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freelancer

Shul heritage sign replaced

photo - The signage at the site of 1,700-year-old synagogue ruins in Albania was recently replace after a Canadian tourist informed the municipal government of the old signs’ illegibility

The signage at the site of 1,700-year-old synagogue ruins in Albania was recently replace after a Canadian tourist informed the municipal government of the old signs’ illegibility. (photo from Dave Gordon) During a trip to Albania in September 2022, Toronto-based Jewish journalist…

Diaspora voices its concerns

The message on the Facebook post of this video from UnXeptable, who have been gathering weekly at Robson Square to protest the Israeli government’s proposed judicial reforms, reads: “Rain never stops Vancouver 🇨🇦 from supporting you in your struggle ❤️🇮🇱”…

Creating opportunities

photo - The Jerusalem Business Development Centre (MATI) helps people create or expand businesses in Jerusalem. Two leaders of the Israeli organization visit Vancouver on May 11 as part of a Canadian tour

The Jerusalem Business Development Centre (MATI) helps people create or expand businesses in Jerusalem. Two leaders of the Israeli organization visit Vancouver on May 11 as part of a Canadian tour. (photo from CFHU Vancouver) Every year, the Jerusalem Business…

Measuring happiness

Amid the miasma of glum news from Israel is a light to be celebrated. A scan of the headlines reveals existential worries. Proposals from the governing coalition of Israel are derided as threatening the democratic foundation of the country, an…

Multiple membership models

Years ago, I briefly served on a synagogue board and did some research into membership dues. Some congregations had flat rates. Others had scales according to income or age. Others had no set dues, members gave according to what they…

JNF welcomes Noa Tishby

photo - At the therapeutic horse farm in Meir Shfeya Youth Village are, left to right, Yuval Perry, Moran Nir, Rachel David and Orly Sivan. Perry is a horse groomer at the farm, and David and Sivan are two of its four founders. Nir is manager of campaign and operations for JNF Pacific

At the therapeutic horse farm in Meir Shfeya Youth Village are, left to right, Yuval Perry, Moran Nir, Rachel David and Orly Sivan. Perry is a horse groomer at the farm, and David and Sivan are two of its four…

Creating a life of inspiration

photo - Near-fatal war injuries led Anat Yahalom to decades of mutual support for injured soldiers and others

Near-fatal war injuries led Anat Yahalom to decades of mutual support for injured soldiers and others. (photo from Jewish Federation) In 1973, when the Yom Kippur War broke out, Anat Yahalom was a young Israel Defence Forces recruit in the…

Designing the 12 tribes

photo - Artist Anna Marszalkowska stands in front of “Levi,” which is part of her Tribes series, which is on exhibit at the Zack Gallery until May 4

Artist Anna Marszalkowska stands in front of “Levi,” which is part of her Tribes series, which is on exhibit at the Zack Gallery until May 4. (photo from Anna Marszalkowska) The challenge of visually depicting the tribes of Israel has…

Uncovering Israel’s wonders

photo - Igal Hecht filming Secrets of the Land

Igal Hecht filming Secrets of the Land. (photo from Chutzpa Productions Inc.) The Western Wall area, with thousands of metres of subterranean space, contains much that is yet to be discovered. The latest find in this space is a market.…

Frost album release

photo - Harriet Frost and the Universal Band

Harriet Frost and the Universal Band (photo from Harriet Frost) Harriet Frost and the Universal Band are holding an album release party on April 15, 8 p.m., at Or Shalom. The Universal Band is Martin Gotfrit (strings, vocals), Wendy Rubin…

Museum releases 40th Scribe

photo - Mordechai Edel is among the artists featured in the latest edition of The Scribe, which will be released April 19 at VanDusen Botanical Garden

Mordechai Edel is among the artists featured in the latest edition of The Scribe, which will be released April 19 at VanDusen Botanical Garden. (photo from JMABC) The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia (JMABC) is releasing its 40th…

Destruction and rebirth

photo - Grass is Green is at the Rothstein Theatre on April 25

Grass is Green is at the Rothstein Theatre on April 25. (photo from Una Productions) B.C. Movement Arts and Chutzpah!PLUS present the Canadian première of Grass is Green in Vancouver and several other B.C. locations, starting April 25. Grass is…

Pied Piper in music, dance

photo - Into the Little Hill is a multi-disciplinary re-telling of the classic Pied Piper tale. Performances take place May 19 and 20 at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre

Into the Little Hill is a multi-disciplinary re-telling of the classic Pied Piper tale. Performances take place May 19 and 20 at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre. (photo by Flick Harrison) In partnership…

