Jan Lee

Gondar in need of help

With the economy in crisis in Gondar, aid groups are moving quickly to bolster food supplies to cover 1,500 Jewish households. (photo from SSEJ)

The ethnic violence that engulfed Ethiopia’s Tigray region in recent years is now gaining a foothold in the Amhara region to the south, home to Ethiopia’s largest Jewish community.

Although the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front militia signed a peace deal in November 2022, ethnic and political tensions continue to run deep, not only in Tigray, but in the Amhara region’s principal city, Gondar, where some 6,000 descendants and relatives of Israel’s Beta Israel community continue to wait for aliyah. More than 600,000 people died during the two-year Tigray civil war. As many as half of those casualties, investigators say, were civilians whose deaths could have been prevented if adequate food stocks and humanitarian aid had been available. That fact has helped coalesce efforts by aid groups to bolster food supplies for Gondar’s Jewish community. But, as those aid organizations are finding, building the resources needed during an ongoing political conflict is difficult.

Last month, after Amhara’s local militia Fano took control of parts of the region, fighting broke out in Gondar that resulted in several days of gun battles, some within proximity of the Jewish community and synagogue. Government forces eventually retook the city, but not without casualties. At least one member of the Jewish community was killed.

As part of the government’s ongoing effort to subdue rebel forces, it declared a six-month state of emergency Aug. 4, including nightly curfews in Gondar. Businesses were forced to shutter during the fighting, and most have still not been able to reopen.

Avi Bram, co-founder for the British nonprofit, Meketa UK, which provides microloans for small businesses and other programs designed to increase economic self-sufficiency in the Jewish community, said the fighting made it unsafe for community members (and others) to leave their houses during the first two weeks, even to find food and water. Most residents in the Jewish quarter don’t have modern amenities in their homes like electricity, running water and refrigerators, he noted.

Bram said the biggest challenge right now is to guarantee residents have food. “Most houses have completely run out,” said Bram, “and it’s still very expensive to buy [supplies] at the moment in Gondar.”

Although some businesses like banks and grocery stores are now open, fighting in the outer areas of Amhara has disrupted supply chains from the capital. It’s also caused food prices to skyrocket. “So, we’re fundraising now,” Bram said.

Both Meketa UK and its North American partner, Meketa USA, which handles fundraising and educational programs in the United States and Canada, are reaching out to their donors and the general public for help. The plan is to build up basic food supplies so families don’t starve during the state of emergency. Bram said he expects the city’s economic recovery will take many months.

Two weeks ago, aid workers purchased the first large shipment of grain, oil and chickpea paste for the community. Volunteers began distributing the stocks to as many of the 1,500 homes as possible. Bram said they plan to repeat the process as more funds become available.

Like Meketa, the U.S.-based Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry (SSEJ) is racing to fortify its food stocks and medical supplies for the Gondar community. SSEJ is the largest humanitarian aid organization supporting Jewish descendants in Ethiopia, serving 5,000 meals a day to residents and providing a variety of medical and social services for those in need. Yet, SSEJ president Jeremy Feit admitted they are struggling right now to keep up with the increasing demand for food and support brought on by the conflict. “We continue to do what we can although we don’t have nearly enough funding,” he said.

SSEJ provides feeding programs for undernourished children, and pregnant and nursing mothers; supplemental education programs for school-age children; and a new pediatric clinic. It partners with Israeli nonprofit Operation Ethiopia, which runs an eye clinic staffed by Israeli specialists.

Feit said SSEJ hopes to work around supply chain problems by ordering food stocks from the United States and from other parts of Ethiopia. But that takes money and time. “We are also trying to get medical supplies in to service the larger Gondar area, Jewish and non-Jewish alike,” he said.

High Holy Day meals and foods are another significant demand, assisted each year by the North American Conference for Ethiopian Jewry.

With the military now visible in Gondar, Meketa co-founder Hila Bram said the sounds of gunfire are more distant. “There are a lot of government soldiers around – everyone is afraid, but the soldiers around makes it feel there is control.” But not all of the Jewish community lives within city limits. “Many of the poorest families live in Belajek, which is an area outside the main city road, because it is cheaper there,” she said, adding that those residents still sleep with the presence of gunfire nearby.

Aid workers know that, even if the fighting ended tomorrow, it will likely be many months before economic stability is restored and everyone can return to work. While residents wait hopefully for an airlift to Israel, aid agencies are already planning the next emergency food shipments to tide them through winter.

For more information about Meketa UK/USA (meketausa.org), Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry (ssej.org), Operation Ethiopia (operationethiopia.com) and North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (nacoej.org) and how you can assist, visit their websites.

Jan Lee is an award-winning editorial writer whose articles and op-eds have been published in B’nai B’rith Magazine, Voices of Conservative and Masorti Judaism and Baltimore Jewish Times, as well as a number of business, environmental and travel publications. Her blog can be found at multiculturaljew.polestarpassages.com.

Settling Ukrainian newcomers

With the help of Jewish Family Services, Belmont Properties and others, the Zubrys family – Alexander, holding Artem, Sophie and Katrina – are getting settled in Vancouver. (photo from JFS)

For Oleksandra Liashyk and her family, who fled the Ukraine-Russia war last year, resettling in Vancouver was an opportunity for a new, though unexpected start. The family of three, who have an apartment and have enrolled their son in public secondary school, are learning English and navigating the ropes that come with resettlement. Still, Oleksandra admitted that it hasn’t been easy, that simply adjusting to a new culture, community and language has been a challenge. “This is absolutely another world,” she said.

It’s a sentiment shared by many of Vancouver’s newest immigrants from Ukraine. Fedor and Yulia, who came from wartorn Chernihiv with their two children, had good jobs as a real estate broker and a fitness instructor. While their children aren’t yet old enough to attend school, the kids are struggling with socialization. “The hardest thing to adjust for our children here was lack of communication with children of their age,” they said. “[E]verything looks quite unusual here.”

Like Fedor and Yulia, many others have left behind established businesses and jobs, professions that will be hard to restart in Vancouver. Lawyers, real estate brokers, accountants, social workers and business owners will need licences, education and a practised familiarity with Canada’s certification processes. But first, they need a place to live and a way to support their families.

According to Tanja Demajo, chief executive officer of Vancouver’s Jewish Family Services, the Ukrainian resettlement program was already in the planning stages when Russia formally announced its intended occupation of Ukraine in February 2022. Well-versed in creating programs to assist new immigrants, JFS knew the program would have to be versatile and able to address the many challenges faced by refugees on the move. Not all immigrants would be able to plan ahead before leaving Ukraine; many would arrive unprepared for their new home.

“Families reach out in many different ways,” Demajo explained. “Sometimes they call us from abroad and they are trying to understand the Canadian systems and how to actually come here. Sometimes we receive a call from other [Canadian] cities when families have already left [Ukraine] and they are thinking about relocating to the Lower Mainland. And sometimes we receive calls from families that are already here and are trying to navigate their next steps.”

According to Demajo, more than 80% of Ukrainian refugees enrolled in the resettlement program have advanced educations, but lack fluency in English, so JFS partnered with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control to provide its Food Skills program. In it, participants learned how to read labels in grocery stores and purchase food, which then became the ingredients for new Western-style dishes, which they cooked in the JFS Kitchen. “Throughout the cooking, they were also learning English,” Demajo said. “We also had childcare provided as well.” The classes were so successful that JFS is looking at expanding the program.

