Loni the Percheron Horse comes in the entrance of the Louis Brier Home and Hospital. (photo from Louis Brier)
Loni the Percheron Horse and his side kick Beau the Shitzu visited the Louis Brier Home and Hospital the afternoon of Sept. 7. This was the third (and last) time this year that the pair visited the home.
Loni the Percheron Horse’s sidekick Beau the Shitzu at the Louis Brier. (photo from the Louis Brier)
The program is designed to give residents the opportunity to have a personal experience with one of these beautiful, gentle giants – and not-so-giants – in the comfort of their own home. Horses evoke a sense of peace and tranquility, as do dogs. It is no secret that visiting with animals is therapeutic.
Loni the Percheron Horse visit with residents of the Louis Brier. (photos from Louis Brier)
Tikva Housing Society is thrilled to share that the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation has provided a grant of $255,000 to support Tikva’s mission to offer affordable housing solutions to the Jewish community.
“A gift of this magnitude provides help and hope at a time when economic uncertainty is definitely impacting housing insecurity,” said Anat Gogo, executive director of Tikva Housing Society. “The Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation’s tremendous generosity means that we will have the financial resources to build capacity on an operational level. Tikva is on an unprecedented growth trajectory and this gift is critical to support our growing housing portfolio, allowing us to say ‘yes’ to a number of new opportunities on the horizon.”
The need for affordable housing continues to be first and foremost on the minds of many in the Jewish community. This gift will be put to work, empowering individuals and families by providing affordable housing – allowing them to build long-term change in their lives and beyond.
Tikva Housing Society is grateful to the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation for its partnership in addressing the issue of housing insecurity. Tikva appreciates the foundation’s focus on strengthening the capacity of the community’s organizations and its commitment to tikkun olam, repairing the world.
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Vancouver Talmud Torah, Congregation Beth Israel and Jewish Family Services are elated to share with the community that a gift of $100,000 has been received from the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation to support the Vancouver Jewish Community Garden. This gift enables the building of the garden to begin in earnest and it is anticipated that construction will begin this fall. Thanks to the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s Transformation Grant and the Diamond Foundation, the garden will be located and built above the shared BI and VTT parkade.
The garden aspires to positively impact many members of the local Jewish community and to be a hub for celebrating and honouring nature, imparting Jewish teachings and values, promoting collaboration, and enhancing the community’s well-being. Studies show that spending time outdoors in nature has been directly linked with lessened anxiety and depression for adults and children alike and helps people better manage stress.
“It is exciting and encouraging to see several important communal institutions come together collaboratively to advance such a positive new opportunity. The Vancouver Jewish Community Garden will be an opportunity to teach community members of all ages about agriculture and the importance of a healthy earth, to enable volunteers to contribute to our community and to help feed those in need. The Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation is pleased to help advance the project towards completion,” noted Bernard Pinsky, Roadburg board chair.
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Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is delighted to welcome two new members of its team: Gayle Morris and Alisa Farina.
Morris is the new director of the Federation annual campaign, the community’s central fundraising initiative. Building relationships is central to this role, and Morris brings an incredible depth of experience in that area, and so much more. She is an accomplished and multifaceted sales, marketing and business development leader who has extensive experience in both innovative startups and not-for-profit organizations. She is also an active member of the community with extensive volunteer involvement.
Farina has been hired as the child, youth and young adult mental health worker, and Federation is grateful to the Mel and Gerri Davis Charitable Trust for the support to enable the creation of the new position.
Farina holds a bachelor’s in child and youth care and comes to the job from a 25-year career with the Burnaby School District, the last 10 of which she focused on working with high-risk, vulnerable youth and their families. Farina is currently completing her master’s degree in clinical counseling. She grew up in the Lower Mainland and was involved with BBYO and Camp Miriam.
Almost 80 people attended the Switzer family reunion Aug. 21. (photo by Will Verchere-Gopaulsingh)
A reunion at Beth Israel synagogue recently brought together branches of one of Canada’s largest Jewish family trees.
The story of this Canadian family began in 1848 with the birth of Wolf Baer Switzer, in Radom, Poland. He fathered 11 children, one of whom was a daughter named Bella.
Bella (Switzer) Singer passed away in 1994, at the age of 104, although the exact date of her birth is not certain. Bella and her husband Abraham Singer came to Canada first in 1905, then Bella and her son Hymie returned to Poland in 1907, while Abraham headed west to farmstead, with the family reuniting in 1910 in Calgary.
In the following decades, Bella and Abraham nurtured a vast Canadian family, including their own four children.
Bella (née Switzer) and Abraham Singer with their four children: Hymie Singer, Diane Aceman, Jack Singer and Rosalie Franks. Calgary, 1919. (photo from Switzer family)
Sensing an ominous future for Jews in Poland, Bella settled in Calgary and then paid for other relatives to follow, with the understanding that once they arrived in Canada, they would be put to work, make enough money and send for another relative. It is estimated that as many as 300 family members were brought to Canada through Bella’s single-minded determination. Given later events in Poland, the number of lives saved is incalculable.
