freelancer – Page 92

Community and relationships

Recently, I came across a LinkedIn post. It suggested that people could evaluate their work by asking if it “made money, saved money or saved time.” One of the responses suggested that nurses, for instance, would not fit into this model. Neither would teachers, therapists or social workers, for that matter. While education or therapy do eventually probably save money and time for society, their worth isn’t measured by these markers. As a writer, my work is also worthless in this evaluation, as it doesn’t earn lots of money or save time. But caring/thinking professions are still meaningful. I did a silent revision to the post. I added: Does your work create meaning? Is your work creating value? Meaning and value aren’t always measured in monetary terms.

I didn’t respond to this piece I read online. I don’t know who posted it originally, but priorities are different than mine. It isn’t a bad thing to save money, make money or save time, but I was left wondering – if these are a person’s top priorities, what will they do with the money or time saved? I wonder where “making meaning” comes into this person’s life.

My household is just recovering from our twins’ b’nai mitzvah. Out-of-town relatives and friends were here for several days before and after. I managed many details and events, multiple meals, a tent, chair and table rental, games and more. The synagogue service my children led was very meaningful, and looking out at the congregation was amazing. I felt so supported by family, friends and community.

For days afterwards, Jewish community members wished us mazal tov and non-Jewish neighbours and friends continued to congratulate us. My twins got gifts from places we didn’t expect. Both kids were truly flummoxed by the love and generosity showered on them.

I won’t lie: I’m exhausted after this lifecycle experience. I was the main organizer for everything other than services. Everything went smoothly, far better than I’d expected, especially given that our synagogue is under renovation.

When guests suggested a future as an event planner, I said no! I couldn’t wait to get back to my freelance writer/editor day job. Perhaps what I have learned is that, while I’m good at organizing and details, I don’t find meaning in doing those things. For me, it’s only the relationships and community that makes meaning.

A snippet of learning I did this week made that clear. I was studying the Babylonian Talmud tractate of Bava Metzia 109 when I read this story:

“Rav Yosef had a certain planter, a contractor whose job was to plant trees. He died and left behind five sons-in-law. Rav Yosef said: Until now I had to deal with only one person; now there are five. Until now, they did not rely on each other to plant the trees and did not cause me a loss, as the responsibility was their father-in-law’s, but, now that they are five, they will rely on each other to plant the trees and cause me a loss. Rav Yosef decided to discontinue the agreement with them. Rav Yosef said to them: If you take the value of your enhancement that you brought to the field and remove yourselves, all is well, but, if not, I will remove you without giving you the value of the enhancement.”

The rabbis then debate if Rav Yosef’s behaviour as a businessman was acceptable. Their conclusion is that canceling the agreement was acceptable, but sending the sons-in-law off his land without compensation wouldn’t be right. When I read Rav Yosef’s choices here, as a person in business, I saw why he made his choices. Rav Yosef had a business relationship with a contractor. When that ended due to death, he didn’t have the same agreement or support from the five sons-in-law, all of whom might have left the job to someone else. He wanted to pay them for what had been done and cut his losses.

I worried about the contractual commitments I’d made for our family event. Would the tent, tables, chairs, catering, servers, games, six-person bike, fancy vegan popsicle cart all arrive as scheduled? In the end, it all worked out. However, if I’d been faced with an issue like Rav Yosef’s – the death of someone I trusted and a time-sensitive need to get something done – I too might have wanted to pay for the work done so far and cut my losses.

Sometimes, we recognize that, without the original helper, chaos might erupt. Our synagogue caterer provided food for 75 people as take-out for us, but had no servers, due to the building closure and renovations. I worried about what to do. Luckily, through Jewish community connections, I found someone who used to work at the synagogue, and three others who worked at a different Jewish congregation. My brother (former manager of a fine-dining restaurant) stepped in to help. My neighbour volunteered her oven as a backup to warm up food, though we did not need it in the end.

This experience helped me realize that, although we moved to Canada in 2009, we had built community over time. People volunteered to support us and connections with businesspeople made the event happen. A “team” of loving people, both from far away and close by, pulled together to make meaning for us as a family.

Long before I had kids, I loved attending Shabbat services that celebrated a new baby, an upcoming wedding, a birthday or bar or bat mitzvah. Now I see that, as part of the extended community, I too created meaningful connections. The congratulations, singing “Simon Tov U’Mazel Tov,” and warm smiles matter. Being a witness and a celebrating participant are valuable.

For some, our twins’ b’nai mitzvah helped people make money. Months of work as the “organizer/Mom/event planner” saved money. If recent world events, or Rav Yosef’s contractor agreement, have taught anything, it’s that our lives could be short – time matters. It matters that we do straightforward, moral business with others. So many things can go wrong. There is absolutely nothing like a few days of love, support and meaningful interactions with people who care about us. We can also always use more love and community support.

Joanne Seiff has written regularly for the Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com.

האנטישמיות בקנדה גדלה משמעותית מאז השבעה באוקטובר

אפשר להבין את החרדה שדבורה ליונס חשה מצפייה בחדשות מאז שמונתה לשליחה המיוחדת של קנדה על ידי ג’סטין טרודו, להנצחת זכר השואה ולמאבק באנטישמיות בסתיו האחרון. העלייה המדאיגה בשנאת יהודים בקנדה נדונה בתקשורת באופן קבוע

ברור מהנתונים שאנחנו רואים, בעיקר מאלה המגיעים ממשטרת קנדה, שיש עלייה אדירה באנטישמית במונחים של פשעי שנאה, אומרת ליונס. וזה בלי להזכיר את התקריות האיומות אבל חוקיות נגד יהודים שאנחנו שומעים עליהן לעיתים קרובות. לדעתה של ליונס רמת האנטישמיות בקנדה נמצאת עכשיו בשיא של כל הזמנים וזה חסר תקדים

ארגון בני ברית קנדה פרסם לאחרונה את הדוח השנתי שלו על תקריות אנטישמיות במדינה. לפי הדוח הארגון חלה עלייה דרמטית מאז טבח השבעה באוקטובר. על פי המקרים שדווחו לבני ברית גם באמצעות עבודה עם המשטרה, אשתקד נרשמו קרוב לששת אלפים מעשי אלימות, הטרדה וונדליזם כלפי יהודים. זאת יותר מפי שניים מאשר שנה קודם לכן

