Last week, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, in conjunction with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, released the results of a community survey on antisemitism. There were, perhaps, few surprises.
Of those surveyed, 85% said that antisemitism has “increased a lot” since Oct. 7, 2023. More than 60% of respondents said they avoid displaying items that would identify them publicly as Jewish and almost two in three said they avoid particular places and events out of concern for their safety.
A public opinion poll released around the same time indicated that the often-discussed “silent majority” is on our side – most British Columbians are concerned about antisemitism. More than three-quarters of respondents to a Research Co. poll said they are concerned about “aggressive behaviour by pro-Palestinian protesters,” “protesters targeting Jewish neighbourhoods and Jewish-owned businesses” and “rising prejudice against Jewish Canadians.”
While we would appreciate if the solidarity expressed in this survey were articulated more vocally and visually, it is reassuring to know that the targeting of our community is not unnoticed or uncontested. The survey is, in any event, a rare encouraging sign.
It may seem delusional to seek rays of light amid reports of unabating antisemitism. But is one narrative of Passover not precisely to remind us that we have met and overcome suffering and subjugation in the past? When we celebrate the holiday, we are reanimating our collective experience of resistance to tyranny and oppression, the birth pangs of our peoplehood, and the victory over apathy and forgetting. An unequivocal through-line across Jewish history is resilience.
We retell the story of Exodus every year during the seder not as history but as a living, spiritual framework for Jewish identity and values.
While this is a very difficult time, it also has the capacity to bring out tenacity, determination and unity among the Jewish people.
Difficulty can also create cracks in unity. This is the night when, more than other nights, we reflect on liberation from literal or figurative slavery – in today’s situation, perhaps, freedom from violence and discrimination – and the imperative of Jews to protect and advocate for liberation. So, as we witness growing fissures in the Jewish world, let us rededicate ourselves to the project of liberation and peoplehood based on fundamental values of freedom, love, unity and community.
On Passover, we are reminded that there are pharaohs in every generation who seek to destroy and oppress. We utter the words “You shall tell your children,” because a vivid memory of the past is central to facing our present and creating our future. Every generation faces its own “Egypt.” The work of liberation is not yet finished.
May those who are held captive in Gaza, those who are fighting to defend Israel, those experiencing violence and discrimination, or seeking freedom in any form, be redeemed.
Marcie Flom leaves the Jewish Community Foundation after 21 years, to pursue the next chapter of her professional life.(photo from Jewish Federation)
“I just want to say that I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to serve this community for as long as I have, and I want to acknowledge all the support of the staff and volunteers I have had the pleasure of working with,” said Marcie Flom, whose last day as executive director of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver was Dec. 27. “Community work is a team effort, and we are very fortunate in the Vancouver community to have a wealth of talented and passionate volunteers and professionals who care deeply and contribute wholeheartedly to its success.”
Flom leaves her post after 21 years.
“It is always good to leave on a high note and I achieved my personal goal of stewarding the Jewish Community Foundation over the $100 million mark,” she said. “There is a very strong and competent team in place at the Foundation and Federation and exceptional lay leadership in the Foundation governors under chair Howard Kallner.
“With all that in place, it is the perfect time for me to move on to pursue the next chapter in my professional life. I’m planning to continue my work with donors and families to assist them with their philanthropy – it’s the piece of life’s work that brings me the greatest joy and fulfillment.”
Flom joined the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver in 2004, when she was recruited by then-new executive director of Federation Mark Gurvis, who now serves as chief executive officer of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, for the role of Foundation director. (The Foundation was founded in 1989 as the endowment program of Federation and has developed from there.)
“I had spent most of my career in the not-for-profit sector working in the arts, first for the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto and then for the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company,” said Flom.
This experience in marketing and development is one of the reasons Gurvis reached out to her.
“I was a new mother and consulting at the time, and I felt strongly that I wanted to raise my daughter in the community,” said Flom about why she accepted the Foundation position. “It was also a challenging time in Israel, and I thought it was the perfect time to use my experience for the benefit of the community here and in Israel. It was an excellent role for me, and I saw a great deal of potential for growing the Foundation and raising my daughter in a caring community.”
Flom’s role at the organization also grew.
“After a few years as Foundation director,” she said, “the Federation recognized that it needed a more donor-centric and holistic approach to working with donors to match their interests to fill gaps in community services and to meet emerging needs. I had the relevant experience in marketing and fundraising to integrate those functions operationally into a new philanthropic model which addressed financial resource development across the organization.
