct. 7. “It’s difficult to put to words. We all live very close to the Lebanese border. A couple of us, Liraz [Moalem] and Gil [Melamood], live right on that border, in Kibbutz Malkiya and in Kibbutz Kfar Giladi, so they had to move to more central places in Israel and to this day they still haven’t come back to their homes.

“For the rest of us, it wasn’t as bad, but it still affected our lives in so many ways. Not to mention financially, as well as the mental trauma, the fear and the grief. However, we are among the luckiest ones in the grander scheme of things and we do what we have to do, both as individuals and as a people. We keep living, we keep moving forward and we keep celebrating our lives, all the while remembering [those] who are still held in Gaza by Hamas and grieving with anyone and everyone who has suffered the most terrible losses on that day.”

Shavit said he left his kibbutz, Kfar Szold, a couple of days after Oct. 7, “because the feeling at the time was that it can happen again at any given moment by Hezbollah in Lebanon, but, within a couple of weeks, I realized that it would be safe enough to go back … so I’ve stayed there since.”

Shavit is Ruchot Hatzafon’s lead vocalist and he plays the electric guitar. (He is also, as it happens, co-author of the book Hilarious Hebrew with Hebrew teacher Yael Breuer, which the Independent reviewed in 2016: jewishindependent.ca/from-nonsense-knowledge.) In Vancouver, Shavit will be joined by Melamood (bass guitar), Adam Halfi (keyboards), Ofir Baz (drums) and Sapir Breier (vocals).

“In this instance, Sapir will be with us in Vancouver, as Vered [Sasportas] couldn’t join us this time,” said Shavit of the band’s other primary vocalist.

Moalem is the band’s stage manager.

The group has been together about six years, and Shavit explained its evolution.

“It was a bit of luck really,” he said about his joining. “I’d just returned from the UK to Israel, having lived in Brighton, England, for 13 years, where I studied music and made my living playing gigs in pubs and events.”

Friends from high school – Melamood (who also was in a military band with Shavit during their army service) and Baz – contacted Shavit and asked him to be a part of the band, along with another high school friend, Halfi, so that they could play at an event.

“We then immediately got booked for a second event by Liraz Moalem, who then became our band manager,” said Shavit. “It was a lot of fun and a nice opportunity. We all aspired to do this for a living.”

A couple of years after that, he said, Sasportas, who they met through a mutual friend and colleague, became part of the group and, said Shavit, “she fit right in, as well as being a brilliant singer and performer.”

Ruchot Hatzafon – which translates as the Northern Winds – has two types of shows.

“One is an energetic set of very popular songs both in Hebrew and in English that everyone likes to dance to, and the other show is a tribute to Israel’s army bands, who have a huge legacy in Israeli culture and used to dominate the charts back in the ’60s up until the mid-’70s,” explained Shavit. “That show includes a bit of storytelling and mostly wonderful and famous songs by the old army bands.

“In Vancouver, we will play our party music set, along with some special requests, like ‘Yerushalayim Shel Zahav’ by Naomi Shemer, for example.”

Other songs that Vancouverites will hear on April 30 include “Ahava Besof Ha’Kayitz” (“Love at the End of Summer”) by Tsvika Pik; “Ein Makom Acher” (“No Other Place”) by Mashina; “Naarin Shuva Elay” (“My Boy, Come Back to Me”) by Margalit Tsan’ani; “Natati La Chayai” (“I Gave Her My Life”) by Kaveret; and some Israeli Eurovision songs.

“And, in English, probably ‘Think’ by Aretha Franklin, ‘I Will Survive’ by Gloria Gaynor, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen and more,” said Shavit.

The band members have similar musical tastes, he said, perhaps because they all grew up on a kibbutz. “We’re generally more drawn to Western-influenced rock and pop music and songs in English, rather than Mediterranean-influenced songs, which are another genre of cover bands in Israel,” he said. “We play only a few of those.”

This will be Ruchot Hatzafon’s first time performing outside of Israel. They’ll arrive April 28 and return home on May 2, but Shavit said they’re thinking about extending their stay a couple of days.

“I can say for all of us that we feel this is an honour and a privilege to be invited to play for the Jewish communities in Vancouver – especially after what we’ve all been through as a people,” Shavit said. “We are thrilled to come and celebrate with everyone there.

