Mairav Robens-Paradise, right, has found her community, and so much more, at Camp Miriam. Her closest, deepest relationships are the friendships she has made through camp. (photo from Camp Miriam)
Last summer was my 11th year at Camp Miriam. Even before my first year, in 2012, I dreamed about sneaking onto the school bus parked in the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver parking lot as we dropped off my older brothers to go to what I understood to be the most magical place on earth. Over a decade later, I can confidently say that description is an understatement.
I grew up attending public school, where my siblings and I made up the majority of the Jewish population. I don’t recall my immense excitement to go to camp being consciously related to my Judaism, but unbeknownst to 8-year-old me, it would forever alter my connection to my sense of self and my community. Camp Miriam fostered the environment that allowed me to grow into my Jewish identity. At camp, you are surrounded with people who all relate to their Judaism in different ways, both culturally and religiously, and are given the tools and safety to form that unique, personal relationship.
I am currently in my second year of university at McGill, in Montreal, living with two friends from camp. It has been incredibly important to me to have a Jewish community nearby, especially over the past several months, and my roommates are just a fraction of the connections Camp Miriam has given me.
The strength of the friendships I have made over my years of involvement with the camp overpowers any other facet of my life. The values we learn, the skills we practise and the tools we gain at camp equip us to manage complex interpersonal relationships, resolve conflicts and gain independence. Whether it’s learning how to tie knots for camping, defusing relational tensions or discussing social justice, chanichimot (campers) and madrichimot (counselors) alike do so in a secure and empowering environment. Now, as a student who lives away from home, Camp Miriam and its extensive community keep me tethered and grounded to my Judaism and my personal values.
Camp Miriam’s unique structure as a youth-led camp provides empowerment to its entire community. Over the last two years working as a madricha (counselor), I have been trusted with a multitude of responsibilities. Last summer, I had a tafkid (role) that consisted of organizing the programming that occurs during Shabbat. Some of our traditions every Friday include everyone dressing in their nicest clothes and competing for the cleanest cabin award. These small but significant means of welcoming in Shabbat in fun ways foster an exploratory environment for kids to form their connections to Judaism at their own pace.
As a kid, my favourite part of Shabbat was rikud (dance), when all of camp gathers for Israeli dancing. Now, as a madricha, my favourite part is Havdalah, which is a ceremony held every Saturday night to signify the end of Shabbat. Last summer, we introduced live music to our Havdalah tradition, which we listen to while everyone is gathered in a circle watching the ceremonial candle burn. These shared moments all contribute to creating an incredibly strong community of Jewish youth.
As I’m writing this article, I’m sitting in the living room of a member of my national kvutzah (age group/cohort), surrounded by the company of 18 other Jewish members of Habonim Dror North America, the larger movement that Camp Miriam is a part of. This experience really encapsulates what Camp Miriam has given me as a Jew. The closest, deepest relationships I have are the friendships I have made through camp. It’s just not about making friends, learning and forming your identity, but also about finding your community. As I look around, I come to realize – I owe a lot to Camp Miriam.
Mairav Robens-Paradiseis a second-year student at McGill University in Montreal. Last summer was her 11th year at Camp Miriam.
Yachad activities in summer 2023 included one where campers were given a large box, tape, bubble wrap and scissors and told to make a functioning boat. (photo from Camp Hatikvah)
In the summer of 2023, Camp Hatikvah introduced a new activity just for their 13- and 14-year-old campers called Yachad. Named after the Hebrew word for together, Yachad was introduced with the aim of fostering connections and breaking down the barriers that sometimes divide today’s teenagers.
“Motivating teenagers to step out of their comfort zones can be a challenge. With this in mind, our goal was to design something new that breaks the ice, melts away self-consciousness, and brings campers together,” said Liza Rozen-Delman, executive director.
Knowing their audience well, Camp Hatikvah decided that friendly competition would be the key to success.
At the beginning of the summer, campers were organized into “house” teams and told that this would be their team for the whole summer while they competed for end-of-session prizes like a trip to the ice cream store.
In one of the Yachad activities, campers had to dress up like the characters of a movie they picked out of a hat. (photo from Camp Hatikvah)
Every second day or so, these teams would engage in wacky daytime competitions that required more enthusiasm than skill. From dress-up competitions to hilariously messy slime wars, Yachad quickly became a favourite activity among campers.
“We never knew what was coming next,” said one 14-year-old camper, “so each time Yachad came around we were filled with anticipation and excitement.”
The heart of Yachad lies in its unique approach to team building. Without knowing it, campers are learning myriad skills like communication and adaptability (shh … don’t tell them).
“The program is centred on the belief that shared experiences have the power to forge lasting bonds. In the midst of extraordinary escapades, campers not only form new individual friendships but also contribute to building a tight-knit community – a community that embodies the very essence of Camp Hatikvah’s mission,” said Rozen-Delman.
Another Yachad activity challenged campers to make an ugly Hanukkah sweater. (photo from Camp Hatikvah)
Last year’s activities included “noodle fencing,” where campers jousted with floppy pool noodles; a “wedding dress challenge,” where campers designed a dress using a spool of tulle; an “ugly Hanukkah sweater challenge,” where campers were given a sweatshirt and all sorts of tacky Hanukkah décor to attach onto it; and a “Disney challenge,” where the team needed to dress up like the characters of a movie they picked out of a hat.
