Left to right: Rabbi Philip Bregman, Archbishop Michael Miller and Rabbi Jonathan Infeld. (photo by Pat Johnson)
A lesson from a Jewish professor decades ago has remained with Archbishop Michael Miller all his life.
Miller retired last month as archbishop of Vancouver – head of the region’s nearly half a million Catholics. During his last week in office, he spoke with the Independent about his relationship with the Jewish community.
The new head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, has emphasized the need for dialogue between Catholics and Jews, and spoke almost immediately after his election as pontiff about how close the issue is to his heart. But Miller didn’t need a nudge from the Vatican. According to several Vancouver rabbis, Miller has been a stalwart friend to the community since he arrived in the city more than a decade-and-a-half ago.
When Miller was a student, he and a group of other young Catholics were in a professional setting with noted medieval scholar Julian Wasserman, who was Jewish. Someone made a comment that was antisemitic. Miller doesn’t remember the exact context, but he does remember what happened next. No one in the meeting had contested the antisemitic remark and the professor challenged them on it afterwards.
“I remember Julian expressed to us his disappointment,” said Miller. “And that stung, because it was true.”
It wasn’t as though Jews were unfamiliar to Miller. He grew up in a heavily Jewish neighbourhood in Ottawa and attended friends’ bar mitzvahs. At university and in seminary, he had several Jewish professors and he has always had an interest in Jewish topics.
As a member of the clergy, he sees interfaith dialogue as central to his role. “And the first place of dialogue, of course, is with the Jewish community,” he said, “which preexisted Christianity by at least 1,500 years, maybe 1,800 years.”
Miller was named archbishop of Vancouver in 2009. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, an archbishop is a bishop who leads an archdiocese. Above them are the cardinals who, among other roles, come together to elect a new pope, as they did last month.
Rabbi Philip Bregman, who leads an interfaith group called the Other People and is rabbi emeritus of Temple Sholom, has been in the city since 1980.
“It wasn’t until I met Archbishop Miller that I actually had a relationship with an archbishop,” Bregman told the Independent. “Even though Pope John XXIII [in the 1960s] had really opened the door of dialogue between Christians and Jews previously closed, it still took time before that concept actually trickled down. Archbishop Miller was the one who really walked the walk and not simply talked a talk.”
Bregman noted that he had heard the new pope speak about the necessity of Catholics renewing relationships with Jews.
“Archbishop Miller has been there for many, many years and we are tremendously grateful,” he said. “This is an incredible man, who has reached out to the Jewish community and has been there in the most open fashion, for dialogue, for consultation, for support.”
Rabbi Jonathan Infeld of Congregation Beth Israel had equally enthusiastic praise.
“His spiritual leadership, because of his forward thinking and his intelligence, goes well beyond the Catholic community and has truly touched the hearts and souls of all religious people in the city, which is really due to his leadership, his insight and his intelligence and we wish him the best of luck in retirement but are sad to see him leave,” said Infeld, who wandered the dozen or so blocks from the synagogue to the archbishop’s office to bid Miller farewell.
The archbishop’s relationship with the Jewish community was strong before Oct. 7, 2023, but has only strengthened since then. Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, Bregman’s successor as senior rabbi at Temple Sholom, has spoken publicly in appreciation of Miller’s support in the days after the terror attacks.
The lesson Miller learned from Prof. Wasserman decades earlier may have ensured he did not remain silent about what happened on Oct. 7.
“The history of the Jews in Germany before the Second World War, before there was blatant antisemitism, there was a lot of silence,” he said. “Even though we now know that a lot of people were uneasy, they were not uneasy enough to say anything. That silence is often very damning. That’s true, certainly, today as well [about antisemitism], but also on other issues where we are not so willing to speak up, [where] we are a little cowardly and we can find reasons to justify it.”
Before being appointed a bishop, Miller was a professor and later president at the University of St. Thomas, in Houston, Tex. In 2003, Pope John Paul II appointed him secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, in the Vatican. He came to Vancouver in 2007 as coadjutor – effectively, the assistant to the archbishop and the apparent successor.
Fluent in English, French, Spanish and Italian, Miller has authored several books on Catholic education and the papacy. He is succeeded by Archbishop Richard W. Smith, who previously served as archbishop of Edmonton.
Miller credits his team at the archdiocese office for their commitment to Catholic-Jewish dialogue, and he and Bregman both praised Ann Marie McGrath, who serves as the religion lead at St. Patrick Regional Secondary School in Vancouver. Bregman has connected McGrath with King David High School, and a new relationship is budding between those schools.
Miller has now relocated to Houston. He does not like the term “retirement,” he said, and his first few weeks have been filled with speaking engagements and other responsibilities. He will be sharing his wisdom when invited to do so.
“I’ll probably read more – I look forward to that – and, God willing,” he said, “pray a little more because not every moment will be scheduled as it has been.”
Dr. Terri Elizabeth Givens, professor of political science at the University of British Columbia, started her lecture with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “It takes empathy, patience and compassion to overcome anger, hatred and resentment.”
“And this really rings true during these times,” said Givens, who was giving the keynote address at Vancouver School of Theology’s May 27-29 conference called Compassion: Mutual Care in Troubled Times. “As an American, in particular, I’m very concerned about the situation. I really think it’s hard during times like this to have empathy and patience and compassion.”
Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, director of inter-religious studies at VST, introduced Givens, who spoke on May 27, giving the |opening lecture of VST’s annual inter-religious studies conference. Givens is the author of several books, including Radical Empathy: Finding a Path to Bridging Racial Divides. Her next book, Reckoning: Creating Positive Change Through Radical Empathy, will be released in October. She has written on immigration policy, European politics, right-wing politics and more.
Dr. Terri Elizabeth Givens gave the keynote lecture for the Vancouver School of Theology’s May 27-29 conference Compassion: Mutual Care in Troubled Times. (photo from terrigivens.com)
Givens grew up in Spokane, Wash., did her undergrad at Stanford University and PhD at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her first job was at University of Washington, in Seattle, then she and her husband moved to Austin, where their careers took off. Before UBC, Givens worked at McGill University, first as a lead and advisor on the university’s plan to address anti-Black racism, then as an associate dean.
She started studying the radical right in Europe in the mid-1990s, having first become aware of their existence in 1986, when she visited France as an undergrad. At that time, Jean-Marie Le Pen was on the rise.
“I was one of the first Americans to even pay attention to this topic,” said Givens, who added that all her research is “really about how do we create change – that’s the underlying push for all of this.”
