CHW

CHW expands helping efforts

Israeli journalist Rolene Marks, chair of WIZO’s Hasbara Division, was the keynote speaker at CHW Vancouver Centre’s Opening Lunch and Fashion Show on Sept. 14. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

“I know that, as a community, you are feeling vulnerable and you are feeling that you have to be the mouthpiece or, as I call it, the litmus test, for however Israel is prosecuting a war so many miles, so far away, from you,” Israeli journalist and advocate Rolene Marks told those gathered at CHW Vancouver Centre’s Opening Lunch and Fashion Show on Sept. 14. “And I want to tell you that, although Israel’s not perfect – even though we are the only country in the world expected to prosecute a perfect war – you can be proud of the state of Israel.”

photo - Left to right: Claudia Goldman, Rolene Marks and Toby Rubin at the Sept. 14 event — Left to right: Claudia Goldman, Rolene Marks and Toby Rubin at the Sept. 14 event. *(photo from CHW)*

Marks, who, among other things, chairs WIZO’s Hasbara Division, was the event’s keynote speaker. Toby Rubin, president of CHW Vancouver Centre, welcomed the 150-plus guests at the Richmond Country Club Sept. 14, acknowledging the presence of Judy Mandleman, Rochelle Levinson and Claudia Goldman – three local Jewish community members who have been presidents of national CHW. She noted that the current national president, Tova Train, would be speaking, as would Lisa Colt-Kotler, chief executive officer of CHW, and Marks.

“This luncheon today is raising funds for two very important projects that we have here locally,” said Rubin. “One is JOLT, and the other is Franny’s Fund [which supports six youth advocacy centres across Canada, including the Treehouse Vancouver Child and Youth Advocacy Centre]. JOLT is the Jewish Outreach Leadership Training program at Canadian Young Judaea, and provides camperships to seven camps across Canada, including our very own Camp Hatikvah. Today, we are honoured to have with us the president of Camp Hatikvah, Joanna Wasel, who, along with the camp director and staff has worked with CHW these past two summers with the campers.”

Last year, Wasel and staff spearheaded making keychains and bracelets for Israeli soldiers, which Colt-Kotler and Train hand-delivered on a visit last January to patients at the Gandel Rehabilitation Centre at Hadassah Hospital, said Tobin.

This year, campers in Hatikvah’s first session created their own version of the Maccabi Games, as a fundraiser for HaGal Sheli (My Wave), “a surfing program that is used to help people combat stress, anxiety and PTSD,” said Rubin. “And you can only imagine, since Oct. 7, how important that program is.”

The initiative raised more than $7,000 for HaGal Sheli, said Rubin, who also noted that the brunch’s table decorations of books, toy cars and pens would be given to Treehouse Vancouver. Many of the books were donated by Vancouver Talmud Torah, she said.

Train, who came to the event from Toronto, spoke about being from Edmonton, calling herself “a Westerner at heart.”

“I never imagined myself taking on the role of national president,” she said, “but I’ve always believed with my whole heart that, if I cannot serve Israel by wearing a uniform, then my obligation is to serve in every other way I can. That’s why CHW speaks so deeply to me. For more than a century, this organization has invested in education, health care and social services. And, today, especially after Oct. 7, those needs have never been greater – Rolene shared with me a statistic this morning that more than 10,000 IDF soldiers have been treated for mental health issues across the country since Oct. 7.”

After a video about CHW’s various impacts, Colt-Kotler presented a plaque to Bernard Pinsky, in his role as chair of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation.

“CHW, at our core, is philanthropy, and we were founded, as you know, in 1917, by a very dedicated, special woman named Lillian Freiman,” said Colt-Kotler, describing Freiman as “an example of philanthropy” and “of dedication to the Jewish community,” and as “the essence of what a CHW woman is … an empowered woman.”

photo - Lisa Colt-Kotler, chief executive officer of CHW, presents a plaque to Bernard Pinsky, chair of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation — Lisa Colt-Kotler, chief executive officer of CHW, presents a plaque to Bernard Pinsky, chair of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation. *(photo from CHW)*

She continued, “We created the Lillian Freiman Society to recognize individual donors for their generous philanthropy, starting at $100,000, and the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation generously donated to Michal Sela Forum … to combat domestic violence, to provide innovative solutions for the protection from and prevention of intimate partner violence,” said Colt-Kotler.

Pinsky said he pushed the foundation to have women’s empowerment as one of its focuses because, from the time he was a teenager, he has been influenced by his sister, Helen Pinsky, who attended the brunch.

“She’s a real feminist,” he said. “And somebody who taught me that women’s empowerment and women’s protection is very, very important in life, and I think it’s no less important today than it was over 50 years ago, when she talked to me about it.”

When Marks took to the podium, she acknowledged the Israel Defence Forces soldiers, who are “fighting 24/7 to protect the state of Israel.”

“I also want to take a moment to acknowledge the over 900 soldiers who have fallen in defence of the state of Israel and the many who are wounded, both physically and who carry those invisible wounds,” said Marks.

“It is an absolute imperative that I mention that we still have 48 hostages languishing in the hell of Gaza,” she added. “Every second counts…. We want them home now.”

Marks specializes in media, public relations and training on Jewish- and Israel-related issues. She hosts a radio program called Modiin and Beyond and is a contributor on Johannesburg’s Chai FM. She co-founded Lay of the Land, hosts The Israel Brief on YouTube and serves as a national spokesperson for the South African Zionist Federation. She is currently doing a doctorate at Middlesex University London, in media, politics and antisemitism.

“I’m the W in the CHW [Canadian Hadassah-WIZO] – I represent World WIZO, Israel’s foremost women’s organization in terms of working for empowerment,” said Marks. “And we have seen, certainly in the last two years, the voices of Jewish women and the experience of Israeli women on the 7th of October completely erased from the feminist landscape.”