For her efforts, Bella was known as Mema (“Auntie”) Singer to all the family, regardless of actual relationship.
Turning necessity into invention, Bella built a small real estate empire, beginning with a rooming house to accommodate arriving relatives and expanding into apartments and hotels. She lived almost all her remaining life as a philanthropist and pillar of Calgary’s community, coming to Vancouver in her final years to live with her daughter’s family.
Bella had 10 grandchildren, of whom three live in Vancouver: Lola Pawer, her sister Shelley Ail and their cousin Leslie Diamond.
There are “way over 100” of Bella’s descendants living in Vancouver, says Pawer.
Lola Pawer and William Switzer at the local Switzer family reunion, which took place at Congregation Beth Israel. (photo by Will Verchere-Gopaulsingh)
The Aug. 21 reunion was for the West Coast members of the family, with guests traveling in from around British Columbia, as well as from California and Hawaii, with a few coming from Alberta. There were almost 80 guests in total, “which is nothing for our family,” said Pawer’s daughter (and Bella’s great-granddaughter) Lisa Boroditsky, who estimates there are about 2,000 descendants of Bella. The first reunion of the extended family, about 20 years ago, took place at one of the Olympic venues in Calgary and attracted about 1,000 people. The last one, in 2016, drew 485 attendees.
Billy Switzer, Bella’s nephew and oldest descendant in Vancouver at 96 (the oldest descendant is Suchar Cyngiser, 98, in Calgary), recalled his family’s arrival in Canada, thanks to his aunt. At the chaos of the port in Montreal, his sister Lily was crying and the parents were speaking in Yiddish. A man approached, asking where they were headed and warned them that Calgary was a multiday journey further. The family assured the stranger that they had saved some carrots and other food for the trip but the man reached into his pocket and handed them $10.
“My father took out a notebook and asked the man to write his name and address,” so he could repay him, Billy Switzer recalled. “The man said, my name is when a Jew needs help, help him.… My father said, what a way to arrive in a new country.”
Reflecting on a century-plus after Bella’s arrival, he concluded: “When you look at our family tree, you will be amazed at what they have accomplished and this all happened because Bella Switzer made it happen by starting and inspiring everyone to get involved. It’s wonderful that grandchildren in Vancouver have made an effort for this family reunion today.”
Billy Switzer’s daughter, Renee Switzer, and another cousin, Jordana Corenblum, along with Pawer, Boroditsky and Cheryl Milner, were the core team that organized the reunion.
Renee Switzer blew up and colour-coded a graphic of the family tree. Name tags correlated to the family branch. There was a family Bingo game and Switzer trivia, as well as plenty of shmoozing.
Boroditsky has plenty of memories of the matriarch.
“She was living with my grandmother,” Boroditsky said. “I grew up with Bella, too…. She was so involved in her great-grandchildren’s lives.”
“She was a woman’s woman before it was even dreamt about,” added Pawer. “She ran a business. She knew dollars and how much things cost. She never learned to read. She was an Orthodox Jew and a magnificent woman. She drove until she was in her 90s.”
The lesson Pawer took from her grandmother is this: “Being a woman doesn’t mean a thing. Just do what you want to do, achieve what you want to do. She always gave us that advice.”
Reflecting on Bella (Switzer) Singer and the Canadian family she created, Pawer said: “It’s an honour to be [descended] from her and to learn all the things that she did. She was very philanthropic. How strong this family really is and will continue to be – that’s what she gave us.”
Mazon Canada’s Izzy Waxman, left, and Kathleen Novelia at Valley Community Learning Association in Nova Scotia. (photo from Mazon Canada)
Mazon Canada, a grassroots community foundation that helps feed Canadians of all ages, abilities, beliefs and ethnicities on behalf of the Jewish community, is making some big shifts entering the new year, as households across the country face mounting challenges involving food security. In addition to providing grants for food and equipment, and educating and advocating toward an end to hunger in Canada, Mazon says it will also be “harnessing the wisdom and power of communities.”
“We’re deepening relationships with our grantees, asking about how we can support them better, and making big changes based on that feedback,” said Izzy Waxman, Mazon’s executive director. “We realized we can have bigger impacts if we lift the restriction that our grants should only be spent on food.”
As an example, Waxman compared investing $2,000 on food with spending the same amount on a freezer. “The former will get you 2,000 meals at even our most efficient food bank partner, but spending $2,000 on a freezer to store rescued or donated food can rescue 1,000 pounds of food a month for at least 10 years. That’s 12,000 meals annually or 120,000 meals. This is something we might not have explored if we didn’t take time to listen to our partners and ask how we can support them better, treating them as the experts that we can learn from.”
