education

Eco-Sisters mentorship

Reut Mealem, left, and Shahaf Ella Salach are coordinators and mentors for Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Eco-Sisters program. (photo from BGU)

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Eco-Sisters allows graduate students to mentor first-year female students or students considering studying STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.

“Our involvement in Eco-Sisters is both as coordinators and as mentors,” Reut Mealem, a PhD student in the department of information systems engineering, told the Independent of her and Shahaf Ella Salach’s connection to the program.

As a coordinator, Mealem – whose research focuses on applying machine learning methods to biological data to uncover meaningful insights – helps shape and guide the program’s activities, works closely with the mentors and supports the development of initiatives designed to encourage more female students to pursue STEM fields.

As a mentor, she provides direct support to women at different stages of their academic journey. This includes creating accessible channels of support, offering personalized guidance and building a community where women can ask questions, share concerns and feel less alone in the process.

“We chose to join Eco-Sisters as mentors because it is important to us to be a real source of support for women at the beginning of their journey and to offer guidance at eye level,” Mealem said.

Salach added that an involved mentor can make a meaningful difference by helping reduce uncertainty, organize information, support informed decision-making and strengthen the confidence that it is possible to succeed in academia while also enjoying the process.

“For us, personally, the program has highlighted the power of support and belonging. Meeting candidates and students, listening to them, guiding them and offering both practical and emotional tools has strengthened our sense of purpose. It gives us the opportunity to help other women take their first steps with greater confidence,” said Salach, a master’s student in mechanical engineering, whose research involves understanding the flow mechanism driving the cerebrospinal fluid in the brain.

Eco-Sisters was initiated in 2022 by Prof. Halleli Pinson, who served at the time as the president’s advisor for gender equity at BGU. The program was established as part of a broader national effort to promote gender equity in academia. Israel’s Council for Higher Education launched a five-year strategic plan in response to persistent gender gaps.

One of the clearest findings from the early research was the underrepresentation of women in STEM disciplines, despite these fields being both vital to the economy and offering strong professional opportunities.

“This underrepresentation is not seen as the result of innate differences, but rather as the outcome of long-standing social and educational patterns that often steer women away from STEM and toward more traditionally ‘feminine’ fields, typically associated with caregiving, interpersonal work and lower pay,” said Yael Hashiloni, a professor in the department of sociology and anthropology, who served as the president’s advisor for gender equity until October 2025.

“In response, increasing the number of women studying STEM became a national priority, and universities received dedicated funding to help advance this goal,” Hashiloni said.

Eco-Sisters was created to encourage women to take that first step into STEM fields and to support them along the way. The program does this through dedicated scholarships, mentoring and the creation of peer networks among women. These efforts are grounded in research showing that personal support, community and access to role models can play an important role in driving social change. Additionally, Eco-Sisters promotes women’s entrepreneurship through collaboration with the university’s entrepreneurship centre.

“This reflects not only a commitment to advancing women themselves, but also a broader understanding that diversity strengthens creativity, leads to more innovative solutions and helps address the needs of diverse communities in a more equitable way,” said Hashiloni.

Since its start, Eco-Sisters has supported dozens of female students, according to Hashlioni. And, this year, the program continued to grow, with the number of mentors increasing from 10 in 2025 to 13, and three additional university departments joining: computer science, software engineering and data engineering.

Last year’s program evaluation indicated strong mentor engagement and encouraging signs of increased women’s enrolment in the departments where the program has been active.

Mealem and Salach joined the program this year, so most of what they have seen by way of impact comes from their first conversations with prospective students, particularly during University Open Day, where they ran an Eco-Sisters booth and met young women considering STEM studies.

“Even in brief interactions, it was clear how much personal connection matters. Many were not only looking for information, but also for reassurance, encouragement and someone they could speak to openly,” said Mealem.

According to Salach, last year’s mentor survey reflected the program’s impact. Mentors described helping students with both practical and emotional aspects of the transition into university, from questions about registration and courses to the uncertainty that often comes with starting a degree.

“Many shared that the most meaningful part of the experience was knowing they had helped prospective students feel more confident and less alone,” Salach said of the mentors’ comments.

“From our experience so far,” she continued, “we feel that even a short conversation can make a difference. Seeing someone a little further along the same path can help prospective students imagine themselves there, too. That is part of what makes the program so meaningful: it gives women a welcoming first point of connection and helps them begin their journey with greater confidence.”

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

UBC needs a wake-up call

I am graduating and, somehow, my school, the University of British Columbia, feels more isolating than ever. This campus prides itself on the ideas of critical thinking and open dialogue. But, right now, it feels like neither is being practised. Instead, I see a culture where misinformation about Israel and the Jewish people spreads easily, where hateful slogans replace dialogue and where Jewish students are intimidated and harassed for expressing their Zionism and connection to Israel as an integral part of their Jewish identity. More than that, it feels like expressing these views comes with a social cost – one that many students quietly calculate before deciding whether it is even worth speaking at all.

I’m a Jewish student at UBC. And I’m done pretending this is normal.

Universities are supposed to be spaces where ideas are tested, challenged and debated openly. My four years at UBC have shown me that certain perspectives are treated as inherently unacceptable before the conversation even begins. If freedom means anything, it must include viewpoints that fall outside dominant campus narratives, including Zionist perspectives.

