News – Page 28

Leaving a legacy of wellness

Vancouver Talmud Torah students in the new Hildy Barnett Wellness Centre. (photo from VTT)

“It was a dream that came true,” said Jeffrey Barnett of the new Hildy Barnett Wellness Centre at Vancouver Talmud Torah.

The centre, named in honour of his late wife, was dedicated last November.

“As a graduate of Vancouver Talmud Torah and as a teacher of over 30 years, and also being a child psychologist, she knew the value of supporting kids in a Jewish environment,” said Barnett of Hildy, who died April 25, 2024. She and Jeffrey were married 47 years; they have two children and four grandchildren.

Hildy Barnett specialized in education for children with special needs. She worked with the Vancouver School Board for three decades and, after retiring, continued to work with children and teens in various capacities. She volunteered at Canuck Place and with the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, among other things. She helped start Jewish Family Services Vancouver’s Innovators Lunch, with friends Naomi Gropper Steiner, z”l, and Kristina Berman.

Shortly before Hildy Barnett passed away, she and Jeffrey made the decision to fund the wellness centre at VTT. Hildy had asked Shirley Barnett, who had a relationship, via her sons, with Shane Foxman, associate director of development at VTT, to inquire about legacy opportunities at the school. Foxman connected Shirley with Emily Greenberg, VTT head of school.

“When Shirley first told me about Hildy, I asked her to tell me a bit more about what she did, her passions, her career,” Greenberg told the Independent. “It became almost immediately clear that she should be part of realizing the vision for the wellness centre. As her health diminished rapidly, Shirley came to the school and I told her to film me speaking about my vision for the space, the children it would serve and the reason we needed to create such a space for our students. I knew what I wanted it to look like, but I wanted to paint that picture for her. I remember, when we stopped recording, I had goosebumps because I could feel how special this room was going to become.

“We hurriedly sent the recording over to Hildy’s daughter, Mira, to show her in her hospital bed,” continued Greenberg. “I remember Shirley got a text back from her within a few minutes. She said that it was exactly what she had hoped for. Hildy, unfortunately, passed away just a couple hours later, but I have always been so grateful that she knew about the wellness centre before she left this world. I think this has made this work even more sentimental. We really wanted to get every detail right.”

photo - Before she died last April, Hildy Barnett, with her husband Jeffrey, decided to fund the building of a wellness centre at Vancouver Talmud Torah, which has been named in her honour — Before she died last April, Hildy Barnett, with her husband Jeffrey, decided to fund the building of a wellness centre at Vancouver Talmud Torah, which has been named in her honour. (photo by Alexandre D. Legere)

A VTT newsletter leading up to the centre’s November dedication noted, “Approximately 20% of our students require some form of extra assistance to fully engage in the curriculum and to meet their full potential…. Over the last several years, we have completed a landscape study to understand best practices for supporting students with learning needs and have implemented several new layers of services to help create unique learning pathways.”

The study comprised a review of what many other schools are doing for student support services, said Greenberg. “There were many takeaways,” she said, “but one of them was that the spaces we create can really enable the programming and support we want to offer. The wellness centre has catapulted our counselors from being in a windowless, uninspiring, tiny office to in a centre that exudes safety, support, belonging and comfort.”

Over the past five years, VTT has gone from having a half-time counselor to two full-time counselors: Donna Cantor and Shakaed Greif. The two are both experienced counselors who are helping “to better support our students, parents and, sometimes, staff, as they navigate the many pressures and challenges of life, especially in a post-Oct. 7 world,” said Greenberg.

The counseling team “has been imperative in helping our many new Israeli students settle into life at VTT. They also run many support groups, including our Free to Be Me club, Chesed club and more,” she said.

The Hildy Barnett Wellness Centre allows Cantor and Greif to have their own offices, as well as a shared space for working with small groups and families.

“When I look back, in a very quiet way, Hildy did what she loved and, having the facility at TT is the ultimate,” Jeffrey Barnett told the Independent. “It brought smiles to her face. She knew that she wasn’t going to be around. She knew that the legacy she was doing would benefit so many youngsters, including the fact that our own grandchildren would be at the school, and that not only this generation but future generations [would be helped]. And it made me feel good that she felt good. It’s still very sad, very touching, and we miss her a great amount.”

Barnett spoke of Hildy’s approach to education, which was based on the methods of the late Dr. Reuven Feuerstein, with whom Hildy Barnett had studied.

Feuerstein was a psychologist from Romania, who trained with the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky, explained Charlene Goldstein, who, with Hildy Barnett, years ago established with the Vancouver School Board a learning centre for speech language pathologists, teachers, counselors and others, which has since faded away. Goldstein is a registered psychologist in the neonatal follow-up program at BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre; she also has a private practice.

“Reuven came to Israel right after the Holocaust and he began to work with children from the Holocaust, as he did with children from Ethiopia,” Goldstein told the Independent. “And what he saw was that these children only lived in the present, that they had limited memories of the past and very few [visions] of the future, and that was because, to protect them, their parents didn’t want them to know too much, plus they had a lot of losses. So, he had a group of volunteers together who would sit by the beds of these children, so if they had nightmares, they would calm them.

“Then, he began to notice that some people were saying that these children were incapable of learning, that type of thing,” she continued. “But what Reuven and Vygotsky believed in [is that] you can have direct learning, where, let’s say I’m a child and I’m looking at putting some blocks together and I figure it out and nobody has to tell me what to do. Or, you could have mediated learning, which is, someone is between the child and the activity helping them to learn what to do.

“So Reuven, and I still do this now – when a child says to me, I can’t do this, I say, well, what do you already know here? What do you already recognize? What about this is new? And I start asking questions about things. So, what do you call this? Oh, my goodness, look at all of these things that you already know. Reuven would also say to teachers, think of the child, and his logo was ‘just a minute … let me think.’ Because he believed, as I do, that everybody has the potential to think, everyone has the potential to learn. We may not all learn everything the same, but we have potential to learn. And that everyone has potential to give back to society.”

Part of the funds raised by the Hadassah Bazaars – which Hildy’s mother, Marjorie Groberman, helped start here and in other places across Canada – were sent to Israel to support Feuerstein with his work, said Jeffrey Barnett.

