Rabbi Matthew Ponak helped launch Lech Lecha: Journeys of the Soul, the 2026/27 six-part Kolot Mayim lecture series, on Nov. 1. He spoke on the topic The Jewish Spiritual Seeker: Journeying Away and Coming Home, before both in-person and Zoom…
From Nov. 7 to 15, Victoria’s Bema Productions will present four performances of A Jewish Sing-A-Long Christmas, featuring famous Christmas classics written by Jewish composers. The play, which Bema mounted in 2024, is back by popular demand. It showcases the…
For just shy of 40 years, the Raging Grannies have been an active voice for social justice. Clad in stereotypical grandmother attire, the women, all of a certain age, have been a regular presence at rallies, belting out progressive political…
Amir Tibon, a journalist and opinion editor for Israel’s Haaretz, expected the final tally in Israel’s Oct. 27 election to be close. “I think there is a tribal outlook on politics all over the world today,” he said in an…
For Jaime Stein, politics and Jewish communal life have long been intertwined. The Conservative candidate in Vancouver-Langara describes himself simply as “a Vancouver Jew,” born and raised in the city, educated at Vancouver Talmud Torah and bar mitzvahed at Congregation…
Nina Krieger is vying to retain her Victoria-Swan Lake seat on Oct. 24, in a riding she won for the BC NDP in 2024 after receiving 56% of the vote. She is currently the minister of public safety and solicitor…
Richard Zussman, a familiar face on television for several news organizations over the years, has entered the political ring. He is running for the BC NDP in the Greater Victoria riding of Saanich South, a seat vacated by Lana Popham,…
In the Oct. 24 provincial election, the riding of Skeena, which includes Terrace and Kitimat, has two candidates who identify as Jewish: incumbent Claire Rattée, for the Conservative Party of British Columbia, and Nick Gottlieb, for the BC Green Party.…
Hundreds gathered in Victoria on Sept. 17 to launch the 2026 campaign for the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island (JFVVI), hear a speech from featured guest Ben Mulroney and celebrate the collaborative efforts of JFVVI and the Jewish…
The 12th annual Victoria International Jewish Film Festival runs Oct. 10 to 15 at the Vic Theatre, with some content available online. This year’s festival offers eight feature-length films, a curated international shorts program, live music and a competition for…
On Aug. 25, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC), in partnership with the Montreal Holocaust Museum, presented Football, History and Society: A Discussion with Simon Kuper. The talk explored Holocaust history and the global impact of football (soccer) at a…
Rabbi Ilana Krygier Lapides became the new rabbi of Victoria’s Kolot Mayim Reform Temple in July, following the retirement of Rabbi Lynn Greenhough, who served the congregation, initially as spiritual leader and later as rabbi, for nine years. Speaking to…
This summer, Tzimmes celebrated its 40th anniversary. Band members from far and wide, old and new, gathered in Vancouver on Aug. 17 to mark the occasion with food, laughter and, of course, a little music. The Vancouver ensemble is known…
Recorded in Nashville, Carol Sokoloff’s latest album, Change in the Weather, went live on several streaming platforms in late May and the CD was launched to a packed house at the Coda in Victoria on May 30. (photo from Carol…
The story of Aloha Wanderwell, an early 20th-century adventurer raised in Qualicum Beach, BC, the first woman to drive around the world – at age 18 – is captured by Victoria Jewish community member Laurel Corona in her newly released…
The Ben-Gurion University student team of BeeShop receives the top prize from Dana Gavish, left, and Gadi Bahat, right. (photo from BGU) Palpably exuberant crowds, both in person in Be’er Sheva and virtually, assembled on June 24 to watch and…
Pat Johnson and Dr. Sheree Trotter at the University of Victoria on June 14, hosted by the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island. (photo by Janet Dirks) “What we’ve seen happen in New Zealand with our indigenous movement is…
On June 24, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre hosted The Dual Role of Football During the Holocaust, an online conversation with Paul Salmons, Kevin E. Simpson and Liz Berger, three scholars on sport and its place in modern Jewish history.…
Editor-in-chief of the National Post Rob Roberts, left, in conversation with journalist Dave Gordon at Upstanders Canada’s May 24 Media Bias event at Temple Sholom. (photo by Anna-Mae Wiesenthal) Media Bias: How Media has Mainstreamed Antisemitism and What to Do…
The 96-year-old history of the Jewish Independent, which serves as a continuous record of Jewish communal life in British Columbia, was the topic of the second lecture in the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture’s 2026 Doikayt Speaker Series. In…
