Family Day at Stable Harvest Farm was educational – and fun! (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
Sunday, July 6, was a beautiful sunny day. Perfect for a visit to Stable Harvest Farms, in Langley, to enjoy one of its Family Days.
My wife and I joined the first tours of the morning. Our group of maybe 50 people, including lots of young children, was split into two, after a brief introduction by one of the university student interns who work on the farm over the summer. We were then led through some of the fields, where we learned a bit about the vegetables and flowers being grown there, while the other half of the group started at the petting zoo.
Just two of the many animals at Stable Harvest Farm. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
Stable Harvest Farms, a nonprofit founded by Syd Belzberg, welcomes more than 15,000 visitors a year – families, educators, students, volunteers, members of various groups. Several Jewish organizations have participated in the educational offerings. For example, Vancouver Talmud Torah has been involved since the farm’s establishment five years ago, with students from grades 2 to 7 visiting once or twice a year.
“We continue to feed and support organizations both Jewish and non-Jewish through JFS [Jewish Family Services] and Meals on Wheels, and countless other nonprofit organizations,” Belzberg told the JI.
Stable Harvest has donated well over 360,000 pounds of produce since 2020 to various communities in Greater Vancouver. On our tour, we found out how that produce is grown and harvested organically, stopping at some of the 12 education stations that have been created for visiting schoolchildren and others. The stations cover a wide range, from what’s in a seed, to what organic agriculture is, to methods of irrigation. One of the coolest stops was the bat boxes, houses for owls and bug hotels station. But, I have to admit, feeding the sheep and the Nigerian dwarf goats was the most fun. And we got to see the beekeeper in action.
On our tour, we found out how that produce is grown and harvested organically, stopping at some of the 12 education stations that have been created for visiting schoolchildren and others. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
In addition to the learning stations, there are signs everywhere. All the crops are labeled with what’s being grown and fun facts abound. Did you know that there are some 27 different types of broccoli, for instance? Or that snapdragons are edible, and can be used for dyeing cloth?
Farmer Maya led our group, making sure we all had enough water and were faring well in the heat. All the staff are “mentored by an experienced educator to develop and deliver impactful, age-appropriate learning experiences aligned with BC’s Ministry of Education goals,” Belzberg told me later.
The focus, he said, has been making sure the learning stations “link directly to the BC curriculum’s ‘Big Ideas’ and core competencies (e.g., communication, thinking, social responsibility),” as well as being sensory- and inquiry-based.
The beekeeper in action at Stable Harvest Farm. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
“Students engage through touch, smell, sight and movement – using storytelling, questioning and games to spark curiosity,” he said.
As our Family Day tour proved, the activities offered are inclusive and adaptable for diverse needs, and the staff are well-trained to keep visitors young and old, with varying levels of physical and mental nimbleness, engaged. My wife and I had both an educational and entertaining time. It was well worth the drive from North Vancouver, where we live. Most everyone would enjoy the fresh air and welcoming atmosphere, I think.
To keep track of the many things going on at the farm, including volunteer opportunities, follow it on Instagram and check out the website, stableharvestfarm.com, every now and again. You can find out when the next Family Day is and book a visit on the website or by email, [email protected].
Israel Connect is once again seeking English tutors.
Have time to volunteer? Consider Israel Connect, a program where local adult volunteers connect one-on-one, via Zoom, with Israeli high school students to help them improve their English conversation and reading skills. The program starts in November and is organized by Chabad Richmond, with Israel Connect and the Israeli Ministry of Education. It entails a commitment of 45 to 60 minutes once a week for the school year.
“No previous tutoring or teaching experience is necessary, and the curriculum is provided,” said Shelley Civkin, local Israel Connect coordinator.
The only requirements are that the volunteer be an adult, fluent in English, have basic computer skills and own a computer with a camera – for continuity reasons, a minimum commitment of one school year is requested. Volunteers do not need to speak Hebrew and can tutor from home. Basic training and technical support are available. A criminal background check is necessary for all tutors and will be arranged through Israel Connect. Time preferences of volunteer tutors/mentors will be coordinated beforehand.
The short film The Fast Runner, which was shot in the Greater Victoria area, won a 2025 Leo Award in cinematography for David Bercovici-Artieda. Bercovici-Artieda was also nominated for best direction, and the piece had six nominations in total.
The Leo Awards are a Project of the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of British Columbia. This year, there were more than 1,300 eligible entries in 16 different program categories.
In addition to nominations for direction and cinematography, The Fast Runner was nominated for screenwriting (Michael Adams), production design (Sarah Monteith), costume design (Constance Moerman and Josie Saldat) and make-up (Teia Dumaresq, Akina McCrea, Lindsay Pilkey, Donia Nikoo, Naomi Burnell and Mayhanna Haslam).
“It’s not just about telling a story,” Bercovici-Artieda, the son of a Holocaust survivor, told the Independent earlier this year. “It’s about honouring the memory of those who lived through unimaginable horrors, including my own father. Every frame, every scene and every creative choice carries the weight of history – my family’s history.” (See jewishindependent.ca/balancing-education-and-art.)
For more about Bercovici-Artieda, the film and the many other awards and recognition it has received, visit thefastrunnerfilm.com.
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At its annual general meeting last month, the Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society for Education and Remembrance presented its annual Life Fellow Award to Sidi Schaffer and Keith Morgan. The award is given to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to Holocaust education and remembrance.
Sidi is a Holocaust survivor and talented artist whose life and work are powerful testaments to resilience and remembrance.
