The Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research team includes, left to right, Dr. Gal Meiri, Prof. Hava Golan, Prof. Ilan Dinstein, Mazal Malka and Prof. Idan Menashe. Dinstein and Menashe will be in Vancouver in May to meet with colleagues from the University of British Columbia. (photo from azrielifoundation.org)
When the International Society for Autism Research convenes in Seattle April 30 for its annual conference, researchers from all over the world will be flying in to learn about and share the latest research on this multifactorial disorder. Two of them, Idan Menashe and Ilan Dinstein, who head up the Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research (ANCAN) at Ben-Gurion University, will be coming from Israel. When the conference wraps up, they will be in Vancouver to continue a three-year collaboration with autism researchers at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University, and meet with various people, including community members.
Menashe and Dinstein were part of a group – that included Dr. Tim Oberlander from UBC’s School of Population and Public Health and Grace Iarocci, director of SFU’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Laboratory – that published a paper in 2023 on whether oxytocin is associated with an increased risk of autism in offspring.
“Oxytocin is a neuropeptide hormone that plays a key role in social behaviour, stress regulation and mental health,” begins the paper’s abstract. “Synthetic oxytocin administration is a common obstetrical practice and, importantly, previous research has suggested that intrapartum exposure may increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder.”
The study supported the conclusion that “induction of labour through oxytocin administration does not increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder in the child.” However, Menashe and Dinstein’s own studies in Israel found an association between autism and the use of general anesthesia during caesarean sections.
“Having a C-section with general anesthetic increases the risk of diagnoses of autism in offspring by 60% compared to natural birth,” Menashe told the Independent. Because general anesthesia in C-section is infrequently used, that risk is low, but consistent, he added.
Menashe, Dinstein, Oberlander and Iarocci are excited to reunite in Vancouver in May because they all have access to population health data that allows them to compare their results. Such comparisons are especially valuable given that autism rates are increasing the world over.
Menashe said the rate of autism is 2% in Israel and Canada, and more than 3% in the United States. “We know a big portion of this increase is due to increased awareness among parents and caregivers, but we don’t know if that explains everything,” he said.
Autism is highly heterogeneous, he continued. “Every child is different and no two children present exactly the same autism symptoms. We believe the causes of autism are also very heterogeneous, and that’s what makes research so complicated, but also so interesting.”
Because of that heterogeneity, research requires collection of data from large populations. At the Azrieli National Foundation for Autism Research, Menashe and Dinstein work with nine clinical centres to collect data.
“A major advantage we have in Israel is our access to families’ medical records,” Menashe explained. “We ask families from those clinics to participate in genetic studies, through which we try to identify the genetic causes of autism.”
Menashe, Dinstein, Oberlander and Iarocci meet monthly by Zoom to discuss their findings. By collaborating, the four researchers can compare Israeli findings to those in British Columbia.
“The comparisons make our research more powerful,” Iarocci said. “They allow us to see what’s the same and what’s different cross-culturally.
“Our goal with autism is early identification, early diagnosis, and offering interventions that are effective,” she continued. “When we collaborate, we can compare very large data sets and, without those comparisons, you can’t really answer these questions meaningfully.”
“We’ve had a very productive collaboration so far, and what makes it especially important is the cross-jurisdictional research we can do,” Oberlander said. “There are few jurisdictions in the world that can do this effectively, but Israel and BC are two of them. It’s a wonderful collaboration, a great model, and we’re looking forward to seeing them in Vancouver in May.”
While here, Menashe and Dinstein will participate in an invite-only parlour meeting on May 4. Those interested in attending should contact David Berson, executive director, BGU Canada, British Columbia & Alberta, at [email protected].
Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond
Parm Bains, incumbent MP and Liberal candidate in Richmond East-Steveston, and his Conservative opponent, Zach Segal, spoke at Beth Tikvah April 15. (photo by Alan Marchant)
Liberal and Conservative candidates made their pitches to the Jewish community in a candidates’ forum at Beth Tikvah Congregation April 15.
Parm Bains, incumbent member of Parliament and Liberal candidate in the riding of Richmond East-Steveston, and his Conservative opponent, Zach Segal, who hopes to unseat Bains as MP on April 28, shared their visions, and those of their parties, to a crowded sanctuary at the Richmond synagogue.
Both candidates spoke of their lifelong roots in Richmond.
Bains explained that his engagement with at-risk youth and combating gang violence first emerged through coaching sports. He became a community liaison for the provincial government under premiers Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark.
Segal worked in Ottawa during the Stephen Harper administration for the ministers of defence and transportation. He credited the former Conservative government for making Canada a “moral compass in the world.” However, he suggested that Jewish Canadians are wondering if there is a better tomorrow in Canada, not just because of rising antisemitism, but because of challenges around housing, affordability and community safety.
On the issue of antisemitism, Bains pointed to his Liberal colleague Anthony Housefather, who is the government’s special advisor on Jewish community relations and antisemitism, and urged members of the community to ensure authorities are made aware of every incident of antisemitic bias and hate.
“You have to report it,” Bains said. “If it’s reported, it’s a data point that we can take action on.”
Both candidates spoke of the challenges in enforcing existing anti-hate laws.
Bains said it is crucial that police understand the definition of hate crimes and that they are educated to enforce the laws as they stand.
Segal condemned an “explosive rise in antisemitism” and credited it in part to “a horrible lack of moral leadership.” The intimidation of Jewish people and the employment of incendiary language has been tolerated by federal leaders and others on the basis of free expression, he argued.
“This is hate speech,” Segal said. “This is inciting hate and it is illegal.”
Police have said they don’t have the support to go after perpetrators, said Segal, adding that funding to increase security at Jewish institutions, for example, is a Band-Aid solution that deals with the symptoms and not the causes. He said that his party’s leader, Pierre Poilievre, has been “rock solid” in condemning hate rallies and marches. He said that a Conservative government would “close loopholes” that allow hateful events like the annual Al-Quds Day rally in Toronto to continue unchecked.