But the greatest challenge facing new immigrants to Vancouver has been the city’s housing shortage. Residential vacancy rates, which now stand at less than 1%, and the disproportionate cost of rental apartments have made it harder to find housing.

photo - JFS partnered with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control to provide a Canadian food education and cooking class that doubled as an English class for new immigrants — JFS partnered with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control to provide a Canadian food education and cooking class that doubled as an English class for new immigrants. *(photo from JFS)*

JFS settlement worker Tanya Finkelshtein helps connect new immigrants with “welcome circles” of volunteers that can help get them settled. “Housing is the number one problem in the Great Vancouver area, especially for newcomers. We [are] able to support some of our clients, but it is a serious issue,” said Finkelshtein, who works with about 70 Ukrainian families in JFS’s settlement program.

Affordable housing is key to creating adequate living conditions, including suitable employment.

“We have a family that was initially living outside of Vancouver,” Demajo said by way of example. The family’s efforts to connect with the Vancouver Jewish community were hampered by distance, as was their effort to find suitable employment. By connecting them with Tikva Housing and Temple Sholom Synagogue’s volunteer network, JFS was able to help the family resettle closer to employment opportunities and Jewish community programs. Tikva has since set aside two other units for JFS’s resettlement program.

But the search for housing continues to be a problem for new arrivals, so Demajo reached out to a property management company with well-known connections in the Jewish community. Shannon Gorski, whose family owns Belmont Properties, said JFS was looking for a couple of apartments that could provide temporary housing for Ukrainian immigrants. Gorski, who also serves on the JFS board and is the managing director of the Betty Averbach Foundation, reached out to Belmont’s board of directors “and then I learned … that they had been approached by someone in the rental world, Bob Rennie, and they had already stepped up to the plate.” Gorski said the board agreed to provide four units free of charge for four months.

The offer couldn’t have come at a better time for Alexander and Katrina Zubrys, who had been living out of a hotel since arriving from Kherson. The 1,200-square-foot apartment meant the couple could enrol their two children in a Jewish day school close by.

“The school is located 10 minutes from our house,” said Alexander, who acknowledged that, for his 5-year-old son Artem, “the biggest problem is English.” With the school’s help, Alexander said Artem and Sophie, 13, are adapting to their new surroundings and new language.

According to Gorski, the Zubrys family is the only one so far to request temporary housing from Belmont. “My concern is there are so many other families out there that don’t know that the Jewish community is here to help them,” she said. Thus, the challenge isn’t just finding available housing for current clients, but getting the word out to those arriving who don’t know who or how to ask for help.

As for finding new housing for the program, Gorski encourages other companies to get involved. “We are proud to be able to help the Zubrys family and we would like to help other families once identified,” she said. “And we challenge other property management families to step up as well.”

She is confident that, once alerted that Belmont Properties has donated temporary accommodations to the program, other property owners “would answer the call. I have no doubt that they would.”

Demajo said the settlement program wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without the assistance of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, which sent out an emergency appeal to the community to fund the project.

“Our community and our Federation have a history of responding quickly and generously whenever and wherever help is needed and we can be incredibly proud of the way our community responded to the crisis in Ukraine,” said Federation chief executive officer Ezra Shanken. “We didn’t spring into action the day the war broke out – we work year-round building communities and partnerships around the world and here at home so that we have the systems in place to make an impact.”

Demajo said Temple Sholom and Congregation Schara Tzedeck are playing a role in supporting new immigrants. Both run their own programs and have collaborated with JFS to make sure new arrivals are supported, she said.

“We continue to support these families now, helping some find vehicles, others looking for new jobs,” said Temple Sholom’s Rabbi Dan Moskovitz.

For the Zubrys family, the support system is what made the 9,100-kilometre migration possible. It’s Gorski’s “big heart” and the help of JFS and other volunteers that made it possible to finally find a new home, said Alexander.

For information about how to offer temporary housing and other help for Ukrainian refugees, contact Tanya Finkelshtein at 604-257-5151.

Jan Lee is an award-winning editorial writer whose articles and op-eds have been published in B’nai B’rith Magazine, Voices of Conservative and Masorti Judaism and Baltimore Jewish Times, as well as a number of business, environmental and travel publications. Her blog can be found at multiculturaljew.polestarpassages.com.

Garden welcomes visitors

Vancouver Talmud Torah students of all ages worked together to prepare the Vancouver Jewish Community Garden. (photo from VTT)

The first few weeks of spring have been a particularly busy time for Vancouver Talmud Torah (VTT) students. Armed with child-size wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes and plenty of enthusiasm, students spent last March preparing the soil for Vancouver Jewish Community Garden. VTT’s head of school, Emily Greenberg, said the formidable task of building up the garden, which will provide crops for a variety of food security initiatives in the community, has been a big hit with the kids.

“We had every single one of our students, including our littlest 3-year-olds, coming out to the garden and helping to move soil into the planter boxes,” Greenberg said, adding that it took about a week to fill all of the planters. “At the beginning of the week, I saw a mountain that was easily over seven feet tall of dirt and, by the end of the week, they had taken it down to the ground.”

Their work paved the way for two community days in early April, in which families from throughout Metro Vancouver turned out to help.

The Vancouver Jewish Community Garden is the brainchild of three Jewish agencies: VTT, Congregation Beth Israel (BI) and Jewish Family Services (JFS). Approximately 1,800 square feet of the 6,000-square-feet garden will be dedicated to growing food to support various BI and JFS initiatives. The property will also include an education centre, walking paths and seating areas.

BI’s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld said the synagogue has been looking for ways to grow food that could support its philanthropic programs, such as the Veggie Club, which cooks up fresh soup that’s distributed through JFS, and One Heart Dinner, which provides sit-down meals to community members experiencing homelessness or food insecurity. He said the new garden will not only supply BI’s programs with freshly grown food, but serve as an outdoor classroom for its Hebrew school and for expanding community education programs.

“We will be creating and using this opportunity for our Hebrew school students to literally learn [about] Judaism connected to the land while getting their hands dirty in the garden,” Infeld said.

According to the rabbi, the garden’s unique gift isn’t just that it can teach community members how to grow food. “This garden is truly about feeding hunger, whether we are talking about those who physically hungry or those who are spiritually and Jewishly hungry as well,” he said, noting Judaism attaches communal responsibility to the act of growing food, instructing Jews to dedicate parts of their crops to those in need, a commandment that dovetails with the garden’s very purpose.

“Judaism [also] commands us to say blessings before and after every time we eat, to recognize that we are given a gift of food from God. When we go to the supermarket and we buy our food and prepare it and make it, it’s easy to forget from where it came.”

The tasks involved in building and tending this garden, he explained, also serve to remind us that food doesn’t arrive easily. “It needs a lot of hard work, it needs our interaction and it needs divine intervention” in order to feed a family. “By being involved in the farming and producing and the growing of food, our community will be able to see in front of their eyes what the Jewish laws pertaining to eating are really all about,” Infeld said.

For JFS, it made sense to support a program that produces food for community sustainability initiatives and also serves as a classroom for youth education, said JFS chief executive officer Tanja Demajo.

“The garden is a very important part of the food justice and inclusion and community engagement [programs] that we are trying to build through the Kitchen and our food initiatives,” she said. “So, it really wasn’t hard for us to lend our support and voice. It was very meaningful, and what’s even more meaningful is this opportunity to build partnerships between VTT and BI. That’s quite unique and amazing.