Groberman, who was “Mrs. Hadassah-WIZO for many years,” had heard Feuerstein speak at a Hadassah convention, said Goldstein. He was brought to Vancouver by Hadassah-WIZO and Variety Clubs International, with which Jeffrey Barnett was involved, she said.

Feuerstein came back to Vancouver many times, said Goldstein. When here, he trained many educators, including those who worked with Indigenous children.

“Some of the children would think he was Santa Claus and would call him that because he had a long, white beard and his beret,” said Goldstein.

Among the people in Feuerstein’s sphere was Dr. Lorna Wanosts’a7 Williams, an expert in Indigenous language revitalization and education. Williams met Goldstein and Barnett in the mid-1980s, when she was hired by the Vancouver School Board as a specialist in First Nations education.

“I was looking at Reuven’s work because of his ideas around what happens with children when they get separated from the knowledge, from their parents,” Williams told the Independent. (People wanting to know more about this aspect of Williams’s work should watch the 1994 National Film Board of Canada documentary The Mind of a Child.)

Williams said Hildy Barnett was focused on “supporting all children to learn and enable them to overcome all their trauma. She just was so dedicated to that kind of work.”

Barnett knew how to move things along, said Williams. “She was able to bring people together in such a beautiful way.”

She added, “I really honour her for all the help she gave me and that she gave many other people. She was very quiet but she was very strong.”

Goldstein, who knew Barnett from having grown up in the local Jewish community, before they connected more in Hadassah-WIZO and with Feuerstein’s work, echoed Williams’s observation.

“Hildy had the most gentle voice, she had a great sense of humour, but she had strong determination,” said Goldstein. “In Star Trek, there’s one person who says, ‘Make it so,’ and that’s what Hildy was like. She would say, ‘Make it so,’ and you just didn’t say no to Hildy because Hildy listened to everybody and had such compassion, such compassion.”

photo - Rabbi Philip Bregman, at back, and Jeffrey Barnett, middle, hang the mezuzah at the door of the Hildy Barnett Wellness Centre, along with Barnett’s daughter, Mira, and son, Joel, who is holding one of Barnett’s grandchildren, Blake — Rabbi Philip Bregman, at back, and Jeffrey Barnett, middle, hang the mezuzah at the door of the Hildy Barnett Wellness Centre, along with Barnett’s daughter, Mira, and son, Joel, who is holding one of Barnett’s grandchildren, Blake. *(photo from VTT)*

The Nov. 24, 2024, dedication ceremony of the Hildy Barnett Wellness Centre was originally envisioned as a small family gathering to honour Barnett’s legacy, said VTT’s Greenberg. “But, to our delight, she was so beloved in the community that many more people attended.

“I think it was an opportunity for many people to pay their respects to her powerful legacy of believing in children, and the Hildy Barnett Wellness Centre has become a healing place in so many ways, including for those who are grieving Hildy’s loss.”

Reviving civil discourse

Heterodox Academy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting viewpoint diversity, open inquiry and constructive debate in higher education. It works to counter ideological conformity on campuses by providing research, resources and programming that foster an environment where diverse perspectives are welcomed and critically examined.

If that sounds like what a university is intended to be, says one local professor, it’s a commentary on the state of contemporary campuses that such an organization is necessary to encourage the academy to live up to its principles.

Dr. Rachel Altman, associate professor in the statistics and actuarial science department at Simon Fraser University, is one of the campus co-chairs of the Heterodox Academy chapter at SFU.

“Heterodox Academy is an organization that fosters free, open inquiry and free discussion even about controversial issues,” she said. “It’s not just about freedom of speech. It’s also about our conduct, the way we have these conversations. I think that’s what really distinguishes it from the general free speech advocacy groups.”

photo - Dr. Rachel Altman is one of the campus co-chairs of the Heterodox Academy chapter at Simon Fraser University — Dr. Rachel Altman is one of the campus co-chairs of the Heterodox Academy chapter at Simon Fraser University. *(photo from SFU)*

Heterodox Academy provides guidelines that urge interlocutors to present their case with evidence, bring data when possible, assume the best of one’s opponent and be intellectually humble, among other principles.

HxA, as it is shorthanded, offers events, conferences, resources and other materials that “try to teach our society, especially within academia, how to interact in a productive and civilized way, even when we disagree,” she said.

These tools are intended to help bridge the divide between the ideal of a university and the reality of creating a dynamic marketplace of ideas.

“Just because we have it in our head that in the academy we should be able to discuss anything in a civilized way doesn’t mean we actually know how to do it,” she said. “They provide tools and modeling of those tools to actually teach people how to be civilized.”

The HxA chapter at SFU emerged after a group of scholars got together because they were concerned about the state of academic freedom at the university. They founded the SFU Academic Freedom Group.

Within a few months of that group’s founding, Heterodox Academy launched its Campus Community Program, recognizing chapters on individual campuses. Some SFU professors applied and were accepted among the first chapters chartered.

“We hosted a so-called Heterodox Conversation event this past September,” she said. “That’s a model developed by HxA where you invite two people who have different views on a topic and they sit down and have a conversation with the model [called] the Heterodox Way and then the audience gets involved and we have a group discussion.”

The topic of that dialogue was “The purpose of today’s Canadian universities.”

“The timing was perfect because, just the previous week, our president had issued a statement on institutional neutrality,” she said, referring to an announcement by SFU’s president, Joy Johnson, on maintaining an environment where scholarly inquiry remains unbiased by partisan agendas. “For me, I was celebrating like crazy, but there were others on campus who were very unhappy.”

Altman can’t say whether the Heterodox Academy chapter or the SFU Academic Freedom Group deserve credit for the president’s statement or for other recent developments she and her colleagues view as positive.

“I’m a statistician, so I rarely claim causation,” she said wryly. “I’m very conservative that way. But I think so.”

The groups are comparatively small, but they may be having an outsized impact.

“Everybody knows about us,” she said. “The administration clearly knows and it’s just been so gratifying to see the change in the whole tenor of the administration’s approaches over the last couple of years. It’s a clear change.”

Numbers may remain relatively small, Altman suspects, because of a false perception of their group.

“We are consistently being cast as this right-wing, conservative group and it’s not true,” she said. “We have people across the political spectrum in the group. It is a nonpartisan group.”