The role of campus groups and student politics cannot be ignored. UBC Staff for Palestine and the way BDS (boycott, divestment and sanction from Israel) is promoted within spaces like the Alma Mater Society elections are not just frustrating. They reflect a campus environment where hateful and discriminatory movements and campaigns are tolerated and normalized.

While BDS is framed as a progressive, justice-oriented movement, it seeks to end Israel’s existence and strip away Jewish rights to self-determination. If BDS were to achieve its political goals, Israeli Jews would either be killed, ethnically cleansed or forced to live as an oppressed minority. According to an official BDS handbook, campus divestment is merely a “stepping-stone” to larger-scale boycotts and other measures aimed at ending Israel’s existence. This hateful and destructive movement is experienced by most Jewish students as contributing to an environment that marginalizes and endangers the campus community.

At its core, this is where the disconnect becomes impossible to ignore. A movement presented as advancing human rights dismisses the legitimacy of a Jewish homeland altogether. When that position becomes the norm on campus without any serious scrutiny, it is not political activism but the legitimization of hate and exclusion.

It is also worth asking why this issue dominates student political spaces in the first place. In a world full of ongoing conflicts and humanitarian crises, Israel is consistently singled out in student government discourse with false and misleading accusations. It does not feel like a coincidence or a legitimate concern for human rights, but rather a pattern of disproportionate focus that shapes how we are perceived and treated on this campus.

These narratives often leave no room for nuance. There is no space to acknowledge complexity, no willingness to engage with perspectives that don’t fit a predetermined frame, and no recognition that calling for the dismantling of a Jewish homeland has real implications for Jewish students on this campus. BDS, for instance, actively tries to shut down Israeli-Palestinian cooperation and dialogue.

You cannot claim to advocate for justice while erasing the legitimacy of other people’s existence. And yet, that contradiction is increasingly accepted here at UBC.

Students like me are excluded from conversations that directly affect them. Discussions about our own homeland often unfold without any Zionist Jewish perspective present. And, many of us are hesitant to speak up, not because we lack arguments, but because we know how quickly disagreement is shut down or mischaracterized.

And there is one final point that cannot be ignored.

The rhetoric and imagery that have surfaced within anti-Israel activism on this campus go far beyond political critique and cross into something far more disturbing. Slogans, symbols and messaging that frame violence as “resistance” or elevate martyrdom are not abstract ideas. For Jewish students, they are not theoretical – they are deeply personal, and they create a real and growing sense of fear for our safety on campus.

When violence is normalized or even implicitly justified, it sends a message about whose lives are seen as expendable. That is not activism. That is not justice. And it has no place at a university that claims to value safety, inclusion and critical thought. UBC cannot continue to ignore this.

What kind of campus we are willing to accept? One where certain students feel unsafe, unheard and pushed to the margins, or one where difficult conversations happen without crossing the line into dehumanization? Right now, we are closer to the former.

A university should not act as an ideological gatekeeper. Its role is not to decide which perspectives are acceptable, but to ensure that all students can participate in good faith without fear of exclusion or intimidation.

UBC, it’s time to wake up.

Avigail Feldman is a fourth-year student at the University of British Columbia, completing a bachelor’s in political science, and set to begin a master of management. She is also a StandWithUs Canada Emerson Fellow.

BGU fosters startup culture

Left to right, at Ben-Gurion University’s Spark to Start-Up gala in Vancouver April 12: David Berson, Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, Michael Fugman, Martin Thibodeau, Caroline Desrosiers, Andrea Freedman and Adam Korbin. (photo from BGU Canada)

Israel is set to catapult into an unparalleled era of economic and creative growth, according to Saul Singer.

Singer is co-author, with Dan Senor, of the bestselling book, Startup Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle, and their most recent book, the The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World.

Singer made an analogy to a workout regimen in which people run with weights attached to them.

“The idea is, if you’re running with weights and you take those weights off, it’s really easy to run,” he said. “That’s what’s going to happen with Israel.”

Singer foresees something no less than “an opportunity to re-found the country.”

The generation that has fought in Gaza and in Lebanon are going to return to civilian life and feel like weights have been lifted from their shoulders, he said. “You’re going to see tremendous growth,” Singer said. “A tremendous force of building and optimism.”

Singer was in conversation with Niels Veldhuis, president of the Fraser Institute, at a gala event April 12 for Ben-Gurion University (BGU) Canada. Spark to Start-Up: Resilience Ignites Leaders took place at Beth Israel Synagogue and honoured community leader Michael Fugman. Revenue from the event supports Yazamut 360° Entrepreneurship Centre at Ben-Gurion University (jewishindependent.ca/creating-entrepreneurs).

Like Canada, Israel is a nation of immigrants, Singer pointed out. “Immigrants are natural entrepreneurs,” he said, noting that moving from one place to another takes drive and involves risks.

In their books, Singer and Senor credit mandatory military experience with instilling entrepreneurial skills in young Israelis. Singer has three daughters in the army right now, and one was put in charge of liaising with suppliers around complex weaponries, a subject in which she had no background.