“It is really neat to see how we can all think through different lenses of the ways to build a community; how to put education … and community engagement and food production together and create this accessible space for everyone to participate in.”

photo - Vancouver Talmud Torah students filling planters at the Vancouver Jewish Community Garden — Vancouver Talmud Torah students filling planters at the Vancouver Jewish Community Garden. *(photo from VTT)*

Greenberg said this may be the first project of its kind – several Jewish agencies with differing mandates partnering to create a community garden.

“That is something that we are really proud of and we hope it sets a standard for collaboration, because we are always stronger together, and we know that this is something that was only achievable because we were able to work together to accomplish it,” she said.

According to Greenberg, several founding donors played an important role in making the garden possible.

“The Diamond Foundation secured a long-term lease of this land for future development,” she said. “We would like to thank the Diamond Foundation for allowing us the opportunity to use this land for a Jewish community garden on a temporary basis.”

Greenberg said they are also grateful to the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, in partnership with the Jewish Community Foundation and the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, for their significant financial seed gifts.

photo - Left to right: Tanja Demajo (Jewish Family Services), Emily Greenberg (Vancouver Talmud Torah) and Rabbi Jonathan Infeld (Congregation Beth Israel) contributed leadership and labour to the new Vancouver Jewish Community Garden, a joint initiative of their respective organizations. The community is invited to an open house May 28 — Left to right: Tanja Demajo (Jewish Family Services), Emily Greenberg (Vancouver Talmud Torah) and Rabbi Jonathan Infeld (Congregation Beth Israel) contributed leadership and labour to the new Vancouver Jewish Community Garden, a joint initiative of their respective organizations. The community is invited to an open house May 28. *(photo from VTT)*

With the planters filled and seeded, the garden is now well on its way. Community members spent April planting a cornucopia of flowering plants like black-eyed Susans, purple coneflowers, sweet peas and sunflowers. Fruit trees, including apple and plum, already had been planted, along with grapes, raspberries, strawberries, and lettuces.

“Once we begin having students regularly in the garden, we will be holding lessons for all students, from rishonim (3-year-olds) to Grade 7,” Greenberg said, noting that the new classroom melds well with the school’s iSTEAM (Israel innovation, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) program. “The garden gives us an opportunity to dive deep into iSTEAM and look at, for example, drip irrigation,” an Israeli invention that the community garden will be using and which is now used globally. “It’s completely transformed the agricultural sector,” Greenberg said. “So, for kids to see how innovation has come out of Israel and is then being transplanted all over the world … [it is] a very meaningful way for them to engage in learning about Israel as well.”

Finding ways to build connections to Israel is also a priority for BI. “We are always looking for opportunities to meet our goals of bringing Jews closer to God, Torah and Israel,” Infeld said. Michelle Dodek has been hired to help teach the Hebrew school students about the ancient and enduring connection between Judaism and the land.

Demajo said work in the garden doesn’t stop now that the plants are in the ground. There will still be room for more volunteers to get their hands dirty and participate in its maintenance.

“There will be a place to engage, whether it is with growing food, whether it is with programs that are more social or it’s more related to education,” Demajo said. Individuals who didn’t have an opportunity to volunteer for the build-up of the garden can reach out to Maggie Wilson at [email protected] for more information and to register as a volunteer.

On May 28, 3-5 p.m., the garden, which is located adjacent to the synagogue, will open its doors to visitors for the first time. Organizers are asking those who would like to attend the open house and fundraiser to register using the link at talmudtorah.com/vjcg, so they have an idea of how many people will be attending.

Building bridges to inclusion

Volunteers from the Jewish community turn up each June to prepare, label and deliver freshly cooked meals to Black families as a sign of community support. (photo by JFS photo by Madison Slobin)

How do you build a more inclusive Jewish community, one that thrives on diversity? For Vancouver’s Jewish Family Services, says chief executive officer Tanja Demajo, resilience starts with building bridges. And it flourishes with finding common links between cultures.

During the last few years, JFS has been expanding the programs it offers to Jewish communities throughout Metro Vancouver, and looking for new ways to enrich conversations around diversity and inclusion.

Projects like the Shiva Delivers partnership with Vancouver’s Black community and Twice Blessed 2.0: The Jewish LGBTQ2SIA+ Initiative are helping forge alliances and cultural understanding.

Sharing home-cooked meals

Shiva Delivers, which provides traditional home-cooked meals to Black families dealing with loss and grief, was started by Madison Slobin and Becca Schwenk in 2020 following the death of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 of that year during a routine traffic stop by Minneapolis police. His death ignited protests in cities across North America, including Vancouver. According to Demajo, Shiva Delivers emerged as “a response to the social injustice and the grief that the Black community were experiencing.” (See also jewishindependent.ca/providing-comfort-and-hope.)

Slobin and Schwenk ran the program independently the first year with a cadre of volunteers from the local Jewish community. In 2022, JFS jumped on board, offering its kitchen as an operation centre for the project, which takes place every June. According to Slobin, Jewish families from across Vancouver signed up to cook full-course meals and carry out the deliveries, inspired by the very Jewish tradition of responding to tragedy and mourning with food.

“When someone in our community is grieving, we support them with food and with showing up and saying, ‘we’re here for you,’” Slobin said, noting that the concept was popular with volunteers from the start. “We had young Jews participating, we had Orthodox Jews participating, we had [people] from all spectrums [of the community].”

According to Demajo, news about the program arrived at the right time for JFS.

“JFS was going through this exploration of how do we work with and reach out to different communities,” Demajo said. “What we really learned was, first of all, a large Jewish community was interested in making this connection and intercultural exchange … with the Black community and showing their solidarity. And, on the other hand, the Black community was just touched by the fact that another cultural group offered that support.”

Demajo said she received many expressions of thanks from Black community members stunned by the gesture – and the elaborate dishes. “Are all Jewish people such good cooks?” one person called to find out. “Your food is amazing!”

But the project also helped JFS confirm that there were members of the Black community who were Jewish but not affiliated with the Jewish

community. Demajo said she realized this when a young woman who had received one of the dinners contacted her to ask why the Jewish community was doing this.

“Well, you know,” Demajo told the woman, “we have Black people in [our] community as well, and we want to build bridges and reach out [and] learn from each [other’s communities].” A moment later, Demajo said she heard the woman’s child calling to her. The child was speaking in Hebrew. “And that kind of took me back a little bit,” Demajo admitted.

It turned out the woman had moved here from Israel some years earlier but wasn’t participating in the Vancouver Jewish community. “Even though I lived in Israel,” she told Demajo, “I’ve never felt part of the community here.”

“And I realized at that moment,” Demajo said, “how important this [program] is, because we don’t know who the people are that we seem to support, until we actually do reach out and hear these stories.”

Slobin said the project not only inspires more opportunities for sharing between the two communities, it’s helping convey an important message to Black Jews that they are indeed a welcome part of the Jewish community. “Every single year that we have done it, we have had Black Jews participate and express how meaningful it is for them to see their own community recognize them in this way,” said Slobin.

Being more welcoming

Twice Blessed 2.0: The Jewish LGBTQ2SIA+ Initiative formed in response to a survey that JFS and JQT Vancouver (a volunteer-run Jewish queer and trans nonprofit) compiled in 2021 to determine the needs of the local LGBTQ2SIA+ community. The results were released earlier this year.

Some respondents said they feel unwelcome in the greater Jewish community, while others stated they feel ostracized by the LGBTQ2SIA+ community because they are Jewish. Most respondents felt that clear “‘indicators of support’ for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community would make them more inclined to participate in the Jewish community.”

