A screenshot of Morley’s Minyan playing poker. Top row, from left: Al Hornstein, Larry Moscovitz and Carolyn Aronson. Middle row, from left: Lyall Levy, Murray Atnikov (the night’s big winner) and Macey Morris. Bottom left is Tony Aronson. Missing are…
Six members of the 35th Street Gang, with the author second from the left in the back row. (photo from Cassandra Freeman) Sheena and I don’t recall why we were trying to measure the house with a ball of string.…
Greek sheet pan chicken, using a recipe from the website Downshiftology. (photo by Shelley Civkin) I know it’s pretty laughable that I only discovered parchment paper a few years ago, but there’s always someone late to the party. Parchment paper…
לפני שנה נפרדתי מאבא (בן התשעים ואחת) שהיה חולה מאוד ונדבק בבית החולים בקורונה ונפטר לאחר מספר ימים. לא האמנתי זה יכול לקרות שוב בתוך שנה אאבד הפעם את אמא. היא הייתה בת תשעים ושתיים ובחודש הבא היינו אמורים לחגוג…
Grade 7 students at Vancouver Talmud Torah light memorial candles to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. (screenshot) Vancouver’s city hall, the Burrard Street Bridge and other landmarks around the city were lit in yellow light Jan. 27, as were buildings…
A still of one of the humorous (and relatable) moments in Image of Victory, which is part of this year’s Vancouver Jewish Film Festival. The Vancouver Jewish Film Festival opening night film is the epic Image of Victory, directed by…
Truckers and others ostensibly contesting government pandemic responses have laid siege to downtown Ottawa. In reality, the protesters seem to have a panoply of grievances, many of which manifest as antisemitic, racist, sexist and just plain obnoxious. Those noxious traits…
Last week, I received an email, out of the blue, from a Canadian media research company. A part of its business model involves scraping writers and journalists’ internet data, putting it into a public database, and then “enabl[ing] PR professionals…
A still from the documentary Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen. The Vancouver Jewish Film Festival runs March 3-13, and features more than 30 films, all of which will be available online for the duration of the festival. As always,…
Mark Gurvis returns to Vancouver as head of the new Ronald Roadburg Foundation. (photo from Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver) Feb. 1 was Mark Gurvis’s first full day on the job as chief executive officer of the Ronald Roadburg Foundation.…
Alison Cristall is the new assistant executive director of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. (photo from Alison Cristall) Alison Cristall feels that she has come full circle, as she assumes her new job as assistant executive director of…
A gift of Elie Wiesel’s Night was among the forces that influenced Madeleine Schwarz’s career path. Madeleine Schwarz is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. Not the kind you would expect to build much of her career prosecuting…
Jewish Family Services (JFS) and Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) have formed a new partnership to serve Greater Vancouver’s Holocaust survivor community. Beginning last month, JFS is now administering both the socialization and social services Claims Conference grants, which have…
Ricci Segal, owner of Perfect Bite Catering Co. (photo from Perfect Bite) The Perfect Bite Catering Co. works out of Vancouver Talmud Torah’s kosher kitchen. In addition to providing hearty lunches for VTT students, staff and parents of children who…
Michelle Ray’s latest book is Leading in Real Time: How to Drive Success in a Radically Changing World. (photo from espeakers.com) Michelle Ray was recently inducted into the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame, which is bestowed, in part, for excellence…
Alina Adams, author of The Nesting Dolls, spoke at a recent Zoom webinar organized by the Jewish Community Centre of Victoria. (photo from alinaadams.com) New York City-based writer Alina Adams, author of the 2020 novel The Nesting Dolls – about…
The year 2016 was a milestone for Kalman and Malki Samuels. It marked the inauguration of a dream years in the making – the opening of the Shalva National Centre, one of the largest centres of disability care and inclusion…
Mike Kobluk (the Chad Mitchell Trio) is one of the musicians featured in Under the Radar, by David Eisenstadt. (photo from Trail Times) Under the Radar: 30 Notable Canadian Jewish Musicians, which I wrote with Alan L. Simons (editor), takes an…
Since 1970, the population sizes of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have declined by 68% – or more. (photo from CABGU) Over the past 24 years, Living Planet Report has been published biannually by the Zoological Society of London and the World…
Clockwise from top left: Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker of Congregation Beth Israel in Texas speaks with the Anti-Defamation League’s Cheryl Drazin, Jonathan Greenblatt and Deb Leipzig. (screenshot) Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker was bustling around Congregation Beth Israel, in the Dallas suburb of…
Kathy Bilinsky’s two-page collage makes us wonder what story – or two or three or more – we could find behind the mysterious ornate blue door. (photo by Byron Dauncey) The Sketchbook Show officially opened at the Zack Gallery on…
Another violent attack on a North American synagogue, this one in Texas, has undermined the feelings of security among Jewish people everywhere. It is important to see the incident in perspective. Thankfully, the rabbi and three other hostages survived the…
Some of us are likely struggling to recover from the hostage-taking event at Congregation Beth Israel in Texas, along with pandemic stress. Perhaps most stressful is that we know a synagogue invasion could happen anywhere, during any service. Most of…
Left to right: Sofie Kane, Zachary Bellward and Angus Yam in Studio 58’s The Rocky Horror Show, with costume design by Donnie Tejani and makeup by Weebee Drippin. (photo by Emily Cooper) “It’s the fun and freaky escape we’ve all…
Leah Garrett has pieced together the most comprehensive story yet of a little-known but fascinating footnote to the Second World War, and she shares her findings in her new book, X Troop. (photo by Deb Caponera / Hunter College) Using…
Pnina Granirer launches her new book, Garden of Words, at the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival Feb. 9. (photo from JBF) “Unexpected and unplanned, like small gifts offered by a kind friend, poems have been forming in my head…
Lisa Richter, author of Nautilus and Bone, joins the Jewish Book Festival Feb. 7 (photo from Lisa Richter) Nautilus and Bone: An Auto/biography in Poems by Toronto poet Lisa Richter – who takes part in the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book…
Inspired by real people, Jai Chakrabarti and Michaela Carter have written novels that explore the Holocaust and its impacts. Their books also happen to share common themes. Notably, the power of art to change the world, and the power of…
Rivka Campbell, co-founder of Jews of Colour Canada. (PR photo) On Jan. 9, Rivka Campbell, co-founder of Jews of Colour Canada, spoke on the topic Harmony in a Divided Identity: A Minority Within a Minority, the third Zoom talk in…
Participants in the Jan. 19 event Rainbow Maccabees: The LGBTQ+ Jews Leading the Fight Against Jew-Hate, included, clockwise from top left, Blake Flayton, moderator David Sachs, Eve Barlow and Ben M. Freeman. (screenshot) Blake Flayton arrived at George Washington University,…