“I moved into a VP role, which was largely operational. With the level of operational experience and knowledge that I cultivated, I was positioned to serve in greater capacity, culminating in my most recent role, with oversight of the community engagement and local and overseas allocations processes. It was the perfect role as I wrapped up my time with Federation, the integration of revenue and the distribution and granting of charitable funds. I also managed the allocation of our communities Israel Emergency Funds alongside chair Stephen Gaerber and the director of Federation’s Israel office, Rachel Sachs. I cannot begin to express how meaningful and impactful that process has been for me personally during one of the darkest periods in the history of the country.”
Federation is currently recruiting a senior development professional to fill the vacancy Flom’s departure leaves. Not an easy task.
“One of the things that stands out most about Marcie is her people-first approach,” wrote Ezra Shanken, Jewish Federation chief executive officer since 2014, in his weekly Shabbat message last November, when he announced Flom’s decision. “She has mentored many of our staff over the years, and has built authentic and long-lasting relationships with partners and donors who speak of her impeccable integrity, her strategic approach, and her genuine care for community.”
Shanken wrote that it was with “mixed emotions that we share that Marcie will be stepping down from her role with us at the end of this year. We will miss her, but she is ready to start a new chapter in her career, and we are excited for her.”
Among the highlights of her time at the Foundation, Flom said, “Of course, participating actively in our community’s growth and seeing the funding directly impact capacity across community has been incredibly rewarding, but I am also so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many community members to help them achieve their philanthropic goals through association with Federation and through their funds at the Foundation. That aspect of my work has always been a true pleasure, and it was only possible because of the many trusted relationships I have with the people I have worked with across our community, including lay leaders and the professionals. Those are treasured and greatly valued.”
There were challenges over the years, notably COVID and Oct. 7.
“I also distinctly remember the financial crisis of 2008,” said Flom. “Isaac Thau was chair of the Foundation’s investment committee at the time, the markets were significantly down and there was tremendous pressure related to portfolio performance. Isaac fondly recalls it as ‘the time that we couldn’t walk through the JCC lobby without wearing a helmet.’ It was challenging for sure, but the Foundation closed the year with a moderate loss compared to others like the Vancouver Foundation and, in the end, the way we navigated that time helped to build our reputation.”
That reputation no doubt helped the Foundation reach the milestone of more than $100 million in assets under management.
“The growth is attributable to the strategic plan but, more importantly, the trust and confidence the Foundation has built in our community,” Flom affirmed. “The governance and committee structure in place, the passion, knowledge and expertise of our volunteers, particularly at the governor and investment committee tables, have all built confidence so more and more community members and charitable organizations are turning to the Foundation to manage their assets and assist them with their philanthropy.”
The Foundation distributes more than $3 million annually to “a broad range of charitable organizations and areas of service across community through its unrestricted grant program and from donor-advised and -designated funds,” she said. “The Foundation works with fund holders to meet new and emerging needs in the community, support organizations and their program delivery, and to provide legacy support for organizations to carry out their important work in perpetuity.”
Since Oct. 7, 2023, many members of the Jewish community have experienced antisemitism in some form or another. Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs have been addressing these incidents, as well as progressing on a strategy to combat it.
A taskforce on antisemitism was appointed last November. Phase 1 was an emergency response in the months directly after Hamas’s attack on Israel. Phase 2, well underway, is about protecting the local community, strengthening relationships with allies, expanding education and raising awareness. This second phase includes an examination of how antisemitism is preventing community members from thriving, and research on how other communities have responded to similar challenges. It seeks to answer the questions, what can we learn from others and what are the best practices for combating antisemitism?
The taskforce is composed of volunteer professionals with different subject matter expertise from across the Jewish community. Between now and April 2025, they will examine manifestations of antisemitism in various sectors and how community members are responding to it. In April, they will deliver findings to the Federation board, with a formal presentation scheduled for the annual general meeting in June. The goal is to develop insights that will ensure the Jewish community can continue to thrive.
“We’re looking at different aspects of community life, including schools for children K-12, Hillel and campus life, the unions and the experiences of new Israelis coming to Vancouver,” said Mijal Ben Dori, vice-president, community planning, partnerships and innovation at Federation. “For example, new-to-Vancouver Israelis are having challenges finding jobs because they have to answer questions about whether they’ve served in the IDF and if they were in Israel after Oct. 7. Based on their answers to these questions, fewer Israelis are passing through the human resource departments of firms in BC.”
Emet Davis, director of Community Organizing Against Antisemitism, at Federation, said the taskforce has identified key areas that are particularly egregious “In the K-12 school system, school boards and teachers unions are engaged in rewriting history or the erasure of the Jewish experience in curriculum and lesson planning,” said Davis. “At post-secondary institutions across BC, antisemitic tactics this year have been more vitriolic and widespread, posing safety threats to our Jewish students. These are areas where we really have to focus our attention.”
The arts community is another concerning sector. “Groups like the BC Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts are using DEI criteria to issue grants, which excludes Jews,” Davis said. “That’s not the only area where Jews are being excluded based on DEI criteria.”
