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A musical tribute to Denburg

photo - Moshe Denburg’s music will be featured in a tribute concert by the Orchid Ensemble on Nov. 10 at the Annex

Moshe Denburg’s music will be featured in a tribute concert by the Orchid Ensemble on Nov. 10 at the Annex. (photo from Orchid Ensemble) The Orchid Ensemble is giving composer Moshe Denburg a most appropriate gift for his 70th birthday…

AvevA plays at Chutzpah!

photo - AvevA and her band perform at the Rickshaw Theatre Nov. 14

AvevA and her band perform at the Rickshaw Theatre Nov. 14. (photo from Chutzpah!) “I’m really looking forward to performing for a new audience in Vancouver, and to seeing Vancouver for the first time,” Israeli-Ethiopian singer-songwriter AvevA Dese – who…

Finding hope during war

photo - Laura Reynolds and David Volpov in The Wars, which opens Nov. 7

Laura Reynolds and David Volpov in The Wars, which opens Nov. 7. (photo by Javier R. Sotres) Timothy Findley’s award-winning novel The Wars, adapted by Dennis Garnhum for the stage, comes to University of British Columbia’s Frederic Wood Theatre Nov.…

Choosing love not hate

On Sunday, vigils were held in many cities to commemorate the 11 worshippers killed at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018. The shooting was the deadliest attack on Jews in American history. As we have mourned…

The knowledge that we die

Shabbat, Oct. 26 B’reishit, Genesis 1:1-6:8 Haftarah, Isaiah 42:5-43:10 One Yom Kippur, a rabbi was warning his congregation about the fragility of life. “One day, everyone in this congregation is going to die,” he thundered from the bimah. Seated in…

Fighters return to kibbutz

photo - Stacking the banana bunches in the wagon required a type of superpower

Stacking the banana bunches in the wagon required a type of superpower. (photo from Victor Neuman) In this eight-part series, the author recounts his life in Israel around the time of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The events and people…

טרודו ניצח שוב את השמרנים בבחירות

photo - Because Justin Trudeau's party won most of the seats in the parliament, it is he who will first receive the mandate to form the new government again

כיוון שהמפלגה של ג’סטין טרודו זכתה במרבית המושבים ברפלמנט, הוא זה שיקבל ראשון את המנדט להרכיב שוב את הממשלה החדשה. (רוני רחמני) האם הוא עשוי בטפלון? שאלו הפרשנים באולפני החדשות לאור ניצחונו של ג’סטין טרודו – ראש הממשלה היוצא מטעם…

The broader impacts of war

photo - Vancouver Peace Poppies co-founder Teresa Gagné at the White Poppy Memorial in 2018

Vancouver Peace Poppies co-founder Teresa Gagné at the White Poppy Memorial in 2018. (photo by Diane Donaldson) A local group is hoping to broaden the scope of Remembrance Day as more than an occasion to honour the brave men and women…

Presenting our stories

photo - Tamara Micner performs her one-woman play Holocaust Brunch this weekend at Chutzpah!

Tamara Micner performs her one-woman play Holocaust Brunch this weekend at Chutzpah! (photo by Sophie le Roux) “In recent years,” playwright Tamara Micner told the Independent, “I feel there’s been increasing discussion about inherited trauma in indigenous communities and in…

Vibrant democracies

On Monday, Canada and Israel each embarked on a new adventure in governance. Here at home, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party had a surprisingly robust showing in the federal election, winning the irrefutable right to form a minority government, or to…

Danger in remaining silent

photo - Marsha Lederman

Marsha Lederman (photo by John Lehmann/Globe and Mail) A few years ago, Marsha Lederman went with her mother, two sisters and a cousin on the adult portion of the March of the Living, which included a walk between the two main…

Scammer awareness

On Nov. 3, the Jewish Seniors Alliance, with COSCO Health and Wellness Institute, presents Privacy and Security in the Internet Age. The JSA annual fall symposium has a different topic of particular relevance to seniors every year and this year’s…

Vital, relevant culture

photo - Tale of the Eastside Lantern’s Shon Wong and Rosa Cheng

Tale of the Eastside Lantern’s Shon Wong and Rosa Cheng. (photo by David Cooper) Among the many artists participating in this year’s Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival is Jewish community member Elliot Polsky. The multi-percussionist joins the Son of…

Community milestones … VHEC, JMABC, JI and the Bayit

photo - Michael Schwartz of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia accepts the Award of Merit: Excellence in Community Engagement on behalf of all the partner organizations in the Cross Cultural Strathcona Walking Tour

Michael Schwartz of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia accepts the Award of Merit: Excellence in Community Engagement on behalf of all the partner organizations in the Cross Cultural Strathcona Walking Tour. (photo from JMABC) The 2019 B.C.…

Near tragedy on guard

Patroling the kibbutz perimeter. (photo from Victor Neuman) In this eight-part series, the author recounts his life in Israel around the time of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The events and people described are real but, for reasons of privacy,…

