freelancer

freelancer

The future of democracy

Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin spoke strong words at the opening of the Knesset’s winter session this week. The very survival of democracy, he suggested, is on the line. “Against a background of political upheavals occurring in the West, the free…

A fine collection of poems

When I saw the table of contents of The Poems of H. Leivick and Others: Yiddish Poetry in Translation by Leon H. Gildin (Finishing Line Press), a lovely little book of translated Yiddish poems by Leivick and other noted poets,…

Gasoi is one class act

photo - Singer/songwriter Jennifer Gasoi, seen here in a promotional shot for her new book, was back in her hometown last month

Singer/songwriter Jennifer Gasoi, seen here in a promotional shot for her new book, was back in her hometown last month. (photo by Philove) Jennifer Gasoi’s new book, Blue and Red Make Purple, is both a hardcover children’s book and a CD…

Upcoming geniza exhibit

photo - A letter of introduction, written and signed by the Rambam (Maimonides) in the 12th century, which is part of the Discarded History exhibition that will be opening in April 2017 at Cambridge University

A letter of introduction, written and signed by the Rambam (Maimonides) in the 12th century, which is part of the Discarded History exhibition that will be opening in April 2017 at Cambridge University. Visitors will be able to see a small…

אמנת מס חדשה

photo - Foreign Minister of Canada Stephen Dion with Finance Minister of Israel Moshe Kahlon

שר החוץ של קנדה, סטפן דיון, עם שר האוצר של ישראל, משה כחלון. (צילום: Global Affairs Canada) שר החוץ של קנדה, סטפן דיון, חתם לאחרונה בישראל על אמנת מס חדשה עם שר האוצר של ישראל, משה כחלון. ההסכם נועד למנוע…

Vancouver CHW gala

photo - In August, Canadian Young Judaea visited two of CHW’s daycares in Israel, the Sandy Martin Alberta Daycare and the Judy Mandleman Vancouver Daycare

In August, Canadian Young Judaea visited two of CHW’s daycares in Israel, the Sandy Martin Alberta Daycare and the Judy Mandleman Vancouver Daycare. (photo from chwblog.tumblr.com) Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) is one of the original feminist philanthropic organizations. Founded in 1917…

Festival highlights diversity

photo - Chef Michael Solomonov samples the wonders of the Levinsky Market in Tel Aviv

Chef Michael Solomonov samples the wonders of the Levinsky Market in Tel Aviv. (photo from israelicuisinefilm.com) The 28th Vancouver Jewish Film Festival starts next week. New this year is an all-ages weekend of films at Rothstein Theatre, which follows the…

Young leaders arrive

photo - Left to right are shinshiniot Yael Miller, Dana Salmon, Shahaf Shama and Danielle Favel

Left to right are shinshiniot Yael Miller, Dana Salmon, Shahaf Shama and Danielle Favel. (photo by Michelle Dodek) For the second year in a row, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is providing our community with a burst of ahavat Yisrael,…

The process of integration

photo - Dr. Solly Dreman

Dr. Solly Dreman (photo by Rebeca Kuropatwa) With the large numbers of refugees and immigrants making their way to Winnipeg and elsewhere in Canada, Winnipeg Friends of Israel invited Dr. Solly Dreman, a Winnipegger who moved to Israel in 1964,…

Genetic testing and privacy

Genetic testing can save lives. So, why isn’t everyone getting it done? It turns out that companies are using the information from the tests to discriminate against applicants. While this is by no means a Jewish-specific issue, the National Council…

Whose holy site?

When organizers of the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival select the films they will screen, timeliness is probably among the considerations. They could hardly have known they would hit the nail on the head so perfectly with One Rock Three Religions.…

K-12 teachers learn coding

On Oct. 22, 200 teachers from across British Columbia and Ontario participated in Code Class, a one-day coding and computational thinking crash course. The inaugural class was hosted by coding education experts Lighthouse Labs, which partnered with Kids Code Jeunesse,…

Determination key to continuity

“The power above is set in motion by the impulse from below, even as vapor ascends to form the cloud. If the community of Israel did not first give the impulse, the One above would not move to meet her,…

Women mentoring women

photo - Woman2Woman co-founders, from left, Efrat Dayagi, Keren Herscovici and Noya Lempert

Woman2Woman co-founders, from left, Efrat Dayagi, Keren Herscovici and Noya Lempert. (photo from Woman2Woman via israel21c.org) Israeli actress Gal Gadot may be Wonder Woman on the big screen but Keren Herscovici, Noya Lempert and Efrat Dayagi – the initiators of…

Mayor visits the Bayit

photo - On Oct. 19, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, second from the right, joined the Bayit’s celebration of Sukkot. He is pictured here with, from the left, Michael Sachs, Bayit president; Miki Fadida, sponsor of the Fadida Family Sukkah; Rabbi Levi Varnai, spiritual leader of the Bayit; and Moshe Fadida. The mayor discussed the local Jewish community, as well as some of the challenges facing young families

On Oct. 19, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, second from the right, joined the Bayit’s celebration of Sukkot. He is pictured here with, from the left, Michael Sachs, Bayit president; Miki Fadida, sponsor of the Fadida Family Sukkah; Rabbi Levi Varnai,…