“In addition, we get to visit a little bit of Canada, which, personally, I’ve always wanted to visit.”

Tickets ($18) for the Yom Ha’atzmaut event must be bought in advance. To do so, visit jewishvancouver.com/israelhere.

Stein running for city council

Jaime Stein hopes to bring a Jewish voice to the table at Vancouver City Hall. He is vying for one of the two seats that will be filled in a by-election April 5.

One seat opened after Councilor Christine Boyle was elected as a New Democrat to the BC Legislature in the provincial election last year. She had been the sole representative on council for the OneCity electoral organization.

The other seat opened after Councilor Adriane Carr, one of two Green party councilors, resigned, citing frustration with the governing style of Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC majority.

photo - Jaime Stein said that, when meeting with a couple of hundred voters every day, he and his running mate, Ralph Kaisers, are hearing that people are “really happy with how ABC is willing to take on difficult issues” — Jaime Stein said that, when meeting with a couple of hundred voters every day, he and his running mate, Ralph Kaisers, are hearing that people are “really happy with how ABC is willing to take on difficult issues.” *(Courtesy Jaime Stein)*

Stein is on the ABC slate, with running mate Ralph Kaisers. They hope to increase ABC’s existing majority on council. ABC currently holds the mayor’s chair and six of the 10 councilor positions.

Aiming to prevent a larger ABC majority are four electoral organizations.

TEAM for a Livable Vancouver has nominated former city councilor Colleen Hardwick and community organizer and urban researcher Theodore Abbott.

The three other groups have nominated one candidate each. OneCity has nominated schools and street safety activist Lucy Maloney. COPE, the Coalition of Progressive Electors, has nominated writer and punk musician Sean Orr. The Green party has nominated filmmaker and advocate Annette Reilly.

There are six independent candidates running: Jeanifer Decena, Guy Dubé, Charles Ling, Karin Litzcke, Gerry Mcguire and Rollergirl.

The dual by-election is the first test of the ABC majority on Vancouver city council since Sim and his party were first elected in 2022.

Stein said that, when meeting with a couple of hundred voters every day, he and his running mate Kaisers are hearing that people are “really happy with how ABC is willing to take on difficult issues, whether it’s in the Downtown Eastside or whether it’s with crime and safety or whether it’s just examining new ways to do things that maybe councils in the past haven’t done.”

He thinks there is a silent majority that doesn’t make a lot of noise but who are generally pleased with the direction the city has been taking in the past three years.

The issues that led to the ABC victory in 2022 have not changed significantly, according to Stein.

“I think the biggest issue, number one, is crime and safety,” he said. “People want Vancouver to be a safer city, one that they can get out and enjoy.”

The second most common issue he hears about, he said, is “making Vancouver open for business again.”

“That means reducing red tape for businesses,” said Stein. “It means making it easier for people to interact with the city, whether they need permits, etc., and also opening it to the world, like bringing more festivals and events here, like FIFA or Web Summit, and trying to generate tourism dollars in the city for folks.”

While Stein sees value in having a Jewish voice at the table, he said Vancouver already has Canada’s “most friendly mayor and council to the Jewish community.”

Although Vancouver’s second mayor, David Oppenheimer, was Jewish, there have never been a great many Jews in elected positions either locally, provincially or federally from British Columbia. Stein hopes his candidacy inspires other Jews to get involved.

“It’s a voice that needs to be at the table, not only to advocate for our community but also to serve as a role model for others to get involved in either the political process or in civic discourse in general,” he said.

Stein has corporate and nonprofit sector leadership experience, including in the technology sector at companies including BroadbandTV, Taplytics and Hootsuite. He partnered with Canadian Blood Services to raise $12.5 million for establishing Canada’s national public cord blood bank, inspired to do so by the loss of his father, Howard Stein, to leukemia, in 2006. He is also on the board of an agency advancing Alzheimer’s research.

In the Jewish community, Stein was selected as a 2024 Wexner Fellow, a two-year educational program focused on Jewish learning and leadership development. He chairs a committee on the Antisemitism and Israel Crisis Response Team. With the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Stein has worked with elected officials to develop public policy to strengthen community safety and security. He has been a volunteer and fundraiser supporting Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Centre and has volunteered in different capacities with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and others.

