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freelancer

Making your own traditions

photo - As an alternative or addition to synagogue services, you could find a nice place outside in which to pray or reflect

As an alternative or addition to synagogue services, you could find a nice place outside in which to pray or reflect. (photo by Jan Lieberman via Wikimedia Commons) There is a lot of beauty to the traditional synagogue experience. However,…

Can we all get along?

photo - Women of the Wall was founded as a minyan of women from different movements coming together on common ground for Rosh Chodesh

Women of the Wall was founded as a minyan of women from different movements coming together on common ground for Rosh Chodesh. (photo by Michal Patelle via Wikimedia Commons) In April 2015 – in the aftermath of the death of…

A year of diplomacy, terror

photo - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu kisses Adel Banita’s 2-year old son on the forehead in Hadassah Hospital on Oct. 5, 2015. Netanyahu was visiting Banita, who was stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist in Jerusalem’s Old City. Her husband, Aharon, 22, died later of his injuries

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu kisses Adel Banita’s 2-year old son on the forehead in Hadassah Hospital on Oct. 5, 2015. Netanyahu was visiting Banita, who was stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist in Jerusalem’s Old City. Her husband, Aharon, 22, died…

Rabbi finds his calling

photo - Rabbi Yosef Ben Zruel, aka “Rabbi Yossi,” engages with students at Boys Town Jerusalem

Rabbi Yosef Ben Zruel, aka “Rabbi Yossi,” engages with students at Boys Town Jerusalem. (photo from BTJ) As 32 out of Boys Town Jerusalem’s 100 seventh graders took their places in class on the first day of school, their teacher,…

New inclusion classes

photo - Shalva founder Kalman Samuels, left, and Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat, centre, help youngsters cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the new Shalva National Children’s Centre

Shalva founder Kalman Samuels, left, and Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat, centre, help youngsters cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the new Shalva National Children’s Centre. (photo from IMP) Dozens of smiling preschool and kindergarten youngsters recently filed…

Ways to engage teens

photo - Free Spirit Experience helps troubled teens “restart” their lives

Free Spirit Experience helps troubled teens “restart” their lives. (photo from freespiritexperience.org) Adolescence is a time of transition and confusion and teens themselves often don’t understand what’s happening. They frequently send mixed messages and get angry when adults do the…

גדול ונוצץ

photo - Gahcho Kué, the world’s largest new mine, could bring Canada nearly $7 billion

מכרה היהלומים החדש גאצ’ו קיו. (צילום: debeersgroup.com) מכרה היהלומים החדש גאצ’ו קיו אמור להכניס לקופתה של קנדה קרוב לשבעה מיליארד דולר, במשך שתיים עשרה השנים בהן הוא צפוי לפעול. כך עולה מדוחות של החברה לייעוץ כלכלי ארנסט אנד יאנג. יש…

Challenging films at VIFF

photo - Soon after he discovered he was Jewish, Csánad Szegedi reached out to Rabbi Boruch Oberlander. Szegedi’s transformation from virulent antisemite to Orthodox Jew is the topic of the documentary Keep Quiet

Soon after he discovered he was Jewish, Csánad Szegedi reached out to Rabbi Boruch Oberlander. Szegedi’s transformation from virulent antisemite to Orthodox Jew is the topic of the documentary Keep Quiet. (photo from Gábor Máté/AJH Films & Passion Pictures) While…

Reut fills social gaps

photo - Gidi Grinstein

Gidi Grinstein (photo from Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver) When Gidi Grinstein finished his army service in Israel in 1995, he wanted to “make a contribution to the most dramatic issues of our time.” And it wasn’t long before he…

Will state be free?

Binyamin Netanyahu may not have expected the international reaction he received when he accused opponents of Jewish settlements in the West Bank of supporting the ethnic cleansing of Jews. While he went too far, there is some truth to be…

Poland’s wartime contradictions

In August, Poland’s right-wing cabinet approved a bill that would criminalize using the phrase “Polish death camp” or “Polish concentration camp,” with punishments including fines or imprisonment. The bill raises questions about Poland’s role in the Holocaust. It echoes the…

Jews leave Venezuela

photo - Moises Brunstein now lives in Toronto, but he still has family in Venezuela

Moises Brunstein now lives in Toronto, but he still has family in Venezuela. (photo from Moises Brunstein) Political upheaval, economic disintegration, rising crime rates and the implosion of social services have brought Venezuela to its knees. The lucky ones see…

Jewish education fund

photo - A longtime advocate for Jewish education, Leon Glassman has established the Leon Glassman Fund for Jewish Continuity through Education with a $1 million endowment at the Jewish Community Foundation

A longtime advocate for Jewish education, Leon Glassman has established the Leon Glassman Fund for Jewish Continuity through Education with a $1 million endowment at the Jewish Community Foundation. (photo by Don MacGregor) Learning of new challenges in accessibility to…

Youth mentorship program

photo - Kathleen Muir, youth services coordinator at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver

Kathleen Muir, youth services coordinator at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. (photo from Kathleen Muir) Chill Chat, a peer mentorship program that began a few years ago but seemed to disappear, has been reignited in Vancouver as a…