This three-to-five year phase of Community Organizing Against Antisemitism will require a budget of $10 million, for staffing, fight-back advertising and a legal resiliency fund. The hope is that funding will come from private foundations, the Jewish and broader communities.
Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.
Last month, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver transferred $9.3 million from its Israel Emergency Campaign. Additionally, the allocations committee approved a further $1.4 million for transfer.
It has been more than 10 months since Oct. 7, and the situation in Israel remains dynamic and unstable as a full-scale war looms in the north. Rachel Sachs, director of Federation’s Israel office, provided the following update:
“Over the past few months, as the situation in the south stabilized and transitioned into rebuilding, the situation in the north has escalated, creating more complex challenges for displaced communities.
“Mutual fire along the northern border has been steady since October 2023 but has escalated over the past few weeks. This means hundreds of homes along the border have been hit and damaged. Thousands of residents, who were evacuated … are still living in temporary housing or have settled in new homes in new communities, and do not plan to return to the Galilee when the war is over. The communities that were not evacuated have been living in an active war zone since then, under the threat of rockets, drones and missiles.”
Federation was notified by Elad Kozikaro, chief executive officer of the Kiryat Shmona Community Centres, “that a rocket hit close to Beit Vancouver causing some damage to the building. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but Beit Vancouver is home to thousands of children and teens and has left the community unnerved.”
Considering these developments, the IEC Allocations Committee, chaired by Stephen Gaerber, realigned its strategy to focus on the north. The following organizations are recipients of IEC allocations from February through June 2024: Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), Tzafon Medical Centre, Taglit Birthright Israel, Galilee Medical Centre, Kiryat Shmona Community Centre, Kiryat Shmona High School, Upper Galilee Regional Council, Tel-Hai College, municipalities in the East Galilee Cluster, Israel Medical Association, Dror Israel, Healthy Minds, JDC and Magen David Adom Israel.
Rabbi Dr. Eytan Cowen, his wife Rabbanit Caroline Sarah Bitton-Cowen and their family will take up the mantle of spiritual and rabbinic leadership at Congregation Beth Hamidrash. (photo from Beth Hamidrash)
Rabbi Dr. Eytan Cowen has agreed to become the next rabbi and spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Hamidrash and leader of the Vancouver Sephardi community.
The congregation is excited for Rabbi Cowen, his wife Rabbanit Caroline Sarah Bitton-Cowen and their family to join them and take up the mantle of spiritual and rabbinic leadership. The start date is yet to be determined, to best enable the family to navigate the challenges of moving to Vancouver from Toronto.
Cowen served as rabbi of Tiferet Israel Sephardic Congregation in Toronto from 2014 to 2017. He returned to his hometown, Toronto, from Indianapolis, where he served for two years as full-time rabbi of Etz Chaim Sephardic Congregation, a 100-year-old community.
Cowen pursued and completed his rabbinical studies at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University and the Sephardic Rabbinical College of Rosh Kollel. In addition, he is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a double major in microbiology and Jewish studies, as well as four years of postgraduate study at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. He is a licensed naturopathic doctor, practising integrative medicine for the past 20 years, and endeavours to combine Torah and health.
Bitton-Cowen was born in Paris, France, with Sephardi heritage from Morocco and Tunisia. She is a graduate of Stern College and Sy Syms School of Business. She enjoys teaching others, sharing wisdom with women of the congregation, and is an accomplished certified professional accountant.
The rabbi and rabbanit are the proud parents of Eliyahu-Yaacov (23), Nissim-Nahum (21), Simcha-Mazal (20), Rivkah-Chaya (16), Efrayim-Menashe (13), Tehila-Adelle (9), Batsheva-Esther (6) and Batya-Emunah (4). They have one granddaughter, Sofia Adina (14 months).
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Alexis Doctor received her master of arts in Jewish professional studies at Spertus Institute. (photo by Maggie Russo)
On May 5, Chicago-based Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership awarded master’s degrees to 18 graduates who embody the vital Jewish tradition of learning, which grounds us in our history and equips us to face contemporary challenges.
Vancouver resident Alexis Doctor, director of member and guest services at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, is among this year’s graduates. She received a master of arts in Jewish professional studies, completing a creative leadership-building program designed to advance careers and strengthen the organizations students serve.
“It’s something I will take with me for the rest of my life – the program has given me fresh new ideas to take back to my team,” said Doctor. “This has been one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, but it’s also one of the most rewarding.”
Spertus Institute, which was founded in 1924, is an institution of higher Jewish learning dedicated to real-world action. At its core are degree and certificate programs in which students engage with Jewish ideas in the service of personal growth, community leadership and professional advancement. These offerings, which merge theory and practice, educate Jewish professionals, community leaders and those who seek quality, reflection-driven scholarship. Those interested in becoming a future Spertus Institute graduate should visit spertus.edu for program and application information or contact assistant director of recruitment Amie Barrish at [email protected].