The professor shared some of her personal history, how she was raised, her father’s death in 2001, instances of racism experienced by her parents– her mother, who grew up in rural Louisiana in the 1930s, and her dad, who was born in 1928 near Pittsburgh. Her parents met in Los Angeles but chose to live in Spokane because they thought it would be safer for their kids.
“I think, in telling my story, I’m trying to talk about the different identities we have,” she said. For example, she is a mom, a teacher, an athlete, and more.
For Givens, integrity also has multiple variations. There’s physical integrity, taking care of ourselves. There’s integrity in terms of being honest and straightforward. And there’s integrity in terms of having a solid foundation.
Identity and integrity come into play with radical empathy, which comprises, according to Givens, six steps: a willingness to be vulnerable, becoming grounded in who you are, opening yourself to the experiences of others, practising empathy, taking action, and creating change and building trust.
About the first step, she said, “It’s not about being vulnerable with others, it’s aboutbeing vulnerable with yourself…. We have a really hard time [with that] – even just giving ourself a pat on the back is hard…. But the reason that’s so important is … you need to become grounded in who you are, and that’s an ongoing process.”
Taking care of yourself and being grounded in yourself allows you to be open to others, she said.
Radical empathy is circular, said Givens. “It’s a constant movement towards becoming who you want to be. You want to have goals for yourself that reach beyond where you are now, but also you want to have a process to get there.”
We can tap into our integrity, she said, by telling our story, where we fit in family, community, education, health, love and marriage, relationships, and work.
“Empathy is not absolution,” she said. “It doesn’t mean I have tosay everything is OK…. Sometimes, people do things that I don’t believe are good for anybody. And so, that’s an important component and, for me, it helps me tap into my integrity because I have to create those boundaries and make sure that I understand where I fit into this broader picture and in the community.”
As she ages, the health aspect is something she is dealing with more. “My dad had a heart attack at 72, my mom had a stroke at 75. Why those things happen, how to understand that, is a big part of our ability tofunction.”
With respect to love and marriage, she said, “When people ask me what’s important in the relationship, it’s, well, you want to be with somebody who makes you a better person. And that it’s reciprocal.”
This is something that applies to relationships in general, she added.
“Work is a huge part of our lives. I think sometimes we forget how important it is to make sure that our work is something that, regardless of what you do, you take pride in it. It may be something that you don’t want to be doingforever but, where you are right now, it’s important that your work is a part of your story.”
We can’t change the past, but we can change how we go forward, Givens said. “There are these lifelong self-reflection processes that help us learn from the people around us, whether they’re clients or colleagues or friends, and cultural humility is being willing to say I don’t know everything.”
She said, “Too many leaders are full of themselves. It’s good to be modest about your capabilities. And here’s wherevulnerability comes in. You have to be willing to admit mistakes. And I really believe that, if you have integrity, that’s not so difficult, to admit mistakes – it’s like, I’m a human being, I’m not perfect, and [having an] awareness of bias…. We know that the system is set up often in a biased way and we talk about meritocracy but what does that mean? It’s not just that you hire people who look like you or are really similar to you – it’s being willing to look beyond that and say, no, this person is the best person for the job even though we don’t have a whole lot in common.”
Givens spoke about having a curiosity about others, having an open mindset, listening without judgment and seeking, with empathy, to understand people. “And then, cultural intelligence is being attentive to other cultures and to adapt as required.”
In the question-and-answer period, Duhan-Kaplan asked about mistakes made by our ancestors, and how we deal with them. She also asked about dealing with the expectations “placed on us in a charged environment – we might open social media for some entertainment and then what we get is, whatever perspective we have, people are ridiculing it and calling us names,” said Duhan-Kaplan. “Cultural humility – once you start to get defensive about yourself and your identity, how do you keep being open to changing?”
“I still struggle with that,” said Givens.
“As a person who’s been racialized, who has ancestors who were enslaved, and yet I have ancestors who were killing Indigenous and pushing Indigenous out of their homelands,” she explained, “one of the things I’m coming to is that we’re a sum of all of this – and all of us are…. And, again, it comes back to acceptance. I have to accept the fact that, if I look in my family history, there are these evil people and there are some really good people.”
History is ugly, she concluded. “I think it’s better to know it and understand it and be willing to say, but I’m here to be better.”
For Givens, the opposite of empathy is apathy because apathy allows us to feel badly about what’s happening but then just throw up our hands and say, “the world is crazy, you can’t do anything.” Her books highlight ways that people can get involved, what they can do, and she incorporates taking action into everything she does, she said.
Ultimately, it’s the actions, the outcomes, and the way we are engaging with the world that is important, said Givens.
Vancouver School of Theology is offering Summer School courses that will be of particular interest to Jewish community members: Rabbi Or Rose teaches Mystics in Modernity, Rabbi David Seidenberg’s class is Kabbalistic Hints in Tanakh, and Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan presents Zechariah: Spiritual Activism for Difficult Times. Classes run July 21-25 at VST or online. Register at vst.edu/vst-summer-school.
Aliza Rothman is “passionate about bringing this kind of expressive dance and healing movement to others and into the world.” (photo from Aliza Rothman)
It’s a Shabbat at Or Shalom Synagogue. There are four musicians playing. The rabbi is singing and chanting prayers with the congregation and a woman is dancing. Her face glows.
Hasidic leaders like the Ba’al Shem Tov and Reb Nachman of Breslov emphasized the power of dance as prayer and healing – and Aliza Rothman is part of the Jewish Renewal movement that values these teachings. She sees dance as a form of expression and prayer.
“When I move, I feel better, more alive, more connected to myself, others, my body, my emotions, my life force. And I am passionate about bringing this kind of expressive dance and healing movement to others and into the world,” she told the Independent.
Rothman is an expressive arts therapist who has been teaching a Rosh Chodesh (New Moon) movement class at Or Shalom since she moved back to Vancouver in 2023. Dance is both her passion and her medicine.
After many years of classes and choreography, she found herself at a drum circle at a music festival. Moving to the beat, it became a kind of trance dance. Ever since, she has been drawn to free-form movement.
In her mid 20s, Rothman traveled to India and participated in dance meditations as well as trance dances. Her journey then brought her to live in Jerusalem, in 2000, where she attended a weekly class called the Boogie – a dedicated free dance space, a place to be yourself, to connect and be playful. She traveled around Israel to dance at music festivals.
Jewish Renewal and dance came together for Rothman “on a soul level” when she was in her 20s. She dreamed of becoming a dance therapist.
“I had just come back from India, where I spent a few years traveling and on a spiritual quest that involved dancing, art, yoga and other healing heart-opening practices,” she said. “When I returned, I remember dancing outside on my own, and Hebrew songs and prayers came to me as I moved…. Years later, they really merged, when I went back to Israel, and then when I started facilitating dance workshops in Berkeley, Calif.”
