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So many choices to be made

The late afternoon, right after school or summer camp, is go time for many parents. These are the moments where my twins have every kind of need, from taking off their outside gear and emptying lunch bags to signing permission…

About the 2024 Summer JI cover

Vancouver Jewish Community Garden coordinator Maggie Wilson took the photo that graces this year’s cover of the Jewish Independent Summer issue. According to the garden’s newsletter, “A few strawberry plants opted to try their luck in the gravel and managed…

ישראלים מרגישים לא בטוח ברחבי העולם

למלחמה בין ישראל והחמאס ברצועת עזה יש השלכות חמורות לגבי ביטחונם של הישראלים הגרים מחוץ למדינה. המראות הקשים של ההרוגים הרבים בעזה מסיבים נזק גדול לישראל. רבים בעולם כמעט ושכחו מה הביא לפעילות של ישראל בעזה – אירוע השבעה באוקטובר…

Groundbreaking May 26

photo - Kineret Tamim Academy founders Dr. Elior and Leah Kinarthy. Kineret Tamim is Victoria’s first Jewish day school

Kineret Tamim Academy founders Dr. Elior and Leah Kinarthy. Kineret Tamim is Victoria’s first Jewish day school. (photo from Chabad) Kineret Tamim Academy, just steps from the Chabad of Vancouver Island’s Centre for Jewish Life and Learning, is now officially…

An emotional remembrance

photo - Members of ZAKA identification, extraction and rescue team search through the destruction in a Gaza Envelope community following the Oct. 7 attacks

Members of ZAKA identification, extraction and rescue team search through the destruction in a Gaza Envelope community following the Oct. 7 attacks. (photo from ZAKA) The annual Yom Hazikaron ceremony, marking Israel’s day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims…

Grief and joy intertwined

Every year, the sun goes down on Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s national day of remembrance for victims of war and terrorism, and the celebratory day of independence, Yom Ha’atzmaut, begins. It’s a stark juxtaposition. The parallel of the two national days,…

Kibbutz movement in crisis

photo - A home in Kibbutz Erez

A home in Kibbutz Erez. (photo by Larry Barzelai) Spending a night in late March at Kibbutz Erez in southwestern Israel was an unforgettable experience. Visiting friends, it was somewhat eerie. Most residents have not returned since the Hamas terror…

Goldstein removed from exhibit

photo - Dina Goldstein stands in front of two of the 10 works that comprise her In the Dollhouse series featuring Barbie and Ken

Dina Goldstein stands in front of two of the 10 works that comprise her In the Dollhouse series featuring Barbie and Ken. (photo from Dina Goldstein) Dina Goldstein had her work pulled from a Vancouver exhibition just days before it was…

MP talks to community

photo - MP Anthony Housefather was in Vancouver last week

MP Anthony Housefather was in Vancouver last week. (photo from Government of Canada) Anthony Housefather, the Liberal MP who openly considered joining the Conservatives, made an urgent plea during a presentation in Vancouver last week for Jews and pro-Israel voters…

A new generation of leaders

photo - Howard Kallner is being honoured at Schara Tzedeck’s MOSAIC gala on June 4

Howard Kallner is being honoured at Schara Tzedeck’s MOSAIC gala on June 4 (photo by kenneth88/wikimedia) “I have been very lucky in my life to be surrounded by lifelong volunteers and builders of community, both my parents, my in-laws and…

Chutzpah! needs your help

photo - Chutzpah! Festival acting managing director Jessica Gutteridge

Chutzpah! Festival acting managing director Jessica Gutteridge. (photo by Tallulah Photography) After nearly 25 years at the forefront of Jewish arts and culture in Western Canada, Vancouver’s international performing arts festival, Chutzpah!, faces an urgent financial crisis. And it needs…

New JFS scholarship fund

photo - Fay and Ken z”l Golden, whose support has allowed Jewish Family Services to offer two education scholarships

Fay and Ken z”l Golden, whose support has allowed Jewish Family Services to offer two education scholarships. (photo from JFS) Thanks to the generosity of Fay and Ken (z”l) Golden, Jewish Family Services Vancouver has introduced the Fay and Ken…

Pushing back against antisemitism

With antisemitism rising in British Columbia, professionals from three sectors – health care, post-secondary education and K-12 schools – have started organizing so incidents of hatred in their workplace are challenged at every opportunity. The Jewish Academic Alliance of British…

DOTE happens in June

photo - Karen Kaeja and Allen Kaeja in Lasterday

Karen Kaeja and Allen Kaeja in Lasterday. (photo by Kendra Epik) Featuring more than 30 performances June 13-22, Dancing on the Edge audiences will see world premières, Western Canadian debuts and works-in-progress. This year’s lineup includes the Vancouver première of…