Sidi Schaffer (photo from VHEC)
Born in northern Romania, Sidi was just a child when she and her family were forced into the Czernowitz ghetto in 1940, and later deported to the Djurin concentration camp in what’s now Ukraine. They endured unimaginable hardship for four years before returning to Romania in 1945. Sidi later moved to Israel, where she earned her degree in art education, and eventually settled in Canada with her husband David and their three sons.
After completing a bachelor of fine arts at the University of Alberta, Sidi continued to use art as a way of processing and sharing her experience. Her piece “Earth, Don’t Cover Their Blood” (featured in the VHEC’s 1998 Gesher Project) remains a moving tribute to those lost – and a powerful educational tool.
Sidi continues to share her story and use her art to bear witness as a long-time member of the VHEC’s Child Survivor Group.
Keith, a best-selling author and award-winning journalist, has dedicated his work to preserving Holocaust memory.
Keith Morgan (photo from VHEC)
Born in Blackpool, England, in 1954, he moved to Vancouver in 1980, where he became a columnist on cars and motoring for the Province and Sun newspapers.
In 1997, he wrote a newspaper feature about Ruth Kron Sigal and her community impact. Moved by Ruth’s family story and motivated by his own limited knowledge of the Holocaust in the Baltics, Keith collaborated with Ruth, the eldest daughter of Meyer and Gita Kron, on her memoir, Ruta’s Closet (Shavl Publishing, 2008), about the murder of 200,000 Lithuanian Jews during the Holocaust and the Kron Sigal family’s survival during the Nazi occupation of Lithuania.
Keith worked on Ruta’s Closet while working as a journalist, researching daily, conducting interviews and using his holidays to travel across Europe, Israel and North America. Since its publication in 2008, the book has become a vital educational resource. According to historian Sir Martin Gilbert, it is “one of the finest Holocaust memoirs.”
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Wendy Cocchia, lieutenant governor of British Columbia, has accepted to serve as honorary patron of the Holocaust Theatre Production Society’s Survivors program. Patronage, in the spirit of supporting and encouraging meaningful initiatives, is a role of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, rooted in the Crown’s tradition of recognizing and uplifting worthy endeavours.
The play Survivors, by Wendy Kout, is an hour-long educational drama that enacts the story of the Holocaust through eyewitness testimony of 10 survivors. Young and diverse audiences relate to the young and diverse cast, who are guides on the perilous journey of their ever-changing world. The survivors in the play also provide life lessons and encouragement to speak up and act up against hatred and bullying today. Suitable for young adult and adult audiences, this play about the past is a warning and a wakeup call for the present and the future.
As of June 30, Survivors was booked for more than 30 performances across Vancouver Island, bringing the society’s Holocaust education program to middle and high schools, both public and private, as far north as Campbell River.
Thank you to the Victoria Foundation for their support, which will ensure that the program can be delivered to Victoria schools in October.
Last month, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre presented the 2025 Meyer and Gita Kron and Ruth Kron Sigal Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education to Chantel Parsons. Chantel has consistently demonstrated an exceptional commitment to Holocaust education throughout her career, significantly impacting her students, colleagues and the broader school community.
Chantel Parsons (photo from VHEC)
Chantel is a geography and history teacher at Mark R. Isfeld Secondary School in the Comox Valley. The teacher’s Genocide 12 course, which centres on the Holocaust, remains one of the most popular senior-level electives at her school, drawing students eager to engage deeply with this critical history.
Chantel’s approach to Holocaust education is marked by historical precision, critical inquiry and meaningful impact. Her students explore complex issues around historical responsibility and the roles of perpetrators, victims, bystanders and resistors, challenging simplified narratives and examining the complexities of human behaviour during the Holocaust.
The lasting influence of her teaching is reflected in the words of a former student: “You were probably one of the best teachers I had. The focus you put on the atrocities in WWII, and the effort you put into teaching us how to recognize the patterns that lead up to events like this made me question a lot of things I probably wouldn’t have otherwise…. I often think back to things I learned in your class.”
A distinctive feature of Chantel’s teaching is her focus on Holocaust denial and distortion – topics often underrepresented in high school curricula. Her students study landmark Canadian legal cases concerning Holocaust denial, and benefit from guest speakers and witnesses connected to these cases.
Despite teaching in the smaller community of Courtenay, Chantel’s students access extensive enrichment opportunities through VHEC’s online programs. This year, her class participated in multiple live Zoom workshops, survivor speaker presentations, virtual exhibition tours and accessed a wealth of online teaching materials.
The Kron Sigal Award was established in memory of Meyer and Gita Kron and their daughter Ruth Kron Sigal, Lithuanian Jewish survivors of the Holocaust who reestablished their lives in Vancouver. Through their lifelong involvement with education and community, the family touched the lives of thousands of students. The award in their name is presented annually to British Columbian teachers who have demonstrated excellence and commitment to teaching students about the Holocaust and its important lessons for humankind.
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Gerri Klein (centre, seated) with some of her graduating colleagues at the 50th anniversary of the Winnipeg Health Science Centre School of Nursing. (photo from Gerri Klein)
Gerri Klein recently celebrated 50 years as a nurse! She was part of the first nursing class from the Winnipeg Health Science Centre School of Nursing.
During her career, Gerri, who now has a master’s in nursing (2003, University of British Columbia), has been honoured with the Canadian Diabetes Educator of the Year Award in 2020 and a Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC 2023 Nursing Award of Excellence: Excellence in Advancing Nursing Knowledge and Research. She currently works as a diabetes educator at BC Diabetes in Vancouver.