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The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s 2023 annual campaign generated $10.3 million for the community, thanks to the generosity of some 2,500 donors.
As a result of this year’s $10.3 million total, Federation will be able to provide crucial stability to its more than 30 partner organizations by ensuring that they can count on funding that helps fuel their important front-line work. Plus, they will be able to access additional funding through grants for programs and services that deliver on the strategic priorities for the community.
An additional $1.25 million in funding directed to special projects was also raised, as was $20.4 million through Federation’s Israel Emergency Campaign (IEC).
In addition to addressing immediate needs after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the IEC allocation committee, chaired by Stephen Gaerber, is committed to addressing the medium- and long-term needs of Israelis who continue to be affected by the ongoing war and hostage situation.
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The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre has presented the 2024 Meyer and Gita Kron and Ruth Kron Sigal Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education to Ben Lane (Collingwood School) and Mike Wolthuizen (Rutland Senior Secondary School). Both have demonstrated exceptional commitment to Holocaust education throughout their careers and have significantly impacted their students, colleagues and school communities.
The Kron Sigal Award was established in memory of Meyer and Gita Kron and their daughter Ruth Kron Sigal, Lithuanian Jewish survivors of the Holocaust who re-established their lives in Vancouver. Through their lifelong involvement with education and community, the family touched the lives of thousands of students.
Ben Lane (photo from vhec.org)
During his tenure at Collingwood School in West Vancouver, Lane led the development of a comprehensive Holocaust education program at the school. He created classroom resources and lesson plans and implemented school-wide events, commemorative programming and co-curricular opportunities for students, colleagues and the community to engage with the history of the Holocaust.
An alumnus of Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies, Lane’s approach to Holocaust education demonstrates creativity, depth of knowledge in subject matter and pedagogical quality. This is reflected in his bespoke lesson plans and robust teaching materials, which combine engaging history lessons with innovative project-based learning. These allow students to navigate complex issues of antisemitism, genocide and the legacies of the Holocaust with accuracy, sensitivity and a sense of responsibility for the subject matter.
Exposing students to primary sources of Holocaust history has been a priority for Lane, and he regularly incorporates VHEC programs into his curriculum through exhibition tours, workshops and survivor outreach speaker engagements. As well, he has facilitated a co-curricular student group to participate in the Dora Love Prize, a Holocaust education program sponsored by the University of Essex. For the past three years, this student group has engaged with scholars and survivors internationally and produced innovative projects annually to raise awareness of the Holocaust and human rights.
Mike Wolthuizen (photo from vhec.org)
Wolthuizen teaches Genocide Studies 12 and Social Studies 10 at Rutland Senior Secondary School in Kelowna. He has been instrumental in advancing Holocaust education in the Central Okanagan School District, where he recently co-developed Holocaust 12: Beyond the Shoah, a social studies elective course to be introduced into classrooms in September 2024.
Colleagues, administrators and students attest to Wolthuizen’s thoughtful and innovative teaching approach, which creates a supportive environment for students to express their thoughts and critically analyze events in Holocaust history. He fosters meaningful discussions and ethical reflections on human choices. Through exposure to survivor testimony and primary sources, he cultivates in his students an appreciation for the stories of the individual. One student shared:
“Because of his teaching, one of my key takeaways from the course was the importance of the stories of individuals that were impacted by the Holocaust and other genocides, rather than just statistics. When learning from him, it became very evident that he cares so much about each individual and their rights, and that their stories hold an immense amount of power and importance when discussing the Holocaust.”
Also an alumnus of Yad Vashem’s International School, Wolthuizen has attended dozens of workshops and conferences, locally and internationally, to enhance his knowledge of Holocaust study. He has shared this knowledge and expertise beyond his own community, leading professional development programs and teaching in multiple school districts as a guest lecturer on Holocaust history.
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Becky Wosk is the winner of the 2024 Earl Parker Award for Jewish Film, an honour given by the Edmonton Jewish Film Festival. (photo from Becky Wosk)
Becky Wosk is the recipient of the Edmonton Jewish Film Festival’s 2024 Earl Parker Award for Jewish Film. The $1,500 award will go towards Wosk’s production of a documentary on Jewish identity and how we are all connected.
Wosk is a directing student at Langara College in the film arts program. She has been immersed in the arts since a very young age and is a multidisciplinary artist and performer – her band Hollow Twin recently released a new LP on vinyl and digitally.
