Michael Douglas stars as Sandy Kominsky in The Kominsky Method on Netflix. (photo by Anne Marie Fox / Netflix) I admit to watching movies and television series on Netflix, kanopy.com, Amazon Prime, TIFF, VJFF and any other website that offers…
William Shakespeare designated a minor character in his play Hamlet to express and offer to us profound advice, something that is really an observation about the nature of the human animal. It rattles around in our minds, and probably has…
(photo from twopeasandtheirpod.com) They don’t make ’em like they used to. And, almost without exception, recipes from yesteryear are tastier, precisely because they’re reminiscent of gentler times. When I think Rice Krispie squares, I recall sitting on our old brown…
During the nine days before Tisha b’Av, a day of fasting and mourning, it is customary to refrain from eating meat – but not fish. Here are some fish salad options for that week – and the rest of the…
(photo from vancouversnorthshore.com) The sandwich as we know it was created in England in 1762 by John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, a British statesman and gambler. He asked for a serving of roast beef to be placed between…
Bernard Grempel with his sister, Ettie Shurack. (photo from Grempel family) Ettie Shurack’s life has been upside down since May 14, her emotions a chaos of desperation, pain, anxiety, frustration and grief, peppered with pinpricks of immense gratitude, appreciation and,…
Anne Petrie (photo from Maurice Yacowar) The University of Calgary has organized a virtual exhibition to honour the efforts of Jewish women in the Canadian Armed Forces during the Second World War. Called She Also Served, it comprises a series…
The latest explosion of terrorism from Gaza, the reaction from Israel, the violence in and around Jerusalem and the international response to these events continues to reverberate. Things have calmed somewhat in Israel, although violence continues, but a second, related…
A friend of mine was recently angry and anxious about a university human resources form. The form reflected how people self-identified. In other words, how diverse was this Canadian university’s workforce? The form’s questions asked about race. On that form, it…
Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, above, and Noor A’wad of Roots Palestinian-Israeli Network were the featured speakers at Vancouver School of Theology’s Two Truths in One Heart; Two Peoples in One Land event May 27. (photo from friendsofroots.net) Two Truths in One…
Left to right: Jewish Federation’s Shelley Rivkin, CJPAC’s Kara Mintzberg and CIJA’s Nico Slobinsky spoke at an online event June 17 on topics including how individuals can help fight antisemitism in Canada. (PR photos) Representatives from three Jewish communal agencies…
Moderator Greg D’Avignon, left, and newly inducted laureate Gordon Diamond share a laugh at the Business Laureates of British Columbia Hall of Fame celebration May 20. (screenshot) On May 20, Gordon Diamond – chair of West Coast Reduction Ltd. and Austeville…
Levi Bitton (photo from Vancouver Tzivos Hashem) The International Chidon boasts 5,000 participants from around the world and, this year, there were eight participants from Vancouver: Levi Bitton (Grade 8); Liba Baitelman (Grade 4); Yanki Baitelman (Grade 6); Menucha Prinsloo…
Irina Zilberstein (photo from Irina Zilberstein) Many people love the TV show Jeopardy!, which can also be played as a board game and online. There is a variation of it in Russia, which developed independently from the American version. It, too,…
Emily Pritchard has been appointed as director of the upcoming capital campaign for the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver redevelopment project. She brings close to a decade of experience to the role and has led successful capital fundraising campaigns…
Mitchell Oelbaum, national president of Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University. (photo from in.bgu.ac.il) Raising nearly $800,000 at a not-for-profit gala is no small feat, nor is having more than 1,200 people register for an event. When you add a pandemic…
On June 9, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) hosted the webinar Embracing Diversity: Wisdom from an Interfaith, Interracial Jewish Family. The event addressed the issues involved in creating an inclusive setting within a congregation and keeping an open…
(photo from flickr.com/photos/lukas_photo) “Identity is a narrative of the self – it’s a story we tell about the self in order to know who we are.” (Stuart Hall) In our day-to-day lives, we are always telling stories. We tell these…
The bodies of 215 children were recently discovered buried adjacent to a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. (photo from flickr.com/photos/bcgovphotos) Jody Wilson-Raybould, member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville and a member of the We Wai Kai Nation, told students at…
There is a new national Jewish community agency with a decidedly retro feel and familiar faces. Several leaders from the defunct Canadian Jewish Congress have founded Canadian Jewish Community Forum, saying they are filling a gap in grassroots activism. Dr.…
Prior to the Six Day War, which took place 54 years ago this month, the pages of this paper were filled with foreboding and ominous news of enemy militaries amassing adjacent to Israel’s borders. The very next issue was triumphal…
Rabbi Don and Meira Pacht with their children, left to right, Ora, Shimie, Shoshana and Aharon. (photo from Pacht family) “We’re very excited for this new adventure,” said Vancouver Hebrew Academy’s Rabbi Don Pacht of his family’s impending move to New…
Amber Woods and Gary Cohen are the musical duo Kouskous. They were among the speakers in the six-part Journeys in Jewish Music series. (photo from Kouskous) In ordinary times, the Victoria Jewish Community Choir meets in person at the synagogue…
Suzy Birstein in her studio, with works featured in her solo exhibit Tsipora, now at the Zack Gallery. (photo from Suzy Birstein) Suzy Birstein’s Hebrew name – Tsipora – means bird. The artist’s new show, Tsipora: A Place to Land, which…
Andrea Superstein performs July 4 from Pyatt Hall during this year’s TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival, which starts June 25. (photo from Wendy D Photography) Vancouver vocalist, composer and arranger Andrea Superstein has a new song out. It’s cheerful, upbeat. And…
For this year’s Dancing on the Edge, Alexis Fletcher and Ted Littlemore perform together in a work created and directed by Vanessa Goodman. (photo by Sylvain Senez) This year’s Dancing on the Edge contemporary dance festival features a lineup of online and onstage…
Israeli President-elect Isaac “Bougie” Herzog outside the Knesset. (PR photo) There was a palpable sense of community, both on a local and an international level, at Schara Tzedeck’s Mosaic 2021: Building a Stronger Jewish Future virtual event May 27. Rabbi Andrew…
Joel Bakan spoke at a CHW Vancouver Book Club event May 30. (photo from thecorporation.com) The Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) Vancouver Book Club hosted a far-reaching 90-minute discussion with author, filmmaker, musician and University of British Columbia law professor Joel Bakan on…
Writer Ben M. Freeman (PR photo) Antisemitism is not a Jewish problem, writes Ben M. Freeman in his new book Jewish Pride. “It is a non-Jewish problem that has an impact upon Jews.” Freeman is a young Scottish Jew whose book…
The last three weeks or so have been a trying time for the Jewish community both in and out of Israel. An 11-day onslaught of terrorist missiles sent thousands to bomb shelters or to their building stairways while the Iron…