“The highlight for me was the boat regatta,” shared a camper. “We were each given a large box, tape, bubble wrap and scissors and told to make a functioning boat. One of our teammates then had to go onto the lake in it to see if it floated. Ours didn’t last long and it was hilarious.”
“Yachad celebrates the joy of togetherness, unleashing the power of pure, unfiltered fun,” said Rozen-Delman. “In a world that is so heavy, it’s really just what these kids need.”
Looking ahead, Camp Hatikvah is already planning a repertoire of creative and crazy Yachad activities for the summer of 2024 – the sillier the better, as Camp Hatikvah knows the power of fun in bringing kids together and building community.
Time at summer camp is an incredible gift to give kids and teens. (photo from Camp Kalsman)
In a world where children and teens are met with a barrage of external pressures telling them who they should idolize, what they should wear and how they should spend their time, summer camps provide a respite. As much as I try to help my three kids build resilience and a strong moral compass, I know that, as soon as they walk out the door, it can be an uphill battle every day of the school year.
As parents, we need more places outside of our home where our kids and teens can feel at home while they can practise the critical thinking, self-awareness and problem-solving skills we all know are so essential. This is why I love summer camp for my kids – and I’m not just saying that because I’m the director of a summer camp! Ask anyone who grew up at an overnight summer camp and most will tell you that camp was where they felt most comfortable in their own skin, where they were celebrated for exactly who they were, and where they learned many of the lessons that have stuck with them throughout their adult life.
Here are the top three life lessons that kids and teens can take away from summer camp.
1. Find your people
Each summer, kids arrive at camp with a ton of baggage and it’s not just in the form of trunks and duffels and sleeping bags. The beauty of summer camp is that campers can shed that layer (or layers) of themselves that build up over the course of the year and spend time exploring who they are, what brings them joy, who brings out the best in them … without the pressures of school peers who “know them.”
The beauty of summer camp is that campers can shed that layer (or layers) of themselves that build up over the course of the year and spend time exploring who they are, what brings them joy. (photo from Camp Kalsman)
Spending time in an immersive environment like overnight camp enables kids and teens to be vulnerable with their peers in a safe and supported way; eventually worrying less about how they “should be” and feeling more comfortable and confident in who they are. It’s in this state of self-confidence – nurtured by kind, compassionate counselors – that campers are able to find “their people” who “just get them,” reinforcing what we at URJ Camp Kalsman (and every other overnight summer camp!) have known for years: camp friends are the best friends.
2. Be still, present, open
Camp creates an environment that is ripe for self-awareness, self-discovery and meaningful connections away from the pressures of school, sports and, yes, well-meaning adults at home. Without a message to respond to or an assignment to complete, kids and teens are presented with … time. Not the time filled with camp activities (although there is plenty of that, too) but those significant, intentional moments where nothing is planned … the 15 minutes of serenity in the canoe in the middle of the lake or the walk, together with a friend from the cabin, to the dining hall under a canopy of trees, or the silence after hours of belly-laughter, staring up at the stars surrounded by cabinmates. The stillness of those moments, which are so hard to come by when we are shuffling kids to and from school and activities, are priceless and are built into the fabric of summer camp.
Camp creates an environment that is ripe for self-awareness, self-discovery and meaningful connections. (photo from Camp Kalsman)
3. Don’t run from mistakes
As parents, we want our kids to be gritty – to be able to take responsibility for a mistake and bounce back, whether from making a poor choice, disappointing a friend, failing a test, or not being cast in the school play. At camp, mistakes and failure happen every day, and kids must live with it – there is no escape, they can’t hide in their rooms alone or take the long way to class to avoid a friend. Camp is a 24/7 living and learning experience, where campers are supported and guided through conflict and failure, whether it is not making it to the top of the tower or tension with a bunkmate. Mistakes happen, we fall short of expectations, and camp provides the structure to help kids recognize where they missed the mark and the opportunity to try again tomorrow – or in 15 minutes!
Time at summer camp is an incredible gift to give kids and teens – one that they will benefit from long into adulthood.
Rabbi Ilana Millsis camp director, URJ Camp Kalsman. If you are interested in learning more about URJ Camp Kalsman, visit campkalsman.org or contact Mills at [email protected].
Weekly vigils calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza continue weekly at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
On Nov. 26, the vigil spotlighted female victims of the atrocities and emphasized the hypocrisy of many groups, including UN Women, an entity ostensibly dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, which took 50 days to express any concern about Israeli women.
The vigil took place a day after the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Rebeka Breder, a lawyer in Vancouver who specializes in animal law, addressed the assembled crowd. She reflected on how, as a child, she looked up to the United Nations as a humanitarian organization.
“Laughable, I know,” she said. “As I have come to learn, and as many of the people standing here have come to learn … the UN is a humanitarian organization – but not for Jewish people.”
The world seemingly cares about women’s rights, she said, except for Jewish women.