Existing laws need to be enforced, said Bains, and he suggested there is a need to understand why police are not calling for charges and Crown prosecutors are not pursuing them.
“Why is there a reluctance?” Bains asked. “Where does that leadership need to come from?”
Canada has seen some of the “most obscene” anti-Israel activism of any Western democracy, Segalasserted, citing Charlotte Kates, who was arrested in November, and her Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which had been declared a terrorist entity shortly before her arrest, “years after Jewish and other community leaders sounded the alarm on them,” Segal said.
Segal also took exception to the fact that Canada instituted a military embargo on Israel before it recognized the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
“We were literally being tougher on Israel than Iran,” he said.
Bains said Israel has a right to defend itself and the hostages need to be freed. Canadians, however, want to play a role as “honest broker” and in peacekeeping. “Right now, Canadians want to see the violence stop, the bloodshed stop,” he said.
Segal condemned the Liberal government for resuming funding for UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency that functions as a quasi-governmental body in the Palestinian territories, some employees of which participated in the Oct. 7 pogroms.
“That is out of step with our allies in the Western world,” Segal said. Where the Harper Conservative government voted against one-sided resolutions of the United Nations, under the Liberals, said Segal, Canada has again begun supporting demonizing resolutions against Israel.
Both candidates called for more affordable housing, supports for seniors and economic opportunities for young people.
The candidates asked to speak were selected based on independent polling information which showed the Liberals and Conservatives to be the two parties leading or competing in both Richmond ridings. The Beth Tikvah Community Awareness Committee, which sponsored the event with support from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, chose to give those candidates likely to form government or be in the official opposition the opportunity to address the issues.
Rabbi Susan Tendler opened the event with reflections on reconciliation and noted the significance of the event taking place during Passover, the celebration of freedom, while Jews remain captive in Gaza.
“Warm Blossoms” by Lauren Morris. (image courtesy Art Vancouver)
“The Watchers” by Lisa Wolfin. (image courtesy Art Vancouver)
Jewish community members Sky Lilah, Lauren Morris, Taisha Teal, Talin Wayrynen and Lisa Wolfin are among the artists participating in Art Vancouver International Art Fair, which runs until April 27 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Tickets: artvancouver.net.
Filmmakers Salvador and Nina Litvak with Guns & Moses cast members Neal McDonough, left, Dermot Mulroney, centre, and Mark Feuerstein, right. (photo from Pictures from the Fringe)
Los Angeles filmmaker and author Salvador Litvak (no relation) will be in the city for this year’s Vancouver Jewish Film Festival to promote and talk about his and wife Nina Davidovich Litvak’s latest movie, Guns & Moses, which screens April 27, 4 p.m., at Fifth Avenue Cinemas.
The action thriller features a Chabad rabbi who becomes a detective and gunfighter to investigate a murder at his synagogue. This will be the third movie by the Litvaks and their production company, Pictures from the Fringe. Their previous films are When Do We Eat?, about “the world’s fastest seder gone horribly awry,” and Saving Lincoln, which is based on the true story of Abraham Lincoln and his friend and bodyguard Ward Hill Lamon.
Between movies, Salvador Litvak became the Accidental Talmudist – in fact, his last event in Vancouver was an Accidental Talmudist Shabbaton at the Kollel. He and his wife co-manage accidentaltalmudist.org, which has more than one million followers. Last year, he published a bestselling book, Let My People Laugh: Greatest Jewish Jokes of all Time.
Salvador Litvak grew up in New York but was born in Santiago, Chile.
“My mother’s family, both my mother and grandmother, were Holocaust survivors who came to Chile from Hungary and my father’s family ended up in Chile fleeing the pogroms in the Ukraine about 1905,” he told the Independent. As immigrants, he said, “we got to this country and my parents wanted me to go to Harvard to be a doctor and, since I was 5, I said OK, but, eventually, I figured out that I didn’t want to be a doctor and I didn’t want to be a lawyer because I enjoyed writing and creating very much.”
He said, “Eventually, I talked my way into UCLA film school, where I arrived in the 1990s, attended the MFA director’s program, and said thank G-d I didn’t miss this because this is what I was meant to do.”
Pictures from the Fringe’s first feature film, When Do We Eat?, about a dysfunctional family’s Passover seder, was inspired by the fact that there were no Jewish holiday movies and the Litvaks wanted to “create a Jewish version of It’s a Wonderful Life.” Both filmmakers are baalei teshuva, or returnees to Judaism, and were “in the early stages of their journey,” said Salvador Litvak. They infused the movie with a “tremendous amount of spirituality, Torah and Chassidut,” but, he noted, “now that we’re Orthodox, we admit that it’s a little edgier than we would like.” However, he said, “All of the deep stuff in it, the Torah, the love, in addition to the raucous humour, stands the test of time.”
Litvak said his journey as the Accidental Talmudist and the establishment of accidentaltalmudist.org have helped When Do We Eat? gain new popularity and provide a built-in audience for Guns & Moses, which was partially inspired by a tragic shooting in California on April 27, 2019.
The couple had “built a large audience interested in authentic Jewish content, and we are filmmakers, so we knew that our next movie would be somehow Jewish. I wanted it to be an action thriller because I love action thrillers,” he said.
The Litvaks watched a thriller a day for three years to “learn the genre inside out,” he said. “While we were immersed in that, there was a tragic murder, a shooting at a Chabad synagogue in Poway, Calif., where a young white nationalist came in and murdered a woman named Lori Gilbert-Kaye, injured the rabbi, and would have killed a lot more people if his gun had not miraculously jammed and members of the congregation rushed at him and then he fled.
