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New Chabad houses

photo - Chabad Nanaimo Rebbetzin Blumie and Rabbi Bentzion Shemtov with their children

Chabad Nanaimo Rebbetzin Blumie and Rabbi Bentzion Shemtov with their children. (photo from Chabad Lubavitch BC) All around the world, Chabad houses welcome Jews of all ages and stages to participate in a variety of activities from social Jewish identity gatherings…

Going from brokenness to wholeness

photo - From left to right, Julius Maslovat, Carmel Tanaka, MP Murray Rankin and MLA Rob Fleming at the Victoria Holocaust Remembrance and Education Society’s annual Kristallnacht Commemoration on Nov 9

From left to right, Julius Maslovat, Carmel Tanaka, MP Murray Rankin and MLA Rob Fleming at the Victoria Holocaust Remembrance and Education Society’s annual Kristallnacht Commemoration on Nov 9. (photo from Victoria Hillel) The following remarks have been slightly modified…

Denkmal

This is not about Dachau, although these things happened there. When my son and I visited the Denkmal, as the Germans refer to Dachau, it was late afternoon, and it was deserted. The weather was rainy and cool. Vancouver weather:…

Ludicrous standards

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström has accused Israel of “extrajudicial executions” of Palestinian terrorists. The minister said, in the country’s parliament, that Israel has a right to defend its citizens, but went on to clarify that such defence should not…

Comparing refugee response

While American political discourse around whether to accept Syrian refugees smolders under the embers of xenophobia, Canadians have been opening their hearts and their wallets to bring in Syrian refugees. Canada is one of the only countries with a private…

Maccabi TA star visits

photo - Tal Brody, left, with Richard Poritz at the Vancouver screening of On the Map

Tal Brody, left, with Richard Poritz at the Vancouver screening of On the Map. (photo by Kyle Berger) It was a warm Israeli summer in 1965 when Tal Brody made the journey across the Atlantic to visit Israel for the…

New chef at Weinberg

photo - Shane McNeil, formerly of Bridges Restaurant, is the new executive chef at Weinberg Residence

Shane McNeil, formerly of Bridges Restaurant, is the new executive chef at Weinberg Residence. (photo from Weinberg Residence) For the Weinberg Residence’s recently hired executive chef Shane McNeil, formerly of Bridges Restaurant, his new job is about more than just…

Fighting for a recovery

photo - Classmates congratulate Oz Attal, second from the left, after he completed Alyn Hospital’s Wheels of Love bike-a-thon

Classmates congratulate Oz Attal, second from the left, after he completed Alyn Hospital’s Wheels of Love bike-a-thon. (photo from Canadian Friends of BTJ) This Chanukah, Boys Town Jerusalem is celebrating its own miracle. Student Oz Attal is taking an active role…

סערת דונלד טראמפ

photo - Remarks by U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump against the Muslims have provoked angry reactions, even in Canada

דבריו החמורים של המועמד הרפובליקני לנשיאות בארה”ב, דונלד טראמפ, בגנות המוסלמים, מעוררת תגובות נזעמות גם בקנדה. (צילום: Gage Skidmore via wikimedia.org) סערת דונלד טראמפ מגיעה גם לקנדה: פוליטיקאים קוראים להחרימו וחברי מועצות בערים קוראים להסיר את שמו מהמגדלים דבריו החמורים של…

Challenging viewers’ beliefs

photo - “Ganesha,” from Dina Goldstein’s Gods of Suburbia series. (photo © Dina Goldstein)

“Ganesha,” from Dina Goldstein’s Gods of Suburbia series. (photo © Dina Goldstein) You have to speak more than one language if you want to read all of the articles on Vancouver photographer and Pop Surrealist Dina Goldstein’s art. English, of…

Stories about diversity

photo - Cynthia Fidel was the coordinator of AMIA’s literary contest, which resulted in the publication Primer Concurso de Cuentos Infantiles

Cynthia Fidel was the coordinator of AMIA’s literary contest, which resulted in the publication Primer Concurso de Cuentos Infantiles. (photo by Rebeca Kuropatwa) When the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) bombing occurred in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, there…

One generation to the next

  Current president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Dr. Alan Bernstein has been a scientist all his life. “When I was asked if I was interested in the [CIFAR] position, it was a…

The Chanukah lights

The nights were getting longer already, but when we changed the clocks a few weeks ago, it seemed to change very suddenly into a new season. For our cousins in Israel, the days might be a bit brighter – a…

Proud of Canada votes

The last time there was a Liberal government in Canada, this country took a “go along to get along” approach to the annual Israel-bashing at the United Nations each autumn. Government officials offered excuses, but still our representatives at the…

Are food banks here to stay?

