politics

Supporting the Iranian people

A huge demonstration filled the blocks around the Vancouver Art Gallery last weekend, part of a weekly presence of Persian and other Vancouverites calling for regime change and democracy for Iran. (photo by Richard K. Lowy)

As the street protests in Iran grow – and the death toll caused by the regime’s police and military crackdown increases – so do solidarity rallies worldwide.

A huge demonstration consumed the blocks around the Vancouver Art Gallery last weekend, part of a weekly presence of Persian and other Vancouverites calling for regime change and democracy for Iran.

The global movement against the Islamic regime has coalesced around Reza Pahlavi, son of the late shah who was deposed in the 1979 revolution. Posters of the crown prince fluttered among hundreds of pre-revolutionary Iranian flags amid chants of “javid shah,” long live the shah.

“I am Stephen and I am Jewish,” said one of the speakers at the rally a week earlier, on Jan. 10, who preferred not to use his surname.

“I have attended almost all the Iranian rallies in recent years for one reason and one reason only: to tell the Iranian people loudly and clearly you are not alone,” he said. ”Anyone who knows what the Iranian people have suffered over the past 47 years can empathize, especially now.”

He emphasized the ancient and contemporary relationship between Jewish and Persian peoples.

“When Israel was attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, the Iranian people came out in bad weather, in the rain and the cold and the snow, to march side by side with Jews all over the world. Why? Because they understand our pain, because it is their pain,” he said. “It is the collective pain of peoples who want what everyone wants: to live in peace and unmolested by those who want to control the world, who tell you what to think, what to wear, what to do, what to believe in.

photo - Several people at the rally carried an Israeli flag — Several people at the rally carried an Israeli flag. *(photo by Richard K. Lowy)*

“Persia was the first empire in the world, under Cyrus the Great, that brought people together and did not, did not oppress them,” he continued. “This is part of the Iranian historical identity. You can have all the Islamic revolutions you want. You will never erase this historical identity, with its great, great culture.”

He commended Iranian Canadians for their contributions to Canada and their devotion to democracy in their homeland.

“You here are Iranians who know what I talk about because you have been living in freedom in Canada and look how you’ve flourished. When people speak of Canadian Iranians, they do so with respect for a people that knows how to work hard and how to contribute to society, to give back, to become productive citizens of a free and open society,” he said. “Is that so much to ask for your brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters in Iran? And it is a blessing that, when Iran is finally free, many of you will return to Iran to help rebuild.”

He called Pahlavi “a man who understands the world.”

“He knows the Iranian people inside Iran and outside Iran. Anyone who questions his commitment to his people can read about how he has worked tirelessly throughout his life to pursue a free Iran and return independence to Iranian people.”

Hundreds are dying in the name of freedom, Stephen said.

“The crackdown is brutal,” he said. “Many of us have seen the image of the older white-haired Iranian woman on the streets of Iran, bleeding from the mouth, her fist raised in defiance: ‘I am not afraid. I am not afraid. I have been dead for 47 years.’”

He commended US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for forcefully supporting the Iranian protests, and called for the leaders of Canada and other Western countries to express their support as forcefully.

David Zacks was one of several people at the rally carrying an Israeli flag. The response, he said, was “a hundred percent positive.” People were asking to take photos with him and thanking him for his presence.

“Iranians and Jews have been great friends for thousands of years,” said Zacks. “Everybody I talk to says, once the regime falls, they’ll be great friends again.”

The power of photography

“Elaborate Pride Costume, Gay Pride,” Vancouver, 1996. (© Dina Goldstein)

One of the JCC Jewish Book Festival pre-festival events holds special meaning for the Jewish Independent. Photographer Dina Goldstein, whose artistry has focused on large-scale narrative tableaux the last many years, began her career with the JI’s predecessor, the Jewish Western Bulletin. She has compiled thousands of images from her work over the last three decades – as a photojournalist, editorial photographer, traveler and artist – for the recently published 400-page hard-cover The XXX Archive, which she will share with the community on Feb. 12, 7 p.m.

photo - Dina Goldstein talks about her new book, The Archive XXX, at a JCC Jewish Book Festival pre-festival event on Feb. 12 — Dina Goldstein talks about her new book, The Archive XXX, at a JCC Jewish Book Festival pre-festival event on Feb. 12. *(© Dina Goldstein)*

“I spent the pandemic going through containers of binders filled with negatives. Many of the images I remember snapping, but others that I found surprised me,” Goldstein told the Independent. “Editing the lot after 30 years of shooting was overwhelming at first. The process of archiving is slow and fastidious, often challenging my expeditious nature. I leaned in, not knowing how long or how many images I would be working with. Within two years, I scanned, photographed, numbered, printed and added over 3,000 images to a boxed and digital archive. The result left me relieved that my life’s work was now organized in a way that was documented and accessible.”

The word “herculean” is used in The Archive XXX to describe the task of creating the archive. Goldstein worked by year of creation, grouping the images by decades.

“I started with the early ’90s, when I first started my career and shot with black-and-white film,” she said. “Many of those images I had photographed for the Jewish Western Bulletin, my first job as an editorial shooter. I had special opportunities to meet and photograph many great people, like Elie Wiesel, Seth Rogen, Liz Taylor, Ruth Westheimer, Mordecai Richler, Jackie Mason, Bill Clinton.