“I went down the next day and attended Lori’s funeral and interviewed the rabbi and congregants and got to know what happened there personally, and I said there is something in this that can become an action thriller with a murder/mystery structure,” he said.
And so, Guns & Moses – about a Chabad rabbi who becomes an investigator and gunfighter after witnessing a tragic shooting at his synagogue – came into being. It was filmed in 2022.
Litvak said he knew that a movie about Jews under attack who fight back “would always be relevant, but we had no idea how relevant it would be” after Oct. 7, 2023.
One of the important themes of the movie, said Litvak, is that Jews are in danger and need to protect themselves and be responsible for their own safety. For him personally, that has meant joining a Jewish self-defence organization called Magen Am (which means Shield of the Nation) and going through extensive training (including learning how to use a gun) so that he can protect his own synagogue in case of an attack like the one in Poway. In the movie Guns & Moses, the character of Rabbi Mo Saltzman goes through the same training that Litvak went through.
In Guns & Moses, Saltzman is played by actor Mark Feuerstein, who starred in the hit series Royal Pains and appeared in the movie Defiance, among other things. The cast includes American-Israeli actor Alona Tal as the rebbetzin, Christopher Lloyd as a Holocaust survivor, as well as veteran actors Neal McDonough and Dermot Mulroney, Jake Busey, Craig Sheaffer, Mercedes Mason, Mark Ivanir (who also appeared in When Do We Eat?) and young actor Jackson Dunn, who Litvak believes will become a star. Litvak praised his cast, who only had 20 days to film Guns & Moses.
Litvak is looking forward to coming back to Vancouver, where he has visited many times because he has family here. The city is “very dear to my heart,” he said, and he loves the people and feels at home as soon as he lands here.
For tickets to Guns & Moses and other Vancouver Jewish Film Festival screenings, visit vjff.org.
David J. Litvakis a prairie refugee from the North End of Winnipeg who is a freelance writer and publicist, and a mashgiach at Louis Brier Home and Hospital. His articles have been published in the Forward, Globe and Mail and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. His website is cascadiapublicity.com.
Camp Solomon Schechter’s Spark event in Vancouver on May 4 honours the Siegel family’s generational connections to the camp.(photo from campschechter.org)
Once again, Camp Solomon Schechter (CSS) is hosting one of its three annual Schechter Spark events in Vancouver – on May 4, at the Tap & Barrel Bridges location on Granville Island.
The fundraising and community-building events hosted by the camp each year run simultaneously in Vancouver, Seattle and Portland – the camp’s main hub cities. This year’s Schechter Spark will honour three families – one tied to each location – who have generational connections to the camp. In Vancouver, former Beth Tikvah and Beth Israel spiritual leader Rabbi Howard Siegel, Ellen Siegel and their growing family will be celebrated.
Rabbi Siegel, originally from Spokane, Wash., first attended CSS in 1961, when it was located on Whidbey Island. His experiences there led him down a path toward the Conservative rabbinate, a Jewish family and a life of Jewish service that took him to Vancouver, as well as many communities in the United States. In 1968, he convinced his then-girlfriend, Ellen Kushner, to join him as a camp counselor. The couple returned again to CSS in 1970, this time at its new (and current) Tumwater, Wash., location – Howard as educational director and Ellen as camp nurse.
Ellen Siegel credits the camp for helping her perfect her independence as a health practitioner, while Howard Siegel built his future rabbinate under the mentorship of Portland’s Rabbi Joshua Stampfer and Vancouver’s Rabbi Wilfred Solomon.
The Siegels’ three children also attended CSS and their oldest daughter, Ronit, began her relationship with husband Tadd Berger while they were summer staff together in the 1990s. Naturally, they sent their three children to CSS, and all three have been both campers and staff.
The Seattle and Portland Sparks will recognize the Schiller families and Atkins families, respectively, with more than 500 participants expected to attend between the three locations.
“As we celebrate another year of impact, Spark is a time to honour our past, celebrate our present and invest in our future,” said CSS executive director Zach Duitch. “We look forward to gathering with our beloved community to share stories, laughter and our collective commitment to Jewish camping.”
Camp Solomon Schechter has been a cornerstone of Jewish life in the Pacific Northwest for more than 70 years. Spark endeavours to embody the spirit of camp, bringing its values to life through an evening of joy, generosity and togetherness.
Schechter Spark in Vancouver is a free event with online registration, and will include appetizers, drinks and a few camp-style special presentations. For more information or to register, visit campschechter.org/spark or contact Leah Conley, [email protected].
Coexistence, My Ass! follows Israeli activist and comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi as she develops her show of the same name. (photo from DOXA)
Coexistence, My Ass!, directed and produced by Amber Fares, is almost a great documentary. But it fails to ask at least two key questions that would have made for a more in-depth portrayal of an interesting and complex human being.
Coexistence, My Ass!, whose May 4 screening at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival already has sold out, is about comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi, who was born in Wahat Al-Salam / Neve Shalom / Oasis of Peace, a village in which Jewish and Palestinian Israelis have chosen to live together. It has been considered a model of coexistence andShuster Eliassi grew up amid the idealism it represented, and speaks Arabic fluently. She and her best friend (to this day), Ranin, a Palestinian Israeli living in Oasis of Peace, were among the kids trotted out as the generation who would bring peace.
Shuster Eliassi’s mother is Jewish Iranian and her father is Jewish Romanian. The couple met in high school (in what country is not revealed), so basically grew up together. They decided to live in Oasis of Peace and became, says Shuster Eliassi in her act, what most Israelis love to hate most: woke, progressive leftists. “They believe in the radical idea that Israelis and Palestinians deserve the same equal human rights! Crazy. So radical.”