Supporting arts, community

Residents of Prince George might be forgiven for thinking there is more than one person named Eli Klasner in their midst. Among his many concurrent pursuits, the Toronto native is directing the Community Arts Council of Prince George, leading a…

Creating a new home

photo - Khalid Aziz

Khalid Aziz (photo from Khalid Aziz) Khalid Aziz got out of Afghanistan about six weeks before the government fell. Eighteen months later, he has a job here at a local café/bakery and works part-time with a local advisory group on…

Tikva gets new building

photo - Al and Lola Roadburg

Al and Lola Roadburg (photo from Tikva Housing) With the help of a $10 million donation from the Al Roadburg Foundation, a four-storey apartment building has been purchased that will allow Tikva Housing Society to offer more affordable housing in…

Holocaust by bullets

The harrowing history of Ukraine’s past was recounted recently in the annual lecture honouring Rudolf Vrba, the late Vancouver scientist whose 1944 escape from Auschwitz brought the most concrete proof of the Nazi “Final Solution” to the world. Dr. Nataliia…

ABCs on visiting West Bank

According to one tour guide, an hour spent walking around the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem and talking to the residents there is the best way to gain an understanding of the complex conflict that has caused so much suffering.…

Blood, tears and survival

When we think about Israel’s prominence now, with its population approaching 10 million, and its contributions in so many fields being far out of proportion to its size, it is sobering to recall its early beginnings, and its fragility, when…

If we forget, thee, Jerusalem

photo - The Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel

The Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel. (photo from Wikimedia Commons) When I was a teenaged member of the Zionist youth group Young Judaea in Saskatchewan, we recited this pledge: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand lose its…

Look on bright sides of earth

photo - The southern and northern hemispheres look equally bright in this iconic image of earth, titled “The Blue Marble,” which the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft took on Dec. 7, 1972

The southern and northern hemispheres look equally bright in this iconic image of earth, titled “The Blue Marble,” which the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft took on Dec. 7, 1972. (photo from NASA) Why do earth’s hemispheres look equally…

BGU moving to solar

photo - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev will soon produce 20% of its energy needs on the Marcus Family Campus from solar energy

(photo from BGU) Ben-Gurion University of the Negev will soon produce 20% of its energy needs on the Marcus Family Campus from solar energy. Recently, solar panels were installed on the roofs of three buildings on campus in the first…

תוכנית הנשיא הרצוג

יושב הראש של הפדרציה היהודית של אזור מטרו ונקובר, עזרא שנקן, קורא לממשלת ישראל וראשי האופוזיציה, לקבל את מתווה הנשיא, יצחק הרצוג, לאור המשבר החמור הפוקד את ישראל בחודשיים האחרונים. זאת, על רקע החלטת ממשלת הימין של בנימין נתניהו, להחיל…

Who decides what culture is?

photo - Mourad Bouayad, left, and Hillel Kogan in We Love Arabs, which is at the Dance Centre April 13-15

Mourad Bouayad, left, and Hillel Kogan in We Love Arabs, which is at the Dance Centre April 13-15. (photo by Eli Katz) “I don’t have answers so I can only ask questions,” Israeli choreographer Hillel Kogan told the Jewish Independent.…

Time of change at the Peretz

photo - “I like to dabble in things, I like to learn about things, and I think that’s where Peretz really shines,” says Maggie Karpilovski, executive director of the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture

“I like to dabble in things, I like to learn about things, and I think that’s where Peretz really shines,” says Maggie Karpilovski, executive director of the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture. (photo from Peretz Centre) At 78, the…

Gallup poll concerning

A Gallup poll released last week shows that, for the first time, Democratic voters in the United States sympathize more with Palestinians than with Israelis. Among Democratic voters contacted, 49% sympathize more with the Palestinians and 38% with Israelis. Among…

What survey box to check?

Passover is coming. Its themes of freedom from oppression, the Exodus and Jewish identity stories are ready for the telling. More Jewish people participate in Passover than many other holidays. A 2013 Pew Research study indicated that 70% of Americans…

The gift of sobriety

Pesach is approaching, and the connection to addiction is obvious  – we were slaves in Egypt, we are slaves to substances and behaviours to our detriment. Sadly, we hear daily about the perils of addiction – certainly the news of…

Systemic change possible?

photo - Eleanor Boyle’s Mobilize Food! Wartime Inspiration for Environmental Victory Today offers concrete ideas for how food systems can be transformed

Eleanor Boyle’s Mobilize Food! Wartime Inspiration for Environmental Victory Today offers concrete ideas for how food systems can be transformed. (Julie Doro Photography) I plan to make the Honourable Woolton Pie. Just for fun, not necessarily because I think it’ll…