Son honors father’s legacy

photo - For the Love of Spock explores Spock actor Leonard Nimoy’s legacy and his relationship with his son, Adam

For the Love of Spock explores Spock actor Leonard Nimoy’s legacy and his relationship with his son, Adam. (photo from For the Love of Spock via space.com) When Leonard Nimoy announced in 1949 that he wanted to be an actor,…

משטרת הגבולות ומריחואנה

photo - Alcan border crossing

(צילום: gsa.gov) תופעה שהולכת להחמיר: משטרת הגבולות האמריקנית מונעת כניסת קנדים לארה”ב אם עישנו מריחואנה אין גבול לחוצפה כנראה אצל משטרת הגבולות האמריקנית (יו.אס קסטמס אנד בורדר פרוטקשן). מתברר שלאחרונה במספר מקרים שוטרי גבול אמריקניים שאלו אזרחים קנדיים שמבקשים לעבור…

More than a pageant

photo - Vancouver Jewish community member Alicia Ohana is Miss Canada Petite 2016/17

Vancouver Jewish community member Alicia Ohana is Miss Canada Petite 2016 (photo from misscanada.tv) This August, self-described proud Jewish community member Alicia Ohana won the title of Miss Canada Petite 2016 The mission of the national competition, which took place…

Federation envisions 2020

screenshot - To read more about the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s 2020 Strategic Priorities, visit jewishvancouver.com/2020

To read more about the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s 2020 Strategic Priorities, visit jewishvancouver.com An estimated 50% of Metro Vancouver’s Jewish community lives outside of the city of Vancouver. For young families with at least one Jewish parent, the…

Living with prostate cancer

book cover - Sima Elizabeth Shefrin’s new book, Embroidered Cancer Comic, will be launched on Sept. 15 at the Roundhouse

Sima Elizabeth Shefrin’s new book, Embroidered Cancer Comic, will be launched on Sept. 15 at the Roundhouse. Cancer is a word often whispered. Sex is certainly not spoken of in polite company. Yet Sima Elizabeth Shefrin tackles both topics in…

Dance links cultures

photo - Sula Boxall will perform with Flamenco Rosario in Flamenqueando on Sept. 17 at Vancouver Playhouse

Sula Boxall will perform with Flamenco Rosario in Flamenqueando on Sept. 17 at Vancouver Playhouse. (photo by Tim Matheson) The Vancouver International Flamenco Festival Sept. 10-20 features a lineup of local and international flamenco artists – including local Jewish community…

Chagall lithograph exhibit at Zack

photo - Susanna Strem, owner of Chali-Rosso Art Gallery, in front of a Marc Chagall lithograph

Susanna Strem, owner of Chali-Rosso Art Gallery, in front of a Marc Chagall lithograph. (photo by Olga Livshin) Marc Chagall needs no introduction. But perhaps not everyone is aware that there is a gallery in Vancouver that specializes in original…

Melancholic adaptation

photo - Natalie Portman in a scene from the film A Tale of Love and Darkness

Natalie Portman in a scene from the film A Tale of Love and Darkness. (photo by Ran Mendelson/Focus Features via houstonchronicle.com) A Tale of Love and Darkness may seem like a nondescript and even coyly evasive title, but in fact…

We have our own issues

American politics, these days, attracts global disbelief and revulsion. The contest pits against each other two of the most unpopular candidates since polling began. One of them, the Republican nominee Donald Trump, is endorsed by the country’s leading white supremacists.…

Working to heal, entertain

photo - Steven Page describes his latest recording as “all about finding humility. I’m exploring my own foibles"

Steven Page describes his latest recording as “all about finding humility. I’m exploring my own foibles.” (photo from Steven Page) Has it already been 25 years since we first heard radio hits “If I Had a Million Dollars” and “Be…

Khalifa joins the circus

photo - Jared Khalifa toured with Cirque de Soleil this year

Jared Khalifa toured with Cirque de Soleil this year. (photo from Jared Khalifa) Last November, Jared Khalifa’s career was at a low point. He had just come back from Denmark, where injuries in both ankles and one knee had limited…

Renewal in education

photo - The Peretz Centre is moving towards a renewed commitment to social justice, Yiddishkeit, the arts and building community

The Peretz Centre is moving towards a renewed commitment to social justice, Yiddishkeit, the arts and building community. (photo from peretz-centre.org) If you walk into Vancouver’s Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture on a Sunday afternoon between September and June,…

Two CJPAC programs

CJPAC is a national, independent, multi-partisan organization with a mandate to engage Jewish and pro-Israel Canadians in the democratic process and to foster active political participation. Among its programs are two aimed at younger community members, for which it is…

Mazal tov, Golde

photo - This August’s Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance! crew did a wonderful job of bringing Perry Ehrlich’s Break a Leg! to the Rothstein stage, as did the July graduates, no doubt

August’s Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance! crew. (photos by Hannes Photography) This August’s Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance! crew did a wonderful job of bringing Perry Ehrlich’s Break a Leg! to the Rothstein stage, as did the July graduates, no doubt. Ehrlich…