Mystery photos … Oct. 25/19

photo - Dancing at a Jewish Community Centre party, 1984

Dancing at a Jewish Community Centre party, 1984. (photo from JWB fonds, JMABC L.11733) If you know someone in these photos, please help the JI fill the gaps of its predecessor’s (the Jewish Western Bulletin’s) collection at the Jewish Museum…

צי’זקייק חוגג ארבעים שנות

photo - Cheesecake Etc. celebrates 40 years of activity and commemorates two years since the death of its owners

צי’זקייק חוגג ארבעים שנות פעילות ומציין שנתיים למותם של הבעלים (רוני רחמני) הקפה המיתולגי צ’יזקייק אצטרה יחגוג בקרוב ארבעים שנות פעילות. הקפה נמצא ברחוב גראנוויל מייד לאחר הגשר (שמחבר את העיר עם הדאון טאון), בסמוך לשדרה הרביעית. ביום ראשון האחרון…

ניסויים מוצלחים באמצעות מזל”טים

photo - Good Travel: Successful Trials to Deliver Shipments Using US and Canada Drones

נסיעה טובה: ניסויים מוצלחים להעברת משלוחים באמצעות מזל”טים בארה”ב וקנדה (Webagentur Meerbusch via Pixabay) בחודשים האחרונים בוצעו ניסויים מוצלחים להעברת משלוחים באמצעות מזל”טים ברחבי ארצות הברית וקנדה. זאת על ידי גורמים מסחריים וממשלתיים שונים. הניסויים מתבצעים כחלק מפעילות להפוך בקרוב…

Affordability, inclusion focus

photo - CIJA and SUCCESS held a candidates forum Sept. 22

CIJA and SUCCESS held a candidates forum Sept. 22. (photo from SUCCESS) Pocketbook issues and cultural concerns topped the agenda at an election forum put together by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the multicultural service organization SUCCESS.…

Dancing to Beethoven

photo - ProArteDanza’s The 9th will première in Vancouver before heading home to Toronto

ProArteDanza’s The 9th will première in Vancouver before heading home to Toronto. (photo by Alexander Antonijevic) Ten years after its conception, ProArteDanza’s The 9th, a full-length contemporary dance performance, will have its world première in Vancouver at the Chutzpah! Festival…

Gotta Sing! marks 25

photo - Simone Osborne, left, Tiffany Rivera and Matthew Rossoff are just three of the alumni who will help Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance! celebrate on Nov. 10 at the Rothstein Theatre

Simone Osborne, left, Tiffany Rivera and Matthew Rossoff are just three of the alumni who will help Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance! celebrate on Nov. 10 at the Rothstein Theatre. (photos from the artists) “I never thought that Gotta Sing! Gotta…

Canada is not immune

Maxime Bernier’s performance at the federal leaders debate Monday night may have been unimpressive, and at times badgering, but no doubt some ears pricked up at his assertion that he is the only party leader whose position on immigration stands…

Trump betrays Kurds

U.S. President Donald Trump stunned and confounded even his closest allies in Congress and his military advisors when he announced Monday that he would withdraw American troops that were helping safeguard Kurds who have valiantly held off ISIS and battled…

Election views diverge

The Independent spoke with people in the Jewish community to gauge attitudes as the federal election approaches. What we found was a diversity of views and a lack of consensus. An informal focus group of residents at the Weinberg Residence…

Do more than vote this fall

If you could give just a few hours to build relationships and build goodwill for the Jewish community, would you do it? Now – during an election – is the best possible time to get active and engaged so that…

A dose of humility, gratitude

Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, there were lots of opportunities for reflection and self-examination. I had a helpful reminder when I recently taught a workshop on recycling and reuse in fibre arts. I worked as an English, writing and…

Complexities of autism

photo - Israeli neuroscientist Dr. Ilan Dinstein was in Vancouver last month to talk about autism research

Israeli neuroscientist Dr. Ilan Dinstein was in Vancouver last month to talk about autism research. (photo by Adele Lewin) Neuroscientist Dr. Ilan Dinstein was in Vancouver last month to share research and expand knowledge on best practices internationally. An associate…

Compassion over hate

photo - Tony McAleer, who helped found the organization Life After Hate, spoke at Congregation Beth Tikvah last month, along with fellow Life After Hate member Brad Galloway

Tony McAleer, who helped found the organization Life After Hate, spoke at Congregation Beth Tikvah last month, along with fellow Life After Hate member Brad Galloway. (photo by Pat Johnson) A former leader in Canada’s far-right white nationalist movements says…

Looking for a family doctor?

photo - Arthur and Anna Wolak opened King Edward Medical Centre on Sept. 16

Arthur and Anna Wolak opened King Edward Medical Centre on Sept. 16. (photo from KEMC) The King Edward Medical Centre, a full-service family practice in Vancouver offering comprehensive primary care, officially opened its doors on Sept. 16. Located in King…

Ever consider a ghostwriter?

photo - Judi Majewski can help you express what you’d like to say in writing

Judi Majewski can help you express what you’d like to say in writing. (photo by Pat Johnson) Want to write your thoughts down but you’re not so good with words? Need to write a difficult letter? Want to record some…