Israel is fighting a war on multiple fronts, she said, acknowledging how vulnerable the diaspora community feels because of what is put out in the media, which filters onto the streets and makes it into government policy.

“I know that every day you hear the accusations: genocide, mass starvation, bombing of civilian infrastructure, like hospitals. And I can tell you that, as somebody who is living through the war and covering the war, the situation is not what you are being painted out to answer for.”

Marks was in Gaza a few weeks before the CHW brunch.

“I saw mountains – mountains and mountains – of humanitarian aid marked United Nations, UNICEF, World Food Program, and more. Things like medical kits, baby formula, flour, oil, pasta, hygiene kits, all languishing in the sun. Now, accompanying the few of us that went in, apart from our incredible soldiers, were two journalists from Australia’s ABC [network]…. The IDF said to us, we’re here to answer questions, but, guys, go off, find your stories; there was no interference. And these two journalists stood in front of a big mountain of aid marked United Nations and, in his piece to camera, the correspondent said, ‘This is the image that Israel wants you to see with regards to humanitarian aid.’ And you could hear the collective jaw drop from the rest of us, including colleagues from the Arab media, because we know what we saw. But my point is this: the bias and the narrative-building start in the field.

“I’ve had several instances where I’ve gone into the field with the foreign media,” she said. “And, despite what they have seen, they have turned it into an agenda that they can push to put the pressure on Israel, and to put the pressure on you as a community.”

Marks stressed that “we can hold our heads up high as a community and as a people. There is nothing dirty about the Z word.”

Zionist, she said, “just means a belief in the existence of the nation-state of the Jewish people in our ancient homeland.”

In the fight against antisemitism, everyone must play a role, said Marks, whether “sharing on your social media or writing letters to the press or getting involved in your community organizations. We are a people that have survived millennia of blood libels, persecution, and attempts to erase our history and our narrative.”

This can include something like wearing a Magen David, she said: “When you show your pride and you show your strength, you stand up to the hate, you stand up to the misinformation.”

She added, “The truth always comes, but we need your help to make that happen. When people accuse us of genocide, I can tell you, as somebody who has been working on the ground, the complete opposite is true.… Our army inoculates children against polio in the Gaza Strip, and drops leaflets, and moves civilians out of harm’s way.”

She recommended people follow Israel’s COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) website, where you can track the humanitarian aid going to the Gaza Strip and related news.

Referring to the murder of American activist Charlie Kirk, she said “it was symptomatic of something very, very frightening that is spreading around the world, and that is a move to disengage in discourse, a move to shut down conversation. And it is so important that we have these conversations. It is so important that we interrogate the truth and the facts.”

In the question-and-answer period, Marks suggested the lack of support from allies like Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Australia and others, is “a big campaign to deflect from problems that are domestic.”

“It’s very, very distressing for us in Israel to see our allies taking the side of Hamas, and also treating us like the naughty child of the world,” she said. “And part of that is, we believe, that many countries have forgotten or don’t know what it’s like to live under constant threat. We live under constant threat … wars within wars.”

Marks recalled what Israeli President Isaac Herzog told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a recent meeting: “Friends can sometimes disagree – but don’t reward terror.”

While in Vancouver, Marks also spoke at a CHW-Community Kollel event on Sept. 12.

photo - The fashion show part of CHW Vancouver Centre’s opening event featured local community members sporting clothes from Maison Labelle Boutique and After Five — The fashion show part of CHW Vancouver Centre’s opening event featured local community members sporting clothes from Maison Labelle Boutique and After Five. (photo from CHW)

The Sept. 14 speeches and brunch were followed by an intergenerational fashion show, with models sporting clothes from Maison Labelle Boutique and After Five. Walking down the runway were grandmothers, mothers, daughters, granddaughters and friends.

Battling disinformation

Why do international media outlets seem intent on repeating the Hamas narrative? According to British military expert Maj. (ret.) Andrew Fox, there are a few key factors – including antisemitism.

“The first [factor] is a human desire not to admit when they are wrong and we don’t understand how powerful this is because it means that they have to admit that they have been wrong for the last 18 months,” he told JNS during a visit to Israel earlier this year.

Fox continued: “The second reason is the power of the narrative. Once you have achieved the dominance of your narrative, it is very, very difficult to present another narrative. The third one is antisemitism. While everything is not antisemitism – and I am really wary of saying that it is – certainly there are biases.”

Fox was a panelist at the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism hosted by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs in Jerusalem on March 27. As a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society who served as a top officer in the British army from 2005 to 2021, he is an authoritative voice supporting Israel, explaining how the Israel Defence Forces operates, and fighting disinformation about the Israeli military and its terrorist enemies.

In December 2024, Fox released a report under the auspices of the Henry Jackson Society titled “Questionable Counting: Analyzing the Death Toll from the Hamas-Run Ministry of Health in Gaza.” The report presented clear indications that Hamas was padding casualty numbers. Despite this, he said, many in the media repeated, without question, whatever Hamas put out.

Fox is not the only publisher of a report that backs Israeli data with empirical evidence. On March 18, he pointed out, British historian Lord Andrew Roberts presented the All-Party Parliamentary Group report on the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023. The 318-page report lays bare the depravity of the Hamas attack in detail.

“The immediate reaction online is that it’s biased,” Fox said. “Lord Roberts is not Israeli, Israel is not his area of focus and everything is meticulously referenced. Yet, it has been utterly dismissed out of hand, and that is absolutely astonishing.”

He added: “Of course, there will be a strong counter campaign with Qatari money. I had the same thing with my report. The final aspect is that the Palestinian campaign has 10 times the supporters that Israel does. It’s a numbers game, ultimately.”

Is antisemitism in the form of anti-Zionism, or what some call “Israelophobia,” ingrained in some media institutions?

According to Fox, the answer is yes. “It is institutional with the BBC. Twice this year [as of March] they have had to put out major apologies breaching their own impartiality guidelines – when they platform Hamas royalty in a documentary about kids in Gaza or when they email the Israeli embassy asking for a speaker who is specifically anti-Netanyahu,” he said.