The idea that academic freedom and institutional neutrality are right-wing positions, she said, is belied, for example, by the gay rights movement, which emerged in the 1960s, in part thanks to the viewpoint diversity of campuses.

It is not a coincidence, Altman believes, that several HxA members, including herself, are Jewish.

“Jews have a long tradition of arguing and debating in a civilized way, the whole ‘two Jews, three opinions’ thing,” she said. “Jews are just a natural fit with the HxA model.”

In contrast, the equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) model that has become increasingly prevalent on North American campuses in recent years is antithetical both to the academic ideal and to Jews, she argued.

“For some Jews like myself, I realized very early on that the EDI ideology that’s become so predominant in academia and elsewhere, that it was terrible for Jews,” she said. “This model of the oppressed and the oppressor, it didn’t work. Jews did not fit into that mold.”

EDI is the opposite of what it claims to be, said Altman.

“I think it’s exclusionary, it discriminates against groups,” she said. “It’s antithetical to everything I believe in because I truly believe in inclusion and anti-discrimination.… I was very unhappy about the rise of the EDI ideology and, in my groups of people who are also similarly concerned about that ideology, I think Jews are overrepresented. That would suggest I’m not the only Jewish person who sees the fundamental conflict, the contradictions in the EDI ideology.”

Altman said few people would openly admit they oppose academic freedom.

“Really, it becomes about the definition of academic freedom,” she said. “When I say I support academic freedom, that’s the end of my sentence. What I look for when I’m talking to people is the ‘but’ that can follow. ‘Of course, I support academic freedom, but … there are limits.’ Things like that.”

In some cases, Altman thinks, this equivocation comes from a lack of understanding around the core principles of academic freedom.

“But then, there are some people who truly want to change the foundation of the term, the concept,” she said. “They truly believe that we should have limits on both our academic freedom and our freedom of expression more generally.”

In addition to the SFU branch, Heterodox Academy has a chapter at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. While there are some HxA members at the Vancouver campus of UBC, Altman said, there is not yet an official chapter there.

For more information, visit heterodoxacademy.org.

Adaptability important

Canada’s westernmost Reform rabbis, Dan Moskovitz of Vancouver’s Temple Sholom, and Lynn Greenhough of Victoria’s Kolot Mayim, sat down for a discussion (and celebration) of the resilience of the Jewish people during a Zoom webinar on Feb. 2.

Greenhough, who posed questions to Moskovitz for an event that was part of Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s 2024/25 Kvell at the Well series, described him in her introduction as a “one-man advertisement for Jewish resilience.”

photo - Rabbi Dan Moskovitz of Temple Sholom was the most recent speaker in Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s Kvell at the Well Zoom series — Rabbi Dan Moskovitz of Temple Sholom was the most recent speaker in Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s Kvell at the Well Zoom series. *(photo from rabbidanmoskovitz.com)*

Moskovitz began by bringing historical context to the topic, noting that the sages would often say that new questions and problems are the reframing of events that have happened in the past.

“Sadly, we have a history that can take us back to times of trial and challenge just as easily as it could to triumph,” said Moskovitz. “So, part of it is that we’ve seen this before and we’re still here. That is, I think, a key to our resilience.”

Another element to resiliency is adaptability, he said. Here, the senior rabbi at Temple Sholom cited a section of the Talmud that debates whether it is better to be a cedar tree or a reed.

“The rabbis conclude it’s better to be a reed than a cedar. While we can stand firm at some point, a strong enough wind from just the right angle will topple us over [if we are a cedar],” Moskovitz said. “But the reed can adjust. And that’s how we dealt with the destruction of the First and the Second Temple.”

Judaism, he continued, has maintained a fluidity that allows it to be open to new ways to grapple with present-day issues like identity, the role of women and modern concepts of morality, discarding past practices that might be distasteful today.

“I think that important to our resilience has been our ability to change,” he said. “When groups or religions don’t change, their survival becomes precarious.”

Judaism’s resilience, too, can be attributed to its portability; namely, texts were printed and studied. Further, discussions, such as those occurring in the Talmud – which Moskovitz described as the “original Wikipedia” – could be had not just in one place in time but across time, to create an “ongoing dialogue.”

“I think about Pesach and the printed Haggadah, but also the technology, if we can call it that, of the socialization of the story, that coming together every year to retell our story, as opposed to telling it and forgetting it,” he said. “What Pesach does is remind us of the story of redemption, remind us of our role, Moses’s role, God’s role, the role of miracles, and to reinterpret that through the lens of our modern experience, to see the pharaohs of our time.”

A recent illustration of Judaism’s ability to adapt, he said, occurred during the pandemic, as events and services shifted to Zoom. Most of Temple Sholom’s minyan services are still held online, as they have proved a valuable means for congregants to connect in a meaningful way.

Change and innovation, Moskovitz argued, are always going to happen, and it has been to Judaism’s advantage to move forward, to progress, and not shelter itself from the outside world. One such step practised by Reform Judaism, for example, is to use transliteration and English translations of the Hebrew text in prayer books, making the prayers and other material accessible to a wider range of people.

Later in his talk, Moskovitz referenced how times of crises and discrimination have empowered Jews to create their own institutions.

“I think that we have to have a deep appreciation for the resourcefulness of the generations that came before us,” he said. “Most of the institutions that we have been raised in were built by a generation of Jews who were excluded from general society.”

To the question of the post-Oct. 7 world in which university campuses and other spaces have become hotbeds of vitriol against Jews, Moskovitz stressed that flexibility and adaptability do not mean capitulation.

“If there are places that we have been and rightfully should still be and want to be, then we do have to stand our ground there,” he said. “We do have to insist and we do have to call out the hypocrisy of certain things or the blatant discrimination.”

Crucial in this pursuit, said Moskovitz, is to find allies. He told the Zoom audience that Jews will not defeat antisemitism, but non-Jews will.

“We can’t separate ourselves from the community,” he said. “While we could use our money to pull out of places like Harvard, we should absolutely stay at the boardroom table as long as they will have us. If not, then go to whatever audience will receive our message of why we were kicked out of that place, and stay in for the argument and the fight.

“I think that we shouldn’t abandon these institutions and say, I’m not going to send my kid there anymore because it’s antisemitic. It will only become more antisemitic if we stop sending our kids.”

