Category Local

RJDS and AZIA lunch on the Eastside

photo - Approximately 50 students from Richmond Jewish Day School and Az-Zahraa Islamic Academy distributed 1,000 brown bag lunches to the homeless and needy

Approximately 50 students from Richmond Jewish Day School and Az-Zahraa Islamic Academy distributed 1,000 brown bag lunches to the homeless and needy. (photo from Richmond Jewish Day School) They huddled together to warm up on a frosty November morning, but the…

Choices celebrates 10

photo - Left to right are Judith Cohen, Rachel Shanken, Alina Spaulding, Ezra Shanken and Diane Switzer

Left to right are Judith Cohen, Rachel Shanken, Alina Spaulding, Ezra Shanken and Diane Switzer. (photo from Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver) Close to 500 women, inspired and united by one cause – strengthening community through tzedakah – gathered at…

Bonds survived the Holocaust

In the dystopia of the Holocaust, pregnancy and childbirth were life-threatening situations – for the mother and the child. In Auschwitz, if a woman were able to conceal her pregnancy long enough to come to term, despite malnutrition and epidemics,…

Easing leadership transition

Change is hard. Ending one thing and beginning another can cause stress, and can even end up feeling like a poignant loss. It’s no different in the realm of synagogue life. When a long-serving rabbi leaves his or her position,…

Narrowing the housing gap

photo - Gil Gan-Mor of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel will be one of the speakers at Gimme Shelter on Nov. 20

Gil Gan-Mor of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel will be one of the speakers at Gimme Shelter on Nov. 20. (photo from Gil Gan-Mor) A condominium used to be a potentially affordable alternative to a home for buyers…

MDA on the front line

photo - An anonymous contribution helped purchase a Magen David Adom ambulance for Israel in honor of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s recent trip there

An anonymous contribution helped purchase a Magen David Adom ambulance for Israel in honor of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s recent trip there. (photo from Magen David Adom) Yarin Levi, 16, was moments from death after a rocket exploded near…

Dedicated to the community

Dvori Balshine has served the Vancouver Jewish community, in one capacity or another, for 45 years. She is retiring in November from her latest post – director of development at Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation – and she talked to…

Teaching self-defence

photo - Jonathan Fader, left, and his business partner Borhan Jiang show a class at Urban Tactics Krav Maga how to disarm an attacker who has a knife

Jonathan Fader, left, and his business partner Borhan Jiang show a class at Urban Tactics Krav Maga how to disarm an attacker who has a knife. (photo by Albert Law) When Jonathan Fader copied the Jewish Independent on an open…

JSA forum on mental health

photo - At the recent Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver fall symposium, left to right: Peggy Casey, Lorilee Mallek, Nora Paul, Mark Godfrey and Grace Hann

At the recent Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver fall symposium, left to right: Peggy Casey, Lorilee Mallek, Nora Paul, Mark Godfrey and Grace Hann. (photo by Binny Goldman) A capacity crowd of 175 gathered at the Peretz Centre for Secular…

Meet your next mayor

photo - Benjamin Mintzberg and Clementina Tai at CJPAC’s mayoral event

Benjamin Mintzberg and Clementina Tai at CJPAC’s mayoral event. (photo from Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee) On Oct. 7, CJPAC (Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee) hosted Vancouver Connect: Meet Your Next Mayor at Congregation Beth Israel. The event brought together more…