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War is also fought in words

David Jablinowitz, opinion editor for the Jerusalem Post, answers a question at one of his March talks at Congregation Beth Israel. (photo by Pat Johnson)

The intensely emotional debate in Israel right now centres on whether the government and military should be negotiating with Hamas for release of the hostages, extending the war or finding some combination of approaches to the situation.

David Jablinowitz, opinion editor for the Israeli English-language newspaper and media platform Jerusalem Post, spoke in Vancouver March 20. He shared with audiences at Congregation Beth Israel the rock and the hard place Israelis – including Israeli media – are between in the current crisis. Beth Israel’s Rabbi Adam Stein introduced Jablinowitz and emceed the discussion. The journalist spoke again the next night, at Shabbat services.

The Israeli government estimates that there are 59 remaining hostages in Gaza, of which 24 are believed to be alive. Testimony from rescued and released hostages say Hamas terrorists are poised to murder the captives if Israel Defence Forces ground troops approach – and this danger is in addition to the possibility that Israeli military strikes could unintentionally kill or injure Israelis held in Gaza.

“This is why there is such an emotional dispute in Israel right now,” Jablinowitz said. “Are we going to lose these 24? Because some Hamas terrorists, of whatever level, the highest or the lowest, have orders that the moment the Israelis get close, you kill the hostages.”

At the same time, Hamas is unsurprisingly not negotiating in good faith, he said. Although the terror regime has been significantly weakened, they continue to behave as though they have the upper hand.

“Hamas is playing hardball,” he said. When an individual or a group is in a weakened position, rational behaviour would see them become more amenable to compromise. Hamas appears to respond otherwise, making counter-demands that Jablinowitz characterizes as “totally unacceptable.”

“Why are they doing that? Why does Hamas have the gall to do this?” he asks. “Because it plays into their own hands.”

Israeli intelligence officials, he said, know that Hamas has been using ceasefires as an opportunity to rebuild and prepare for fresh rounds of violence.

“They keep saying, ‘No, that proposal by Israel is not good.… That’s almost good, but do that, so I can do this,’” he said. “While negotiations are going on, weeks and weeks and weeks, what’s happening on the ground in Gaza is the rebuilding of infrastructure [and] recruiting terrorists. They are just building themselves up because, as far as they are concerned, if they have their way, there will be another Oct. 7 – because the dispute with Hamas is not a dispute over territory. Hamas does not want Israel anywhere. Their charter says so. They won’t accept a Jewish state – any non-Muslim state at all, but certainly not a Jewish state.”

Another reason why Hamas feels emboldened, he said, is because the international community, like the European Union, often treats Israel and Hamas as two legitimate actors on an equivalent moral plane.

The role of Qatar, which has been wrongly accepted by world leaders as a legitimate intervenor in the conflict, deserves a far more critical eye, argued Jablinowitz.

Qatar should be on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, he said. “They are pulling the wool over the eyes of the world.”

Qatar is pretending to be a constructive party, while funding Palestinian terror, providing a haven to terrorists, and flooding the world with jihadist propaganda on social media and through their funding of courses in North American and European universities, Jablinowitz said.

This support for propaganda, among other factors, helps explain the world’s approach to the conflict.

“I’m not saying Israel is all good, I’m not saying there aren’t innocent Palestinians,” said Jablinowitz. But he takes exception to the widespread expressions of concern around blameless Palestinian civilians.

“I have to tell you, soldiers who have served there, and among the [freed] hostages themselves [in] their testimony, have said, ‘Don’t give me the “civilian innocent” business. We were there, we saw the people. There was nobody, nobody, who came to our rescue.’”

Palestinian kids and other civilians came to see where the hostages are and, Jablinowitz said, “Nobody, nobody lifted a finger to do anything.”

Relatedly, the pass the world community seems to give the Palestinians is not extended to Israel’s military, even when it goes out of its way to minimize Palestinian casualties.

“What other countries say to a terrorist, or to their enemy, ‘At 4 o’clock Wednesday afternoon, I’m attacking you, and I’m attacking you here’? But that’s what we do in order to keep down the civilian deaths,” he said. “How does the world report it? What do European and other leaders say? ‘Oh, Israel is evicting the Palestinians.’ We are trying to save their lives and save our lives at the same time. We are better to Palestinian civilians in Gaza than Hamas is to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”

The rebuilding of Gaza, if and when it occurs, must address not only the physical devastation but the indoctrination of kids, who have been taught that “Jews are bad people, the Jews were meant to be killed,” said Jablinowitz.

“As long as you’re going to have that education, there’s no point in doing anything,” he said.

Jablinowitz acknowledged at least two contesting attitudes toward Israel’s overseas PR battle.

One side, typified in a Jerusalem Post op-ed by Alan Baker, Israel’s former ambassador to Canada, is that Israel should ignore global criticism.

“Enough. There is no point,” Jablinowitz summarizes this approach. “We have to do what we have to do.

“An alternative opinion is that maybe it’s not the hasbara [PR approach] that’s a problem, but the government’s policies,” he said.

He thinks the answer may be simpler.

“I honestly think that our cause is not as appealing. The Palestinians are so good at it because they are the downtrodden,” said Jablinowitz.

Israel had good PR when they were seen in the world’s eyes as the David to the Arab world’s Goliath.