In March 2013, 833,098 persons were served by food banks in Canada. Food bank use remains high and many Canadians depend on food banks for weekly, semi-monthly or monthly grocery items in order to put food on the table. One-half…

Researching unique species

photo - Simon Fraser University biologist Dov Lank with some of the ruffs he and his team have been studying

Simon Fraser University biologist Dov Lank with some of the ruffs he and his team have been studying. (all photos from SFU Communications) Simon Fraser University biologist Dov Lank and a team of researchers have identified the genes responsible for…

Klezfest in Winnipeg

photo - Winnipeg Klezfest co-producers Bev Aronovitch, left, and Miriam Bronstein

Winnipeg Klezfest co-producers Bev Aronovitch, left, and Miriam Bronstein. (photo from Rady JCC) After attending the week-long KlezKanada Laurentian retreat near Montreal, Miriam Bronstein and Beverly Aronovitch wondered, why not do the same in Winnipeg? And so, they began planning…

Discovering my 99% family

photo - The author’s one photograph of her great-grandmother, Betty Brotman, “stiff-necked and corseted, with her dark hair combed tightly across her head.”

The author’s one photograph of her great-grandmother, Betty Brotman, “stiff-necked and corseted, with her dark hair combed tightly across her head.” (photo from Shula Klinger) I have been researching my family history for many years, on and off. Much of…

Rabbis join thousands

photo - Eight of 11 B.C. shluchim joined 5,200 other Chabad rabbis and guests in New York City Nov. 4-9 for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries

Eight of 11 B.C. shluchim joined 5,200 other Chabad rabbis and guests in New York City Nov. 4-9 for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. (photo by Shneor Shif) Eight local B.C. rabbis made their way to New York City…

Tikkun olam as focus

photo - Leah Stern in Haiti, where she was helping orphaned and abandoned children

Leah Stern in Haiti, where she was helping orphaned and abandoned children. (photo from Leah Stern) While London-based journalist and content producer Leah Stern was unable to be the guest speaker at this year’s Choices, the annual campaign event of…

Shepherding biblical sheep

photo - Jacob sheep Molly and Leah

Jacob sheep Molly and Leah. (photo by Mustard Seed Imaging) Chabad Rabbi Falik Schtroks of the Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley delivered a lecture on the meaning of the Jacob sheep in conjunction with parashat Veyetzei during…

Pollard back at home

photo - Jonathan Pollard and his wife Esther in the first photograph following his release from prison

Jonathan Pollard and his wife Esther in the first photograph following his release from prison. (photo from Justice for Jonathan Pollard via jns.org) After spending 30 years in a U.S. federal prison, American-Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard was freed on parole…

New Western awards

The Western Canada Jewish Book Awards are a new initiative of the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival. The initiative is designed to celebrate excellence in writing on Jewish themes and showcase the achievements of authors residing west of the…

Canada’s 1936 Olympic decision

Rarely has a book worked me up as much as More Than Just Games: Canada and the 1936 Olympics by professors Richard Menkis (University of British Columbia) and Harold Troper (University of Toronto). More Than Just Games was published by…

Continuing the legacy

It’s a wonder any of us are alive. And it’s even more a wonder that we are each the result of generations (not to mention stardust). Not only do genes past and present influence who we are, but the actions…

How about a meowukiyah?

image - Our meowukiyah is ready! by Lana Lagoonca

During the Festival of Lights, Chanukah, we light up candles in a special candleholder called a chanukiyah. Chanukiyot come in all kinds of designs, shapes and colors. That is why we will make our own unique version. To be more…

Cooking for all the seasons

book cover - The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen

Amelia Saltsman’s background makes for an interesting source for her cookbook The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen (Sterling Epicure, 2015). Her mother is Romanian and her father is Iraqi; they met in the Israeli army and then immigrated to Los Angeles, where…

From simple to spectacular

book cover - Silver Platter

Food writers are privy to a lot of recipes, and many of them, sadly, are repeats of ones already widely familiar, with small variations in ingredients. Infrequently, though, we get access to a compilation of recipes by a skilled author…

Mother influences chef

book cover - The New Kosher cropped

The New Kosher: Simple Recipes to Savor and Share by Kim Kushner is a beautiful cookbook with more than 100 recipes that reflect many cultural traditions. There are full-color photos aplenty (by Kate Sears), easy-to-follow instructions, and each recipe has…