It seems important to know why Shuster Eliassi’s parents left their respective countries to live in Israel, but especially her mother. With Iran as the main funder of Hamas’s – and other terrorists’ – murderous activities, and the fact that tens of thousands of Jews had to flee after the 1979 revolution, it seems that Shuster Eliassi’s mother’s experience is crucial to understanding Shuster Eliassi. But this question, if ever asked, doesn’t make it into the film.
Shuster Eliassi is an intelligent and accomplished person. By age 15, she had graduated, so to speak, from being one of the kids giving flowers to visiting celebrities (who would often mistake her, because of her dark skin, for being Palestinian – and with such good Hebrew!) to speaking around the world about coexistence and the possibilities for peace. At 21, she got a full scholarship at Brandeis University for being a peace activist. She even met the Dalai Lama, who, she quips, didn’t think she was Palestinian –“He just thought I was Indian.”
At 25, Shuster Eliassi landed a “peace worker’s dream job” – a position at the United Nations. We don’t learn much about what her job entailed, but there are clips of her speaking about the West Bank and Gaza as being the biggest prisons in the world, and how “the occupation” affects Palestinians and Israelis. Career-wise, she was on a wave of success, she says in her show, when she saw Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s TV program, made before he was elected, about a comedian who becomes president. Zelenskyy, of course, then did become president, so Shuster Eliassi observes that, if she wanted to take her political career seriously, she needed to start writing jokes.
Comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi in performance. (photo from DOXA)
This takes us to where the film begins, with her at Harvard in 2019, where she’s been asked to deliver a peace-building project. She tells them that Coexistence, My Ass! will be that project, and she’s accepted.
In the documentary, we see the development of Coexistence, My Ass! and how Shuster Eliassi’s views change as the political situation in Israel deteriorates and the violence increases. Her parents are often her sounding board, as are friends and fellow comedians. We witness the results of a hate crime – the school in Oasis of Peace was set on fire in September 2020. We see moments of happiness, most unexpectedly, perhaps, when Shuster Eliassi returns to Israel from the United States with COVID and must be quarantined in a hotel, where sick Jews and Palestinians are being isolated from the general population.
“And everyone is radically getting along. This is a 5-star oasis of peace. If they continue getting along, my comedy career is over. Just kidding, you’ve read the news, I have material for years. Netanyahu has my back,” says Shuster Eliassi in her act. “Somebody give him a beeper,” she adds sheepishly, referring to Israel’s taking out of Hezbollah with exploding pagers in September 2024.
Months before Oct. 7, 2023, Shuster Eliassi was disillusioned and would get into yelling matches with Jewish Israelis protesting the Netanyahu government and dangers to democracy because their protests didn’t also explicitly call for equal rights for Palestinians. Whereas pre-COVID, she says, “My biggest responsibility is to speak to my people…. The Jewish audience is where we have to work,” the purpose of Shuster Eliassi’s comedy ceases at some point to be a way to encourage peace and becomes a form of resistance.
After Oct. 7, when some of Shuster Eliassi’s family and friends abandon their belief in coexistence because they feel peace with Palestinians isn’t possible, Shuster Eliassi goes the other way, giving up on coexistence because she feels – though doesn’t state explicitly – that peace with Jewish Israelis is not possible.
Moria, a comedy writer, advises Shuster Eliassi that people need to hear what Shuster Eliassi has to say, but it can’t just be “genocide, genocide!” The role of a comedian, says Moria, is “to bring people together. To unify. We can’t stop the killing, but we can unify people. To get people to see the world through your eyes.”
“No, that’s not what I’m doing,” responds Shuster Eliassi, who explains that her goal isn’t to unify, it’s “to voice resistance to this insane show of force that has swept everyone up blindly.”
Shuster Eliassi’s friend Ranin reluctantly retains hope for coexistence because, otherwise, she tells Shuster Eliassi, there is no place for Palestinians and Arabs within Israel. For Shuster Eliassi, though, by the end of the film, there seems to be no place for Jews in Israel. She only sees fault with Israel, and somehow thinks that Hamas wouldn’t want to kill all Jews if Israel had dealt with “the occupation.”
If memory serves, Hamas is only mentioned once in the documentary, in a clip from Shuster Eliassi’s show, where it is part of a joke, perhaps one told before 2023, it’s not clear. Why Hamas plays little or no role in Shuster Eliassi’s view of the evolving situation is the second of those two key questions that would have made Coexistence, My Ass! a better film.
While Shuster Eliassi laments that Israelis – even the coexistence crowd – are not able to meet Palestinians where they’re at, she is unable to meet her fellow Jewish Israelis where they are at. While she is comfortable performing at a Palestinian festival where she’s greeted by a man wearing a “Palestine vs the world” T-shirt that, on the back, has a Palestinian flag over all Israel, she isn’t comfortable with Israelis who would fill out that same map with no Palestinian territories. While she is correct that peace is only possible between equals, she only sees one oppressor – Israel. Not Hamas. Not any other international party, like Iran. Just Israel.
Many of the people at the sold-out screening of Coexistence, My Ass! will think it’s the most amazing film ever because, despite attempting to be fair – and it seems like Fares honestly did try to present multiple sides – it ultimately heralds their anti-Zionist beliefs and justifies them. Others will be disappointed that Coexistence, My Ass! ends up being just another anti-Israel film, which will, no doubt, win more awards than it has already, despite its critical flaws.
Left to right: Head of school Seth Goldsweig, former head of school Perry Seidelman, deputy head of school Alex Monchamp, head custodian and building manager Jess Sabado and former head of school Russ Klein at a February gathering of alumni to celebrate 20 years of KDHS on Willow Street. (photo from KDHS)
On May 14, with a party at Congregation Beth Israel, King David High School celebrates 20 years since it opened its doors on Willow Street.
“It’s a real blessing,” said KDHS head of school Dr. Seth Goldsweig about having a Jewish high school in the community.