“We were doing great in 1967, when … [it would have been] so easy to just decimate our country,” he said. “We were popular.”

That changed after Israel won the Six Day War, which remains contested in terms of who started the conflict, since Israel attacked its neighbours as they were preparing an offensive.

“That’s why we preempted in 1967,” Jablinowitz said. “You see what happens when we don’t preempt? Oct. 7 happens when we don’t preempt.”

Flowers for those murdered

A new daffodil garden at Beth Israel commemorates the 1,200 people murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

“It’s not much, but I wanted those in the Jewish community to know that they are not forgotten, and they are not alone,” Lora Anjos told the Independent.

On the morning of April 27, at Congregation Beth Israel, there will be a dedication ceremony in memory of the 1,200 people murdered in the Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. To be dedicated is a new daffodil garden at the synagogue’s southwest corner, at 28th Avenue and Oak Street. The garden was inspired by Anjos.

Just over a year ago, Beth Israel member Alan Farber paid a visit to Anjos. Farber, a retired lawyer, and Anjos, also a lawyer, shared office space for many years. During that time, they became close friends. When Farber saw Anjos in February 2024, he said, “Lora expressed to me how upset she was over the horrific events of Oct. 7 and how sorry she felt for her Jewish friends over the rise of antisemitism. Lora said she would like to do something as a memorial to the innocent victims of the slaughter, and suggested planting 1,200 daffodil bulbs that would bloom annually in memory of the fallen. She wanted to place it at a Jewish location but truly didn’t know how to go about it. I was inspired by her idea and told her to leave the organization to me.”

Farber approached Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld with the idea of a garden and Infeld “simply said do it,” Farber shared.

“Everyone I dealt with in organizing the planting was fully on board and inspired by the commitment made to our community by a non-Jewish person,” said Farber. “Grade 11 students came in October and helped plant 1,200 bulbs.”

Anjos came to that October event, spoke to the King David High School students and helped plant bulbs with them and members of the congregation, said Farber.

“There are a few stories I could tell that would explain it. But this one stands out,” Anjos told the Independent of her reason for wanting to do something for the Jewish community. She was influenced, in part, by a conversation she had with a former Dalhousie University classmate, Robert Astroff, who was part of the small Jewish community in Halifax. Some of his family members had been killed in the Holocaust and, she said, “If I recall correctly, he started keeping kosher after visiting the camps, in honour of those who lost their lives. He was gracious in all respects, including the sharing of his faith, through stories and food, hospitality and kindness, as an act of community.

“Sometime after graduation, he came to Vancouver,” she said. “We met and had lunch at the Vancouver Art Gallery. We sat outside on the terrace. It was a hot and sunny day. We talked about many things. But, at some point, the discussion turned to traveling. I mentioned the unexpected feeling I had experienced years earlier when I flew into Amsterdam after a four-month backpacking trip to Europe. As the plane descended over the flat green fields and dykes of Holland, I was reminded of Richmond, where I grew up, and immediately felt a sense of peace, as if I was landing at home. What happened next has never left me. Robert said he felt the same thing when he flew to Israel for the first time. I asked him why – because my sense of home and peace had stemmed from the similarity of the terrain between the Netherlands and Richmond, while Israel and Nova Scotia looked nothing alike. He said: Because, Lora, when they come for us again, Israel will be the only country that will protect us.

“Those words shook me,” said Anjos. “I had no doubt as to the heartfulness of Robert’s feelings. But I did not believe that that would happen. I did not believe I would live to see a pogrom. And I did not believe that, if such hatred took place, Israel alone would stand against it. I was left incredibly sad that Robert thought his fellow citizens, his friends, his colleagues and his country would not protect him. I could not fathom that. Then, Oct. 7, 2023, happened.”

Anjos spoke fondly of Farber and his late wife, Felicia Folk, who died in August 2023, as well as other Jewish friends and colleagues who have shown her kindness over the years, including Janet Stern.

“She had worked at Mills Brothers in Halifax, which I frequented often,” said Anjos. “When I was set to leave Halifax for the last time, she took a tired and broke student out to the most glorious lunch. It was so unexpected and so appreciated, I remember it still. Kindness from people who knew me well, and not so well.”

To attend the dedication, register at bethisrael.ca.

Preparing for election

Canadians will elect a new federal government on April 28. The resignation of Justin Trudeau upended expectations, and opinion polls suggest a more competitive contest than was predicted when the year began.

While British Columbia’s Jewish community has not historically produced a great number of elected officials at the municipal, provincial or federal level, several candidates in the province have connections to the community.

photo - Tamara Kronis — Tamara Kronis *(photo from rossmcbride.com)*

In the Vancouver Island riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith, Conservative Tamara Kronis is mounting another run. She came a close second in 2021, in one of the most watched races in the country. Paul Manly, one of only two Green Party members of Parliament at the time, was defeated in that race by New Democrat Lisa Marie Barron. Barron is seeking a second term while Manly, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel, seeks to retake the seat and Kronis aims to beat them both. With the New Democrats and the Greens at historic lows in opinion polls, and the Liberals having placed a distant fourth last election, this may be the likeliest BC riding to send a Jewish representative to Ottawa.