Jonathan Bergwerk, author of the Audacious Jewish Lives books, is the next speaker in the Kolot Mayim Kvell at the Well series. On March 2, at 11 a.m., he will discuss Jewish innovators who have changed the world. Visit kolotmayimreformtemple.com to register.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

ASTEH is now Sara’s House

Sara Ciacci, z”l, was a passionate advocate against domestic violence, establishing ASTEH, an emergency shelter for women escaping abuse. (photo from JFS Vancouver)

Sara Ciacci, z”l, is, in many ways, an urban legend – a name synonymous with impact, compassion and transformative change in our community.

Ciacci dedicated her life to fighting food insecurity, most notably co-founding the Jewish Food Bank in 1984. She was also a passionate advocate against domestic violence, establishing ASTEH (Alternative Short Term Emergency Housing), an emergency shelter for women escaping abuse. And JFS Vancouver has recently honoured Ciacci’s extraordinary impact by renaming ASTEH to Sara’s House, a tribute to her unwavering commitment to empowering women and building their resilience.

A survivor of domestic violence herself, Ciacci deeply understood the fear, shame and stigma that women and children face when escaping abuse. Her firsthand experience drove her determination to create a safe space where Jewish women and their children could find refuge and rebuild their lives.

Sanctuary for women, children

Sara’s House is a community-based housing facility providing security, stability and support to Jewish women and their children fleeing violence or at risk of homelessness. With the guidance of JFS counselors and care managers, women are empowered to explore their options and make decisions that lead to a safer, more hopeful future.

Over the years, Sara’s House has been a haven for dozens of women and their children. One such story is Abby’s.

When Abby first walked into JFS, she was overwhelmed with fear and desperation. Fifteen years into her marriage, a sudden violent shift forced her to confront the emotional, verbal and financial abuse that had been present from the start. She never thought she would find herself in this situation.

Abby recalled a comment from JFS executive director Tanja Demajo.

“Tanja told me she felt I had a very good chance of getting out of the abuse and I was a good candidate for ASTEH housing,” said Abby. “By the end, I felt overwhelming relief. It was the life preserver I needed to get out.”

A lasting tribute

JFS Vancouver is profoundly grateful for Ciacci’s legacy of dedication, empathy and action. With the renaming of ASTEH to Sara’s House, her vision of providing a haven for women and children will live on, inspiring future generations to continue the work of protecting and empowering those in need.

Community support helps sustain Sara’s House and the life-changing services it provides. To learn more or to contribute, visit jfsvancouver.ca/donate.

– Courtesy JFS Vancouver

Community milestones … Gutman, Marks Pulver, Doduck & Simpson

Gloria Gutman, PhD, has been honoured with the King Charles III Coronation Medal, which recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to Canada, or an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada. She will receive the medal in a ceremony March 21.

A research associate and professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University, Gutman founded the Gerontology Research Centre and the department of gerontology at SFU, serving as director of both units from 1982 to 2005. She is the author/editor of 23 books, the most recent (with Claire Robson and Jen Marchbank) titled Elder Abuse in the LGBTQ2SA+ Community (Springer, 2023).

photo - Dr. Gloria Gutman — Dr. Gloria Gutman (photo from SFU)

During her career, Gutman has held many prominent roles, including president of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, president of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics and president of the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse. Currently, she is president of the North American chapter of the International Society for Gerontechnology, vice-president of the International Longevity Centre-Canada and a member of the research management committee of the Canadian Frailty Network. Previously, she served on the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Ageing Society, World Health Organization’s expert advisory panel on aging and health, and the CIHR-Institute of Aging advisory board.

“I am grateful to SFU for having nominated me for this award.

Developing the gerontology department and Gerontology Research Centre, serving on boards, organizing conferences, and advocating for seniors in other ways nationally and internationally, has been a privilege and a pleasure,” said Gutman. “It could not have taken place without the strong support of FASS [the faculty of arts and social sciences] and senior administration.”

In 2012, Gutman was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Government of Canada and, in 2016, she was appointed to the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour.

– Courtesy Simon Fraser University

* * *

photo - Lana Marks Pulver — Lana Marks Pulver (photo from Jewish Federation)

Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is proud to congratulate its board chair, Lana Marks Pulver, who was honoured by Jewish Federations of North America with the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award for exemplifying the highest standards of philanthropy and volunteerism. Marks Pulver’s selection for this award is a testament to her exceptional dedication and leadership.

– Courtesy Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver

* * *

The Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of long-time volunteer leaders Marie Doduck and Lee Simpson as co-chairs of the 2025/26 campaign. Please join board directors Harry Lipetz, Rick Cohen, Mel Moss, Bernard Pinsky, David Zacks, Michelle Karby and Abbe Chivers, and staff Ayelet Cohen Weil and Wendy Habif in congratulating and thanking them for their tireless commitment to our Jewish elderly.

– Courtesy Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation

BBYO Vancouver thrives

Levi Moskovitz has been elected to the BBYO International executive board. (photo by Jason Dixson Photography)

Vancouver teens joined thousands of peers, educators, business leaders and philanthropists from around the world at BBYO’s International Convention (IC) 2025 in Denver, Colo., Feb. 12-17. Levi Moskovitz, a student at King David High School, was elected as BBYO’s international teen treasurer (grand aleph gizbor) for the 2025-26 term. He is the only Canadian on the BBYO international board, which represents 70,000 teens from 64 different countries.

Moskovitz has been an active and dedicated member of BBYO Vancouver since he joined in Grade 8. He currently serves as regional godol (president) for Vancouver, where, along with a small cohort of fellow teen leaders, he has expanded the region from one chapter and a handful of teens to four chapters and more than 100 active teens.

Prior to being elected president, Moskovitz was the regional gizbor (treasurer). This position gave him real-world experience in leading successful fundraising initiatives, expanding community partnerships and empowering younger members to take on leadership roles. He also has been instrumental in growing chapter programming and strengthening BBYO’s presence across British Columbia.

For the next year, Moskovitz will help lead the organization as it celebrates Jewish identity, combats antisemitism, develops the next generation of youth leaders, and promotes its core values of faith, fraternity, patriotism, charity and integrity. As international teen treasurer, he will lead BBYO’s global philanthropy efforts, oversee the International Service Fund (ISF) and support chapter treasurers worldwide. He will help guide the movement as it raises and distributes more than $1 million in tzedakah (charity), including #GivingBBYODay. He will also collaborate with BBYO’s chief financial officer and board of governors on financial priorities within the organization’s $54 million annual budget. As part of the 12-person international teen board, he will shape BBYO’s global vision.

