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freelancer

Green party reckonings

During the election campaign, Green leader Annamie Paul was surprisingly candid about her precarious position at the helm of her party. She acknowledged that she spent almost all the campaign in her home riding of Toronto Centre because she might…

The Kitchen is new JFS hub

photo - JFS Vancouver staff member Golriz Boroomand, left, and chief executive officer Tanja Demajo

JFS Vancouver staff member Golriz Boroomand, left, and chief executive officer Tanja Demajo. (photo by Pat Johnson) Tucked into a neighbourhood of low-rise industrial buildings, warehouses and mixed-use developments west of Main Street and south of Olympic Village is the…

Familiar face celebrates 100

photo - Goldie Kassen celebrated her 100th birthday on Aug. 12

Goldie Kassen celebrated her 100th birthday on Aug. 12. (photo from Barbara Taranto) Goldie Kassen, who turned 100 on Aug. 12, was fêted by family and friends from across Canada and around the world. “My entire family was here for…

A special open house

photo - Highlights of the Scotiabank Dance Centre’s 20th anniversary celebration include a performance on the outside wall of the building by aerial dance company Aeriosa

Highlights of the Scotiabank Dance Centre’s 20th anniversary celebration include a performance on the outside wall of the building by aerial dance company Aeriosa. (photo by Louise Cecil) Scotiabank Dance Centre celebrates its 20th anniversary on Oct. 2 with a…

Do you recognize anyone?

photo - This photo was taken at the home of Harry and Ida Fishman, 4862 Ridgelawn Dr., in Burnaby, in the 1960s

This photo was taken at the home of Harry and Ida Fishman, 4862 Ridgelawn Dr., in Burnaby, in the 1960s. If you recognize anyone in it, please email Roni (Fishman) Wosk at ronandroniwosk@gmail.com.

Ida Nudel passes away

image - A cover story in the Oct. 14, 1987, JWB announced that Ida Nudel would be granted her long-sought-after exit visa from the USSR

A cover story in the Oct. 14, 1987, JWB announced that Ida Nudel would be granted her long-sought-after exit visa from the USSR. In the Jewish Independent’s special 90+1 issue this past May, reader Ronnie Tessler recalled one of the…

Novels miss the mark slightly

I was very much looking forward to two recent novels. Both are love stories, but unconventional ones. I enjoyed them, and read them cover to cover – generally, I allow myself to stop reading, watching or listening to whatever it…

We share same fate

Do you realize that everyone you know will die? Of course you do. All of us know that. But, most of the time, we don’t think about it. We forget about it insofar as it motivates our actions, our interactions…

A most ancient dish

“Stuffed vegetables – a most ancient Sukkot dish, probably having its genesis with the grape leaves remaining on the vine after the harvest that were then filled and simmered until tender – are common sights on holiday tables in all…

הקוביד מראה את ההבדלים בין קנדה לדרום אמריקה – חלק ב

photo - Person emailing

המכר של מדרום אמריקה מנסה להסביר לי מדוע עדיף לגור ביבשת שלו ולא במערב. מה הוא אומר: “החיים במערב לחוצים פי כמה מאשר במדינות הלטיניות, זה ברור. אני מדבר על הכלל. אדם צריך לעבוד קשה כדי להתפרנס, מה שלא צריך…

Tzimmes celebrates 35 years

photo - The Tzimmes sextet, in 2019. Left to right are Saul Berson, Phil Belanger, Tim Stacey, Amy Stephen, Yona Bar-Sever and Moshe Denburg. Also part of the ensemble in the new recording, but not pictured here, is Fabiana Katz

The Tzimmes sextet, in 2019. Left to right are Saul Berson, Phil Belanger, Tim Stacey, Amy Stephen, Yona Bar-Sever and Moshe Denburg. Also part of the ensemble in the new recording, but not pictured here, is Fabiana Katz. (photo from…

Election amid chaggim

Much has been made of the challenges facing Canadians as the country engages in its 44th federal general election while still in the grips of a pandemic. For Jewish voters, the succession of holidays in the weeks leading up to…

Two Jews are on ballot

photo - Jewish community members Tamara Kronis (Conservative party) and Avi Lewis (NDP) are running in the upcoming federal election

Jewish community members Tamara Kronis (Conservative party) and Avi Lewis (NDP) are running in the upcoming federal election. (photos from candidates) British Columbia’s comparatively small Jewish community has produced a number of senior political figures, including the province’s first Jewish…

Environment a Jewish issue

photo - Or Shalom members Lorne Malliin and Marianne Rev organized a demonstration at the office of Harjit Sajjan, federal minister of national defence and MP for Vancouver South