“There are three parts to an apology: ‘I am sorry, it’s my fault and I will do better.’ They haven’t really done that third part at all. It is endemic and institutionalized.”

While the IDF has faced criticism from journalists who are not being allowed into Gaza, with some saying this strategy has impaired Israel’s ability to present the facts on the ground, Fox backed the Israeli military’s position.

“If you give a journalist free rein in Gaza, they will either do what Hamas tells them or they will be killed – and that will be blamed on the IDF anyway. From a military perspective, you don’t want anyone filming an airstrike because they don’t have all the supporting data to report fairly without knowing what went into the targeting process.”

To illustrate his point, Fox said he had flown to Israel with Sir John McColl, a former British army four-star general who had been “very anti-IDF.”

“All week he was pushing the IDF like a hawk – and then came home and wrote an op-ed saying he was convinced Israel is doing everything it can to protect civilians, and that’s what the IDF should be showing journalists,” Fox said.

He added: “You can’t send journalists in with fighting troops; that is too dangerous. Fighting in Gaza is a 360-degree war. You have high-rise buildings, ground level, underground. As a soldier, I would probably refuse to take a journalist into that battle.”

Fox expressed concern that we are in a very dangerous information environment when many people turn to social media for information because of the 24-hour news cycle, and very often what is posted is not factual and has not been verified. In the rush to make the news cycle, journalists are also not fact-checking properly, he said.

“The fight against antisemitism is the most important thing to me,” he said. “The stories I hear from my friends are just shocking.”

When asked what communities around the world could be doing better, he said: “We are not going to stop 2,000 years of antisemitism; it is not something we can defeat. It is not easy, but I would work to bring the silent majority on to our side.”

He added: “From a British perspective, we need to make it about a community that is part of the country. The ‘Palestine’ marches are horrendous and very un-British. It’s about how we frame it.”

Rolene Marks is a journalist and commentator specializing in Israeli advocacy, global Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics for JNS.org. She is a member of Media Team Israel and Truth be Told, both dedicated to promoting accurate reporting on Israel. Additionally, she serves as the chair of WIZO’s hasbara division, where she leads efforts in public diplomacy and advocacy. This article was originally published on jns.org.

* * *

Marks’s two stops here

photo - Rolene Marks — Rolene Marks (photo from CHW)

Israeli journalist, advocate, and chair of WIZO’s hasbara (communications) division Rolene Marks is touring Canada this September with Just the Facts, about the current situation in Israel, the realities of the war between Israel and Hamas (and other hostile groups), and the resilience of the Israeli people. Marks stops in Vancouver on Sept. 12 for an event hosted by CHW and the Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel, and also helps open CHW Vancouver Centre’s new year, on Sept. 14.

At the Kollel young professionals event, Marks will talk about the United Nations, Gaza and Israel-related topics, and the Canadian government’s agenda, as it affects Israel and the Jewish diaspora. She will dispel lies, misinformation and blood libels, sharing links for where people can find accurate information and sources, stressing the need for Jews in Canada to share accurate information on social media. As well, she will discuss WIZO’s work in Israel and the importance of belonging to CHW (Canadian Hadassah-WIZO).

To join the CHW-Kollel Young Adults Shabbat experience on Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m., go to chw.ca/just-the-facts. Registration is by donation.

The CHW Vancouver Centre’s opening luncheon and fashion show on Sept. 14, 10:30 a.m., will feature fashions from After Five and Maison Labelle, lunch and door prizes, as well as an exclusive pre-event meet-and-greet for sponsors with Marks, CHW national president Tova Train and CHW chief executive officer Lisa Colt-Kotler. Tickets ($96) are available at chw.ca/region/western-region.

– Courtesy CHW

Relations at low ebb: Shamir

Claudia Goldman, left, presents Bev Corber with the Claudia Goldman Award for Excellence in Leadership. (photo by Pat Johnson)

Diplomatic relations between Israel and Canada have never been worse, according to Israel’s envoy to Toronto and Western Canada.

“The relationship between Israel and Canada is at an all-time low,” said Idit Shamir, consul general of Israel for Toronto and Western Canada. “Canada, according to many, has abandoned Israel, the only democratic ally they have in the region.”

Speaking via remote video link to the opening event of the Vancouver branch of CHW (Canadian Hadassah-WIZO) Sept. 22, Shamir cited, among other things, the Canadian government’s legitimizing of Hamas information, rather than Israeli government sources, when commenting on the conflict.

“Many times, they have been proven as mistaken,” said Shamir. “Not as many times, they have taken the time to correct themselves.”

Canadian Jews are asking themselves if there is a future for their families in Canada, the envoy said.

“This is a question that I don’t think was asked here before Oct. 7, and that’s very, very sad,” said Shamir.

Israelis and Canadians alike were shocked by the alarming spike in antisemitism in Canada and worldwide in recent years, but especially in the past 12 months, she said.

Shamir addressed concerns about the climate on university campuses and even in public elementary and secondary schools. She spoke just after the controversy erupted over an officially sanctioned Toronto public school field trip to what evolved into an anti-Israel rally.

Making Jews unwelcome on campuses will have negative repercussions for the entire society, she said.

“Jews have been instrumental in the university system here, and pushing them out is going to have a serious impact on the future of Canada,” she warned.

Regrettably, Shamir said, Canada has been the launchpad over the years for several negative developments, including Israel Apartheid Week, which began at the University of Toronto before spreading internationally, and, more recently, the concept of “anti-Palestinian racism,” which was adopted as policy by the Toronto and District School Board. The idea, she said, paints any expression that is critical of the prevailing Palestinian narrative as racist.

“When you see that happening already at the elementary school level, we can imagine the depth of indoctrination that is going on in the universities,” said Shamir.

On the positive side, the consul general said, opinion polls indicate that most Canadians support Israel.