Kronis is a lawyer with experience in the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, as an independent director of Ontario Hydro, and she was an instructor at George Brown College in Toronto. She has served as advocacy director of Egale Canada, the national LGBTQ+ rights organization.

photo - Zach Segal — Zach Segal *(photo from LinkedIn)*

In Richmond East-Steveston, Zach Segal is also running for the Conservatives. Born and raised in Richmond, Segal has served on the board of the Rotary Club of Richmond, the Kehila Society, and the City of Richmond’s seniors advisory committee. He was also a Big Brother in the Big Brother and Big Sister Program.

During the Stephen Harper Conservative government, Segal worked in Ottawa in national defence and transportation, and now works in commercial real estate. Segal was the Conservative candidate in Vancouver Granville in 2019.

Richmond East-Steveston is a swing riding that has changed hands in each of the past three elections. First-term Liberal MP Parm Bains aims to hold the seat, which he took from the Conservatives in 2021.

In Vancouver Centre, filmmaker, activist and associate professor at the University of British Columbia Avi Lewis is running for the New Democratic Party, trying to unseat Liberal Hedy Fry. The longest-serving female MP in Canadian history, Fry has won 10 consecutive elections since defeating then-prime minister Kim Campbell in 1993.

photo - Avi Lewis — Avi Lewis *(photo from Wikipedia)*

Lewis is socialist royalty in Canada, son of the former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis and grandson of David Lewis, a federal leader of the NDP in the 1970s and a leading figure in the NDP’s predecessor party, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, almost since its inception in the 1930s.

Avi Lewis is one of Canada’s most prominent critics of Israel. He has characterized Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide,” urged the Canadian government to cease arms sales to Israel, and supports South Africa’s call for the International Court of Justice to investigate Israel.

While the New Democrat candidate historically comes second in Vancouver Centre, Fry has held the riding even in the darkest days of the federal Liberals’ fortunes and, in 2021, won by more than 10 points over her NDP opponent. With polls currently suggesting historic lows for the NDP, the 83-year-old Fry seems as safe as ever.

Ken Charko, who has close ties to Vancouver’s Jewish community, is running as the Conservative candidate in Vancouver Quadra. Charko is a Vancouver business leader who is the proprietor of the Dunbar Theatre and has served as president of the Hillcrest Community Centre for the past five years.

photo - Ken Charko — Ken Charko *(photo from vancouverquadra.ca)*

Charko has been awarded the Trinjan Diversity Award – an award given by Trinjan & Mata Gujri Foundation for commitment to diversity in the workplace. He has volunteered with groups such as the Canadian Red Cross, the Vancouver Olympic Committee and the Vancouver Paralympic Committee. He provides guidance to students of the Vancouver Film School on aspects of the motion picture industry. He also serves on the board of the Motion Picture Theatre Association of BC, representing independent theatre owners. He is a recipient of the Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year.

Quadra has been held by the Liberals even longer than Vancouver Centre, having been snatched from the Conservatives in 1984 by then-prime minister John Turner. Successive Liberal MPs have held it ever since, including Joyce Murray, since 2008. Murray is not running for re-election and the Liberals have nominated Wade Grant, who has served as an elected Musqueam councilor. While riding boundaries have changed slightly since 2021, Murray won the seat easily, besting her Conservative opponent by about 15 points.

Election Day is Monday, April 28. In British Columbia, polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There are many other ways and days to vote, including advance polling from April 18 to 21, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; early voting until April 22 at any Election Canada office; and an opportunity to vote by mail. To vote by mail, you must apply online or at an Elections Canada office by April 22. Full details are available at elections.ca.

CJPAC, the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, is urging Jews and allies to engage in the political process and has details and opportunities at cjpac.ca/elections. CJPAC is a national, independent, multi-partisan organization, whose mandate is to engage Jewish Canadians and allies in the democratic process and to foster active political participation.

CIJA, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, has additional election-related information, including questions to ask candidates on topics including accountability for hate, strengthening Canada-Israel relations, and safeguarding Canadian society and values. See cija.ca.

Left returns to City Hall

The left in Vancouver came roaring back to life last Saturday, April 5. In the civic by-election to replace two city councilors, Sean Orr, candidate of the far-left Coalition of Progressive Electors, topped the polls, with Lucy Maloney of the left-leaning OneCity coming second.

The two candidates of Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC slate finished far back. ABC candidate and Jewish community member Jaime Stein, who was bombarded with extreme antisemitic hate on social media during the campaign, came sixth, with 9,267 votes. His running mate, Ralph Kaisers, came seventh with 8,915. By contrast, Orr took 34,448 and Maloney 33,732 (all numbers are unofficial election night results).

The first results were not reported for three hours after polls closed, as officials held back counts until every voter had a chance to cast a ballot. The city was apparently caught off guard by higher-than-expected voter turnout, leading to hours-long lineups at voting stations, even after the 8 p.m. scheduled poll closing. Election day turnout was 15% of eligible voters, representing a 40% increase from the last civic by-election, in 2017.

Orr has a history of anti-Israel activism and social media posts, as well as arguably antisemitic expressions, including reposting comments such as “What does the ‘I’ in CIJA stand for?” and “Antisemitism is when I’m not allowed to chant ‘Death to Arabs.’”

The results seem to spell disenchantment with Sim’s ABC slate, which still holds seven seats on the 11-member council. ABC swept into office in 2022 on a platform of public safety, affordability and housing.