“Being elected as BBYO’s international teen treasurer is an honour,” said Moskovitz. “BBYO has given me incredible opportunities to grow as a leader, and I’m excited to help Jewish teens worldwide make an impact through philanthropy and financial empowerment.”

BBYO Vancouver’s growth in recent years has been helped largely by two major multi-year capacity-building grants: from the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation and from the Diamond Foundation. Moskovitz’s election marks another milestone for the region’s legacy of leadership in BBYO’s international movement.

Vancouver BBYO has been at the forefront of community impact, organizing service projects and fundraisers that benefit local and global Jewish causes. The chapter’s close partnerships with King David High School, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and local synagogues continue to provide teens with opportunities for leadership, Jewish engagement and community service.

This year, Vancouver BBYO’s presence was felt beyond the election stage, with a delegation of 26 teens representing the city at IC 2025.

“Levi’s leadership and dedication have left a lasting mark on Vancouver BBYO,” said Persio Bider, BBYO Vancouver regional director. “His election to the international board reflects the strength of our growing community and the incredible potential of Jewish teens to lead on a global stage.”

– Courtesy BBYO International

***

All in the family

Levi Moskovitz’s older brother, Judah, was the last Canadian elected to the BBYO international board, in 2023, as grand aleph shaliach (Jewish identity and Israel). His father, Temple Sholom’s Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, is a past international president (grand aleph godol, 1989-90).

The 100th anniversary of BBYO in Canada happens in 2026. “That anniversary will be part of a major effort to identify Canadian BBYO alumni,” Rabbi Moskovitz told the Independent.

For more information about BBYO in the Vancouver region, visit their website (via bbyo.org) or contact the regional director, Persio Bider, at [email protected]. If you are a BBYO alumn, join the BBYO Alumni Association to stay connected with the organization and support its mission.

– Cynthia Ramsay

דיקטטור נכנס לבית הלבן והקהל מריע

בסרטים מצוירים רואים את החיה החזקה ביותר עומדת על גבעה וכל שאר החיות החלשות מריעות ומקבלות את מרותה. בארה”ב היום אותו כלל חל על הנוכל דונלד טראמפ שחזר לבית הלבן, והאמריקנים – בטיפשותם שבחרו בו – מריעים עכשיו בשמחה לעומתו

כל מי שקצת בדק את ההיסטוריה של טראמפ וכנראה לא הרבה אמריקאים עשו זאת, יכול למצוא בקלות אינפורמציה רבה שמוכיחה עד כמה הקריירה העסקית שלו מבוססת על נוכלות, רמיה, עושק ובדיות. בני משפחתו, משקיעיו, עובדיו ורבים אחרים מספרים בפרטי פרטים עד כמה טראמפ שיקר ורימה אותם, והמציא מציאות מדומה על מצבו הכלכלי – אך הוא לא נפגע מכך. המערכת המשפטית בארה”ב היא כה חלשה כך שלטראמפ התאפשר להמשיך ולרמות במשך כחמישים שנותיו הראשונות כאיש עסקים. עם הכרזתו שהוא רץ לנשיאות, המפלגה הרפובליקנית קיבלה אותו בזרועות פתוחות, במקום להעיף את הנוכל. מדוע? כי במפלגה הרפוליקנית בעידן הנוכחי הנורמות נשחקו עד דק והרצון לשלוט הוא הערך הכמעט יחידי שרלוונטי. מצד שני עומדת מפלגה דמוקרטית חלשה ונאיבית שחבריה מדברים על ערכים דמוקרטיים לטובת מדינתם, בזמן שהרפוליקנים השתלטו במהירות יחסית על כל ארבע מערכות הממשל: בית המשפט העליון, הבית הלבן ושני בתי המחוקקים. בעוד שהדמוקרטים מדברים על ערכי שוויון, חופש ועזרה לזולת ולא יכולים להגיע להסכמה שתאחד אותם, הרפובליקנים חיפשו רק את מושכות השלטון וכל דרך היא לגיטימית מבחינתם, להגשמת ערך זה עליון זה. כולל שקרים, איומים והפחדות. כך היה בקמפיין הבחירות הראשון של טראמפ וכך היה גם בקמפיין השני. וזאת בשיתוף פעולה מלא של ההמון ברחובות שהרגיש כאילו טראמפ הוא קומיקאי שמספק להם לחם ושעשועים

בקמפיין הראשון טראמפ נעזר בחברת התעמולה האמריקאית השמרנית קיימברידג’ אנליטיקה, שעזרה לו לנצח את הילרי קלינטון. קיימברידג’ הבינה שהיא צריכה להשפיע על כעשרים אלף בוחרים שלא ידעו במי לבחור כדי שטראמפ יזכה לרוב האלקטורים. החברה פימפמה להם שקרים וזה עבד מול הדמוקרטים שחיים בעבר ולא הבינו מול איזה נוכל ושקרן פתולוגי הם התמודדו. קיימברידג’ עזרה קודם לכן לפמפם שקרים בקמפיין שתמך ביציאת בריטניה מהאיחוד האירופי. לא פלא שהחלו חקירות בעניין קייבמרידג’ היא הכריזה על פשיטת רגל שכך שלא נאלצה לספק מסמכים ודוחות

במקפיין הבחירות השני של טראמפ הוא נעזר במכונת תעמולה הרבה יותר אפקטיבית וחזקה – טוויטר (אקס) של אילון מאסק. כל אחד יודע שמאסק הוא האחרון שאפשר לסמוך על אמינותו ויושרו. מאסק חושב רק במונחים של כסף, קפיטליזם טהור ושליטה על ההמונים. ממש כמו חברו הטוב טראמפ. טוויטר שימשה מנוע תקשורתי עצום להאדרת שמו של טראמפ, תוך שהיא מפמפמת שקרים והפחדות אל ההמונים וזה עבד מצויין. מה גם שהמצד השני שוב הדמוקרטים החלשים לא קלטו באיזה עידן הם נמצאים