Wanting to gain more technical skills and hands-on experience in directing, to make music videos for her and other bands, as well as documentaries and shorts, Wosk applied to the Langara film program. It was her instructor who sent her the application to the Earl Parker award for a Jewish-related film project. Wosk’s pitch was One Thread.
One Thread is a documentary-style short that will be filmed in Vancouver. Interviewees will range from age 18 to 99+, including Holocaust survivors.
“I see this potentially becoming a series that can eventually be all tied together spanning globally to see how, regardless of where we live, our backgrounds, we are one people – a tribe of resilient humans who have overcome all odds to be here today. A look at the diversity of the diaspora and how we all have one common thread,” wrote Wosk in her submission. “The participants will not be limited by religious sect, as I want the overarching theme to be our DNA, not necessarily religion – but I would like to touch on customs and traditions within the interviews.”
Wosk is hoping to incorporate klezmer music and archival photos from various sources into the film. She will be putting a call out soon for interviewees of all ages, genders and backgrounds who identify as Jewish. The filming will take place this fall.
Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver chief executive officer Ezra Shanken addresses those who gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery Jan. 14. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Vancouverites gathered Jan. 14 to mark the 100th day since the Oct. 7 terror attacks and to demand the release of hostages. The weekly vigils – which have taken place since the day after the attacks with the exception only of two weeks during the December holidays – continue to gather hundreds, with police escorts accompanying marchers through downtown streets after speeches outside the Vancouver Art Gallery.
“This is the moment for leaders of the world to take a stand against terrorism, to call on Hamas to release the hostages,” said event organizer Daphna Kedem. “Where are you, world leaders? You stay silent while girls are held in tunnels and Hamas are abusing women of all ages. Where are you? [There are] 136 hostages: 17 women, two children, 15 men and women over the age of 65, 94 men and youngsters, eight foreigners. We will not rest until they are all back.”
Kathryn Zemliya spoke of the commitment she made to Israel when she became a Jew by choice 17 years ago.
“Israel is the Jewish homeland,” she said. “Israel is also the birthplace and source of our Jewish faith. Our religious holidays reflect all the seasonal changes in the state of Israel and we celebrate those throughout the year.”
Her commitment to Israel, she said, is also a very personal one.
“Israel is one of a very few handful of Middle Eastern countries where people are not punished as criminals simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Zemliya. “For me, this is tremendously important. There are lots of places in the world where I could not travel with my family, where I could not travel with my wife, but I know that I would always be welcomed in Israel.”
She called for justice and defined what that justice would look like.
“Justice requires that we listen to and believe those who have given testimony of rape, brutality and torture that they have experienced or witnessed at the hands of terrorists,” she said. “Justice requires that we recognize and care for those who have been displaced from their homes due to conflict on all fronts in Israel because the war is not happening just in Gaza. Justice requires that we recognize and care for those who have lost family members, who have been traumatized and who, because of their life circumstances, are retraumatized daily by this terror. My hope is that we will see this justice soon and in our time, that is what we pray for.”
Rabbi Hannah Dresner, senior rabbi at Or Shalom Synagogue, and Rabbi Arik Labowitz, assistant rabbi, addressed the crowd.
“We are here to console one another through the power of gathering in such a difficult time,” said Dresner. She noted that the week’s Torah portion featured the demand by the Israelites to the tyrant of their time to let their people go. “We, likewise, are commanded by everything we know to be decent, to demand of the tyrant of our time, let our people go.”
Labowitz spoke of “waves of grief, fear and deep concern for the existential realities of our precious home in the land of Israel.”
“We are all heartbroken by the loss of life, the ever-deepening chasm and the generations of repair that will be required to heal from this moment in our shared history,” he said. “We know that the Jewish people have a heart that is bigger than any malicious attempts against us. The love and support that has come together to repair the fabric of Israeli society, of our local communities and of each of our hearts, is made up of the strength whose origin is in the plight of our ancestors to be free people in a land of our own, a land where our people were sovereign for centuries and a land that we returned to after 2,000 years of exile.”
Rabbi Arik Labowitz, assistant rabbi of Or Shalom, standing next to his colleague, Rabbi Hannah Dresner, the congregation’s senior rabbi. The two spoke at the Jan. 14 rally marking 100 days since Oct. 7. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Adi Keidar, who moved to Vancouver from Israel in 2000, shared the lesson she has learned since Oct. 7.
“Life, I used to think, matters to all,” she said. “But these past 100 days, I am sad to say, I’m wrong.”
Evil exists, she said, but must not be allowed to be the dominant voice.
Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, acknowledging the day’s below-freezing temperatures, said of the hostages: “The least we can do is stand here in the cold if they live in the cold depths of the tunnels.
“Let them know that, even in the coldest days of the year, we will stand out here and we will stand with them because we know that they need it,” he said, urging attendees to “keep showing up.”
