{"id":36484,"date":"2021-03-19T01:59:57","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T08:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=36484"},"modified":"2021-03-18T13:04:21","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T20:04:21","slug":"mourning-then-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2021\/03\/19\/mourning-then-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Mourning, then celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pam Wolfman is chair of the Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut committee and Geoffrey Druker leads the Yom Hazikaron committee. (photos from Jewish Federation)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For many years, Vancouver has been home to North America\u2019s largest celebration on erev Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut. While Israel\u2019s Independence Day is marked in many cities around the world, Vancouver is unusual in that it marks the occasion on the day it occurs \u2013 many bigger communities celebrate on an adjacent weekend or later in the spring. The event is usually the largest Jewish community gathering of the year in British Columbia, which is a statement about the connection between Vancouver\u2019s Jewish community and the state of Israel, say organizers.<\/p>\n

Last year, with the pandemic declared mere weeks before Israel\u2019s anniversary, the tough decision was made to cancel the local event and join an international celebration convened virtually by Jewish Federations of North America.<\/p>\n

While Pamela Wolfman, chair of the Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, wishes the community could come together in person, being online does have a silver lining \u2013 it allows the program to be more expansive. Every Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut features an Israeli musical performer or group. This year, the committee has arranged for five performers who have joined the Vancouver celebrations in years past to return in a virtual \u201cbest of\u201d concert.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided to bring back five of the favourite artists from recent years who performed here already, so they already had a connection with Vancouver, they\u2019d already visited us and gotten to know us and vice versa,\u201d said Wolfman, who has chaired the event since 2014.<\/p>\n

She credits Stephen Gaerber, who preceded her as event chair, and his brothers and father, as the impetus for the focus on Israeli talent at the annual get-together.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur community really responds to that,\u201d said Wolfman. \u201cA majority of our community really does feel connected to Israel, wants to celebrate all the positive things about Israel. We want to take a break from the news and we want to celebrate Israel, the miracle of Israel \u2013 Israeli art, Israeli culture, Israeli music \u2013 and to do that together is just really fun for everybody, really positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolfman herself became involved via an earlier involvement with Festival Ha\u2019Rikud, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver\u2019s festival of Israeli dance for young people. Since the festival began 18 years ago, the kids have participated in Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut celebrations every year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, especially, there\u2019s a lot to celebrate, with everything positive that\u2019s going on with Israel \u2026 with the Abraham Accords, with the vaccine rollout, it\u2019s a really good year to get together and celebrate \u2013 and lots and lots of great music has come out of Israel this year, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the \u201cfive favourites,\u201d Wolfman promises \u201ccute kids and a few surprises.\u201d Lu Winters and Kyle Berger will emcee, and keep an eye out, as well, for many other familiar faces, as scores of community members have come together virtually for a community song \u2013 the iconic 1970 Israeli ballad \u201cBashana Haba\u2019ah<\/em>\u201d (\u201cNext Year\u201d).<\/p>\n

Since the community event always sells out, this year\u2019s virtual version will turn no one away \u2013 plus, it\u2019s free. (Donations are welcome during registration at jewishvancouver.com. Food can also be ordered online via links at the same time.)<\/p>\n

There can be no Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut without Yom Hazikaron. Israel\u2019s Independence Day is celebrated the day after Israel\u2019s national day of remembrance for those lost defending the country or killed in terror attacks. This year\u2019s commemoration of Yom Hazikaron will also be online, but the committee, led by Geoffrey Druker, has experience at a virtual version of the solemn commemoration \u2013 they delivered a virtual commemoration last year.<\/p>\n

Like Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut, Yom Hazikaron holds a special place in Vancouver\u2019s Jewish community. Many other cities in North America mark the occasion, but ours is somewhat unusual, said Druker. Gaby Peled, an Israeli-Canadian who passed away in 2019, was pivotal in structuring our commemoration along the lines of the Yom Hazikaron he knew on his kibbutz, Givat Haim.<\/p>\n

When Druker, also from Israel, arrived here in 1988, he was surprised to discover how many members of the Vancouver Jewish community had lost loved ones \u2013 family and friends \u2013 in Israel\u2019s various conflagrations. A slide show every year remembers the individuals who are connected to British Columbians \u2013 and, every year, more faces are added. Often, local people have not shared their stories of loss, and so, as they come forward with their experiences with bereavement, their people are added to the ceremony. Druker invites anyone to contact Federation to add a loved one to be acknowledged and mourned communally.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s gathering will share the story of, among others, Shaul Gilboa, a pilot shot down in 1969 and a cousin of Vancouverite Dvori Balshine. Shimi Cohen will remember his brother, Shlomo Cohen, by reciting Yizkor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ceremony itself is for the bereaved families,\u201d Druker said. \u201cThat\u2019s how I see it. We want to remember their loved ones and we want to give them a community hug to recognize their loss and their pain. Everything is geared toward that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event has grown significantly over the years, partly because the Israeli population in Metro Vancouver has grown significantly. Many or most of the participants in the annual Yom Hazikaron commemoration have Israeli ties and it is a hugely significant day in Israel.<\/p>\n

The virtual format does not allow the person-to-person interaction that a regular gathering does, where people can share condolences and commiserate, said Druker. But virtual is absolutely preferable to no commemoration at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a significant date for many,\u201d he said, \u201cso that\u2019s why we have to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

To join the ceremonies, visit jewishvancouver.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pam Wolfman is chair of the Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut committee and Geoffrey Druker leads the Yom Hazikaron committee. (photos from Jewish Federation) For many years, Vancouver has been home to North America\u2019s largest celebration on erev Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut. While Israel\u2019s Independence Day is marked in many cities around the world, Vancouver is unusual in that it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36485,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[8093,20384,4330,3649,9779,1562,1774,5412,762,3640],"class_list":["post-36484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-entertainment","tag-geoffrey-druker","tag-israel","tag-jewish-federation","tag-mourning","tag-pam-wolfman","tag-terrorism","tag-war","tag-yom-haatzmaut","tag-yom-hazikaron"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}