Additionally, according to Waxman, Mazon is bringing a social justice perspective to hunger, which recognizes that more vulnerable groups need greater attention. By supporting and prioritizing marginalized communities, Mazon hopes to strengthen interfaith and intercultural alliances.
Further, Mazon is taking an active role in advocacy work. “While providing food is always our biggest expense by far, we can’t solve hunger by only treating the symptom. We have to address the root cause as well: poverty. That means starting a conversation in the Jewish community about addressing the cost of living, employment and our social safety net – including the housing crisis, disability supports, minimum wage and other issues affecting the poorest people in our communities,” Waxman said.
Helping low-income individuals in British Columbia since its founding in 1986, Mazon currently supports more than 25 organizations across the province, including hot meals for the homeless in the Downtown Eastside, community gardens at Indigenous elementary schools, hampers for Jewish seniors, food rescue operations to save edible food from landfills, and drop-in meals for people with AIDS and those experiencing addictions.
In 2021, Mazon, on behalf of the Jewish community, provided more than 300,000 meals through 205 partner programs in 92 Canadian towns and cities. Its reach extends from Victoria to Iqaluit to St. John’s.
A successful partnership program Mazon points to regionally is School District 50 (SD50), consisting of six schools on Haida Gwaii. As an archipelago, Haida Gwaii is especially vulnerable to disruptions in food supplies and the economy; because food must be shipped in from the mainland, basic nutritional staples can be very expensive.
To keep students fed, SD50 has used a strategy, called Local Foods 2 School, in which cafeteria food is sourced from nearby farms or local woods and waterfronts. Students visit the sources of the food to learn about how it is grown, gathered, hunted, preserved and prepared. Meals served at the schools are often cooked by students so they learn kitchen skills.
A significant number of SD50 students are Indigenous, thus community elders are involved in teaching traditional food and land skills. This approach, Mazon believes, supports the local economy and encourages resilience and food independence.
Looking for B.C. members
Believing it is important to have Jews from all over Canada who have on-the-ground knowledge of their communities and cities, Mazon is hoping to fill two vacant board positions with residents of British Columbia.
“That same grassroots ‘community-knows-best’ perspective we take to supporting frontline food programs matters in our leadership, too,” Waxman said. “We’re about to head into strategic planning and we need participation from Jews across the country to make sure it’s in touch with local priorities.
“I worry that the B.C. Jewish community doesn’t know about the work we’re doing in their name right in their backyards, and we need local leadership to help us raise awareness of how the Jewish community is responding to West Coast hunger. I know people would be so excited if they knew the Jewish community was helping people in their neighbourhoods,” she added.
Besides seeking a B.C. presence on its board, Mazon is looking for people to serve on its advocacy, fundraising, allocation and education committees.
In 2019, there were 4.4 million Canadians confronting food insecurity, according to Mazon. In 2021, the number jumped to 5.8 million and, by the end of 2022, it is expected to be even higher as a result of inflation. Inflation also makes it more difficult for food banks to serve people in need.
Mazon is distributing 100% of donations to its current Rosh Hashanah campaign to frontline food projects without overhead.
Mahla Finkleman, Canadian national manager of partnership and outreach for Masa Israel Journey (standing, fourth from the left), at Kits Beach in July with participants of the Shalom U’Lhitraot event. (photo from Masa Canada)
While the skies were closed for the first waves of the pandemic, with many organizations canceling their Israel trips, Masa Israel Journey saw an increase of almost 40% of North American students and young professionals traveling to Israel to partake in immersive four-to-10-month programs.
Since its establishment in 2004 by the Jewish Agency and the government of Israel, Masa has served more than 180,000 Jewish students and young professionals ages 16 to 35, from more than 60 countries. Offering experiences in gap, academic and career segments, Masa provides an unmediated and challenging journey into Israeli society, culture, politics and history, as well as access for global Jewry to Israeli businesses, social enterprises and academic institutions. Masa strengthens the Jewish leadership pipeline through the Impact and Leadership Centre, based in Jerusalem. When fellows return from Israel, they are ready to engage as active members in their community and many take on leadership roles.
Masa has regained a strong presence in Canada, with a new Canadian national manager of partnership and outreach, Mahla Finkleman, who sits within the Federation of Greater Toronto, and visits communities across the country. Since Finkleman started just over one year ago, Masa has sent more Canadians than ever before to Israel on programs.
This past summer, working from Vancouver, Finkleman partnered with the Community Kollel for a Shabbat dinner for Tu b’Av. Some 60 to 70 young professionals, including many Birthright alumni, gathered to learn about Masa opportunities and ways to get back to Israel for a meaningful experience, living like a local.
Earlier in the summer, in July, the first of three Shalom U’Lhitraot events took place, welcoming back Masa alumni from Israel and sending off others to Tel Aviv University, Masa Israel Teaching Fellows (MITF) and other programs.
