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Community candidates

As part of the Jewish Independent’s election coverage, we have traditionally profiled members of the community seeking elective office. And this year’s Oct. 15 municipal elections are no different. * * * Christine Boyle, Vancouver council candidate (incumbent) Christine Boyle…

Will local go global?

image - Israeli and Palestinian flags

The Independent asked candidates we profiled two additional questions: “Will you (or won’t you) use your position as a platform to discuss international affairs, specifically Palestine and Israel?” and “If so, can you provide a brief explanation of your perspective…

Candidates in Victoria

photo - Tony Yacowar

Tony Yacowar (PR photo) Tony Yacowar will be vying for a seat on the Victoria city council this Oct. 15. Among his stated priorities, if elected, are affordable housing, addressing climate change and amalgamation within the Greater Victoria region. Housing…

Directing the campaign

photo - Gayle Morris

Gayle Morris (photo from jewishvancouver.com) Gayle Morris joined the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver this summer as its annual campaign director. Morris arrives to the role with an abundance of experience in helping people both within the Jewish community and…

Willkommen to the cabaret

photo - Vicente Sandoval and Sylvia Zaradic are among the cast of Raincity Theatre Company’s Cabaret, which opens Oct. 15

Vicente Sandoval and Sylvia Zaradic are among the cast of Raincity Theatre Company’s Cabaret, which opens Oct. 15. (photo by Nicol Spinola) Given the excellence of its previous two site-specific immersive musicals – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet…

Talking with authors

The 35th annual Vancouver Writers Festival includes many members of the Jewish community among the more than 115 authors from across Canada and around the globe who will join the events on Granville Island and elsewhere Oct. 17-23. The festival…

VRS hosts Schiff, Rondeau

photo - As part of the Vancouver Recital Society’s fall programming, both pianist Sir András Schiff (above), and harpsichordist Jean Rondeau will perform J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations

As part of the Vancouver Recital Society’s fall programming, both pianist Sir András Schiff (above), and harpsichordist Jean Rondeau will perform J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. The Vancouver Recital Society’s season opened last month with the Canadian debut of Italian pianist…

From despair to hope

photo - A scene from Clowns by Hofesh Shechter Company

A scene from Clowns by Hofesh Shechter Company. (photo by Todd MacDonald) Double Murder takes audiences on a journey from cynicism and violence to hope and healing. The double bill from the United Kingdom’s Hofesh Shechter Company features Clowns, described…

Capturing community spirit

photo - Photograher David Cooper in a self-portrait

Photograher David Cooper in a self-portrait. David Cooper is renowned for the skill with which he captures energy and light in photographs and film. But the multiple-award-winning artist was not appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2020…

Ballet BC set to start season

photo - Artists of Ballet BC in a previous presentation of Bedroom Folk by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar

Artists of Ballet BC in a previous presentation of Bedroom Folk by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar. (photo by Cindi Wicklund) Ballet BC will share five new commissions as well as beloved audience favourites in its 2022/23 season. From emerging,…

The repackaging of a hero

image - The Escape Artist book cover cropped

Anyone who knows more than a little bit about Holocaust hero Rudolf Vrba – a Vancouverite for 31 years – will approach Jonathan Freedland’s The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World (London, UK: John…

Welcomed in Kiryat Gat

photo - Laura Soda, right, with her host family, the Lipiks, and some of her MITF colleagues at Rosh Hashanah

Laura Soda, right, with her host family, the Lipiks, and some of her MITF colleagues at Rosh Hashanah. (photo from Laura Soda) Growing up as a Jewish young adult in White Rock, I always had mixed feelings about celebrating the…

Solidarity Cycle 2022 – an awesome ride

photo - Barbara Halparin writes about her experience of riding in the Greater Van Gogos’ sixth annual Solidarity Cycle, a fundraising event in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign

Barbara Halparin writes about her experience of riding in the Greater Van Gogos’ sixth annual Solidarity Cycle, a fundraising event in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. (photo from Tikun Olam Gogos) Editor: On Sunday, Sept.…

Free expression in workplace

I heard once about an executive who explained in an interview: we debate a lot behind the scenes, but when we present our opinion or policy, it is a united front. We expect all employees to avoid saying or writing…

