Negev Dinner gala in photos

Left to right: Shannon Gorski, Gary Averbach, JNF Pacific Region president David Goldman, Michael Averbach and JNF shaliach Ilan Pilo. (photo by Robert Albanese)

The soldout Jewish National Fund of Canada, Pacific Region, Negev Dinner on June 4 at Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver honoured Gary Averbach and his two children who live locally, Michael Averbach and Shannon Gorski, for their service to the community. Proceeds from the gala will fund infrastructure improvements to the Israeli Scouts (Tzofei Tzamid) facilities in Raanana and Dimona, in order to make them more accessible for children and youth with disabilities. The Israeli Scouts, which runs programming for youth aged 9-21, has more than 80,000 members, including more than 2,500 children and youth with disabilities.

photo - Richmond Jewish Day School principal Abba Brodt, right, was honoured with JNF’s Education Award
Richmond Jewish Day School principal Abba Brodt, right, was honoured with JNF’s Education Award. (photo by Robert Albanese)
photo - Current JNF Pacific Region president David Goldman, right, presents the president’s pin to immediate past president Frank Sirlin
Current JNF Pacific Region president David Goldman, right, presents the president’s pin to immediate past president Frank Sirlin. (photo by Robert Albanese)
photo - Elaine and Zev Shafran, honourary gala chairs, together with Shay and Mickey Keil, and Ariel and Rachael Lewinski
Elaine and Zev Shafran, honourary gala chairs, together with Shay and Mickey Keil, and Ariel and Rachael Lewinski. (photo by Robert Albanese)
photo - The Maccabeats got the crowd up and moving
The Maccabeats got the crowd up and moving. (photo by Robert Albanese)

Bringing hope, saving lives

Right to left: Peter Legge interviews Dr. Rick Hodes and Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei. Three of Hodes’ adopted children joined them onstage. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

An Evening to Bring Back Hope on June 8 raised almost $2 million for the work of Dr. Rick Hodes, medical director of Ethiopia for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and senior consultant at Mother Teresa Mission; spine surgeon Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, president and founder of FOCOS (Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine) in Ghana; and the University of British Columbia Branch for International Surgical Care.

photo - Bring Back Hope co-chairs Nanci and Gary Segal
Bring Back Hope co-chairs Nanci and Gary Segal. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

The evening at Vancouver Convention Centre-East began with remarks from representatives of the three main religious communities in attendance: Jewish, Christian and Muslim. A two-minute video that was introduced by Justin Segal – son of gala co-chairs Gary and Nanci Segal – and Tesfaye Anagaw – who has become a part of the Segal family – showed the many things that had been accomplished with the funds raised at the previous Evening to Bring Back Hope, which took place in 2012.

There were greetings from senior representatives of JDC, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the UBC Branch, as well as an onstage interview by Peter Legge of Hodes and Boachie-Adjei, with many stories about the courage of their patients.

Gary Segal spoke about how he was inspired to help by Anagaw, Hodes and Boachie-Adjei. He met first met Hodes as part of a 2007 Federation/JDC trip to Ethiopia, where he learned that Anagaw’s spine had collapsed from tuberculosis and could not be operated on in Ghana. With the help of the Segals and others, the young man, then 18, arrived here in mid-2009 and received the life-saving surgery he needed at Vancouver General Hospital.

photo - Rick Hansen, left, and Tesfaye Anagaw
Rick Hansen, left, and Tesfaye Anagaw. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

The story of Mesfin Yanna, one of Hodes’ heart patients, was told through a video and the reading of an essay he wrote for his high school graduation in Atlanta – these were followed by his appearance onstage, holding his 5-year-old son. “This is a man who would have died twice were it not for Rick but has gone onto a productive life and one of giving back,” said Segal after the event.

Looking back, he said the event achieved his main goals: raising a large sum of money to support Hodes’ work and save as many lives as possible, to “inspire everyone in the room and, for at least that one night, bring a ray of light into an often-dark world filled with unfathomable violence and infuse people with a message of hope for our common humanity.”

Both Hodes (with three of his adopted sons) and Anagaw came to Vancouver from Ethiopia for the event, and stayed for a visit.

Community birthdays, awards

Team BC Junior Olympic level 10 (16+) were bronze medalists in the 2017 Canadian Championships in Artistic Gymnastics that took place in Montreal May 25-28. Congratulations to the whole Gymnastics BC team, which included 18-year-old Rachel Rubin-Sarganis (third from the left). (photo from Gymnastics BC)

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photo - Sylvia Hill
Sylvia Hill (photo from Jewish Seniors Alliance)

In the Pirkei Avot (Ethics of Our Fathers), we learn the saying, “Teach us to number our days so that the experiences of life should provide us with wisdom that only years can bring.” How fortunate we are that we have this exceptional woman, Sylvia Hill, admired by all who know her.

Sylvia has been part of the Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver since its inception and is an honourary life member. On June 6, Sylvia turned 103 years old. We honour her as she continues to inspire us with her staunch resolve to advocate for better lives for seniors – be it in the home where she was once president of the residents or within the community at large.