“Study after study shows that the most effective way to develop and maintain Jewish identity is to go to Jewish day school,” he said. “Our students can continue to develop their Jewish identities and turn into the Jewish leaders of tomorrow.
“We have a high school that stands up to the other amazing independent schools in the area,” he added. “This means that students can have a top-notch Jewish education combined with a rigorous and enriching academic experience. They get the best of both worlds.”
Goldsweig is KDHS’s third head of school, having started the position last fall, after Russ Klein retired. Klein was at the helm from 2008 to 2024.
“In this job, I found a community that I didn’t know I had,” Klein told the Independent last year, as his tenure was winding down. “That was beyond special. I really do think of this job, this position really, as a gift.”
Klein had taken over the position after Perry Seidelman retired.
In 2001, Seidelman was hired as principal of Vancouver Talmud Torah High School – one of the iterations on the path that led from Maimonides High School, which was started in the 1980s, to KDHS. With 30 years prior experience and his approach to education, he was a key to the successful establishment of King David.
“Without Perry, there would be no school,” Larry Goldstein, president of the Jewish high school during the transition period, says in The Scribe’s Jewish Education in BC issue. “It’s as simple as that. Perry gave the credibility to other parents.”
“With growing interest in the school, a decision was made to build a permanent structure with financing from the Diamond Foundation,” Seidelman writes in The Scribe, which is the journal of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia. “It was to be built on a property at the southeast corner of 41st Avenue and Willow Street, directly across Willow Street from the Jewish Community Centre. Extensive discussions were held with the JCC administration, as intentions were to use the JCC for some programs, notably the JCC gymnasium for PE classes and the Norman [& Annette] Rothstein Theatre for drama productions.”
As enrolment grew, Alex Monchamp, who had been a teacher at the high school since its Maimonides days, was hired as vice-principal, according to The Scribe. Monchamp now holds the title of deputy head of school.
“I joined King David in July 2001,” Monchamp told the Independent. “I’d only been living in the city for a few months, and I saw a small newspaper ad for a small independent school looking for a half-time English and drama teacher. It was my first teaching job in BC!”
When asked why KDHS has proven successful, while previous versions of the high school struggled, Monchamp said, “I think the main turning point was the year I started, and the school had its biggest Grade 8 class, which I think was 25 or 26 students. Those connected to the school and who were vital in its foundation and ongoing viability made a real concerted effort to engage with the community and make a case for the importance and need for a sustainable Jewish high school. However, the real risk, the real investment, was when those Grade 8 families, and the families that came after, invested their most important resource – their children – in our school.
“When our families started to see that need and started to trust in the school, it allowed the school to grow and become more stable,” said Monchamp. “Stability turned into slow but steady growth, to more students, more teachers, and then our home on Willow Street. However, the building itself did not cement our future – it was also the school’s investment in good leadership and dedicated teachers that secured the future we enjoy today.”
Then-student Nicole Grubner and Gordon Diamond at the 2005 inauguration of the KDHS building on Willow Street. (photo from KDHS)
When Monchamp joined the high school, there were fewer than 70 students, programming was limited and there was no permanent school building, he said. Growth has occurred in multiple areas.
“There are obvious measures, like our student population is over 270 students, we have a vibrant arts program, a strong athletic program and our programming offers our students many ways to explore what they know, what they can do and who they’ll become,” said Monchamp. “All of that happens because we continue to have a team of outstanding teachers and dedicated adults who work extremely hard.
“The ultimate measure is not where our students go to university, the grades they earn or even how many of them are in the building each day,” he added. “There are bigger schools, there’s no shortage of kids going to university and no one is ever going to care what your math mark was in Grade 10. The true measure is that our students discover and develop their capabilities, figure out who they are and what it means for them to be Jewish in this world. In a world of uncertainty and change, our students have the capability to adapt and grow and the values and foundation to be a good person.”
KDHS’s director of development, Esther Mogyoros, who has worked at the school for the past 11 years, echoed Monchamp’s belief that there is more than one component to the school’s growth.
“Over the years,” she said, “King David has grown not only in student enrolment but also in its physical presence, thanks to the expansion of the east campus, made possible by the generosity of the Diamond Foundation and our supportive community. Our reputation has been built on a strong foundation of chesed programs, regular volunteer initiatives, and active participation in celebrations and community events. We take pride in nurturing students who not only excel academically but also continue their educational journeys and give back to the community long after graduation.”
Both Mogyoros and Monchamp said the best part of their jobs is when they connect with others.
“Connecting with students, parents, grandparents and the community at large,” said Mogyoros. “Building relationships and sharing my passion for Jewish education, Israel and the importance/impact of King David in the community.”
“The best part is when I can connect with a student, chat, find out more about them and then, if I can, find ways that I can support them,” said Monchamp. “It doesn’t happen nearly enough in a typical day, but I love it when it does.”
One of Monchamp’s standout moments at the school is when KDHS would take the Grade 9 students to Washington, DC, every spring to visit the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“We’d spend a full day at the USHMM, which is a lot, and our students always came away with information or artifacts they hadn’t encountered before and at times it was very emotive,” he said. “The trip also included a day at many of the Smithsonian Institution museums. It was always a treat to watch the kids see real historical items, like the Wright brother’s plane, the ruby shoes from The Wizard of Oz or Prince’s guitars. History is always more relevant to kids if they can get up close to it and connect to their own stories and memories.”
Over the past 20 years, there have been challenges, notably, the pandemic.
“There was so much unpredictability and an immeasurable amount of learning we had to do on the fly,” said Monchamp of that time. “Despite the numerous challenges, it is moments like that which demonstrate what our school is all about. The overarching goal was what it has always been: putting our students first. And when that was our guiding principle, we figured out the rest…. It was also vital that our families trusted us. Before, during and after COVID, we have consistently demonstrated to our families that we take our role in their children’s growth very seriously and that we always perform in ways that support and benefit their growth.”