Stand Up celebrates 20th

photo - Stand Up for Mental Health founder David Granirer

Stand Up for Mental Health founder David Granirer. (photo from smhcomedysociety.org) Stand Up for Mental Health (SMH), a program started in Vancouver that teaches stand-up comedy to people with mental health issues as a form of therapy and to destigmatize…

Keeping Jewish history alive

photo - Janice Masur and her daughter, Liora Freedman, on March 3, after unveiling the memorial plaque in Nagoya village near Mbale, Uganda

Janice Masur and her daughter, Liora Freedman, on March 3, after unveiling the memorial plaque in Nagoya village near Mbale, Uganda. (photo from Janice Masur) I have just come back from Uganda, where my family used to live, in the…

The making of a milestone

By the time you read this, I’ll be working on the last days of preparation before my twins’ b’nai mitzvah. This, as many have said, is a big simcha (happy party), a once-in-a-lifetime event, a milestone and an achievement in…

Enjoy weekend in Montreal

photo - A bike tour with Fitz Montreal

A bike tour with Fitz Montreal. (photo © Fitz and Follwell Co) There’s nothing like a weekend in Montreal, whether you’re in the mood for a classic bagel, a mouthwatering babka dripping with chocolate, or a heaping smoked meat sandwich…

בונדס ישראל בקנדה גיוס כספים למען ישראל

מפעל בונדס ישראל בקנדה מגייס כספים למען ישראל כאשר כלכלה ניזוקה קשות לאור המלחמה הארוכה בעזה הבונדס שהוא בעצם מפעל מלווה העצמאות והפיתוח עוסק במכירת איגרות חוב של מדינת ישראל ליהודים ברחבי העולם, ובעיקר בארצות הברית וקנדה. מפעל הבונדס הוקם…

Past echoes in present

photo - Child survivor Lillian Boraks-Nemetz speaks at the community’s Yom Hashoah Commemoration May 5

Child survivor Lillian Boraks-Nemetz speaks at the community’s Yom Hashoah Commemoration May 5. (Rhonda Dent Photography) The pogrom of Oct. 7 and the hurricane of antisemitism that has swirled since then added resonance to commemorations of Yom Hashoah this week. Around…

Highlighting seniors’ issues

photo - Berlin’s Nana Schewitz brings her show Florida! Ya Kill Me! to Vancouver May 31-June 2

Berlin’s Nana Schewitz brings her show Florida! Ya Kill Me! to Vancouver May 31-June 2. (photo from Nana Schewitz) Florida! Ya Kill Me! is a “love letter to aging,” says Berlin-based drag artist Nana Schewitz, who created the show with…

Legislating a fine line

Vancouver Police last week arrested a woman for praising the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. The woman, who multiple reports say is Charlotte Kates, a leader in a group called Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, was later released as police develop…

Rally carries added meaning

photo - The rally for the hostages at the Vancouver Art Gallery on May 5

The rally for the hostages at the Vancouver Art Gallery on May 5. (photo by Pat Johnson) The weekly rally for the hostages at the Vancouver Art Gallery carried added resonance Sunday, May 5, hours before the world marked Yom…

Online harms mooted

A federal bill to address online harassment, bullying and hate has aspects to admire and others to cause concern. What happens in the committee process will determine the success of the proposed law. That is the take of two experts…

BI celebrates building’s 10th

photo - At the 2012 groundbreaking, left to right: Catherine Epstein, Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, Stuart Gales, Sylvia Cristall, Michelle Gerber, Gary Averbach, Sam Hanson, Shannon Etkin and Alfonso Ergas. Obscured from view is Elliot Glassman

At the 2012 groundbreaking, left to right: Catherine Epstein, Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, Stuart Gales, Sylvia Cristall, Michelle Gerber, Gary Averbach, Sam Hanson, Shannon Etkin and Alfonso Ergas. Obscured from view is Elliot Glassman. (Robert Albanese Photography) On June 9, Congregation…

The birth of a classic movie

photo - David Wallace, J.D. Dueckman, Matt Ramer and Rachel Craft in Metro Theatre’s Moonlight & Magnolias, which runs to May 18

David Wallace, J.D. Dueckman, Matt Ramer and Rachel Craft in Metro Theatre’s Moonlight & Magnolias, which runs to May 18. (photo by Emma Chan) Gone With the Wind (GWTW) is my all-time favourite movie and, if adjusted for inflation, the…

Innovators coming fast

The annual Jewish Family Services (JFS) Innovators event has evolved from the traditional luncheon format into an evening cocktail reception. The decision comes as the organization prepares to celebrate the 18th (chai) anniversary of the event, reflecting on nearly two…