בין פשעי השנאה המוזכרים נמנים הצתת מעדנייה בטורונטו, ירי לעבר בית ספר יהודי במונטריאול, ונדליזם בחנות ספרים בטורונטו של רשת אינדיגו שמייסדה הוא יהודי, פגיעה בבתי כנסת ובשכונות ועסקים יהודיים שונים. וכן השחתה של בתים פרטיים בסמלים ובביטויים אנטישמיים

לאחרונה סיסמאות משלהבות במאהלי מחאה שהוקמו באוניברסיטאות ובייחוד בעצרות אנטי־ישראליות בוונקובר ובאוטווה הוסיפו שמן למדורה. ליונס רוצה שחברי הקהילה היהודית ידעו שהיא רואה ושומעת את החששות שלהם לנוכח ההסלמה ברטוריקה האנטישמית ובוונדליזם. ליונס מוסיפה שהיא רואה את הכאב שלהם כשבהפגנות מובילי המחאה קוראים יחי השבעה באוקטובר והקהל מריע

ליונס רואה את הייסורים שחשים יהודים קנדים כשאנשים מתייחסים בביטול או ממעיטים בעובדה שמארגני העצרות מובילים את הקריאות האלה ואחרות, כמו תחזרו לאירופה ולהפוך את האינתיפאדה לגלובלית. על רקע המציאות הזאת היא מבינה שמתנהלות שיחות בבתים ובמשרדים על עתיד הקהילה היהודית בקנדה. זה לא קביל ולא הוגן. קנדה התמודדה כבר עם עלייה בשנאת יהודים לפני הזינוק הנוכחי. יש לשקול בכלל את העלייה העצומה באנטישמיות העולמית לאור זוועות השבעה באוקטובר. עוד הרבה לפני מלחמת ישראל והחמאס הייתה רמה גבוהה של אנטישמיות בקנדה. היא התחילה לעלות בצורה די קבועה לפני כשש שנים ועוד יותר במהלך מגפת הקורונה. היא הייתה במגמת עלייה, שהפכה לנסיקה דרמטית אחרי השבעה באוקטובר. עם התמשכות המלחמה בעזה ועד שיושג פתרון, חושבת ליונס שהסביבה שלנו תמשיך להיות סוערת

זה עלול להיות התרחיש הטוב יותר אם לא יהיה שינוי בתגובת המנהיגים. ליונס מאמינה שאנחנו באמת נתונים במשבר. והיא חוששת שלא מספיק אנשים מבינים את זה, או שאם הם מבינים זאת, הם לא יודעים מה הם יכולים לעשות לגבי זה

ליונס מקווה שהגענו לשיא העגום של האנטישמיות, ושהמצב לא יחמיר עוד יותר, אבל היאי לא יודעת. זה תלוי בעיקר במידה שסה המנהיגים השונים יפעלו בהתאם לאחריות שניצבת לפניהם

ליונס, שאינה יהודייה מכירה בכך שאין פתרון קל, ואומרת שהמצב הנוכחי לא יכול להיפתר ברמת הממשלה בלבד, וגם לא על ידי לשכה של שליח בודד. תחת זאת, לדבריה, האנטישמיות דורשת את טיפולה של ההנהגה בכל הרמות, לכן לשכתה עובדת עם ראשי ערים ברחבי קנדה כדי לעודד אותם לאחד את הקהילות שלהם סביב המטרה

חצי שנה לאחר שניכנסה לתפקידה ליונס מבינה כעת טוב יותר מה צריך לעשות לאחר שדיברה עם איסנפור אנשים על המצב וקראה רבות על הנושא

Victoria’s Walk to Remember

On May 25, members of the Rwandan community in Victoria held a Walk to Remember, in memory of the victims and in solidarity with the survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. (photo from Victoria Rwandan community)

This spring, members of the Rwandan community in British Columbia have been commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. On May 25, a group in Victoria held the Walk to Remember in memory of the victims and in solidarity with the survivors of the 1994 genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi.

Afterwards, a ceremony was held at Camosun College’s Gibson Auditorium. Throughout the event, called Kwibuka30, speaker after speaker, most of whom told their stories in Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda, recalled members of their immediate families who were killed during that horrific period. (Kwibuka is the word for “remember” in Kinyarwanda.)

In the organizers’ words, the event was intended to offer “blessings for continued courage and resilience to remember and unite,” and express their desire to “renew our resolve to pursue the transformation of tragedy into triumph.”

Anselme Hategekimana, one of the leaders of the Rwandan community in Victoria, stressed the importance of remembering. “Remembering is an expression of an enduring love for those we’ve lost during the genocide against the Tutsi. Remembering makes us better citizens, as we do everything we can to combat hate speech, exclusion and any type of discrimination.”

Among those in attendance were the children – many of whom are now in their late teens and early 20s – of Rwandan genocide survivors. Hategekimana said he and other survivors were encouraged to see young people take leadership in the march and commemoration.

“Due to social media, young people are now more informed and can understand the consequences of bad governance and intolerance,” he said. “These young people are the leaders of tomorrow, and we are pleased to see more and more engaged young people for the cause of peace and understanding.”

From April 7 to July 19, 1994, Hutu militias in Rwanda killed members of the Tutsi minority. Hundreds of thousands of people were massacred – estimates vary from 500,000 to more than one million – in a 100-day period, which also included the killing of moderate Hutus and members of the Twa population.

The killings were preceded by decades of stigmatization, marginalization and dehumanization and fueled by hate speech. By the early 1990s, Rwanda’s population was 85% Hutu and 14% Tutsi. At the time, Hutu extremists within Rwanda’s governing elite blamed the Tutsis for the country’s social and economic problems.

In October 1990, civil war broke out when a Tutsi rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, invaded the country from Uganda. Extremist Hutus held the Tutsis in Rwanda responsible for supporting rebel forces from another country.