“Our commitment to diversity and inclusion must speak through our actions, and not only our words.

Although not an easy task, it is an imperative one,” wrote Demajo and JQT executive director Carmel Tanaka in the report, which can be found at jqtvancouver.ca/twice-blessed-2. (See also jewishindependent.ca/thirteen-calls-for-action.)

“One of the lessons we need to learn is, how do we make our agency more welcoming for different people?” Demajo said, “And, very simply, how do we do that in a dignified way?”

These questions are also helping JFS reexamine how it’s interacting with other cultures and communities when it’s providing social and economic support to Jewish families.

“I think it’s important for us as a community to understand the clients that we support live in very diverse neighbourhoods, which means that probably, on a daily basis, they see a lot of diversity and they live in those circles. When we as an agency provide certain supports to one targeted group and exclude their neighbours … that creates a lot of tension that gets reflected in their day-to-day life. So, at the end of the day, we all go home but they have to deal with the aftermath of the way we provided services … and this is why, on our end, it became really clear that, in order to support our clients, it’s not just a question of providing services directly to them,” explained Demajo. “It’s also ensuring that they have a safe community, a community of allies, a community that they can rely on when we’re not around. By building these bridges between all these different groups, I believe that we can create that.”

Learning from the past

JFS is currently exploring a number of new projects focused on diversity and social inclusion, both within the Jewish community as well as forming relationships outside its cultural space. JFS’s the Kitchen is often the meeting space.

“I think the beauty of having a kitchen is having a space for, again, sharing the stories and experiences through food,” Demajo said.

Recently, JFS has been partnering with organizations like CIJA and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver to explore ways in which different cultures can share their culinary traditions, stories and passions.

Demajo said JFS is also doing a review of some of the programs it has offered in the past. “We really want to learn from things that went well, things that did not go well, and we understand in this space that there will be a lot of road [to travel], which is not easy. But it takes a lot of courage to step outside of that comfort zone as well.”

About tikkun olam, repairing the world, she said, “Conversation may start with a handful of like-minded people, but it takes diversity and acceptance to build an inclusive community.

Jan Lee is an award-winning editorial writer whose articles and op-eds have been published in B’nai B’rith Magazine, Voices of Conservative and Masorti Judaism and Baltimore Jewish Times, as well as a number of business, environmental and travel publications. Her blog can be found at multiculturaljew.polestarpassages.com.

RJDS’s new early ed program

Richmond Jewish Day School preschool children gather for Shabbat celebration, with Sara Solomon assisting. (photo from RJDS)

Sara Solomon, Richmond Jewish Day School’s new program director for early education, knows firsthand the importance of a community-centred Jewish day school. She can remember making the daily half-hour bus ride each way from Richmond to Vancouver to attend the nearest Jewish elementary school. It wasn’t until 1992, when RJDS opened its doors, that she could attend school closer to home. But it isn’t sentimentality that has drawn her back to RJDS. It is the school’s novel and forward approach to teaching elementary education.

“[RJDS’s] family-centred culture of the school and the progressive approach to education … aligned with my own values,” said Solomon, who graduated from Langara College in 2010 with a diploma in early childhood education and a certificate in special needs. She said the school’s focus on innovative teaching methods for individualized education aligns with her own practice of “emergent curriculum” – a teaching method that supports the belief that children excel when they are permitted to learn at their own speed and according to their own strengths, interests and abilities – was a deciding factor when it came to applying for the position.

RJDS offers two preschool programs: Gan Alef, for infants and toddlers (0-3 years old) and Gan Bet, for children ages 3-5. For both, the school employs what RJDS principal Sabrina Bhojani refers to as a “constructivist play-based approach” to education. Instead of using teacher-led lessons and activities, educators use curiosity and inspiration to nurture the child’s development. “This provides opportunities, experiences and materials that are responsive to children’s interests and passions,” said Bhojani.

photo - Richmond Jewish Day School principal Sabrina Bhojani — Richmond Jewish Day School principal Sabrina Bhojani. *(photo from RJDS)*

Although the children are usually in group settings, individuality of expression is encouraged. “We also weave Judaic concepts and history through storytelling; language and traditions are experienced through holiday celebrations and Hebrew songs,” Bhojani explained.

“We try to incorporate [the curriculum] in as natural a way as possible without it seeming like we’re inputting information,” Solomon added. The curriculum often uses Jewish holidays to inspire exploration of colours, themes and Hebrew words. “For Sukkot, [we had] a picture of a sukkah and there was a discussion about what the sukkah is, how it’s used,” she said by way of example.

The school also had a small sukkah outside that the students could visit. “The younger children were given some natural materials the teachers collected from outside,” along with some paints. “The older group were given the leaves or needles from an evergreen tree for the roof, some popsicle sticks and a few other things. There was no expectation for it to look like a sukkah,” Solomon explained, noting that the kids weren’t given specific exercises or told to decorate the structure. But the materials were provided for creative expression and exploration that eventually led to decorating the sukkah.

Bhojani said the new RJDS-run early education centre was created to overcome several challenges facing the Richmond Jewish community. The first was to expand access to early childhood education, an urgent need that is being felt throughout the Metro Vancouver area and beyond.

According to Bhojani, infant-toddler spaces are in high demand across British Columbia. “In the last few years, the number of childcare spaces has simply not been enough to meet the needs of families. This has been a province-wide issue, but it has been far worse for families in Richmond, particularly those families seeking a place they could be assured that their Jewish children could express themselves in an authentic manner.” At the moment, she said, “RJDS Early Learning Centre is the only Jewish child care in the Lower Mainland that accepts child under 18 months old.”

The new centre will support continuity of education for children throughout the elementary school experience.

photo - Sara Solomon when she was in sixth grade at RJDS. Solomon was one of the school’s first graduates — Sara Solomon when she was in sixth grade at RJDS. Solomon was one of the school’s first graduates. *(photo from Sara Solomon)*

Bhojani said the previous preschool was run by an independent contractor that rented space from RJDS, but its curriculum wasn’t synchronized with what was being taught in the upper grades. “[Being] that it was a third-party organization, we had no authority or oversight in the daycare’s programming,” she said. With the demand for childcare spaces, the former preschool also wasn’t able to guarantee availability for families that wanted to enrol all of their children at RJDS for preschool through Grade 7 attendance.

“We realized quickly we needed our own licensed facility,” and one that fit with the new lesson plans, Bhojani said. “Soon after, we made a commitment to building our own learning centre in order to be able to better serve our community.” That included renovating parts of the school.

The improvements were paid for by two local grants, one of which was specifically tailored to increasing the number of childcare spaces in British Columbia. The B.C. New Spaces fund, offered through the provincial government, helped cover the cost of structural renovations in the preschool area.

The second grant came from the Jewish Community Foundation, which provides unrestricted grants for a wide variety of community needs. While the school did not disclose the amounts they received from each grant, Solomon said the two grants allowed them to make targeted upgrades in time for the 2022/23 school year.

“So far, we have been able to repaint the building, put in all new flooring, upgrade the lighting, and the next steps are going to be some plumbing upgrades,” Solomon said.

The school will still have some further additions to make, such as a new washer and dryer, a sink in one of the classrooms and some improvements in the outdoor play space. Solomon said she is hoping the school will be able to develop an engaging play area, where classes can be held outdoors, too. “We have the most beautiful property here,” she said. “We are on farmland and we are really hoping that we can incorporate that into our outdoor play space.”