“In the 2000s, I was working as a commercial and editorial photographer. I photographed mostly in colour and did some experimentation with processes. This is when I began crafting series of photographs. I spent two years at Hastings Racetrack and created Trackrecord. I expanded on my staged portraits with DAVID.

photo - Comedian Seth Rogen in his early days, 1997. Rogen is just one of many famous people that Dina Goldstein has photographed — Comedian Seth Rogen in his early days, 1997. Rogen is just one of many famous people that Dina Goldstein has photographed. (© Dina Goldstein)

“By 2006, digital photography was introduced as consumer cameras. Art directors were passing along assignments to less-qualified shooters and/or having the writer also take the pictures. I felt that I needed to pivot,” Goldstein said, adding that, by then, she was also a new mother and things in general were shifting.

“In 2007,” she said, “I began to focus on a new series inspired by my toddler daughter, who suddenly became obsessed with Disney princesses. This was a new way of creating narrative within my imagery. The series was a critical success, giving me the confidence to continue with this methodology.”

Although Goldstein mentions the making of her tableaux projects in The Archive XXX, she decided not to include the staged works within the compilation. “This is also because I continued enthusiastically photographing street, documentary and portraiture,” she said.

Over the 2010s, Goldstein was invited to show her work internationally at galleries, photo festivals and museums, and traveled extensively – to Europe, India, China, Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia. “So many of The Archive images come from my travels around the world,” she said.

The Archive XXX ends at the start of the pandemic, in the early 2020s. Of course, she has continued to create. Last fall, she presented a new staged photography series: Mistresspieces. Each of the 10 works features a famous female portrait from history placed in a modern-day challenge. For example, the goddess of Sandro Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” floats alongside a beach piled with the life jackets of those who have fled to European shores and Salvador Dalí’s “Galatea at the Moment of Creation” has Galatea surrounded by Amazon packages and melting icebergs in Goldstein’s reimagining.

Mistresspieces is Goldstein’s eighth tableaux series, including Fallen Princesses.

“The idea for Fallen Princesses came to me intuitively, when I realized the way that Disney was influencing my daughter,” she explained. “I decided to select well-known female fairytale characters and parachute them into modernity. I gave them all relatable challenges that play out within a familiar location. The methodology, production-based, was novel, as I no longer just depended on myself and my camera. This format is more collaborative and filmic, with lighting as an intricate skill. Thankfully, the project was successful online, in the media and in education. So, I discovered that I could still create critical work, with specific messaging amplifying my voice in the form of visual social commentary…. Now, in light of AI and the quick accessibility of image-making, I am looking to the future, making some tough decisions.”

Goldstein recognized the power of images at a young age.

“As a child, I would go through my grandmother’s photographs for hours at a time,” she said. “The postcard-like black-and-white photos of her, as a young woman in Romania, were not only beautiful but a window into her life. I would stare at an image and take it all in, her outfit, her shoes, the people she was with, the buildings behind her. Within these images, I discovered people and places throughout the decades of her life. As an adult, I have kept my camera beside me, just in case, it was a compulsion of sorts. I wanted to make pictures that would tell the story of my life as well. Perhaps not as the subject, but as the narrator. Today, mostly everyone suffers from the same need, with the readiness and ease of using a smartphone camera to document or to create an image.”

In The Archive XXX, there are photographs of such a diverse range of people, from presidents to Pride paraders, the famous and the often-overlooked. That Goldstein is comfortable around people, no matter who they are, is partly because of her father.

“My father was a very charismatic figure,” she said. “He was a product of the Second World War, uneducated but street smart. He was able to connect with people, all sorts of people. I understood that there is always something that you may have in common with another person. That’s a good starting point.”

Travel has also contributed to Goldstein’s ease around almost everyone in almost every situation.

“Traveling as a young person allowed me to open up to others, and trust that most folks are good people,” she explained. “My positive experiences as a young photographer were foundational for what the next three decades would bring, working with various diverse personalities. Becoming a mother made me more cautious with my assignments and travel. I certainly didn’t take as many chances or put myself in danger while my girls were little. I remember traveling in India and Colombia, both places I had to be extra aware.

photo - “Horse and Carriage,” Romania, 2006 — “Horse and Carriage,” Romania, 2006. *(© Dina Goldstein)*

“In general, I find that society is complex and divided. This became super-evident during the pandemic, and recently after Oct. 7, 2023. I was able to photograph the anti-vaxxer gang, where bizarre people came out of the woodwork. The Free Palestine bunch includes some of these types, and also an element of proud antisemites. When they first rallied, in big crowds, holding up signs ‘From the River to the Sea’ down Commercial Drive, I photographed it, slightly shocked, slightly sickened. I decided then that I could not personally or professionally continue to be there as a witness to this open hatred.”

A lot changed for Goldstein after Oct. 7, she said. “Losing friends that were once close, making new friends (mostly Jewish), actively fighting against anti-Jewish/Israel sentiment in my East Van neighbourhood and within the Vancouver arts community. This leads to the next chapter of my career, where I will focus more on my Jewish/Israeli identity and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.”