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Dr. Aaron Klein (photo from Gerri Klein)
Aaron Klein graduated from the University of Toronto with a doctor of philosophy, aerospace studies, department of mechanical and industrial engineering, on June 17, 2025. Aaron, who is working and living in Toronto, stays busy raising his young family with his wife Carolyn.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitism and intimidation have been rife on campuses, including the University of British Columbia, where there have been numerous incidents of graffiti and personal attacks on the university’s president, among others. (photo from Hillel BC)
Jewish university students and their allies are reflecting on a challenging year at British Columbia’s postsecondary institutions. Activists continue to make life difficult – but leaders at the campus organization Hillel BC are emphasizing the resilience of students and the unity of the community.
The first full academic year since the Oct. 7 terror attacks and the ensuing war wrapped up recently. In some ways, it was less chaotic than the previous year, but more intense, according to Ohad Gavrieli, executive director of Hillel BC.
“If we could summarize this year,” Gavrieli said, “it would be that there were fewer fires but they blazed with greater intensity.”
Last year, campuses across North America, including at the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University, were occupied by anti-Israel protest encampments.
“Last summer, the encampment occupied the campus, literally and figuratively, for months, demanding responses and counter-narratives that detracted from our primary work,” said Gavrieli.
Those disruptions ended before the new academic year, but 2024-’25 began with a flurry of hostility from anti-Israel activists. UBC’s main Point Grey campus seems to be the locus of the activism, with other campuses showing similar but reduced agitation commensurate with their size, he said.
At UBC, the activists’ scattershot tactics have been honed into more targeted protests, boycotts and campaigns, he said. At the same time, Hillel, Jewish students and a significant group of allies are more prepared than they were when the explosion of anti-Israel – and often overtly antisemitic – activism roiled campuses beginning in October 2023.
The 2024-’25 school year opened with vandalism, including a pig’s head being mounted on a gate near the home of the university’s president in a protest that apparently targeted the RCMP, Israel and the UBC administration. The head was accompanied by a sign reading “Pigs off campus.” The incident, for which anti-Israel activists took credit online, was an apparent reference to the surname of UBC’s president, Benoit-Antoine Bacon, but, in online discourse, Israelis, Zionists and Jews are often depicted as pigs.
The UBC campus, and others, were swathed in anti-Israel graffiti as students returned to school last September.
Anti-Israel activists have targeted UBC’s president Benoit-Antoine Bacon in various ways. (photo courtesy Hillel BC)
In October, a conference featuring an Israeli archeologist had to be relocated from UBC’s Green College after the facility’s windows were smashed and hateful messages were spray-painted on the building during the night before the scheduled event.
In November, a coordinated “Strike for Palestine” was organized, including an occupation of UBC’s Global Lounge, the office where students access international academic exchanges. Anti-Israel groups also gathered outside the Buchanan Building, the main arts complex, demanding UBC’s financial divestment from Israel.
In December and January, the campus was blanketed with posters accusing UBC’s board of governors of supporting genocide. Graffiti and harassment continued, with some students reporting they no longer felt safe in class.
In February and March, UBC saw a student referendum campaign calling for divestment from Israel. This was followed by another “Student Strike for Palestine.”
When Vancouver and Whistler, including UBC, hosted the Invictus Games, an international adaptive sports competition for wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans, protesters homed in on the presence of Israeli soldiers and veterans, causing disruptions and engaging in further extensive vandalism.
As the school year ended, convocation ceremonies were targeted, with protesters and some graduates wearing keffiyehs or other symbols and carrying or unfurling signs, disrupting numerous graduation events throughout the province.
Despite these and many more challenges, Gavrieli said, Hillel continued to serve as a refuge of safety, belonging and Jewish pride.
“We continued to host weekly Shabbat dinners, hot lunches and holiday celebrations across our campuses, including new programming at UBC Okanagan and Thompson Rivers University,” he said.
The campus organization has seen significantly increased interest in their programs and expanded involvement over the past two academic terms, as students, faculty and staff converged on Hillel for emotional and practical support. These programs include significantly enhanced mental health services, said Gavrieli, as well as building organizational capacity empowering students to advocate for themselves and their community.
The achievements of Jewish students and their allies were marked at a Night of Resilience, held at Hillel UBC on March 27.
Looking back at the year past, Gavrieli emphasized the high points, especially the strength of Jewish students who have “risen with courage, dignity and pride.” He also cited continuing healthy dialogue with university administrators and other stakeholders, though he expressed the wish that university leadership were more vocal in condemning hate-motivated language and acts, and addressing abuse of podium. Many professors and teaching assistants have pressed their personal political opinions on students, Gavrieli said, including instances in which the subject matter was not remotely related to the instructors’ disciplines.
Relations with campus security and the respective police services have been universally positive and constructive.
“We have received nothing short of exemplary cooperation from all areas of security and policing,” Gavrieli said.
Other achievements include a “We Are Here” toolkit, an online resource that helps students file formal complaints and access support. This technological response systematized reporting procedures to make intelligence gathering more effective and to ensure easy and immediate access for students needing supports.
Hillel staff successfully assisted several students in navigating institutional processes, according to Gavrieli, including challenging biased grading. They condemned the disruption of academic spaces, voiced concerns to the administration and stood with students who felt abandoned.
Gavrieli expressed gratitude to individual and organizational allies in the Jewish community, who have ensured that the campus organization has the resources it needs to respond as best as they can to the situations arising on campuses province-wide.