Kedem, who has organized the events week after week, read aloud the names of the 136 hostages.
107 days
A week later, the King David High School community was front and centre at the Jan. 21 rally. Students of the Jewish school sang and spoke at the gathering, which ended in a downpour of rain as the group marched through city streets.
“You’re a link in a chain that has been growing stronger for thousands of years,” event organizer Daphna Kedem told the students.
Erica Forman, a 2022 alumna of King David, and brother Max Forman, a Grade 12 student, spoke of the strength they gathered during this time of unprecedented antisemitism from their respective communities at the University of British Columbia Hillel and at King David.
Rutie Mizrahi, parent of a Grade 12 student, spoke of her uncle and aunt, Oded and Yocheved Lifshitz, who were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz Oct. 7. Yocheved, 85, was among the first hostages released, after 17 days in captivity, because her captors believed she was near death.
The captors underestimated her aunt, Mizrahi said, and she has survived, despite arriving back in Israel appearing to be about half the weight she was when kidnapped. Yocheved had been rolled in a carpet and driven away on a motorcycle, but not before she saw her 83-year-old husband being savagely beaten outside their home. She did not believe he could have survived, but another hostage, freed later, confirmed that Oded was alive in Gaza but, without his blood pressure medication, had repeatedly fainted and was then taken to a hospital.
“The odds that we will see him back alive are close to zero,” Mizrahi said.
King David’s head of school Russ Klein said he is grateful his father, Emerich Klein, a Holocaust survivor who passed away earlier in 2023, is not witnessing the hatred in the world since Oct. 7.
“He instilled in us the need for Israel,” the principal said. “Only Jews, he said, would take care of Jews. I spent much of my time growing up not believing him. As I found with so many things as I got older, I learned my father was right.”
Klein called the school assembly on Oct. 10, when students and faculty gathered to mourn the Hamas murder of alumnus Ben Mizrachi, 22, and the other victims of the pogrom, the hardest moment of his career.
He urged people of all ages to inform themselves of facts to better engage in the discussion around events in Israel and Gaza, specifically directing attendees to resources released recently by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, an online toolkit called “The Power of One” and a messaging guide called “Real Peace Now.” Both are available at jewishvancouver.com.
The Antisemitism and Israel Crisis Response Team’s hands-on guide can be found at jewishvancouver.com/toolkit.
Since Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver launched the Antisemitism and Israel Crisis Response Team (AICRT) in November 2023, the team has been dedicated to helping Jewish community members navigate the challenges of a post-Oct. 7 world.
Last week, AICRT – co-chaired by Rabbi Dan Moskovitz and Nico Slobinsky – launched a hands-on guide for community members. It covers everything from tips on engaging in social media, to reporting an antisemitic incident, to hosting neighbours at events so non-Jewish friends can connect with the Jews in their lives in positive ways.
On the day before Federation launched this guide, the Vancouver Police Department released a report that the Vancouver Jewish community experienced a 62% increase in police-reported antisemitic hate incidents in 2023 compared to 2022 – and 33 of 47 incidents occurred after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas. (See vpd.ca/news/2024/01/16/israel-hamas-war-fuels-increase-in-hate-crimes-protests-in-2023.)
Antisemitism is a real and present threat, and it’s a growing problem. That’s why Federation, the response team and the Jewish community are coming together to push back against it.
The toolkit is a guide to help people take meaningful actions – as well as advice on where to turn if you need help. All of it is based on two key factors – what the response team has heard from community members about what they need to navigate these dark times, and professional polling of the broader community.
The guide at jewishvancouver.com/toolkit is a living document and will be updated as the situation changes, and new resources are needed. Right now, the contents include:
• Information on well-being and mental health
• Key messages
• Engaging on social media
• How to be a grassroots organizer
• Dealing with antisemitism in K-12 schools
• University resources
• How to write a letter to the editor
• How to engage BC MLAs and MPs
• How to report an antisemitic incident
• How to have difficult conversations with family and friends
The toolkit is designed to help people stand up when needed, and to draw in those who are already inclined to support the community. Write to the Antisemitism and Israel Crisis Response Team at [email protected] with any ideas or comments.
Antisemitism Legal Helpline
The Antisemitism Legal Helpline aims to connect those facing antisemitism with legal information and resources. It is being hosted through Access Pro Bono, a nonprofit providing referrals and legal assistance. Their newly hired coordinator, Dan Rothwell, is a Vancouver lawyer with experience in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. He is keen to connect with community partners to help make this project a valuable tool in the fight against antisemitism, and he can be reached by email: [email protected].
The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver has made its third transfer of funds – just under $1.6 million – to Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
The latest transfer brings the total transferred from Federation’s Israel Emergency Campaign to just under $6.5 million. To date, Jewish Federation has raised more than $17.3 million through the campaign.