טועה מי שחושב שאחרי עדין טראמפ החיים יחזרו למסלולם. הוא הצליח בקדנציה הראשונה להביא לרוב של שופטים שמרנים בבית המשפט העליון, וזה ישמר במשך שנים רבות. אותם שופטים כבר גרמו נזק אדיר לנשים ובארה”ב לאחר שביטלו את חוק ההפלות הפדרלי

טראמפ וחבריו יגרמו נזקים רבים למערכות השלטון, האכיפה והצדק בארה”ב, מה שיבטיח לרפובליקנים את את השלטון לשנים רבות בעתיד. והחשוב מכל: שלטונו של טראמפ הוציא את כל השדים הרעים מהבקבוקים ולא ניתן יהיה להחזירם. עבור לא מעט אמריקניים טראמפ משמש דוגמא ומופת שתוך שהוא מוכיח ששקר הוא כמו האמת

Spread of extremism

Terry Glavin, right, in conversation with Rabbi Dan Moskovitz Jan. 30, traces the evolution of anti-Israel extremism in Canada. (photo by Pat Johnson)

At times, the world seems to be going off the rails, with Canadian activists overtly cheering on terrorists and celebrating the atrocities of Oct. 7. But Terry Glavin, a BC writer and thinker with a lifetime of experience on the ground as a journalist in the Middle East, thinks a reckoning is coming.

Speaking with Rabbi Dan Moskovitz at Temple Sholom Synagogue Jan. 30, Glavin, who says he comes from the political left, sees “a very, very disturbing and destructive phenomenon in all of the places where the left used to be.”

Part of that is a consequence of a change in global dynamics.

“Where there was once a fairly robust sort of proletariat internationalism on the left, there was something that was emerging by the ’60s and ’70s that was kind of a Third Worldist, anti-Western substitution for a genuinely progressive working-class internationalism,” he said. “That has had enormous implications in the trajectory of human history – very disturbing implications.”

The socialist or communist ideal never took hold in the West and that sent proponents seeking a spark that could catch fire.

“The working class simply didn’t take up the offer of overthrowing the state and seizing the means of production,” said Glavin, “so a lot of people on the European left went looking for a new proletariat and found it in Third World revolutionaries. Sometimes that was actually a legitimate thing to do. But, in the context of the so-called Arab world, what has often as not occurred is that bonds of solidarity would be forged with some of the most reactionary, anti-liberal, anti-progressive, theocratic, fascistic movements.”

Lacking a coherent political ideology, the movement coalesced around “anti-imperialism,” whose unifying principle was simply sharing the same enemies.

“All you have to basically do is say ‘I’m against the Americans, I’m anti-imperialist,’ and you’re in,” Glavin said.

The collapse of the Soviet Union was disorienting to the left, which then discovered the politics of anti-globalization. This created more strange bedfellows, Glavin said, because denouncing the International Monetary Fund and the World Economic Forum had once been the purview of the right.

Then, after the 9/11 terror attacks, anti-globalism took a backseat to what its adherents called an “antiwar” movement. Glavin takes exception to the term, because he said it was not an antiwar movement so much as a movement that sided with the West’s enemies in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“That’s a fairly serious charge to levy,” he said, “but organizationally and institutionally, that is actually a fact, in Canada particularly.”

A series of annual conferences in Cairo during the first decade of this century brought together global organizations including Canadian groups like Toronto Stop the War Coalition, the Canadian Peace Alliance, the Vancouver Coalition to Stop the War and others. In Cairo, they were joined by representatives of terror groups including Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. These ostensible antiwar groups, and these decidedly violent groups, developed a program that opposed “imperialism.” And, vilified above every evil was the perceived imperialism of Zionism.

“At its very birthing, at its very centre, was anti-Zionism,” Glavin said.

While most of these Canadian activists probably self-identified as leftists, they had made common cause with the descendants of history’s most extreme right.

“We sort of imagine that there was this horrible phenomenon of Nazism that consumed millions and millions and millions of people in a world war and then we won and then it was over,” he said. “People forget that the same philosophy, the same ideology, the same antisemitic hatreds, were spreading throughout the so-called Arab world, throughout the Maghreb and the Levant, and Iran as well, in the 1920s and 1930s. It persisted.”

Glavin explained the direct line from the Nazi collaborationist Arab leaders of the 1940s and successive decades of forces in the region that translate and promulgate Mein Kampf and keep the flame of fascism alive.

Despite this seeming ideological incongruity, Canadian activists returning from Cairo found some receptive audiences for particularly Canadian reasons. Canada is a decentralized, multicultural constitutional monarchy, post-nationalistic and less driven by a cohesive patriotic impulse than some other states, according to Glavin. These fluidities caused Canadians to search for an identity.

“We needed to find a way to figure out our place in the world,” he said.

Canadians were very engaged with the creation of the United Nations, including its Declaration of Human Rights. “So, the United Nations and its protocols have always significantly informed Canadian foreign policy,” he said. “If you vest your foreign-policy principles in an institution that, without anybody noticing for some reason, became largely a function of the police-state bloc and the Organization for the Islamic Conference, you’re going to find yourself in a bit of a spot.”

This may have created fertile soil for the sorts of ideas that these activists brought back from Cairo, he said. It may also explain why “Israel Apartheid Week,” a global anti-Israel phenomenon, began at the University of Toronto and why an anti-Israel boycott movement began in Canada three years before the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement was originated by Palestinians.

Meanwhile, as activists claimed to be advocating for peace in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, Glavin said they were instead often working at direct cross-purposes with those peoples’ self-defined interests. Such was the case, he argued, with those who opposed Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan.

“The Afghan left, the Afghan women’s movement, the Afghan student movement, Afghan intellectuals, poets, Afghan socialists, liberals, were all ‘troops in,’” he said. “All these white people in North America and Europe were all ‘troops out.’ Right away, that should tell you something. Something has been broken in the traditions of left-wing solidarity among and between working people around the world.”

Journalists Glavin knew in Afghanistan were baffled by Canadian activists.

“They would see another protest in Toronto,” he said, and they would ask: “Why would they do that to us?”

The left has to be held to account, Glavin said, naming the New Democratic Party specifically.