A new condensed version of MITF is available now. MITF is an option for 21-to-35-year olds who have a bachelor’s or associate degree and whose mother tongue is English. Applications are due Nov. 1, with three city options to choose from: Rishon LeZion, Bat Yam and Ramle. The program, which costs $720 US, runs in 2023 from Jan. 5 to July 2, and is an exclusive partnership with Israel Experience.
Each city offers its own unique charm. In Bat Yam, you can take surf lessons and deep dive into the Israeli-Russian community. Rishon is Israel’s fourth largest city, with malls, parks, beaches and a zoo. And, in Ramle, an ancient city with mixed cultures and a rich history, the Pool of Arches is a top attraction, as is the Ramle market – additional perks are the spacious homes and a pool pass.
This past summer, Israel’s male youth goalball team won the European ParaYouth Games. (photo by Lilach Weiss)
Can you imagine a sporting event in which the audience sits in silence? Well, this is how goalball is played. Why? So that the visually challenged players can hear the bells inside the game ball.
And, speaking of the ball, it differs quite a bit from a soccer ball. In addition to having eight small holes in it – which allow the players to hear the two bells inside of it – the hard rubber ball is approximately 76 centimetres in circumference and weighs 1.25 kilograms. By contrast, a standard soccer ball has a circumference of 68 to 70 centimetres and weighs significantly less, between 400 and 450 grams.
To ensure fair competition, goalball participants must wear opaque eye shades. All international athletes must be legally blind, meaning they have less than 10% vision and are classified as B3 (partial sight), B2 (less sight than B2) or B1 (totally blind).
The goalball court has slightly raised markings so each player knows where their post is and the game is played indoors on a court measuring 18 metres long and nine metres wide, usually with short walls to help keep the ball inside. Again, this is different from soccer, which is played on a field that is 125 metres by 85 metres.
Each game is broken down into two 12-minute sessions with a three-minute break between the first and second halves. There are six players on a goalball team, with just three members playing at any one time.
Each goalball player has a specific job. The centre is the most responsible for defence, as they have the ability to support the left or right wing. The right winger defends the right-hand side of the goal and the left winger the left, but both are also main attacking players. The objective, as with most such games, is to score the most goals.
The team area is the first defence section, which starts from the goal line. In this area, defenders are allowed to block and control the ball to stop it from entering the goal.
The landing area starts at the end of the defence line. In this section, the attacking player can move around to take a shot at the opposing goal. The neutral areas are safe zones that provide space for defending teams to hear the ball coming towards them.
Here is how the game is played in a few situations. When the defending team blocks the ball, thus preventing a goal, the game continues. When the ball is blocked and then crosses the sideline, the play is restarted by the team that blocked the ball. When the ball is thrown over the sideline, the other team restarts the game.
Players protect the goal on their hands and knees. Unlike in soccer, the ball is not kicked, it is thrown from either a standing position underarm, or rolled. To reduce the sound and make it difficult for the opponents, players try to release the ball close to the floor. They can also make the ball quieter by spinning it. The team is given a foul if their player doesn’t throw the ball within 10 seconds of touching it.
Blind soccer, another sport played by visually challenged players, differs from goalball in several ways. For instance, while players in both games wear eye covers, players in blind soccer chase the ball in an upright position. Blind soccer halves are longer, at 20 or 25 minutes, and, in blind soccer, each team has five players on the pitch at any time, four outfield players who are visually impaired and a goalkeeper – who need not be visually challenged.
Israeli goalball coach Raz Shoham said most of the injuries in the game come from over-use of the body and not from being hit by the ball. In Israel, players’ free time is limited by the fact that almost all of them work or study.
Goalball player Lihi Ben David in action at the Toyko Paralympic Games in 2020. (photo by Keren Isaacson)
Before each practice, there is a 40-minute warmup session in which players exercise their torso, hands and legs. Practices are held on Thursdays and Fridays in four locations: Beer Sheva, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Afula. Men and boys practise mostly in Afula, while the women practise mostly in Jerusalem. Practice times are a function of when the sports auditorium is available.
Traveling can sometimes be an issue. Shoham explained that a strong player showed up at the team’s summer camp and wanted to continue playing after the summer ended, but there was a problem getting her from her village to practices. On the other hand, sometimes players leave the sport for a stretch of time and then return. Take Orel, who started playing while still in elementary school, left for a few years and now, at the age of 15, is a key player on the male youth team.
According to Shoham, goalball players range in age. At the moment, the oldest person who comes out to play is a 65-year-old grandmother. Currently, on the official playing teams, the oldest player is 35. The official team players get a few thousand shekels for playing, but it is not like regular soccer, in which team members frequently earn high salaries.
Israeli goalball players are expected to attend some 25 practices a month. And there have been good results from the hard work. Just this past summer, Israel’s male youth goalball team – players Asad Mahamid, Doron Hodeda, Shai Avni, Ariel Alfasi and Orel Ybarkan – won the European ParaYouth Games.