Goldstein has written a TV series called Grimm Lane, which is based on Fallen Princesses. She is creating a new book with her narrative series Storyography and is also working on the TV series The Tribe, which is based on three Jewish families living in Toronto.

For more about The Archive XXX, Goldstein’s tableaux series and other work, visit dinagoldstein.com. To attend her JCC Jewish Book Festival talk, register at jccgv.com/jewish-book-festival-events/feb-12. The event is free to attend.

טראמפ עוזר דווקא לנושא הפלסטיני

הנפת דגלים פלסטינים היא חלק מהלחץ להכיר במדינה פלסטינית. בעקבות המלחמה הארוכה מדי והרג חפים מפשע שלא לצורך ישראל הפכה לאחת המדינות השנואות בעולם. ולפיכך, ישראלים ויהודים בעולם משלמים את המחיר הכבד ומסתכנים בחייהם. מה שאני עושה בוונקובר לא מסכן את הישראלים בארץ אך מדוע מה שממשלת ישראל עשתה צריך לסכן אותי

נשיא ארה”ב דונלד טראמפ הגיע להבנות עם חמאס שהביאו להפסקת אש – ולא להסכם שלום כפי שהוא טוען. אותו הסכם הושג כבר לפני שנה אך ג’ו ביידן היה חלש מדי לאלץ את נתניהו לקבלו. לעומתו, טראמפ לא השאיר לנתניהו שום אופציה. אגב, אנשי טראמפ נפגשו עם נציגים של החמאס ותארו לעצמכם מה היה קורה עם נשיא דמוקרטי היה מאפשר זאת?

ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו המשיך במלחמה הארוכה והמיותרת הזו בעזה במשך שנתיים רק כדי שיוכל לשרוד פוליטית. לאור זאת, חיילים רבים נהרגו שלא לצורך וגם חטופים נהרגו ואו השתחררו מאוחר מדי. בצד הפלסטיני נהרגו רבים מדי שלא לצורך. זה ימשיך להזיק גם לישראל בעתיד כיוון שהיא נמצאת עם רצועת עזה בשכנות

עוד מספר מילים על טראמפ הנוכל. הוא נפגש לאחרונה עם שני דיקטטורים: ראשי המדינות של סוריה וערב הסעודית. הוא ביטל את הסנקציות על סוריה ומאפשר מכירת אף-35 לסעודיה שזה מאוד מסכן את ישראל. טראמפ בטיפשותו גם מעריץ את המנהיגים האלה, כי כהרגלו הוא מעריץ דיקטטורים. בואו נבחן את הצביעות של המצביעים הרפובליקנים והבוחרים היהודים של טראמפ: אם קמלה האריס הייתה נבחרת לנשיאה ומעיזה להיפגש עם מנהיגי סוריה וסעודיה, ומאשרת למכור לסעודיה את האף-35, הייתה כמה צעקה גדולה מקרב הרפובליקנים שהיו טוענים שזה לא מתאים לערכי ארה”ב ומסכן מאוד את ישראל. אך כרגיל לטראמפ מותר לעשות מה שהוא רוצה כאשר אין לו מושג על משמעות מעשיו וגם ממש לא אכפת לו מכך

טראמפ גם ביודעין או שלא ביודעין עוזר לקדם את נושא המדינה הפלסטינית. והיכן הרפובליקנים והיהודים שבחרו בו

ארה”ב וקנדה היו המדינות הקרובות ביותר שנים על שנים עד שהגיע טראמפ המטורף והפך אותן כמעט לאוייבות. הוא גם מעז לטעון שקנדה היא המדינה ה-51 של ארה”ב. במעשיו טראמפ בסך הכל מחליש את המערב ועוזר לרוסיה וסין. מנהיגי שתי מדינות אלה ודיקטטורים אחרים בעולם בוודאי מחייכים שהם רואים מה טראמפ עושה. כיצד הוא הורס את הדמוקרטיה בארה”ב מדי יום. האמריקאים עוד ישלמו מחיר כבד על בחירתם בטראמפ

בוחרי הימין בישראל שרואים בנתניהו נביא חדש שמחו מאוד על בחירותו של טראמפ לנשיאות ארה”ב בפעם השניה, כאשר הריס הפסידה. אני לא בטוח היום שכול תומכי טראמפ בישראל שמחים על מה שהוא עושה, כאשר הוא אונס את נתניהו פעם אחר פעם לקבל את עמדותיו. זה כולל את מכתב ההתנצלות לקטאר, הסכם הפסקת האש עם החאמס ואי לוחמה בלבנון

טראמפ גם לא מתבייש להתערב בפוליטיקה ומערכות המשפט של מדינות אחרות ובמקרה של ישראל, הוא טוען שיש להעניק חנינה לנתניהו על ידי נשיא המדינה יצחק הרצוג. נתניהו מצידו פועל בכל דרך לבטל את המשפטים נגדו, טראמפ הוא עזרה מצויינת. לא מפתיע ששני מנהיגים נוכלים אלה, דואגים אחד לשני ומעריצים אחד את השני. נתניהו מצידו טוען שטראמפ הוא הנשיא האמריקאי התומך הגדול ביותר של ישראל, ושמגיע לו פרס נובל לשלום. צפויות עוד התפתחויות נוספות לאור היחסים בין השניים

Keep lighting candles

We were intrigued to receive notice of the 2026 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, which takes place in January and February. The festival has been running for more than two decades and bills itself as “a creative hub for dialogue.”