Bregmans’ invaluable impact

Rabbi Philip Bregman, rabbi emeritus of Temple Sholom, has spent 45 of his 50 years since ordination in Vancouver, having joined the Reform congregation in 1980. (photo from Philip Bregman)

Temple Sholom and the larger Jewish community came together on erev Shabbat, March 28, to celebrate Rabbi Philip Bregman and his wife Cathy, marking 50 years since his ordination. The dinner and Friday night services were emotional but included a great deal of laughter.

Bregman, now rabbi emeritus of the Reform synagogue, has spent 45 of his 50 years since ordination in Vancouver. Early in his career, after also receiving a master’s degree in social work, he served in New Rochelle, NY, and in Toronto, before coming to Temple Sholom in 1980.

Since retiring from the pulpit in 2013, Bregman has served as Hillel BC’s executive director and as the Jewish chaplain at the University of British Columbia. Under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver, he helped found the Other People, an interfaith and multicultural group that talks about diversity to high school students, among other strategies.

Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, who is now Temple Sholom’s senior rabbi, spoke of what Bregman has contributed to the community.

photo - Rabbi Philip Bregman in fall 2024, after receiving a King Charles III Coronation Medal, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Canada — Rabbi Philip Bregman in fall 2024, after receiving a King Charles III Coronation Medal, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Canada. *(photo from Philip Bregman)*

“All of the things that we appreciate and love about being Jewish in Vancouver, Rabbi Bregman has had a hand in,” said Moskovitz, who came to Temple Sholom 13 years ago. Motioning his arms to the packed sanctuary, he said: “Rabbi, you have planted the seeds and this is the fruit.”

Moskovitz said he has been guided in his own rabbinate by a rule of thumb: “WWBD – What would Bregman do? And I just did that. I might have done it my own way, but I just did what Philip would do, what Rabbi Bregman would do, and that has served us all so well.”

Moskovitz shared a story about the weekend of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, in 2018.

“I was crushed and devastated,” said Moskovitz. “After the service, I went into my office, which was his office, and I cried. Rabbi Bregman came in and he held me, and I cried on his shoulder. It wasn’t the first time. It wasn’t the last time I cried on your shoulder. Thank you for being this rabbi’s rabbi. Thank you for letting us cry on your shoulder, and for those shoulders holding us up.”

Rabbi Carey Brown, who came from the United States to become the shul’s associate rabbi, credited Bregman for helping her become, first, “a rabbi to Canadians” and, in time, “a Canadian rabbi myself.”

She said Bregman told her when she arrived: “The thing to know about Canadian Jews is Israel. Canadian Jews are very connected, strongly, to Israel.

“It’s really through your love of Israel that I have seen that so, so deeply,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Shai Bregman, the rabbi’s son and eldest offspring, joked, “I was saving all this material for the eulogy.”

“Who he is as a rabbi and who he is as a person can’t be separated,”

Shai Bregman said. “His passion for Judaism, his unapologetic Zionism, his determination to teach his grandchildren every swear word, are all what makes him who he is.”

The rabbi, said his son, is “one of the most vicious fundraisers you could ever imagine.”

“I’ve seen him raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in between baseball innings, both for the shul and for individuals in need.”

Speaking to the assembled crowd, Bregman donned a Toronto Blue Jays tallit that the congregation gave him upon his retirement 13 years ago, and reflected on the highs and lows.

On Jan. 25, 1985, at 1:30 a.m., Bregman received a call from Vancouver’s fire chief.

“Rabbi, your synagogue is entirely engulfed,” the head firefighter told him. “We believe it was a Molotov cocktail.”

There had been a previous incident and the congregation was in the process of erecting grates on the windows. Only two windows remained unprotected and one of those was where the firebomb entered. The crime remains unsolved.

For two and a half years, the congregation held its services at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and its religious school at Vancouver Talmud Torah. Bregman recalled being contacted by the late Rabbi Mordechai Feuerstein of the Orthodox Congregation Schara Tzedeck, offering Bregman and his staff office space for the duration.

“You’re going to catch hell,” Bregman told him. But Feuerstein insisted.

“And we paid this much rent,” Bregman said, forming a zero with his thumb and forefinger. “I will always be indebted to my beloved colleague. We had one major, major disagreement. It was not halachic. He unfortunately was a Boston Red Sox fan.”

That cross-denominational cooperation may have been a product of a uniquely Vancouver phenomenon. The Rabbinical Association of Vancouver, which encompasses congregational rabbis across the denominational spectrum, emerged from the first phone call Bregman received from outside the Temple Sholom community upon his arrival in the city. It was Rabbi Wilfred (Zev) Solomon of the Conservative synagogue Beth Israel.

“And that started the most incredible, loving, collegial friendship,” Bregman said. “Zev and I started the RAV, the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver, the collaboration that, among many things, I am most proud.”

Bregman credited the Temple Sholom community with providing a second home to his three children, who had the good fortune of remaining in one place for their entire childhoods, something that is rare for “RKs” – “rabbi’s kids,” as Bregman calls them.

The “kids’ (now adults) are daughters Shira and Jordana, and son Shai. Jordana and her husband, Itamar, are parents of Raf and Yoni. Shai and his wife, Michelle, have three children, Maya, Olivia and Talya.

Among other highlights, Bregman recalled mentoring seven individuals who went into the rabbinate and, with wife Cathy, taking “Israel virgins,” totaling about 1,000 people, to the Holy Land over the years.