Coach Snir Cohen knew before the tournament that he had good players, but said he just didn’t know how good. His goal is developing this youth team into a strong adult team.
Nineteen-year-old player Lihi Ben David, who plays left wing, spoke with the Independent about her recent training experience in Brazil. The cost of the trip was largely covered by the Israel Sports Association for the Disabled (ISAD). The Israeli and Brazilian players conversed in English. She said it was refreshing to learn about a different culture. The hard part for Ben David, who is an observant Jew, was playing during the nine mourning days of the Hebrew month of Av.
Deborah Rubin Fields is an Israel-based features writer. She is also the author of Take a Peek Inside: A Child’s Guide to Radiology Exams, published in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
במדינת ישראל הבירוקרטיה חוגגת ומקשה על החיים. לאחר מותי אמי, אחי ואני נדרשנו לטפל בצוואתה ובצוואה של אבא, ולוודא שהיא בוצעה כהלכה. אחי וחמשת ילדיו ואני יורשים את דירת ההורים בתל אביב, ואילו הכסף שהיה מונח בחשבון הבנק של ההורים יחולק בין אחי וביני. כביכול צוואה פשוטה אך לאור הבירוקרטיה הישראלית הכל הפך למסובך
להלן מספר דוגמאות שיבהירו את הבעיות שבדרך
בנק הפועלים ששם להורי יש את החשבון קיבל את כל החתימות של הילדים של אחי, של אחי ושלי. כיוון שאני גר מחוץ לישראל, עדיין לא ידוע לנו האם אם בנק הפועלים יבקש ממני גם אישור מהקונסוליה הישראלית, בנוסף לזה שהבאתי עורך דין ונוטריון בוונקובר. כיוון הליך הבדיקה של הבנק עלול להימשך שבועות ארוכים, החלטתי לטוס לסן פרנסיסקו כדי להשיג אישור של הקונסוליה הישראלית שם של חתימתי. אם הבנק אכן יבקש אישור זה בעוד מספר שבועות המסמכים יהיו כבר אז בידי אחי (לאחר שאשלח אותם אליו בדואר אקספרס)
חשבון נאמנות עורכי הדין של שני הצדדים בנוגע למכירת הדירה בתל אביב, אמור להיפתח בבנק לאומי. אחי קיבל מידע כי גם בנק לאומי יעלה דרישות כמו בנק הפועלים בנוגע לחתימות שלי. בנק לאומי בשלב מוקדם זה עדיין לא ביקש דבר ואחי לא מעוניין לעורר את המתים. צריך לקוות שעד מועד נסיעתי בתוך מספר ימים, נדע היכן אנו עומדים מול בנק זה. אם גם הם יבקשו אישור על חתימתי אוכל להביא אותו מהקונסוליה בסן פרנסיסקו, בדומה לאישור המיועד לבנק הפועלים. אם בנק לאומי לא יעדכן אותנו עד יום נסיעתי תהיה לנו בעייה קשה
עורכי הדין של רוכשי הדירה דורשים כמו שני הבנקים, שכל שבעת היורשים ימלאו טפסים ויחתמו עליהם במסגרת העברת מסמכים לטאבו. אני אמור לקבל מסמך כזה מאחי עד ערב הנסיעה, ואז אקח גם אותו לקונסוליה הישראלית בסן פרנסיסקו לקבל את האישור שלהם
עבור אלה שגרים בקנדה, השגת חתימות על מסמכים משפטיים שיוכרו במדינות אחרות מאוד מסובכת. זאת כיוון שקנדה לא חתומה על אמנת האג משנת אלף תשע מאות שישים ואחת. לכן בידי עומדות שתי אפשרויות. הראשונה – להחתים עורך דין ונוטריון מקומי על הטפסים. לאחר מכן לשלוח את הטפסים שלו לאישור ממשלת בריטיש קולומביה שנמצאי בעיר ויקטוריה. ולאחר מכן עלי לקבל גם את האישור של הקונסוליה הישראלית בטורונטו
לחילופין אני יכול לגשת ישירות לקונסוליה הישראלית בקנדה. תחילה חשבתי שעדיף לי לטוס שוב לישראל, להגיע לבנקים ומשרדי עורכי הדין השונים, לחתום על כל המסמכים הנדרשים ולגמור הכל מול הפקידים הקטנים, בתוך חמש דקות. אך כיוון שזה יקר בטירוף ואין לי יותר כוח לטוס כל כך הרבה שעות, מדובר בפעם השלישית השנה, חשבתי תחילה לטוס לקונסוליה הישראלית בטורונטו. בגלל מגפת הקוביד, הקונסוליה בטורונטו לא מספקת בימים אלה שירותים לישראלים בונקובר. בסוף מצאתי רעיון טוב וזול יותר – הקונסוליה הישראלית בסן פרנסיסקו. הקונסוליה בסן פרנסיסקו, גם היא בגלל מגפתי הקוביד, לא מספקת בימים אלה שירותים לישראלים בסיאטל הסמוכה לוונקובר. לכן אני טס לסן פרנסיסקו. קבעתי כבר פגישה בקונסוליה הישראלית שם, ויש לי גם הזדמנות הזדמנות ראשונה לבקר לראשונה בעיר היפה הזו. מי היה מאמין שצוואה כה פשוטה אשר כוללת דירה אחת וחשבון בנק אחד תהפוך למסע בירוקרטי בלתי סביר, בלתי הגיוני ואף לא אנושי. חבל שבישראל זה קורה
Jewish Family Services Vancouver Island will extend its hours for the Sept. 18 community resource fair that launches the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island’s annual campaign this year. (photo from jfsvi.ca)
The Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island (JFVVI) is trying something a little different for its annual United Jewish Appeal campaign launch this year. On Sept. 18, they will celebrate Jewish diversity in British Columbia with a community resource fair. The event will be held at the Jewish Community Centre of Victoria, from 1 to 4 p.m., and will feature presenters from both Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