“Where the hell were you when this was happening? What were you saying when trade union leaders were meeting with Hezbollah, were meeting in Damascus with these blood-soaked tyrants? Where were you?” he asked. “The women of Afghanistan were begging – begging you – to stay with them, just hang on for a couple more years. [They were saying] ‘We’ve got an entire generation of young people coming up now, they’re graduating and they are going to be taking over, and you walk away from us? How could you do this?’”

All of these threads of ideological extremism came together with a particular fervour after Oct. 7, 2023, Glavin argued.

“Immediately, across this country, people were pouring into the streets celebrating the bloodiest pogrom since the time of the death camps,” he said.

This was new, Glavin noted. A couple of decades earlier, at the height of the antiwar movement, activists were not overtly championing the terrorists.

“You didn’t have hundreds and hundreds of people in the streets saying, ‘We are Al Qaeda, we support Al Qaeda, yay Al Qaeda,’” he said. “You have that now – people who are openly, enthusiastically, deliriously, hysterically praising Hamas. That’s different. Something big has changed. Something very big has happened.”

This has affected Canadian Jews severely.

“On Oct. 8, Canadian Jews just didn’t wake up to find that the fabric of the country had been kind of torn by this, but rather that something had been woven into the very fabric of the country itself,” he said.

As things have deteriorated to the point where clusters of Canadians are literally celebrating the mass murder of Jews, Glavin sees a ray of hope. By showing their true colours, these activists have made it more difficult for aware Canadians to ignore the extremism that has consumed parts of our society, including the anti-Israel left. He foresees a reckoning.

“I am optimistic,” he said, “because I do think that most normal people, on any number of fronts, have simply had enough.”

The Holocaust in Hungary

Dr. Peter Suedfeld speaks at the International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration at the Bayit. (photo by Pat Johnson)

As a child in Budapest, Dr. Peter Suedfeld’s family spoke Hungarian in the home and considered themselves Hungarians first and Jews second.

“If you asked us, ‘What are you? Who are you?’ The answer would be Hungarians,” he said. “Interestingly, we thought that that’s what the people around us thought also, that that’s what we were – Hungarians. It turned out a little later that we were mistaken.”

Suedfeld shared his family’s Holocaust story and his survival Jan. 26 at the International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration (IHRD) at the Bayit synagogue in Richmond.

Miklós Horthy, the regent of Hungary during most of the war, did not share Hitler’s determination to destroy the Jewish people, Suedfeld said. As a result, the status of Jews in the country was not markedly worse than that of other Hungarians during the early war years.

“By 1944, things were very different,” Suedfeld said. “It was increasingly likely that Germany, contrary to all expectations, was not going to win the war.”

The Soviets had pushed back the German advance on the Eastern Front and the Western Allies were close enough to bomb Budapest routinely. Food was scarce, as resources were being pilfered and transported to Germany.

Realizing that the Hungarians had chosen the wrong side in this war, as they had at other times in history, Horthy went on the radio and announced that his country was surrendering, Suedfeld explained, whereupon Hitler directly occupied Hungary for the first time. Horthy’s government was replaced with an overtly fascist regime, the Arrow Cross.

“They took it upon themselves to carry out the full Nuremberg Laws and all the persecution that had happened in Germany and Poland,” said Suedfeld. “It came later to us than it had many other countries in Europe but, when it came, they were determined to catch up.”

Adolf Eichmann himself, mastermind of the “Final Solution,” was sent to oversee operations in Hungary. Jews were forced to wear the yellow star for the first time and executions of Jews began in earnest.

Jews were taken to the banks of the Danube, where they were lined up in groups of three, tied together, their shoes removed, and then the middle person in the trio was shot. When the middle person fell into the river, the other two were dragged down and drowned, accomplishing the objective with one bullet rather than three. Suedfeld said 30,000 are estimated to have been murdered in this fashion.

Suedfeld’s paternal grandfather, a hero from the First World War, had died a few years earlier. He had assumed that his military accomplishments would shield his family from whatever antisemitic legislation was passed.

“He died before he found out that he was wrong,” said Suedfeld, whose paternal grandmother astonishingly survived the Holocaust. His mother’s parents entered the ghetto, where they soon died from the privations there.

Young Peter’s own story of survival was improbable. His mother was taken from their home while 8-year-old Peter watched, not knowing it would be the final time he saw her. She was taken to a holding camp in Hungary and from there to Auschwitz.

His father was drafted into forced labour and later experienced a death march and incarceration at Mauthausen, “one of the worst of those cruel, vicious camps.”

“But he survived,” Suedfeld recounted. “After the war, he was given a job, because he spoke English, interrogating suspected war criminals and SS officers captured in the vicinity. He enjoyed it.”

Young Peter survived after his mother was arrested because his aunt discovered him alone at home. She took him and decided, with his grandparents, that he should be hidden.

“They somehow found out that the International Red Cross had some orphanages started around the city. They were for war orphans but they smuggled a few Jews in when they thought they could get away with it,” he said. “I was a good candidate for hiding because I was blond and had blue eyes so I could get away with pretending I wasn’t Jewish.”

Like many survivors, Suedfeld’s existence is a result of an incalculable number of close calls and lucky chances. In just one instance, near the end of the war, the group of orphans he was with were being transported from one location to another. They were lining up to cross over a little fence when some soldiers saw them and may have assumed they were enemy forces. Machine gun fire burst forth.

“Shots were fired and the kid on my left was hit,” said Suedfeld. “And the kid on my right was hit. But when it was pointing at me was the time that the next cartridge was being fed into the gun and so there was no shot. Pure dumb luck.”

Peter and his father fled Hungary when the communists took power. Suedfeld made his way to the United States in 1948, served in the US Army, eventually received a doctorate from Princeton University in 1963 and taught at American universities before moving to Vancouver. He was appointed professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia in 1972. His work and research are concerned with how human beings adapt and cope with challenge, stress and resilience.

At the commemoration, the Bayit’s Rabbi Levi Varnai reflected on the word zachor, remember.

“We are obligated to remember, today, tomorrow and really every single day,” he said. “Zachor is always important but it feels like today it’s even more important than ever before.”

He acknowledged the nine Holocaust survivors in attendance and expressed regret that, after their childhoods were stolen, their golden years are now tarnished by witnessing a new surge of antisemitism.