Bhojani said the school’s new early education program director comes with the life experience and drive that will help make the new preschool a real success. “As an original RJDS graduate, current school parent and former board member, Sara Solomon has an unparalleled dedication and commitment to our school,” said Bhojani. “She, along with a highly qualified and experienced staff, in the short time that we have been open, have created beautiful spaces in which children feel nurtured and loved.”

Israel’s Christian fellowship

Yael Eckstein, president and chief executive officer of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. (photo from IFCJ)

Twice a year, the president and chief executive officer of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Yael Eckstein, heads into Ukraine’s rural districts to visit elderly Holocaust survivors. Eckstein says she prefers to make the three-hour flight to Kyiv from her office in Jerusalem in the winter, when the temperatures in Ukraine have often plummeted, and country roads to small, out-of-the-way villages are overgrown with ice and snow and almost impassable. She knows that’s when these Jews, most of whom are in their 80s and 90s now, will need help most: when the summer’s vegetable harvest is almost gone and there’s no money by which to purchase food, when “it’s freezing, so freezing you can’t feel your fingers and there’s no heat” because there’s also no electricity.

For 18 years, Eckstein has been making this trek to connect with Ukraine’s most vulnerable Jews, those who survived the pogroms and Nazi exterminations in the 1930s and ’40s and are distrustful of their neighbours, so have lived self-sufficiently for decades. For many of these residents, Eckstein said, maintaining formal connections with local Jewish communities is viewed as a risk. “They don’t want to be on any lists of the Jewish community or of the synagogue, because they were the lists that Ukrainians used in order to find the Jews and kill them [during the Holocaust].” And so, for decades, they have done their best to live on what they can grow and preserve themselves.

“That’s a lot of hard, physical labour and work. When they get to 80 or 90 years old, suddenly they can’t do that any more. They can’t go chop wood [for their wood-burning stoves]. They can’t grow the vegetables,” said Eckstein. And they can’t haul enough water from the well ahead of winter to store in their kitchens when it’s icy, “so it leaves them literally starving, without heat and water.”

This past winter, those needs became even more pressing. The IFCJ was already networking with the country’s many small Jewish communities when Russia began amassing its forces at the Ukrainian border. About 200,000 Jews in the former Soviet Union were receiving humanitarian aid, including life-saving aliyah to Israel. A war could further jeopardize Ukraine’s most vulnerable residents.

“Around four days before the war broke out in Ukraine, I flew into Kyiv and assessed the needs on the ground,” said Eckstein. “When I got back [to Israel] the first thing I did was [give] a $1 million emergency preparedness grant to Jewish communities across Ukraine.” She urged them to use the money to buy canned food, mattresses and other emergency supplies in case war broke out. Eckstein said they also connected with major charities in Ukraine, to formulate a broader plan for helping Jewish refugees displaced by the conflict.

As a Jewish philanthropy organization whose success is largely driven by Christian donors, the IFCJ holds a unique role in garnering support for Israel and Jewish causes. It remains one of the largest pro-Israel charities in the world and its data show that it has raised more than $2.6 billion US for Israeli and Jewish causes since its inception in 1983. Since this February, the organization has contributed more than $6 million in aid to Ukrainian Jewish communities, with $1.5 million coming through its Canadian affiliate, the IFCJ Canada.

When it comes to raising funds and support for aliyah, the IFCJ is a powerhouse. In 2021, it brought more than 5,500 olim (immigrants) to Israel. Another 4,000 were resettled this year, including 38 Holocaust survivors who got to Moldova on stretchers. The cost of the transportation to Israel and medical treatment were paid for by the IFCJ, “but the second they landed in Israel, the Israeli government took full responsibility,” said Eckstein.

But, as stated, aliyah isn’t the only way that the IFCJ has provided aid to Ukrainian Jews. In February, the Moldovan government opened its airspace so that the IFCJ could land a plane carrying 15 tons of supplies for Ukrainian refugees displaced by the conflict.

“We off-loaded the 15 tons of humanitarian aid to our partners on the ground to drive it to [refugees] inside of Ukraine and then we loaded the plane with 180 Jewish refugees who were making aliyah and flew them to Israel. When we had enough olim to fill two flights, we immediately flew two flights,” Eckstein said.

photo - Partnering with other Jewish aid organizations has been key to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews’ efforts to provide aid for Ukraine refugees — Partnering with other Jewish aid organizations has been key to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews’ efforts to provide aid for Ukraine refugees. *(photo by Jhanelle Alleyne / IFCJ)*

Partnerships are key to the success of many of IFCJ’s programs, especially to getting food and clothing to those in need. “We gave the [Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)] and Chabad, for example, millions of dollars. The IFCJ often works with the Jewish Agency in Israel, as well. We create the criteria and the program and they are able to implement it on the ground,” explained Eckstein. “[In] areas like Moldova, when there’s no one else who is able to do it, the fellowship creates the programmatic ability and implements the life-saving plans” that are then carried out by partners.

The IFCJ (initially called the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews) was launched in 1983 by Yael Eckstein’s father, the late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. According to the organization’s website, its mission was “to fulfil his vision of building bridges of understanding and cooperation between Christians and Jews,” a focus that was reflected in the rabbi’s writings, speeches and broadcasts. In 1990, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fellowship launched its On Wings of Eagles program to fund the transport of Soviet Jews to Israel.

In 2003, the fellowship’s sister organization, IFCJ Canada, was launched to connect with Canadian donors. It contributes to a variety of global humanitarian programs.

“In regard to aliyah,” said IFCJ Canada executive director Jackie Gotwalt, “we work on the ground with local partners providing support and resources for newly landed olim to help them start their new lives in the Holy Land.”

photo - The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews chartered planes and facilitated the aliyah of thousands of Jews this year — The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews chartered planes and facilitated the aliyah of thousands of Jews this year. *(photo by Jhanelle Alleyne / IFCJ)*

Since 2003, the Canadian organization has raised more than $120 million from its largely Christian donorship, which goes both to supporting aliyah and humanitarian aid in the former Soviet Union and other countries with at-risk Jewish populations, such as Ethiopia, Venezuela and, recently, France.

“The IFCJ focuses on support from Christian friends of the Jewish people to further efforts we support to address the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and in bordering countries and, in particular, assist members of the Jewish community caught in this tragic conflict,” Steven Shulman said.

Shulman serves as the president and chief executive officer of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, which ensures direction and control of charitable funds raised by Jewish federations throughout Canada. He said the Jewish federations across Canada and IFCJ fundraise independently, though they both work with the Jewish Agency and the American JDC to further the same goals, which are to facilitate aliyah for those who request it and provide humanitarian aid to Jewish communities in the region.

Eckstein said there are many reasons why their Christian donorship contributes to the IFCJ, but at the core is a sense of obligation and a belief that they are doing their part to help Israel stay strong.

“It’s really biblical. Protestant and Evangelical Christians are mostly our donor base. What makes them unique from the other streams of Christianity is that they put a big focus on the Torah. They read the Tanach, what they call the Old Testament,” which places an emphasis on helping the Jewish people return to Israel, Eckstein explained.

“What I’ve seen in the past 18 years of working with Christian friends of Israel is they feel so lucky to be able to play a small part in both saving Jewish lives who [they feel] have been forgotten, neglected [or] persecuted by [others]. [The fact that] now, as Christians, they are able to help them, is something they feel [is] an opportunity and privilege.”