“She said, ‘How am I going to do that? I can’t do it, any of this,’” Singer recounted. “And, sure enough, a year later, she was doing it. Israelis go through this experience time and time again, and it really helps make them entrepreneurs.”

Israeli society also benefits from being a unique hybrid of individualism and collectivity, he said. Most Western societies are becoming more polarized, with citizens dealing with mental health problems, depression and other consequences, which Singer puts down to, in part, “the unbridled march of individualism.”

“What is unique about the Jews is that they’re able to balance these two things: to be individual and yet have community,” he said. “That’s kind of our superpower. I think it’s a big chunk of why we survived for 2,000 years … and I think Israel has doubled down on it.

“You understand that you’re part of something larger than yourself,” he said, something that is emphasized by national service. “Service, by definition, is not just about you.”

The evening’s emphasis on entrepreneurship was underscored by Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, president of BGU. Under his leadership, the university launched a 10-year, $1 billion US global development campaign to double BGU’s physical footprint in Beersheva and expand its research capabilities.

Chamovitz described BGU’s venture capital initiative Cactus Capital, which provides funding to undergraduate students. “What’s unique about it,” he said, “is the advisory committee, which is dealing out the money, are also undergraduate students. We take our undergraduate students … train them as analysts and then give them the venture funds for them to fund different undergraduate ventures.”

Last year, three graduates of BGU’s women entrepreneur program addressed the problem that women in religious, traditional communities, whether Muslim or Jewish, tend not to get routine mammograms. The students developed a wearable app that monitors breast density and uses an algorithm to alert a doctor to call the woman in for a mammogram. The company received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, and garnered seed funding of $26 million.

Chamovitz summarized the ethos of David Ben-Gurion and of his eponymous university: “The possible we can do. The impossible takes a little bit longer.”

Given the closure of Israeli airspace due to ongoing conflict, organizers had a backup plan if Singer could not make it to Vancouver. In the end, attendees got a double bill, with Nuseir Yassin joining the evening’s lineup.

Known online as Nas Daily, Yassin is a social media influencer with 68 million followers. He promotes peace and understanding with one-minute videos that focus on stories that highlight humanity and transcend political conflict.

Yassin was the first Arab Israeli to attend Harvard University.

“After 19 years of being alive,” he said, his arrival at Harvard was an awakening. “I made my first Jewish friend, my first Israeli friend, my first female friend, my first gay friend, my first Black friend and my first Canadian friend. And, to be clear, these are not the same person.”

Attending Harvard in the shadow of Mark Zuckerberg, entrepreneurship was in the zeitgeist, Yassin said.

After an unsatisfying time as a software engineer in New York, Yassin quit the 9-to-5 and started pumping out videos. He made a splash posting 1,000 videos in 1,000 days.

“I made a video and I put it on the internet,” he said. “It failed. Nobody saw it. I made another video, it failed. I made another 270 videos in 270 days, and they all failed until video 271 – and that became the beginning of what we know today as Nas Daily.”

In the past 10 years, Yassin has visited 100 countries, but, when he is looking for fascinating story subjects, he realizes, he keeps coming back to Israel.

“Every time I was looking for people who think different to make videos about, I found them in Israel,” he said. “A vegan steak company: Israel. A technology to make cars drive: Israel. A security startup to hack your phone: Israel. Even my Singaporean team asked me, ‘What’s in the water in Israel?’ And I told them, ‘Nothing. It’s not the water, you fool, it’s the air.’ The air in Israel is really different. If everyone around you is thinking of a startup idea, you think of a startup idea, too. If everyone is into tech, you are into tech. Humans are memetic animals. We mimic the people around us. It’s as simple as that. And, clearly, the startup culture is super-contagious.”

Yassin is now moving away from video creation and has launched a new venture. “It’s an AI business platform,” he said. “It helps anybody start a business just by taking a picture of what they want to sell. AI creates the store, it creates the marketing contents, the videos and the pictures and finds the customer.”

Entrepreneurship – and Israeli entrepreneurship in particular – is an antidote to the negativity evoked by world news, he said.

“Open your phone and it’s all depressing,” said Yassin. “But, in these moments, I remember Canada’s greatest contribution to the world: hockey. And, in hockey, you don’t skate to where the puck is. You skate to where the puck is going. That’s what we’re doing today – we’re skating to where the puck is going. Even if today is super-depressing, the puck is going towards more peace, more collaborations, more entrepreneurship, less death, more prosperity…. So, the only option we have is to pick the damn puck up and push it forward together – and that, we can do.”

The Spark event honoured Michael Fugman, a community leader who has served on the boards of many organizations, including the United Way, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Richmond Country Club and the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. A former president of his family’s apparel business, Fugman managed more than 100 staff and oversaw $100 million in annual sales. He is now in business development with PearTree Canada, a financial firm that created a system to help people donate to charities in a tax-efficient way. PearTree and RBC Royal Bank were the event’s presenting sponsors.

Honorary co-chairs of the event, Caroline Desrosiers and husband Martin Thibodeau, who is regional president of RBC in British Columbia, presented Fugman with the BGU Canada Award for Outstanding Leadership. They were joined for the presentation by Chamovitz, BGU Canada chief executive officer Andrea Freedman, BGU Canada regional president Adam Korbin and BGU Canada regional director David Berson.

