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photo - Hasta Dónde…? is one of two works Compañía Sharon Fridman brings to Vancouver Oct. 12-14

Hasta Dónde…? is one of two works Compañía Sharon Fridman brings to Vancouver Oct. 12-14. (photo by Gerardo Sanz) The work of Israeli choreographer Sharon Fridman comes to the West Coast for the first time, with a program featuring Hasta Dónde…? and…

JSA AGM honours volunteers

photo - Karon Shear was one of the volunteers honoured at the Jewish Seniors Alliance AGM on Sept. 14

Karon Shear was one of the volunteers honoured at the Jewish Seniors Alliance AGM on Sept. 14. (photo by Alan Katowitz courtesy of Jewish Seniors Alliance) The annual meeting of the Jewish Seniors Alliance was held on Sept. 14 at Congregation…

Mystery photo … Sept. 29/17

photo - Beth Israel National Confab (clergy), 1975

Beth Israel National Confab (clergy), 1975. (photo from JWB fonds, JMABC L.09862) If you know someone in this photo, please help the JI fill the gaps of its predecessor’s (the Jewish Western Bulletin’s) collection at the Jewish Museum and Archives…

A look back at the year 5777

photo - September 2016, Jerusalem. At the funeral of former president and prime minister Shimon Peres, U.S. President Barack Obama offers a tissue to Peres’ son Chemi

September 2016, Jerusalem. At the funeral of former president and prime minister Shimon Peres, U.S. President Barack Obama offers a tissue to Peres’ son Chemi. (all photos from Ashernet) In reviewing the Jewish year 5777, one name stands out –…

Controversy over Icke’s talk

photo - David Icke spoke in Vancouver earlier this month at the Orpheum

David Icke spoke in Vancouver earlier this month at the Orpheum. (photo by Tyler Merbler via cjnews.com) David Icke – a controversial conspiracy theorist, antisemite and Holocaust denier – spoke in Vancouver at the Orpheum on Sept. 2, despite the…

השגת יעדי האינפלציה

photo - The governor of the Bank of Canada praised Israel for achieving the inflation targets from the 1990s

המשנה לנגיד הבנק המרכזי של קנדה חלקה שבחים לישראל על השגת יעדי האינפלציה החל משנות התשעים. (צילום: Grauesel) המשנה לנגיד הבנק המרכזי של קנדה, ד”ר נדין בודו-טרכטנברג חלקה שבחים רבים למדינת ישראל, על שהצליחה להשיג את יעדי האינפלציה הרצויים החל…

Revisiting the Venice ghetto

photo - A page of the digital interactive installation of the domestic space of the Jewish ghetto, which was created by camerAnebbia. Part of the exhibit Venetian Ghetto: A Virtual Reconstruction: 1516-2017, which is at the Italian Cultural Centre’s Il Museo until Oct. 30

A page of the digital interactive installation of the domestic space of the Jewish ghetto, which was created by camerAnebbia. Part of the exhibit Venetian Ghetto: A Virtual Reconstruction: 1516-2017, which is at the Italian Cultural Centre’s Il Museo until…

A mythical Haida love story

photo - In The Mountain of SGaana, sea hunter Naa-Naa-Simgat is abducted by a killer whale and his lover, Kuuga Kuns, must try to save him

In The Mountain of SGaana, sea hunter Naa-Naa-Simgat is abducted by a killer whale and his lover, Kuuga Kuns, must try to save him. (image from National Film Board of Canada) One of the highlights at this year’s Vancouver International…

Trump-Bibi bromance

photo - Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, left, with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, left, with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York. (photo from Israel’s Government Press Office via Ashernet) A great deal of diplomacy depends on intangibles like whether the parties involved like or dislike each other. Israeli…

CHW marks 100 years

Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) has been a driving force in the Jewish community for 100 years. Known to many simply as Hadassah, CHW has rebranded in the last decade to be recognized for its full range of activities, using its acronym…

Marking memorial’s 30th year

On Sunday, Sept. 24, 11 a.m., at Schara Tzedeck Cemetery in New Westminster, the annual High Holidays Cemetery Service, presented by the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Congregation Schara Tzedeck and the Jewish War Veterans, will mark the 30th anniversary of…

Bar mitzvah is musical’s hook

photo - Clockwise from the top: Jason Sakaki (Brett), Julia Mclean (Patrice), Graham Verchere (Evan), Julian Lokash (Archie), Emma Leblanc (ensemble) and Rachel Valentina (ensemble)

Clockwise from the top: Jason Sakaki (Brett), Julia Mclean (Patrice), Graham Verchere (Evan), Julian Lokash (Archie), Emma Leblanc (ensemble) and Rachel Valentina (ensemble). (photo by Anita Alberto) Jason Robert Brown’s 13: The Musical, a show that centres around the bar…

אוכל על חשבון המתים

photo - Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, B.C.