Jan Lee is an award-winning editorial writer whose articles and op-eds have been published in B’nai B’rith Magazine, Voices of Conservative and Masorti Judaism and Baltimore Jewish Times, as well as a number of business, environmental and travel publications. Her blog can be found at multiculturaljew.polestarpassages.com.

New havens amid war

The Masorti synagogue in Chernivtsi Ukraine has become a refuge for Ukrainians fleeing the war. Its new aron kodesh, built by grateful refugees, has become a symbol of the partnership being forged between small, out-of-the-way communities and those fleeing for safety. (photo from Schechter Institutes Inc.)

As the war in Ukraine continues, educational and religious organizations that helped support the country’s fledgling Jewish communities are finding they have a new mandate these days: to help the millions of refugees that have been left homeless by the Russian invasion.

More than 12 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine, eight million of whom are internally displaced. According to a May 5 report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, most of those affected are women and children. In many cases, the refugees have either lost family members in the bombings or have been separated from loved ones. A significant number are struggling to find shelter, food and resources.

Schechter Institutes Inc. president Rabbi David Golinkin told the Independent that synagogues and Jewish day schools have become refuges for Jews and non-Jews alike in recent months. The institute’s educational program, Midreshet Schechter Ukraine, which partners with Masorti Olami, provides funding and educational services for Conservative communities in Ukraine. Golinkin said three of the four Masorti (Conservative) synagogues are located in regions that have been hit by bombing, including in Kyiv, where Schechter had just opened a facility in January.

Golinkin said the two nonprofits had spent more than a year finalizing the purchase of a building that would be big enough to house a sanctuary, as well as a full array of youth programs and services. Two weeks after purchasing the property, however, Russia invaded Ukraine, forcing the community to suspend the opening. As Russian troops advanced toward Kyiv, community members were urged to leave the city. Some congregants sought refuge at the Masorti synagogue in Chernivtsi, near the Romanian border, while others headed out of the country to Poland, Moldova or Romania.

Three months into the war, the Chernivtsi synagogue, tucked away in southern Ukraine, has become known for its hospitality toward those fleeing the conflict. A steady flow of refugees fills the city every day, many turning up at the Masorti facility looking for a bed or a meal. Others head to the Chabad House located nearby. Golinkin said the two organizations have learned to work together, and will refer refugees to the other community when their own facility is full. No one is turned away, whether they are Jewish or not.

Schechter and Masorti Olami also work with partners across Western Europe, Israel and North America to help Ukrainians who are seeking refuge outside of the country. Rabbi Irina Gritsevskaya, who serves as the executive director for the educational programs of Midreshet Schechter and oversees programs in Ukraine, said hundreds of refugees have relocated to Israel, Berlin and other places with the help of Masorti congregations across Europe. She said the most moving example was the rescue of a teenage boy from eastern Ukraine whose parents had died. Volunteers made the 1,000-kilometre trip through war zones to bring him to Chernivtsi.

“[It] was a terrifying experience for him,” Gritsevskaya said, “since it took three days without basically sleeping or eating [to reach Chernivtsi]. Finally, with a lot of help from the Israeli government, we managed to bring him [to Israel].” She said he seems happy with his new home and his new school. “He always wanted to come to Israel,” she said.

Cities in eastern Ukraine are still hemorrhaging populations, driven by the escalating war in border cities and villages. Yuri Radchenko, who leads the Masorti synagogue in Kharkiv, is the director and co-founder of the Centre for Inter-Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe, a think tank of researchers who specialize in Eastern European and Jewish history. He said most of the members of his small synagogue were able to flee the city. A few chose to remain behind.

“Some teachers [have] elderly parents who are … unable to move from the city,” said Radchenko. He estimates that 30-50% of Kharkiv’s two million residents escaped before the Russians captured parts of the city, which has been heavily damaged from Russian shelling. Many residents sought cover for months in Kharkiv’s fortified subway and other makeshift shelters. Recent estimates suggest at least a quarter of Kharkiv’s residential housing has been destroyed, along with crucial infrastructure.

Still, Radchenko said many who fled the country hope that they may one day be able to return home. “People understand that it is hard to make a change,” he said, noting that immigrating to another country often means starting at a lower employment level in an unfamiliar culture. He speculated that some residents will follow the example of other postwar populations and return to rebuild their city if Ukraine wins the war. And, indeed, many of the residents who sought shelter in Kharkiv’s underground shelters are gradually returning home to repair their apartments and clean up the rubble.

Radchenko said he can empathize with them. Much of his own work was put on hold when he was forced to flee. “I would come back to Kharkiv,” he said definitively. “[If] I could move back, I would not wait. I think I would visit to see how it looks like, but I would come back if my apartment and the district where it’s located were safe.”

For now, Schechter and Masorti are taking the long view of the war. Russia’s continuing attacks mean increased risk to civilian populations, more refugees on the run and more uncertainty. The conflict also means an even greater need to bolster resources at the Chernivtsi synagogue, so that Jews can continue to come and pray, learn and find a good kosher meal there, and refugees can find support. But Schechter and Masorti know that a significant number of Jewish communities in Ukraine will need to be rebuilt. And that will take both time and money.

photo - The Masorti synagogue in Chernivtsi Ukraine has become a refuge for Ukrainians fleeing the war. Its new aron kodesh, built by grateful refugees, has become a symbol of the partnership being forged between small, out-of-the-way communities and those fleeing for safety — The Masorti synagogue in Chernivtsi Ukraine has become a refuge for Ukrainians fleeing the war. Its new aron kodesh, built by grateful refugees, has become a symbol of the partnership being forged between small, out-of-the-way communities and those fleeing for safety. *(photo from Schechter Institutes Inc.)*

Schechter’s director of development Michal Makov-Peled said the Cantors Assembly will be hosting an hour-long telethon of music and stories on June 12 to raise money for Schechter and Masorti Olami’s emergency campaign. She said the funds will go toward assisting Jewish communities in Ukraine, as well as increasing support for refugees, which is expected to be an ongoing need, for now.

“We have 11 apartments that we are renting [to refugees in Chernivtsi],” Makov-Peled said, adding that they also distribute food to Jewish communities in Kyiv and Odessa, where residents are slowly returning, but which have been economically impacted by the conflict.

In Chernivtsi, communities are also finding rhythm and a new way of life. Some are exploring ways to expand the small synagogue’s services, others want to pay back the generosity they have been shown. Gritsevskaya said the synagogue now has a new aron kodesh (ark) to house its Torah, built by grateful visitors who saw a need. “Many aren’t members of the Chernivtsi community, but were just passing through,” said Gritsevskaya.

The June 12 Cantors Assembly performance, Mivtza Ukraine, will be aired around the world on YouTube and Facebook. To make a donation or for more information, log on to cantors.org/mivtzaukraine.

Investing in the climate

Martin Thibodeau, RBC’s B.C. region president, will be honoured at the Ben-Gurion University Gala Dinner June 14. (photo from RBC)

On June 9, Ben-Gurion University president Daniel Chamovitz and members of the Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University (CABGU) will visit Vancouver to recognize the launch of its new School of Sustainability and Climate Change (SSCC) and the local supporters who have helped make its opening possible. In particular, Royal Bank of Canada and Martin Thibodeau, RBC’s B.C. region president, will be honoured at the event.

SSCC opened last October at BGU’s Be’er Sheva campus, where its growth has been rapid. Seven months old, the school currently offers two undergraduate degrees and four graduate-level environmental science-related degrees. Its two graduate fellowships, which have supported work in renewable energy and smart city design, were funded by RBC.