Fugman credited his family – going back to his immigrant grandparents – for instilling in him Jewish values, devotion to family and commitment to Israel. He noted his cousin Mordechai, who died, at age 17, in Israel’s War of Independence. Fugman acknowledged his family in the audience, including wife Kathi.

Simon Margolis, who has known Fugman since Grade 1 at Vancouver Talmud Torah, was emcee.

Keeper of VTT’s history

David Bogoch, second from the left in the second row, is one of three generations of his family to attend Vancouver Talmud Torah. (photo from David Bogoch)

“David has been so dedicated to VTT,” Vancouver Talmud Torah head of school Emily Greenberg told the JI about why the school is honouring David Bogoch at their May 14 gala.

“From his dedication to our archives and to his preserving our traditions and our history, to being really forward-focused and really understanding what the school needs to be successful,” she said.

“He’s also been very dedicated to our alumni and, as an elementary school, having an engaged alumni is a bit more challenging than a high school, just inherently, but he’s really been an advocate,” she added, noting that Bogoch has been a mentor to her.

“I came here seven years ago, and he was one of my very first meetings that I had,” she recalled. “He and I meet semi-regularly and he’s somebody I can pick up the phone and call at any time and say I need your advice on this…. And what I know is that he has no other agenda than VTT must be a successful place, and we must make sure we’re doing well to serve the community and to serve Vancouver’s Jewish future.”

Bogoch also connected VTT with Stable Harvest Farm. Syd Belzberg has a named space at the school, so was already a big supporter, but, in recent years, he has focused his philanthropic efforts on the nonprofit community farm. VTT’s partnership with Stable Harvest has been central to the school’s plant-based learning program and most of the students are out there at least once or twice a year, said Greenberg.

“We now have curriculum across all grades where our kids are integrating and learning through plants … not just the growing cycle but environmental technology, environmentalism, how to care for the land, the agrotechnology that’s coming out of Israel – drip irrigation, for example, it’s in our garden and it’s something that Syd uses…. The partnership with the farm and then our Jewish Community Garden … has been just an amazing marriage.”

Plant-based learning is one of the school’s hallmark programs, what differentiates VTT from other schools, said Greenberg. Funds raised from the gala will go towards it, as well as the school’s hallmark athletics, arts and other programs.

“Then, of course, there’s always tuition assistance – that’s a piece that we want to continue to support so that all families who want a Jewish education are able to attain it,” she said.

“This coming year, we’re introducing a universal lunch program, so all of our kids are going to be on a meal plan,” Greenberg said, which means the kitchen will need outfitting and the dining hall updating so that the school can “feed about 600 people a day a kosher, healthy lunch that will be tied into some of our plant-based learning…. That’s definitely a high undertaking of the school that we’re hoping to fund.”

For his part, Bogoch said, “I would love to see record amounts of money being raised – and I’d like to see record amounts of attendance and satisfaction.”

Bogoch’s father, Dr. Abraham (Al) Bogoch, was “Mr. Talmud Torah,” spearheading multiple building campaigns on behalf of the school, among many other things. And David Bogoch has followed in those footsteps. He’s been the keeper of VTT’s archive for more than 20 years and is responsible for the alumni portfolio.

“Why? Because it’s a good puzzle,” he told the Independent. “Trying to find every person that went to TT since 1918, trying to identify them, whether they’re living or dead, what’s their current email address and phone number, their mailing address.”

He noted that, every decade or two, the names one sees on various boards and in other community activities and volunteer positions change. For example, when more Israelis started coming, there were more Israeli names. “Same thing happened in the ’50s, when all the Hungarian kids showed up, so they had different names. When Soviet Jewry ended up leaving Russia and coming over…. When Yugoslavia broke up, there was an influx in kids at Talmud Torah with unusual last names.”

photo - David Bogoch, curator of Vancouver Talmud Torah’s archive, will be honoured at the school’s May 14 gala — David Bogoch, curator of Vancouver Talmud Torah’s archive, will be honoured at the school’s May 14 gala. *(photo by Jennifer Shecter)*

It is from exploring the school’s archives that Bogoch sees such trends.

“Every time somebody adds something to the archives, whether it’s photos or documents, it’s always adding to the inventory, so now we’re well over 50,000 documents, photos, in the archives,” he said. “And it’s growing like crazy because we haven’t included [yet] a lot of the digital stuff that Jenn [Shecter] or the other people at the school are taking. And, each year, there are new alumni.”

The archives has benefited from past presidents keeping material from their time on the school’s board, said Bogoch. He also has gone through every Jewish Western Bulletin/Jewish Independent from 1925 to about 2010, copying every mention of Vancouver Talmud Torah.

“We got so much of the information about the history of the school through the Jewish Independent, through the Jewish Western Bulletin,” he said, listing off some of the many types of fundraisers the school has had over the years. “The most weird one,” he said, “was a Gentleman’s Smoke, where they got together, they drank some whiskey and they smoked, either cigarettes, cigars or pipes.”