“Most Canadians can understand that … we didn’t choose this war,” she said. “We are fighting a war for our survival, for the survival of the only Jewish democracy and country in the world. And now we understand more than ever the need for a safe haven for Jews.”

Among the 101 hostages remaining in captivity, Shamir said, the Israeli government believes more than half remain alive. The body of Judy Weinstein Haggai, a dual Canadian-Israeli citizen who is known to have been killed, remains in Gaza.

“The hostages are the utmost priority,” Shamir said, “releasing the ones who are alive and returning the bodies of those who are not.”

She linked the Gaza conflict to wider geopolitical issues, pointing to Iranian-backed forces launching missiles from Lebanon, Iraq and even Yemen. She was speaking before Iran launched more direct attacks on Israel Oct. 1.

“We cannot forget that Iran is behind this, and we can see that rockets are coming from Iranian-sponsored sources in places we would not have imagined,” she said.

In response to these challenges, the consul general called for unity among the Jewish community and its allies, stressing the need for resilience and solidarity.

Noting that “Jews are coming together and becoming a united force to be reckoned with in Canada,” Shamir said members of the Jewish community must remain vigilant and continue to fight antisemitism and support Israel.

The envoy lauded CHW’s long-standing efforts to empower women and children, provide health care and assist displaced Israelis.

“It’s a labour of love that touches hearts and changes lives every single day,” she said.

The CHW Vancouver event, held at the Richmond Country Club, benefited the Michal Sela Forum, an Israeli organization dedicated to preventing domestic violence through innovative technology and collaboration.

photo - Toby Rubin, president of CHW Vancouver, presents the inaugural Dolly Jampolsky Volunteer Extraordinaire Award to Jampolsky — Toby Rubin, president of CHW Vancouver, presents the inaugural Dolly Jampolsky Volunteer Extraordinaire Award to Jampolsky. *(photo by Pat Johnson)*

Longtime CHW leaders Beverley Corber and Dolly Jampolsky were the honourees. Corber received the Claudia Goldman Award for Excellence in Leadership, and Jampolsky received the inaugural Dolly Jampolsky Volunteer Extraordinaire Award. Sylvia Cristall and Claudia Goldman were inducted into the CHW Lillian Freeman Society by Lisa Colt-Kotler, national chief executive officer of CHW, who spoke at the opening and interviewed the consul general. Toby Rubin, president of CHW Vancouver, emceed the event.

CHW’s new year begins

CHW Vancouver Centre’s opening luncheon on Sept. 22 honours longtime members and contributors Bev Corber, left, and Dolly Jampolsky. (photos from CHW)

This year’s CHW Vancouver Centre opening luncheon on Sept. 22 will honour Bev Corber, a past CHW Vancouver Centre president, and recognize the volunteer efforts of Dolly Jampolsky.

“I have had the pleasure of knowing both women for a long time,” CHW Vancouver Centre president Toby Rubin told the Independent. “During Bev’s tenure as CHW Vancouver Centre president, I ran the annual campaign, and I have worked on other committees with her. I am excited for her to finally be recognized for all she has done and continues to do to support CHW and all its projects.

“Dolly is the Energizer bunny in my opinion,” continued Rubin. “At the age of 90, she continues to be our number one volunteer for both obtaining silent auction items and canvassing – no one seems to be able to say no to Dolly. Both Bev and Dolly exemplify strong women and are role models for myself and the rest of the community.”

Rubin has been a supporter of CHW for more than 30 years, Corber has been a member of CHW for almost 40 years, while Jampolsky joined the group more than 60 years ago.

“I had just moved to Vancouver and was seeking friendship and community,” Jampolsky said. “It was also very important for me to do something in support of Israel. CHW seemed to be a good choice.

“Early on, I was very involved with the bazaar. I recall that I would reach out to the better hotels in the city and ask for donations of linens. I also did the pickups of these donations. One time, I was at a very exclusive hotel in downtown Vancouver and I loaded up the elevator with a huge donation of linens. I stepped inside and pushed the button to go down and I got stuck. I was there inside the elevator for one or maybe two hours; no phones at the time. All I could do was press the emergency button and wait and wait.”

Stephanie Rusen, immediate past president of CHW Vancouver Centre, recalled Jampolsky’s involvement with the Hadassah Bazaar, including that her chapter had the clothing booth, then moved to linens.

“After the bazaar,” said Rusen, “Dolly switched to Pro-Am [golf tournament] and the silent auction. She has continued with the silent auction, expanding it to the Aviva Games Day and then to the openings. For a number of years, she sold the entertainment books.”

According to Rusen, “Dolly said that I was the one to get her calling donors, first for annual campaign, then end-of-year, and finally SOS. Give her a list of 20 names to call and a day later she wants more names. Three years ago, when she asked for yet another list, I only had one with 100 names and told her to call just the first 20. She called them all!”

Corber also joined CHW after moving to Vancouver and, in her decades with the organization, she has contributed in many capacities, including helping create CHW’s Legacy Circle, which allows donors of varying incomes “to create a philanthropic legacy for a cause they care deeply about.” She was active in the Hadassah Bazaar, has served as chapter and centre president, been convenor of multiple fundraisers and events, and participated in different committees, among other things. In 2021, she completed her role as CHW Vancouver Centre’s immediate past president.

“Over the years, I have made lasting friendships with women of all ages,” she said. “I value the opportunity to work with others to support our projects in Israel. With each additional commitment I have made to the organization, I have found that I have been amply rewarded for my efforts. I have particularly enjoyed the opportunity to make a difference (tikkun olam) while connecting to others in the Jewish community.”

For Jampolsky, CHW has met all the goals she had when joining.

“I was able to form many wonderful and lasting friendships that I still treasure to this day and to fulfil the promise I made to myself to support my community and Israel,” she said. “Joining CHW gave me the satisfaction that I could lend my time, energy and creativity to support Israel and set an example for my friends, my community, my children and grandchildren.”