“The 2026 PuSh festival is an invitation to the culturally fearless – to those ready to step into fresh futurities and the uncharted possibilities of live performance,” said artistic director Gabrielle Martin in the media release that landed in our inbox recently.

Curious words for a festival that last year demonstrated cowardice that redefines the term.

The controversy centred on a play titled The Runner – a one-person offering by non-Jewish playwright Christopher Morris. The story is set in Israel and has as its focus an ultra-Orthodox Jewish ZAKA volunteer who faces an ethical decision: when encountering a wounded Palestinian woman, he opts to save her rather than pursue an Israeli soldier’s body.

The play had garnered acclaim, having won multiple awards in Canada, and was to be featured at the 2024 PuSh festival. The Belfry Theatre in Victoria had already canceled its planned 2024 run of the show after the theatre was vandalized and a public dialogue was overtaken by protesters.

The scheduled PuSh production was also targeted. Some critics complained that the play centred Jewish experience while marginalizing Palestinian voices and trauma, presumably because depicting an Israeli as a complex moral character was beyond the pale.

One Palestinian artist participating in the festival said he would withdraw his work if The Runner remained in the lineup. Organizers caved, couching their gutlessness in self-adulatory language of prioritizing artists whose perspectives were “underrepresented” given current events.

If the festival was indeed committed to “fearless” exploration, The Runner was an ideal vehicle for that sort of examination. Instead, organizers brought shame upon the arts sector, betraying the very values PuSh specifically and the arts in general are expected to advance.

Keeping up with incidents of hypocrisy these days is a game of Whack-a-Mole, but we cannot overlook the vote by the BC Green Party to adopt a so-called “Anti-Genocide Motion” at their provincial convention. The motion declares that the party will “oppose genocide, apartheid, systemic discrimination and colonial violence – at home and around the world.”

In supporting the motion, the party’s new leader, Emily Lowan, stated that the Greens consider the recent war in Gaza to constitute “genocide” and “colonial violence.”

The motion and the leader’s full-throated support for it is especially disappointing because, under previous leaders, the BC Greens had resisted the spiral of their federal party into this sort of hyperbolic and ahistoric anti-Zionism.

We could go on. There is literally not the space in this column or in these pages to delineate the myriad causes for Jewish disenchantment these days. This, though, is not justification for despair. History has presented Jews with challenges in the past, put mildly.

If these developments and their hypocrisy raise your heart rate, consider using that energy as fuel to build something better. The world is troubled right now, for Jews and for others, too, but it is a Jewish tradition – especially at this moment in the calendar – to light a candle rather than to curse the darkness.

If you are expending energy complaining to your friends about these events, consider more active ways to effect positive changes. For example, you can contact the Green Party and tell them you are affronted by their adoption of a resolution that debases the term “genocide,” misrepresents events globally and foments intercultural division at home. Contact the PuSH festival and their sponsors to tell them you haven’t forgotten their illiberal folding to coercion. Support arts institutions that continue to host and produce Israeli and Jewish art and artists, and our own community arts and culture organizations, which have faced additional challenges over the last two-plus years. Whenever you are angered or disappointed, remember that action is the antidote to helplessness and hopelessness. Just one candle can illuminate the darkness and bring hope and inspire change.

Advocating for girls’ rights

Hannah Presman Chikiar spoke and moderated at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, on Oct. 10, as part of Girls Speak Out 2025, held in celebration of the International Day of the Girl. (photo from Hannah Presman Chikiar)

At the start of this year, I was doing what any average 15-year-old would be doing: studying, playing sports, hanging out with friends, counting down the days until summer and, yes, waiting to turn 16 to get my driver’s licence! I never imagined I would be speaking and moderating at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, in front of hundreds of global leaders, delegates and young people. On Oct. 10, 2025, I had the honour of doing exactly that at Girls Speak Out 2025, held in celebration of the International Day of the Girl.

I happened to be seated beside Annalena Baerbock, the president of the UN General Assembly. The room filled with hundreds of people, while many others joined online. Girls Speak Out 2025 was not only a celebration; it was a policy platform where commitments were made, with the expectation that they will be fulfilled. The event highlighted real stories and actionable solutions, emphasizing that girls’ rights must be recognized, supported and acted upon without delay. The energy in the room, the stories shared and the voices of girls from around the world showed everyone the power of youth advocacy and the importance of taking action rather than waiting for permission.

My connection to Judaism has always guided me, particularly the principle of tikkun olam (repairing the world), which inspires me to act for justice and equality wherever I can. It was this commitment to advocacy and making a positive impact that aligned with the mission of the Vancouver section of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (NCJWC), which nominated me for this amazing opportunity with the UN.