Seeing how the community has evolved and how the city has changed are two of Bogoch’s favourite aspects of working with the archives, “finding out the early stories of Strathcona,” and stories from when most of the Jewish community moved “to False Creek, and then to Oakridge, and spreading all over the Lower Mainland.”

In preparation for the gala, he’s been going through material with his son, Adam, who knows the school’s history as well as his dad and grandfather, having not only attended VTT but also having written and directed the one-hour documentary Vancouver Talmud Torah Onward: The 100-Year History, which was released in 2017, as part of the school’s centenary celebrations.

While the most visible Bogoch link to VTT is via the paternal side, from father to son to grandson, David Bogoch’s mom, Margaret, was also involved – in the PTA and in fundraising – as well as with other Jewish organizations, such as Hadassah.

The gala event honouring Bogoch is aptly called The Roots We Share.

“There are families that have four generations who have gone to TT. That’s pretty amazing,” he said.

“Right now, the school is so strong, I could not see it failing. You never know what happens in the future, but I can almost guarantee that, if you have people in the background who are willing to step up and make sure it doesn’t fail, it’ll stay. That’s the way I look at my role – behind the scenes. I don’t like to be up front, that’s why this is so unusual, to be up front,” he said about being honoured.

He hopes that people will be inspired by what fellow community members have done to keep Jewish communal life going. He wants people to feel as excited about the school as he is.

At the May 14 event, guests will enter through a passageway of photos from throughout VTT’s history. Adam Bogoch also will create a video tribute to his dad, as well as a video for the night’s formal fundraising ask. He has been tasked with creating other event exhibits that highlight his dad’s archival work.

“Time capsules, in a sense,” said the younger Bogoch. “Guests will be transported into different decades of the school’s history, seeing themselves as children, their parents/grandparents and their old teachers/colleagues, visually experiencing where the school has been, where it is today, and hopefully how it will continue.

“The event is called The Roots We Share and, whether those are old roots or ones just taking shape, what will hopefully be realized is a continuum of values, experiences and purpose.”

“When we understand that we’re part of that history,” said Greenberg, “we understand the purpose of what we’re doing – and no one understands that more than David – that we are linked to our history, we’re linked arm and arm with it, and that’s what will help propel us into the future. We have to have that proper respect and honour for the past, and also the shoulders we stand on, and he really understands that…. He’s such a bridge in so many ways for the school.

“He’s a bridge between the past and the future, he was a bridge to Stable Harvest Farm, he’s been a personal bridge for me to this community and I’m just so grateful for his ongoing engagement in the school,” she said. “He obviously gets great joy from it and I always tell him, he’s not allowed to go anywhere.”

For tickets to the gala, go to talmudtorah.com.

Human “book” event

At Richmond Public Library’s Human Library® event April 12, people will be able to choose from about a dozen “books,” people who will share their personal stories. (photo from RPL)

Join the conversation at Richmond Public Library’s fourth annual Human Library® event. Taking place on April 12, from 1 to 4 p.m., there will be approximately a dozen “book” topics to check out.

The Human Library® is a nonprofit organization that began with its first event in Denmark in 2000. It has established itself as a global learning platform with an initiative to create safe spaces for dialogue between human “books” and their “readers.” The conversations between books and readers can help challenge prejudices and stereotypes, and can contribute more broadly to greater cohesion across social, ethnic and religious divisions.

During a Human Library® event, readers will see a variety of available book titles and be able to select one to “borrow” for a 20-minute reading slot. Readers and books will then have a one-on-one conversation, where books will introduce themselves and readers will have the opportunity to ask questions. At previous Human Library® events held at RPL, books have shared stories of their struggles with such things as mental illness, homelessness, and integrating to life in Canada as a newcomer.

This is a drop-in event, so no pre-registration is required. It is also free to attend. Participants will be invited to borrow books on a first-come, first-served basis until “last call” at 3:30 p.m. The event is appropriate for a teen, adult or senior audience. To find out more, go to yourlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events.

– Courtesy Richmond Public Library

Teach critical thinking

We are failing in a battle we cannot afford to lose. Canadians and the world are trying, unsuccessfully, to control the spread of misinformation and disinformation at the source, policing online platforms, flagging content and regulating perpetrators.

This “supply-side” approach is fundamentally flawed. Information today moves too fast, too freely and too globally to ever be contained. Controlling what is produced is a losing battle. Our main hope is to vaccinate consumers of information against the pandemic of lies.

In recent issues, the Independent has reported on steps being taken by the provincial and federal governments to police boundaries (for example, provincial legislation that would create “bubble zones” around religious institutions) and strengthening hate crime laws (the federal government’s Bill C-9). These are deeply necessary and well-intentioned steps.

They are also like plugging a collapsing dike.

In the immediate term, we need to police speech that is hateful and potentially violent. In the longer term, we need to educate citizens to differentiate between truth and lies so they are less susceptible to bigoted ideas and misinformation.

B’nai Brith Canada has launched a national digital literacy campaign that is timely and necessary. (Click here for story.) Even this initiative, though, should go further. Digital literacy alone is not enough. Canadians – and people everywhere – require a much broader foundation in critical thinking and media consumption. They need to know not just how to use digital tools, but how to question and critique all manner of information: how to evaluate sources, how to distinguish fact from fiction, commentary from reporting, propaganda from legitimate information.