The civil war, which ended with the signing of a peace agreement in August 1993, did not appease the anger of extremist Hutus, who took to the airwaves to dehumanize the Tutsis further, referring to them as “cockroaches.”

In April 1994, a plane carrying Rwanda’s president, Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down by a missile as it tried to land in Kigali, the country’s capital. Though it is unknown which group fired the missile, extremist Hutus used the downing of the plane as a reason to massacre Tutsis. Militias, equipped with machetes and trained by the Rwandan government, launched a killing spree – which to this day still shocks because of its rapidity and size – taking the lives of thousands of people each day.

Though some schools in British Columbia cover the Rwandan genocide, Hategekimana believes it would be beneficial to incorporate the subject in the high school curriculum to educate youth to be more tolerant and learn from the tragedy.

“Having a memorial monument dedicated to the victims of the genocide against the Tutsi will also help educate more Canadians,” he said.

Thirty years later, Rwanda, geographically one of the smallest countries in Africa, stands out as a model of prosperity, with one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent. A post-genocide government pursued a policy of “unity and reconciliation” and maintained a focus on economic growth.

As Hategekimana sees it, Rwanda had hit its lowest conceivable point and the only choice was to rebuild and rise. He credits Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda since 2000, for being a visionary leader who came at a crucial time.

“Paul Kagame has been God-given. You may like him or not, but what he has done for Rwanda is indisputable: the empowerment of women, free health care, anti-corruption measures, peace and economic prosperity. Rwandans see themselves as capable citizens able to take their future in their own hands,” Hategekimana said.

Today, tourism in the country is booming, including luxury hotels, and the #visitrwanda hashtag even appears on the jersey of English soccer powerhouse Arsenal. Kigali boasts a new convention centre and a new stadium to host professional basketball games.

Tech startups have also abounded, as has collaboration with Israeli companies. Netafim, a Tel Aviv-based precision irrigation firm, has teamed with the Rwandan government to develop farming in land that was previously unsuitable for agriculture. In 2014, Israel’s Energiya Global invested in a solar power plant project in Rwanda.

Regarding the horrors of 1994, Nina Krieger, the executive director of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC), offered these words to the Independent, “As we mark the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, we reflect on the significance of bearing witness to atrocities and the enduring power of survivor testimony.

“At the VHEC, we understand the critical role these narratives play in educating future generations and preventing such horrors from reoccurring. The resilience and courage shown by the survivors of the Rwandan genocide inspire us to continue our mission of Holocaust education, underscoring the universal necessity of compassion, remembrance and the commitment to justice.”

In the 2022 commemoration of Kristallnacht presented by the VHEC at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, keynote speaker Liliane Pari Umuhoza, a child survivor of the Rwandan genocide, told the crowd it was important to remember what happened, to preserve the memories of victims and survivors for future generations.

Umuhoza added it was crucial to learn from history and create awareness. Yet, she continued, it was not enough.

“What matters the most is how we use that history to create a better world,” she said. “It’s our duty, not only to remember but also to remember with purpose.”

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

Arson at synagogue

The doors and the flooring outside the entrance of Congregation Schara Tzedeck were damaged when an arsonist set fire to them the night of May 30. (photo from B’nai Brith Canada)

Around 9:30 p.m., after evening prayers on Thursday, May 30, a group of people were shmoozing on 19th Avenue, outside Schara Tzedeck synagogue. A passerby alerted them that there was a fire at the main Oak Street entrance to the shul.

The group ran around the corner to the scene and a man used his jacket to put out the fire.

The arson attack was brazen – it was barely past sundown on a busy Vancouver artery. A resident across the street videotaped the scene from their apartment window.

The synagogue’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt, was immediately alerted by phone but his reaction was disbelief. The congregant who called him is an Israeli whose first language is not English and the rabbi wondered – perhaps hoped – that there was a miscommunication.

On Rosenblatt’s arrival, two fire trucks were on the scene and the rabbi let firefighters and police into the building, which was pervaded by the smell of the accelerant used to light the fire. The doors and the flooring outside the entrance were damaged, but the fuel had already begun burning out by the time the flames were doused.

Rosenblatt said he wasn’t focused on his emotions in the immediate aftermath.

“Honestly, I went very quickly into crisis management mode,” he told the Independent. “I wasn’t really processing any kind of deep emotions or letting the whole thing sink in.”

He dealt with police, notified the synagogue’s leadership and prepared for what he knew would be a media frenzy beginning the following day.

Support has been encouraging. Civic leaders, fellow clergy, multicultural representatives, members of the Jewish community and strangers have brought or sent well wishes and made donations.

Although Rosenblatt was in disbelief initially, he acknowledged that he and others have been warning about precisely this sort of escalation for months, including in a private meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this year.

No arrests have been made but Rosenblatt said that the perpetrator is “theoretically identifiable” from photographic evidence. Police have asked Rosenblatt and others with firsthand knowledge not to share any additional details as they do not want any potential for affecting witness testimonies.

While the arson attack is deeply alarming, Rosenblatt believes it is a manifestation of a broader “mainstreaming” of antisemitism – a phenomenon he sees worryingly exhibited in last week’s decision by the BC Teachers’ Federation to reject the creation of a provincial specialist association, or PSA, addressing antisemitism and Holocaust education.

“When people ask me what I’m concerned about, I’m honestly more concerned with what’s happening in the public schools,” said the rabbi. “Not that someone being brazen enough to light the synagogue on fire isn’t a horrible thing. It’s reflective of a willingness to go to violence. But the person who did that, at least, was ashamed enough to obscure his identity.”

Those who voted against an association for Holocaust and antisemitism education not only did so publicly but seem to view their actions as a form of righteousness, he said.

“Those people are proud and giving themselves a pat on the back,” he said. “That, to me, is the one which is going to cause more lasting harm.”

Other incidents, in which Jewish artists have been removed from exhibitions and Jewish-themed plays have been canceled, send a dangerous message to young Jewish artists and performers that their identity, and their associations with Israel, could have negative consequences, said the rabbi.

Meanwhile, he is hearing from colleagues across the country about habitual harassment and vandalism, from broken windows to dead animals thrown on synagogue property.