Last year, Stein was nominated as the BC United candidate in Vancouver-Langara, but did not run in the provincial election after the party folded its campaign and endorsed the BC Conservatives.

Polls are open election day, which is Saturday, April 5, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., but there are opportunities to vote early at Vancouver City Hall, on Tuesday, April 1, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and people can also cast their vote by mail. For full details, go to vancouver.ca/vote.

TEAM shares its vision

In Vancouver, affordable housing continues to be an issue, despite the amount of development. (photo from satanoid / flickr)

In the April 5 civic by-election, TEAM for a Livable Vancouver has nominated Colleen Hardwick, a former city councilor, and Theodore Abbott, a community organizer and urban researcher.

TEAM is a political organization with a mandate of reversing what it sees as problems that have developed over the past decade, and prioritizing thriving, livable neighbourhoods. It promises to value the contributions of neighbourhood organizations, commit to genuine consultation with residents and put first the types of housing that residents say they need to manage the housing crunch. TEAM also promises to resist the promotion of building that maximizes developer profits.

TEAM was created in 2021 and the organization’s website notes that the name comes from the Electors’ Action Movement (TEAM), “the party that brought residents together in 1968 to save Strathcona, Chinatown, Gastown and Vancouver’s waterfront from a freeway system. Then, City Hall bureaucrats badly underestimated the desire of residents to have meaningful involvement in the face and future of their city.

“We are feeling a similar disconnect today.”

In addition to the priorities listed above, TEAM highlights evidence-based decision-making, being “realistic about Vancouver’s contribution to climate change … without overburdening already financially-stressed residents,” and helping council, school and park boards to work together more.

These are all issues that deeply concern David Fine. The Jewish filmmaker and TEAM member is working on a documentary titled Is This the City We Want to Build?, wherein he interviews renters facing the loss of their homes under the Broadway Plan. Born in Toronto, Fine lived in London, England, for 19 years before moving to Vancouver in 2004.

“There’s a huge disconnect between earning potential and the high prices of houses here,” he said. “Our housing market is overrun by developers who want to sell to international buyers instead of locals. We’re seeing massive tower development, displacement of thousands of people from affordable housing and criticizers being called ‘anti-progress’ and ‘anti-development.’ Over the years, on a civic level, not enough has been done to address this, and I feel the civic parties have been funded by, and are acting on behalf of, the development industry – to serve their interests.”

Fine believes the city urgently needs more housing, but housing that serves a broad spectrum of needs.

“Small apartments don’t work for growing families that need space and, if you’re driving families further out, it undermines the whole notion of a walkable city,” he said. “Look around at the pace of development and the threat of towers everywhere. Some 2,000 homes a year will be demolished in favour of towers. People need to be aware of what’s going on and oppose this, and TEAM is the only party taking a position on what’s happening.”

image - The area that the City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan comprises — The area that the City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan comprises. *(image from City of Vancouver)*

Michael Geller, another member of the Jewish community, has spent the past 50 years involved with housing and more than 20 developments.

“I’ve made a living promoting high-density development, but I’m concerned about where all those existing tenants are going to go, notwithstanding tenant protection policies,” Geller said. “I just don’t think it’s fair for them to have to move to Langley or Burnaby, or out of the community, and there isn’t the available stock to relocate a lot of those tenants.”

An architect and a planner, Geller believes that proposals to treble or quadruple allowable density is a planning mistake.

“I’ll be glad if most of those existing buildings, especially those that have been well maintained, continue to operate as affordable rental buildings,” he said. “I don’t want the city’s rezoning plans to change the character of some of Vancouver’s charming neighbourhoods. “

The densification of Vancouver and the financialization of the housing market are polarizing issues. If you’re a tenant, you’re likely feeling the vulnerability caused by the possibility of change, and, with it, the threat that a community you’ve grown to love may become unaffordable. If you’re a property owner or a landlord, you want to maximize your investment and, if that means increasing rent or redeveloping, should that decision not be yours?

“I’m torn,” Geller admitted. “There are several property owners who are friends of mine and members of the Jewish community, who’ve asked me to assist them in seeking approvals for redevelopment of their properties. At the same time, I feel it would be better not to completely change the character of some of our lovely streets.”