“We are changing things up this year,” said Coral Grant, executive director of JFVVI. “Usually, we have a guest speaker. The past few years, it has been on Zoom. This year, we wanted to reach the wider community by having a launch we could do in person. We are really hoping that, with this fair, we can encourage people to come out and see what is available in the Jewish community in British Columbia, as well as locally.”
As it does every year, the JFVVI campaign runs from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31. Mailings and outreach through fliers to members of the community are currently underway and, soon, volunteer canvassers will continue these fundraising efforts. For 2022/23, the campaign’s objective is to raise $175,000 – or $10,000 more than it did in 2021/22. The previous year’s campaign exceeded its target, as it included a separate campaign raising funds for Ukraine.
The response to the call for fair presenters was tremendous – JFVVI quickly ran out of available display space at the Victoria JCC. The fair will take place in the main area of the building, the same location as the Lox, Stock and Bagel Deli, which ordinarily operates Tuesdays to Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Many of the 20 tables will be operated by representatives from Vancouver-area organizations, such as the Jewish Museum and Archives, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, the pluralistic Jewish teen movement BBYO, the Canadian Jewish Political Action Committee (CJPAC), Birthright Israel and March of the Living.
Among the local groups will be the JFVVI, the Victoria Jewish Choir, PJ Library, the Victoria Shoah Project, Canadian Hadassah-WIZO, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the Jewish Burial Society, the theatre group Bema Productions and the Hebrew school from Congregation Emanu-El. All of the Victoria congregations – Chabad of Vancouver Island, Congregation Emanu-El and Kolot Mayim Reform Temple – will be participating and the Mekorah Institute, co-founded by Rabbi Matt Ponak and dedicated to bringing integrated and sustainable spiritual transformation to individuals and religious lineages, will be there, too.
At the fair, the Victoria JCC will highlight the Victoria International Jewish Film Festival, now in its eighth year, which takes place both online and in person at the Vic Theatre in downtown Victoria Nov. 1-6. Jewish Family Services Vancouver Island, which sells fresh produce at wholesale prices every second Sunday in the summertime from the JCC parking lot, will extend its hours for the occasion.
Recent estimates on the size of the Jewish community in Victoria range from 1,500 to 3,000 people. One point on which most can agree, however, is that, whatever the number, it has been increasing. The city is now home to three synagogues, a secular humanist group, a kosher bakery and numerous other organizations and social and cultural activities.
“There are a lot of folks who have moved here recently, and it may be interesting for them to find out what is happening here,” Grant said. “For the locals, having some of the organizations from the Mainland may be an eye-opener. We are really hopeful that, in covering a broad spectrum of organizations, the community will find something which is new and exciting for them.
“I am really excited,” she said, “because this is an in-person gathering and I’m excited that we have been able to collaborate with people on the Mainland to showcase the diversity in the province and bring some of that to the Island. To do this as a campaign launch is kind of a novelty for us and, hopefully, it will all come together and work.”
About to embark on its 36th year of operation, JFVVI is the umbrella organization of the Jewish community in the capital region and Vancouver Island. It raises funds for local groups and supports organizations, individuals and families both regionally and in Israel with grants and scholarships and through partnerships with community leaders. It coordinates, plans and promotes social, educational, cultural, health and welfare programs and activities in the Jewish community. The JFVVI is committed to building strong, vibrant Jewish communities throughout the Island.
For more information about how to donate to the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island, visit jewishvictoria.ca.
Sam Margolishas written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.
JNF Pacific region executive director Michael Sachs, left, in a meeting at Aviv House for autistic adults in Israel. (photo from JNF-PR)
Three Israeli projects supported by the Pacific region of the Jewish National Fund of Canada are advancing well, according to Michael Sachs.
Sachs, executive director of JNF Pacific region, visited the initiatives July 7-18. He was joined on the Israel trip by local JNF supporters Lisa and Mike Averbach. The trio surveyed projects in Rishon LeZion, in Jerusalem and at Nir Galim, a moshav near Ashdod.
The project in Rishon LeZion, south of Tel Aviv, is a women’s shelter that has faced challenges in reaching completion. In collaboration with the Israeli group No2Violence, the facility was supported by two Negev dinners in 2016 – one in Vancouver, honouring Shirley Barnett, and one in Winnipeg, honouring Peter Leipsic.
The shelter is envisioned to welcome 10 to 12 families and provide victims of domestic violence with a safe environment where they can access therapy, secure income and new housing.
Emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence is gravely lacking in Israel, where it is estimated that 65% to 70% of women and children escaping domestic abuse cannot access alternative housing due to lack of availability.
“I wanted to go and see with my eyes, with my feet on the ground, how it’s progressing,” said Sachs of the project. “Finally, shovels have started going into the ground and the foundation has been laid. This project, it had been stalled for multiple reasons, COVID included, but I wanted to go and see the progress because we have a commitment that we make to our donors in our community to fulfil the project no matter what.”
Mike Averbach, left, and Michael Sachs at the construction site of the Vancouver/Winnipeg-supported women’s shelter in Israel. (photo from JNF-PR)
One of the things that impressed Sachs most about the shelter is that it is adjacent to a community centre.
“For women and children who are in crisis, the ability to have a community centre, a place to go, a place for their kids to go, is extremely important, on top of just the safe haven,” he said.
Last year’s Negev campaign in the Pacific region raised funds for ALUT, the Israeli Society for Autistic Children, to renovate Aviv House, or Beit Aviv, in Jerusalem. This “home for life” for autistic adults was established in 1992 and is home to about 14 residents who require assistance in aspects of everyday life.
The building, more than 50 years old, was not wheelchair accessible and had infrastructural challenges. “It needed a lot of work,” said Sachs. The project, championed by honorary project co-chairs Penny Sprackman and David Goldman, saw a new roof put on the building, new bathrooms and doorways, among other upgrades.
Autism has co-morbidities and one of the residents at Aviv House has what is described as the most complex case of epilepsy in the state of Israel.
“This individual had not been able to have a real, proper shower until the renovation,” said Sachs. The renovated facility allows an assistant to accompany the resident in the new shower. “That’s just one example of how it made a difference,” he said. “The effect that we are having on the life of these individuals is immense.”
The ALUT project was especially meaningful for Sachs, he said, because it was the first initiative that took place after he became regional executive director, in April 2021. The fact that it also raised autism awareness in Canada was a bonus, he added.
A third project that Sachs and the Averbachs visited was Beit Haedut, the Testimony House Museum, on Moshav Nir Galim. The museum, located in a community founded by survivors of the Holocaust, focuses on the lives survivors made in the state of Israel.
This project is the focus of the current Pacific region Negev campaign and will involve an especially meaningful Vancouver component. In an interactive space, Vancouverite Marie Doduck, a child survivor of the Holocaust, will present virtually to visitors about her life. She will be the only English-language presenter in the virtual space, meaning that every Anglo visitor to the museum will “meet” her and hear her testimony.
Sachs has heard the question before: Why a Holocaust education centre so close to Yad Vashem, the world’s foremost education, commemoration and research centre on the topic?
“My answer is, why not?” he replied. “Why not have more places teaching people about the Holocaust, the tragedy that happened? It’s our responsibility to make sure that more and more of these centres are supported and able to function and teach a population that is starting to forget. It’s not that because you have one, you can’t have the other.”
The quality of the museum is also significant, he said: “It is a Holocaust centre that, in my eyes, punches above its weight class.”
Being close to Ashdod, where many cruise ships arrive, and near the Negev Desert, the location is also easily accessible for visitors.
Sachs hand-delivered Doduck’s recorded testimony to the museum. He credited the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre for its assistance in making the technically complex project possible.
Returning from his first trip to Israel as JNF Pacific region executive director, Sachs was rejuvenated.
“Most people come back from Israel and they’re drained,” he said. “I came back with a newfound energy because, when you see the fingerprint JNF Canada has on the state of Israel and you see the efforts, the progress, the impact that our local community – our tiny little local community – is having on the ground there and for the people in Israel, it’s awe-inspiring. It really is. You come out of it and you are more energized than ever to continue to make a difference.”
Lance Davis, chief executive officer of JNF Canada, commended the Pacific region in a statement to the Independent.
“On behalf of JNF Canada, I am so proud that we have advanced two key projects for our organization, the Vancouver/Winnipeg women’s shelter and the renovation of the Aviv House supporting autistic individuals,” said Davis. “Thanks to the generosity of donors from the Pacific region, we are able to help build the facilities that will transform the lives of vulnerable Israelis in a profound manner. Our JNF supporters can take great pride in the fact that together we are building the foundation for Israel’s future.”