One of the reasons Rubin was attracted to CHW was that it was a women’s organization, “bringing together like-minded women and supporting causes close to women’s hearts.

“It is an organization whose projects in Israel are not only about things that are important to all women – helping at-risk children, empowering women and providing vital health care – but also supports our local community here in Canada,” she said. “CHW looks at what the current needs are, finds the gaps in support and fills them. I am proud to stand strong with CHW and all it does to proudly support Israel and Canada.”

Rubin, who is beginning her third year as CHW Vancouver Centre president, writes on the CHW website: “Since coming in as CHW Vancouver Centre president in the fall of 2022, we have held an almost sold out Games Day, heard World WIZO chairperson Anita Friedman and cookbook author Adeena Sussman, have held SOS (Starting Over Safely) Walks, surpassed expectations on our campaigns, and we continue to try and grow the under-40 chapter.”

She also notes that there have been some tough times, notably Oct. 7.

“I think Oct. 7 has done the complete opposite of what Hamas and other terror groups thought – it has brought Jewish people together, not pulled them apart,” Rubin told the Independent. “I have found that people want to be together more than ever and are not afraid to attend meetings/events at the JCC, shuls or public places. We are always showing people how CHW is not the same organization it was when our grandmothers were involved and, since Oct. 7, more people are looking to belong to a community like CHW.”

In addition to honouring Corber and Jampolsky, the CHW opening will feature remarks and a Q&A livestreamed with Idit Shamir, consul general of Israel in Toronto and Western Canada. CHW chief executive officer Lisa Colt-Kotler will talk about her recent trip to Israel, where she visited CHW projects and bore witness to the atrocities of Oct. 7. Proceeds from the luncheon will benefit CHW partner Michal Sela Forum (MSF).

“MSF uses technology and innovation to improve the lives of victims of domestic abuse and helps them and their children take back their lives,” explained Rubin. “MSF is about keeping at-risk women safe in their homes instead of relying on shelters. The safety programs, like Michal Sela Canines, also allows women to return to their daily lives without fear of violence – this is so important. Also, everything MSF does, creates and establishes are things their CEO, Lili Ben Ami, wants to share with the world!”

For tickets to the Sept. 22, 11 a.m., opening lunch at Richmond Country Club, go to chw.ca/luncheon.

Fighting domestic violence

Lili Ben Ami, founder of the Michal Sela Forum, was in Vancouver last month to talk about how the forum works to save lives and combat domestic violence. (photo by Sid Akselrod)

“As Uber disrupted the transportation sector, Airbnb disrupted the tourism industry, and Facebook disrupted telecommunication, the Michal Sela Forum is disrupting the field of domestic violence,” said Adi Sofer Teeni, chief executive officer of Facebook Israel.

The Michal Sela Forum (MSF) is an Israeli nonprofit “dedicated to saving lives and combating domestic violence through innovation and technological solutions.” After Michal Sela was murdered by her husband, in 2019, Michal’s sister, Lili Ben Ami, founded MSF with the goal of saving the life of the next Michal.

Ben Ami was in Vancouver last month. She spoke on June 13 at an event presented by CHW (Canadian Hadassah-WIZO) at Beth Israel Synagogue.

“Michal was like a butterfly. No one could tell her what to do,” said Ben Ami. This resilience is symbolized by the butterflies in MSF’s logo, and through the organization’s core principles of out-of-the-box thinking, personal entrepreneurship and public awareness, she said. MSF’s goal is to achieve zero femicides per year and Ben Ami is confident that “it’s going to happen,” despite the primitiveness of current systems to fight domestic violence, through the application of available technological capabilities.

Ben Ami said that “in Israel, domestic violence support is characterized by old world tools,” highlighting the reliance on shelters, law enforcement and welfare centres – tools that have remained unchanged for 70 years. These reactive solutions do not break the cycle of domestic violence, agreed CHW chief executive officer Lisa Colt-Kotler. In her introduction to Ben Ami’s presentation, Colt-Kotler emphasized CHW’s shift away from immediate crisis support towards empowering victims with financial independence. CHW’s Safety Net program provides essential services such as counseling, resumé building and essentials kits for women. They also run holiday and summer camps for children of domestic violence survivors, providing women with an opportunity to continue working while their children are cared for at the camp.

In her talk, Ben Ami stressed that Israel has the technological capabilities to save lives, and that these capabilities must be applied to fight domestic violence. Each year, on Michal’s birthday, MSF organizes the Safe at Home Hackathon, a three-day-long technological event that brings together more than 600 software engineers to develop startups aimed at preventing domestic violence. Selected teams from the hackathon are invited to the Michal Sela Startup Academy, a three-month professional mentorship program in collaboration with Google. This program enables entrepreneurs to elevate their innovations and work towards implementing them.

Facilitating the creation of startups is a key focus of MSF – “we need 100 startups on the shelf for investors before we can reach our goal,” said Ben Ami. MSF aims to secure a venture capital investment of $10 million to expand and enhance their programs.

One such program is Michal Sela Canines, which provides women at high-risk of intimate partner violence with a dog for physical and emotional protection. The dog becomes a permanent part of the woman’s family and is given to her for life. The idea was proposed to Ben Ami by a local dog trainer who believes that, if Michal had had a dog on the night she was murdered, she likely would have been protected.

The canine project not only offers protection, but also aids in trauma healing for both women and children affected by domestic violence. Ben Ami reminded the audience, “all the women we protect are mothers.” By the end of 2023, 12 women and 48 children will be part of this program, she said. CHW recently funded a canine, named Maple, and they aim to fund at least five more dogs.

Michal’s Watch, another initiative, currently offers 130 women a security package designed to safeguard them from intimate partner violence. Developed in partnership with Israeli security experts at Shin Bet, Michal’s Watch equips women with a security camera, a panic button connected to emergency services, 10 self-defence lessons, and a cease-and-desist letter from a law firm against their attacker. Ben Ami described Michal’s Watch as an “iron suit” for women.