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

Work still left to finish

Last week, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, in conjunction with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, released the results of a community survey on antisemitism. There were, perhaps, few surprises.

Of those surveyed, 85% said that antisemitism has “increased a lot” since Oct. 7, 2023. More than 60% of respondents said they avoid displaying items that would identify them publicly as Jewish and almost two in three said they avoid particular places and events out of concern for their safety.

A public opinion poll released around the same time indicated that the often-discussed “silent majority” is on our side – most British Columbians are concerned about antisemitism. More than three-quarters of respondents to a Research Co. poll said they are concerned about “aggressive behaviour by pro-Palestinian protesters,” “protesters targeting Jewish neighbourhoods and Jewish-owned businesses” and “rising prejudice against Jewish Canadians.”

While we would appreciate if the solidarity expressed in this survey were articulated more vocally and visually, it is reassuring to know that the targeting of our community is not unnoticed or uncontested. The survey is, in any event, a rare encouraging sign.

It may seem delusional to seek rays of light amid reports of unabating antisemitism. But is one narrative of Passover not precisely to remind us that we have met and overcome suffering and subjugation in the past? When we celebrate the holiday, we are reanimating our collective experience of resistance to tyranny and oppression, the birth pangs of our peoplehood, and the victory over apathy and forgetting. An unequivocal through-line across Jewish history is resilience.

We retell the story of Exodus every year during the seder not as history but as a living, spiritual framework for Jewish identity and values.

While this is a very difficult time, it also has the capacity to bring out tenacity, determination and unity among the Jewish people.

Difficulty can also create cracks in unity. This is the night when, more than other nights, we reflect on liberation from literal or figurative slavery – in today’s situation, perhaps, freedom from violence and discrimination – and the imperative of Jews to protect and advocate for liberation. So, as we witness growing fissures in the Jewish world, let us rededicate ourselves to the project of liberation and peoplehood based on fundamental values of freedom, love, unity and community.

On Passover, we are reminded that there are pharaohs in every generation who seek to destroy and oppress. We utter the words “You shall tell your children,” because a vivid memory of the past is central to facing our present and creating our future. Every generation faces its own “Egypt.” The work of liberation is not yet finished.

May those who are held captive in Gaza, those who are fighting to defend Israel, those experiencing violence and discrimination, or seeking freedom in any form, be redeemed.

Significance of Egyptians’ gifts

“A people driven by hate are not – cannot be – free.” (Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z”l) (photo from flickr)

According to Exodus 1:8, a new Egyptian king rose to power who did not know Joseph. He did not remember, or did not care, that Joseph, as Egypt’s chief food administrator, had saved the country from famine. As such, this new pharaoh felt no special gratitude toward the Hebrews who had settled in his land so long before. But, while the Torah text deals with pharaoh’s relationship to the Hebrews, it does not address the relationship between the Hebrew slaves and their native Egyptian neighbours.

If we look deeper in the Book of Exodus, we learn that the Hebrew slaves did know the Egyptians – they lived among them. Not only that, but the Hebrews were on good terms with their Egyptian neighbours. Thus, when it was time for the Hebrews to flee from Egypt, their neighbours gave them gifts.

The send-off was carried out in stages. In the first stage, G-d instructs Moses to tell the Hebrews that “each man should ask his neighbour for and each woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver and jewels of gold.” (11:2) It is worth noting that, depending on the context, modern Hebrew might translate neighbour as friend, buddy or colleague. Moreover, the word ask might be translated as borrow – though, since the departing Hebrews had no intention of returning to Egypt, ask is the word to use in this context.

Perhaps G-d was not totally sure how things would work out, so, just to make sure things went as He wanted them to, “He gave the people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians.” This point is apparently so critical that it is repeated soon afterwards: “the Lord gave the people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians that they let the Hebrews have what they asked for.”

Some commentators have said that the Egyptians could not be expected to offer gifts of their own initiative, so the departing Hebrew slaves encouraged them by saying, let us part as friends and we’ll take a parting gift. Others – like Philo in his Life of Moses – observe that the Hebrews were prompted not by love of gain, but by the desire to recoup some of the wages due to them for their slave labour.