“Since Oct. 7, UN Women issued 26 statements about Palestinian women and children versus only three statements about Palestinian and Israelis together,” said Breder. “There is not one statement by UN Women that specifically condemns the brutal rape and mutilation of women’s bodies that was committed by Hamas. Not one. When we look at the photos that are posted by UN Women, most if not all of the pictures are about Palestinian women and children. I’m not saying we shouldn’t care. We should care about all life. But when you see UN Women that is an agency, that is supposed to be standing up and essentially representing women around the world, not post even one — not even one — picture of Oct. 7’s brutal attacks on women and [what] other Jewish people have gone through, it speaks volumes.”
Women’s rights groups and officials in Israel have been working to compile information and evidence about the brutality, rapes, mutilation and other atrocities committed by Hamas, Breder said.
“My understanding is that they have tried a number of times to send this information to UN Women so they can review it and, up until yesterday, there was silence, there was absolutely nothing coming from them,” she said.
Temple Sholom member Shirley Hyman, a board member of ARZA Canada, the voice of Reform Zionism in Canada, paid tribute to Vivian Silver, the Canadian-Israeli woman who was murdered Oct. 7 but who was not confirmed dead until Nov. 14.
“Vivian Silver was a proud Zionist,” said Hyman. “Vivian Silver spent the last four decades working to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while advocating for coexistence and harmony between both peoples. She was born in Winnipeg and, after a stint at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in 1974, she moved to Israel and so began her life as an activist.”
Silver was a founder of Kibbutz Be’eri and oversaw construction projects, while shuttling back and forth to Gaza advancing coexistence.
“When Hamas took over the control of Gaza in 2007, everything changed,” Hyman said. “The closest she got to Gaza was the border, where she picked up sick Palestinians in order to take them to hospitals in Jerusalem.”
Disenchanted with the political left’s inability to end the conflict, Hyman said, Silver “turned to woman power.” She helped found the organization Women Wage Peace (Nashim Osot Shalom, in Hebrew).
“It has today grown to be the largest grassroots organization in Israel composed of both Israelis and Palestinians, numbering over 45,000 and located in 95 different areas,” Hyman said. “Every Monday, they protest at the Knesset, wearing white and turquoise so government officials can identify them. They host peace-building webinars, protests and marches around the country and conduct peace-building activities.”
On Oct. 4, days before she was murdered, Silver was with a group in Bethlehem, protesting at the security barrier in Bethlehem, many wearing T-shirts declaring “Peace is possible.”
Toby Rubin, president of CHW Vancouver, the local branch of the national organization founded as Canadian Hadassah-WIZO, stated, “Violence against women is never resistance.”
“It’s our duty to continue to speak for those who cannot,” she said. “But the silence has been deafening from the international women’s groups. Jewish women, Israeli women, our sisters, deserve the same respect, the same rights, and the same voice as women everywhere. Shame on the global community for deliberately ignoring them. Even if the UN came out yesterday, that was 50 days too late.”
The Canadian branch of the worldwide women’s Zionist organization has raised $2.5 million in emergency relief since Oct. 7, she said.
Rubin paid tribute to Daphna Kedem and others who have organized the weekly vigils since the terror attacks. Kedem read the names of all the child hostages. “Your dedication and your Zionism in helping this community never forget the faces,” she said. “We must never forget and we must continue to fight [until] every single one of the hostages is back.”
The previous week’s vigil, on Nov. 19, occurred a day before UN World Children’s Day. Volunteers stood on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery holding posters featuring the children murdered or being held hostage by Hamas.
Noemi Gal-Or, professor emerita of politics and international relations, said international law declares that a child should not be separated from their parents against their will. She called on Canada to redouble efforts to press Hamas to release all hostages.
Rabbi Shmulik Yeshayahu of the Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel said the world should not accept that 40 children – including an infant born in captivity – are being held hostage.
“And the world is silent,” he said. “This is not acceptable. This is not the world that we envisioned. This is not a world that should be. We’ll do anything within their power to bring them home.”
Eppy Rappaport with daughters Aviva, left, and Lauren before the opening of Omnitsky’s. (photo from Eppy Rappaport)
Omnitsky Kosher Delicatessen, which, since 1910, has fed generations – first in Winnipeg and, from 1995, in Vancouver – is entering the next phase of its storied existence. Efrem “Eppy” Rappaport, the owner of the landmark establishment for the past 40 years, is preparing for a well-earned retirement as he passes the apron over to the new proprietor, Richard Wood.
Rappaport’s last day at the Omnitsky helm was on Dec. 8 and there is a strong chance that, when this article goes to print, he may be lining up a putt on a Florida golf course.
When the Independent caught up with Rappaport earlier in the month, he was in tremendous spirits as he was getting set for life after Omnitsky’s.
“I feel fortunate, I feel good, I feel exhilarated. I feel blessed to have had all this mazel,” he said, reflecting on his four decades of running the business.
The story of Rappaport’s involvement with Omnitsky’s begins in Winnipeg in the fall of 1979, when he was pursuing a master’s degree in sociology at the University of Manitoba but had decided to take a year off from his studies.
Omnitsky’s was established in Winnipeg, where Eppy Rappaport ran it for 12 years. Former Vancouver staff member Danny Simons is pictured in the photo. (photo from Eppy Rappaport)
Rappaport’s father, Sidney (Shalom) Rappaport, the rabbi at Winnipeg’s Rosh Pina Congregation, was asked by William Omnitsky, the then-owner of the deli, if he might know of someone who could take over the business. At the time, Omnitsky, whose father Louis founded the deli in 1910, was preparing for his own retirement.