Rothman moved to Berkeley with her now husband – Rabbi Arik Labowitz, spiritual leader of Or Shalom – to get a master’s in counseling psychology and expressive arts therapy. She led Rosh Chodesh and Omer dance groups there for close to 20 years.
She is also an open floor movement teacher. She discovered the activity in the Bay Area soon after it had begun, founded by five teachers who studied under the late Gabrielle Roth.
“Open floor is a form of conscious dance – there are no steps to follow, there is no right or wrong way to move. We let the rhythm of the music move us. We teach, practise and embody core movement resources – it is a life practice.” explains Rothman on her website.
“We work with 10 core movement resources: pause, release, centre, spatial awareness, toward/away, contract/expand, vector, activate/settle, dissolve, as well as four hungers – solitude, connection, belonging and spirit. Open floor is movement therapy.”
Since returning to Vancouver from Berkeley, Rothman has established her own private practice.
“I work with individuals as a somatic/trauma/movement and expressive arts therapist,” she said. “I believe in the body’s wisdom and innate ability towards healing and wholeness. I encourage people to move with their range of feelings – dancing our grief, anger, joy.”
Dear G-d, if only my heart would be straight with You all the time, I would be filled with joy. And that joy would spread all the way down to my feet, and uplift them in dance. Please, never let my feet falter, release them from their heavy bonds, and give me the strength to dance, dance, dance.
– Rebbe Natan Sternhartz, student of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (Likutei Tefillot I:10)
Rothman grew up in the Jewish Renewal movement. Her parents were some of the first members of what is now Or Shalom but, back in the day, it was called “the Minyan,” led by Rabbi Daniel Siegel and his wife, Rabbi Hanna Tiferet Siegel.
“It rotated between all of our living rooms,” said Rothman.
Rothman’s parents are Myrna Rabinowitz, stepfather Barry Rabinowitz and father Leo Rothman. Myrna Rabinowitz is widely known in the Vancouver Jewish community as a singer, including as a member of the band Tzimmes.
“My mom had a lot of music playing in our house and, when I heard music, I danced,” said Rothman. “I danced all the time as a child – putting on shows, dancing in my yard, etc. I grew up with a soulful musical Jewish connection at home, a heart-centred, joyful Judaism, which I found more of when I moved to Berkeley.”
This month, Rothman is leading outdoor dance on Tuesday evenings in Queen Elizabeth Park. She will be teaching another Rosh Chodesh dance group beginning in the fall and hopes to begin some small dance-based expressive arts therapy groups in the fall, as well. She also teaches classes online. She can be reached at alizarothman.com.
Cassandra Freeman is a freelance journalist and improv comedy performer living in Vancouver.
Elana Wenner (with folder) leads the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia walking tour of Jewish Strathcona. (photo from JMABC)
Having taken the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia’s tour of Jewish Strathcona, I know firsthand how interesting and worthwhile it is. This summer, there will be a little more swing to the July 27 tour – Kol Halev Performance Society will once again take part, but in an expanded role.
“Kol Halev has created a script for theatrical additions to the tour, along with musical components. Actors in full period costume will accompany the group and act out key scenes from the stories told along the way,” Elana Wenner, director of programming and development at the museum, told the Independent. “A full musical dance number is included as well, along with a reenactment of a wedding that mirrors cultural traditions from the past.”
Wenner got in touch with Sue Cohene, co-founder and current president of Kol Halev, after having taken some theatrical tours produced by other museums in the city and elsewhere.
“In the past,” said Wenner, “Kol Halev has put on productions based on BC Jewish history in conjunction with JMABC, before I worked here.”
“Kol Halev has been involved with the Jewish Museum since 2006, performing at their various galas and special events over the years,” Cohene explained. “In 2017, the museum created a photographic exhibit, shown alongside Kol Halev’s historically based play, Two Views from the Sylvia, which was presented at the Waterfront Theatre.
“Kol Halev Performance Society and the Jewish Museum and Archives have a long-standing collaboration and we update the museum on a regular basis about our shows, community teachings and future plans.”
A couple of years ago, said Cohene, Marcy Babins, interim executive director of the museum, suggested that she meet with Wenner, then the newly appointed director of programming and development, to discuss possible joint ventures.
“Connecting with Elana has been like carrying on a family tradition,” said Cohene. “Elana’s grandmother, Irene Dodek, was instrumental, along with Dr. Rabbi Yosef Wosk, in bringing Kol Halev on board to provide entertainment and theatrical historical education for Jewish Museum projects. Elana’s mother, Dr. Gail Wenner, has danced with Kol Halev and continues to share her creativity by creating historically influenced hats for our performers.”
Last summer, Kol Halev added a Yiddish dance performance to complement one of Wenner’s Jewish Strathcona walking tours. This summer, actors from the performance group will portray early Jewish community leaders during the tour, in addition to weaving in some traditional dance pieces.
Cathy Moss, one of Kol Halev’s main writers since the group was established, worked with the research provided by Wenner to create a script.
“Elana shared the tour route and basic information about Strathcona historical community leaders from the early 1900s to the 1940s,” said Cohene. “She kindly led Kol Halev on the tour, where we all looked at locations that could accommodate acting and dancing.”
“Elana did a great job compiling the research on the area,” said Moss. “Once I took the tour, it was easy to see what a compelling cast of characters inhabited Strathcona in the early days. It was fun to write dialogue for such interesting and lively folks.”
Moss relied on the museum’s material for each location along the tour, writing the dialogue for the characters based on the biographical details and context Wenner provided.
“The tour is great and informative on its own,” said Moss. “I would add that inviting Kol Halev to be part of it was an excellent idea. It adds another dimension that makes the experience that much more enjoyable. The wedding dance in particular will be appreciated by the tour-takers. It’s very entertaining.”
Kol Halev rehearses the Patsh dance, choreographed by Santa Aloi. The group will dance and act in the July 27 JMABC Strathcona walking tour. (photo by Adam Abrams)
Kol Halev has several on-site rehearsals planned before the shows in which they’re participating – the July 27 public tour and a private tour in late June – “particularly to familiarize dancers and actors who were not involved last year,” said Cohene.
“We will have between eight and 10 dancers this summer and a few actors,” she said. “It’s a small working production that has room to grow.”
Cohene will be part of the performances.
“I’ll be playing a mother-in-law role in the 1940s wedding dance, which was choreographed by Tamara Thompson Levi,” she said. “I’ll also tap dance in the Yiddish Patsh dance choreographed by Santa Aloi.”
Wenner leads the Strathcona walking tours.