The Egyptians, on their part, might have been only too happy to see the Hebrews go, as they were tired of suffering from the increasingly hard-to-take plagues. Thus, in the first chapter of the Book of Exodus, the Hebrews are told to ask for the jewelry and to receive the riches, then they are commanded to “put them on your sons and daughters.”

While it may seem extravagant to gift someone gold and silver, the ancient Egyptians all wore jewelry, it was more commonplace. According to the article “Egyptian Jewelry: A Window into Ancient Culture,” by Morgan Moroney of Johns Hopkins University and the Brooklyn Museum, “From the predynastic through Roman times, jewelry was made, worn, offered, gifted, buried, stolen, appreciated and lost across genders, generations and classes. Egyptians adorned themselves in a variety of embellishments, including rings, earrings, bracelets, pectorals, necklaces, crowns, girdles and amulets. Most Egyptians wore some type of jewelry during their lifetimes.”

That said, gold and silver are important “not only from an economic but also from a symbolic point of view. Gold, for instance, was regarded as a divine and imperishable substance, its untarnishing nature providing a metaphor of eternal life and its brightness an image of the brilliance of the sun…. The very bones of the gods were said to be of silver, just as their flesh was thought to be of gold,” writes Richard H. Wilkinson in his book Symbol & Magic in Egyptian Art.

Taking this point a step further, we might be able to interpret the Egyptians’ giving of silver and gold as an act of bestowing mystical characteristics on the ancient Hebrews. Certainly, it is a recognition that the Egyptian people viewed the Hebrews well.

However, Rabbi Judah, in the name of Samuel, takes a totally different approach. He claimed that the gold and silver had been collected by Joseph when he stored and then sold corn.

Reportedly, the Hebrews took all the gold and silver when they left Egypt and it was eventually taken to the Land of Israel. It remained there until the time of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, then changed hands many times. It came back to ancient Israel and stayed until Zedekiah. It changed hands between the various conquerors of Israel and eventually was taken by the Romans. It has stayed in Rome ever since.

While the ancient Egyptians seemingly felt comfortable bestowing gold, silver and clothing on the Hebrews, this act is seen by some as more of a taking than a giving. In 2003, Nabil Hilmy, then dean of the faculty of law at Egypt’s Zagazig University, planned to sue the Jews of the world for the trillions of dollars that he claimed the ancient Hebrews had taken from his country. He theorized: “If we assume that the weight of what was stolen was one ton” and its worth “doubled every 20 years, even if annual interest is only 5% … hence, after 1,000 years, it would be worth 1,125,898,240 million tons.… This is for one stolen ton. The stolen gold is estimated at 300 tons, and it was not stolen for 1,000 years, but for 5,758 years, by the Jewish reckoning. Therefore, the debt is very large.”

That the Egyptians gave the Israelites gifts – willingly or not – is noteworthy. Significantly, in the article “Letting Go,” the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks notes that Deuteronomy 23:7 tells us that we should not hate Egyptians because you lived as a stranger in their land.

“A people driven by hate are not – cannot be – free,” writes Sacks. “Had the people carried with them a burden of hatred and a desire for revenge, Moses would have taken the Israelites out of Egypt, but he would not have taken Egypt out of the Israelites. They would still be there, bound by chains of anger as restricting as any metal. To be free you have to let go of hate.”

The gifts of gold and silver allowed the former slaves to reach some kind of emotional closure; to feel that a new chapter was beginning; to leave without anger and a sense of humiliation.

Further, Sacks cites 20th-century commentator Benno Jacob, who “translated the word venitzaltem in Exodus 3:22 as ‘you shall save,’ not ‘you shall despoil’ the Egyptians. The gifts they took from their neighbours were intended, Jacob argues, to persuade the Israelites that it was not the Egyptians as a whole, only Pharaoh and the leadership, who were responsible for their enslavement…. They were meant to save the Egyptians from any possible future revenge by Israel.”

This is something to contemplate as we read the Haggadah at our seder this year.

Deborah Rubin Fields is an Israel-based features writer. She is also the author of Take a Peek Inside: A Child’s Guide to Radiology Exams, published in English, Hebrew and Arabic.