In addition to technological solutions, MSF is dedicated to educating the public on recognizing and addressing domestic violence. Ben Ami reflected that, in Michal’s marriage, although there was “never a black eye,” nor any visible signs of physical violence before the murder, there was emotional violence.

“The language of domestic violence is universal,” both for the victims and the aggressors, said Ben Ami. MSF collaborated with the best domestic violence experts in Israel to develop five international signals of identifying domestic violence. These signals apply to victims and aggressors, as well as friends and family of victims, and include behaviours such as obsessiveness, maintaining two-faced relationships, gaslighting, and intense overreacting. Graphics detailing these warning signs are publicized around Israel and on social media.

Ben Ami attributes MSF’s expansive growth and impact in only three years to Michal’s spirit – to “people who knew and loved my sister and wanted to help,” she said.

At the event was Ehud Lehavi, a Vancouver Jewish community member who knew Michal from a Scouts program in Israel. Lehavi has been involved with MSF since its early days. When asked, “Could you believe that, in three years, MSF has accomplished all this?”, Lehavi answered, “With any other NGO, no. But, with Lili, yes.”

Ben Ami said she has always been an activist, throughout her background in education and TV broadcasting. Colt-Kotler described her as a “trailblazer, a rockstar and a disrupter” and shared a story of taking Ben Ami to Costco upon arriving in Canada. At the store, Ben Ami was recognized and stopped by a woman who told Lili, “You saved my life.”

For more information, including on the warning signs of domestic violence, go to msf-global.org.

Alisa Bressler is a fourth-year student at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. She is an avid reader and writer, and the online director of the arts and culture publication MUSE Magazine. Bressler is a member of the Vancouver Jewish community, and the inaugural Baila Lazarus Jewish Journalism Intern.

Supporting each other

Toby Rubin was invested as the new president of CHW Vancouver on Oct. 16. (photo by Sid Akselrod)

A vast amount of progress has been made in gender equality in recent decades, but organizations where women come together for philanthropic work and social connections remain desirable and necessary, says Toby Rubin, the new president of CHW Vancouver.

Founded by Jewish women in 1917, after a visit from Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold, CHW started out as Hadassah Organization of Canada. In 1921, Canadian Hadassah affiliated with World WIZO and became known Hadassah-WIZO Organization of Canada (later condensed to Canadian Hadassah-WIZO). CHW defines itself as a non-political, non-partisan, national network of dedicated volunteers who believe that excellence and advancement of education, healthcare and social services transcend politics, religion and national boundaries.

Rubin has been a volunteer with the local chapter of the organization for years and was invested as the president at an event Oct. 16 at the Richmond Country Club. In an interview with the Independent, she attempted to dispel some misconceptions.

First and foremost, she said, is the concept that CHW “is a bubbe organization.”

“We have really changed,” she said. A new chapter of 25-to-40-year-old women – including Rubin’s daughter and a cadre of new leaders who were centre-stage at the installation luncheon – has launched and already held their first fundraising event. They raised $5,000 for JOLT, a leadership development curriculum being developed by Young Judaea Canada.

Another misconception, Rubin said, is that all funds from CHW’s philanthropy go to Israel. Rubin and a group of Canadian activists have just returned from a tour of Hadassah projects in Israel, but she stressed that local and Canadian projects are also supported by the chapter’s work. Among the initiatives the group supports is SOS, Starting Over Safely, for victims of domestic violence; scholarships for an LGBTQ+ kids’ camp; and Franny’s Fund.

The latter program was launched by Rebecca Snukal, a Calgary defence lawyer with two decades of experience navigating the legal system and social safety net through some emotionally and administratively perilous cases. But when she and her own family were rocked by crisis, she came to understand how unwieldy the system is – even people with expertise in the field have challenges accessing the legal and psychological supports they require. Snukal was the guest speaker at the October event.

Something that Rubin especially wants to dispel is the idea that CHW’s work is accessible only to Jews. The foremost example, she said, comes from Hadassah Medical Centre in Israel, where triage is based on medical need, to the extent that injured terrorists have been treated based on the severity of their condition alongside victims of their attack.

Also at the meeting, Daniella Givon, a past president, was honoured for her many years of commitment to the organization and the broader community. The meeting also expressed gratitude to outgoing presidents Stephanie Rusen and Sasha Gerson.

photo - Daniella Givon, left, and Sasha Gerson. Givon is a past president of CHW and Gerson is one of the outgoing presidents this year, along with Stephanie Rusen — Daniella Givon, left, and Sasha Gerson. Givon is a past president of CHW and Gerson is one of the outgoing presidents this year, along with Stephanie Rusen. *(photo by Sid Akselrod)*

In addition to her role with CHW, Rubin is co-executive director of Kehila Society of Richmond, which connects Jewish people in Richmond with one another and with businesses, health and social service agencies and community resources. She is also a board member of Jewish Seniors Alliance and Better at Home committee of the City of Richmond.

Rubin comes to CHW naturally – her mother, Linda Hilford, is a member and both her grandmothers, Vera Himelfarb and Rae Moss, were involved on the Prairies back in the day.

The enthusiasm Rubin and other members of the local chapter exhibit is a reflection, she said, of exciting changes at the national level where, under the fresh leadership of national chief executive officer Lisa Colt-Kotler, the organization has seen dramatic progress in the past couple of years.

“She’s just really pumped energy into it and she’s updated it, and is working at making us more mainstream,” Rubin said of Colt-Kotler. Technology has been a boon, she added, allowing members from across the country to conveniently meet regularly without getting on a plane.

Times have changed from when a large proportion of Canadian women did not work outside the home. But those social and economic changes have not altered one fundamental need, said Rubin.

“We are really about bringing women together, to empower them in their philanthropic needs and introduce them and network them with other women,” she said. “We just want them to meet each other, be there, support each other, share their resources. Ultimately, what brought me to this organization 30 years ago – aside from the fact that I have grandparents and a mom who were involved and I love Israel – was women. The ceiling has broken in those 30 years but it’s still there and we need to be there for each other.”