Israel and its citizens are transitioning from emergency mode to emergency routine. To meet the current circumstances and provide impactful assistance, the Israel Emergency Campaign allocations committee has developed a framework for allocations and includes support in the following areas:
• Addressing the basic needs of survivors, evacuees and all Israelis during the war, including emergency assistance to those directly impacted by the Oct. 7 attack.
• Addressing the immediate needs of people from evacuated communities who have been displaced for an unknown duration of time, so they can regain a semblance of normalcy and build resilience, through educational programs, respite and related supports.
• Providing emergency care to survivors and evacuees who have experienced traumatic events and require immediate support. Supporting medical centres on the frontline to increase their ability to address emergency situations along the country’s borders.
• Supporting strategic approaches to minimizing the drastic negative effect of societal challenges such as divisions between groups of the population, destruction of community life, loss of livelihood and a significantly decreased sense of resilience and security, all of which are sources of concern and anxiety for many Israelis.
• Supporting vulnerable groups with unique, disadvantaged circumstances.
The recent $1.6 million has been allocated as follows:
Sha’ar HaNegev: young adult retreat for a second group of attack survivors.
Pitachon Lev: emergency humanitarian aid.
Shahaf Foundation with Kiryat Shmona Community Centre: capacity-building for evacuated municipalities.
Summer Camps Israel, Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation: winter camps for evacuated children.
Yozmot Atid: mentorship for women small business owners.
Elem: safe spaces for at-risk youth.
Kishorit: support community of adults with disabilities on the northern frontline.
Beit Halochem: therapeutic services for veterans and newly wounded.
Leket Israel: supporting food distribution from farms in the south to vulnerable populations.
Israeli Hostages Advocacy Fund: supporting frontline work and international advocacy to release the hostages.
A family fleeing war, aided by acquaintances from a lifetime of hospitality. A person’s choice to be the light in a dark world after a loved one was murdered. The creation of a vital medical resource as a tribute to a father who died too young. These three stories were shared at the event A Night of Hope, which was held at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver Nov. 30. The three stories of resilience were intended to give hope in response to the trauma Jews worldwide have experienced since Oct. 7.
Rabbi Susan Tendler, spiritual leader of Beth Tikvah Congregation in Richmond, shared “the unlikely story” of how she became a rabbi, in part because of the trauma of having experienced the murder of a loved one.
In the year 2000, she recalled, “I was living my best life.” She thought she knew who she would marry, she had a dream job as a teacher in Israel and was planning on making aliyah.
Rabbi Susan Tendler (photo by Pat Johnson)
“I returned to the United States to get my affairs in order before making the big move as the Second Intifada broke out,” she said. Global conflict was compounded in the personal realm when her engagement was broken off. With foreign students avoiding Israel, her job was suddenly eliminated. Things began looking up, though, when she met Mike, “who showed me what partnership might look like.”
“And then, one night, he was brutally murdered,” she said. Five young men, joyriding, had crashed a car and needed another vehicle.
“They came upon Mike and murdered him, not even for his wallet. Just for fun,” Tendler said. “Just to take his car a few miles down the road before they ditched it.”
The murder plummeted her into depths of darkness.
“I couldn’t understand how such palpable evil could exist in the world,” she recalled. “How could a human being, created in the image of the divine, not understand life as sacred? What were the lives of those individuals that they didn’t hold this basic value as truth? And, by doing so, those five young men took the sanctity out of this world for me, for Mike’s family and his friends. I really didn’t care to live in a world with such sheer evil. It wasn’t that I was suicidal – I knew the difference and I wasn’t – I just really didn’t care to live or to die.”
She cited the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai, who wrote that the Jewish people are “infected with hope.”
“We are taught to love others, to embrace others and to share our burdens with others,” Tendler said. “We need not struggle alone…. So, as I held on, people rallied, surrounded me and guided me through the darkness.”
Overcoming this and other personal and geopolitical traumas led her to an important insight.
“I came to realize that, if I didn’t like living in a world full of darkness and evil, then I needed to be the light,” she said. “I needed to choose life. I needed to choose hope and spread kindness, goodness and godliness to others.
“The world needs us right now,” she continued. “We all have hope coursing through our veins. Certainly, it has been weakened and doubted [since Oct. 7], but that is exactly what they want. We won’t let them win. Let the light created by our hope and optimism join forces, knowing indeed that we are not alone and that this positive energy be magnified as it draws others in. May our light be a beacon for the world.”
Tanja Demajo, chief executive officer of Jewish Family Services, shared her family’s history of survival in the Holocaust and the personal story of her family’s escape from the post-Yugoslavia war in Bosnia, where she was born. She had not shared any of this publicly before.