Bregman credited his wife for the name of the group, the Other People, and said there was a challenge operating under the auspices of both the Jewish Federation and the RAV.

“The question was,” deadpanned Bregman, “who was going to manage him?”

The rabbi and his son, as well as other speakers, singled out Cathy Bregman as an irreplaceable force in the success of Bregman’s rabbinate and the achievements of the congregation, citing her concern for, engagement with and intuitive understanding of individual congregants.

At the dinner before Friday services, Ellen Gordon led a trivia game about events in 1975.

Anne Andrew spoke about arriving in Vancouver in 1980 and going “shul shopping.” She and her then-fiancé Eric attended the High Holiday services that year – “In those days, Rabbi Bregman was a bimah-thumper of note,” she said – and have been Temple Sholom members ever since, she serving as religious school principal when Bregman was rabbi, and Eric serving on the board, including as treasurer.

Jerry Growe, a past president of the synagogue, gave a drash on the week’s Torah portion, drawing parallels between the Book of Exodus and Bregman’s career, which included leading the congregation from the burned-out synagogue to the present structure, in 1988.

MLA Terry Yung, BC minister of state for community safety and integrated services, brought greetings from the province of British Columbia.

Taleeb Noormohamed, member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville, presented Bregman with a parliamentary recognition and discussed participating with the rabbi in interfaith work.

Former MLA Michael Lee and other members of the Other People paid tribute to the rabbi.

Meet new director of JACS

In February, Jewish Addiction Community Services (JACS) appointed Rabbi Joshua Corber as its new director. The Vancouver-born Conservative rabbi spent the last 10 years as a congregational rabbi in Calgary, Vaughan, Ont., and Louisville, Ky., before returning home in July 2023.

“Practically the entire time I was serving congregations, I was in recovery,” Corber said. “Prior to that, I was in active addiction. I’m in a unique position to serve the Jewish community in this way because I have the personal experience of having suffered from addiction, but I also have experience from my congregational service with pastoral counseling and, in particular, people going through severe life trauma. That will be of immense value to me in serving this community.”

Rabbi Joshua Corber is the director of Jewish Addiction Community Services Vancouver. (photo from JACS)

Corber noted that the Jewish community faces an acute risk when it comes to substance abuse. One reason is the misconception that Jews are immune to addiction, but another is the prevalence of alcohol in traditional religious observance. “There’s no religion other than Judaism in which alcohol is so present in almost all aspects of religious life,” he said.

“Alcohol is prescribed, sanctioned and encouraged in Judaism, and not just on Purim,” he continued. “There’s always a Jewish excuse for a l’chaim. For me, as a rabbi, that posed a unique danger because I could always justify it. Though halachic authorities strongly discourage drunkenness, that message won’t be absorbed by the addict, who will make a beeline for the l’chaim table – every single time.”

Corber’s polysubstance addiction, including alcohol, became acute during the pandemic. He said the most concerning addictions, that pose the most immediate threat to life, are opioids and fentanyl.

But, just as Judaism presents a risk in terms of addiction, it also has resources for recovery, the rabbi noted.

“Most of the recovery world, such as 12-step programs and AA, consider an addiction to be a spiritual problem, and spiritual problems require spiritual solutions. I have a deep knowledge of the ways in which Jewish tradition and Jewish wisdom teachings can be leveraged as a critical aid in recovery.”

Corber’s first community event will be held on April 15. The Third Seder: Understanding Addiction and the Path to Freedom is a communal, seder-like meal where the rabbi will discuss the connection between addiction, recovery and spiritual freedom. “We’ll leverage and focus the Haggadah around addiction and recovery,” Corber said, adding that “everyone should come.”

“This is not just for people who are in recovery or struggling with addiction,” he said. “It’s really important that the whole community be involved in the conversation around addiction. It can’t be that shivas are the only place that we’re talking about addiction.”

For more information or to book a seat, visit jfsvancouver.ca/events.

New umbrella for JACS

When Jewish Addiction Community Service was established in 2016, its role was to help members of the community suffering from addiction. Eight years after its inception, in 2024, the organization came under the umbrella of Jewish Family Services, meaning that, operationally, it will be under the auspices of JFS.

“We needed infrastructure and clinical support, so this is a big operational shift that integrates addiction-related services with other services that JFS provides,” said Tanja Demajo, chief executive officer at JFS. “When a client comes to JFS or JACS for support, we examine their needs holistically and connect them with different resources based on their needs. Going forward, it means people can get the support they need in one place instead of going to two.”

Demajo and her team hope the new development will remove barriers to service access and eliminate the shame and discomfort associated with requests for support, because the need is certainly there, she said.

“The percentage of people impacted by addiction in the Jewish community is very similar to the wider community: we know that every third community member is impacted by someone affected by addiction. But there’s a lot of stigma and judgment, so it’s not easy to ask for help,” Demajo told the Independent. “Education and awareness are things JACS and JFS really need to work on, to normalize the need to ask for help. The more conversations we have, the more it normalizes the need for help.”

JACS has hired Corber as a full-time director, and is relying on eight therapists contracted through JFS. Demajo said, as community needs shift and change, the organization will examine taking on additional therapists if needed. “We’re at the early stage of building a full program and bringing new energy to it,” she explained.

Demajo added that she’s deeply grateful to Howard Harowitz, the founder and chair of JACS, who advocated for addiction services in the Jewish community for years.