The rabbi suggested his son. Soon afterwards, the young Rappaport met Omnitsky in the store’s small office, and they spoke about the business’s potential and the responsibilities that ownership would entail.
“The story of this place, and keeping the original Winnipeg name, comes from the respect I had for Bill Omnitsky. When I started, I did not have the money to buy a business. He took back the purchase price as long as I trained with him. Four years later, I was able to take it over,” Rappaport said.
In 1995, after operating Omnitsky’s in Winnipeg for 12 years, Rappaport decided that the Jewish community in Greater Vancouver would present a better fit for his family – wife Ellen Rappaport (née Lowe) and daughters Aviva and Lauren. The deli initially settled on Cambie Street, near West 41 Avenue, before moving to Oak Street in 2014.
During his tenure, Rappaport expanded Omnitsky’s at both the retail and wholesale level. As the only full-service kosher store this side of Toronto, Omnitsky’s has a clientele that comes from numerous points on the western North American map. Regular patrons often drop in from Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria and Seattle.
Besides the kosher grocery store, Rappaport added a restaurant with a soup and sandwich bar. As a result, a loyal customer base was established for those fond of soups made from scratch and sandwiches the size one finds in New York and Montreal.
The deli, open Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., features a wide selection of favourites, from pastrami sandwiches to knishes, matzah ball soup to a chopped liver “appy.”
With his wholesale operation, Rappaport began making gluten-free hot dogs with no MSG. Several of his products, such as wieners, jumbos and salami, can be found in grocery stores throughout the Lower Mainland, as well as Vancouver Island, under the Eppy’s Kosher label.
Rappaport’s products are also sold to cruise ships, airlines, hospitals, nursing homes and prisons. They have even found their way to possibly his most famous customer, Bette Midler.
From the time he first took over the business from the Omnitsky family, Rappaport has worked long hours, getting in at 6 a.m. and frequently staying until 6 p.m., sometimes even longer into the night, six days a week.
One story that jumps out at him is when the deli had to move from its Cambie Street location to its current location, in 2014. It was in the period leading up to Rosh Hashanah.
“Just as Rabbi [Yechiel] Baitelman was about to place the mezuzah on the doorpost, he looked up and noticed the number 5755 [Oak St.] outside the building, the same year, 5755, which was about to be marked on the Hebrew calendar,” said Rappaport.
In 1995, Eppy Rappaport moved to Vancouver and opened the deli on Cambie Street, where it was located until 2014. (photo from Eppy Rappaport)
In its 113 years of operation, Omnitsky’s has managed to last through the Great Depression, foreign wars, recessions, inflation, challenges from large grocery stores and, of course, changes in ownership.
In late 2022, Rappaport, who was turning 65, felt it was the right time for him to retire. He placed an advertisement in the Canadian Jewish News to find a buyer for the store, factory, name and delivery trucks.Had a buyer not come forward, Rappaport would have shut the business down.
In an interview last year, Rappaport told a reporter that potentially shuttering Omnitsky’s weighed heavily on him.
“There are a lot of people sitting on the fence of whether they want to keep kosher or not. If they lose the ability to just pop in on their way home from work in order to have something for dinner, then that falls by the wayside,” he said. “The only people who are left are the ones who care and truly want kosher food because it becomes a conscious effort to order it. It becomes more difficult, and a lot of people may use this as an excuse.”
However, a new owner did come along in the form of Wood, the business director at BC Kosher. Rappaport expressed hope that the community would continue to support Omnitsky’s.
“Richard’s passion and commitment to kashrut will continue to strengthen and fulfil the community’s needs,” Rappaport said.
In November, Rappaport wrote a thank you letter to the Vancouver community, published in the Jewish Independent, in which he said it was “impossible to convey the incredible 40-year journey this has been.I truly believe that this labour of love was what I was destined to do in life.”
In that letter, Rappaport said he would treasure the relationships formed with customers and the community over the years, the depths of which exceeded his “wildest dreams.”
Eppy Rappaport with his wife Ellen and daughters Lauren, left, and Aviva after the sale. (photo from Eppy Rappaport)
“The warmth of so many customers filled my heart on a daily basis,” he said. “I want to thank each and every person who always made me feel that my life’s work was important to them, myself and the community at large. This will stay with me forever.”
Besides golfing, Rappaport said he plans to do some food and time management consulting in retirement. But, he stressed, family time is presently top of his list. And, he adds, he will continue to be a presence in the community.
As is the case with their father, Rappaport’s daughters are both involved with food. Aviva works in dietetics at Fraser Health, while Lauren is a senior scientist for Starbucks in Seattle.
There is no doubt Rappaport will be missed by customers who have long frequented Omnitsky’s. As one transplanted Winnipegger noted nostalgically, “Thanks to Eppy, we had a slice of Jewish Winnipeg in Vancouver. Every time I step into Omnitsky’s, I am transported back to Winnipeg’s North End.”
Sam Margolishas written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.