“Throughout those difficult years,” said Mogyoros, “our school’s resilience and compassion shone through – not only in maintaining academic standards but also in supporting one another emotionally during a time of unprecedented uncertainty.”
Monchamp hopes the school continues on its current path, becoming “a student-centred learning environment.
“Learning is an active experience and is most successful when students are actively engaged and can apply what they know and can do to their own experiences and contexts,” he said. “We have already seen the tremendous benefit of this shift. It’s what is keeping our school competitive and on par with other Vancouver independent schools and it’s setting up our students for their future successes.”
The King David High School Class of 2019 celebrates graduation. (photo from KDHS)
“Our goal,” said Mogyoros, “is to empower students to be confident in their identities, excel in their chosen paths, and take pride in their Jewish heritage, traditions and love for Israel. We strive to inspire them to make a meaningful difference in the world around them.”
JWest is central to the high school’s future. The three-phase development project at 41st Avenue and Oak Street will see the construction of a much-expanded JCC, a new home for KDHS and two residential towers.
“Having a new building where we can continue to develop our programming, where we can engage our students and where we can host real ‘home games’ in our own gym in front of as many students and parents as possible is incredibly important,” said Monchamp. “The school is still very young and a new facility will allow it to continue to shape its identity. Additionally, our community can continue to take pride in the school and all of the many interconnected Jewish organizations in the city. I think the symbolism of one large, proud hub for the Jewish community sends not only a very strong message, but, more importantly, a unified message, one which the community can use as a foundation for its future.”
Mogyoros agrees.
“A larger campus will open doors to more programs, providing students with enhanced opportunities for learning, creativity and personal development,” she said. “We are especially excited about the addition of more space and new sports fields, which will enrich our athletic and extracurricular offerings and foster a vibrant, dynamic environment for our students.”
“We want to see the school continue to grow,” said Goldsweig. “Next year, we will be the biggest we have ever been. So many families have chosen to give their kids a Jewish high school education. We are so appreciative and hope that many more continue to make the same decision.”
The head of school says he has been warmly welcomed into the community, with Friday night dinner invitations every Shabbat, “an amazing staff,” a board that “has been supportive every step of the way,” and parents who “are dedicated to the success of the school and their children.
“The most impressive group of all has been the students,” Goldsweig said. “They are so inspiring, and I know our future is in good hands.”
To attend the May 14 gala, participate in the silent auction (which launches April 29), buy raffle tickets or donate to King David High School, visit goldenthreadgala.com.
A Night of Resilience, held at UBC Hillel House March 27, was emceed by students Samantha Schwenger and Izaiah Isaac. (photo from Hillel BC)
Jewish students, allies and community members packed the second-floor social hall at the University of British Columbia’s Hillel House March 27 for A Night of Resilience. It was a celebration of the determination and tenacity of students since the Oct. 7 terror attacks and the spike in antisemitism on campuses.
The evening was emceed by Izaiah Isaac, a third-year student studying forest biology, and Samantha Schwenger, a third-year cellular and molecular neuroscience student. They expressed solidarity with the hostages and the broader Israeli population.
“Tonight, we gather here at Hillel to honour more than just achievements,” said Isaac. “We are here to pay tribute to something far deeper – to the resilience of Jewish students, their unwavering courage and their relentless pursuit of justice in a world that has felt, at times, unbearably heavy.”
“In the past year-and-a-half, Jewish students across British Columbia have been faced with an unimaginable reality,” Schwenger said. “The war in Israel, beginning on Oct. 7, brought with it a wave of violence and sorrow that impacted not only our families, but our very sense of security. And, in its wake, antisemitism surged, leaving Jewish students on campuses everywhere to bear the brunt of hatred, fear and division.”
Rabbi Kylynn Cohen, Hillel’s senior Jewish educator, spoke of the strength she has seen among students.
“We are always living Torah and our students have truly exemplified that in the past 17 months,” she said. “I have watched you grieve, pray, teach, love, protest, rally and get up every day … to fight the violence, gaslighting and antisemitism which has been coming at you from all sides. It is truly an honour to celebrate you tonight.”
Ohad Gavrieli, executive director of Hillel BC, spoke of the changed climate on campuses after Oct. 7, 2023.
“One by one, students started showing up at Hillel, some in tears, some shaken, all looking for support,” he said. “They came not only because of the violence and devastation inIsrael, but because the atmosphere on campus was already starting to change. Their [teaching assistants] were praising the massacre, their classmates were posting support for Hamas. The shift was fast and it wasn’t subtle. Now, it’s almost 18 months later and we’re still in it. It’s not over.”
Ohad Gavrieli, executive director of Hillel BC, was one of the speakers during the March 27 event. (photo from Hillel BC)
He noted that the UBC student union had endorsed a student strike for Palestine, part of a larger trend that, he said, has “left Jewish and Zionist students feeling unsafe and unwelcome.”
“Despite all of it, our students didn’t back down,” said Gavrieli. “They continue to speak up. The strength and resilience of our students should make everyone in this room proud. We have leaders here, we have a future in students who are brave, grounded and unwilling to be pushed aside. At Hillel, we do everything we can to stand with them, to be their Jewish home away from home, a place of strength, a place of safety and a place they are never alone. Tonight is about them. It’s about all of you who made this evening possible, as well, and those who stood with Hillel and our students through it all.”
Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, lauded students, as well as the staff and lay leadership of Hillel.
“This is such an incredible evening that I wish we didn’t have to do,” he said. “I wish that you, as students, were not going through what you’re going through. The hostile environment that’s being created for you here on this campus and on campuses across BC is unacceptable and your courage is incredibly, incredibly inspiring.”
The event featured the presentation of Maccabee Awards to students from campuses throughout the province.