If individuals are equipped to interrogate what they see – if they instinctively ask, “Who created this? Why? What evidence supports it? What motivations might the creator have beyond informing me?” – then misinformation loses some of its power. It stops spreading, not because it has been removed, but because it has been assessed and rejected by its targets.

Importantly, this is not just about young people, though teaching students these skills early is essential. Misinformation does not discriminate by age, and neither should our response. In many cases, older generations, who did not grow up in a digital environment, are even more susceptible.

The world is experiencing a tsunami of information. Everything – everything – depends on the ability of each of us to navigate these surging waters. If people cannot tell what is real, they cannot make informed decisions or vote responsibly. If they cannot distinguish truth from manipulation, democracy itself erodes.

This is especially relevant right now to Jewish Canadians, who are deeply concerned by surging antisemitism and antizionism. We are wringing our hands over how to successfully confront this crisis. If we can train people to identify misinformation, propaganda and assorted falsehoods and conspiracies, the Jew-hatred problem may not entirely resolve itself. Those steps would, however, almost certainly be the most effective and enduring contemporary response to an ancient and enduring bigotry.

A society that can think critically is a society that is less easily misled. And, in today’s world, that may be the most important skill of all.

Learning to bridge divides

A friend from my grad school, Jill, has a distinguished academic career. She’s now the chair of her university’s religious studies department. She’s co-authored a book on dialogue in education and works with an organization called Essential Partners, which “helps people build relationships across differences to address their communities’ most pressing challenges.” This work shows great promise in helping people listen and learn from one another.

This dialogue-oriented academic approach draws on the Socratic seminar, an ancient learning technique I was taught as a young teacher. It gets students to interact, do analysis and to listen carefully to one another.

I was thrilled that this technique was used in one of my twins’ public school English classes. His regular teacher was on leave and an experienced, retired teacher took over the classes as a long-term sub. As a former English teacher, I watched my Grade 9 student dig into the material. He did prep work to learn how to participate, including writing journal entries and eventually producing a literary analysis essay. The cherry on top was that this whole unit focused on Elie Wiesel’s book Night. The students finally accessed some Holocaust education (mandated by the province but not previously implemented) as part of this rigorous unit.

Then my kid reported that classmates said the sub was “trying to Jewify” them. Later, classmates said he only got high marks because he was Jewish and a teacher’s pet. In a polarized political climate, this teacher did everything right to facilitate safe dialogue and teach important texts. Even so, antisemitism popped up – showing how necessary dialogue like this is for our society at this moment.

Our household likes to discuss and debate. We don’t shy away from difficult topics. I think we succeed at this type of conversation at the dinner table, though we could all benefit from improvement in our listening habits.

When I became a parent, I stepped back from the academic work I used to love. I became a caretaker when we had twins, due to health challenges. I also mostly stopped teaching, due to all the moves necessary for my husband’s work.

To “get back” some of this work, I’ve explored different opportunities in the last year. I spoke on “finding hope,” as part of an ethics, politics and humanity panel at an interfaith conference. I committed to teaching two workshops at Limmud. In another foray, I took advantage of a podcast’s call for entries and applied. This local academic podcast focuses on “peopling the past.” They requested submissions to examine the relevance of the ancient world in understanding contemporary issues.

I wanted to explore how the Babylonian Talmud, in tractates Zevachim and Menachot, examines boundaries, definitions and understandings of “appropriate sacrifice.” I saw fascinating parallels between this ancient discussion and how textbook definitions of words like “apartheid,” “genocide” and “colonization” are being manipulated today. I thought it could make a great case study of how the Talmud recorded hundreds of years of comparison and dialogue between rabbis (scholars) and how that model might be applied to analytic discussion today.

The rabbis disagreed about definitions and details. It was a high stakes conversation for them. Ritual sacrifice in the Temple was a thing of the past, but they felt it essential to understand and record the right way to do this, so the Jewish people would know how to manage if the Temple were rebuilt. Further, if the Temple is never rebuilt, what could we learn from the “right” and holy way to do sacrifice?

Months passed. The deadline for hearing back from the podcast organizers passed. I inquired politely but heard nothing. Then, I did something I should have done in the first place. I researched more about the nearby academic organizing this. I learned this academic was heavily invested in Palestinian activism. Once I read this, I figured I would never even hear back about my proposal. Yet, to my surprise, I got a polite form letter, which (of course) turned down my submission.

My pitch might not have been competitive. I’ve got two master’s degrees but no PhD or university affiliation. The topic maybe was too controversial. Perhaps my write-up was too plainspoken. After sleeping on it, I realized none of that mattered. In fact, I was relieved. After all, considering my family’s challenges in listening more and talking less at the Shabbat table, I wondered if I could have pulled off a podcast conversation with a person so firmly entrenched in an opposing and confrontational viewpoint.

Studying Daf Yomi (a page of Talmud a day) since January 2020 helps me shed light on these career-building experiences. Every day, I read rabbis’ debates, over centuries, that model dialogue and analytic questioning. There are aspects of the Socratic seminar in these texts and the ways in which scholars build relationships and bridge differences to solve their communities’ challenges. Repeatedly, I see this difficult, but meaningful, process play out between rabbis who lived almost 2,000 years ago, in a text compiled a little over 1,500 years ago.