“The RBC Research Fund at BGU’s School of Sustainability and Climate Change [is] being established in Martin’s honour, [and] will enable undergraduate and graduate students to be trained as, and pursue meaningful careers as, climate change innovators, entrepreneurs and policy experts,” said David Berson, who serves as CABGU’s executive director for the B.C. and Alberta Region. The funding that is raised at the gala will help further SSCC’s research programs.

SSCC’s mandate isn’t just to address environmental concerns at home in Israel, said Chamovitz. It will have a global reach, as well. BGU is currently working to cement research partnerships with universities and countries that have similar interests in addressing climate challenges. Chamovitz said RBC’s investment in its new school will provide a pathway to meeting that global need.

“RBC was one of the early supporters of SSCC, and this support was essential for leveraging subsequent support,” he said. “The Royal Bank of Canada believes in us,” and that support has served as an encouraging model for other companies to invest in BGU’s programs as well, he said.

Lorne Segal, president of Kingswood Properties and director of the Vancouver Board of Trade, who is an honorary co-chair of the June event with his wife, Mélita Segal, said corporate sponsorship is crucial to startup programs like SSCC. He said corporate support is also vital to finding answers to environmental challenges like global warming.

“Sponsorship from leading businesses and industry leaders does provide imaginative solutions to complex issues impacting our people and the planet,” he said. “Without significant and generous sponsorship support, this crucial work, simply put, would not be possible.”

Segal said supporting initiatives that bring about positive change is part of Thibodeau’s nature.

“Martin Thibodeau truly is a lifelong builder of community,” said Segal. “He is deeply praised by Ben-Gurion University for his commitment to the cause of finding solutions to climate change. It is truly remarkable how much he and RBC Royal Bank have done to enhance the capacity of the Ben-Gurion University community programs and agencies, and advance the conversation on Canada’s transition to a net-zero economy.”

Thibodeau’s support of Canadian Jewish communities and of Israel goes back decades. Originally from Quebec, he served as RBC’s regional president in Montreal until he moved to Vancouver. He oversees some of the largest – and smallest – branches and more than 4,000 employees.

In 2015, while working in Montreal, Thibodeau volunteered as a co-chair for Quebec’s largest multi-day walk for women’s cancers, held by Pharmaprix, to raise money for research at the Jewish General Hospital. “I have been involved with the Jewish community for almost my entire RBC career,” he told the Independent.

He is a strong supporter of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and their community initiatives, and he has been to Israel several times. It was in 2014, said Thibodeau, that he and his wife, Caroline, visited Be’er Sheva and learned of BGU’s environmental research. “[I was] so inspired by the research [and] the innovation,” he said, noting that it wasn’t hard to get behind the creation of a school that was working to find solutions to climate concerns.

“It’s right there in front of me every day,” he said. “I am a proud father of three children and I believe we have a responsibility to make sure that our climate can continue to thrive, and well beyond my lifetime. It is my personal belief that we need to do that today more than ever.”

Thibodeau said it’s been an interesting journey since that first visit to BGU in 2014. “It’s become such a tough priority for the world,” he said of climate change. In Canada, among other things, he supported RBC’s Blue Water Project, which helped provide clean water access to Canadian communities.

Still, Thibodeau is a reticent honouree. He admits that he is uncomfortable with the idea that he will be the guest of honour at a gala, even if it is for a cause he loves. “I’m very humbled,” he said. “I don’t like to have that kind of spotlight on me.” But, he said, raising money for research that might one day create a safer and better environment, that is something he will gladly get behind.

photo - Mélita and Lorne Segal, honorary chairs of the BGU Gala Dinner for Sustainability and Climate Change — Mélita and Lorne Segal, honorary chairs of the BGU Gala Dinner for Sustainability and Climate Change. *(photo by The Collective You)*

The gala will also acknowledge Lorne and Mélita Segal, who are well-known for their philanthropy and other work. Both have been recognized by Capilano University with honorary doctor of letters, and Lorne Segal has a doctor of laws (hon.) from the Justice Institute of British Columbia. He was inducted into the Order of British Columbia for his work as founding chair of Free the Children’s WE Day Vancouver and as chair of the Coast Mental Health Courage to Come Back Awards. The Segals regularly open their home to fundraising galas.

“When Lorne and I built our home, we didn’t really do it for ourselves but, rather, to share it with the community,” said Mélita Segal. “Whether it was Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, Arts Umbrella, Chor Leoni, JNF [Jewish National Fund] or WE Charity … it has been a great joy for us and very fulfilling to give back and share in this way.”

Berson described the Segals as “tireless builders of community, leading by example while creating opportunities for people in the business world to make a difference in the lives of others. Ben-Gurion University, Canada, is genuinely fortunate to have their leadership for this event and for our organization.”

The Ben-Gurion Sustainability and Climate Change Gala on June 9 takes place at Fairmont Pacific Rim. Tickets and tables can be purchased at bengurion.ca/vancouver-gala-2022-tickets or by contacting Berson at [email protected].

BGU tackles climate change

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s School of Sustainability and Climate Change have been experimenting with alternative ways of irrigating trees, in this case, by floodwater. (photo by Dani Machlis/BGU)

“It is in the Negev that the creativity and pioneer vigour of Israel shall be tested,” David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, predicted in 1955.

The country was not even a decade old. Ben-Gurion was trying to inspire a growing population of immigrants, including Holocaust survivors, to realize their collective potential – to not just embrace a new home, but to build a new, resilient future. That legacy, he maintained, would be found in the most unlikely of places: in the harsh expanse of the country’s southern water-poor and undeveloped desert. But their hard work, he insisted, could one day transform Israel.

“In order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles,” he said.

Today, his vision for the Negev lives on at the university that was founded in his name. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev sits, not coincidentally, at the northern tip of the desert. Some 13,000 square kilometres of semi-arid, rocky terrain make up the Negev, punctuated by dry riverbeds and desolate vistas. It’s on the cusp of this wilderness that Israel’s first School of Sustainability and Climate Change (SSCC) was established last October.

This June, Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev will be holding a gala dinner in Vancouver to raise funds for the SSCC’s ongoing research. Co-chaired by Melita and Lorne Segal, the event will honour Royal Bank of Canada’s B.C. regional president, Martin Thibodeau, for his community-building efforts.

Existential research

According to BGU president Daniel Chamovitz, environmental research has always been a part of BGU’s mission. Water reclamation, sustainable food production and creating plant species that can survive in adverse environmental conditions have been continuing themes of study since the university’s inception in 1969. Establishing a school that could serve as an umbrella for diverse areas of climate and sustainability research was a natural progression.

“We are the engine, by necessity, of development and change in the Negev,” Chamovitz said. That existential motivation has not only led to new ways to desalinate sea water for industrial purposes and engineer new foods, but new collaborative opportunities with countries experiencing climate impacts. The university is home to three campuses that house climate- and sustainability-related studies, as well as a business park with more than 70 multinational companies. It’s also become fertile ground for Israel’s start-up industry and research collaboration.

Chamovitz said countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Morocco are looking to partner to solve common environmental challenges. Desertification, the erosion of arable lands driven by a changing climate and urbanization, now affects more than one-sixth of the world’s population. There are also real-time challenges in the Middle East, where dry lands predominate but research experience may be limited.

“The Abraham Accords here have been essential for the growth of the school,” said Chamovitz. It’s not only opened doors for political alliances, it’s fostered new research partnerships for institutions like BGU, he said.