JACS’s mission is to increase education and awareness, provide community direct service, and offer guidance and referrals. For more information, visit jacsvancouver.com.

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.

Ruchot Hatzafon headlines

Ruchot Hatzafon members, left to right: Gil Melamood (bass guitar), Adam Halfi (keyboards), Ofir Baz (drums), Liraz Moalem (stage manager) and Eyal Shavit (vocals and electric guitar). (photo by Yannay Shifron)

“We will dance again” is the theme of this year’s Yom Ha’atzmaut community gathering on April 30 to celebrate Israel’s 77th anniversary amid the heartache that continues since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. In addition to Nova Festival survivors, other special guests will be the band Ruchot Hatzafon, some of whose members still have not returned to their homes in Israel’s northern region because of the continued threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Better now, but it was very traumatic for everyone,” Eyal Shavit told the Independent about how he and his fellow musicians were doing since Oct. 7. “It’s difficult to put to words. We all live very close to the Lebanese border. A couple of us, Liraz [Moalem] and Gil [Melamood], live right on that border, in Kibbutz Malkiya and in Kibbutz Kfar Giladi, so they had to move to more central places in Israel and to this day they still haven’t come back to their homes.

“For the rest of us, it wasn’t as bad, but it still affected our lives in so many ways. Not to mention financially, as well as the mental trauma, the fear and the grief. However, we are among the luckiest ones in the grander scheme of things and we do what we have to do, both as individuals and as a people. We keep living, we keep moving forward and we keep celebrating our lives, all the while remembering [those] who are still held in Gaza by Hamas and grieving with anyone and everyone who has suffered the most terrible losses on that day.”

Shavit said he left his kibbutz, Kfar Szold, a couple of days after Oct. 7, “because the feeling at the time was that it can happen again at any given moment by Hezbollah in Lebanon, but, within a couple of weeks, I realized that it would be safe enough to go back … so I’ve stayed there since.”

Shavit is Ruchot Hatzafon’s lead vocalist and he plays the electric guitar. (He is also, as it happens, co-author of the book Hilarious Hebrew with Hebrew teacher Yael Breuer, which the Independent reviewed in 2016: jewishindependent.ca/from-nonsense-knowledge.) In Vancouver, Shavit will be joined by Melamood (bass guitar), Adam Halfi (keyboards), Ofir Baz (drums) and Sapir Breier (vocals).

“In this instance, Sapir will be with us in Vancouver, as Vered [Sasportas] couldn’t join us this time,” said Shavit of the band’s other primary vocalist.

Moalem is the band’s stage manager.

The group has been together about six years, and Shavit explained its evolution.

“It was a bit of luck really,” he said about his joining. “I’d just returned from the UK to Israel, having lived in Brighton, England, for 13 years, where I studied music and made my living playing gigs in pubs and events.”

Friends from high school – Melamood (who also was in a military band with Shavit during their army service) and Baz – contacted Shavit and asked him to be a part of the band, along with another high school friend, Halfi, so that they could play at an event.

“We then immediately got booked for a second event by Liraz Moalem, who then became our band manager,” said Shavit. “It was a lot of fun and a nice opportunity. We all aspired to do this for a living.”

A couple of years after that, he said, Sasportas, who they met through a mutual friend and colleague, became part of the group and, said Shavit, “she fit right in, as well as being a brilliant singer and performer.”

Ruchot Hatzafon – which translates as the Northern Winds – has two types of shows.

“One is an energetic set of very popular songs both in Hebrew and in English that everyone likes to dance to, and the other show is a tribute to Israel’s army bands, who have a huge legacy in Israeli culture and used to dominate the charts back in the ’60s up until the mid-’70s,” explained Shavit. “That show includes a bit of storytelling and mostly wonderful and famous songs by the old army bands.

“In Vancouver, we will play our party music set, along with some special requests, like ‘Yerushalayim Shel Zahav’ by Naomi Shemer, for example.”

Other songs that Vancouverites will hear on April 30 include “Ahava Besof Ha’Kayitz” (“Love at the End of Summer”) by Tsvika Pik; “Ein Makom Acher” (“No Other Place”) by Mashina; “Naarin Shuva Elay” (“My Boy, Come Back to Me”) by Margalit Tsan’ani; “Natati La Chayai” (“I Gave Her My Life”) by Kaveret; and some Israeli Eurovision songs.

“And, in English, probably ‘Think’ by Aretha Franklin, ‘I Will Survive’ by Gloria Gaynor, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen and more,” said Shavit.

The band members have similar musical tastes, he said, perhaps because they all grew up on a kibbutz. “We’re generally more drawn to Western-influenced rock and pop music and songs in English, rather than Mediterranean-influenced songs, which are another genre of cover bands in Israel,” he said. “We play only a few of those.”

This will be Ruchot Hatzafon’s first time performing outside of Israel. They’ll arrive April 28 and return home on May 2, but Shavit said they’re thinking about extending their stay a couple of days.

“I can say for all of us that we feel this is an honour and a privilege to be invited to play for the Jewish communities in Vancouver – especially after what we’ve all been through as a people,” Shavit said. “We are thrilled to come and celebrate with everyone there.

“In addition, we get to visit a little bit of Canada, which, personally, I’ve always wanted to visit.”