In the newsletter put out by the Snider Campus, Sylvia was called “the Face of Louis Brier” and was honoured during morning services on June 10, with a special kiddush following. On the day, we of JSA proudly wished you, dear Sylvia, a yom huledet sameach, a happy birthday, and we wish you continued good health for many years to come … beez (until) 120, and thriving, as has been the theme of JSA’s Empowerment Series this season. Continue being a beacon of light for us to follow!

With love and deep respect.

* * *

At the annual general meeting of the Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society for Education and Remembrance on June 14, Gisi Levitt received a Life Fellow Award for her 12 years of service as VHEC’s director of survivor services.

The Meyer and Gita Kron and Ruth Kron Sigal Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education was awarded to Anna-Mae Wiesenthal, who teaches Jewish history and English at King David High School. She recently worked together with VHEC on the Student Docent Training Initiative, a successful pilot project in which volunteer students from KDHS were trained to become docents. Two of the student docents, Milena Markovich and Jacqueline Belzberg, did an outstanding job of sharing with the audience their experiences of guiding their fellow students through the VHEC exhibition In Defiance: Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust.

photos - Gisi Levitt, and Anna-Mae Wiesenthal, left, and VHEC education director Ilona Shulman Spaar
Gisi Levitt, and Anna-Mae Wiesenthal, left, and VHEC education director Ilona Shulman Spaar. (photos from VHEC)

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On June 20, Women in Film & Television Vancouver celebrated leaders for their outstanding work and contribution to advancing opportunities for women with their annual Spotlight Awards. This year’s recipients included Mark Leiren-Young, who received the Iris Award.

The Iris Award is given to a person who has demonstrated a commitment to the promotion of female creators and their screen-based works, either through curating or programming or through print and online media sources. Named after the Greek mythological figure Iris, associated with communication, messages and new endeavours.

Leiren-Young was also one of the finalists for the 2017 BC Book Prizes’ Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize for The Killer Whale Who Changed the World (Greystone Books).

Killer whales had always been seen as bloodthirsty sea monsters. That all changed when a young killer whale was captured off the west coast of North America and displayed to the public in 1964. Moby Doll – as the whale became known – was an instant celebrity, drawing 20,000 visitors on the one and only day he was exhibited. He died within a few months, but his famous gentleness sparked a worldwide crusade that transformed how people understood and appreciated orcas. Because of Moby Doll, we stopped fearing “killers” and grew to love and respect “orcas.”

Leiren-Young is a journalist, filmmaker and author. His Walrus article about Moby Doll was a finalist for the National Magazine Award and he won the Jack Webster Award for his CBC Ideas radio documentary Moby Doll: The Whale that Changed the World.

* * *

It was a banner year for the Leo Awards, which received a record 1,295 entries, from 301 unique programs in 14 different categories. Among the finalists was David Kaye – for best lead performance by a male in a motion picture for his work in Cadence and as part of the cast of Grocery Store Action Movie, which was nominated in the category of best music, comedy or variety program or series.

Ultimate Frisbee and peace

Stratford Hall Sabres and Ultimate Peace leaders-in-training in action this past April. (photo from Ultimate Peace)

Ultimate Peace uses team sports – specifically Ultimate Frisbee – as a vehicle for peace education in the Middle East (and beyond). It starts with throwing a Frisbee but leads to friendship, trust, shared leadership opportunities and powerful life lessons in communities where conflict is rife.

Founded on the core principles of mutual respect, friendship, non-violence, integrity and fun, a group from Ultimate Peace embarks on a North American Friendship Tour every year. Karym Barhum is the Middle East regional director for UP. Originally from Ein Rafa, an Israeli Arab village about 15 kilometres northwest of Jerusalem, he described this year’s cohort of 14 Israelis as “Arab, Jewish, Muslim and Christian youth living in very close proximity. They don’t go to the same schools, they just live in [separate] communities: Arabs with Arabs, Jews with Jews.”

This year, Ultimate Peace added a Vancouver leg to their usual itinerary. Following a stop in Seattle, a group of 15-to-18-year-olds was in Vancouver April 11-16. This part of the tour was made possible by Danie Proby and Ari Nitikman, co-founders of and head coaches at UltiPros; both are alumni of Stratford Hall school on Commercial Drive. Working with their connections, Proby and Nitikman set the ball rolling for an extraordinary experience for both the visitors and their hosts.

photo - Ultimate Peace leaders-in-training and staff
Ultimate Peace leaders-in-training and staff. (photo from Ultimate Peace)

UP alumni and leaders visit schools, community centres, places of worship, homes and universities to spread awareness of UP’s Leaders-in-Training program. Barhum said it is a tremendous opportunity to see people “accepting everybody no matter who you are. We hope they’ll come back to the Middle East as ambassadors of UP, so they can educate others on how to accept differences.”

Samantha Gayfer, director of community development at Stratford Hall, said the school teaches students “they have a responsibility to give back and make a difference.”

Having arranged for Stratford Hall to host the UP event, families from the school billeted the 14 visiting students, who also spoke at other schools during their time here.

Gayfer described the billeting experience as “outstanding.”