Due to COVID, JNF has not held a Negev Dinner in Vancouver since 2019, opting instead to run campaigns without the traditional gala event. Sachs hopes 2023 will see a return to normalcy.
“God willing, we’ll all be able to be back together next year for a wonderful and beautiful Negev Dinner with a wonderful honouree,” he said.
Left to right are Yoseph Hayun, Brian Libin and Shimon Kalhon, founders of Kehillat Klal Israel. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Vancouver has a new Sephardi congregation – and, while unique in the city, its structure would be familiar to plenty of Israelis and to Jews from places with a larger Orthodox population.
In recent years, alternative housing options have expanded in Vancouver, including coach houses and laneway homes. In an alley behind a home on 12th Avenue, just east of Cambie, passersby might notice a building that resembles one of these newfangled domiciles. Were it not for the mezuzah and the modest sign, they might have no idea that the space is a place for communal gatherings. According to the builder, who does triple duty as the president and leader of daily services, it is not a synagogue.
“A synagogue is a little bit tricky,” said Yoseph Hayun. “I could get [approval for] that, but it’s going to take a long time and I would have to go to a board of variance. We said this was kind of a book club.”
It’s not a lie.
“There are lots of books and we all read the books,” he said. “Then we talk about them.”
The kehillah (congregation or community), called Klal Israel, gathers in the backyard of Shimon Kalhon. The idea started after an informal group of Sephardi families, many of them Israeli, had been getting together for holidays for some time. In Israel, and in places of dense Orthodox populations like parts of the United States, intimate gathering places serving neighbourhood families are not uncommon.
Kalhon said Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and other holidays have taken place under tents and they decided to make it more permanent.
The founders – Kalhon, Hayun and Brian Libin – have nothing against the existing Sephardi synagogue, Beth Hamidrash. They just enjoy the sense of family they get from their small congregation. Kalhon and Hayun also wanted something more like they were familiar with from their upbringing – Kalhon in Tripoli, Libya, and Hayun in Ramat Gan, Israel. (Libin is from Edmonton.)
“For us, we are like a family,” said Kalhon. “We don’t have any politics in the synagogue. We don’t have any membership. Every day after [services] we provide breakfast. Every Shabbat, we have lunch. We do all the holidays together.”
Hayun leads most services, unless Rabbi Yechiel (Helik) Orihman is available. Hayun does not have a rabbinic semichah (ordination), but has served as a cantor almost his entire adult life. He also leads classes and has a conversion group of five at present.
Attendance at morning minyan varies. “Sometimes we have 10, sometimes 12, sometimes 15,” Hayun said. “On the holidays, thank God, we have a beautiful minyan. Sometimes we have 30 people.”
The building itself is about 500 square feet, with air conditioning for summers like the 2021 heat dome, area heaters for winter, plumbing for a washroom and a handwashing station. There is also a fully operational kitchen in a covered patio space of about 400 square feet. There is a screen for presentations and classes, as well as room for cozy meals together.
Kalhon jokes about his family’s long walk to services – out the back door and down a few steps.
Kalhon is known to many Vancouver Jews as the owner of Sabra Kosher Restaurant and Bakery, which he opened in 1991 on arrival in the city after a lifetime in the food sector in Israel. At Klal Israel, he is the gabbai(lay leader).
For Libin, the treasurer, the new congregation has been an opportunity to improve his Hebrew skills.
“All the prayers are in Hebrew,” he said. “There’s not much English. There are times where Yossi [Hayun] will explain things, but, for the most part, I’m using a book that’s all in Hebrew. I didn’t used to. Most of us who aren’t native speakers of Hebrew, our Hebrew has improved.”
The linguistic choice is deliberate.
“This is the idea: to bring the young Israelis,” Hayun said, adding that he meets many Israelis on his soccer team, playing golf and around town who do not attend shul. “My vision is to bring them in, to try once a week, once a month, doesn’t matter. Just bring them in. That’s basically the idea and people are coming … slowly, slowly.”
Funds for the building and its operations come from the three founders and anyone else who wants to make an out-of-pocket contribution.
“We have others who are regulars who help out whenever they can,” Libin said.
While the place technically houses a book club, Hayun said it was designed following the religious laws for how a synagogue must be built.
“It’s not like you do whatever,” he said. “There are rules that you need to follow. I know the rules and I went over the books again and again to make sure that we followed the whole thing.”
The aron kodesh, the Torah ark, is the focus of the modest structure and the Torah covers were commissioned by local people for scrolls that were purchased from Israel.
The trio have already mooted what will happen if success renders the space – which seats 40 – too small. They shrug and say they’ll find a bigger place. In the meantime, Klal Israel is open for anyone who wants to join – and stay for a shmooze and refreshments after services.