“This tour is a journey through the footsteps and choices made by the first community leaders in Vancouver,” she said. “It follows in the footsteps of community-building, highlighting the institutions and people who laid the groundwork for today’s thriving Jewish Vancouver institutions. Along the way, we see buildings that held components of the first Jewish community organizations, as well as the homes of some of the first leaders. We also explore the ideas of what Jewish community requires in general, and what it was like to live as a Jew in this part of the world at the turn of the last century. The tour is a synthesis of past and present, weaving together the origins and future of Vancouver’s Jewish community.”
The Jewish Museum has four different walking tours on offer this summer. In addition to the Strathcona neighbourhood tours led by Wenner on July 13 and 27, Aug. 10 and 24, Daniella Givon leads tours of the Mountain View Jewish Cemetery on July 6 and Aug. 10. In Victoria, Amber Woods leads both the Downtown (July 6 and Aug. 10) and Jewish cemetery (July 20 and Aug. 24) tours. All the walks start at 10:30 a.m. For tickets, visit jewishmuseum.ca, email [email protected] or call 604-257-5199.
Hastings Mill Store was part of this year’s Heritage Discovery Day. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
This year’s Heritage Discovery Day – which has been hosted by Vancouver Heritage Foundation since 2003 – featured nine sites in Kitsilano, highlighting, but not confined to, the Craftsman style of house, which, according to the self-guided tour book, “is characterized by decorative brackets, exposed rafter ends, mock trusses in the gable ends, expansive low-pitched gable roofs and a rich variety of finishing materials and textures.” Saturday, June 7, was an ideal day for the event and this year’s Summer cover features photos taken throughout the neighbourhood, while going house to house. Driving home along Cornwall Avenue, the number of people enjoying Kits Beach was incredible. When it’s sunny here, the people emerge!
City Farmer Garden’s Cob shed, made with clay from Haida artist Bill Reid. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)One of the heritage homes on the tour. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)Kits Beach on June 7. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
Kits directional post. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
A cyclist amid the flowers. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
Pelicans and cranes gather at Hula Lake in Israel. (photo from commons.wikimedia.org)
Beginning with the Book of Genesis, we read about the raven and especially about the dove: “After 40 days, Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then, he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water all over the surface of the earth; so, it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.
“He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there, in its beak, was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.”
In Deuteronomy 32, we read that God Himself is compared to a bird: “Like an eagle who rouses its nestlings / Gliding down to its young / So did [God] spread wings and take them / Bear them along on pinions.”
Eagles are so important to our culture that Israel’s 1949/50 rescue of 46,000 Yemenite Jews was named Operation on the Wings of Eagles.
Jews had lived in Yemen for millennia, experiencing both relatively good and more oppressive times. In the 20th century, especially following the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947, conditions worsened. Arab rioters in Aden – then a British protectorate on the southern tip of Yemen – killed at least 82 Jews and, in early 1948, accusations that Jews murdered two Muslim Yemeni girls led to further violence and looting of Jewish homes and businesses.
When news of the young state of Israel’s planned evacuation reached Yemeni Jews, they walked and walked, some from hundreds of miles away, to a refugee camp in Aden. Few of them had seen an airplane before and, to convince them to go aboard, someone painted an eagle with outstretched wings over the door of each craft, reflecting Isaiah’s prophesy: “They shall mount up with wings as eagles.”
Despite the attempt to keep the evacuation secret, the planes going from Yemen to Israel were routinely fired on by Egyptian forces. Pilots were warned that, if they were forced to land in enemy territory, the passengers and perhaps the crew risked being executed. Luckily, this never happened.
Di goldene pave, or the golden peacock, refers to a mythical bird that is a common symbol in Yiddish poetry. For Itzik Manger, the golden peacock symbolized Jewish resilience and optimism, and Israeli singer Chava Alberstein sings a song about the golden peacock, which you can listen to on YouTube.
There is a legend that King Solomon gave the hoopoe – Israel’s national bird – a gold crown, after the bird spreads its wings to protect the king from the sun’s rays. But then people began hunting the hoopoe for its crown. When the bird told this to the king, the king replaced the crown with a crest of feathers.
Although there are several negative comments about the raven and the ostrich in Jewish texts, there are also some positive statements made about them. For instance, the raven brought Elijah bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening. (I Kings 17:7)
In his prophecy, Micah (1:8) uses the ostrich to show what will become of the faithless. But, while the ostrich generally receives a “bum rap” in Scripture, there is no mention in any sacred Jewish writing of ostriches hiding their heads in the sand. When a threat does appear, the ostrich flattens itself on the ground. With its colouring, it is often able to camouflage itself. Furthermore, when an ostrich senses the danger is too close, it can rapidly run away.
A section of the Bird Mosaic, a large mosaic floor that was apparently part of a Byzantine villa. (photo from commons.wikimedia.org)
Storks are mentioned in Psalms 104:16-17 and in Jeremiah 8:7 for their beauty, grace and devoted parenting: “Storks in the sky know their seasons; swallows and cranes their migration times; but my people do not know the rulings of Adonai!”
Further, the stork appears on decorative Torah wimpels, long strips of fabric used to bind the scroll when it’s not in use. Once, they were made from the swaddling clothes of a newborn baby. (This custom began in the second half of the 16th century and lasted for a few hundred years.) After the circumcision ceremony, the fabric was cut into segments that were sewn together to form a long sash, which was embellished with painted or embroidered inscriptions and images and donated to the synagogue.
Most storks use Israel just as a stopping off point on their way to and from Europe to Africa. Sadly, according to Israeli wildlife veterinarian Dr. Rona Nadler Valency, many migrating storks are killed or injured along their journey. She blames Israeli electric and wind turbine companies, which, she claims, do not invest in measures to protect the birds.
Although the type of bird is not mentioned, it is said that birds guided the Jewish people and kept watch over their crossing during the splitting of the Reed Sea.
Psalms 84 mentions the sparrow and the swallow: “Even the sparrow has found a home / and the swallow a nest for herself / where she may have her young….”
According to Uzi Paz, author of The Birds of Israel, there are about 470 bird species in Israel today. There are three main reasons for why Israel is a haven for birds. First, for European and West Asian birds, Israel is located on a main migration route to and from Africa; these birds stay in Africa during the European winter and return to Europe when spring comes in Europe. Second, Israel provides a range of habitats. And, third, Israel stands at the crossroads of three continents and assorted climate zones.
When you visit Israel, stop near Caesarea to see the remains of a large mosaic floor that was apparently part of a Byzantine villa. It is called the Bird Mosaic because the centre part of the floor features 120 medallions, each of which contains a bird.