“As much as we want to focus on the future and as much as we want to continue to build and not always think about our dark past, the only way to ensure a proper future is by remembering the atrocities, the hardships of the past,” the rabbi said. “We are lucky that we still live in an age that we can come into a room to witness survivors and share their testimonies. It is our obligation to take these stories and make sure that they will never ever be forgotten.”

Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, noted the significance of the presence of elected representatives at the event.

“If only our ancestors had public officials showing up like this and talking about how we have to create a safer space,” said Shanken, who said that people have asked him how bad antisemitism needs to get in Canada before Jews consider leaving the country.

“When do we get out of here?” he asked. “We get out of here when the government starts making laws against us.” Governments in Canada of all parties, he said, “have been steadfast in trying to voice the need for safety and security for the Jewish people and for all people across our country, our province, our cities. I want to thank them for spending time with us tonight.”

Michael Sachs, director for Western Canada of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre and a past president of the Bayit, who initiated the annual Holocaust remembrance event six years ago, noted that the commemoration was taking place “amidst the worst, most sustained amount of antisemitism that Canadian Jews have ever experienced.”

“Survivors are a constant source of inspiration and wisdom for us,” he said. “No one can speak with a greater authority on what can happen when hate is left unchallenged than these survivors. For them, having witnessed firsthand and paid a dear price for society not standing up to the worst impulses of humanity, this is not academic.”

He asked everyone in attendance to redouble their efforts toward education about the Holocaust and about modern-day manifestations of antisemitism.

“Jews cannot fight antisemitism alone, nor should we – not if we want a better society for all,” said Sachs. “The light of education shall lead our way.”

Steveston-Richmond East Member of Parliament Parm Bains represented the federal government and read greetings from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Kelly Greene, MLA for Richmond Steveston and minister of emergency management and climate readiness, brought greetings from Premier David Eby. All three of Richmond’s other MLAs – Teresa Wat (Richmond-Bridgeport), Steve Kooner (Richmond-Queensborough) and Hon Chan (Richmond Centre) – were present. Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brody read a city proclamation and was joined by councilors Bill McNulty, Andy Hobbs and Alexa Loo. Richmond RCMP chief superintendent Dave Chouhan was also in attendance. Bayit president Keith Liedtke emceed.

Nine Holocaust survivors lit candles. Cantor Yaacov Orzech chanted El Moleh Rachamim. Dr. Abby Wener Herlin, associate director of programs and community relations at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, introduced Suedfeld.

The event was co-sponsored by the Bayit, Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and Kehila Society of Richmond.

Healing trauma possible

Claire Sicherman read from her book Imprint, about intergenerational trauma, at UBC Hillel on Jan. 21. (photo by Pat Johnson)

Understanding of intergenerational trauma has expanded in recent decades. Two granddaughters of Holocaust survivors discussed the larger phenomenon and their personal experiences recently at the University of British Columbia’s Hillel House, part of Hillel’s Holocaust Awareness Week.

Claire Sicherman, author, workshop facilitator and trauma-informed somatic writing coach, shared her experiences and read from her book, Imprint: A Memoir of Trauma in the Third Generation, which was published in 2017. She was in conversation with Dr. Abby Wener Herlin, associate director of programs and community relations at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, which co-sponsored the Jan. 21 event with Hillel BC.

Sicherman attributed to psychologist Dr. Arielle Schwartz the definition of intergenerational trauma as the ways in which the unresolved experiences of traumas, losses and griefs of one generation can become a legacy that is passed down to the next generation.

“In other words,” said Sicherman, “the experiences of my grandparents are passed down through my parents to me.”

In addition to the “nurture” component of family legacies, there is the “nature” component of epigenetics, which Sicherman described as “the study of how genes turn on and off in response to environmental change.”

“I’ve heard it talked about like it’s sort of like light switches switching on and off in the body,” she explained. “Whatever switches switched on for my grandparents would then be switched on, passed down to my parent, passed down to me.”

Experts in the field say it’s not a biological prison, Sicherman said. “They are actually malleable, so what you’re born with, you are not necessarily stuck with. We do have the ability to change certain things. There is hope in that.”

Growing up, Sicherman knew little or nothing about inherited trauma.

“When I started reading about it, I began to understand that what was going on with me wasn’t really my fault or that it wasn’t really something wrong with me,” she said. “It was just that I was carrying this huge thing.”

Reading excerpts from her book, Sicherman recounted being “disconnected from my body.” The inherited trauma manifested as a nervous system on overdrive and a tendency to hypervigilance. She was always ready to bolt out the door, looking for exit signs, aware of potential dangers, unable to fully rest, and prone to stress and anxiety.

She said that untold stories often pass more powerfully from generation to generation than stories that are recounted.

“When you think about that,” said Sicherman, “it’s what we don’t talk about that has more weight. It’s the silence. It’s the secrets.… That’s why it’s also important to me to speak out about these things, because it’s healing that goes across generations.”

Her survivor grandparents thought they were protecting their children through silence, Sicherman said. In response, the second generation learned not to ask questions.

There were other silences. In addition to the limited discussion around the Holocaust, Sicherman did not learn until well into her own adulthood that, when she was 4 years old, her grandfather had taken his own life, and not died of a heart attack, as she had been led to believe.

As someone who writes about and works with others on issues of healing intergenerational trauma, she urges people to embrace the totality of what they have inherited.

“Aside from trauma, what are the legacies that your ancestors bring to you?” she asked. “What are the gifts? What are the strengths? That’s also an important question to ask yourself, and a way of connecting with Jewish heritage. What are the strengths of your lineage? Is it survival? Is it tenacity? Is it humour? Is it creativity? Those are questions that you can ask yourself.”

Her son, Ben Sicherman, a UBC student, was present and also spoke of his family’s legacy of trauma. He described struggling with anxiety when he was younger and learning mechanisms for addressing issues through his parents’ modeling. He also spoke of carrying the legacy of his ancestors in ways like choosing 18 as his hockey number, not only because it represents chai, life, but because the numbers on his great-grandmother’s Auschwitz tattoo added up to the number 18.

Intergenerational trauma is a major component of her life’s work, said Sicherman.

“I do feel a sense of obligation, as a third generation,” she said. “But I also feel like this is part of my calling, too. It’s very meaningful. It’s an obligation that is not homework. It’s part of what I was set out to do.”