Shanken presented a Maccabee to Simon Fraser University student Yael Toyber, who Shanken noted is also the recipient of Federation’s 2024 Young Leadership Award.
“This student fights for justice not through confrontation, but through education – using their creativity and insight to create educational materials that are accessible and compelling,” he said.
Toyber’s work with StandWithUs and their leadership of the Jewish Students’ Association, Shanken said, has made her instrumental in strengthening the Jewish community at SFU.
Gavrieli presented the award to UBC student Rachel Seguin, who he credited for her contributions to the Israel on Campus group, and as “a bold voice for Jewish students, ensuring that our community stands proud.”
“This student has bravely stepped into conversations with UBC administration to address antisemitism, ensuring that Jewish students feel heard and valued,” said Gavrieli.
Gordon Brandt, president of the board of Hillel BC, recognized University of Victoria student Audrey Gaulin, who he called “a force to be reckoned with.”
“Beyond Hillel,” Brandt said, Gaulin has “stepped into leadership roles as a Common Ground Ambassador with Allied Voices for Israel and as a director-at-large with the University of Victoria Student Society.”
Ellie Sherman, Hillel BC’s director of student life, presented an award to Langara College student Ethan Doctor.
Doctor is a Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC) Fellow, an active member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, and “a champion for the Jewish community,” said Sherman. In his role as the Western Canada representative for the J7 Working Group on Campus Antisemitism, he has “amplified student voices, pushing for meaningful change at both local and national levels.”
Ishmaeli Goldstein, Hillel’s campus advocacy specialist, recognized Roman Chelyuk with an award for allyship. Chelyuk is a senior fellow with CJPAC and an Emerson Fellow with StandWithUs, treasurer of Israel on Campus (IOC) and a past executive of the Ukrainian Club, who has “shown a deep commitment to standing with the Jewish community.”
Andy Gitelson, campus support director from Hillel International, attended the event from Portland, Ore., and presented the second Allyship Award to UBC student Zara Nybo.
“As the president of IOC, a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow, a CJPAC Fellow and a Campus Media Fellow with Allied Voices for Israel and Honest Reporting Canada, this person has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to using their voice to advocate for the Jewish community,” said Gitelson, who credited Nybo with being a powerful voice on social media, raising awareness, sparking important conversations, “and defend[ing] the Jewish community time and time again.”
Jewish students, allies and community members packed the second-floor social hall at the University of British Columbia’s Hillel House March 27 for A Night of Resilience. (photo from Hillel BC)
Yael Segal, a UBC alumna and co-founder of the Justin and Yael Segal Family Fund, presented the Kehilah Award to Jacoba Moscovitz. The award celebrates students who demonstrate leadership and dedication to the Jewish community by going above and beyond to support their fellow students, foster a sense of belonging and contribute to building a home for Jewish students on campus.
Segal credited Moscovitz as “a familiar and welcoming presence at UBC – somebody who helps others feel at ease and contributes to an inclusive atmosphere.… In many ways, this student has acted as the glue, bringing people together. As a member of the Jewish Students’ Association executive team and [as] a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow, they’ve also taken on leadership roles that strengthen Jewish life on campus. This student also bravely stepped up to be in ongoing conversations about antisemitism with UBC administration, and continues to work hard to ensure Jewish students are welcome and safe at UBC.”
Talia Chivo, Hillel’s lead campus professional at the University of Victoria, presented a second Kehilah Award to Bea Banack Tapia.
“This individual has a gentle way of listening to those around them,” said Chivo. “They take the time to connect one-on-one with so many members of our community and offer support and genuine friendship. Behind the scenes, they’ve put countless hours into making sure things run smoothly. Their dedication isn’t always loud, but it’s felt by everyone around them.”
Tina Malka, director of antisemitism research and education at Hillel International, traveled to the event from San Diego.
A Night of Resilience took place as the academic term concluded, marking the second year of unparalleled anti-Israel activism and antisemitic agitation on campuses. Speakers repeatedly credited students with the courage to confront the challenges facing them.
Itamar Manoff and Adi Burton, co-directors of the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture, whose vision respects centre’s history. (photo from Peretz Centre)
Adi Burton and Itamar Manoff became co-directors of the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture last summer. The Independent recently spoke with them about their relatively new positions and the secular humanist Jewish organization’s 80th anniversary this year.
Both Burton and Manoff acknowledge that they arrived at their new roles last year during a tense and uncertain time in the Jewish community. Still, they are bolstered by the vibrancy, solidarity and support that have been present at Peretz for a long time.
“Learning how to do this job is learning how not to think that you need to reinvent the wheel, but actually opening up to the amazing activity and cultural richness that exists here – and finding a way to balance out the diverse needs of this fascinating and unique community while also making space for newness,” Burton said.
Burton and Manoff are simultaneously welcoming new members and ideas to Peretz and carrying on long-standing traditions, such as the focus on Yiddish culture. Further, they are sharing the history of the centre, which is steeped in a commitment to social justice, peace activism and the integration of the Jewish and broader communities.
“Like all Jewish organizations, there is always a lively debate about what Peretz is and can be,” Burton said. “As a community, we constantly rethink and renew culture through these conversations, which shows up in our celebrations of holidays, in our classes and lectures, and community events, [and] everyone is welcome to participate in this process of recreation.”
In 1945, the founders of Peretz – socialists, communists and capitalists, among them – envisaged a place where Jewish and Yiddish culture could be preserved and cultivated. The centre, in its current location on Ash Street, is a home to the riches of that history: the Kirman Yiddish Library, photographs, recipe books, music, and stories of Jewish life in Vancouver over the past eight decades.
In the last 10 years, Peretz has lost three of its pillars: Sylvia Friedman, Claire Osipov and, just this month, Gallia Chud. As well, the centre is still recovering from the pandemic, which reduced in-person participation. A main task in the eyes of Burton and Manoff is to ensure that the legacies of past generations continue.