Roman Chelyuk is one of a small but increasingly visible group of non-Jewish allies who have coalesced around Hillel in recent years. Growing up in Ukraine, Chelyuk had Jewish peers and family friends, and has traveled twice to Israel. He was supposed to travel there again last month with the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee but the conflict canceled that mission.
Roman Chelyuk was one of the non-Jewish allies honoured at the event Night of Resilience, held at Hillel UBC on March 27. He is pictured here with Ishmaeli Goldstein, Hillel’s campus advocacy specialist. (photo courtesy Hillel BC)
He first connected with Hillel when the Ukrainian students’ club did a joint program with the Jewish students and he hung around, partly motivated by the isolation he was seeing among his new Jewish friends.
Chelyuk, who just graduated in international relations, was treasurer and, for a time, interim president of the Israel on Campus club.
One of the clearest signs he sees of the changed situation on campus is that Jewish students are challenged in making connections with other affinity and interest groups like the one through which he was first introduced to Hillel. Joint initiatives with other student clubs have largely dried up.
“That was easy to organize before Oct. 7 and it was not after,” he said. “It’s generally heartbreaking.”
Sara Sontz, who expects to graduate next spring in sociology, was president of UBC’s Jewish Students’ Association this past year.
“It’s definitely still been challenging,” she said, citing protests on campus, professors derailing topics by discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict when it is unrelated to the discipline, even singling out students with Jewish names and asking for their opinions on current events.
“I find it really frustrating because students are there to learn on a specific topic for their degree and it’s frustrating when Jewish students are then forced to almost hide their identities because they don’t want to be called on or put into an awkward position within the class,” she said.
“We haven’t let all the hate and all the protests affect how strong we feel about ourselves and our community. I think that’s the most important thing.”
– Sara Sontz
“I’ve always been open about my Jewish identity,” said Sontz, “but, after Oct. 7, I and many other Jewish students stopped wearing our Magen David necklaces or, for some, they stopped feeling comfortable even going to class – and some stopped going to class – just because of the safety concerns and the emotional discomfort.”
There are silver linings, Sontz said.
“I always try to look for the bright side,” she said. “The one thing I found is that the community got stronger after Oct. 7, due to the necessity of having to have a unified front, to have a community to go to when you have such difficult problems and having your fellow Jewish students, or Hillel and Chabad on campus, really provided that safe space.”
She hopes for better things in the new academic year, though her optimism has limits.
“It’s constant,” she said. “It’s never-ending.… But we haven’t lost hope. We are a really strong community.… We haven’t let all the hate and all the protests affect how strong we feel about ourselves and our community. I think that’s the most important thing.”
The move of Omnitsky Kosher to Fraser Street has been a positive one overall, says owner Richard Wood. (photo byDavid J. Litvak)
Omnitsky Kosher recently reopened on Fraser Street in East Vancouver. Forced to move from its Oak and 41st location because of redevelopment, the deli’s owner, Richard Wood, took advantage of the situation to rebrand Vancouver’s longest operating kosher butcher and deli, which has its roots in Winnipeg’s North End.
Eppy Rappaport, who bought Omnitsky’s from William Omnitsky in 1983, brought the deli from Winnipeg to Vancouver almost 30 years ago. It’s a Canadian institution, having been established by William Omnitsky’s father, Louis, in 1910. Wood took over the business just over a year-and-a-half ago.
When the deli opened on Fraser Street two weeks before Passover, it was only selling Passover products. It’s now back in full operation, and bigger than ever.
The new store is significantly larger than the old one. Divided into two sections, one half is basically a grocery store with an array of kosher products, ranging from meat, poultry and cheese, to grape juice, challahs, pickles, herring, crackers, cookies, and many more kosher items. The other half is a dining area that seats 40 to 50 people for breakfast, lunch, snacks and shmoozing.
“Everyone,” said Wood, “loves the spaciousness, the openness, the décor and the feel of the new dining area.”
He hopes that, eventually, the restaurant will be open for dinner as well, so that Jews who keep kosher “can enjoy a dinner out.”
Other than the larger dining room, Wood notes other differences between the Oak Street store and the one on Fraser: longer operating hours, additional kosher products and, in response to customer requests, more takeout meals.
Wood has started a WhatsApp group to let customers know about specials and to inform them about new products being offered, such as chicken wieners and salamis.
Omnitsky’s hosted its first event in April. The event itself was a first-ever in Vancouver: a third Passover seder, organized by Jewish Addiction Community Services Vancouver, which was led by Rabbi Joshua Corber, JACS’s director of addictions and mental health services. According to Wood, it was a rousing success that attracted more than 50 people.
Wood is open to hosting other after-hours events, like parties, book launches, poetry readings, musical performances, etc. He welcomes people’s suggestions, as he envisions keeping the restaurant open longer hours to accommodate the dinner crowd as well as bar and bat mitzvah parties.
When Omnitsky’s first opened, it was only selling goods for Passover. Now, the store is offering a full selection of kosher products and the restaurant a full menu. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
In addition to serving dinner on a daily basis, Wood said, “We want to offer some different menu items, like salmon or steak, to give our customers some affordable dining options, because going out for dinner is not cheap.”
Wood’s long-term plans for Omnitsky’s include employing a baker a few times a week to make bagels, pastries and other treats.
The deli is doing well in its new location, attracting new – and different – customers than it did on Oak Street.
“A majority of our clientele and regulars have returned, but we are seeing an increase in younger families coming in from the neighbourhood and younger Jewish families who are coming in for lunch on Sundays, which has been a popular day, and this is a major change from the old store,” said Wood. “In addition, we are having a broader increase in non-Jewish clientele coming in.”