Or Shalom members Lorne Malliin and Marianne Rev organized a demonstration at the office of Harjit Sajjan, federal minister of national defence and MP for Vancouver South. (photo from Lorne Mallin) The heat dome that sent much of British Columbia…

Parties back JCC plan

The leading federal political parties have pledged their support to the redevelopment of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. Kailin Che, the Conservative Candidate for Vancouver Granville, issued a release Sept. 1, saying that a Conservative government would commit…

Volunteer during election

Oct. 21, 2019, seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? That was the date of the last Canadian federal election. Since then, it’s been a world of endless uncertainties and instability. The Jewish community has witnessed levels of antisemitism that haven’t been seen for decades. Hate crime numbers are way up. The…

Heroic work continues

An important – and surprising – court decision in Poland last month is a small victory in a longer battle over the history of Polish behaviour during the Second World War. On appeal, two Holocaust scholars had an earlier decision…

Relationship with the earth

At the dinner table, I asked my family what I should write. One of my kids, age 10, immediately said, “Climate change. People think the problem’s all hot air, but the problem’s really hot water.” There was a smirk at…

Controversy over instructor

A proposed fall semester course at the University of Victoria has raised concerns that it will become what B’nai Brith Canada described as “a forum for antisemitism.” The concerns were sparked by inflammatory comments the course’s instructor, Dr. Shamma Boyarin,…

Exploring her family’s past

photo - Afterlife is Isa Milman’s first work of nonfiction

Afterlife is Isa Milman’s first work of nonfiction. (photo by Shea Lowry) Midway through Isa Milman’s Afterlight, which came out this week, the author cites Reb Nachman of Breslov, who said, “The whole world is a very narrow bridge.” In…

Several shows to watch at Fringe Fest

photo - Ariel Martz-Oberlander wrote and co-stars in on behalf

Ariel Martz-Oberlander wrote and co-stars in on behalf. (photo from Julia Lank) In the Aug. 20 issue of the Jewish Independent, there was a short article on the Vancouver Fringe Festival show A Coveted Wife of East Van, which “tells…

To do or not to do (the Bard)

photo - Bard on the Beach’s Done/Undone, written by Kate Besworth, co-stars Harveen Sandhu and Charlie Gallant

Bard on the Beach’s Done/Undone, written by Kate Besworth, co-stars Harveen Sandhu and Charlie Gallant. (photo from bardonthebeach.org) Throughout COVID, Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach has been unable to mount its popular summer festival at Vanier Park. However, it is…

Challenging VIFF Films

photo - Michal Wiets uses her great-grandfather’s diaries as the basis for her film Blue Box

Michal Wiets uses her great-grandfather’s diaries as the basis for her film Blue Box. (image courtesy) At press time, the Vancouver International Film Festival lineup had not yet been announced. But the Independent received the names of some of the…

Chutzpah! coming soon

photo - Josh “Socalled” Dolgin leads an evening of Yiddish songs as part of Chutzpah! 2021

Josh “Socalled” Dolgin leads an evening of Yiddish songs as part of Chutzpah! 2021. (photo from Chutzpah!) The Chutzpah! Festival returns this November, presenting music, theatre, comedy and dance that reflect the joy of coming back together. For more than…

Light of holiday meals

photo - Light of Shabbat Volunteers packaging kosher meals for the High Holidays

Light of Shabbat Volunteers packaging kosher meals for the High Holidays. (photo from Chabad Richmond) On Aug. 29, a contingent of 12 Chabad Richmond volunteers worked to ensure that recipients of the Richmond community Light of Shabbat (LOS) meal program…

Delving into roots of memory

I have more years behind me than most of you. I remember what seems to me all the big events. While prominent in my mind, I do try to pay more attention to the daily round. Today, for example, I…

Chosen Family now at Zack

photo - JQT Vancouver executive director Carmel Tanaka at the Zack Gallery, where the Chosen Family exhibit is on display until Sept. 30

JQT Vancouver executive director Carmel Tanaka at the Zack Gallery, where the Chosen Family exhibit is on display until Sept. 30. (photo from Carmel Tanaka) In a Simon Fraser University survey of more than 4,000 elderly Canadians (55+), conducted from…

Animatedly tackling issues

screenshot - In Bayla’s Issues, the title character is plagued by the travails of aging and anxiety, and a desire for acknowledgement in the art world

In Bayla’s Issues, the title character is plagued by the travails of aging and anxiety, and a desire for acknowledgement in the art world. Bayla’s Issues, a 2020 animated short based on the comic strip Bayla’s Comics by Vancouver artist…