A precious space in Ireland

photo - Machzikei Hadas can be found on Rathmore Villas in Dublin

Machzikei Hadas can be found on Rathmore Villas in Dublin. (photo from jewishgen.org) When my bride and I lived in Dublin, we were strangers in a foreign land. Our refuges were the synagogues of the tiny Jewish community. It was…

Mystery photo … Oct. 28/16

photo - Louis Brier Home, 1965

Louis Brier Home, 1965. (photo from JWB fonds, JMABC L.12338) 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 and Archives of B.C.…

New Safdie-designed campus

photo - Israel Antiquities Authority’s new 36,000-square-metre, three-level National Campus for Archeology of Israel, designed by architect Moshe Safdie to descend like excavation strata, is still under construction

Israel Antiquities Authority’s new 36,000-square-metre, three-level National Campus for Archeology of Israel, designed by architect Moshe Safdie to descend like excavation strata, is still under construction. (photo by Ardon Bar Hama, Israel Antiquities Authority, via Ashernet) Located on Museum Hill in…

בחירות בארצות הברית בלוטו

photo - It turns out that Donald Trump’s conduct during the election campaign has caused an array of public relations damage and headaches for the Trump apartments on West Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver, the opening of which has been delayed

מתברר שהתנהלותו של דולנד טראמפ בקמפיין הבחירות שלו גורמת נזק וכאב ראש, למערך יחסי הציבור שנערך לפתיחת מלון הדירות טראמפ, ברחוב ווסט ג’ורג’יה בדאון טאון ונקובר. (צילום: Roni Rachmani) לפי תושבי בריטיש קולומביה קלינטון תזכה בנשיאות לבחירות בארה”ב: כך לפחות…

הזכייה הרגה אותו

photo - In February 2006, when he was 24, Daniel Carley, who lives in St. Catharines, won $5 million in the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. lottery

בחודש פברואר של שנת 2006 עת היה בן עשרים וארבע, זכה דניאל קרלי שגר בעיר סנט קתרין בלא פחות מחמישה מיליון דולר, בהגרלת הלוטו של אונטריו לוטו אנד גיימבלינג קורפורשיין. (צילום: Lottery & Gaming Corp. via thestar.com) במקרה של דניאל…

Putting heart into city

photo - Heart of the City festival participants

Heart of the City festival participants. (photo by David Cooper) Community is at the heart of what Ruth Howard, Maggie Winston and Sharon Kravitz do, so it is no wonder they are participating in the Heart of the City Festival,…

VTT campus officially opens

photo - Vancouver Talmud Torah head of school Cathy Lowenstein at the Sept. 25 ceremony that officially opened the school’s new building

Vancouver Talmud Torah head of school Cathy Lowenstein at the Sept. 25 ceremony that officially opened the school’s new building. (photo by Lara Shecter) Vancouver Talmud Torah recently completed a comprehensive redevelopment and renovation of its campus and, on Sept.…

Letters offer insights

photo - Prof. Debórah Dwork

Prof. Debórah Dwork (photo by Jonathan Edelman) Nearly two decades ago – and a full half-century after the end of the Second World War – a man in Switzerland cleaning out the apartment of his deceased aunt came across a…

Stop zombie-vampires

photo - Rowan Jang provides an example of the zombie-vampires audiences can expect to encounter in The Zombie Syndrome: Dead in the Water

Rowan Jang provides an example of the zombie-vampires audiences can expect to encounter in The Zombie Syndrome: Dead in the Water. (photo by Emily Cooper Photography) Last year, I was one of a group of “specialists” who gathered outside Trout…

Consumerism meets identity politics

This is Part 2 of a two-part series. The first examined Oberlin College’s “Jewish problem.” When Nathan Heller’s “Letter from Oberlin: The Big Uneasy” appeared in The New Yorker (May 30) his sub-headline asked: “What’s roiling the liberal-arts campus?” At…

Soul-opening retreat experience

Let me start by saying that I grew up a secular Jew. As I’ve gotten older, my desire for more Yiddishkeit has increased tenfold. Long story short, I went from being a “High Holidays-only Jew” to someone who lights candles…

Finding joy

From the solemnity of Yom Kippur, we move into the season of rejoicing, Sukkot. As with many of our traditions, this one has multiple layers. The shelters for which the holiday is named represent temporary dwelling places, the transitory generations…

Making mensches at KDHS

photo - During the afternoon of Character Day, King David High School hosted a fair at which students could learn about – and sign up for – volunteer positions in the Jewish community and around the city

During the afternoon of Character Day, King David High School hosted a fair at which students could learn about – and sign up for – volunteer positions in the Jewish community and around the city. (photo from KDHS) On Sept.…

Demon renews dybbuk

photo - Scene from Demon

(photo from krakowpost.com) The first “character” we meet in Marcin Wrona’s coolly fascinating Demon is a yellow bulldozer, rolling menacingly through the empty streets of a Polish village. It’s a harbinger, as well as a metaphor, but of what? Bulldozers…