Earn Frequent Fryer points

photo - Mouthwatering air fryer chicken satay with peanut sauce

Mouthwatering air fryer chicken satay with peanut sauce. (photo by Shelley Civkin) My father, alav hashalom, used to use the Yiddish phrase “Don’t hock me a tscheynik,” meaning, literally, don’t bang my teakettle. But, idiomatically, it means don’t bother me with…

הבירוקרטיה מנצחת

הבירוקרטיה ממשיכה לנהל את החיים שלנו. חשבתי שסיימנו את הבעיות הביורוקרטיות אך הן ממשיכות לצוץ ולמרר את חיינו. הזכרתי בטור הקודם כי לאחר מותי אמי, אחי ואני נדרשנו לטפל בצוואת ההורים, אך לאור הבירוקרטיה הכל הפך למסובך הזכרתי עוד כי…

Adding health supports

photo - Matti Feigelstock, left, and Alisa Farina

Matti Feigelstock, left, and Alisa Farina (photos from Jewish Federation) The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is expanding its efforts to address the mental health needs of younger members of the community by forming a partnership with Project L’Chaim, and hiring a…

Drescher opens Federation campaign

Fran Drescher, best known for the TV show The Nanny, among other comedic roles, enraptured audience members at the Jewish Federation annual campaign launch Sept. 8. She offered deeply vulnerable descriptions of being raped and of surviving cancer, and the…

Israel’s Christian fellowship

photo - Yael Eckstein, president and chief executive officer of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Yael Eckstein, president and chief executive officer of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. (photo from IFCJ) Twice a year, the president and chief executive officer of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Yael Eckstein, heads into Ukraine’s…

Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022

Ephraim Mirvis, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, issued a special prayer in English and Hebrew to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. It was shared by Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld at the opening…

Extremism not helpful

Over the Labour Day weekend, while many Canadians were soaking up the declining rays of summer or doing last-minute back-to-school shopping, Middle East politics eclipsed everything else – well, for those of us who track these things closely, which, it…

It’s all about love and family

photo - Last Flight Home follows Air Florida founder Eli Timoner’s last weeks of life

Last Flight Home follows Air Florida founder Eli Timoner’s last weeks of life. (still from film) The Vancouver International Film Festival opens Sept. 29, and this year’s festival will be impressive, if the releases reviewed by the Independent are any…

Photographic chronicle

photo - Image from 1341 Frames of Love and War, a photo by Micha Bar-Am

Image from 1341 Frames of Love and War, a photo by Micha Bar-Am. Photographer Micha Bar-Am, now 92, is considered perhaps the foremost visual chronicler of Israeli history. In 1341 Frames of Love and War, filmmaker Ran Tal creates what…

Shared society in Jerusalem

photo - The Jerusalem Business Development Centre (known in Hebrew by the acronym MATI) makes a direct contribution to shared living, and two leaders of the Israeli organization will visit British Columbia next month

The Jerusalem Business Development Centre (known in Hebrew by the acronym MATI) makes a direct contribution to shared living, and two leaders of the Israeli organization will visit British Columbia next month. (photo from CFHU Vancouver) Shared living in Jerusalem…

Speaker series returns

Kolot Mayim Reform Temple in Victoria is presenting a new season of its Building Bridges speakers series. The 2022/23 lineup will highlight the theme of Hineini: Answering the Call to Heal the World. The Hebrew word Hineini can be translated…

Anat Gogo now heads Tikva

photo - Anat Gogo, new executive director of Tikva Housing Society

Anat Gogo, new executive director of Tikva Housing Society. (photo from Tikva Housing) Anat Gogo is the new executive director of Tikva Housing Society. Gogo took over leadership of the affordable housing society on Sept. 1, after several years in…

Weinberg Residence’s 20th

photo - Vanessa Trester, manager of the Weinberg Residence, speaks to those gathered at the 20th anniversary party

Vanessa Trester, manager of the Weinberg Residence, speaks to those gathered at the 20th anniversary party. (photos by Galit Lewinski) The Weinberg Residence has just entered its 20th year. The assisted living and multi-level care facility opened in 2003 as…

Update from the Okanagan

photo - A photo break at the Okanagan Jewish Community’s annual picnic and barbecue

A photo break at the Okanagan Jewish Community’s annual picnic and barbecue. (photo from OJC) The Okanagan Jewish Community (OJC), centred in Kelowna, has grown tremendously in the last few years. Those living in the big cities seem to be…