Left to right, at CHW Vancouver Centre\u2019s SHE DAY event March 8: Ruthi Akselrod, Laura Lewko (kneeling a bit), Pam Wolfman, Toby Rubin, Jocelyn Brown, Ruth M\u2019Rav Jankelowitz, Tamara Shenkier and Laura Mossey. <\/i>(photo by Shula Klinger)<\/i><\/p>\n
On March 8, CHW (Canadian Hadassah-WIZO) launched its first SHE DAY event. Hosted at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, the celebration of International Women\u2019s Day included a panel discussion, a shuk <\/i>(market) of women-led businesses and kosher refreshments.<\/p>\n
CHW Vancouver Centre president Toby Rubin, who introduced the panel, also shared that, starting in October, the Vancouver CHW team would be under the joint leadership of Pamela Wolfman and Jocelyn Brown, who moderated the discussion between Dr. Tamara Shenkier, Ruth M\u2019Rav Jankelowitz and Laura Mossey.<\/p>\n
Shenkier, who is an oncologist, educator and advocate, recently retired. Her 30-year career included numerous leadership roles in medical education and governance, and she spent the last decade-plus focusing on breast cancer. She is a founding member of the Jewish Medical Association of British Columbia.<\/p>\n
Jankelowitz has spent three decades in commercial and hospitality design, and her portfolio includes many household names, including DKNY, Timberland and Nike. Her company, Janks Design Group, has created the spaces of such eateries as OEB, Nando\u2019s and Tap and Barrel.<\/p>\n
Mossey brought her voice as a non-Jewish Zionist and educator to the panel, sharing some of the influences that have helped frame her identity and worldview.<\/p>\n
The conversation was dominated by the topic of antisemitism and its marked increase since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack on Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings were bubbling in the cauldron but, since then, I have felt as though I am \u2018the Jew,\u2019\u201d said Shenkier, who spoke of feeling more exposed and more vulnerable in recent months than ever before. She talked about changes to medical curricula that followed consultation with \u201cthought leaders,\u201d rather than medical experts, and how students were being encouraged to contemplate their practice through the lens of race \u2013 though, she noted, \u201cJews were never mentioned as a marginalized, persecuted community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mossey, too, has seen efforts to erase Jewish identity. For example, the Coquitlam school district now asks parents to share their identity in questionnaires, she said, and \u201cJewish wasn\u2019t included.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown asked panelists about the biggest challenges they have faced \u2013 as Jews and\/or Zionists \u2013 in their personal and professional lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hardest thing for me was the silence \u2013 from colleagues, friends, employees,\u201d said Jankelowitz. \u201cI gave them countless chances to learn and nobody asked. It was pretty astounding. So, I made my voice louder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mossey addressed the dangers of misinformation and disinformation, highlighting the need for strong leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all vulnerable,\u201d she said, describing a history lesson she gave to Grade 10 students. She taught them about the origins of Black Friday: when, on Nov. 18, 1910, suffragists protesting at Parliament in London, England, for the right to vote were physically and sexually abused. Given that today\u2019s students can graduate without being taught about democracy, she said, \u201cit\u2019s imperative that they hear about the challenges that have been faced by women, somehow, from anyone who\u2019ll show leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mossey pointed to the hypocrisy of \u201csafe classrooms\u201d after the provincial teachers\u2019 federation donated $50,000 to UNWRA, many of whose teachers and doctors have been shown to be Hamas operatives.<\/p>\n
Asked to speak about resilience, all three women talked about the importance of setting boundaries. Jankelowitz said she had let go a client of 10 years. \u201cI designed all of their stores. They had unionized and the team made a statement about genocide and apartheid, citing Amnesty International and Francesca Albanese [of the United Nations]. I don\u2019t want to create spaces that will alienate my own community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Jankelowitz also shared a positive experience: meeting a woman at a Business Network International event who asked to be educated about Zionism. \u201cIn one week,\u201d said Jankelowitz, \u201cI put together a historical dossier, links, books … to this day, she\u2019ll come and ask me to verify what she\u2019s heard, she tells me, \u2018So I can fight it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Mossey also has not been shy about living according to her values. She has worn emblems in support of Israel and shows her solidarity with Jewish students in various ways. When a principal asked her to hide her social media feed from public view, her response was unequivocal: \u201cNo.