Deborah Rubin Fieldsis an Israel-based features writer. She is also the author of Take a Peek Inside: A Child’s Guide to Radiology Exams, published in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
מלחמת הזדון של הממשלה נגד המדינה והחברה הישראלית נמשכת ללא הפוגה. התוצאות ניכרות בכל אתר. יו”ר ועדת החוקה ממשיך את מלחמתו נגד המערכת המשפטית. מצרים מאשימה את ישראל בהפרת הסכם השלום ומצמצת את שיתוף הפעולה הדיפלומטי. הולנד ונורווגיה מאיימות בהפסקת שיתוף הפעולה הצבאי והמדיני. ישראל מפליאה להכות בתימן, אבל מספיק טיל תימני אחד כדי לצמצם את מספר הטיסות לישראל מהלך שמבודד את ישראל
הצהרות מדיניות של שרים, בורים ביחב”ל מחבלות במעמדה הבינלאומי של ישראל. דירוג האשראי מצביע על סיכונים כלכליים. מתרחב הנתק בין ביבי נתניהו לדונלד טראמפ. עוד ועוד כתבות של אנשי ימין מוכיחות את הצורך המידי בהחלפת הממשלה שפשטה את הרגל גם מבחינה מדינית וגם מבחינה מוסרית
הסוציאל דמוקרטיה הישראלית מתה והחליפה אותה מין יהדות יהירה, שחצנית מבית שמאי. בעוד ההלכות כמעט כולן הן על-פי בית הילל
ומה נאמר על טראמפ: הוא שונא לוזרים. ברגע שהוא סימן את נתניהו כלוזר, כינה אותו מחסום דרכים להגיע להסדרים ואמר כי מתקפה עצימה חדשה בעזה כפי שנתניהו מתכנן היא מאמץ מבוזבז, הוא לקח אליו את המושכות והטיל את נתניהו לצד הדרך. בממשל האמריקאי גוברת תחושת המיאוס מנתניהו אחרי שטראמפ קרע את המסכה מעל פניו: הוא יודע שהוא נלחם למען הישרדותו הפוליטית בלבד, שהרי טראמפ מבין בזה דבר או שניים, כי גם הוא נרקיסיסט הפועל בעיקר למען עצמו. וברגע שטראמפ הפנים שנתניהו מהתל בו, שאין לו כוונה לסיים את המלחמה בעזה, שאין לו תכנית ליום שאחרי
טראמפ הגיע להסכמות עם החות’ים שלא כללו את ישראל, הודיע על משא ומתן ישיר עם איראן בלי לתת לנתניהו הצצה לפרטיו, ועכשיו כשהוא בסעודיה, חומד את ארמונותיה וכספה, הוא הולך להגיע כנראה להסכמים שלא כוללים נורמליזציה עם ישראל כתנאי לשיתוף פעולה עם ארצות־הברית. נותרנו מאחור, כי ראש הממשלה נתניהו הדיר עצמו – לא כי הוא חשב שהמהלכים שמקדם טראמפ הם רעים, אלא כי הם לא מתחברים לנוכלות האופפת אותו ולא מתאימים למתווה שהגה במוחו כדי להישאר בשלטון ויהי מה
טראמפ נענה לתביעותיו של נתניהו לפני כעשר שנים לצאת מהסכם הגרעין, שאמנם לא היה מושלם אבל היה טוב. היו אלו הימים שבהם נתניהו התייחס לטראמפ בהתנשאות כאל אידיוט שימושי, וניצל את חוסר הבנתו במהלכים מדיניים־ביטחוניים כדי לסובב אותו על האצבע הקטנה. הגלגל התהפך: עכשיו, טראמפ הוא זה שזוקר את אצבעו ונותן לנתניהו להסתחרר עליה. הוא עושה מה שהוא רוצה ומה שנכון בעיניו: מדבר ישירות עם חמאס כדי לשחרר חטופים. גם הוא מבין ששלום עושים עם האויב, גם כשהוא מר ואכזר. מנעד הרגשות של טראמפ מצומצם, אבל נושא החטופים נגע לליבו, והוא נרתם להביא לשחרורם מהמנהרות בעזה
טראמפ דוהר עתה למזרח התיכון כשהוא נחוש לשנות אותו מהיסוד: משימתו היא להביא לסיום המלחמה בעזה, לשחרור החטופים ולשיקום הרצועה. הוא מגייס את סעודיה ושאר מדינות המפרץ כדי להוביל מהלך גדול: גם הסכם עם איראן שנתניהו לא שותף בסודותיו, גם שיתוף מדינות ערב בתכניות היום אחרי בעזה
בימין הישראלי שמחו וצהלו על בחירתו של טראמפ וסילוקו של ביידן. הם טעו לחשוב שהוא יהיה המריונטה שלהם. טראמפ הראה להם שהוא לא סופר אותם: הוא חדור מטרה להביא למהפך של שלום באזור, שישרת אותו היטב – הוא גם יקבל מקטאר ארמון מעופף, וגם סעודיה תזרים מילארדים לארצות־הברית
Last month, 16 students from three different high schools in the Galilee visited Vancouver, where they participated in several activities. (photo by Kristin McIlhenney)
“It is nearly impossible to put into words the profound experience we had in Vancouver,” Dr. Rachel Ravid, co-director of Galilee Dreamers, told the Independent. “For the first time, host families welcomed us directly at the airport – a moment of emotion I will never forget. The level of care and thought given to our visit was evident even before our arrival, through a preliminary Zoom meeting during which we shared about the Galilee Dreamers program and the backgrounds of the students they would be hosting. From afar, we could already feel the warmth that awaited us.”
Galilee Dreamers is a program of Oranim College of Education, in Israel. Established nearly a decade ago, it “brings together Jewish and Arab high school students from northern Israel, cultivating dialogue, empathy and mutual respect, while helping participants explore their personal and collective identities,” Ravid said.
A key aspect of the program is connecting these Israeli students with peers abroad and Galilee Dreamers groups have traveled to cities in several countries, including Canada, where Toronto has participated in previous years. Last month, 16 students from three different high schools in the Galilee came to Vancouver, where they were hosted by 12 local families, visited a few schools and participated in several activities. The delegation then headed to Seattle.
There were six students from Akhva-brotherhood High School in Yarka, a Druze school; five students from Jewish schools Einot Yarden and Misgav Regional High School; and five students from Atid Bir al-Maksur, a Muslim school representing a Bedouin way of life, said Ravid. “The students ranged in age from 16 to 18 and were selected for their leadership potential and their capacity to develop leadership skills.”