Tickets ($18) for the Yom Ha’atzmaut event must be bought in advance. To do so, visit jewishvancouver.com/israelhere.

Stein running for city council

Jaime Stein hopes to bring a Jewish voice to the table at Vancouver City Hall. He is vying for one of the two seats that will be filled in a by-election April 5.

One seat opened after Councilor Christine Boyle was elected as a New Democrat to the BC Legislature in the provincial election last year. She had been the sole representative on council for the OneCity electoral organization.

The other seat opened after Councilor Adriane Carr, one of two Green party councilors, resigned, citing frustration with the governing style of Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC majority.

photo - Jaime Stein said that, when meeting with a couple of hundred voters every day, he and his running mate, Ralph Kaisers, are hearing that people are “really happy with how ABC is willing to take on difficult issues” — Jaime Stein said that, when meeting with a couple of hundred voters every day, he and his running mate, Ralph Kaisers, are hearing that people are “really happy with how ABC is willing to take on difficult issues.” *(Courtesy Jaime Stein)*

Stein is on the ABC slate, with running mate Ralph Kaisers. They hope to increase ABC’s existing majority on council. ABC currently holds the mayor’s chair and six of the 10 councilor positions.

Aiming to prevent a larger ABC majority are four electoral organizations.

TEAM for a Livable Vancouver has nominated former city councilor Colleen Hardwick and community organizer and urban researcher Theodore Abbott.

The three other groups have nominated one candidate each. OneCity has nominated schools and street safety activist Lucy Maloney. COPE, the Coalition of Progressive Electors, has nominated writer and punk musician Sean Orr. The Green party has nominated filmmaker and advocate Annette Reilly.

There are six independent candidates running: Jeanifer Decena, Guy Dubé, Charles Ling, Karin Litzcke, Gerry Mcguire and Rollergirl.

The dual by-election is the first test of the ABC majority on Vancouver city council since Sim and his party were first elected in 2022.

Stein said that, when meeting with a couple of hundred voters every day, he and his running mate Kaisers are hearing that people are “really happy with how ABC is willing to take on difficult issues, whether it’s in the Downtown Eastside or whether it’s with crime and safety or whether it’s just examining new ways to do things that maybe councils in the past haven’t done.”

He thinks there is a silent majority that doesn’t make a lot of noise but who are generally pleased with the direction the city has been taking in the past three years.

The issues that led to the ABC victory in 2022 have not changed significantly, according to Stein.

“I think the biggest issue, number one, is crime and safety,” he said. “People want Vancouver to be a safer city, one that they can get out and enjoy.”

The second most common issue he hears about, he said, is “making Vancouver open for business again.”

“That means reducing red tape for businesses,” said Stein. “It means making it easier for people to interact with the city, whether they need permits, etc., and also opening it to the world, like bringing more festivals and events here, like FIFA or Web Summit, and trying to generate tourism dollars in the city for folks.”

While Stein sees value in having a Jewish voice at the table, he said Vancouver already has Canada’s “most friendly mayor and council to the Jewish community.”

Although Vancouver’s second mayor, David Oppenheimer, was Jewish, there have never been a great many Jews in elected positions either locally, provincially or federally from British Columbia. Stein hopes his candidacy inspires other Jews to get involved.

“It’s a voice that needs to be at the table, not only to advocate for our community but also to serve as a role model for others to get involved in either the political process or in civic discourse in general,” he said.

Stein has corporate and nonprofit sector leadership experience, including in the technology sector at companies including BroadbandTV, Taplytics and Hootsuite. He partnered with Canadian Blood Services to raise $12.5 million for establishing Canada’s national public cord blood bank, inspired to do so by the loss of his father, Howard Stein, to leukemia, in 2006. He is also on the board of an agency advancing Alzheimer’s research.

In the Jewish community, Stein was selected as a 2024 Wexner Fellow, a two-year educational program focused on Jewish learning and leadership development. He chairs a committee on the Antisemitism and Israel Crisis Response Team. With the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Stein has worked with elected officials to develop public policy to strengthen community safety and security. He has been a volunteer and fundraiser supporting Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Centre and has volunteered in different capacities with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and others.

Last year, Stein was nominated as the BC United candidate in Vancouver-Langara, but did not run in the provincial election after the party folded its campaign and endorsed the BC Conservatives.

Polls are open election day, which is Saturday, April 5, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., but there are opportunities to vote early at Vancouver City Hall, on Tuesday, April 1, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and people can also cast their vote by mail. For full details, go to vancouver.ca/vote.

TEAM shares its vision

In Vancouver, affordable housing continues to be an issue, despite the amount of development. (photo from satanoid / flickr)

In the April 5 civic by-election, TEAM for a Livable Vancouver has nominated Colleen Hardwick, a former city councilor, and Theodore Abbott, a community organizer and urban researcher.

TEAM is a political organization with a mandate of reversing what it sees as problems that have developed over the past decade, and prioritizing thriving, livable neighbourhoods. It promises to value the contributions of neighbourhood organizations, commit to genuine consultation with residents and put first the types of housing that residents say they need to manage the housing crunch. TEAM also promises to resist the promotion of building that maximizes developer profits.

TEAM was created in 2021 and the organization’s website notes that the name comes from the Electors’ Action Movement (TEAM), “the party that brought residents together in 1968 to save Strathcona, Chinatown, Gastown and Vancouver’s waterfront from a freeway system. Then, City Hall bureaucrats badly underestimated the desire of residents to have meaningful involvement in the face and future of their city.

