![photo - As a tour guide in Israel, Renee Halpert “thrive[s] on engaging with people, the constant learning, and exploring the country”](https://www.jewishindependent.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/jun-26-people.26.Renee-solo-photo.jpg)
As a tour guide in Israel, Renee Halpert “thrive[s] on engaging with people, the constant learning, and exploring the country.” (photo from Renee Halpert) In the late 1970s, Renee Swartz was a teenager living in West Vancouver. Even though she…
On May 28, Or Shalom Synagogue reopened its doors after a year of renovations. (photo by Wendy D) On the evening of May 28, Or Shalom Synagogue reopened its doors after a year of renovations, welcoming celebrants for the Chanukat…
Garry Zlotnik, centre, received the JFS Lighting the Way Award from Brent Davis, left, and Todd Thal at the Innovators event May 26. (Rhonda Dent Photography) ‘Jewish Family Services (JFS) hosted its annual Innovators event on May 26. This year’s…
The Wallenberg-Sugihara Civil Courage Society (WSCCS) hosted its 21st annual Raoul Wallenberg Day event on April 19. Held at the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture this year, its theme was “Confronting Hate Speech and Scapegoating.” Alan Le Fevre, the…
Itai Anghel, one of Israel’s most recognizable documentary reporters, was with his wife and toddler son in New York City, celebrating his Emmy nomination for Last Stop Before Kyiv, in which Anghel and cameraman Eddie Gerald reported from Ukraine during…
On May 26, Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan Kaplan gave the public lecture From Conflict to Connection: Spiritual Community in Stressful Times at the annual conference of Vancouver School of Theology’s Inter-Religious Studies Program. (screenshot) The Walking Together: Sharing the Work…
The 96-year-old history of the Jewish Independent, which serves as a continuous record of Jewish communal life in British Columbia, was the topic of the second lecture in the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture’s 2026 Doikayt Speaker Series. In…
StandWithUs Canada executive director Jesse Primerano and lawyer Anita Bromberg, director of the organization’s new legal department. (photos from SWU) StandWithUs Canada has just launched a new legal department to help students navigate the climate on Canadian campuses. StandWithUs Canada…
At the first World Symposium Against Antizionism, left to right: Jacob Smith, Eyal Jacoby, Nick Matau and Anastasia Zorchinsky. (photo by Dave Gordon) The first World Symposium Against Antizionism took place on May 17 in Toronto, with some 30 speakers,…
Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub talks to reporters at the FIFA Congress, held in Vancouver on April 30. (Screenshot youtube.com/@thebreakernews) While the World Cup doesn’t kick off until June 11 – at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca when Selección de…