(צילום: Brandon Godfrey) לדין שיינדלר תושב אזור ונקובר מסתבר שיש מנהג מוזר ביותר שאינו זוכה כלל להערכה. במשך עשר השנים האחרונות הוא נוהג להופיע בעשרות טקסי אשכבה שונים (בעיקר אלה שנערכים במועדוני גולף מהודרים), ולהינות בחינם מהאוכל והשתייה שמוגשים בהם…

A healing partnership

photo - Left to right: Bernard Bressler, Bill Barrable, Prof. Yaakov Nahmias, the Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould, Jonathan Miodowski, Dina Wachtel, the Hon. Bruce Ralston and Rick Glumac

Left to right: Bernard Bressler, Bill Barrable, Prof. Yaakov Nahmias, the Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould, Jonathan Miodowski, Dina Wachtel, the Hon. Bruce Ralston and Rick Glumac. (photo from Rick Hansen Institute) On Aug. 25 in Vancouver, the Rick Hansen Institute (RHI)…

Israel has some allies

photo - Left to right: Stephen J. Adler, Dr. Asher Susser, and Rabbi Shmulik Yeshayahu

Left to right: Stephen J. Adler, Dr. Asher Susser, and Rabbi Shmulik Yeshayahu. (photo © 2017 Alan Katowitz) In a wide-ranging lecture addressing Israel’s place in a rapidly changing Middle East, Prof. Asher Susser claimed that, without a continued focus…

Inspiration from home

A young Israeli-American entrepreneur has invented an app that people – of any age – can use to find a hookup. No, it’s not for romantic hookups, although it does involve love, in a sense. Deevee Kashi invented Deed, an…

Being a young Jew in 2017

From the beginning, Jews have struggled to define ourselves within the societies we inhabit. Since the time of the Babylonian exile, we have carved out spaces in other peoples’ countries, walking the fine line between self-definition and belonging. We have…

Ottawa teen sentenced

photo - The front doors to Ottawa’s Congregation Machzikei Hadas on Nov. 17

The front doors to Ottawa’s Congregation Machzikei Hadas on Nov. 17. (photo from Machzikei Hadas via CJN) An Ottawa teen who vandalized several Jewish buildings last autumn, and who professed pro-Nazi sympathies, was sentenced in August to a year in…

About the JI Rosh Hashanah cover art

photo - “Pomegranate Tree” is a fine art print of an original watercolour by Yael Berger

“Pomegranate Tree” is a fine art print of an original watercolour by Yael Berger. It is inspired by traditional folk art paintings. Pomegranate trees are actually big bushes, and their shape has inspired a lot of textile and illustration. Pomegranates…

Writers inspire, support

photo - Carol Weinstock

Carol Weinstock (photo by Olga Livshin) Carol Weinstock only started delving into poetry a few years ago, around the time she joined a writing group. “I was a journalist before I retired,” she told the Independent. The group has motivated…

Long-overdue reunion

photo - Left to right, Lilia Apelbaum, Olga Livshin and Tanya Kogan, during their reunion in Vancouver

Left to right, Lilia Apelbaum, Olga Livshin and Tanya Kogan, during their reunion in Vancouver. (photo by Tanya Kogan) For two weeks this August, my apartment was unusually crowded. Friends from Haifa and Los Angeles were staying with me. We…

Feed the hungry

photo - Project Isaiah is collecting donations

(photo from Jewish Family Service Agency) Each year, Jewish Family Service Agency, in collaboration with Jewish Women International-B.C., operates Project Isaiah – a High Holy Days food drive that assists members of our community in need. A successful response to…

A time to socialize and lunch

photo - Most of the volunteers have been with the JFSA Seniors Lunch program for up to 15 years

Most of the volunteers have been with the JFSA Seniors Lunch program for up to 15 years. (photo from Jewish Family Service Agency) The Jewish Family Service Agency Seniors Lunch program held its annual volunteer appreciation event on Aug. 8.…

Leadership tips from Moses

book cover - Religion and Contemporary Management cropped

Much has been written about Moses as a leader – a Google search for “Moses leader” yields more than 16 million results. However, in Religion and Contemporary Management: Moses as a Model for Effective Leadership, local community member Dr. Arthur…

Trying to foster community

book cover - From the Outside In book cropped

Two things will immediately strike readers of From the Outside In: Jewish Post & News Columns, 2015-2016 by Joanne Seiff – Seiff’s knowledge of Judaism and her empathy. She really knows her Jewish texts, as well as a thing or…

It’s never too late to find love

It takes a brave, confident person to lay themselves bare before others, to openly analyze their choices in life and share what makes them happy, sad and concerned. In the essay collection Hero in My Own Eyes: Tripping a Life…

Song video showcases artists

screenshot - video for the song “Same Girl” by Jessica Stuart Few

On Aug. 31, the video for the song “Same Girl” premièred. From the Jessica Stuart Few’s latest CD, The Passage, the song features a “girls’ chorus” that includes some of Jessica Stuart’s teenage guitar students joining her on the melody.…

The complexities of Ruckus

CD cover - Ruckus

At first listen for a non-aficionado, Beyond the Pale’s Ruckus may sound like a klezmer CD. An excellently executed and enjoyable one, with maybe a little more swing than you’ve heard before, but klezmer – Southeastern European Jewish music, the…

Sandler a superb storyteller

photo - Red Shoes for Rachel: Three Novellas, and its author, Boris Sandler

Red Shoes for Rachel: Three Novellas, and its author, Boris Sandler. (photo from Syracuse University Press) When I read and valued the unique style and flavour of Boris Sandler’s story “Studies in Solfege,” in Ezra Glinter’s anthology of short stories,…