Hundreds attended the lighting of the Silber Family Agam Menorah on the first night of Hanukkah Dec. 7, where politicians from all levels of government offered holiday greetings and support. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Hundreds gathered outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on the first night of Hanukkah, Dec. 7, to kindle light in the darkness. The decades-old annual event led by Chabad Lubavitch BC had even more than the usual sense of familiarity, as the Jewish community has been gathering weekly on the same site since the Oct. 7 pogrom, and Hanukkah’s messages of hope amid tragedy reinforced the words that have been shared from the podium over recent weeks.
The art gallery event, as well as a community menorah lighting Sunday in Richmond, was attended by many elected officials – including the premier of British Columbia and the provincial opposition leader at both ceremonies. Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, reiterated his gratitude for the support shown to the community in times of trouble.
The first night event was co-hosted by Karen James and Howard Blank and was produced by Richard Lowy, who sang and played guitar. Children from Jewish schools and public schools sang Hanukkah songs. Spoken word artist Vanessa Hadari performed.
The first candle on the Silber Family Agam Menorah was lit by Etsik Mizrachi and Dan Mizrachi, father and brother, respectively, of Ben Mizrachi, the Vancouver man who was killed Oct. 7 while attempting to save others under attack at the music festival in Israel, where more than 360 people were murdered by Hamas terrorists.
The first candle on the Silber Family Agam Menorah was lit by Etsik Mizrachi and Dan Mizrachi, father and brother, respectively, of Ben Mizrachi, z”l. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
“This is a time of darkness in the world,” said B.C. Premier David Eby. “British Columbia is a place of tolerance and we need to be like the light on the menorah – we need to be a light against hatred.”
Speaking on behalf of the provincial government, Eby promised to do “all we can to push back against the tide of rising hate around the world.”
He spoke of meeting Dikla Mizrachi, mother of Ben, before addressing the assembly.
“It’s moving to meet the mother of a hero, a man from Vancouver who didn’t run away from danger. He ran back to help a friend,” said the premier, “and it cost him his life.”
In a message he repeated in Richmond a few days later, Eby said he prays for the release of the hostages and for peace.
Kevin Falcon, British Columbia’s leader of the opposition, also spoke both in Vancouver and in Richmond.
“I cannot think of a time in my lifetime that the message of Hanukkah, the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, has resonated and been so meaningful to all of us,” he said on the first night of Hanukkah. “In the wake of that horrific tragedy, we’ve seen unfortunately some really vile antisemitism in the weeks that followed. Sadly, we’ve seen some of that even here in British Columbia and in Canada.”
Falcon received a resounding ovation on both occasions when he acknowledged Israel’s right to defend itself.
“Something must be made really crystal clear, and that is that Israel has a right to exist, Israel has a right to defend itself and the Jewish community here in British Columbia has the right to feel safe and secure,” said Falcon.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, flanked by many Vancouver city councilors, said, “It’s a really tough time.”
“While we can’t unwind what’s going on, I can tell you that … we love you and we will always be here for you,” said the mayor. “You are our family, you are our friends, you are our neighbours. We have your back. We are not going to stand for any acts of hatred.”
Messages of support from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and federal opposition leader Pierre Poilievre were read aloud.
“In a country built by immigrants, the contribution that Jewish Canadians have made and continue to make every day to our shared nation are indeed invaluable,” Trudeau wrote.
“For generations,” Poilievre wrote, “the menorah has been a symbol of strength and comfort to the Jewish people. In times of darkness, it has carried a message of hope. In times of oppression, it has been an emblem of freedom. Today, it continues to bring encouragement to Jewish people in Israel, here in Canada and around the globe. Unfortunately, this message of hope is needed now more than ever.”
Jim DeHart, consul general of the United States to British Columbia and Yukon, also spoke, promising that the United States will not stand by in the aftermath of such attacks.
“We won’t be silent in the face of antisemitism and we will continue to work to defeat hate and prejudice in all of its forms,” he said.
Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld compared current events with the Hanukkah story.
“In the glow of these menorah lights, we find inspiration and the triumph of light over darkness, hope over despair and freedom over oppression,” he said. “Even in the face of challenges that may seem insurmountable, the human spirit can prevail and miracles can unfold.… In the face of darkness, we choose to be the light.”
Herb Silber, son of the late Fred Silber, who donated the menorah that is lit annually at the Vancouver Art Gallery, spoke of the vision of his father and his father’s contemporaries, who built British Columbia’s Jewish community.
“It would be with a heavy heart if those pioneers like my father were here today to witness a rise in antisemitism that, while bubbling on the surface these last few years, has now burst into the open and become mainstream,” he said. “So, I come back to the holiday of Hanukkah because it reminds us that the story of antisemitism is not a new phenomenon. It is 3,500 years old, and the attempt to separate the Jewish people from their indigenous land of Israel is also not a new phenomenon. But what history has shown us is that Jews like my father and his contemporaries and those that came before him, and indeed the story of the Jewish people, is that we are a resilient people.
“One disappointment that marks these historic outbreaks of antisemitism,” he continued, “has been the silence of the non-Jewish community and, regrettably, we have seen evidence of that in events of the past two months. But, gathering here tonight reminds us that we have friends on the stage and elsewhere. And we know that the silent majority of our Canadian neighbours and our friends cherishes each one of us as Canadians, as we do them.”