“For 50 years, we have been learning to live in our desert,” he added, noting that what was once seen in Israel as a hyper-local challenge – how to live in a desert – has become a concern for an increasing number of countries.

This month, a delegation from Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) arrived in Israel to discuss a new research partnership with the university. The collaboration, which will focus broadly on addressing food insecurity, demands for smart agriculture and alternative energy options, will also lead to educational partnerships with UM6P. “They are very excited,” Chamovitz said. “We already have our first students [from Morocco].”

But international collaboration isn’t the only byproduct of the SSCC. There’s growing interest within Israel, as well.

“[The] school has become the magic dust which influences everything,” Chamovitz said, noting that departments and researchers without any seeming connection to climate change and sustainability are identifying ways to explore environmental subjects.

“One of the most surprising and fulfilling outcomes,” he said, “is that our department of Hebrew literature.… That’s when we knew we had succeeded – when Hebrew literature became part of the school.”

Prof. Noam Weisbrod, who directs SSCC’s Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, estimates that about 70% of BGU desert research, in one way or another, touches on topics related to climate change and sustainability. The list of departments is diverse, ranging from biology and medical sciences, to environmental geography and earth sciences.

“The idea is to team up and create a force which is focusing on climate change and sustainability and their impacts in different angles and different directions, and to enable multidisciplinary research” that attracts students who can lead the next generation of research into sustainable ways to combat climate change, Weisbrod said.

Mitigation imperative

In February of this year, the International Panel on Climate Change released its sixth report: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.

“Approximately 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change,” the IPCC stated, noting that “current unsustainable development patterns are increasing exposure of ecosystems and people to climate hazards.”

“Diminishing resources is a real challenge,” said Weisbrod, adding that the solutions may lie in how we manage those precious resources. “There is a lot of research on how to get more crop for drop of water. I like that sentence, ‘more crop for drop,’ because this is what we’re trying to do – to get the maximum crop for minimum resources,” he said.

The latest IPCC report suggests humanity is on the right path. Countries like the United Arab Emirates are taking action to protect water resources and reduce climate change impacts like desertification, steps that are part of BGU’s cooperative strategies with UAE.

According to Chamovitz, many of these advances wouldn’t be possible without investors that are willing to support sustainability initiatives. He noted that RBC was one of the SSCC’s first donors and has been important to the school’s success – in 2020, RBC, British Columbia, sponsored the first two research fellowships at SSCC.

Chamovitz will be a special guest at the Ben-Gurion University Gala Dinner for Sustainability and Climate Change on June 9 at Fairmont Pacific Rim. Tickets for the event are available from bengurion.ca/vancouver-gala-2022.

Tikva builds in accessibility

Dogwood Gardens, which is due to open later this year, features an open garden space with shading that is set off from the street. (photo by Lior Noyman Productions)

In October last year, Tikva Housing Society, in conjunction with YMCA Metro Vancouver and the Association of Neighbourhood Houses, opened Kerrisdale’s newest affordable housing project at Arbutus Centre. Named x^wƛ̓əpicən (pronounced “hook la’pitzen,” Musqueam for “the Hollow”), the 125-unit project is designed to meet a vital need in one of Vancouver’s most exclusive and high-priced residential areas: affordable housing that is also universally accessible to anyone with a disability.

“[The new project] includes nine adaptable units that are designed for people with mobility challenges who do not need a wheelchair or walker,” explained Anat Gogo, who serves as Tikva’s manager of programs and donor relations. The nonprofit finds creative ways to increase affordable housing, primarily for Jewish low- to moderate-income families and individuals.

Adaptable units mean that individuals who have accessibility needs are able to have the unit modified to meet their individual requirements, whether it’s grab bars in the hallway, structural adaptations that make it easier to cook or special lighting for low-vision needs. Many apartment buildings don’t allow tenants to make structural modifications, even to accommodate disabilities. By offering a limited number of adaptable units, fully accessible apartments can be reserved for individuals who require a wheelchair-adapted unit. Tikva manages five such rentals at the Arbutus property.

photo - The Arbutus Centre project has units in which the kitchen counters and appliances are lowered to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers — The Arbutus Centre project has units in which the kitchen counters and appliances are lowered to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers. *(photo from Tikva Housing)*

Projects like the one at Arbutus Centre are reflective of Tikva’s vision of affordable housing. “We are committed to fostering inclusive housing that serves all populations within the community,” said Gogo. It’s a mission that continues to adapt to the increasing demand for affordable housing in Greater Vancouver’s Jewish communities.

One of the drivers for finding new ways to increase accessible housing is Vancouver’s aging population, noted Gogo. “It’s important to recognize that our aging baby boomers will benefit from enhanced accessibility for those with mobility challenges.”

But it also benefits families and individuals of all ages who face barriers in their day-to-day living, she added. According to Statistics Canada (2017), more than six million Canadians live with one or more types of disability. Invisible disabilities are among the most frequent conditions noted, with housing options constricted by accessibility barriers, discrimination and employment limitations.

photo - An accessible bathroom features a roll-in shower and open design to accommodate walkers, wheelchairs and other mobility considerations — An accessible bathroom features a roll-in shower and open design to accommodate walkers, wheelchairs and other mobility considerations. *(photo from Tikva Housing)*

As a result, the B.C. Building Code now requires new and renovated buildings to be accessible to anyone with a disability, which includes “a person who has a loss, or a reduction, of functional ability and activity and includes a person in a wheelchair [or] a person with a sensory disability.” Adaptable housing that can be modified economically and at a later date is British Columbia’s newest technology to meeting that growing and variable demand.

According to Gogo, Tikva is exploring ways to ensure that accessible housing addresses all needs, including those associated with invisible disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder, vision disorders, and autoimmune conditions like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. She said Tikva actively seeks partnerships with other organizations that can support that expanding effort. “We have a great partner in the Jewish Family Services that is open to this initiative,” she noted.

The society also regularly networks with builders to explore new ways of meeting that goal. She said improved designs include features like “well-ventilated spaces, soundproof walls, signage that makes all tenants and visitors to the building know that this is an inclusive building.” Tikva also holds workshops and training for staff to help them engage with residents and stakeholders in the community.

The demand for accessible housing has also created new funding incentives that in turn will increase the amount of inclusive housing on the market. “Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is responsible for delivering [Canada’s] National Housing Strategy,” Gogo explained. The program offers reduced financing rates for nonprofits and developers whose housing developments comprise at least 20% of fully accessible units or universal design throughout the project.

“We take advantage of opportunities to advocate to all levels of government for special features to be included in design requirements that would improve quality of life for residents, including push-button door openers for accessible suites and amenity rooms, grab bars in all bathrooms, and wheelchair access to all outdoor amenity spaces,” said Gogo.

And Tikva is exploring ways to address other types of invisible disabilities, such as those triggered by environmental conditions. Gogo said the housing society is in the process of retrofitting one of its older buildings and is actively participating in the design stages. “We’re still in the very early stages of this planning,” she said, “but all considerations are on the table to create a living environment that would benefit our tenants no matter what their medical condition may be.… More research and public education would help build the case for those with invisible disabilities. Inclusive communities are those that recognize the diversity of our population, and that everyone deserves to have access to services, recreation and civic engagement.”

At the present time, three of the six properties Tikva operates have accessible housing. Dogwood Gardens, on 59th Avenue in the Marpole community, is due to open later this year, managed in joint cooperation with SUCCESS. For more information about available rentals, go to tikvahousing.org.