The co-director of Galilee Dreamers, Dr. Malek Hujeirat, who is deputy principle at Atid, led the group from there, and Diana Mulla, a Druze English teacher, led the delegation from the Druze school. “I was responsible for accompanying the Jewish students and overseeing the delegation,” said Ravid.
While the process of planning the April 18-25 trip was challenging, Ravid said “the spirit of volunteerism and support from community members in Vancouver was truly remarkable. Marion Rom led the planning team with vision and dedication, alongside Dalia Margalit, who offered support from both near and afar.
Galilee Dreamers participants at Tsleil-Waututh Nation siʔáḿθət School. (photo by Kristin McIlhenney)
“The intention was to create as many opportunities as possible for interaction with different parts of the Vancouver community, in order to better understand the local realities and challenges,” said Ravid. “In parallel, we aimed to connect the visiting students with the natural environment, the region’s history and its diverse cultures.
“Alongside school visits with Jewish students – where we discussed the core values of the Galilee Dreamers and universal values such as solidarity, listening, compassion and empathy – our students also learned what daily life looks like for peers their own age in a different society.
“A key element of the itinerary was community volunteering,” said Ravid, and, at the Jewish Community Garden, the group spent some time working and learning.
The host families also “initiated activities rooted in their own strengths and passions, allowing each student to experience something unique within each household,” added Ravid.
One of those families – Tal and Avital Jarus Hakak, who had two Jewish students stay at their home – “hosted a dinner that included another host family of two Druze students and a hike afterwards. One of us also helped with a tour of UBC,” the couple said.
“The positive impact of this trip on the students’ attitudes towards their peers and teachers from different communities and cultures was heartwarming. We felt like these impacts have a great importance for the future,” said the couple, who were motivated to take part because, they said, “The idea of a youth program for facilitating dialogue between Jewish, Arab and Druze sounded very appealing and interesting, particularly in this time of local and global conflicts.”
Kristin McIlhenney found out about the visit from a friend.
“Knowing I had previously hosted international students, she encouraged me to consider it,” said McIlhenney, who hosted a student from the Bedouin school and teacher Hujeirat, “who also serves as the principal overseeing multiple schools in his village.”
“As an educator, I deeply believe in the transformative power of travel and intercultural exchange to build empathy and global awareness,” she said. “That belief, combined with my background, made me genuinely enthusiastic about supporting the Galilee Dreamers by becoming a host.”
Beyond providing room, board and transportation for her guests, McIlhenney said “the experience organically evolved into something much richer. Groups often gathered in the evenings, leading to shared dinners and deeper connections, both in our home and in others’. It was incredibly moving to hear three languages spoken under our roof, and to learn everything from simple cultural details – like the high price of sushi where they live – to complex and personal perspectives on life in a conflict-affected region.”
For McIlhenney, there were two particularly special benefits of being a host. “First,” she said, “my two elementary-aged sons formed a strong bond with the student who stayed with us. A gifted soccer player, he spent hours playing with them and they even accompanied him to a match where they watched [Lionel] Messi play against the Whitecaps – a memory they’ll cherish for years. Second, as a former educator, I deeply appreciated the profound conversations I had with the principal. Whether while preparing meals, driving or winding down in the evening, our discussions gave me a rare and meaningful glimpse into his reality – and helped me reflect more critically on my own.”
Both McIlhenney and the Jarus Hakaks would “absolutely” host again. And trip co-organizer Rom would “definitely help bring those kids in the northern Galilee next year if they want to come back.”
Rom, Margalit’s brother and Galilee Dreamers co-founder Dr. Desmond Kaplan all went to high school together in South Africa, explained Rom of the local connection to the program and how the Vancouver stop came to be.
Rom and Margalit found the host families, and Margalit, who was out of town when the visit took place, “gave this program ‘legs’ in the early stages of planning,” said Rom.
“I wanted to help because I believe that dialogue and interaction of the Jewish, Bedouin and Druze high school youth in the northern Galilee is one of the most impressive paths to peace in that region,” said Rom.
“The most moving part,” she added, “was when the youth and host families all met together one evening to talk about life in northern Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, and what this program means to them.”
“For my part,” said Margalit, “I agreed to assist in arranging the visit when I heard that the group would be made up of students from the Bedouin, Druze and Jewish communities. At this time of tensions between Israel and Palestine, I felt this was a particularly important aspect of the visit, and of daily life in Israel, that would be very important for the Vancouver Jewish community to hear about.”
“As the region faces heightened tensions and conflict, the lack of mutual understanding and shared vision between Arab and Jewish communities threatens the very fabric of society,” said Ravid. “These divisions are compounded by systemic separations: Jewish and Arab teenagers grow up in separate neighbourhoods and towns, attend schools where different languages are spoken, and rarely – if ever – encounter one another in meaningful ways that could challenge stereotypes and foster understanding. Frameworks that nurture mutual respect, empathy and collaboration are critically absent.
“This reality not only affects the people of Israel,” she said, “but also perpetuates a global lack of awareness about the rich and diverse voices that make up Israeli society. Around the world, young people often have little understanding of the complexities of life in Israel and few models for overcoming divisions to build shared futures.”
Galilee Dreamers “creates safe and meaningful spaces where young people from different backgrounds – who might otherwise remain strangers – build real relationships based on trust, empathy and common purpose,” said Ravid.
“Equally important is the program’s impact on the communities that host us – whether in Israel or abroad,” she continued. “By sharing their personal stories and experiences of living in a complex, multicultural society, Galilee Dreamers offer host communities a window into what grassroots peacebuilding can look like. These encounters inspire interfaith dialogue, foster global solidarity and leave lasting impressions on local families, educators and youth who engage with the group. The mutual learning is profound, and many host communities describe the visit as hopeful, eye-opening and deeply moving.”
While some communities and institutions in Israel and the diaspora “have become more cautious about engaging with programs like Galilee Dreamers” since Oct. 7, “the program continues to operate, with participants expressing a renewed commitment to dialogue and understanding,” Ravid said.
Galilee Dreamers students visited Jewish and other institutions, including Peace Mennonite Church, while they were in Vancouver. (photo by Kristin McIlhenney)
The students who participated in the delegation that came to Vancouver shared with Ravid “that they had never experienced such a meaningful and warm form of hospitality. They spoke about the deep love and care shown to them, and how much the host families prioritized their personal well-being,” she said. “They expressed sincere gratitude for the time and attention their hosts gave to hearing their personal stories – and the stories of their families. The connection was so strong that many of the students affectionately referred to their hosts as their ‘second parents.’
“In addition to the emotional connection, the students also appreciated the opportunity to take part in activities they had never experienced in Israel: from ice hockey games and bike rides, to hiking in nature, riding a ferry, and taking a cable car up a snow-covered mountain. Perhaps most enthusiastically, they spoke about the unique food experiences, especially the sheer number of donuts they joyfully consumed without pause!”