“Arrangements were made for kosher and halal diets,” she said, “and the Jewish players had Passover while they were here. They organized a full meal with cultural and religious understanding.”

The impact of this gesture was not lost on her. “These are kids from families who live three miles from each other but never visit each other’s homes. Now they’re good friends.”

Naturally, there were questions. Gayfer asked the Arab students what their parents thought about their involvement in Ultimate Peace. The answer was always, “My family supports this.”

While she conceded that liberal parents are the most likely to enrol their kids in programs like this, it doesn’t take away from the power of showing Canadian kids what is possible, even in troubled regions. If such friendships are possible among Arabs and Jews in Israel, what can’t we achieve here in peacetime? she asked. “The more families you touch, the better,” she said, “to show that it’s not an insurmountable challenge, that we could live cohesively together.”

During their stay, Ultimate Peace won a tournament – a highlight of their trip. Gayfer said it was “an amazing experience for the kids.”

UP is an opportunity for youth to educate others about life in Israel. In talking about how one can be part of positive change by learning about multiple perspectives, they are also modeling new kinds of relationships: relationships that are necessary before conflict can diminish on a larger scale.

Stratford Hall student Matthew Chiang said he had an “awesome and unforgettable” experience with Ultimate Peace. “The kids were awesome, super-enthusiastic, funny and kind,” he said. “Personally, the two kids that stayed over at my house, Ohad and Faris, had a lot of common interests with me, such as ping pong, Rubik’s Cubing, playing cards, Ultimate, and even shopping. I had never met a person from Israel and I had no idea that they were so similar to me.”

Asked what he thought of the group as a whole, he described it as strong and cohesive. “The Jewish and Muslim students seemed like great friends who got along really well…. My family and I talked to them about their culture and religion. They seemed open and spoke without conflict,” he said.

“Kids involved in this program can send a message to adults that, although there is heavy conflict and anger here, in the end, we are all people who share interests and hobbies,” he said. “Ultimate really breaks the barrier in that conflict and embraces two different ideas and shares one common goal – to have fun.”

He added, “I think Ultimate Peace has strengthened the bond between Jewish and Muslim people and has started to break the barrier between them.”

As well as promoting physical and mental fitness, Ultimate Peace teaches life skills like leadership and communication and reinforces the importance of hope, kindness and collaboration.

“I thoroughly enjoyed how kind they were and how many common interests we had,” said Chiang. “Ultimate Peace is such a great organization with such an important purpose. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of their journey and I hope that I see them again.”

Barhum is already seeing the impact of UP’s tour on the students. “Many of them are making plans for a twinning program between schools in North America and schools in Israel. This would allow the Israeli kids to take turns playing host to overseas students.” Not satisfied with a single trip to Canada, he said, “They are looking to develop a stable program.”

None of this would be possible with the UP infrastructure behind it. Barhum described a spirit of openness and optimism in the leadership of the program.

“The board of directors trust and allow me and my staff to do things differently, always trying out new ideas,” he said. “They allow us to be open, to learn from others and to be able to change if necessary. This is one of the big things that inspires me and keeps me doing my job.”

The Vancouver stop, he said, was “a highlight – seeing our kids learning new stuff, recognizing that it is possible to live and share their lives with others from a different culture or religion.”

To learn more about and to contribute to Ultimate Peace, visit ultimatepeace.org.

Shula Klinger is an author, illustrator and journalist living in North Vancouver. Find out more at niftyscissors.com.

Shalhevet celebrates its 10th

Shalhevet Girls High School founding board members, left to right: Rabbi Yosef Wosk, Terrance Bloom, Vivian Claman, Tannis Boxer and Marie Doduck. (photo from Shalhevet)

On March 16, Shalhevet Girls High School celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a gala at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue. The event paid tribute to the many accomplishments that this small school has made in the last decade.

Shalhevet works to educate and prepare their students in both Judaic and general studies as strong, grounded and proud Jewish women. The students are taught a sense of community activism and encouraged from Grade 8 to take an active role in their Jewish community. With these tools, the alumni of Shalhevet will be able to create Jewish homes and communities where there is an appreciation of the value of Torah, community and education.

Shalhevet alumni have been leaving their mark worldwide. In Israel, New York, France, Toronto, San Diego and here in Vancouver, these graduates are active members of their Jewish communities. As they continue their higher education in the universities of their choice, they are finding places to make kiddush Hashem (glorification of G-d’s name), making Shalhevet, along with the Greater Vancouver Jewish community, proud.

At the gala, the five founding board members of Shalhevet were honoured. These remarkable individuals are Rabbi Yosef Wosk, Marie Doduck, Vivian Claman, Terrance Bloom and Tannis Boxer. This group came together and made their dream of creating Shalhevet a reality – a flourishing place of academia and growth. They created yesh me’Ayin, something concrete from the imagined, and it is because of their hard work and dedication that Shalhevet can celebrate 10 successful years.

Shalhevet is excited for what the future holds, as the school continues to grow and add depth and diversity to their program. The board, staff, students, parents and other school supporters are all looking forward to many more years of service to the Vancouver Jewish community.