This growth will require some innovative thinking to maintain.
“The challenge with the non-Jewish clientele is that the price of kosher food is substantially more expensive than non-kosher food and, therefore, some of our new non-Jewish customers in the neighbourhood find Omnitsky’s to be pricey,” said Wood.
While he is offering some value-added combos – for example, a hotdog, fries and a drink for $9.95 and a sandwich with fries and a drink for $24.95 – to make things more affordable for customers, he said, “the price of meat is something we have no control over.”
Another challenge for Omnitsky’s is that some customers of the previous store, which was in the heart of the Jewish community, find it difficult getting to the new location. To address this issue, the deli offers free delivery on orders over $50.
Wood is open to suggestions from customers about how to improve the menu or any aspect of the store.
“I am always open to feedback either positive or negative,” he said.
While there have been some growing pains, including staffing and equipment issues, the move of Omnitsky’s to Fraser Street has been a positive one overall, said Wood, who would like his customers to see the deli, which also offers catering, as more than just a place to buy kosher food.
Jewish life “revolves around family, food and prayer,” said Wood, and he would like the Jewish community to view Omnitsky’s as a meeting place where they can shmooze, bump into their friends and be proud to be Jewish. A place where they can say “Am Yisrael chai,” have a kosher meal, do their Shabbat or holiday shopping or order takeout – even order shiva platters, which can be prepared on short notice.
“We want Omnitsky’s to be there for our customers through good times and bad times, for simchas and in times of mourning,” said Wood.
For more information on the deli, check out omnitskykosher.com or head to 3435 Fraser St. and grab a bite, something to eat in or take home.
David J. Litvakis a prairie refugee from the North End of Winnipeg who is a freelance writer and publicist, and a mashgiach at Louis Brier Home and Hospital. His articles have been published in the Forward, Globe and Mail and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. His website is cascadiapublicity.com.
Samuel Elkind, head librarian at Vancouver’s Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library, will be joining the team at Richmond Public Library later this month. (photo by Anne Lerner)
As head librarian at Vancouver’s Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library, Samuel Elkind oversees everything from daily operations to long-term planning – curating collections, developing programs and building systems designed to serve the community. He put it plainly: “If I were hit by a bus tomorrow, I want the library to run without a hitch.” His core belief is that a library should be resilient, community-rooted and built to thrive beyond any one person.
Elkind’s approach leaves the Waldman in a secure place, as he soon moves on to Richmond Public Library. He will remain on the on-call list for the Waldman and assist through volunteering when he can, he said, in keeping with his “goals of guaranteeing the long-term continuity and stewardship of the Isaac Waldman Library.”
“It is my intention to stay on long enough to train my successor,” Elkind told the Independent. This is something that he, his boss, Hila Olyan, senior director of programs at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, and Eldad Goldfarb, the JCC’s executive director, planned from the beginning, he said.
“I want to make sure that whoever replaces me receives training comparable to that which they would receive in a larger system, which I was so fortunate to have,” he said of his start at the Waldman this past January. “The master’s of library and information studies prepares you very well for the job, but there are some things that can only be learned in the field.”
Elkind didn’t begin his career in a library, but he built one, even before becoming a librarian.
At a summer arts camp in New Jersey, he came across a neglected shelf labeled “library.”
“It wasn’t a library,” he recalled. “So, I built shelves, gathered books and set up a simple lending system. I had no idea what I was doing, but the kids needed stories – and that was enough.”
Even as his career moved in other directions, the idea of building spaces for stories stayed with him. Years later, while working in university admissions, he began to question his path. “I couldn’t figure out why I felt off,” he said. “But, after talking with colleagues and friends, I realized I was drawn to information access and protection, especially the preservation of stories that define who we are.”
That clarity led him to the University of British Columbia, where he completed a dual master’s degree in archival studies, and library and information studies. When the opportunity to lead the Waldman Library arose, he was ready. “I went to JCC camp. I taught at synagogues. It just felt like everything was falling into place,” he said.
Elkind came to the Waldman from Vancouver Public Library, where he worked a contract position as a children’s librarian. At the Waldman, he modernized the space – digitizing decades of program data, updating signage, rethinking the floor plan, and overhauling internal workflows. He also expanded the library’s public-facing programming, from weekly storytimes to Sunday Lego Stay and Play sessions, which align with the JCC’s activity schedule. “What do you do before or after swim lessons?” he asked. “Go to the library!”
“Our library is a bustling place, and has been becoming busier,” confirmed Olyan. “The library tends to service older adults and young children during the daytime hours but, come 3:30 in the afternoon, it is packed with school-age children reading books, playing games, doing crafts and checking out the computer. Sundays are busy with families and creative young people who take part in our weekly Lego club.”
To Elkind, these aren’t side projects – they’re core to what makes a library matter. His philosophy is grounded in third place theory – the idea that, beyond home and work, people need a third space to simply be. “Libraries are one of the last third spaces,” he said. “There aren’t many places left where you can just exist without spending money.”
That value is embedded in the library. “We’re providing space – quiet corners, conversation, presence – and those things are deeply needed,”he said.
Elkind’s inclusive lens extends beyond the JCC. He sits on the board of Out on the Shelves, Vancouver’s oldest queer library, established in 1983. He is also the founder of Gaming Without Othering the Self (GWOOTS), a tabletop RPG (role-playing game) initiative fostering queer community through collaborative storytelling.