For Ravid, “One of the most emotional moments of the trip was the community gathering toward the end of our stay,” she said. “Each of us shared reflections and feelings from the journey. I was particularly moved by the words of Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, who said that the Galilee Dreamers’ visit brought out the strengths of the local Jewish community and its ability to mobilize around a meaningful initiative. His emphasis on solidarity was incredibly powerful and deeply relevant – especially in these days, when personal and collective security in Israel and around the world feels fragile.”
Both the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and the Jewish Federation contributed to the local visit, the latter helping with the planning as well as funding. There were many other organizations and people that Rom, Margalit and Ravid thanked.
“On the day of departure,” said Ravid, “I saw many tears and heartfelt hugs – testament to the meaningful connections and impact this journey had on both the students and the families.”
Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt speaks with Einat Wilf, Israeli author and thinker, who shared her views on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (photo by AdeleLewin)
Israel and its region are in a moment of danger and opportunity, according to Einat Wilf, who spoke in Vancouver April 25.
The Israeli author, commentator and former Labour Party member of the Knesset, said Israel and those who wish to destroy it have been locked in a repetitive series of disasters for almost 80 years. The current moment could alter – or enforce – that dynamic.
“This is a moment when, if we do not do the right things, we will remain stuck in a loop,” she said at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue.
The cycle of conflict has dragged on because of a scenario in which, she said, “the Jews are never allowed to win, the Arabs are never allowed to lose – or at least are never allowed to acknowledge defeat.”
Wilf calls this the “tragedy of ceasefires.”
The Arab world tried to prevent the creation of a Jewish state and then, since 1948, has attempted to undo the existence of that state. This is the core of the conflict, she argued.
“When it becomes clear that they are about to fail, what people call for is a ceasefire,” she said. “But what would actually help us is not a ceasefire. What would help us is to bring back the great ideas of victory and defeat, because those are actually necessary for us to get to peace.”
Instead, the world demands that the parties go back to the negotiating table, as if nothing had happened, she said.
“People talk about the conflict constantly going on, as if it’s by some bizarre coincidence,” she said. “It’s not. It’s because the Arab side for decades has been constantly told, try again, try again. If you haven’t succeeded this time, try again.”
One of the ruptures in the dialogue, Wilf said, is the idea that the only thing standing between
Israelis and peace is the establishment of a Palestinian state. This has been the driving force in decades of peace efforts, “only to realize that this is not what the Palestinians had ever wanted.”
The problem, she said, is that many Jews and others refuse to take the plainly stated Palestinian and Arab message at face value. Many Jews on her social media feed disagree with her, she said. Many Arabs, by contrast, are up-front.
“The Arabs on my feed would write this: ‘You are settler-colonialist, white Europeans. Get out.’ I love that,” she said. “They’re saying there shouldn’t be a Jewish state.” And yet, the Jews who comment, she said, keep coming back to settlements, the occupation and other issues that ignore that the root of the problem is a Palestinian and larger Arab refusal to accept the existence of a Jewish state in any part of the region, said Wilf.
Two Israeli prime ministers, Ehud Barack in 2000 and Ehud Olmert in 2008, tried to negotiate a resolution, only to find that two different Palestinian leaders, Yasser Arafat in 2000 and Mahmoud Abbas in 2008, walked away and reverted to violence, she said. Between those two administrations, a different prime minister, Ariel Sharon, decided that, if the Palestinians would not sign an agreement, he would just give them land.
“He gets out of the Gaza Strip to the last square inch, and we know what they did with that control of the territory,” said Wilf.
The devastation experienced by Gaza and its people in the current war is a tragic moment, but also a possible turning point.
“Moments of ruin and destruction, both in personal as in collective lives, can be moments of growth and transformation,” she said. “But only if you acknowledge the possibility.”
Wilf admits that people say she speaks harshly.
“I do,” she agreed. “Because we have not benefited from people who soften the message. We try to cut corners, we don’t go to touch the molten lava that is at the core of our conflict.”
For years, long before Oct. 7, European capitals have been sending money to Palestinian regimes to feel good about themselves, she said. “But it does no good. It just extends the conflict.”
She tells European audiences to change their approach. “You want to do good?” she asks. “You need to tell the Palestinians, given that your goal in the last century was to prevent and then to undo the existence of a Jewish state: you lost, and it’s over. You can find a dignified life next to a Jewish state but not instead of it.”
Hard truths are difficult to dislodge, said Wilf, and they can be perpetuated at the highest levels. When Joe Biden, then the US president, visited Israel after Oct. 7, Wilf said, he went out of his way to argue that Hamas does not represent ordinary Palestinians.
“It’s a lie that we often tell to comfort ourselves,” argued Wilf. “Hamas is merely the most brutal and successful executor of the ideology that we’ve come to call Palestinianism.”
The ideology, she said, does not hide its goal of eradicating the existence of Israel “from the river to the sea.”
Terms like “right of return” hold equally brutal meanings.
“You look at Palestinian Arab texts from the ’50s, the ’60s, they are very clear about the term,” she said. “They talk about ‘We will tear their hearts out of their bodies, their fingernails from their limbs.’ That’s why you have euphoria on Oct. 7 – euphoria across the people of Gaza, euphoria across the people of the West Bank, Palestinians and their collaborators around the world. The euphoria was not [because Palestinians were] breaking out of some open-air prison…. The euphoria was that they finally saw the moment that they had been groomed for, for decades.… Hamas executed Oct. 7 on behalf of Palestinianism, on behalf of the Palestinian people – for them and of them.”
That is the only way to understand what happened, she argued, or to understand how billions of dollars in international aid have resulted not in social progress but in a militarized terror regime with hundreds of kilometres of tunnels under schools, mosques, homes and kindergartens.
“You can only do something like that among a supportive population, when you are intent on carrying out the vision of that population,” she said. “So, the enemy is not just Hamas. That’s too easy. The enemy is Palestinianism. And that ideology has to die so that Jews and Arabs can finally live.”
An ideology can indeed be killed, she argued. “In fact, it happens all the time. We all live in a world where ideologies are constantly killed and dying and replaced by others.”
A first step, Wilf contended, is rejecting what she calls “trauma determinism” – the idea that people who are collectively traumatized can only respond with violence and stubborn resistance. This manifests in the idea that Israel’s actions will only further radicalize Palestinians. “I don’t know that there is much further to radicalize,” she noted.