A reflective teacher evaluates what was or wasn’t successful in an assignment or lesson plan. This recent rejection allowed me that reflection. I’d take off points if I assessed myself. First, I failed to do enough research to realize that this podcast, while geographically convenient, wasn’t a good fit for ideological reasons. Second, it helped me examine ways I can grow as a listener and work to create meaningful spaces for respectful, safe dialogue across deep divides. Studying Talmud for a few minutes a day, across six years, gives me even more respect for the role of civilized, rigorous discussion and safe spaces to disagree. Some people aren’t ready to grow this way. They cannot leave space for that intellectual growth. When challenged, they respond with rejection or name calling, as my kid experienced.

Finally, I realized why sometimes academics spend a lot of grant money and time on choosing the “right” professor to travel to their institution. It’s sometimes too uncomfortable to sit in the room with someone who is not an easy match. Still, we might learn more from the dialogue with those more challenging discussion partners. Learning to bridge divides and live together is sometimes the most meaningful work, after all.

Joanne Seiff has written regularly for the Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com.

Call for digital literacy

The federal government must develop a comprehensive national digital literacy program aimed at protecting young people from a wide range of online harms, because current efforts are fragmented and insufficient, according to B’nai Brith Canada.

The national advocacy group is proposing a major national project on this front, something that emerged after B’nai Brith’s appearance before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage last December. The committee was studying the impact of social media on young people.

In its submission, B’nai Brith focused on the risks of online extremism and radicalization. However, testimony before the committee revealed a much broader problem.

“We heard compelling testimony … from those confronting the impact of exploitation, sex exploitation, financial exploitation, misinformation, disinformation, really the gamut of online harms,” said Richard Robertson, the organization’s director of research and advocacy.

In response, B’nai Brith launched a campaign in late 2025 calling on Ottawa to fund and implement a national youth digital literacy program. The goal is to consolidate existing resources and ensure they reach young people across the country.

Robertson stressed that the issue extends beyond education policy and requires a coordinated national response.

“We don’t believe this is a curriculum issue. We don’t believe that this is an education issue. This is a national issue,” he said, adding that the problem “transcends provincial borders.”

The proposed program would bring together existing tools and expertise developed by various organizations and make them more accessible and impactful. Rather than building entirely new materials, the focus would be on refining and distributing what already exists.

Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy at B’nai Brith Canada. (photo from BBC)

“There’s a lot of great resources out there … what we need to do is ensure that those resources are getting to our youth,” Robertson said.

The campaign is also calling for federal funding – potentially through the next federal budget – to support both the development and promotion of the program. B’nai Brith envisions using the same channels that already reach young people, including social media and other digital platforms.

Campaigns targeting specific demographics “are not novel to our society,” Robertson noted, and similar strategies could be used to deliver digital literacy content effectively.

The organization has begun developing a framework for the proposed program and is seeking to collaborate with experts in Canada and internationally. Early endorsements have come from groups including the Canadian School Libraries Association and the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab at American University.

While some jurisdictions, including Australia, have restricted young people’s access to social media, B’nai Brith argues that education remains essential regardless of regulatory approaches.

“You can try to restrict their access … but they will find their ways to interact with it,” Robertson said. He added that online harms extend beyond social media to video games, forums and other platforms that are difficult to regulate.

The organization’s position is that education should complement – not replace – regulatory efforts. B’nai Brith has been engaging with government on digital regulation and plans to participate in an upcoming parliamentary study on artificial intelligence.

Robertson said his group has received a positive initial response from policymakers and is hopeful that funding could be included in the next federal budget, either through new allocations or existing programs.

Beyond federal action, B’nai Brith is also encouraging provincial governments to take steps, particularly within school systems.

“We do an excellent job of … making sure [youth are] literate with technology,” Robertson said. “We need to make sure that their use of technology is a positive experience by also devoting attention to the dangers.”

B’nai Brith is seeking support from civil society organizations and individual Canadians as well, as it builds momentum for the initiative.

The campaign comes as concerns continue to grow about the impact of digital spaces on young people. For B’nai Brith Canada, the urgency is clear: online risks are evolving quickly, and a coordinated national response is needed to help youth navigate them safely.

Students create fancy meal

King David High School students prepared a high-end Italian meal for some 90 guests on March 12. (photo by Galit Lewinski Photography)

There were 90 diners in the restaurant, and Italian music played in the background as servers whisked around the room efficiently, delivering appetizers, exquisitely plated entrees, palate cleansers and mouthwatering desserts. Bouquets of rosemary and bay leaves adorned the white tablecloths; red and white checkered napkins added an extra touch. Two opera singers made a guest appearance during the meal.

photo - King David High School’s gymnasium was transformed into an Italian restaurant for this year’s Lion’s Den. Grade 10 students were responsible for every aspect of the meal, including the menu — King David High School’s gymnasium was transformed into an Italian restaurant for this year’s Lion’s Den. Grade 10 students were responsible for every aspect of the meal, including the menu. *(photo from KDHS)*

This was no regular Vancouver restaurant – the setting on March 12 was the auditorium at King David High School. The diners were staff members at KDHS and parents. The chefs were Grade 10 students who had spent seven months testing and perfecting recipes.