“Role-playing games are group storytelling. More than just role play, it’s one of the most ancient human experiences. It’s about identity, imagination and connection,” he said.
GWOOTS runs weekly drop-in sessions across Vancouver with a focus on accessibility and community. “It started because I just wanted to run games for other grad students,” he said. “But I saw how many people were using RPGs to process experiences, explore identity and build relationships.”
For Elkind, GWOOTS and the Waldman are two different expressions of the same purpose. “At Waldman, I want to create space for the Jewish community. At GWOOTS, I want to create space for the queer community. But you don’t have to be Jewish or queer to feel welcome.”
Elkind’s commitment to belonging is shaped by lived experience. The day after the 2016 US election, he was sitting alone in a pizza shop near where he lived in California when two men entered wearing swastikas and began to spew antisemitic threats loudly. A waiter, sensing the danger, calmly ushered him out the back door.
“That’s one end of the spectrum,” Elkind said. “But I’ve also experienced radical acceptance in places I never expected.”
He gave the example of walking into a game store in Maryland and spotting a sign that read, “This is a radically inclusive space. If you have a problem with that, leave.”
His version of inclusion is not passive. “Tolerance implies I’m gritting my teeth and allowing it,” he explained. “I don’t grit my teeth for anything. I believe in acceptance.”
Storytelling, in every form, is central to Elkind’s work. “Whether you’re building a library, running a game or telling a story, you’re shaping memory,” he said. “And that’s sacred work.”
When asked what he’d say to someone who’s never stepped foot in the Waldman Library or joined a GWOOTS game, he doesn’t hesitate. “Come,” he said. “We want you here. We want you to feel accepted and loved. We want you to be part of something.”
“Our librarian ensures a safe, welcoming space for everyone,” said Olyan, who has started reviewing applications to fill the vacancy made by Elkind’s departure. She said the JCC is looking for someone who has both “the professional qualifications and experience to service our community to the highest standards. And, we’re looking for someone who holds the same cultural and community values of the JCC.
“So, what we mean is that a strong candidate ideally holds a master’s degree in library sciences and experience working in a community or school library. They also have a strong sense of community, responsibility and excellence. They love helping people (especially children and older adults) and they are knowledgeable about Jewish culture and/or literature.”
The Waldman is the only Jewish public library on Canada’s West Coast, said Olyan. “It brings people together and connects them with Jewish history, culture and tradition. The library hosts a collection of approximately 17,000 books, mostly by Jewish authors and relating to Jewish topics, including a vast number of Hebrew books. It offers computers, iPads, space to read and work, games and toys.”
The library opened in 1994, “thanks to the dedication of local community members and volunteers,” she said. “Its name honours the late Isaac M. Waldman, who worked as a structural and civil engineer, and was an ardent volunteer and generous supporter of local Israeli and Jewish nonprofit groups. Mrs. Sophie Waldman donated the funds that enabled the library to open, in memory of her husband.”
The library is run by the head librarian with a small team of library technicians, cataloguers and dedicated volunteers, said Olyan. “We’re always looking for volunteers who can support everyday operations, run special programs (including for children and older adults), and people willing to join our planning committee.”
For his part, Elkind said he has “absolutely cherished” his time at the JCC.
“I cannot recall a time that I have ever felt so appreciated in a position, or where I have been so able to see the positive results of my work,” he said.
“Over my time here, I have been fortunate to gain rare experience in library management, and have quickly become practically acquainted with aspects of the library field well outside of children’s and teen services, some of which might have otherwise taken decades for me to encounter. I make the move to RPL comfortable in my ability to operate in libraries of all sizes, and in any number of roles therein.”
At Richmond Public Library, Elkind will be working as a librarian on the children’s team, a role that includes providing information service and patron assistance to library-goers of all ages. When asked what he was most looking forward to at RPL, he said, “Is it weird to say that I am looking forward to receiving a performance review? I am still early in my career and have a lot of growth and learning ahead of me. It is important to seek that out in many forms.
“I have definitely grown in my current position, as a librarian and as an administrator, and I am so lucky to have had this opportunity – I do not wish to sell that short by any means. Having another librarian to supervise me allows for a different type of growth, and an opportunity to learn the things that I do not know that I do not know.”
Uriel Presman Chikiar is a student at Queen’s University and serves as executive vice-president of external relations at Hillel Queen’s.
On Sept. 7, the Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation, Western Region, presents A Special Evening Marking 50 Years of Supporting Shaare Zedek Medical Centre in Jerusalem, featuring former prime minister Stephen J. Harper.
The event, moderated by Gordon Campbell, raises funds for Shaare Zedek Medical Centre’s Incubators Drive.
In 2024, more than 20,000 babies were born at Shaare Zedek’s Wilf Woman and Infant Centre – three times that of BC Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Of those, 1,100 required intensive care in the neonatal intensive care unit. The NICU operates 70 state-of-the-art infant stations, offering 24/7 care with specialized staff and cutting-edge equipment. The goal of the campaign is to raise enough money to purchase additional Giraffe Incubator Carestations, each costing $50,000, to meet growing demand and save more lives. Thanks to a matching donor, every dollar donated will be matched up to $118,000.
Marla Gordon and Justin Segal are emcees of the Sept. 7 event. Herb Silber and Eli Konorti are corporate committee chairs, while Carol Segal and Yael Segal are dinner chairs. The Jewish Medical Association of BC is the evening’s educational sponsor and the Dr. Harry and Ruth Frackson Speaker Series has contributed to the event. Community partners are the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Congregation Schara Tzedeck and the Jewish Independent.