“People are just sort of inching over the lines,” he said.

Rosenblatt said it is vital that all incidents be reported to authorities. The BC government has a Provincial Racist Incident Helpline at 1-833-457-5463. The website of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver has information on reporting hate crimes. B’nai Brith Canada has an app and other resources for reporting hate incidents on their website. Individuals or institutions requiring legal advice due to a suspected antisemitic incident can access pro bono legal consultation through a new helpline, 778-800-8917 or alh@accessprobono.ca.

The arson took place less than a week before Mosaic, Schara Tzedeck’s major annual gala celebration. It was referenced at the event, but Rosenblatt said it did not cloud the celebration.

“It has not changed who we are or what we do and how we think about Schara Tzedeck,” he said. “You can’t let antisemites define you.”

Small wins amid gloom

The rescue of four Israeli hostages from Gaza last week and their reunions with their loved ones is a bright spot amid much dismal news – though there remain 120 hostages whose reunions with their families we dream of and hope will happen soon.

This rescue has been a source of tempered joy for Israelis and others. In a time of tragedy and despair, these moments are worth appreciating. Amid the relief, we mourn the life of the Israel Defence Forces officer who died from wounds received during the operation and we mourn the lives of the many innocent Gazans lost. Holding this tension is weighing mightily on many of us, knowing that placing hostages among civilians is a deliberate and overwhelmingly cruel strategy of Hamas.

Closer to home, we are not without bleak news, but neither are we bereft of hopefulness.

The arson attack on Schara Tzedeck Synagogue two weeks ago is deeply troubling and scary. The outpouring of support and empathy from so many is a silver lining. Clergy, elected officials, multicultural community leaders and ordinary folks have expressed solidarity with Schara Tzedeck and the broader Jewish community.

A few less monumental but hopeful items crossed our desks recently.

The Vancouver Comic Arts Festival, which had earlier canceled the participation of artist Miriam Libicki, issued an apology for their actions – and announced that “the vast majority” of individuals who had perpetrated Libicki’s banning had resigned from the organization’s board.

Suffice to say, this is not the foremost news story this year. But it is surprisingly uplifting when a glimmer of common sense emerges where intolerance had once prevailed.

Libicki had been canceled ostensibly because she had served, once upon a time, in the Israeli army. IDF service was also the excuse used when inspirational speaker Leah Goldstein, a BC resident, was canned from an International Women’s Day event in Ontario in March.

Assertions that an artist (or performer or whoever) is being excluded because they served in a military that we see every day in the news engaged in a tragic conflict may seem legitimate, or at least not quite as blatant as, say, posting a sign that reads “No Jews allowed.” Notably, though, no such litmus test, to our knowledge, has ever been applied to any artist (or whoever) in Canada based on their service in any other national armed forces – and, given the diversity of our country, we can be pretty much assured that we have citizens who have served in many of the world’s most tyrannical and nasty, even genocidal, militaries.

Other excuses to ban Jews or pull Jewish- or Israel-related work from events, exhibits, performances, etc., have also included enough plausible deniability to steer just clear of indisputable antisemitism.

Goldstein’s cousin, local photographer Dina Goldstein (it’s sadly becoming a family affair), was recently removed from a group exhibition. In this instance, the gallery claimed financial considerations were the deciding factor.

Then there are cases where venues pull an event or performer based on security concerns, as the Belfry Theatre in Victoria did with their scheduled performance of the play The Runner. They had reason to fear violence – the theatre was vandalized amid the controversy. But cancelations based on security concerns, as valid as they may seem, give an effective veto to those who are potentially violent.

In the shadow of the Belfry decision, The Runner was pulled from the PuSh Festival in Vancouver, the stated reason being that another artist threatened to pull their work from the event if the play was mounted.

In addition to cancelations, there is plenty to raise alarm bells about anti-Israel bias in the public education system, as well, as we are forced to outline in discouraging detail elsewhere in this issue, with the BC Teachers’ Federation making some controversial decisions. But, again, here some reason prevails, though not from the BCTF.

The Burnaby school district took what it called “immediate action” when it became known that elementary students had been given an exam question asking them to make a case for and against the existence of the state of Israel. We could fill volumes with outrage about the unmitigated nerve of a teacher thinking this was a legitimate subject for grade sixers (if it was on the exam, one can only imagine what the same educator said in the classroom) but let’s take some solace that there were reasonable people in a position of authority to respond when this became public.

In further good news in the education realm, on June 1, the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver Senate soundly rejected (by a vote of 49 to 16) a motion urging the university to cut ties with institutions in Israel.

In challenging times, it is even more necessary to acknowledge and celebrate small victories and acts of decency. It is an act of individual and communal resistance to remain hopeful and steadfast in pursuit of peace and justice.

BCTF’s Nakba motion

“An important part of our work as teachers is to create safety for our students within our classrooms and schools. Globally and locally, we are hearing how increasing rhetoric and hate speech in communities are threatening safety and belonging. With this in mind, a motion was brought forward, and passed by delegates at the BCTF annual general meeting in March,” writes BC Teachers’ Federation president Clint Johnston in the May/June 2024 issue of Teacher magazine.

He goes on to share the motion, which was:

“That the Federation:

“1. continuously lobby the Ministry of Education and Child Care to include, where applicable, the following as part of the Grades 6-12 Socials and History curricula until it gets added to the elaborations:

“a. The Nakba

“b. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War

“c. Military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

“2. have the Federation president acknowledge through the next Teacher magazine that these events are essential to understanding the history of Palestine and Israel in the President’s Message.”

In fulfilling his part of the motion, Johnston writes in Teacher about classrooms being “where students develop or question their understandings of world events. Starting these conversations and teaching complicated histories is a difficult task. Teachers need support to approach the historical context of present-day conflicts in their classrooms. It’s important that the Ministry of Education and Child Care, school districts and community partners come together with teachers to create the supports and resources we need to teach challenging world events.”

At press time, none of the President’s Message that deals with the AGM motion could be found on the Teacher website. There, only the first half of the message was posted – in which Johnston talks about the edition’s feature on “societal attitudes toward disability justice and excellence,” and inclusion in schools.