“We are feeling a similar disconnect today.”

In addition to the priorities listed above, TEAM highlights evidence-based decision-making, being “realistic about Vancouver’s contribution to climate change … without overburdening already financially-stressed residents,” and helping council, school and park boards to work together more.

These are all issues that deeply concern David Fine. The Jewish filmmaker and TEAM member is working on a documentary titled Is This the City We Want to Build?, wherein he interviews renters facing the loss of their homes under the Broadway Plan. Born in Toronto, Fine lived in London, England, for 19 years before moving to Vancouver in 2004.

“There’s a huge disconnect between earning potential and the high prices of houses here,” he said. “Our housing market is overrun by developers who want to sell to international buyers instead of locals. We’re seeing massive tower development, displacement of thousands of people from affordable housing and criticizers being called ‘anti-progress’ and ‘anti-development.’ Over the years, on a civic level, not enough has been done to address this, and I feel the civic parties have been funded by, and are acting on behalf of, the development industry – to serve their interests.”

Fine believes the city urgently needs more housing, but housing that serves a broad spectrum of needs.

“Small apartments don’t work for growing families that need space and, if you’re driving families further out, it undermines the whole notion of a walkable city,” he said. “Look around at the pace of development and the threat of towers everywhere. Some 2,000 homes a year will be demolished in favour of towers. People need to be aware of what’s going on and oppose this, and TEAM is the only party taking a position on what’s happening.”

image - The area that the City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan comprises — The area that the City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan comprises. *(image from City of Vancouver)*

Michael Geller, another member of the Jewish community, has spent the past 50 years involved with housing and more than 20 developments.

“I’ve made a living promoting high-density development, but I’m concerned about where all those existing tenants are going to go, notwithstanding tenant protection policies,” Geller said. “I just don’t think it’s fair for them to have to move to Langley or Burnaby, or out of the community, and there isn’t the available stock to relocate a lot of those tenants.”

An architect and a planner, Geller believes that proposals to treble or quadruple allowable density is a planning mistake.

“I’ll be glad if most of those existing buildings, especially those that have been well maintained, continue to operate as affordable rental buildings,” he said. “I don’t want the city’s rezoning plans to change the character of some of Vancouver’s charming neighbourhoods. “

The densification of Vancouver and the financialization of the housing market are polarizing issues. If you’re a tenant, you’re likely feeling the vulnerability caused by the possibility of change, and, with it, the threat that a community you’ve grown to love may become unaffordable. If you’re a property owner or a landlord, you want to maximize your investment and, if that means increasing rent or redeveloping, should that decision not be yours?

“I’m torn,” Geller admitted. “There are several property owners who are friends of mine and members of the Jewish community, who’ve asked me to assist them in seeking approvals for redevelopment of their properties. At the same time, I feel it would be better not to completely change the character of some of our lovely streets.”

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.

Sharing, listening together

photo - Alycia Fridkin leads two JQT Mental Health Support Series workshops: Facing Emotions and Healing Relationships on March 30, and Queering with Our Kids on April 6 — Alycia Fridkin leads two JQT Mental Health Support Series workshops: Facing Emotions and Healing Relationships on March 30, and Queering with Our Kids on April 6. *(photo from JQT Vancouver)*

JQT Vancouver is hosting two supported and spiritually grounded workshops in partnership with JFS Vancouver, as part of the JQT Mental Health Support Series: Facing Emotions and Healing Relationships on March 30, and Queering with Our Kids on April 6. Both three-hour, free gatherings will be held from noon to 3 p.m. at Little Mountain Neighbourhood House.

In the first workshop, participants will explore how they have been wrestling with some relationships since Oct. 7, 2023. Drawing on open-hearted sharing, deep listening and collective wisdom, they will process this tension and arrive at insights together for how to manage the emotions within themselves and with their families, friends, colleagues and other people in their lives. The goal of this gathering is to listen to one another, as participants share their lived experiences navigating relationships in conversation around Israel and Palestine and/or being Jewish. Come learn how to build capacity as a community to create an intentional, supportive, safe and healing space for diverse voices to be heard.

The second workshop is for parents of queer/trans youth and queer/trans parents to share, listen and learn from one another as parents in the Jewish community. The goal of this gathering is for participants to listen and learn how they can support themselves and their children facing tensions in the Jewish and/or queer/trans communities. This could include issues related to Israel and Palestine, gender diversity and sexual orientation. The workshop aims to build capacity as a community to create an intentional, supportive, safe and healing space for families and caregivers.

Both workshops will be led by Alycia Fridkin, an experienced facilitator on equity issues and a member of the Vancouver queer Jewish community, who led JQT’s Listen & Be Heard a year ago.

Fridkin is an equity and anti-racism consultant who supports individuals and organizations to address inequities in health care and other sectors. She has facilitated engagement sessions and workshops on systemic racism, whiteness and white fragility, meaningful involvement, stigmatized topics such as substance use and decriminalization, and the Palestine/Israel conflict. Her training includes a PhD in interdisciplinary studies and a master’s in health science, and she is a certified transformational coach.

To register for either or both workshops, and for information on JQT, its events and activities, visit jqtvancouver.ca.

– Courtesy JQT Vancouver