Lana Marks Pulver, chair of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, thanked the Vancouver police for ensuring the safety of the community, and noted that antisemitic hate incidents reported in October were up 350% over the same month a year earlier.
Members of the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver stood on stage, days before most of them left Sunday for a three-day mission to Israel.
Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, flanked by seven other rabbis who are on the mission, said he will carry the light of the Vancouver community to the people of Israel.
“We are going because of your light, which shines so brightly in this dark time,” said Moskovitz, senior rabbi at Temple Sholom. “We are going to bring that light, the message of Hanukkah, of resilience, of dedication, of rededication, of religious freedom, of the few fighting to preserve freedom against the many who seek to destroy it, and us in its process. We are going to assure Israelis that they are not alone, that the people of Vancouver stand with them.”
The rabbis, according to Moskovitz, will meet with Israeli thought leaders, Oct. 7 survivors, the wounded, Jewish and Arab Israelis, and others, “to hear with our own ears what people experienced on Oct. 7 and what it has been like in the months since.”
They will also bring cold weather gear to soldiers, especially in the north, who have not been able to leave their posts to replenish supplies.
On Sunday, Dec. 10, almost every one of Richmond’s elected officials at the federal, provincial and municipal level was present to hear rabbis speak and to see the premier and Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie light the shamash and the first candle. Community leaders Jody and Harvey Dales lit the successive candles.
The Richmond event began 35 years ago and joining Eby on Sunday was Bill Vander Zalm, who was premier at the time and lit the menorah on the first year a public lighting was held.
The Dec. 10 candlelighting was a chance to celebrate the 35th year that there has been a community menorah lighting in Richmond. Among those in attendance were, left to right, Rabbi Avraham Feigelstock, lighting organizer Joe Dasilva, former BC premier Bill Vander Zalm, BC Premier David Eby and Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Rabbi Levi Varnai of the Bayit emceed the Richmond event and said it was the Lubavitcher Rebbe who revived the ancient tradition of public menorah lightings, which, over the centuries, had fallen out of favour for fear of persecution. Richmond was among the first communities to institute the celebration, he said, thanks to Rabbi Avraham Feigelstock, who also spoke Sunday.
In addition to the rabbi and the former premier, numerous people who were at the first menorah lighting 35 years ago were also in attendance Dec. 10, including Joe Dasilva, who has organized every annual menorah lighting. He retired from the Ebco Group of Companies, whose founders, Helmut and Hugo Eppich, donated the Arthur Erickson-designed menorah. Richard Eppich, now president of the family business, attended Sunday.
A resident doctor in Vancouver was confronted by a fellow medical student demanding to know why Israel is exchanging three or more Palestinians for each Israeli hostage kidnapped by Hamas and held in the Gaza Strip. Is an individual Palestinian life of less value than a Jewish life? the student demanded.
This is one of many anecdotes making the rounds among Jewish doctors in British Columbia. These experiences, as well as an inflammatory anti-Israel letter signed by a sizeable number of University of British Columbia medical students, caused more than 100 doctors to assemble to discuss the issues Dec. 5.
“If the university doesn’t take these things seriously, I’m prepared to give up my UBC appointments,” said a Vancouver neurosurgeon who asked that their name not be used because they suspect activists would target them with vexatious complaints to professional governing bodies or harass them online or otherwise. “I don’t need to be associated with a university that does not speak out against antisemitism.”
Medical students in the province are trained in Indigenous awareness among other culturally relevant education, said the neurosurgeon.
“I consider myself to be part of the indigenous people of the land of Israel, and a minority,” the doctor said. “We’ve been labeled as settler-colonialists by a quarter of the medical students and our history has been completely ignored. I think those people should be forced to have some education about the indigenous people of Israel.”
The meeting, held at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, brought together about 50 doctors in person, with another 60 attending virtually. The neurosurgeon left uplifted after hearing from community leaders about strategies and actions being taken.
Addressing the meeting were Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Nico Slobinsky, Pacific region vice-president for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and Ohad Gavrieli, assistant executive director of Hillel BC. The event was convened by Larry Barzelai, a recently retired family doctor, and Marla Gordon, a physician working in elder care and medical director for long-term care in Vancouver.
The gathering was a reunion of sorts, including some doctors who had been part of an informal cadre of Jews in the field who would get together informally a couple of times a year in recent decades. However, the turnout far exceeded expectations.
Gordon contacted Barzelai, thinking 10 or 20 doctors might want to get together over coffee. As of last week, 240 Jewish doctors, most of them in British Columbia, were part of a WhatsApp group of professionals concerned about antisemitism in their discipline, especially affecting younger doctors. About half attended last week’s event.
The letter that precipitated much of the meeting’s concern was signed by more than 300 UBC medical students – an estimated 20 to 25% of the total student body. The letter called on UBC’s new president, Benoit-
Antoine Bacon, to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but also called Israel a “settler state” that is “dispossessing Palestinians of their homes” and stated that Palestinian people “have been continually abused, traumatized, and killed by the settler state of Israel and its Western allies for over 75 years” through “colonialism and imperialism.”
Gordon said the doctors are asking for the medical school’s diversity, equity and inclusion education modules to address antisemitism.
“Just knowing that we are teaching these students who signed this letter, there is discomfort,” Gordon said. “We feel that everyone should be safe in their workplace. If you are a patient, you should feel safe getting care. What if one of your care providers had signed that letter and knows you’re Jewish?”
As much as the meeting had an agenda of fighting antisemitism and biased approaches to international affairs in the medical sector, Gordon said, it is also important for people to gather in mutual support when the community is feeling isolated.
Barzelai echoed Gordon, noting that several doctors told him that any future meetings should continue to be in person, or hybrid, rather than exclusively virtual, because the camaraderie was crucial.
“People are hurt,” said Barzelai. “They are having all sorts of negative experiences in their workplace, with the faculty, with other professors. They want to do something about it.”
Right now, the letter signed by hundreds of medical students is the foremost concern, he said.
“The fact that that many students would sign a letter I think shows the ignorance of the situation, or their lack of knowledge of what’s going on,” he said. “It just pointed to us that we need to educate these people, that it’s too easy to sign a letter and take sides. But the situation itself is a complex situation. To blithely sign a letter like that is kind of distressing. For us, as doctors, we think that people who get into medical school should have done some critical thinking to get there and would be a bit more nuanced about their opinions about the Middle East.”
A lawyer at the meeting stressed the importance of documenting each and every incident on campus, in the workplace or elsewhere. Pro bono legal assistance is available for students and an antisemitism hotline is likely to be operational in the new year.
An alternative letter, signed by Jewish and non-Jewish doctors and medical students, may be drafted and presented to university administrators. Successive meetings will determine next steps.
Jewish Family Services of Vancouver has purchased a building at 2929 Commercial Dr. (photo from JFS)
Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Vancouver has purchased a commercial building at 2929 Commercial Dr. to serve as its headquarters and services hub.
“After renovations are completed, the 20,000-square-foot building will offer the necessary space and infrastructure for our social service offerings,” said Tanja Demajo, JFS’s chief executive officer. “Moreover, with ownership, we will finally have a sense of stability after 87 years of frequent moves from one leased premise to another.”
The building, to be named in honour of the Roadburg family, will replace two Vancouver locations that are currently being leased: JFS’s head office at 2285 Clark Dr. and the JFS Kitchen at 54 East 3rd Ave. The new location, just three blocks from the Commercial-Broadway Skytrain station, provides ready access to public transit, which is essential for most JFS clients.
The purchase and a portion of the planned renovations have been financed by generous donations from Harvey and Jody Dales; the Ben and Esther Dayson Charitable Foundation; the Diamond Foundation; the Al Roadburg Foundation; and the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation.
“We are pleased to support the development of the new facility for Jewish Family Services of Vancouver to carry the Roadburg family name,” said Stephen Gaerber, a director of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation and past board chair of JFS. “This provides a long-term solution for JFS, locating JFS’s critical services and administration in a central location near transit and helping ensure more people can get access.”
Services to be offered from the new location will include case management, housing advocacy, clinical counseling, meals from a commercial kosher-certified pareve kitchen, care for Holocaust survivors and a Ukrainian settlement program.
The renovation plans call for, among other things, a multipurpose room that can act as a dining area for meals, event space for programming, and drop-in space for the community. The building will also have a play area for young children, meeting rooms, wheelchair-accessible washrooms, a Jewish Foodbank warehouse, and a truck loading dock.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver has made its third transfer of funds – just under $1.6 million – to Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
The latest transfer brings the total transferred from Federation’s Israel Emergency Campaign to just under $6.5 million. To date, Jewish Federation has raised more than $17.3 million through the campaign.
Israel and its citizens are transitioning from emergency mode to emergency routine. To meet the current circumstances and provide impactful assistance, the Israel Emergency Campaign allocations committee has developed a framework for allocations and includes support in the following areas:
• Addressing the basic needs of survivors, evacuees and all Israelis during the war, including emergency assistance to those directly impacted by the Oct. 7 attack.
• Addressing the immediate needs of people from evacuated communities who have been displaced for an unknown duration of time, so they can regain a semblance of normalcy and build resilience, through educational programs, respite and related supports.
• Providing emergency care to survivors and evacuees who have experienced traumatic events and require immediate support. Supporting medical centres on the frontline to increase their ability to address emergency situations along the country’s borders.
• Supporting strategic approaches to minimizing the drastic negative effect of societal challenges such as divisions between groups of the population, destruction of community life, loss of livelihood and a significantly decreased sense of resilience and security, all of which are sources of concern and anxiety for many Israelis.
• Supporting vulnerable groups with unique, disadvantaged circumstances.
The recent $1.6 million has been allocated as follows:
Sha’ar HaNegev: young adult retreat for a second group of attack survivors.
Pitachon Lev: emergency humanitarian aid.
Shahaf Foundation with Kiryat Shmona Community Centre: capacity-building for evacuated municipalities.
Summer Camps Israel, Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation: winter camps for evacuated children.
Yozmot Atid: mentorship for women small business owners.
Elem: safe spaces for at-risk youth.
Kishorit: support community of adults with disabilities on the northern frontline.
Beit Halochem: therapeutic services for veterans and newly wounded.
Leket Israel: supporting food distribution from farms in the south to vulnerable populations.
Israeli Hostages Advocacy Fund: supporting frontline work and international advocacy to release the hostages.
Caroline D’Amore, left, Hussein Aboubakr Mansour and Emily Austin spoke to an audience of more than 550 at Congregation Schara Tzedeck Nov. 26 for the event Women United. (photo by Kyle Berger)
Some 550 Vancouver women packed the sanctuary at Congregation Schara Tzedeck Nov. 26 for Women United, a talk arranged by Jewish National Fund, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Stand With Us Canada and Schara Tzedeck, and sponsored by the Diamond Foundation. Jewish women were encouraged to bring their non-Jewish friends, and Federation reported that 40% of attendants were non-Jewish.
“The idea was to bring together a diverse range of women from all faiths, to engage in dialogue and empower us to speak up with bravery,” said Megan Laskin, who initiated the concept for the event. She noted that there are just 15 million Jews worldwide “but we are the victims of half of the hate crimes that occur. Our pain, our fear and our loneliness are very real and very deep.”
Emily Austin, 22, an American social media influencer who is the host of a National Basketball Association podcast called The Hoop Chat w/ Emily Austin, was the first speaker. She described how she took a deep dive into Jewish history to understand it better. “One thing Israel will always have on its side is facts,” she noted. “The Palestinians have truly sad videos with no facts, but people tend to overlook the facts because of the emotional nature of the narrative.”
Austin delivered some of those facts to the audience, refuting the Palestinians’ claims of genocide. “Go to UN.org and you’ll see that their population has quadrupled in the last 20 years,” she said.
In discussing land claims, she said, “this is not about land. It’s about Jew hatred.” She argued that, when Israel left Gaza in 2005, the Gaza Strip was a prosperous area filled with resorts, cafés and nightclubs. “They turned it into a terrorist capital,” she said of Hamas.
Austin urged members of the audience to educate themselves so they can address false claims with confidence. “There are no excuses to not be a voice when we have the facts. If you’ve not been vocal, please be vocal now,” she said. “Silence is compliance, and those people who want Jews dead are not being silent.”
Austin warned that this conflict is not just about Israel, or even just about Jews. “When they say kill the infidels, the West is next. The common denominator is hatred, and it’s a disease,” said Austin.
Caroline D’Amore, 39, a single mom, social media influencer and the entrepreneur behind Pizza Girl pizza sauce, was the second speaker. She described herself as “a not-so-subtle, pink-haired, Malibu Italian chick” and a high school dropout. She said learning about the Holocaust and reading Anne Frank’s diary made a deep impression on her, but that she was unaware of antisemitism until Oct. 7, after which she started seeing it everywhere, and felt compelled to speak out.
D’Amore said she published a video expressing her dismay and a fact that was obvious to her. “The terrorists are the bad guys. There is no context on this earth that could justify rape and murder,” she told the audience.
The video went viral and D’Amore received hundreds of messages from mothers who were so relieved that a non-Jew could see what was going on.
“I could feel their pain, sadness and fear,” D’Amore said. “So many people are saying nothing, or shaming Jewish people for feeling this fear right now. Jews are being told to ‘stop playing the victim,’ and even I get accused of playing ‘the Zionist victim card.’ What I want to say to my accusers is ‘how dare you?’
“It’s very clear to me that this is about good versus evil,” she continued. “I dove right in and started screaming about this at the top of my lungs, and though I’ve been attacked online for over a month now, I’m still here, proudly showing my face. I plan on being on the right side of history, which means standing up against terror in the Middle East and against those who are justifying what happened on Oct. 7. My promise is that I’ll continue to use my voice to stand up against evil, to stand up for humans who are suffering, to speak up against terrorism, and to encourage and empower others to use their voices.”
D’Amore said the Jewish community was her inspiration. “You guys find the light and it shines so damn bright,” she said. “You come together in the most beautiful ways, and it’s inspired me in ways I’ve never known possible.”
Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, the third speaker, addressed the audience by Zoom from his home in Washington, DC. Now the director of the Endowment for Middle East Truth’s Program for Emerging Democratic Voices from the Middle East, he was born in Cairo, into an environment that he said inspired him and his peers to hate Jews and become jihadists.
“From an early age, there was a story I heard everywhere, that there are people who epitomize wickedness, want to destroy Arabs and Muslims and steal our land, and want to destroy everything that is good and sacred. Those people are the Jews and Zionism is the embodiment of that ideal,” he said.
Curious, he started teaching himself Hebrew and learning about Jewish history. That led him on a long journey that transformed his relationship with the world and turned him into an ardent Zionist and supporter of the Jewish people.
His metamorphosis and his insistence on publishing, blogging and talking about what he learned, has cost him dearly. He was disowned by his family, was arrested on suspicion of being a Zionist spy, and was tortured in Egyptian jails before receiving political asylum in the United States in 2012.
“I spend every day of my life thinking about how to help end this epidemic of antisemitism that’s been going on for so long,” he said. While the massacres on Oct. 7 destroyed much of his optimism, Mansour said he still believes a change for the better is possible.
He ended his remarks by saying that he is proud to be a friend of the Jewish people and of the state of Israel. “And I have no doubt that I’m not the only Arab who feels this way – I’m just ahead of the curve,” he said. “There will be more who will see this truth.”
Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.
