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freelancer

Jews and superheroes

photo - Mark Leiren-Young

Mark Leiren-Young (photo from Mark Leiren-Young) From a neurotic gentleman who dresses like a bat, to a wise-cracking human spider, to a Super-Mensch appearing in the bulrushes, not to mention a green golem – it is impossible to escape the…

Empowered by piano, song

photo - From left to right: Leslie Rosen, Toby Rubin, Tammy Klass and Marilyn Berger dance to the music of singer and pianist Miriam Davidson

From left to right: Leslie Rosen, Toby Rubin, Tammy Klass and Marilyn Berger dance to the music of singer and pianist Miriam Davidson. (photo from JSA) The last session of the Jewish Seniors Alliance-Snider Foundation Empowerment 2022-23 season was held…

Burquest film now online

image - v

Screenshots from Burquest: Past, Present & Future. The 37-minute film Burquest: Past, Present & Future – about Burquest Jewish Community’s history – includes photos and interviews with founders and past leaders, and is scored with original music written by Burquest…

JI wins four Rockowers

photo - Adina Horwich at the 42nd annual Rockowers Awards. She received an honourable mention for journalistic excellence in covering Zionism, aliyah and Israel

Adina Horwich at the 42nd annual Rockowers Awards. She received an honourable mention for journalistic excellence in covering Zionism, aliyah and Israel. (photo from Adina Horwich) The Jewish Independent won four Simon Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism this…

IDF incursion into Jenin

As in the instance of many complicated issues, we cannot begin a discussion of specific issues without providing background and context. Earlier this month, the Israel Defence Forces entered Jenin, located in what many Jews call Judea and Samaria. This…

Sharing the load as a team

The greatest triumph of our summer so far is moving 10 cubic yards of gravel. Obviously, there’s a story in this! When we moved to our present house, we knew that the landscaping (along with the plumbing, electricity, insulation, boiler…

אירופה וקנדה מתחממות עד להפחיד

חזרתי מביקור של שבועיים באירופה במהלך חודש יוני והופתעתי לרעה עד כמה היה חם ביבשת זו. הביקור כלל את הערים ציריך שוויץ ואמסטרדם הולנד. לא חשבתי כלל שכבר בחודש יוני החום בערים אלה יהיה גבוה מאוד וממש בלתי נסבל דווקא…

Love and concern for nature

photo - Nathan and Sidi Schaffer at the opening of their photography exhibit at the Zack Gallery June 22

Nathan and Sidi Schaffer at the opening of their photography exhibit at the Zack Gallery June 22. (photo from the artists) Painter, printmaker and mixed media artist Sidi Schaffer has a new show at the Zack Gallery – a photography…

Connect with music

photo - The Oot n’ Oots band helps launch Mission Folk Music Festival

The Oot n’ Oots band helps launch Mission Folk Music Festival. (photo from Mission Folk Music Festival) Family band the Oot n’ Oots helps kick off the Mission Folk Music Festival on July 21, as part of the main-stage lineup…

Artificial just got real

Jews have been called “the people of the book.” It was the power of and devotion to the received and unfolding written word that ensured the Jewish people’s unity (and diversity) across almost 2,000 years of exile. But who reads…

Finding their place in theatre

photo - Cadence Rush Quibell has their debut at Theatre Under the Stars this summer

Cadence Rush Quibell has their debut at Theatre Under the Stars this summer. (photo by Veronica Bonderud / The Portrait Sessions) Cadence Rush Quibell makes their debut with Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) this summer in The Prom, which alternates…

Chance to create

photo - Esther Rausenberg, artistic and executive director of the Eastside Arts Society

Esther Rausenberg, artistic and executive director of the Eastside Arts Society. (photo by Wendy D) Eastside Arts Society (EAS) presents the return of its two-day summer art-making event, CREATE! Arts Festival, taking place at Strathcona Park on July 22 and…

Improv conference held here

photo - Viola Spolin is widely thought to be the mother of modern improvisation

Viola Spolin is widely thought to be the mother of modern improvisation. (photo from amazon.ca) If you thought that improv was only for entertainment, think again. This summer’s applied improvisation conference at Granville Island will showcase some of the world’s…

Bard masters comedy, tragedy

photo - Oscar Derkx (Orlando) and Chelsea Rose (Rosalind) in As You Like It

Oscar Derkx (Orlando) and Chelsea Rose (Rosalind) in As You Like It. (photo by Tim Matheson) What do you get if you mix a Shakespearean comedy with 23 Beatles hits from the 1960s and set the whole thing in Vancouver…

Theatre that educates

photo - Wendy Kout’s play Survivors is based on 10 real-life stories of young people’s Holocaust experiences