For decades, CHW was most closely associated in the public mind with Hadassah Bazaar, a massive undertaking that ended about 15 years ago. The explosive growth of thrift stores, combined with the immense resources required to execute the annual event, led to the decision to end the tradition. But Rubin said a new initiative is soon to launch nationally that nods to that history – possibly an online version of the bazaar or something similar. Plans are in development.

Things have come a long way, but Rubin said expectations have grown in some ways and getting together with women experiencing similar things is no less valuable than it was in her mother’s or her grandmothers’ time.

“I think women still have a long way to go and we need to support each other and be there for each other, lift each other up,” she said. “I’m trying to be a mom and I’m trying to do a job and I can’t be Superwoman and [it’s good] to know that’s OK – nobody is. I think that’s truly, truly important.”

Help break the cycle

Canadian Hadassah-WIZO’s S.O.S. – Starting Over Safely campaign is 27 hours long, beginning at 9 a.m. PT on Aug. 23. (photo by Mickey Noam Alon)

With the COVID-19 government shutdowns and mandatory quarantines, domestic violence has increased significantly across the globe over the past two years. The drastic increase in intimate partner and domestic abuse has been coined the “Shadow Pandemic” by the United Nations.

In Canada, one woman is killed in a violent act every two-and-a-half days. According to the provincial ministry for public safety and Statistics Canada, every year in British Columbia there are more than 60,000 physical or sexual assaults against women – almost all of them committed by men.

In Israel, the situation is just as critical. In the first year of the pandemic, 20,140 domestic violence complaints were lodged with police, an increase of 12% from the previous year. Twelve women were murdered in the first six months of this year.

In accordance with its mission, Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) is working to empower women by stepping up emergency support and services at this critical time. CHW is launching the second annual S.O.S. – Starting Over Safely summer campaign, with proceeds helping empower victims of domestic violence in Canada and Israel.

One of the most frightening things about domestic abuse is that half of the women murdered by their partners never experienced physical violence before. Domestic violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. This year, through a new partnership with Michal Sela Forum, CHW is also promoting an awareness campaign to help women understand the warning signs in a relationship.

S.O.S. – Starting Over Safely 2022 has three campaign priorities, including Franny’s Fund in Canada, and WIZO programs and the Michal Sela Forum in Israel. The following campaign goals are intended to empower at-risk women and children to break the cycle of violence in Canada and Israel:

Provide help for parents and families in need of an urgent response;
Provide access to critical resources such as legal counsel and counseling services;
Provide women and their children with the basic essentials to start over safely;
Empower women and their children by providing financial help, social and personal support, employment support, and access to a network of other women in similar circumstances;
Provide women and their children with specially trained canine protection; and
Fund respite summer camp experiences for at-risk youth.

“CHW strongly believes that every human being deserves the right to achieve their full potential, while living in safety and security. You have the power to empower,” said Lisa Colt-Kotler, CHW chief executive officer.

The 2022 fundraising goal is $350,000. All funds donated will be matched three more times by a community of dedicated donors recognized as “Matching Heroes” during the 27-hour campaign, which kicks off at 9 a.m. PT on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. During the crowdfunding period, each gift donated on the website chwsos.ca is quadrupled.

To donate or learn more, visit chwsos.ca.

– Courtesy Canadian Hadassah-WIZO

CHW empowers victims

COVID-19 isn’t the only global pandemic to worry about; the worldwide increase in domestic violence has been coined a “shadow pandemic” by the United Nations. Globally, an estimated one in three women lives with violence and fear. But the number of domestic violence complaints in Israel, for example, has increased by 800% since the beginning of COVID. True to its mission, Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) is leading the way to empower women by stepping up emergency support and services at this critical time.

CHW strongly believes that every human being deserves the right to achieve their full potential, while living in safety and security. CHW appointed its first chief executive officer, Lisa Colt-Kotler, who is spearheading a transition and new direction for the 100-year-old organization, with a history of support for women and children in Israel and Canada. This summer, CHW is launching a quadruple matching 24-hour crowdfunding campaign and proceeds will help empower victims of domestic violence.

CHW’s summer campaign, S.O.S. – Starting Over Safely, has three priorities for projects in Israel: CHW Youth Villages, which provide a safe haven for at-risk adolescents and supports mental health through a variety of outlets; Essential Kits for Families, which provides the basic necessities needed to help each family start over safely after they leave an emergency shelter; and the Safety Net Program, which will empower women and their children by providing housing, financial help, social and personal support, employment support, and a network of other women in similar circumstances. Safety Net has nearly a 100% success rate of breaking the cycle of violence and preventing victims from re-entering a domestic abuse relationship.

Aug. 24-25, funds donated will be matched three more times by a loyal community of donors recognized as “Matching Heroes.” During the 24-hour campaign, which kicks off at noon in each centre across Canada, each gift donated on the website chwsos.ca will be quadrupled.

And, on Aug. 24, at 5 p.m. PST, CHW is hosting a free, star-studded, 90-minute virtual telethon experience during which viewers will learn more about how to help empower victims of domestic violence. To watch, just click on the link from the campaign website.

For more details, contact Irena Karshenbaum, CHW development officer for Western Canada, at [email protected] or 403-253-4612.

– Courtesy CHW

CHW’s Brunch with Bakan

Joel Bakan spoke at a CHW Vancouver Book Club event May 30. (photo from thecorporation.com)

The Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) Vancouver Book Club hosted a far-reaching 90-minute discussion with author, filmmaker, musician and University of British Columbia law professor Joel Bakan on May 30. Moderating the event, entitled Brunch with Bakan, was Toronto-based writer (and former Vancouverite) Adam Elliot Segal.

