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Higher learning in the Negev

photo - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. (photo by Dani Machlis) Approximately 2,000 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev students served during Operation Protective Edge, and another almost 1,000 remained in Beersheva to volunteer in the community. Between July 8 and Aug. 26, all…

Omnitsky’s open for business

Eppy Rappaport welcomes new and old customers to Omnitsky’s new location at 5775 Oak St. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay) Kreplach. Smoked meat. Tongue. Turkey pastrami. Salami and eggs. If this list of dining options makes your mouth water, read on…

Meeting women in politics

photo - Left to right: Cathy Golden, MP Wai Young, Erin Kizell, Pamela Martin, Dr. Tracy Ames, MLA Selina Robinson, Jes Simkin, Maya Russell, Enav Zusman, Eleanor Millar, MP Dr. Hedy Fry and Karen James

Left to right: Cathy Golden, MP Wai Young, Erin Kizell, Pamela Martin, Dr. Tracy Ames, MLA Selina Robinson, Jes Simkin, Maya Russell, Enav Zusman, Eleanor Millar, MP Dr. Hedy Fry and Karen James. (photo by Lianne Cohen) On Nov. 13, Canadian…

Thank you celebration at Louis Brier

photo - Attendees at the Nov. 16 event at the Louis Brier Home and Hospital check out the Gallery of Donors Wall

Attendees at the Nov. 16 event at the Louis Brier Home and Hospital check out the Gallery of Donors Wall. (photo from Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation) On Nov. 16, the Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation honored donors on its…

Time for new shofar?

photo - Paul Harnett felt “compelled to understand the nature of the shofar, and what it embodied.”

Paul Harnett felt “compelled to understand the nature of the shofar, and what it embodied.” (photo from Paul Harnett) In 2000, Paul Harnett was living in Vancouver. On the day before a flight to the East Coast for a family…

New Jewish cemetery

photo - Where the Jewish section is planned at Seaview Cemetery

Where the Jewish section is planned at Seaview Cemetery. (photo from Sunshine Coast Jewish Burial Society) About 18 months ago, a small group of Jewish seniors living on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast approached the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) asking…

Sign of significance at Mountain View

photo - Forty-three years after it was dismantled, the Jewish section of Mountain View Cemetery has an arch once more

Forty-three years after it was dismantled, the Jewish section of Mountain View Cemetery has an arch once more. (photo from MVRP) A replication of the historic archway for the Jewish section at Mountain View Cemetery went up on Nov. 20,…

Model response to injustice

Seventy-two years ago yesterday, two Polish women, Zofia Kossak and Wanda Filipowicz, founded the Council for the Assistance of the Jews. By 1942, awareness of the intent of the Final Solution was becoming widespread. By creating an underground movement to…

Word choice matters

photo - The Jordan River is “the only river on planet earth that on its good days is a few feet wide, and people claim that it has a bank 40 miles wide.”

The Jordan River is “the only river on planet earth that on its good days is a few feet wide, and people claim that it has a bank 40 miles wide.” (photo from Beivushtang via Wikimedia Commons) Settlements or Jewish…

The tent is getting smaller

Amid what had been a steady stream of volunteer commitments I had undertaken in the Jewish community, it seems I now have some more free time. I could be pleased by the fact that I am freed from a major…

Mendes joins Tapper on 100.5 FM

photo - Marcus Mendes in Yemin Moshe, Jerusalem, last year

Marcus Mendes in Yemin Moshe, Jerusalem, last year. (photo from Marcus Mendes) Marcus Mendes has joined Alan Tapper in hosting The Anthology of Jewish Music, which airs Sundays, 10 a.m., on 100.5 FM and coopradio.org. Mendes will be playing a variety…

Cultivating composers

For the past eight years, Turning Point Ensemble (TPE) has taken their Creating Composers music education program into schools across Metro Vancouver. This year, the program has expanded and, with the support of the B.C. Arts Council’s Youth Engagement grant…

When Men Talk …

To the women reading this post, brace yourself for the following comment: It’s not easy being a man! Take a minute. OK. Breathe. Sit back down. And we can continue. The North American male lives under a lot of pressure…

Haim Peri honored for bravery

photo - An aerial photograph of the Vancouver International Airport

An aerial photograph of the Vancouver International Airport. (photo by Alejandro Erickson via en.wikipedia.org) On Oct. 21, Governor General of Canada David Johnson awarded Haim Peri, a member of the local Jewish community and a former Israeli, with the Canadian Medal…

Lokash cast in musical’s title role

photo - Julian Lokash plays the title character in Carousel Theatre’s James and the Giant Peach