“We’re lucky that there are so many people of different ages and backgrounds who are committed to Peretz – often working tirelessly in the background and with little to no support – and who keep us thriving,” Manoff told the Independent.
Burton and Manoff praised Donna Becker and Iosif Gershtein, two Peretz stalwarts who have been driving forces within the centre for more than 20 years.
Becker, they said, brings a deep understanding of Yiddishkeit, music, progressive politics, programs and event coordination, and extraordinary administrative skills.Gershtein provides a comprehensive knowledge of the building, an unsurpassed work ethic and a treasure trove of idioms and expressions, they said.
“We appreciate the chance to work with and learn from them,” Burton said. “Each brings a unique perspective and experience to the work that constantly inspires us to revisit our assumptions and act with greater care and respect for others.”
The Peretz Centre, according to Burton and Manoff, prioritizes diversity. It sees the LGBTQ+ community as an important part of its membership, they said, and the organization also opens its doors to interfaith and intercultural individuals and families.
“We keep a radically open definition of what it means to be a part of Jewish life, which, as a secular Jewish organization, we’re grateful to be in the position to do,” Manoff said.
The new directors say the city is entering an exciting period of growth for Jewish and Yiddish culture. There has been a marked increase in renewals and new members this past year, they said.
On the education front, Peretz offers beginning and intermediate Yiddish classes and a Yiddish history course. Musically, there are klezmer-related events, the Jewish Folk Choir, and Yiddish dance classes with Claudia Bulaievsky.There have been performances and lectures from well-known artists in the Yiddish music world.
“We’re excited to expand our arts and culture programming, including a few really innovative theatre productions and a film project on four amazing women who were among the founders of the Peretz,” said Burton. “We’re also especially enthusiastic about reviving our programs for youth. Our p’nei mitzvah program provides a pluralistic, non-dogmatic Jewish cultural education for young people aged 10-13 and helps them reimagine the traditional bar mitzvah rite of passage.”
When the Peretz Centre’s executive director position was announced last spring, Burton and Manoff applied together. Both have been involved in nonprofit, social and academic projects and organizations for many years.
“We draw confidence from each other because we hope that, together, we can bring and represent the spirit of friendship and community that has room for difference (makhloket) and strives towards peace,” Manoff said.
During this anniversary year, the relatively new leaders are striving to pay homage to and strengthen connections with those who have been at the Peretz Centre for a long time. They stress that their goal is to make sure that the longstanding traditions at Peretz flourish.
“It’s always such a wonderful experience to see how much is happening in the community and how much has been happening for such a long time, in such creative and independent ways,” Manoff said.
Both Burton and Manoff view the Peretz Centre as a place where people from different walks of Jewish life can come together and explore important questions of identity, history, culture, language, belonging and politics, in a safe and respectful environment – one, they say, that is needed in a time of disconnection and upheaval.
Held on April 15, the Third Seder: Understanding Addiction and the Path to Freedom focused on the slavery of addiction. (photo from JFS Vancouver)
There was matzah, grape juice, charoset and horseradish on the table. Guests read from the Haggadah and enjoyed a meal of matzah ball soup, brisket and roasted vegetables. At first glance, you might think this was just another seder – but it truly was different from all other seder nights.
The Third Seder: Understanding Addiction and the Path to Freedom was held April 15, with Rabbi Joshua Corber, director of Jewish Addiction Community Services (JACS) Vancouver, at the helm. All the guests had something in common: they were people with or recovering from addiction, or family members of loved ones who have experienced or are still struggling with addiction.
“No situation is more similar to slavery than one’s addiction. Someone who has experienced addiction truly understands what it means to be a slave,” said Corber as he introduced guests to From Bondage to Freedom: A Haggadah with a Commentary Illuminating the Liberation of the Spirit, written by Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski (1930-2021).
“Rabbi Twerski, z”l, is an absolute giant,” Corber explained. “Steeped in Torah learning and Chassidus, he was a psychiatrist who specialized in addiction and, with this background, his ability to leverage Torah as a recovery tool is unparalleled. This is reflected in his Haggadah, but he also led the way for other Torah scholars.”
At all other seders, guests drink wine or grape juice, but at the Third Seder, only grape juice was on the table. Guests recited sections from the Haggadah that wrestled with concepts like liberation from addiction, and how family members could deliver “tough love” by setting boundaries. They expressed their pain and shared their stories with candour.
“Slaves to addiction tend to think recovery isn’t possible,” said one guest, who introduced himself as a recovered alcoholic.
Corber agreed. “I thought addiction was my life, and that I needed to tolerate it,” he confessed. “I was held down by inertia because addiction was the only life I could imagine. In some ways, it was like I was already dead.”
The guests at the seder, which was held at Reuben’s Deli by Omnitsky, ranged in age from 22 to 80. Some were still wrestling with active addiction, while others had been in recovery for lengthy periods. Together, they formed a community of support that was inclusive and devoid of judgment.
“Addiction is a family disease and having a community for recovery is amazing,” one guest declared.
Corber echoed those sentiments. “A goal of JACS is to get the whole community behind the cause of supporting Jews entering recovery or coming out of addiction and, so far, that’s been missing,” he said.
There remains a stigma surrounding addiction, particularly in the Jewish community, Corber said. “There seems to be a reluctance to discuss the matter openly in the community and we have to break this stigma. Addiction is not a choice, it’s a disease. And, while most of us acknowledge this, it has not fundamentally changed our attitudes. Jews who are struggling need to feel supported and accepted by their Jewish community.”
Corber said the Third Seder will become an annual event, and more programming is being planned for Shavuot and other Jewish holidays. For more information, visit jacsvancouver.com.
Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.