Bakan’s widely acclaimed 2004 book The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power explored the formation and behaviours of modern-day industrial behemoths. It was later turned into an award-winning film. His new book, The New Corporation: How “Good” Corporations are Bad for Democracy, released in 2020, also has a film attached to it – The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel, which Bakan co-directed with Jennifer Abbott.

In the CHW event, Bakan shared tidbits about his upbringing, first in East Lansing, Mich., then moving to Vancouver at age 11. “I was a very young draft dodger,” he recalled, as his parents decided to move north at the height of the Vietnam War.

“Family and Judaism have been two of the pillars of my life,” he said, recounting how much of his current activism could be traced to his immigrant grandparents.

“Jewish people, by virtue of their history, understand persecution, they understand injustice. They haven’t had a choice but to understand injustice. Injustice has always been in their face. It’s no coincidence that Jewish people were leaders in the civil rights, labour and other movements,” said Bakan.

“Jewish people have always had an activist sensibility and I think it’s rooted, not only in that history, but in the ethics of the religion – chief among them is tikkun olam, that we have a duty to repair the world, which is very much a duty I take seriously,” he added.

In his recent book, which moderator Segal called a “tour de force” and “meticulously researched,” Bakan tackles such subjects as deregulation, the aviation industry and what he describes as the destructive dependence on technology. In it, he interviews not only influential legal and economic scholars but also references pop culture to explain more difficult concepts.

“I wanted the book to be readable,” he said. “I am an academic by trade, but I am a writer. I want the reader to feel pulled into a story. In all my writing for a popular audience, I try to get away from the academic notion of laying out the facts and instead lull the reader in by telling some good stories. And, once I have the reader, I try to engage them with some more analytical or informational kinds of things.”

Segal asked about Bakan’s Trump-era trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, for the recent Corporation documentary project. It turned out to be a coup of sorts for a film crew to be allowed access to the normally secretive meetings of the world’s political and corporate elites in the Swiss Alps.

In this work, Bakan discusses the concept of corporate social responsibility, which, he contends, cannot do nearly enough to combat rising global social and environmental threats. He distinguishes between individuals at the top of corporations and the corporations themselves.

An example of this approach is Lord John Browne, the former chief executive officer of British Petroleum, whom Bakan portrays as a very cultured man and one of the “good guys,” who tried to get his firm to be at the forefront of corporate responsibility. However, the problem is that even the most benign, well-intentioned CEOs are hamstrung by their fiduciary and legal responsibilities to their shareholders, according to Bakan.

“A CEO can go a certain distance in trying to do a better job in terms of social or environmental responsibility, but you can’t go further in that direction in terms of what will be profitable,” said Bakan. “It’s great if corporations try to be a little better, but let us not be deluded into believing that they can go far enough to get us out of the mess we are in, be it the social mess or the environmental mess.”

The conversation turned to sports and the recent failed attempt by Europe’s top soccer clubs to form the Super League. The common thread with other societal issue is the goal of corporations or capitalism to commoditize everything, whether it be water, utilities, education or entertainment. In the case of the Super League, the vested corporate interests behind the initiative were trying to increase profits by “taking the local out of sports.”

“If you put the Toronto Maple Leafs in Dubai, they would make more money,” said Bakan. “The Super League stopped because the people and governments rose up.”

The discussion ended on an uplifting note for the future. Bakan advocated extolling the virtues that our societies value, such as democracy, freedom and equality, to create a world “in which people can flourish, where they can thrive, where they can be free, not just of government restrictions but ill health, hunger and poverty, where they can live lives of meaning and purpose in which their material needs are met.”

The past 40 years have seen corporations as drivers of policy rather than as tools, argues Bakan. “We need to understand that our democracy is what matters and its capacity to serve human flourishing and planetary survival. When we think about our policies, they need to be aimed at how we can use markets and corporations towards those ends – not how they can use us to serve markets and corporations.”

The film version of The New Corporation is available on several streaming services in Canada. As well, the CHW talk is available for anyone who donates $18 to CHW, for which a full tax receipt also will be provided. Visit chw.ca/thenewcorporation to register, or call the CHW Vancouver office at 604-257-5160. CHW supports programs and services for children and women, in healthcare and education, in Israel and Canada.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Ethical responsibilities in business

Writer and filmmaker Joel Bakan takes part in an online Canadian Hadassah-WIZO fundraising event May 30. (photo from Penguin Random House Canada)

The Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) Vancouver Book Club invites all CHW supporters, family and friends to an exclusive opportunity to be part of a conversation with Vancouver’s own Joel Bakan, an internationally recognized and award-winning author, producer, professor and legal scholar. Brunch with Bakan, which is a national CHW fundraising event, will take place May 30, at 11 a.m. PST.

Journalist and author Adam Elliott Segal will ask his own, as well as your questions, about Bakan’s hard-hitting book, The New Corporation: How “Good” Corporations are Bad for Democracy, which won the silver medal at the 2021 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Ethics and is shortlisted for the B.C. and Yukon Book Prize for 2021. Segal’s roots are in Vancouver, though he now lives in Toronto, where he writes for the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Reader’s Digest and a host of other newspapers and magazines.

The New Corporation traces the consequences of a world close to losing its foundation of democracy. Bakan says the onus is on us to make the necessary connections and to actively be part of meaningful solutions if we want to leave our children and grandchildren a positive future. The Q&A with Segal will have a special focus on Jewish values, and ethical responsibility in business and corporate governance.

There are various ticket tiers for the Brunch with Bakan event, from $18 for the Zoom talk only to $118 for the talk, access to stream the film, a copy of the book (minimum two-week turnaround time for delivery) and name recognition. All ticket tiers include a tax receipt for the maximum allowable amount and the film, called The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel, will be available May 25-28 for ticketholders to stream.

Over the last century, CHW has been involved in all aspects of Israeli life, supporting programs and services for children, women and healthcare in Israel and Canada. To tickets to the Brunch with Bakan fundraising event, visit chw.ca/thenewcorporation.

– Courtesy CHW Vancouver