Julian Lokash plays the title character in Carousel Theatre’s James and the Giant Peach. (photo by Tim Matheson) When asked how long he’s been an actor, 11-year-old Julian Lokash didn’t hesitate. “Since I was born!” was his immediate response. The…

Thousands of B.C. archeological sites

photo - Hartley Odwak holds a 1,000-2,000-year-old stone projective point recovered from one of the sites on which he has worked

Hartley Odwak holds a 1,000-2,000-year-old stone projective point recovered from one of the sites on which he has worked. (photo from Hartley Odwak) What is fascinating and striking is that it’s largely unknown to most Vancouverites and British Columbians that…

“Jewish state bill” should be nixed

A proposed “Jewish state bill” may be up for a Knesset vote next week. An amalgamation of previous drafts, the bill would, among other things, enshrine in Basic Law Israel’s Jewish identity, reserve the right of national self-determination to Jews…

Mystery photo … Nov. 28/14

photo - B’nai B’rith Vancouver Lodge executive, circa 1965

B’nai B’rith Vancouver Lodge executive, circa 1965. (photo from JWB fonds; JMABC L.20816) 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…

Unique, fun and giving gifts

image - Lisa Pozin’s co-op features changing vendors, constant quality

Lisa Pozin’s co-op features changing vendors, constant quality, available at the store and online. (image from givinggifts.ca) Owning a small retail business may seem unconnected to making our planet a better place, but each purchase made in Lisa Pozin’s gift shop makes…

On being a Sar-el volunteer

photo - Gerald Lecovin on the production line at Matzrap Army Camp this past October

Gerald Lecovin on the production line at Matzrap Army Camp this past October. (photo from Gerald Lecovin) Matzrap Army Camp, October 2014: It’s 8:15, time to work. Breakfast and flag raising are over. The Henna Hannahs are already on the…

Netanyahu makes time for MDA Vancouver

photo - On a private visit to Vancouver, Israeli First Lady Sarah Netanyahu took time to meet with local Magen David Adom volunteers

On a private visit to Vancouver, Israeli First Lady Sarah Netanyahu took time to meet with local Magen David Adom volunteers. (photo from MDA Vancouver) Israeli First Lady Sarah Netanyahu was in Vancouver recently for a private visit. As a means…

Local joins fight against ISIS

Vancouverite Gillian Rosenberg, 31, is the first foreign woman to join YPG, the Kurds’ dominant fighting force battling the Islamic State in northern Syria. Rosenberg, who calls White Rock home, attended Maimonides Secondary School, where she was valedictorian in her…

Israelis buy more guns

Yoram Issachar, who owns a contracting company in Jerusalem with his father and two brothers, has carried a Baretta 765 for the past 25 years. He works in Jewish communities on land Israel acquired in the West Bank, employing 15-30…

Startup conversations

photo - Vancouver Israeli Tech Club Fall Meetup keynote speaker Daniel Friedmann of communications company MDA, left, with presenters Yaron Bazaz, co-founder of the app Downtown and a VIT organizer, centre, and Meir Deutsch of IKOMED

Vancouver Israeli Tech Club Fall Meetup keynote speaker Daniel Friedmann of communications company MDA, left, with presenters Yaron Bazaz, co-founder of the app Downtown and a VIT organizer, centre, and Meir Deutsch of IKOMED. (photo by Baila Lazarus) If you’ve ever…

RJDS and AZIA lunch on the Eastside

photo - Approximately 50 students from Richmond Jewish Day School and Az-Zahraa Islamic Academy distributed 1,000 brown bag lunches to the homeless and needy

Approximately 50 students from Richmond Jewish Day School and Az-Zahraa Islamic Academy distributed 1,000 brown bag lunches to the homeless and needy. (photo from Richmond Jewish Day School) They huddled together to warm up on a frosty November morning, but the…

World musician at Rothstein

photo - On Dec. 5, Lenka Lichtenberg will perform traditional and original songs at the Rothstein Theatre, self-accompanied on piano, guitar, harmonium and percussion

On Dec. 5, Lenka Lichtenberg will perform traditional and original songs at the Rothstein Theatre, self-accompanied on piano, guitar, harmonium and percussion. (photo from lenkalichtenberg.com) Three new CDs in three years made in three different regions of the world, garnering at…

Buy book, help library

photo - This year, Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library’s annual used book sale takes place Nov. 23-27 at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver

This year, Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library’s annual used book sale takes place Nov. 23-27 at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. (photo from IWJPL) For many of us, the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library is the go-to place when…