Wendy Kout’s play Survivors is based on 10 real-life stories of young people’s Holocaust experiences. (photo by Peter Nadler) Last year, Victoria-based Bema Productions and the Victoria Shoah Project collaborated on a pilot project: a nine-performance tour to middle and…

Fighting domestic violence

photo - Lili Ben Ami, founder of the Michal Sela Forum, was in Vancouver last month to talk about how the forum works to save lives and combat domestic violence

Lili Ben Ami, founder of the Michal Sela Forum, was in Vancouver last month to talk about how the forum works to save lives and combat domestic violence. (photo by Sid Akselrod) “As Uber disrupted the transportation sector, Airbnb disrupted…

No charges in IDF case

There will be no charges arising from allegations that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has been recruiting members illegally in Canada. The case began in 2020, when several progressive groups and individuals laid a complaint with Justice Minister David Lametti…

A musical Canada Day

photo - Perry Ehrlich’s ShowStoppers at Jack Poole Plaza

Perry Ehrlich’s ShowStoppers at Jack Poole Plaza (photos by David P. Feng) Perry Ehrlich’s ShowStoppers performed at Jack Poole Plaza on Canada Day – it was Ehrlich’s 29th year celebrating Canada Day at Canada Place. ShowStoppers is a glee troupe…

Something a bit lighter

This article is a respite from my previous piece, “Living under fire of missiles” (Jewish Independent, May 26), which was about the Islamic Jihad missile that hit a house just around the corner from me during Israel’s most recent flare…

May you leave with laughter

photo - Ahrida Synagogue is one of the two still-functioning synagogues in the Balat neighbourhood of Istanbul

Ahrida Synagogue is one of the two still-functioning synagogues in the Balat neighbourhood of Istanbul. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields) On my first trip to Israel just after graduating high school, I met a similar-aged Turkish Jew. He was also…

For new generation

image - Mendel Rosenbusch book cover

The marvelous children’s stories in Ilse Weber’s Mendel Rosenbusch: Tales for Jewish Children (illustrated by P. John Burden) are fascinating in their own right, as is translator Hans Fisher’s discovery of this book. He and his wife, Ruth, have brought…

A life of light and of shade

The quality of our lives seems to contain alternating waves of good and bad, hard and soft, light and shade. If we are lucky enough to appreciate that this is the nature of existence, we can bear much better with…

Homemade fun food & toys

photo - Healthy food can make for a fun snack. The website hello, Yummy has lots of ideas about cooking for and with kids. This banana car with strawberry wheels and a graham cracker bear driver is but one option

Healthy food can make for a fun snack. The website hello, Yummy has lots of ideas about cooking for and with kids. This banana car with strawberry wheels and a graham cracker bear driver is but one option. (photo from…

Eating locally and Jewishly

My family enthusiastically eats huge salads at dinnertime in the summer. We love to celebrate the fresh local lettuce and other vegetables we receive from our community-supported agriculture (CSA) share. A CSA is a membership/subscription service that allows farms to…

Salmon fillets … and potatoes

photo - Salmon fillets make for an easy main course

Salmon fillets make for an easy main course. (photo from thebrilliantkitchen.com) Salmon makes for a nice main course. Besides being high in protein, iron, Vitamin D and potassium, it is high in omega-3 fatty acids. It can be served with…

Tasty, easy summer meals

photo - Salad Niçoise can be made and plated in a variety of ways

Salad Niçoise can be made and plated in a variety of ways. (photo from pxhere.com/MariaPolna) Summer meals should be easy and, ideally, quick to make after a long day at work or having fun – or when it’s really hot…

A mocktail, anyone?

photo - Cool down with some mock sangria

Cool down with some mock sangria. (photo from commons.wikimedia.org/Ilker Ender) Whether you’re inviting friends over or just having a quiet evening at home, try these mocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, with snacks or appetizers. MOCK SANGRIA (12 servings) 8 cups grape juice…

איך משיגים ויזה להגר לקנדה – חלק ב

כידוע ישראלים רבים מבקשים לנסוע לקנדה עבור לימודים או כדי למצוא עבודה. אשרותהכניסה לקנדה משתנות לפי המטרה שלשמה אתם מעוניינים להיכנס למדינה עבור כל מבקש ויזה הדבר החשוב ביותר לרשות ההגירה המקומית הוא להבין שהוא לא מעוניין להישאר בקנדה מעבר…

Going beyond numbers

photo - Jews of Colour Initiative chief executive officer Ilana Kaufman speaks at Or Shalom on June 6

Jews of Colour Initiative chief executive officer Ilana Kaufman speaks at Or Shalom on June 6. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay) On June 6 at Or Shalom, Jews of Colour Initiative chief executive officer Ilana Kaufman spoke about Beyond the Count:…