From June through October, I worked with nine other girls: they were from Liberia, Bolivia, Ghana, the United Kingdom and the United States. I woke up every Saturday at 4:30 a.m. Vancouver time to meet with them and plan, with the support of the Working Group on Girls, a fully girl-led UN event shaped around our theme: “We Are Here: Bold, Diverse and Unstoppable – Demanding Action for Girls’ Rights.” Together, we co-designed two panels: “Girls on the Frontline of Crisis: Protection, Peace & Power” and “From Margins to Power: Girls Defying Discrimination and Reclaiming Identity.” Collaborating with this diverse team of girls was inspiring and gave me the chance to learn from experiences vastly different from my own.

On the day of the event, I had the privilege of being one of the four moderators leading the discussions and sharing information about what girls around the world are facing. As I proudly wore my Magen David necklace, I spoke about how, in many crisis settings, child marriage rates are nearly double the global average and millions of girls face heightened risks of sexual violence with little or no support. Globally, 12 million girls are married every year, more girls than boys remain out of school in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and anemia rates continue to worsen in several countries. Nearly one in four girls – about 150 million girls – live in countries where they do not have equal inheritance rights, and girls in fragile or conflict-affected regions are 90% more likely to be out of secondary school than those in stable environments.

These realities underscored the urgency of the issues, and we opened the floor for a recommitment discussion, inviting member-states and UN agencies to share their reaffirmations on advancing the rights of girls.

Over the past few years, I’ve been deeply involved in leadership and advocacy programs that shaped my understanding of social responsibility and community engagement. Last year, I completed the StandWithUs Teen Leadership Council and the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC) Generation program. This year, I am a part of the StandWithUs Kenneth Leventhal Internship, and I am continuing my involvement with CJPAC. I also serve on the Multi-Faith Summit Council of British Columbia committee. These experiences have taught me, and continue to teach me, how to work with people from different backgrounds, speak up for causes I care about, and translate values into action.

I have been invited to participate in the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) Girls’ Statement Writing Group, which will take place at UN headquarters in New York in March 2026. In this program, girl delegates from around the world collaborate to write and refine the annual Girls’ Statement, share perspectives on justice and empowerment, and learn more about advocacy and policy writing.

Reflecting on my recent journey, I am deeply thankful for the support that made it possible, notably the help and encouragement of NCJWC Vancouver and its chair, Jordana Corenblum, the International Council of Jewish Women, and my family. Their encouragement gave me the strength and confidence to fully engage in this work and to represent the Jewish community while advocating for girls’ rights.

Girls Speak Out 2025 reminded me that change is possible when young people speak boldly, collaborate widely and demand accountability. I hope to carry these lessons forward, continuing to act for justice, equity and opportunity for all girls, wherever I can.

Hannah Presman Chikiar is a Grade 11 student at King David High School. She is part of the StandWithUs Kenneth Leventhal Internship, is involved with the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, serves on the Multi-Faith Summit Council of British Columbia committee and is working on the Commission of the Status of Women..

A better future possible

This feels like a turning point. Few people who observe international affairs, especially in the Middle East, would doubt that the conclusion of the two-year-long war means a significant change in the dynamics of the region.

It is an understatement to say that wars cause upheaval. The result of any war is always catastrophic death and destruction. But wars also, by definition, upend status quos.

The First World War decisively ended the age of empires. The Second World War ushered in, among much else, a new world order including the concept of universal human rights.

Every war, among its other consequences, is like throwing a deck of cards in the air. What emerges in the aftermath is to some extent beyond the control of any of the belligerents, including the victors (such as there are ever true victors in war).

In Israeli history, it has sometimes seemed as though a war ends and things return to the status quo ante. Israeli-Arab wars have ended before with little or no decisive change in the broader context of conflict. New wars, sadly, have always erupted. Perhaps the end of the Gaza war will usher in a time of changed dynamics or maybe the region will revert to its perpetual bottom line of Zionists-versus-anti-Zionists and little will change. The eight-decade battle over Israel’s right to exist is unlikely to be conclusively settled, whether or not the current ceasefire holds.

This feels different, though, in many ways.

The global engagement with this particular conflict – the diplomatic condemnations, the isolation of Israel, the worldwide street protests, the systematic boycotts of Israelis and Jews, the raging antisemitism that paralleled it – set this war apart from others of the past. One thing almost all Jews are probably watching closely is whether the easing of military tensions in the Middle East leads to an easing of antisemitic tensions worldwide. Many of us hold our breath awaiting that verdict.

The US administration plays a distinct wild card. It helped broker the ceasefire, but also has floated some provocative ideas of how to rebuild Gaza.

The talk about rebuilding Gaza, to which some European powers have committed and to which Arab states have given at least lip-service, is a physical necessity. As formidable as that reconstruction process will be, a moral and political rebuilding will be far more daunting. “De-Hamas-ification,” to update a term from a previous war, is a stated objective of Israel and its supporters. But, as some commentators have noted, Hamas may be as much a symptom of an extremist intolerance in elements of Palestinian society as a cause. This is likely particularly true without broad and sustained supports for Palestinian voices and aspirations that are anti-authoritarian or desiring of coexistence or peace with Israel. Militaries can be defeated perhaps more easily than some of the tenacious ideas that they represent.