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She recalled a conversation with a Jewish student, where she explained her purpose: creating a safe learning environment for all kids.<\/p>\n Asked to offer their advice to other women, Shenkier talked about her own life, cautioning against falling into unhelpful extremes: \u201cbeing in denial, moving ahead as if nothing has happened,\u201d and, on the other side, \u201cabsolute paralysis, anxiety, rumination, catastrophizing.\u201d Find a middle ground where healing can really be possible, she said. \u201cYou need to acknowledge and sit with your pain. The community will sit with you, without trying to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n Shenkier advised people to \u201cseparate who you are as a human being from your thoughts, feelings and projections.\u201d She added, \u201cexpunge the word, \u2018should,\u2019 from your vocabulary. Focus on your strengths. Say \u2018no.\u2019 Stop comparing yourself to others, do what brings you joy.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in the discussion, Shenkier had spoken of the mythical person who can \u201chave it all,\u201d and the damage caused by such a mindset, which she described as \u201coppressive.\u201d She stressed the importance of \u201cself-awareness gained through introspection.\u201d<\/p>\n Mossey recommended: \u201ccarry your burden, share it, talk and let friends help you. Be physical to get through the stress.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFocus on what you can control,\u201d said Jankelowitz. \u201cYou don\u2019t need permission to use your voice. The room doesn\u2019t decide if you belong to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Mossey asks one question when she is challenged on her position on Israel: \u201cDo you believe in the Jews\u2019 right to self-determination?\u201d She said the response helps her decide, in an instant, whether the conversation is worth pursuing.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t waste your time talking to people who aren\u2019t interested in learning,\u201d said Mossey, who has read dozens of books about Judaism and Israel, yet said she would not call herself an expert on the topics.<\/p>\n The panelists explored the theme of resilience at some length.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat does resilience look like in the current climate?\u201d Brown asked.<\/p>\n \u201cShowing up for the community, for my team at work, being consistent in my beliefs,\u201d Jankelowitz shared. \u201cEquip yourself with the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n Mossey responded with stories about her mother \u2013 a 17-year survivor of a high-risk cancer surgery \u2013\u00a0 <\/span>who taught her the word\u2019s meaning: \u201cLean into your faith, keep your family close, and do something every day\u201d to stand up for your cause.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Commitment to personal values and professional ethics are also vital, added Mossey. \u201cI\u2019m not going to make myself smaller to avoid offending a kid who knows nothing about history,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Brown asked panelists to share an example of when their identity had felt like a strength as opposed to something they \u201cneeded to explain, manage and protect.\u201d<\/p>\n Shenkier\u2019s happy childhood in Montreal was a \u201cgrounding, not a cloak I can put on and take off,\u201d she said. She considers herself lucky to have been a physician, a career where \u201cthe constant questions, the examination of one\u2019s ethics and the practice of empathy were all congruent with my faith.\u201d<\/p>\n Mossey recalled a meeting where she was asked to \u201cidentify herself.\u201d She felt that traditional labels, such as \u201cwhite,\u201d \u201cheterosexual\u201d and \u201ccisgendered woman,\u201d were unhelpful. On that day, she said, \u201cWhat differentiates me is my character. So, now I identify as a Zionist.\u201d<\/p>\n Jankelowitz, who was once a logistics officer in the Israel Defence Forces, agreed: \u201cowning the identity is more powerful than hiding it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n As the questions came to an end, the audience rose in a standing ovation.<\/p>\n Toby Rubin reminded attendees that, if anyone faces antisemitism, they can find support through CHW.<\/p>\n Event sponsors included Sylvia Cristall, Laura Lewko, Ruth Freeman, Brown (Acubalance Wellness Centre), Rubin and Wolfman; the national corporate partner was real estate development company Israel Canada. The afternoon was catered in part by Ricci Leigh-Smith\u2019s team at Perfect-Bite, and organized by Amanda Aron Chimanovitch, community engagement and event officer for CHW, Western Canada.<\/p>\n Proceeds from SHE DAY events \u2013 which took place in Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Delray Beach, Fla. \u2013 went to the Eden Association Trauma Therapy Centre. Founded in 1997, the centre provides trauma care to young women and girls in southern Israel, where the need has increased greatly since Oct. 7.<\/p>\n