Trauma determinism is not real, she said – or, at least, it need not be. “Exhibit A: the Jewish people,” she said. But she also raised the examples of Nazi Germany and imperial Japan. “They suffered violence. The issue is not the violence,” she said. “The issue is what is the story that gets told. That’s why this moment is so important. Because, just like nothing succeeds like success, nothing fails like failure. People begin to run away from failure.”
To move on and embrace peace, she said, Palestinians, like Germans and Japanese before them, have to acknowledge defeat.
“Embracing defeat is not necessarily a bad thing,” she said. “And that process needs to happen. I’m not denying that there is ruin and devastation in Gaza. The question is, how is that ruin and devastation understood? Because, if the story is big, bad evil Israel did that to you and you are just innocent Gazan victims of Israel’s evil nature, then nothing will change. What needs to happen is something that has never happened in the last century of the conflict, which is a connection between cause and effect, action and consequences.”
Palestinians, the broader Arab polity and the world need to understand that the ruin and devastation inflicted upon Gaza is the outcome of their ideology. Some other peoples in the region have awakened to this idea and begun to give up their fruitless hostility to Israel, Wilf said.
“It is always the mark of failed societies in crisis, looking to scapegoat, looking to find someone to blame, looking to divert attention from their failures,” she said. “It’s not a coincidence, therefore, that those countries in the Arab world who are trying to forge a modern vision, a forward-looking vision of what it means to be an Arab and Muslim, are the ones that are letting go of anti-Zionism and normalizing relations with Israel. This is the only vision forward. And I’m under no illusions. It remains a minority view in the Arab and Islamic world. But, for the first time ever, it exists, vocally.”
Israeli commentator and former member of the Knesset Einat Wilf, right, was thanked after her presentation by Tracy Ames. (photo by Adele Lewin)
While they might not embrace the term themselves, Wilf suggests these parties are exhibiting what she calls “Arab Zionism” – the simple acknowledgement that Israel exists and has a right to do so.
It is voices in the West who are most resistant to change, she said.
“The tragedy of this moment is that some in the Arab world are waking up from decades of anti-Zionism as a waste and a ruin, and seeking to have a different vision,” said Wilf. “You have so many here in the West rushing to fill the void and to essentially keep fueling the conflict so that the erasure of Israel can finally be achieved. That is the tragedy. It is also, of course, remarkably dangerous. Because what’s happening now in the West, as much as it pretends to be about the conflict, it’s not.”
It’s about something more insidious, she contended. What is portrayed as anti-Zionism has historically shown itself to be something baser.
“What happens to Jews when societies allow anti-Zionism to become institutionalized?” she asked. Everywhere that anti-Zionism rises to the level of being institutionalized or legislated, the environment turns hostile to Jewish life, she said.
“In the Arab world, how did they get rid of their Jews in the two decades when anti-Zionism was at its height? They never legislated against the Jews. They legislated against Zionists. Iraq, Egypt – the legislation was against Zionists,” she said. “But the way it works is that the Jews are charged with Zionism and no Jew – I know some really try hard but no Jew – will ever be able to disavow Zionism because, heaven forbid, they just celebrated Passover and said, ‘Next year in Jerusalem.’ And that’s how it works.” If such actions are not stopped, she said, “ultimately, no Jews are left.”
“This is what happened in the Arab world, in Iran, in the history of Europe, in the Soviet Union, in Venezuela and it’s happening on American campuses as we speak,” she contended.
Now, efforts are underway in Canada and elsewhere to codify “anti-Palestinian racism,” which Wilf dismisses as a prohibition against Zionism.
On the other hand, there is, she clarified, genuine anti-Palestinian racism. “It is the racism of refusing to listen to Palestinians and take them at their word,” she said. “There is a refusal to really acknowledge them as agents in history who know what they are doing and who actually have their own rational vision of no Jewish state.”
The future depends on how Palestinians and the world interpret the destruction that has taken place in Gaza.
“We are facing a moment that has at once great peril but also great hope,” said Wilf. “Amazingly, so much rides on whether we will ensure that the ruin and destruction in Gaza will finally be associated as the consequence, the outcome, the effect of the Palestinian choice to pursue the always-destructive vision of no Jewish state, because, if they can finally be made to embrace defeat, and to begin the slow process [toward peace] then, at the end of the day, I can assure you that, if they become Arab Zionists, it would be better for everyone.”
Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt welcomed the audience and thanked the Hayes Family Israel Initiative for funding Wilf’s visit, in memory of Dr. Arthur and Arlene Hayes z”l.
Or Shalom held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 27, launching the MoreOR project. (photo from Or Shalom)
On Sunday, April 27, Or Shalom Synagogue marked a major milestone with a groundbreaking ceremony, launching the MoreOR project – a long-anticipated renovation and expansion that will transform the synagogue on East 10th Avenue into a more sustainable, accessible and welcoming community hub for generations to come.
John Fuerst, lead for Or Shalom’s housing task force, at the April 27 groundbreaking. (photo from Or Shalom)
The ceremony began with a niggun, a wordless melody, and a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims of the tragic events at the Lapu Lapu Day festival, grounding the day in both reflection and hope.
Several special guests joined the community to mark the occasion, including David Bogdonov of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation and Quelamia Sparrow, who offered a meaningful land acknowledgement. Sparrow’s words reminded those gathered of the importance of community, and the deep history and ongoing responsibilities connected to the land on which Or Shalom stands.
Synagogue board member Mira Oreck and project lead John Fuerst shared the story of the MoreOR project. Reflections from Bogdonov and board member Jodie Eaton emphasized the importance of building spaces that will serve future generations.
Rabbi Arik Labowitz highlighted that MoreOR is far more than a construction project – it’s a bold investment in the spirit of Or Shalom, a commitment to nurturing Jewish life in Vancouver.
The shul’s Rabbi Arik Labowitz was one of the speakers. (photo from Or Shalom)
The groundbreaking ceremony included a ritual inspired by Jewish tradition: the breaking of a glass. Commonly seen at Jewish weddings, this act served as a poignant reminder that, even in moments of profound joy, we remain mindful of the brokenness in the world – a symbol of resilience, responsibility and hope, as Or Shalom embarks on this next chapter.
The MoreOR project takes advantage of the current synagogue building’s solid foundation and central location. It will add new classrooms, expand the kitchen, renovate the social hall, improve accessibility with the addition of an elevator and create a zero-carbon, environmentally sustainable facility.
“We are deeply grateful to all of our donors and community members, whose vision, commitment and generosity have brought us to this milestone,” said Oreck. “This project is about more than just bricks and mortar – it’s about building a future rooted in sustainability, inclusivity and connection.”
To learn more about the MoreOR project or to contribute, visit orshalom.ca/moreor.