Additionally, it will be fascinating to see whether the world, having made Gaza the almost singular focus of international affairs for the past two years, will now take any responsibility for ensuring the safety and prosperity of the Palestinian people, or whether we will collectively abandon them again until the next catastrophe reawakens our sense of humanitarianism.

Despite the Madison Avenue mantra, “new” does not always mean “improved.” Sometimes, things can change for the worse. But this does seem like a moment of opportunity.

On the one hand, it has become clear that “From the river to the sea …” is not a practical strategy. On the other, for those who seek peace, we have understood that we are not powerless witnesses to history. Each of us, in our way, has influence. Many erstwhile apolitical people have been motivated to action, to engage in dialogue across social and political boundaries, and to be part of the efforts to bring about a better life for all sides.

Now that the immediate war is over, we should hope coming together is possible among those of differing perspectives to advance a future of mutual benefit. What we do now, as individuals, as countries, as Jews, as humans, and in whatever context we act and whatever forms our actions take, can have a powerful impact on what happens next.

מדוע עזבתי את ישראל ואינני חושב לחזור ארצה

היום השאלה האם להמשיך ולגור בישראל, לעזוב או לחזור ולגור בה או לעשות עלייה -היא רלוונטית יותר מאי פעם. מצד אחד ישראל נמצאת במצב בטחוני, כלכלי וחברתי לא פשוטים, ומצד שני האנטישמיות ופגיעה בישראלים וביהודים היא ממשית ביותר

אני עזבתי את תל אביב ועברתי לגור בוונקובר שבמערב קנדה לפני למעלה מעשרים שנה. אני יכול רק להצטער שלא עזבתי שנים קודם לכן בעת היותי צעיר יותר כי זה היה חלום חיי. חברו לחלום ההרגשה שהפכתי להיות זר בישראל ולכן העדפתי להיות זר בחו”ל. בנוסף, המצב הבטחוני של ישראל גם הוא הטריד אותי. אילו הן שלוש הסיבות המרכזיות שהביאו אותי לעזוב את ישראל. כבר בראשית שנות השמונים (אחרי השירות הצבאי) התחלתי לחלום על מעבר לחו”ל ולצערי רק כעבור עשרים שנה הגשמתי זאת

לקום ולעזוב לחו”ל זה דבר לא פשוט שכרוך בהרבה מאוד סיכונים. וצריך גם אומץ רב והאמת שזה היה חסר במקרה שלי. רק בסוף שנת 2004 כאשר קיבלתי את הניירת ההגירה לקנדה החלטתי שהפעם אני לא נותן לעצמי שום הנחות ותירוצים – מדוע שלא לעזוב. כעבור שלושה חודשים סיימתי את כל ענייני בתל אביב ועליתי למטוס שהביא אותי לוונקובר, בה אני חי עד היום

בשנות השמונים והתשעים רציתי לעבור לאירופה (תחילה ללונדון ולאחר מכן לאמסטרדם). בראשית אלפיים זכיתי בגרין קארד ואז החלטתי לעבור לניו יורק. אך היעדר האומץ כפי שציינתי והעבודה שכל כך אהבתי בתחום המדיה: “החזיקו” אותי בישראל. עבדתי בעיתונות במשך שבעה עשרה שנים והיה לי מאוד קשה להיפרד ממנה. בשנים האחרונות למגורי בישראל קיבלתי הצעות מפתות מהעורכים המובילים בעיתונות אך דחיתי את כולן, כי אחרת הייתי מתקשה עוד יותר קשה לעזוב. משה ורדי הציע לי לעבוד בידיעות אחרונות, אמנון דנקנר – מעריב, גיא רולניק ואיתן אבריאל – דה מרקר (שהיה מופרד אז מהארץ) וחגי גולן – גלובס

לבסוף הצלחתי להתגבר על כל המכשולים הנפשיים ועזבתי את ישראל לטובת קנדה. מרבית בני משפחתי וחברי הבינו אותי, ותמכו בצעדי. כמובן שהיו בודדים שלא ראו בעין טובה את “ירידתי” מישראל ולאורך הזמן היחסים ביננו הפכו לקרירים ואף נותקו. הגעתי לוונקובר, ובשנותי הראשונות עבדתי כמחפש מידע בחברה כלכלית. לשמחתי במשך מרבית שנותי כאן כתבתי (כפרילנס) עבור ידיעות אחרונות ווינט על מה שקורה בקנדה. לפני למעלה מאחת עשרה שנים הצטרפתי לחברה הפיננסית המספקת הלוואות סאב-פריים, ואני משמש מבקר החברה ואף עובד מהבית בשמונה השנים האחרונות