Tickets for the VIP meet-and-greet are a minimum gift of $1,800, which includes tickets for two guests. Admission to the VIP cocktail dinner is $250 per person, and the price to only attend the moderated presentation is $36 per person. For more information and sponsorship opportunities, contact Ilan Pilo, Western Canada director of CSZHF, at [email protected] or 778-858-8748.
– Courtesy Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation, Western Region
At the JFS Innovators Igniting Change event May 27, Arnold Silber, left, presented the Lighting the Way Award to his lifelong friend, Syd Belzberg. (photo by Rhonda Dent Photography)
The JFS Innovators Igniting Change event May 27, presented by Shay Keil, was a celebration of community, generosity and the drive to create lasting impact. The event raised more than $505,000 that will go directly toward providing food, counseling and emergency support to individuals and families in need. It will go a long way in ensuring that vulnerable members of the community have access to critical resources during times of hardship.
One of the most moving moments of the evening came with the premiere of a client video, sharing stories of resilience and hope. The video offered a reminder of the lives touched by Jewish Family Services Vancouver’s work and left few dry eyes in the room. It was a call to action, showing that, together, we can build a stronger, more caring community.
Shay Keil, presenting sponsor of the JFS Innovators event, with JFS Vancouver chief executive officer Tanja Demajo. (photo by Rhonda Dent Photography)
Another moving moment was when Arnold Silber presented the Lighting the Way Award to his lifelong friend, Syd Belzberg. It was a deeply personal tribute to a man whose quiet generosity and steadfast vision have helped shape a more compassionate community.
Silber reflected not only on Belzberg’s decades of dedication, but also on the enduring friendship between two people who share a deep belief in tikkun olam, repairing the world.
Stable Harvest Farm, a project close to Belzberg’s heart, stood out as a shining example of how one person’s passion can blossom into something that nourishes and uplifts so many. It was a reminder that behind every act of kindness is a person who chooses to care – and that choice can change lives.
As with any successful event, the Innovators Igniting Change evening wouldn’t have been possible without the support of its sponsors and community partners. Their contributions were integral.
Richmond Jewish Day School and ORT Canada’s first-ever Pickleball & Pastrami fundraising event was held June 23. (photos from RJDS)
On June 23, the gymnasium of Richmond’s Belvedere Club was filled with the sounds of laughter, cheers and paddles in motion as Richmond Jewish Day School (RJDS), in partnership with ORT Canada, hosted its first-ever Pickleball & Pastrami fundraising event. What began as a simple idea to bring families and community members together through sport evolved into a high-energy, heartwarming event that raised critical funds to enhance student access to technology.
The event began at 9:30 a.m. as guests arrived and checked in before heading onto the eight indoor courts. Players scanned QR codes posted throughout the venue to view the game schedule, locate their assigned courts, and meet their doubles partners. For those not playing, there was plenty to enjoy, including student STEM displays created in partnership with ORT, a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction.
The auction raised more than $1,000, and many donors stepped up with pledges towards the purchase of a class set of iPads, which will allow for enriched learning experiences in coding, research, presentation and creative expression in both general and Judaic studies classrooms.
Following two hours of pickleball, guests gathered for a deli-style pastrami lunch. The room buzzed with conversation as people enjoyed food and connected with fellow parents.
Members of the organizing committee – including Marie Doduck, Jeff Topp, Mindy Zimmering, Beverly Pinsky, Mary Tobin, Jordan Sukkau and Sabrina Bhojani – spoke, expressing gratitude to attendees, sponsors and volunteers. Winners of the auction and 50/50 draw were announced, bringing a close to the formal portion of the day.
“This event truly captured everything RJDS stands for, including joyful learning, meaningful connection and community support,” said Bhojani, principal of RJDS. “We’re so grateful to everyone who helped make this day such a success, from our committee and volunteers to every person who donated, played or simply showed up in support of our students.”
The fundraiser was not only a financial success but also a reminder of what’s possible when community comes together around a shared purpose. RJDS is still accepting contributions toward its iPad initiative. Donations can be sent via etransfer to [email protected] with “iPad” in the message.
To learn more about RJDS and its programs, visit rjds.ca or follow the school on Facebook and Instagram.
On June 12, Rawan Osman spoke with Daniel Koren, founder and executive director of Allied Voices for Israel, which brought her to the West Coast. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Rawan Osman, among the most visible Arab advocates contesting antisemitism and anti-Israel ideology, recently brought to Vancouver a bleak overview of hate ideologies across the Middle East and North Africa – but her prognosis is hopeful.
Osman is a Syrian-born, Lebanon-raised, German-based – and soon to be Israeli – accidental activist who shared her experience going from what she said is a characteristically antisemitic Arab into an “Arab Zionist.” She spoke at Temple Sholom June 12, in conversation with Daniel Koren, founder and executive director of Allied Voices for Israel, which brought her to the West Coast.
Osman took Islamic and then Jewish studies at Heidelberg University. After Oct. 7, 2023, she founded a social media channel called Arabs Ask, to combat antisemitism in the Arab world. She is writing a book about her relationship with Judaism and Israel, and is the narrator and central figure in the documentary film Tragic Awakening, about antisemitism after Oct. 7.
“My case is unusual,” she acknowledged. “There aren’t many people born in the Arab world who support Israel.”
She recounted the story of her first encounter with a Jew. She had moved to Strasbourg, France, and found herself living in the Jewish Quarter. She had assumed that the neighbourhood’s name was like the Jewish Quarter in Beirut or Damascus – an historical designation. When she went into a grocery store on her first day there, she stumbled into a kosher grocery and saw real-life Jews for the first time.
