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Improving the holiday table
These latkes can be made vegan, gluten-free and with reduced oil – or not. (photo by Michelle Dodek) They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat. This refrain encapsulates how Jews celebrate a number of holidays and view our…
Vive la différence!
French is one of the main languages one hears on the streets of multicultural Jerusalem today, along with Hebrew, Arabic, English and Russian. More than 2,170 French Jews moved to Israel in 2024. The number in 2025 is projected to…
Fresh, healthy comfort foods
Nico Pallota’s Greek Orzo Salad. (photo from hilltoprecipes.com) My house, my rules. And those rules were recently transformed. No more fatty foods, no more carbs, no more booze. OK, an amendment is in order. Fewer fatty foods, fewer and more…
From the archives … Hanukkah
The editorial in the Dec. 8, 1939, issue of the Jewish Western Bulletin. We’ve come a long way in many ways, though some readers may disagree. I read, kind of in horror, the newspaper’s Dec. 8, 1939, editorial in which…
תגובתי לכתבה על ישראלים שרצו להגר לקנדה ולא קיבלו אותם עם שטיח אדום
הכתבה אכן יש אנטישמיות בקנדה כמו במרבית המדינות בעולם לאור מה שישראל עשתה בעזה. לפני כניסת צה”ל לעזה (לאחר השבעה באוקטובר) טענתי שהפעולה הצבאית שם תגרום נזק אדיר לישראל. זה כולל גם את הישראלים והיהודים בעולם. לישראלים בארץ לא היה…
Lessons in Mamdani’s win
Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor of New York City, was a controversial candidate who won, in part, because of a campaign focused on local concerns, and not global politics. (photo by Kara McCurdy / commons.wikimedia.org) New York City just elected…
West Van Story at the York
The cast of Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto: West Van Story, left to right: Tom Pickett, Ben Brown, Ivy Charles and Meaghan Chenosky. (photo by Emily Cooper Photography) If you want a ticket to East Van Panto: West Van Story,…
Words hold much power
At an event hosted by the National Council of Canadian Muslims on Nov. 1, Toronto’s Mayor Olivia Chow said, “the genocide in Gaza impacts us all.” Four days later, protesters attacked a group of Jewish students from Toronto Metropolitan University…
Plenty of hopefulness
Avi Benlolo of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative was in Vancouver Nov. 5 to screen the AGPI’s new film, Heart of Courage, about Jewish resilience in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. (photo by Pat Johnson) Against…
Lessons from past for today
At the Kristallnacht commemoration in Victoria on Nov. 6, Congregation Emanu-El’s Rabbi Elisha Herb led a community pledge of mutual respect and support, joined by local politicians, faith leaders and law enforcement. (photo by Penny Tennenhouse) “Hate has no boundaries…
Rebuilding a life after Shoah
Prof. Robin Judd, author of Between Two Worlds: Jewish War Brides After the Holocaust, speaks with community members at the Kristallnacht commemoration in Vancouver Nov. 9. (photo by Sova Photography) The history of war brides – generally British or European…
Raising existential questions
Yuri Elperin’s solo show, Cycles of Being, opened at the Lipont Gallery in Richmond on Nov. 15. The show consists of Elperin’s large abstract mixed media paintings of the last few years. The art is powerful, eloquent and elegant, reflecting…
Explore Jewish music
On Dec. 3, Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz will speak on Harnessing the Potential of Our Comfort Songs, as part of Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s Building Bridges Speakers Series. (photo from Hadar Institute) Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s annual six-part series of…
Life, beginning to end
Love is at the heart of three new children’s books that would make great Hanukkah gifts. Many different types of families welcome their newborns in Mazel Toes!, written by Dr. Audrey Barbakoff and illustrated by Annita Soble. Each set of…
Give yourself the gift of love
A friend shared her plans for a “great” day off. This included a deep dive into her refrigerator to clean things out. This household task is necessary. Food safety is important, but that doesn’t make it fun. When the kitchen…
From the archives … books
In honour of Jewish Book Month, which runs Nov. 13 to Dec. 13, I’m highlighting a short article that appeared in the Independent’s predecessor, the Jewish Western Bulletin, on Dec. 18, 1970. The focus on the Jewish Community Centre Library,…
היהירות היא אחד האויבים הגדולים ביותר של ישראל
הישראלים יודעים הכל, מבינים בכל והם הכי טובים בכל דבר ועניין. ולמרות זאת שורת המחדלים הקשים של השבעה באוקטובר הוכיחה שבמציאות זה רחוק מהאמת המודיעין לא תיפקד, השב”כ לא תיפקד, לקח לצה”ל 6-8 שעות להגיב על קריאת האזרחים (“הורגים אותנו”),…
Vrba monument is unveiled
Robert Krell, left, founding president of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, and Al Szajman, the current president, unveil the monument to Rudolf Vrba at Schara Tzedeck Cemetery. (photo by Pat Johnson) Rudolf Vrba, a scientist who had a significant but…
Music to build bridges
On Nov. 29, sopranos Jaclyn Grossman, left, and Miriam Khalil will perform Salam-Shalom: Echoes of Home, a program they put together in an effort “to build bridges between our communities.” “Salam-Shalom: Echoes of Home grew out of countless conversations between…
A better future possible
This feels like a turning point. Few people who observe international affairs, especially in the Middle East, would doubt that the conclusion of the two-year-long war means a significant change in the dynamics of the region. It is an understatement…
Anne Frank exhibit on now
Created in 1995, the traveling exhibit Anne Frank: A History for Today is on display roughly 300 times a year. Mainly for school groups, people can visit the exhibit at Seaforth Armoury Nov. 11. (photo from Anne Frank House) The…
Human rights in sport
Before the 2004 Summer Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, organizers installed an elevator in the Acropolis. (photo from greecehighdefinition.com) What does sports have to do with human rights? This was the question posed by Vancouver Jewish community leader Zena Simces…
Telling the story of an icon
Ronnie Marmo brings his one-man show I’m Not a Comedian … I’m Lenny Bruce to the Chutzpah! Festival Nov. 18. (photo from dorensorellphotography.com via Chutzpah!) In 2017, with the expectation of a six-week run, creator and performer Ronnie Marmo and…
Crawl bigger than ever
Suzy Birstein, who creates out of Parker Street Studios, is among the many artists – including Esther Rausenberg, Ideet Sharon, Lauren Morris and others – who are opening their doors to the public during the Eastside Culture Crawl Visual Arts,…
JCC Maccabi in Toronto
The Team Vancouver delegation at the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games in Pittsburgh, Pa. (photo from JCCGV) When the Jewish community of Greater Toronto hosts the JCC Maccabi Games this summer, it will mark the first time that the Jewish teen…
A way to meet fellow Jews
OneTable dinners – a platform for young professionals to meet on Shabbat – are occurring in 700 cities, including Toronto, but not yet Vancouver. (photo from OneTable) My son moved to Florida in August, choosing the Sunshine State for its…
Time to include
More than one in four Canadians aged 15 and older, about 27% of the population, are living with a disability, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. That’s an increase from 22% in 2017, and the numbers are expected…
Add Jewish joy to the mix
In Grade 9, the English teacher rotates table placements monthly because sitting with different students helps expose everyone to new worldviews. In general, this makes sense; discussions about literature require us to hear lots of opinions. This was also where,…
Reminder of humanity’s light
The passage across the Øresund, the body of water that separates the Danish peninsula from Sweden, is, at its narrowest, about the same distance as Horseshoe Bay to Bowen Island. But the waters can be treacherous – especially when it’s…