עוד שגרתי בישראל ראיתי עתיד שחור למדינה שהופכת להיות יותר דתית-חרדית-ימנית-לאומנית. אז התחלתי לקלוט שאין לי יותר מקום במדינה בה נולדתי וגדלתי ושהייתה בית מצויין במשך שנים. לצערי המציאות השתנתה לרעה וכאמור התחלתי להרגיש זר בישראל. מצאתי את עצמי שייך למיעוט שהוא וקטן וכיום ההבדלים בין שני המחנות עצומים ולא ניתנים לגישור. מלחמת ששת הימים עם הניצחון הגדול הביאה את תחילתה של תנועת ההתיישבות בשטחים הכבושים. וכך גם החל לגדול המחנה המשיחי. ומטבע הדברים לדתיים וחרדים יש הרבה ילדים והמספרים מנצחים. מציאות זו לא מתיישבת עם עקרונותי ודרכי ועל כן מצאתי לי בית חדש בקנדה

כיום אני מנותק כמעט לחלוטין מהוויה והתרבות הישראלית ורק השפה העברית מקשרת אותי לישראל. הקשר עם בני משפחה וחברים בישראל עדיין חשוב לי אך במקביל המרחק ביני ובין המדינה הולך וגדל. ישראל לא תשוב עוד להיות ביתי

Doc on Zapiro screens Nov. 6

The South African Film Festival, which takes place Nov. 6-17, is primarily a streaming festival, but there are a few in-person cinematic experiences, including a screening of The Showerhead on Nov. 6, 6:30 p.m., at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

The Showerhead is a feature-length documentary that examines the work of political cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, aka Zapiro, tracing his journey from anti-apartheid activist and struggle artist to “conscience of the nation” and champion of freedom of expression in democratic South Africa.

The documentary delves into the origins, relevance and impact of an iconic feature in Zapiro’s work that gives the film its title: the plumbing hardware fixed to the head of Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa. Through Zapiro’s cartoons, the film explores Zuma’s scandal-ridden rise to power, his turbulent presidency and eventual downfall.

Zapiro’s cartoons also capture a range of critical issues that have plagued South Africa in the post-Mandela era: failures of leadership during the AIDS pandemic, corruption, chauvinism, cronyism, self-enrichment, subversion of the constitution and the rule of law, and escalating threats to freedom of expression.

For tickets to The Showerhead, go to southafricanfilmfest.com.

– Courtesy South African Film Festival

מדוע האנטישמיות הולכת וגואה בעולם

אנו עדים לעליה משמעותית באנטישמיות ברחבי העולם אחרי השבעה באוקטובר. על כך אין מחלוקת

אך נשאלת השאלה מה הביא לעלייה הכל כך משמעותית באנטישמיות כולל פגיעה פיזית ביהודים וישראלים בעולם? למרבה הצער בישראל מעדיפים שלא להתעסק בסיבות אלה רק בתוצאות שכידוע הן קשות מאוד ולא מוצדקות בשום מקרה

קודם כל: הגל האנטישמי הנוכחי לא החל מהשבעה באוקטובר אלא לאחריו. זאת, לאחר שבעולם החלו לראות את התמונות הקשות מרצועת עזה. גם הפעולות המזויעות של החמאס ושותפיו בשבעה באוקטובר שכללו רצח, אונס ועוד מעשים בלתי אנושיים – לא יכולים לשמש כתירוץ לפגיעה והריגת אלפי ילדים, נשים ואחרים שגרו ברצועת עזה. אי אפשר לטעון שכל תושבי הרצועה הם אנשי חמאס ושאר הארגונים, למרות שקל לעשות זאת. המראות הקשים האלה מהרצועה הם שהדליקו את מדורת השנאה הנוכחית כנגד הישראלים והיהודים בעולם. בישראל לא רוצים להבין זאת וממשיכים להתעלם מהמציאות הקשה של תושבי רצועת עזה, שחלקם הגדול אף מורעבים. לא פלא שישראל הפכה כיום לאחת המדינות השנואות בעולם. כצפוי ראש הממשלה, בנימין נתניהו, הוא אחד האנשים השנואים ביותר בישראל וכן ברחבי העולם כולו

הדיבורים של שרי הממשלה בדבר החלת הריבונות הישראלית על השטחים הכבושים, תוך כדי עיבוי ההתנחליות שהן דבר ביומו, וכן הגליית כל תושבי הרצועה בהתאם למשנתו הגרועה של נשיא ארה”ב המטורף, דונלד טראמפ, רק מגבירה את השנאה כלפי הישראלים והיהודים בעולם. החלת הריבונות והגליית הפלסטינים מהרצועה עשויות גם להרחיק מדינות ערביות מהסכמי השלום עם ישראל

ולאור זאת ולמרות הכל, ממשלת נתניהו מאלצת את צה”ל להמשיך ולהילחם בעזה כאשר מחיר הדמים הוא גבוה ביותר. כשש מאות חיילים נהרגו מאז כניסת צה”ל לעזה לאחר השבעה באוקטובר

מרבית החטופים שחזרו לישראל שוחררו באמצעות משא ומתן וצה”ל הצליח לשחרר בעצמו מספר בודד של חטופים. ומהצד השני נהרגו אלפי אזרחים מקומיים ברצועת עזה כתוצאה מפעילות צה”ל

לאור זאת אני שואל בקול גדול: כמה עוד חפים מפשע משני הצדדים צריכים להיהרג בעזה כדי שממשלת הדמים של נתניהו תואיל להוציא את הצבא משם? האם המספרים הגבוהים האלה שהשאירו אלפי משפחות יתומות מתאבלות על אובדן יקיריהם – לא מספיקים לכם? האם אתם רוצים וצריכים בעוד נהרות של דם באזור