She had a panic attack, left her purchases and belongings behind and fled to her apartment. After she recovered and returned to collect her things, she had a life-altering experience.
She made an excuse that she had forgotten her wallet but she is certain the shopkeeper knew what had happened. He asked where she was from and how long she had been in town. He helped her with her groceries and behaved like a human being, not the monster she had been told was the way of the Jew.
“He allowed me to save face and, that day, without knowing it, that gentleman converted me from an enemy to an ally,” she said. “I realized it was the first time in my life that I was sharing the same space with a Jew, the enemy, and it was the first time in my life when I asked, why is the Jew my enemy?”
Osman’s father was Sunni from Damascus and her mother was Shia from the Beqaa Valley, which is the stronghold of Hezbollah.
“I grew up in Lebanon, attending a French Catholic school,” she said. But, negotiating between her family’s dual Muslim identities and Christians in Lebanon, she chose a middle path of atheism.
“They were secular, progressive, relaxed, laid-back,” she said of her family and the broader environment in which she was raised – with one exception. “The only thing everybody hated was Israel and the Jews and the Zionists.”
She said she employs these three terms – Israeli, Jewish and Zionist – interchangeably because that is how they are used in the Arab world.
“They say, I am anti-Zionist, not antisemitic. That’s a farce,” she said. “I grew up in that part of the world and I too believed [they were different things].”
Studying abroad and having access to uncensored information in Europe was a privilege with which she was unaccustomed. The more she explored the history of Judaism and met and interacted with Jews, the more she rejected the antisemitism with which she was raised. Eventually, she moved back to the Middle East and decided to challenge the prevailing narrative.
“After living in the Middle East for awhile, I decided, OK, it’s hopeless,” she said. “I’m going to leave. I’m going to move to Europe. And I did.”
She chose Europe because she identified with Western values, she said, and because, as one person, “what can I change?”
She opted to mind her own business in Germany. Even so, she was alarmed by what she was seeing.
She viewed the notorious gang rapes that took place in Cologne on New Year’s Eve and the early hours of 2016 as a symptom of Arab misogyny imported to Europe. What was more jarring to her was seeing herself in the place of others perpetrating hate crimes. She watched a video of a young Arab man encountering a Jew in Berlin.
“He took off his belt and he was hitting the young Jew with the metal buckle on his head,” she recounted. “This was me. I was the civilized version … I wouldn’t hit a Jew. But I had a panic attack the first time I saw a Jew.”
She did not plan to become an activist. After Oct. 7, it just happened.
“I started speaking on social media and became an accidental activist and influencer,” she said. “I thought influencers made nail designs, baking and makeup.”
She is part of a small but notable group of Arabs who are speaking out against antisemitism and other regressive realities.
“We refuse to continue to raise our children and grandchildren in a world that tolerates what happened on Oct. 7,” she said.
It is something she could not have undertaken if her extended family did not also live abroad, she said. To be known as an activist for Jews and Israel would endanger family in the Arab world, which means even many who live in the West remain silent, she said. But those who have the freedom to do so need to join her, she contended.
Osman receives private messages from Arabs and Iranians lauding what she does. She admires the courage of those who write to her from the Middle East. For those writing from Sydney or Toronto, she has strong advice.
“Those people who are living in the comfort of Toronto or Sydney tell me, I’m proud of you, I wish I could do what you’re doing,” said Osman. “Don’t be proud of me, darling. Do it. Do it. You might lose a friend or two but you will make a thousand more.”
Osman has chosen to convert to Judaism and is making aliyah this summer.
“The thing I love most about Judaism, what’s phenomenal, is that Judaism encourages your imagination. It encourages debate. Two Jews, three opinions. This is the talmudic tradition. It encourages challenging ideas.
“Islamic ideology is exactly the opposite,” she said.
When she decided to convert to Judaism, she got pushback – from Jews.
“Jews will tell me, you have to be a Muslim Arab ally,” she said, noting that some have told her she has a more powerful voice as an outsider. “You’re missing the point. Converting to Judaism is a privilege, my privilege. It’s not my dirty secret. It is time to say, I stand for that.… Your ancestors accepted that mission not because you’re special – you are the chosen people because you accepted that mission.”
Israel is not an easy place, she acknowledged, but the dichotomy of life in the Jewish state amazes her. The Israeli who pushes in front of her in queue and steps on her toes would, conversely, take a bullet for her, she said.
“As soon as there is an alarm, a siren, they have each other’s back,” she said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Osman ultimately is hopeful. The new Syrian president, Ahmed al-Shara, is a jihadi terrorist turned – apparently – a suit-and-tie-wearing diplomat. Some doubt his sincerity. Osman believes that young Arabs who are drawn to extremism can see his transformation and believe there is an alternative path for them as well.
A billion Muslims are not going anywhere, she said. The only resolution to what she sees as a civilizational conflict is internal reform within Islam. This is already visible in the Abraham Accords – which she is certain that Syria will join – and the small number of activists like her speaking out.
Gabriela Rosenblum, director of education with Allied Voices for Israel, welcomed the audience and thanked Dr. Neil and Michelle Pollock of Pollock Clinics for sponsoring the event. Rabbi Carey Brown, associate rabbi of Temple Sholom, welcomed guests to the synagogue and led a prayer for the redemption of those held captive and a prayer for the soldiers of the Israel Defence Forces.