As a child in Mostar, young Tanja would often come home from school to find strangers at the table. Anyone passing through or needing hospitality was received in their house and welcomed with food.
Tanja Demajo (photo by Pat Johnson)
“My family always kept the door open,” she said. This openness, she believes, helped save her family when war exploded.
In 1992, when she was 11-and-a-half, everything changed, seemingly in a day.
“There were explosions everywhere, there was shooting everywhere, the army was everywhere,” she said. “The city emptied.”
Getting away from the fighting was not easy. Roadblocks were set up by different militias and Demajo could see the fear in her father’s expression as they confronted each successive barrier.
“We had to stop at three different points and at three different points we came across some people that my parents knew through their life,” she recalled. Keeping an open door meant there were people who knew the family and remembered their hospitality. “In each of these three situations, these friends came forward and put their lives on the line so they could let my family pass through.”
After the war ended, the family reconnected with her grandfather, who they had not seen in years.
“That was the first time actually that my grandfather shared with us his own story,” she said. From a community of 300, the grandfather and an uncle were the only survivors of the Holocaust.
She asked him why he was so cheerful, despite all he had gone through.
“He had this beautiful way of just hugging people and he would hug me and say, what are the things you remember as a child?” She recalled spending weekends with her grandfather, the meals and stories they shared. “And he said, well that’s how you survive. Because those are the things that matter. The people you have in your life, the friendships that you share with them and the food you share with them.”
The connections she saw her parents forge at the table – which proved potentially lifesaving as the family fled war – are a lesson she has always carried. It is something that Jews worldwide can remember now, she said.
“We need allies and we need to have these conversations to bring people together,” she said.
Jaime Stein shared the story of how the death his father, Howard Stein, in 2006, from acute leukemia, inspired him to help create Canada’s first public
Jaime Stein (photo by Pat Johnson)
Early in the last decade, when Stein helped launch the $12.5 million campaign to create the facility, Canada was one of only two G-20 nations that did not have such a service. Umbilical cord blood contains blood-forming stem cells, which can renew themselves and differentiate into other types of cells.
Working with Canadian Blood Services, Stein and the fundraising team for the project decided on a big focal point for the campaign – climbing Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa.
“We got 25 people to sign up [to climb] and everybody had to raise a minimum of $10,000,” Stein explained.
Stein, in his 30s at the time, when $10,000 was a daunting sum, organized weekly 9 a.m. hikes with friends and strangers, at which he would offer career advice, listen to his hiking mates or otherwise engage, then write a blog post.
“People started donating and people started telling their friends as well,” he said.
In the end, he raised $27,000, second only to the chief executive officer of Canadian Blood Services among the 25 climbers. Of course, the money turned out to be the easy part. They still had to ascend the mountain.
Like many others who climb tall mountains, Stein experienced altitude sickness – so severely he almost had to turn back.
“I could barely make it to camp,” Stein recalls of the onset of the crisis. “I just remember thinking about my dad, thinking of my family, thinking of the training, thinking of everything I did as I tried to get to camp.”
Slowly, his oxygen levels climbed and he was able to complete the trek.
The trip itself raised $350,000 and, eventually, the team raised all the funds necessary. Canada now has a fully functioning umbilical cord blood bank, with four collection sites, including one in Vancouver.
Alan Stamp, Jewish Family Services clinical director, and Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, contextualized the stories as lessons in resilience community members can use to confront trauma.
The Jewish Independent briefly spoke with the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver about what support local campers could receive, if they needed it.
JI: Does Federation work with the Foundation for Jewish Camp at all?
JF: One Happy Camper is a grant program run through the FJC and federations to provide a $1,000 grant to first-time campers. In communities such as ours, where Federation does not sponsor OHC, PJ Library families are able to apply and receive this grant through PJ Library.
JI: To what camps does Federation give grants and why?
JF: Camp Miriam, Camp Hatikvah, JCC Camp Shalom and Camp Gan Israel. Through our Connect Me In program, we have provided grants to run camps in the regional communities or to pay for transportation for children to attend the day camps in Vancouver.
The Jewish Community Foundation has designated funds established by fundholders to support Jewish summer camps and camperships, and fundholders with donor advised [funds] also make distributions to camps.
Camps can apply for funding through the [Jewish Community] Foundation’s Unrestricted Grant Program for qualifying projects. Recently, the foundation supported Camp Miriam’s Water Security Project through this grant program.
JI: Do they support any individual campers, or how do families with lower incomes access camp for their kids?
JF: Approximately one-third of families receive camperships to send their children to Jewish summer camp. Odds are that if your family did not receive a campership, your child made friends at camp with someone who did. Families can apply for camperships funded by Jewish Federation directly through the summer camp of their choice. The camps then review the applications and make the decisions.
Sam Margolishas written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.