בישראל בדרך כלל לא חושבים על רק על היום ולא על מחר ובוודאי ובוודאי שזה לא מטריד את ממשלת נתניהו: לא העליה הקשה באנטישמיות ברחבי העולם, לא העמקת הפילוג בתוך ישראל ולא המשך אבדן חיים משני הצדדים. בישראל בעידן של נתניהו שכחו כנראה שהאירועים הקשים האלה ברצועת עזה ישליכו גם על עתידה של ישראל ושכנותיה

יש לזכור שרבים בקרב הטרוריסטים הפלסטינים שאחראים על פעולות טרור רצחניות בישראל לאורך השנים, שייכים למשפחות שאיבדו את יקיריהן בפעולות שונות של צה”ל. ולכן לא מן הנמנע שתמונה זו תחזור על עצמה בעתיד הנראה לעין, וחלק מהטרוריסטים העתידים לפגוע בישראלים ימנו על משפחות פלסטיניות שאיבדו את יקיריהן ברצועת עזה. אני חושש שהתוצאה של הנזק העצום בעזה תעלה לישראל במחיר כבד בעתיד. וכמו שציינתי היינו כבר בסרט הזה בעבר

ארה”ב השאירה נזק רב במקומות בהן צבאה פעל בהם אפגניסטן, עיראק ווייטנאם. אך מדינות אלו רחוקות מאוד מארה”ב, לעומת רצועת עזה הסמוכה לישראל. מוטב היה אם ממשלת נתניהו הייתה חושבת גם על המחר, ועל כך שישראל מוקפת בשכנות שצריך להמשיך לחיות עימן גם בעתיד

When approaches differ

News of a possible breakthrough that could lead to the end of the war between Israel and Hamas is encouraging, but there is effectively no happy ending to this situation. Nothing can return the lives lost or undo the horrors of the past two years. Even if it ends tomorrow, the tragedy of this war will go down as one of the saddest, most protracted chapters in a heartbreaking history.

The international repercussions have been less lethal but will have permanent implications for, among other things, the stability and well-being of Jewish communities in the diaspora. Global antisemitism has reached unimagined heights. And, globally, Jewish people and organizations are at odds over how to proceed.

For many months, voices in Israel, among Jews worldwide and in our own local community have been divided over, among other things, whether Israel should unilaterally end the war, pursue it to the stated end of eliminating Hamas or, depending on the perspective, something on a spectrum between these views. Some are calling for an Israeli or international occupation of Gaza.

Here in British Columbia, weekly solidarity rallies at Vancouver City Hall have continued, sometimes with small numbers, and featuring a diversity of voices. Other rallies, including marches across the Burrard Street Bridge and, this week, a community commemoration of the second anniversary of 10/7, have brought together overlapping and different participants.

It is sometimes hard for human beings, especially those deeply determined to do the right thing, to accept that there can be legitimate but differing opinions on the best way forward. We should be able to agree on this: no one can predict the future or know for certain what is best for the people of that region (or for Jews worldwide). We may disagree on fundamentals, such as whether a two-state solution remains a viable possibility or whether, at the other end of opinion, the West Bank and Gaza should be absorbed into an enlarged state of Israel (a perspective still generally viewed as extremist), or whether some kind of federated one-state system might integrate both peoples’ needs and futures. If we disagree on the end goal, we will almost certainly find fault with the other side’s means of reaching it.

Stuck as we may be in what seems an ideological, moral, political, strategic and theological disagreement, it is easy to view others, even those in our own community, as adversaries – this certainly is reflected in some of the messages we have received in recent days. On the one hand, we received an open letter to community rabbis ostensibly reminding them what Jewish morality entails, and, on a different hand, we received messages declaiming those in our community who call for a ceasefire as being in cahoots with nefarious groups, including one proscribed by the federal government as a terrorist entity. Both missives encourage community members to call out those who do not agree with their approach.

The passions ignited around this topic are understandable. These are existential issues faced by our people and our homeland. With no universally agreed-upon ends or means, division is inevitable. We should, though, keep in mind that, while it is our obligation to pursue justice, that pursuit includes minimizing harm in our own community. We should be guided by the understanding that our actions will have greater impacts on our people’s well-being here at home than on events halfway around the world.

While it may be difficult in the moment of discord to see the sincerity and humanity of those we see as our opponents, there is a commonality at play. Believe it or not, the people in our community most vehemently hostile toward your outlook are convinced, as you are, that they are acting in the best interests of the Jewish people, and, in most circumstances, the best interests of our homeland.

Human affairs are an art, not a science. There are – surprise! – no right answers, only opinions and presumptions. As convinced as we may be otherwise, not one of us can conclusively know for certain the best avenue to pursue to bring about the future we dream of.

At a minimum, let us presume we are all committed to a future of peace, justice and security. What that looks like, and how we get there, will differ.

Let us further presume the best intentions in others and celebrate our shared desire for positive outcomes and the impassioned commitment even of those with whom we disagree.