The BCTF did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls from the Jewish Independent for comment on the motion, which was passed at the BCTF’s AGM March 16-19 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. While the organization’s communications person briefly added the JI to the BCTF’s media list, the paper apparently was removed from that list after inquiring if the receipt of a press release on an unrelated topic meant that answers to the JI’s questions about the AGM would be answered. There was no response, nor has the JI received any further BCTF press releases.

The Jewish Independent found out about the BCTF motion in early April not from the BCTF, but from two other sources: a group called Parents for Palestine, claiming the vote a victory for their own campaign to have the Nakba (Catastrophe) – the term used by many Palestinians and others to describe the creation of the state of Israel and the 1948 war – added to the BC curriculum, and from a Jewish parent, asking people to “Reject political propaganda in schools’ curriculum.”

Parents for Palestine and the groups Teachers 4 Palestine BC, Independent Jewish Voices (Vancouver, Victoria and University of British Columbia), Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver, BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish Territories, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network (which in 2021 was designated a terror group by Israel for its ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), Labour for Palestine Vancouver & Victoria, Palestinian Youth Movement Vancouver, and Freedom from War Coalition have started a petition on the Action Network called “Demand That the Nakba Be Added to the BC Curriculum.” Those groups (minus BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish Territories) also have online an open letter to Minister of Education and Child Care Rachna Singh, where organizations and individuals can add their name.

“As a Jewish parent whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors, I believe my children need an education that equips them with the knowledge and tools to build a future where genocide is no longer possible,” says parent Tamara Herman, a member of Independent Jewish Voices, in the Parents for Palestine press release. “Our kids will be confronted with the future impacts of the genocide that Israel is currently committing in Gaza. Receiving a partial history of the creation of Israel that includes the Holocaust but erases the Nakba robs them of the knowledge and tools they need now and in the future.”

image - A page from the BC Teachers’ Federation Israel-Palestine classroom resource, called The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Searching for a Just Peace — A page from the BC Teachers’ Federation Israel-Palestine classroom resource, called *The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Searching for a Just Peace*.

Vancouver parent Masha Kleiner’s petition on change.org reads, in part, “The role of a teacher in a child’s life is paramount and should not be used to advance any political agenda. By introducing such a change to the curriculum, it has the potential to increase targeted hatred of specific children thus creating an unsafe learning environment.”

In the press release she sent to the Independent, Kleiner, who was born in the Soviet Union, writes, “It is not a coincidence that I chose to raise my children in Canada. I wanted my children to grow, internalize and embrace the fundamental Canadian values of safety, diversity, tolerance and freedom. These values are core to Canadian society and they stem from all orders of life, first and foremost, education.

“This is why, as a parent, I couldn’t remain silent when I encountered the motion to add teaching of ‘Nakba and occupation’ to the school curriculum in BC. This motion goes against everything that Canada stands for. This motion is not only harmful on many different levels, but it also exposes dangerous manifestations in the existing curriculum.”

Kleiner is concerned that the BCTF motion and “the polarizing and isolating political agenda it brings into classrooms will create an unsafe and even hostile environment. This motion is not educating students about specific historical events and perspectives; it introduces a one-sided, politically motivated, biased narrative that is being used to target and marginalize particular students or groups.

“The history and the conflict in the Middle East is one of the most complex and multifaceted topics in the history of modern conflicts,” she continues. “Its roots are grounded in millennia of history as well as religious and cultural bedrocks of numerous societies. It is deeply intertwined with recent and modern political and military powers and other conflicts. What’s more, it is a highly sensitive, controversial and even disruptive topic that affects people’s lives all over the world.”

The original motion presented at the BCTF AGM had only two points:

“That the Federation:

“1. acknowledge that the Nakba and the Israel war of independence are significant historical events that are essential to understanding the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“2. make a recommendation to the Ministry of Education and Child Care to include the Nakba and the Israel war of independence as part of the social studies and history curricula.”

The amendments were added on the day of the vote, which took place March 18. A 56-44 majority passed the amended motion, according to a teacher who was at the AGM.

This teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, questioned the value of the motion, noting that teachers could already include the subject in lessons. They said that, while the Nakba could be added to the list of sample topics in the curriculum, that still wouldn’t make the teaching of it mandatory.

There is a resource available for teachers already, which was developed by the BCTF in 2016. Called The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Searching for a Just Peace, several sections are objectively biased, notably regarding the history of the region. Just two examples: Jews’ right to the land isn’t acknowledged, only that Palestinians lost their homeland; and the fact that hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced to flee Arab countries isn’t mentioned, only that “700,000 Palestinians were driven or fled from their homes and became refugees and many villages were destroyed.”

The teacher thought that the AGM motion was made, in part, as a reaction to the provincial government having made Holocaust education a mandatory part of the curriculum. At this point, the province has no plans to follow suit with the Nakba.

“I’m leaving it to the teachers,” Singh told CBC in a May 2 interview. “I feel that they are fully equipped and they have the professional judgment on how to assess their student population and how to impart these lessons. This is what my expectation is, that every child is feeling safe in their schools.”

BCTF nixes antisemitism efforts

A group of public school teachers who are pressing for resources and supports to help educate about antisemitism and the Holocaust have been rejected by the provincial teachers’ union.

The recently formed Holocaust and Antisemitism Educators Association was informed earlier this month that their application for recognition as a provincial specialist association has been rejected by the relevant branch of the BC Teachers’ Federation.

Provincial specialist associations (PSAs) support the development of teaching resources and host professional development sessions on specific subject areas. They receive funding from the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) to do so.

The Holocaust and Antisemitism Educators Association (HAEA) was created in response to the Government of British Columbia’s decision last October to make Holocaust education a mandatory part of the BC curriculum.

Eyal Daniel, the president of the HAEA, said he is shocked by the decision and is hoping the BCTF executive will reverse it.

“The letter I received said that we should work with other PSAs – which is confusing because the formation of our group was specifically supported by the relevant PSA, the social studies group, as being important and necessary,” Daniel said in a media release.

Ginaya Peters, the founder of BC Teachers Against Antisemitism, expressed dismay.

“I am trying to comprehend this and am failing,” she said in the same release. “When the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre tells the BCTF that our PSA is needed in order to implement the mandatory Holocaust curriculum that they are helping to develop, they are literally ignoring the voices of experts in the field, and they are denying us the resources to teach the topic properly.”

Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, said the decision seems to confirm reports heard by members of the Jewish community recently.

“We have heard a number of disturbing rumours in the past few weeks about people fighting against the formation of this teachers’ specialist association – including that people believe that antisemitism isn’t related to the Holocaust,” said Shanken. “If this is their rationale, it is a form of Holocaust denial and flies in the face of what we have been told by Premier David Eby and his minister of education.”

“The HAEA has told me that they met every single requirement to be recognized by their union, and that no one can remember a time when a PSA that met every requirement was turned down,” said Nico Slobinsky, vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

screenshot - A social media post shared by the Anti-Oppression Educators Collective, a provincial specialist association of the BC Teachers’ Federation, which mentions Samidoun, which is linked to a listed terror organization and has organized events that glorify the murders and rapes that took place on Oct. 7 — A social media post shared by the Anti-Oppression Educators Collective, a provincial specialist association of the BC Teachers’ Federation, which mentions Samidoun, which is linked to a listed terror organization and has organized events that glorify the murders and rapes that took place on Oct. 7. *(image from BCTAA)*

Jonathan Dyck, the chair of the BCTF Provincial Specialist Association Council, informed the HAEA of the decision last week, following a meeting of the council where the decision was taken June 4. According to the HAEA, he provided no rationale for the decision to recommend that resources and recognition not be provided to HAEA but was “strongly of the opinion that they would like to find ways to help members of your association feel valued and included.”

In a separate statement, BC Teachers Against Antisemitism lamented the absence of any explanation for the rejection.

“We are confused by the BCTF’s statement … as the statement fails to give any indication why a PSA dedicated to developing teaching resources and professional development around soon to be mandatory Holocaust education was rejected.

“As well, as of today there are no teaching resources available on the Holocaust or antisemitism available on the BCTF’s TeachBC site.”

In a series of social media posts on the BCTF’s X (Twitter) platform, the union outlined the standards aspiring PSAs must meet – but did not indicate any areas where the HAEA had fallen short.

“The tweets listed all the conditions which must be met for a PSA to be approved by the PSA council,” BC Teachers Against Antisemitism said in their statement. “The HAEA met these conditions, yet the council refused to recommend that the PSA be approved. The only condition not met was approval by the PSA council. This is surprising as no one can remember a PSA that met all the criteria ever being turned down before.”

The suggestion that the Holocaust and antisemitism educators instead work with existing PSAs is problematic and perplexing, they wrote, because the BC Social Studies Teachers Association recommended that the new PSA be approved, as did the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. Moreover, antisemitism has not been addressed by any other PSA. In fact, BC Teachers Against Antisemitism accuses the Anti-Oppression Educators Collective of promoting antisemitism, including by sharing posts on social media that include mention of Samidoun, which is linked to a listed terror organization and has organized events that glorify the murders and rapes that took place on Oct. 7.

Confounding matters further, the statement on BCTF’s website regarding the PSA vote, and antisemitism and Holocaust education, says, “It is our understanding that the council determined that existing PSAs already can and do support the proposed work.” However, separate searches of BCTF’s website for classroom resources on antisemitism and the Holocaust yield the results: “No resources matching the current search criteria were found.”

“The arguments that the HAEA work with existing PSAs to create Holocaust and antisemitism materials seems to fly in the face of established BCTF practices,” the BCTAA statement states. “The BCTF cannot present a valid reason for denying the approval of our PSA dedicated to helping educators deliver critical lessons on the Holocaust and antisemitism. We ask the BCTF to reverse its decision so we can move forward like other established PSAs and work with likeminded colleagues on supporting educators in BC.”

– Information from Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, BC Teachers Against Antisemitism and BC Teachers Federation

VanCAF apologizes

Miriam Libicki in 2017, when she was writer-in-residence at the Vancouver Public Library. (photo by Jeff Vinnick/VPL)

The Vancouver Comic Arts Festival (VanCAF) issued a public apology to Miriam Libicki on June 2, eight days after posting online that it was permanently banning the American-Israeli graphic novelist and artist because she had once served in the Israel Defence Forces.

Additionally, the apology stated, the vast majority of the board of directors who had written the May 25 “accountability statement” – which banned Libicki from the festival – have resigned. Those who have remained, the unnamed writers of the apology affirmed, are only there to help assist in the transition to a new board.

In a June 4 social media post responding to VanCAF’s about-face, Libicki, who resides in Vancouver, wrote, “I applaud this. I applaud the entire board responsible for the first accountability statement (which contained no accountability) resigning.”

She added, “This is a really positive and necessary first step. I look forward to a restorative justice process with the new board when there is one, and to see the steps they make to ensure they can act ethically when (and it is a matter of when) a harassment brigade dogpiles again.”

VanCAF’s original statement, which did not mention Libicki by name – nor was it signed by anyone on its board – lamented “the oversight and ignorance to allow this exhibitor in the festival, not only this year but in 2022 as well.”

Libicki’s appearance at the festival, the former board said, “fundamentally falls in absolute disregard to all of our exhibiting artist’s (sic), attendees and staff, especially those who are directly affected by the ongoing genocide in Palestine and Indigenous community members alike. Upon examining these concerns and conducts, this exhibitor will not be permitted to return to the festival.”

The decision to ban Libicki received widespread attention in national and international Jewish and other media. Reports were published by the Canadian Jewish News, the Times of Israel, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the Jewish News Syndicate, as well as the popular comics website, The Beat. According to an article on Vancouver arts and culture website Stir, VanCAF was contacted by a lawyer representing Libicki.

On May 29, VanCAF’s so-called accountability statement was removed from its website and social media accounts.

VanCAF’s June 2 apology said the organization wished to “express deep and sincere apologies for the impact our previous statement has caused. First and foremost, to the individual directly affected by our first post.

“The decision was ultimately wrong-headed and moved too quickly and without adequate consultation. We also wish to apologize to the wider impacted community. VanCAF has lost and continues to lose the trust of many we have sought to serve.

“Our statement was one that only represented the VanCAF board at the time of writing and had no relationship to the Roundhouse [the festival’s venue], any of our sponsors, or any former staff. It was solely our own statement.”

The apology finished by announcing that the organization was about to change and that it would strive to prioritize the safety of all attendees, volunteers and exhibitors. By the end of summer, it hoped to have a new team in charge of the festival.

Libicki’s work explores her Jewish identity and the clash of cultures through her own experiences. Her autobiographical comic series, jobnik!, which she self-published in 2008, looks at her service in the Israeli army during the Second Intifada.

Toward a Hot Jew, published by Fantagraphics in 2016, is a series of graphic essays written over about 10 years, from her time in the IDF to her position as an art professor, and is a mix of autobiography, cultural commentary and analysis. In 2017, she was writer-in-residence at the Vancouver Public Library – it was the first time the library had chosen a graphic novelist for the position. She was a 2020 nominee for best short story in the Eisner Awards, considered by many to be the most prestigious honour in the comics industry, for her graphic essay, “Who Gets Called an ‘Unfit’ Mother?” Libicki was one of three graphic novelists selected to tell the stories of four Holocaust survivors in the 2022 book But I Live.

image - Toward a Hot Jew book cover — Among Miriam Libicki’s award-nominated and -winning publications are jobnik! and Toward a Hot Jew.

“I am a Jewish artist who makes nonfiction and autobiographical comics,” Libicki told the Canadian Jewish News last month after the VanCAF ban was announced. “I am, and I have consistently, publicly, been pro-peace. I am in favour of a Palestinian state via negotiations. Because of the vulnerable populations I work with, I prefer not to discuss my specific political views in public. I believe all policing of artists’ personal identities and nationalities is wrong.”

Libicki exhibited at VanCAF every year from 2012 until 2022. In 2022, members of the public notified festival volunteers, complaining that VanCAF had included, according to Stir, a Zionist who was showing Zionist propaganda.

Stir reported that Libicki had missed the initial call for applications in 2023 and was not given a table by organizers because they wanted to look into the 2022 incident. This year, VanCAF at first denied Libicki a table, but later said she could be included if she only exhibited But I Live.

Libicki told Stir that she wants to use the recent publicity to garner funds for peace activists in Israel and Palestine. She is selling a watercolour series of seahorses, the proceeds of which will go entirely to the Mothers Call, which Stir describes as “a grassroots collaboration between Women of the Sun in Palestine and Women Wage Peace in Israel.”

In a June 2 social media post, Libicki expressed appreciation for all the messages of support she has received recently and offered a positive outlook.

“I believe we can move towards a peaceful and just (as just as possible) resolution to that public incident,” she wrote.

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

Rise and fall of a hacktivist

Nobody Wants to Talk About Jacob Appelbaum opens at VIFF Centre June 14.

Jacob Appelbaum was an influential internet freedom, privacy and free speech activist. He collaborated with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, which Assange founded in 2006 to publish leaked documents and information. He helped the journalists with whom whistleblower Edward Snowden shared documents make the stories public. And he was prominent in the TOR Project (aka “the dark web”). Then, suddenly, Appelbaum took himself out of the spotlight.

Writer, director and producer Jamie Kastner wanted to know why. He also wanted to know more about this well-known yet little-known “hacktivist” and the subculture in which Appelbaum operated. The result is the documentary Nobody Wants to Talk About Jacob Appelbaum, which screens at VIFF Centre June 14-17 and June 20.

“I first saw Appelbaum in another documentary about WikiLeaks, in which he was playing a supporting role,” Kastner told the Independent. “He jumped off the screen both for his charisma and his clear-eyed and apparently fearless political commitment. I learned about the broad strokes of the scandal in which he was later involved, became intrigued not only by what had happened with him, but by this whole activist community about which I had known little.”

After being accused of sexual abuse in 2016, Appelbaum left the United States for Germany. It is there, reads the documentary’s PR material, that Kastner “finds him, adamant that he is the victim of government black ops, ‘canceled’ without legal process or recourse, punished for who he is, and for what he represents.”

“Though I’m sure even he would not claim that all the work he has done has been flawless,” said Kastner, “to me there remains at least an aspect to the work he’s done, regardless of what may or may not have come later, that represents a fearless standing up to authority, taking significant personal risks to expose abuses of power and to help improve people’s lives by making them better informed about governments and surveillance.”

He continued, “As lawyer Margaret Ratner Kunstler explains in the film, in an era in which journalism has shrunk and become ever more controlled by government and/or large corporations, the significance of so-called leakers and hackers has grown to become one of our last sources of unfiltered news and information.”

Kastner gave the examples of WikiLeaks having “released Chelsea Manning’s leaks, including the ‘Collateral Murder’ video of American drones killing civilians and journalists in Iraq in 2007, and a trove of Hillary Clinton’s emails in 2016, among many other controversial releases.”

In 2013, Snowden, “a former contractor for the National Security Agency, America’s cyber-intelligence gathering service … leaked a vast trove of documents revealing the information gathering practices of the US and its ‘Five Eyes’ allies countries, including how data was gathered covertly on their own citizens,” said Kastner.

With Snowden, the filmmaker added, Appelbaum “helped the journalists to whom Snowden leaked his documents both manage the technology involved, and investigate and disseminate stories arising from Snowden’s leaks, including penning a cover story in German newsmagazine Der Speigel revealing that the US was spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone.”

Nobody Wants to Talk About Jacob Appelbaum was about five years in the making.

“It was a slow and wary process, once contact was made, of gaining access to Appelbaum and establishing trust on both sides,” explained Kastner. “I knew he was a controversial, brilliant and at times troubled figure, but I approached the story with an open mind. It struck me as a fascinating story in which one person’s trajectory tracked the rise and fall of a movement that, for a time, was rocking the world.

“I worked with a team of researchers to gain necessary context and try to build relationships within this very wary community. I worked extensively – features, in my experience, take six months or so in editing – with my collaborator Michael Hannan in the edit suite, to try to craft a film that would make the audience experience the real-life spy quality I experienced in entering into Appelbaum’s world, in which things, at times, seem too fantastical to be true – but sufficient evidence is there to suggest they are not false.”

Kastner’s many credits – through his and wife Laura Baron Kastner’s Cave 7 Productions – include The Skyjacker’s Tale (2016), There Are No Fakes (2019) and Charlotte’s Castle (2023). Cave 7 documentaries have not only garnered award recognition but inspired action. There Are No Fakes, for example, helped launch “a criminal investigation into widespread fraudulent production of and distribution of Indigenous art,” leading to “eight arrests, 40 charges laid and 1,000 paintings seized,” notes the company.

As a documentarian, Kastner is especially aware of the evasiveness of “the truth” and its often-subjective nature. While he said, “I still admire the same qualities about Appelbaum that first drew me to the subject, his political spirit and work,” the making of the documentary took him to all sorts of places he hadn’t expected.

“Learning about the community from which he and Assange sprung made me realize the film was about a larger story, larger issues which the narrative of Appelbaum’s life raises,” said Kastner. “You don’t have to like him, the film is not an apologia or a hagiography. I investigate the accusations as extensively as possible. Ultimately, as the title suggests, the film equally became about the people who don’t want to talk about him, and the many reasons for that. I don’t think I had fixed ideas about the ‘truth’ going into this film. I don’t pretend the film leaves with any one conclusion, but rather hopefully, is the jumping-off point for further discussion.”

For tickets to a screening, visit viff.org/whats-on/nobody-talk-jacob-appelbaum. The documentary will start streaming on CBC Gem on June 26.

Traditional yet contemporary

Boris Sichon, above, and Jesse Waldman return to this year’s Mission Folk Music Festival, which takes place July 26-28 at Fraser River Heritage Park. (photo from missionfolkmusicfestival.ca)

“I know that people are going to find that new-to-them artist that changes their world. I know that new friendships will be forged among volunteers. And I know that people will just enjoy being together in the park in community,” said Michelle Demers Shaevitz, artistic and executive director of the Mission Folk Music Festival, about the upcoming weekend-long event. “That’s what I look forward to the most.”

Joining Demers Shaevitz at this year’s festival, which takes place July 26-28 at Fraser River Heritage Park, will be fellow Jewish community members Boris Sichon and Jesse Waldman. Both musicians are returning artists to the festival, but will be performing new material.

Sichon will be leading the interactive Recychestra, an orchestra that uses musical instruments made from recycled objects. The performance is the last part of an instrument-building program offered through the City of Mission next month.

The idea for Recychestra came from a meeting with Mark Haney, a composer and musician working for the City of Mission, said Sichon. The program comprises seven sessions between July 6 and 26 at the Mission Leisure Centre, culminating in the July 28 performance at the Mission Folk Music Festival – though Sichon would like the program to carry on.

“I hope we’re going to continue this project after the festival,” he told the Independent.

Anyone who is interested in participating can do so via mission.ca/culture or by emailing culture@mission.ca.

“We don’t know yet who’s going to sign up,” Sichon said. “Kids love to create musical instruments more than playing instruments, while adults enjoy both activities. It would be great to have some musician friends from the Mission community.”

Even if someone hasn’t attended the program, they will be welcome to join the orchestra at the festival performance, said Sichon. “We will have enough recycled instruments. It will be a very friendly atmosphere, joyful. Play and dance!”

Waldman is also looking forward to performing at the Mission Folk Music Festival.

“We’ve got some great new songs to share and a couple tricks up our sleeves, too!” said Waldman, who will perform in several music sessions, including in concert with Beau Wheeler on the Sunday afternoon of the festival. The collaboration with Wheeler has been a long time in the making.

“I’d seen Beau perform at an art space in East Van nearly 20 years ago and was blown away,” said Waldman. “Many moons passed, until 2018, where I was performing in the Monica Lee Band and we shared a bill with Beau at Pat’s Pub. Beau caught our set with Monica and invited the band to stay on stage and join him and it was a magical moment. We decided we should get together again and that’s how it all started. We have a lot of the same taste in music and are both very emotional players. I try and add memorable and atmospheric parts to fit the feeling of Beau’s amazing songs.”

Waldman has been busy since the Independent spoke with him in advance of last year’s Mission folk festival. Among the highlights, he said, are “[t]he completion of a new full-length album entitled The Shimmering Divide, set for release September 2024 [and an] outstanding full band performance at Or Shalom Synagogue featuring a rendition of ‘Papirosen,’ where the band played along with my grandmother’s voice from a tape from 1957.”

The video of that performance can be viewed at youtube.com/watch?v=5F5GNRMf1fQ. For more about the song, visit jewishindependent.ca/a-great-grandmothers-song.

photo - Jesse Waldman — Jesse Waldman *(photo from jessewaldmanmusic.com)*

Following Waldman’s first album, Mansion Full Of Ghosts, The Shimmering Divide “sees an even more introspective songwriting exploration by Waldman with lyrics that are both confessional and poetic, vulnerable and hopeful, spanning the personal and the universal,” notes the PR material.

“For me, the title The Shimmering Divide represents the age-old battle between good and evil, which path to take to do the right thing in your life – those points in your life are charged with possibilities that can change it forever,” said Waldman.

In all, some 30 artists from around the world will be participating in this year’s Mission Folk Music Festival. In selecting performers, Demers Shaevitz tends to focus on a theme.

“This year,” she said, “I was digging into this idea of tradition and looking for artists that are grounded in their tradition. What that means for me is finding artists who can emphasize a through line in their music. Who can take the best parts of their culture, genre, community or language, for example, and bring it to audiences in new and or exciting ways. This is key to me when I consider folk traditions: I want contemporary takes on this heritage artform. We’ll hear that in Moira & Claire and their Maritime song tradition. We’ll hear that in how PIQSIQ presents Inuit throat singing in a contemporary context. And we’ll hear (and dance) to how Kobo Town takes traditional Trinidadian sounds and modernizes them for today’s audiences.”

For more information about the festival, including the schedule and tickets, visit missionfolkmusicfestival.ca.