The meal, called Lion’s Den, has been a highly anticipated annual event at the school for the past 11 years. Each year, the foods class picks a theme for their Lion’s Den and spends months exploring options, menu planning and learning to think like chefs. For Hilit Nurick, the school’s home economics teacher, the seven-month prep time is transformational.

photo - On the day of the event, they entered the kitchen first thing in the morning and were hard at work until dinner service ended and the final clean-up was completed — On the day of the event, they entered the kitchen first thing in the morning and were hard at work until dinner service ended and the final clean-up was completed. *(photo by Galit Lewinski Photography)*

“It’s a milestone event for the foods class, and it’s incredible to see the students change from the beginning of the year to this moment,” she reflected. “They become accountable, responsible, detail-oriented and good at working in teams. At the beginning of the year, they care mostly about what they can eat, but, by the end, it’s all about putting the event together, and it’s beautiful to watch them accomplish this.”

Ask any caterer – it’s no small feat to prepare a four-course meal for 90 people. In preparation for the Lion’s Den, students spent three solid days in the kitchen, working side by side with mentors from the senior classes. On the day of the event, they entered the kitchen first thing in the morning and were hard at work until dinner service ended and the final clean-up was completed.

photo - The first page of Lion's Den 2026's menu, all prepared by King David High School students. (photo from KDHS) — The first page of Lion’s Den 2026’s menu, all prepared by King David High School students. *(photo from KDHS)*

The menu, in line with any high-end restaurant, featured focaccia with dips including whipped ricotta, black olive tapenade and tomato confit, a lemon sorbet palate cleanser, an entree of fish branzino with seared eggplant, fennel steak and kale salad, and a dessert trio of biscotti, stracciatella ice cream and tiramisu.

“We heard the meal was delicious, the food was beautifully plated, the servers were very calm and efficient and that the music was fabulous,” Nurick said, describing some of the praise that came from throughout the dining room over the course of the evening.

“The Italian meal was amazing,” said Seth Goldsweig, KDHS head of school. “We could have filled up on the delicious appetizers, but we knew that an incredible main course was on the way. The lemon sorbet palate cleanser was a really nice, professional touch. And the tiramisu found a special place in my heart!”

photo - The second page of the evening's menu — The second page of the evening’s menu. *(photo from KDHS)*

While diners ate and mingled, a slideshow played with photographs from the three-day preparation. Galit Lewinski took photographs during the event itself.

Only after the last dessert had exited the kitchen did the students get to eat. By then, they were joyful, exhausted and fully appreciative of what it truly takes to create a memorable meal.

As mentioned, the theme for this year’s Lion’s Den was Italian. Previous themes have included Japanese, Thai, Israeli, Korean, Bedouin and Mexican.

“Whatever the theme, we really immerse ourselves within it, learning the basics of the food and the culture and trying to make everything from scratch,” Nurick said. “It’s not always easy – Japanese especially was challenging!”

It takes a special kind of talent to pull off an evening like this, Goldsweig added. “Hilit performs magic to coordinate over 50 students who work together to prepare the meal each year, and the evening is a highlight for King David. But she’s also teaching our students the culinary skills they need to feed themselves top-notch food, which is an invaluable life skill.”

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.

Encouraging young voices

Larry Barzelai addresses those gathered for the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s Public Speaking Contest on March 5. (photo from JFGV)

On March 5, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s annual Public Speaking Contest took place at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. Students in Grade 4 through Grade 7, from a range of schools, participated.

The contest, which was created more than 35 years ago by Larry Barzelai, with his wife, Rhona Gordon, is jointly presented by Federation, the JCC and Israel Bonds.

“It provides young people with a meaningful platform to express their ideas,” wrote Jewish Federation chief executive officer Ezra Shanken in his weekly email message.

“Their confidence and creativity reflect the strength and promise of the next generation,” noted Shanken, who also spoke at the event.

Federation’s Lissa Weinberger is a key organizer, wrangling both student participants and their parents, as well as volunteer judges and moderators from the community.

Suggested topics ranged from “What is your favourite Jewish holiday and why?” to “From a Jewish perspective, should leaders be held accountable for mistakes they made in the past?” The 10 suggestions included talking about the Jewish values gained from a favourite picture book, the importance of food in Jewish culture, and the ethics of using ChatGPT; the 11th suggestion was a topic of the student’s choosing.

In each category, there were three winners.

In Grade 7, they were Shiran Cohen (1st), Shael Singerman (2nd) and Meah Corea Reyes (3rd).

In Grade 6, Group 1, it was David Herlin (1st), Olivia White (2nd) and Nogah Goldenberg (3rd).

Grade 6, Group 2, saw Liz Sinderman (1st), Gilad Shortt (2nd) and Miriam Gordon (3rd) take home the top prizes.

In Grade 5, it was Ella Zack (1st), Ben Kupfer (2nd) and Josie Prokosh (3rd).

In Grade 4, it was Levi Wenner (1st), Olivia Bregman (2nd) and Amelia Silverman (3rd).

– Courtesy Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver