Tag: tikkun olam

JFS from past to future

Garry Zlotnik, centre, received the JFS Lighting the Way Award from Brent Davis, left, and Todd Thal at the Innovators event May 26. (Rhonda Dent Photography)

‘Jewish Family Services (JFS) hosted its annual Innovators event on May 26. This year’s gathering commemorated the organization’s 90 years of service to the community and 20 years of Innovators. 

Held at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver, guests filled the D/6 Bar & Lounge. JFS board members Candice Stein Thal and Raechelle Paperny were the event co-chairs.

Stein Thal spoke about JFS’s “nine decades of supporting our community with dignity, compassion and care.” Innovators itself is an example, she said, of “People showing up for one another, investing in one another and making sure that no one has to navigate life’s challenges alone.”

Paperny described the wide range of services offered by JFS, “whether that’s putting food on the table, accessing mental health support or simply feeling less alone.” She said JFS’s power lies not in “what we do but how we do it. We meet people with compassion and with dignity, we respond with innovation and we continue to evolve because the needs of our community are increasing and ever-changing.” While proud of their 90-year history, Paperny said they’re even more focused on the future.

photo - JFS Innovators co-chairs Candice Stein Thal, left, and Raechelle Paperny. The event took place May 26 at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver
JFS Innovators co-chairs Candice Stein Thal, left, and Raechelle Paperny. The event took place May 26 at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver. (photo by Ray Shum)

Brent Davis and Todd Thal presented the Lighting the Way Award to Garry Zlotnik for his leadership. Davis noted that Zlotnik had “earned the respect of this community long before he started sponsoring events or making donations.” The award recognized Zlotnik’s capacity for “leadership, compassion and moving others forward.” With financial and volunteer contributions that have spanned decades, Zlotnik “has never failed to make a difference with his time, his leadership and his energy,” said Davis.

Both Thal and Davis described the positive influence Zlotnik has had on their lives, as a mentor and role model. “He showed me that success isn’t just about building a business, it’s what you do with that success, how you help people and give back to the community,” said Thal, who described Zlotnik as someone who “makes connections and helps others succeed – and he does it without wanting any recognition.”

Davis added that donations were a good way to honour a man who is “always one of the first to say yes,” when a cause or an organization needs support. 

Before the award was presented, a short video was shown featuring Zlotnik speaking of his involvement with JFS. He said he was raised in a family where the attitude of “giving back was instilled in me at a very early age.” One of the greatest rewards has been, he said, meeting “so many unbelievably fantastic people.” He appreciated that donors could “share the benefits of what you’re doing on a direct basis with people” who have been in hard times. Having turned 70 in 2025, Zlotnik said this was a good time “to reflect on the legacy and the work that I’ve done for the Jewish community,” and he quoted the late Joseph Segal, who said, “the more you give, the more you get – and what you get is fulfilment.” Zlotnik hopes that this legacy of giving back will endure through his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids: “hopefully, they will do the same thing.”

In person, Zlotnik added that he’d had his birthday party in the same room last year. He reminisced about one of his proudest moments, working on the Maccabi Games, and pointed out that his brother, Marty, was a former board member. He reminded everyone that this was a great opportunity to support local people who “just need a little extra help.”

Shay (Shy) Keil, the event’s presenting sponsor, introduced a video about JFS’s 90-year history: “A powerful reminder that, behind every service, every meal, every act of care, there is a person whose life has been changed because this community chose to step forward, extend a hand and act. I encourage you to watch closely and open your hearts.” 

Keil spoke about the importance of the Innovators event. “I cannot imagine any other event in our community as important as this one,” he said. “For decades, JFS has been there for people in moments of hardship, uncertainty and vulnerability … not just for support, but for dignity, compassion and hope.”

photo - Shay (Shy) Keil, presenting sponsor of the Innovators event
Shay (Shy) Keil, presenting sponsor of the Innovators event. (Rhonda Dent Photography)

He reminded the audience that the need in the community was still growing, and “so does the impact of JFS. From food security and counseling to seniors’ support, addiction services, they’re helping rebuild people’s lives. That is what inspires me about JFS. This organization shows up for people.”

photo - Geoff Glotman of Glotman | Simpson, which was the event’s platinum sponsor
Geoff Glotman of Glotman | Simpson, which was the event’s platinum sponsor. (photo by Ray Shum)

The video explained how JFS was founded 90 years ago to help vulnerable community members and newcomers, based on the value of tikkun olam, repair of the world. A main goal was to ensure that the social, physical and emotional needs of Jewish refugees were being met. JFS’s services have expanded greatly since it began – to all members of the Jewish community, as well as local non-Jews in need of care and support, including with food assistance, mental health and counseling, and advocacy and care management.

After the video, JFS chief executive officer Tanja Demajo stressed: “It’s not just about large donations. Every dollar that’s provided makes a difference.”

She explained, in the video, how JFS will continue with the value of tikkun olam as its guide: “to help each other when that help is needed, so that no one is left behind.”

As he does for so many community fundraisers, auctioneer Howard Blank asked the audience for donations. For each dollar amount, he explained what the funds raised would cover, and what kind of difference it would make. For example, a gift of $5,000 meant that families could avoid “having to choose between rent and food,” he said. Other amounts would support the JFS Kitchen, its addiction and recovery program, emergency assistance, preventing evictions, grief and trauma counseling for a year for women fleeing violence.

A digital slide show shared the details of JFS’s impacts: 176 Holocaust survivors are supported by JFS and the agency delivers 2,100 hours of one-on-one client time. It has helped 600 people navigate crises and rebuild lives, and delivers $1.8 million in emergency medical and financial aid annually. Average counseling wait times at JFS have been reduced from 12 months to three weeks, and many thousands of kosher meals have been delivered. JFS distributes 825,000 pounds of food to those in need.

The Innovators event raised more than $600,000 for JFS programs and services that benefit more than 3,000 people each year. 

Both Zlotnik’s video and that about JFS’s history can be found on YouTube. 

Shula Klinger is an author and journalist living in North Vancouver.

Supplying healthy food

Left to right: Larry Vinegar, Stan Shaw, Lloyd Baron, Michelle Dodek, Steve Schacter and Marcy Schwartzman. (photo from Marcy Schwartzman)

There are roughly 1,200 people who rely on Jewish Family Services food hubs in the Greater Vancouver area, and much of the fresh produce they receive is due to the efforts of Larry Vinegar and Marcy Schwartzman.

Each month, JFS delivers approximately 2,500 bags of groceries to its clients, which include families with children, seniors, new immigrants, people with disabilities and other individuals in need. In 2021, during the pandemic, JFS established the food hubs, in partnership with synagogues and other organizations. The food is collected and distributed, with the help of a team of volunteers, at a central hub in Vancouver on 3rd Avenue called the Kitchen. 

photo - JFS hubs, situated in various parts of Greater Vancouver, offer fruit and vegetables
JFS hubs, situated in various parts of Greater Vancouver, offer fruit and vegetables. (photo from Marcy Schwartzman)

The hubs, situated in Vancouver, the North Shore, Burnaby, Surrey, the Tri-Cities and Richmond, offer fruit and vegetables. The program does not provide any meats, poultry or shellfish, and ensures that items are available for clients who follow a kosher diet.

“Most of the clients are people who are struggling to make ends meet, and your rent has to get paid. It often takes primary resources to pay your rent, and then food and other necessities come second. A lot of people are at a point where, at the end of the month, they don’t have money to put food on their tables, so they’re looking for assistance for that,” Schwartzman said.

She added that, if people do not have enough money, they choose the least expensive options, which are often not the healthiest. Thus, a community kitchen that supplies nutritious produce can be vital to a person’s well-being, she said.

The Independent caught up with Schwartzman and Vinegar on a spring afternoon. They were about to prepare the ground for planting on a Lower Mainland farm, the produce from which would be distributed by JFS.

photo - Maxwell (Moishe) Vinegar
Maxwell (Moishe) Vinegar. (photo from Marcy Schwartzman)

On Dec. 31, 2020, the couple suffered a tragedy, losing their 31-year-old son, Maxwell (Moishe) Vinegar, in a skiing accident. Prior to his passing, the family had had a conversation about food security, which reflected on a period when their son was young, and the family would deliver food for the food bank for Hanukkah.

“We had a lot of conversations with our kids about what it means to be a member of your community and be responsible and look out for our other community members,” Schwartzman said. “That December, around Hanukkah time, we were saying to him, ‘Hey, you should go help at the food bank.’ And he said, ‘I’m busy working, Dad, you’re retired, you should go do it.’”

In trying to come out of their grief, Vinegar and Schwartzman started their food efforts with donations people made after Max’s death, which they requested be directed to JFS. A friend of theirs who owned a farm in the Okanagan planted an acre of squash – a sign notes that all the squash growing on the acre is for JFS in Moishe’s memory.

photo - A friend of Larry Vinegar and Marcy Schwartzman, who owns a farm in the Okanagan, plants an acre of squash for JFS in memory of their son, Maxwell (Moishe) Vinegar
A friend of Larry Vinegar and Marcy Schwartzman, who owns a farm in the Okanagan, plants an acre of squash for JFS in memory of their son, Maxwell (Moishe) Vinegar. (photo from Marcy Schwartzman)

“We went up to help look after that for a couple of weekends that first summer, and that sort of got us thinking that maybe we can find somewhere to grow food to provide it to Jewish Family Services,” Schwartzman said.

The next summer, Vinegar spoke to a blueberry farmer in Richmond, who put the couple in touch with a family that lets them use their half-acre backyard, at no cost, to grow vegetables for the food bank.

“We’ve grown a variety of things over the years, but what grows the best there is zucchini and squash, butternut and acorn, and we also have green beans,” Schwartzman said. “We’ve been generously supported by West Coast Seeds.”

Further efforts include growing 300 plants at Richmond Jewish Day School last year, building relationships with local farmers, and spreading the word about tax benefits for those who donate excess crops to bolster food security.

“Larry has been quite instrumental and not afraid to go talk to different farmers around the Lower Mainland, just at the end of the season, to say you didn’t sell your crop, we’ll be happy to come pick it up,” Schwartzman said.

Vinegar has also developed a relationship with Costco after he walked into one of their stores and spoke with a manager about supplying unsold goods to food banks instead of disposing of them. All Costco stores give away food that is getting close to its stale date, said Schwartzman. “They donate to a different organization each day.”

In 2024, Vinegar and Schwartzman were recipients of the inaugural JFS Lighting the Way Award. At the presentation, they were described as “embodiments of JFS’s values, demonstrating innovation in their commitment to social good.”

“We are grateful for the help of many friends and volunteers who help us plant, tend and harvest,” said Schwartzman. “We couldn’t do what we do without their help!” 

For more on JFS’s food and other services, go to jfsvancouver.ca. 

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

A responsibility to help

Dr. Jonathon Leipsic will be honoured by Schara Tzedeck at MOSAIC on June 16. (photo from Schara Tzedeck)

At its annual MOSAIC event on June 16, Congregation Schara Tzedeck will honour Dr. Jonathon Leipsic. 

“It would be hard to find someone more worthy,” Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt told the Independent. “In addition to the countless hours that Jonathon gives toward advancing the synagogue goals, one cannot miss the fact that Jonathon loves Schara Tzedeck with his full heart. He attends, classes, services, programs regularly – which he is clearly fitting in between clinical, research and family responsibilities. Jonathon provides leadership in practice and in personal example and his commitment to personal growth, learning, community and helping others is almost without peer.”

Leipsic is professor and chair of radiology and professor of cardiology at the University of British Columbia, as well as a Canada Research Chair in Advanced Cardiopulmonary Imaging. He has more than 800 published peer-reviewed manuscripts and more than 300 scientific abstracts – he has been one of the top 1% most impactful scientists globally for multiple years, according to the Web of Science citation database.

In addition to his professional roles, Leipsic has been significantly involved in the Jewish community, notably with Schara Tzedeck, King David High School, Vancouver Talmud Torah and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.

Schara Tzedeck executive director Shelley Rivkin, who is also an active community leader, recently becoming board chair of Jewish Family Services and having worked with the Jewish Federation for 17 years, called Leipsic “a pillar of our community.”

“His impact extends far beyond the boardroom or the walls of our shul,” she said. “His leadership is defined not by title, but by character. As immediate past president of Schara Tzedeck, Jonathon led the board with steadiness, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to klal Yisrael.

“During the heartbreak of Oct. 7 and the resilience required in its aftermath, his voice as a tireless advocate for our shul and wider community – and his clarity of heart – were the anchor that held us together over challenging times. Jonathon is a man of many talents and accomplishments: community engagement, Torah study and medicine. We are celebrating all of these facets at the gala.”

The evening will feature Shulem, one of Leipsic’s favourite performers, said Rivkin. There will be tributes, followed by dinner and another performance by Shulem, who blends traditional cantorial melodies with classical crossover.

“I am honoured to even be a part of the Schara Tzedeck community,” said Leipsic about his being 

recognized by the congregation. “The shul has played a foundational role in my spiritual growth and in infusing ahavat Torah and ahavat Yisroel in my family and amongst so many. I am humbled to have served the shul as a board member and as president.”

Schara Tzedeck has been the spiritual home of Leipsic and his wife, Karly Bogner, since they met. Bogner’s grandparents were members of the synagogue, said Leipsic. “I feel privileged to daven, to celebrate simchas and to join for moments of reflection and learning at Schara Tzedeck,” he said.

“I try to live my life in accordance with the talmudic principle of ‘Klal Yisroel arevim zeh lah zeh’ [‘All of Israel is responsible for one another’]. Karly and I feel deeply grateful to be part of klal Yisroel and to have the privilege to enjoy all that Jewish Vancouver has to offer – a community and institutions that we did not build but that we feel deeply responsible to help strengthen and build,” said Leipsic.

“As we enter our 119th year, longevity is finding the right balance between the responsibilities that the halachah demands and flexibility to meet our congregants’ needs on a contemporary basis,” said Rosenblatt. “We must have that backbone of daily service attendance and regular Torah study, reliable kashrut and Shabbat observance. At the same time, we have to be relevant to the contemporary generation, we have to provide opportunities for them to give back and to leverage Jewish wisdom in their own growth and in answering the questions and challenges they face today.”

This year, MOSAIC’s fundraising focus is the Clergy Sustainability Fund.

“Vancouver is a great distance from the large Orthodox centres, where we primarily recruit our clergy,” said Rivkin. “To attract additional clergy, we need to be able to support the real conditions that make long-term leadership possible: housing, family connection during the holidays, and professional growth. This fund 

will enable us to address these concerns and help ensure that Schara Tzedeck can continue to attract outstanding young rabbis to our community and give them the foundation to stay and lead.”

To attend MOSAIC, visit scharatzedeck.com.

Raising funds for Survivors

Artists Claire Kujundzic and Bill Horne have created a Bondi Beach memorial shirt. Monies raised are being donated to Bema Productions’ high school Holocaust education tours of Wendy Kout’s Survivors. (photo from Amazing Studios)

After the terror attack at Bondi Beach, Australia, on Dec. 14, in which two gunmen killed 15 people and wounded some 40 others who had gathered to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, Victoria artist Bill Horne hosted a print-your-own glow-in-the-dark menorah shirt event at his and partner Claire Kujundzic’s Amazing Space Studio.

“Claire and I were very distressed by the antisemitic murders at Bondi Beach, and wanted to do something,” Horne told the Independent. “I’ve screen-printed with glow-in-the-dark ink before, e.g. images of aurora borealis, and the image of a glowing menorah popped into my mind. I thought it could symbolize the spirits of those killed at Bondi Beach, as well as literally ‘light up’ a menorah on a shirt this way.”

On Facebook, Horne invited anyone who wanted to print their own glow-in-the-dark menorah to bring a shirt to the Saanich studio before one of the Hanukkah light-up events in Victoria.

image - The front of the shirt features a menorah that glows in the dark
The front of the shirt features a menorah that glows in the dark. (photo from Amazing Studios)

“I had a few spare, unprinted black shirts in the cupboard, so I printed them,” he said. “When our visitors saw them, they asked if they were for sale. I hadn’t conceived of this as a commercial project, and that would have felt completely wrong, so I thought it could be a fundraiser. With Zelda Dean’s permission, I announced through word-of-mouth and our studio’s newsletter that we would be printing the shirts to raise funds for the high school tours of Bema theatre’s production of Survivors, as part of BC’s Holocaust education.”

Horne and Kujundzic, neither of whom is Jewish, have seen the play.

“It was an excellent production,” said Horne.

“The first production we attended at Bema was Si Kahn’s Stranger in a Strange Land,” he said. “I had heard Si sing at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival many years ago, and didn’t know he wrote plays. We saw a poster for this play of his at the [Victoria] Jewish Community Centre one day when we went for lunch. The musical was great, and Si was in attendance, which was a bonus.”

That was when the couple first met Dean, the founder and managing artistic director of Bema Productions, which is based in Congregation Emanu-El.

“We think she’s one of the best things about Victoria!” said Horne.

He and Kujundzic have since seen various plays and readings at Bema.

image - The back of the glow-in-the-dark menorah shirt lists the names of those murdered at Bondi Beach, Australia, on Dec. 14, while celebrating the first night of Hanukkah
The back of the glow-in-the-dark menorah shirt lists the names of those murdered at Bondi Beach, Australia, on Dec. 14, while celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. (photo from Amazing Studios)

The fundraising initiative is just starting, with $100 donated from that first, unplanned small batch of shirts.

“Once we receive enough orders to print and sell at least a few dozen more shirts, we’ll be able to make a larger contribution,” said Horne. “In terms of raising spirits, most people who see the shirt (especially with the lights out) have been moved or glad to see something positive in response to the Bondi Beach massacre. I also think it’s important for gentiles to wear a shirt like this in solidarity.”

“I am so grateful to my dear friends Claire and Bill for their tremendous generosity and their ongoing efforts to make the world a better place,” Dean told the Independent, noting that fundraising “becomes more difficult every year and we welcome donations toward this very important Grade 8 to 10 educational play, which is approved by the provincial government.”

Bema will be doing its fifth annual tour to BC schools with Survivors, which was written by Wendy Kout, based on recorded testimonies of 10 survivors talking about their experience as teens during the Holocaust, said Dean. “We have so far presented at 45 schools on Vancouver Island and in Greater Vancouver and hope to reach the Interior as well this year.”

Horne and Kujundzic operated Amazing Space Studio and Gallery in Wells, BC, for more than 25 years, before moving to Saanich in 2021. While not a retail gallery anymore, people can arrange a visit to the studio.

The Bondi Beach memorial shirt is completely in character for the couple, who have been involved in many causes and projects since they met in 1981. 

“Tools for Peace published two fundraising calendars of Claire’s Nicaragua-themed art in the late 1980s,” said Horne. “We’ve produced art and design for fundraising or promotion projects for groups such as BC Black History Awareness Society, the Wells Historical Society, Friends of Barkerville, families of Nicaraguan political prisoners, Ukrainian refugee families, RAVEN Trust and Treaty 8 First Nations (resisting the Site C dam), the United to End Racism delegation at the World Peace Forum (Vancouver, 2006) and the successful Wells Save Our School Campaign of 2002-2003.

“Claire has designed logos, graphics and posters for Pacific Post Partum Society, BC Organization to Fight Racism, Potters Without Borders, Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council, Kettle Friendship Society, International Women’s Day, many unions, including Union Women, and the International Metalworkers’ Federation.”

As a printmaker, Horne can silkscreen shirts, as well as editions of prints for exhibitions, he said. He has also designed books of poetry and photography. 

“Claire learned the printing trade in her 20s, worked as a designer doing layout and logos, and produced paintings, prints and sculptures as well,” he noted.

A reprint of the menorah shirts will take place this spring, with probably another run in the fall. Horne needs to first create a secure online order system.

If anyone wants a shirt, contact the studio for details of the next printing, shirt size/style options and prices: amazingspacestudio.com. To donate to Bema Productions’ high school tours of Survivors directly, go to holocausttheatre.com. 

Rose’s Angels delivers

Left to right: May Stefanov, tenant relations coordinator with Tikva Housing Society, and Courtney Cohen, co-founder of Rose’s Angels. (photo from Rose’s Angels)

Eleven not-for-profits received donations from this year’s Rose’s Angels, including Mamas for Mamas, Richmond Food Bank Society, Jewish Family Services’ Grocery Program (formerly known as the Jewish Food Bank), Tikva Housing Society and Pathways Clubhouse. 

Run under the umbrella of the Kehila Society of Richmond, Rose’s Angels was created in 2012 by Courtney Cohen and Lynne Fader. It was founded in memory of Cohen’s grandmothers, Rose Lewin and Babs Cohen, who were both very philanthropic and instilled in Cohen the importance of giving back to community.

Essential personal care items, non-perishable food items, children’s arts and crafts materials, diapers and baby formula were among the donations received by Rose’s Angels this year. For many of its partner agencies, diapers and non-perishable food were among the top priority items.

“Being a mom myself, I can’t imagine what it must feel like to not have the access or means to provide essential items for your child,” said Cohen, stressing the impacts of the rising cost of living and the strain it’s putting on families and single parents.

“Supporting organizations that do such meaningful outreach for families in need is something I’m incredibly proud of,” she said.

Rose’s Angels’ success depends on the support of donors and volunteers. Letters were sent out to partner agencies, family, friends and community members in January, with donations collected in February.  Richmond Jewish Day School hosted a hygiene collection drive, and grocery gift cards were purchased last month. This month, all the donations were packaged and delivered by volunteers to the recipient agencies.

“My parents and grandparents … showed me that giving back isn’t just a kind gesture – it’s a responsibility we have to one another as part of a community,” said Cohen.

To learn more about or donate to Rose’s Angels, email [email protected] or call the Kehila Society of Richmond at 604-241-9270. 

– Courtesy Rose’s Angels

Successful campaign

Anat Gogo, executive director of Tikva Housing. This year’s campaign was the most successful to date. (photo from Tikva Housing)

Tikva Housing Society’s annual fundraising campaign has concluded with its most successful result to date, raising more than $75,000 to support innovative, affordable housing solutions. The campaign brought together donors, volunteers and community supporters who share a common belief: that everyone deserves a stable place to call home.

“Our community showed tremendous generosity and engagement throughout this campaign,” said Anat Gogo, executive director of Tikva Housing. “Every gift helps us continue providing safe homes and strengthening community connection. We are deeply grateful to everyone who chose to stand with us.”

This year’s total represents a new milestone for the organization and reflects Tikva’s growing impact on community members across Metro Vancouver. Over the past year alone, Tikva expanded its housing portfolio by 45 units through the landmark acquisition of the Ronald S. Roadburg Residences in Richmond, the city with the second-largest Jewish population in the Lower Mainland.

“With ongoing support, we hope to continue to grow,” said Gogo. “Our goal is to build on this momentum and create more affordable housing solutions across the region.”

Support from donors and partner organizations has helped people like Olexandr, who fled the war in Ukraine with his family in search of safety and stability. After first relocating to Israel, his family once again faced the uncertainty created by conflict and ultimately decided to rebuild their lives in Canada.

In May 2025, Olexandr arrived in Vancouver ahead of his family to begin the immigration process and establish a new home. One of the biggest challenges he encountered was finding affordable housing.

With limited resources, he could only afford shared accommodations and was forced to move between three apartments in less than six months. Eventually, with the help of Jewish Family Services of Greater Vancouver, Olexandr connected with Tikva Housing and was offered a home large enough to reunite his entire family.

“This apartment with Tikva Housing means safety and freedom for me, and a comfortable life with my family,” he said. “I’ve met many people from Israel and Ukraine in this building. We speak about our lives, our housing and our Jewish connection. It feels like a big family, and we help each other.”

Donor support has also helped expand the reach of Tikva’s Rent Relief Program, which provides short-term subsidies to individuals and families living in market housing who are experiencing a temporary financial crisis.

When Elisheva moved to Vancouver from Israel with her family, they were initially able to support themselves using the limited savings they had brought with them. However, the high cost of housing for a family of five quickly drained those funds, leaving them uncertain about how long they could remain in their home.

“We started becoming very stressed about our situation and about being able to pay our rent,” she said. “Tikva Housing came just in time and saved us.”

Through the Rent Relief Program, Elisheva’s family was able to remain in their apartment while they worked to stabilize their finances.

“We have a roof above our heads and we don’t need to move from place to place,” she said. “My three young girls already moved from one continent to another. They had so many changes. Having stability means everything for our family.”

The annual fundraising campaign plays a vital role in supporting Tikva Housing’s work throughout the year. Donations help maintain existing homes, support residents through cultural and educational programming, and ensure the organization can continue responding to housing needs across the community.

The campaign’s success also reflects the dedication of volunteers, board and committee members, and community advocates who helped share Tikva’s mission and encourage participation. From spreading campaign updates to inviting friends and family to contribute, their efforts helped make this record result possible.

While the campaign has officially wrapped up, the need for affordable housing remains significant. As of February 2026, 499 applicants were registered on the Metro Vancouver Jewish Housing Registry, including 125 families with children and 173 seniors seeking stable housing.

“This campaign shows what is possible when our community comes together with compassion and a shared commitment to helping others,” said Gogo. “With continued support, we can ensure that more individuals and families have access to the safety, dignity and stability that come with a place to call home.”

For more information or to donate, visit tikvahousing.org. 

– Courtesy Tikva Housing

Successful trip to Cuba 

Cantor Eric Moses led a delegation from his synagogue to Havana, Cuba, this month. (photo from Beth Sholom)

Earlier this month, I traveled to Havana with a delegation from Beth Sholom, the Toronto synagogue where I serve as cantor. Together, we represented the first Canadian Jewish group to visit the island since 2019. Travel to Cuba has been complex and unpredictable for some, but our mission was simple – to support the Jewish community in Cuba and remind them that they are neither forgotten nor alone. 

The island nation continues to face an unprecedented and protracted crisis. There is a shortage of nearly everything, most notably fuel. Gas stations, if open at all, have hours-long lineups. Illicit WhatsApp groups gouge desperate consumers for the little gasoline that remains. Electricity is out for 12 to 14 hours each day. Medical supplies are scarce to nonexistent. Surgeries have been canceled, public transportation suspended and schools closed. Along the highways, people stand with wads of Cuban pesos, hoping someone will stop and offer a ride. And yet, despite these hardships, the small but remarkably resilient Jewish community has not lost hope. 

On Friday evening, we arrived at Beth Shalom Synagogue, locally known as the Patronato, before Shabbat for a briefing with the community’s vice-president. Moments into her remarks, the lights went out. There was no panic, no drama. She calmly pulled out a few flashlights and continued speaking, as though nothing unusual had happened. She then guided us through the synagogue’s modest pharmacy, where scarce medical supplies are distributed not only to Jewish families but to the broader community as well. We were proud to have brought generously donated supplies from pharmaceutical distributor Kohl & Frisch and members of our congregation – though we knew it would not be enough. 

As I entered the sanctuary for services, my contact, William Miller, pulled me aside. “Eric, we have enough generator power for about 20 more minutes.” That meant the Shabbat dinner we had sponsored would likely be served in the dark and with cold food. Again, there was no panic, just another fact of life in today’s Havana. (Our group had helped purchase that very generator during a visit in 2008.) 

Our time on the island was filled with meaningful encounters. We visited all three synagogues – Orthodox, Conservative and Sephardi – participated in hands-on volunteer activities and spent time connecting with community members. We toured the Jewish cemetery, the Holocaust memorial and museum, and visited shut-in seniors during a power outage. We visited the Canadian embassy and heard from the ambassador and her team about Cuba’s precarious future. We found brief moments to experience Havana’s incredible charm, including a ride in a classic car, the taste of a mojito and the sounds of Cuban music. 

By the end of the trip, our group of 16 left Havana feeling enriched, united and deeply humbled. On Friday night, the entire service was led by the youth at the Patronato – a powerful testament to the community’s commitment. I was honoured to address the congregation and shared a simple reflection: in Canada, we have almost everything, while they have almost nothing; yet they possess something we can learn from, a profound sense of pride, spirit and the determination not merely to survive, but to thrive again. One taxi driver summed up the mood of the country when he told me, “We are in a dark tunnel without a way out.” But we were welcomed with open arms and open hearts. 

We departed on Sunday evening on what felt like the last fumes of jet fuel, just hours before Air Canada and WestJet announced the suspension of flights. Those who remain behind do not have the option to leave. They continue to live with constant uncertainty, navigating daily hardships while carrying the weight of more than six decades of a revolution that has failed to deliver on its promises. And yet, the Jews of Havana remain determined, resilient and passionate about their heritage and their future. 

Eric Moses is the cantor at Beth Sholom Synagogue in Toronto.

Stories create impact

Choices keynote speaker Mandana Dayani, centre, with event  co-chairs, left to right, Gail James, Briana James, Lola Pawer and Lisa Boroditsky. (photo by Rhonda Dent)

On Nov. 16, Choices once again celebrated the work of Jewish women philanthropists. This year’s theme, “L’dor Vador” (“Generation to Generation”), reflected the more than 400 people who attended the 21st annual event, which took place at Congregation Beth Israel.

“We saw so many younger, first-time attendees,” said Ricki Thal, associate campaign director at Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. 

The event’s four co-chairs also represented the theme: Gail James and her granddaughter, Briana James; Lola Pawer and her daughter, Lisa Boroditsky.

Briana James introduced the keynote speaker, business leader and activist Mandana Dayani. In doing so, James said “our future shines bright,” with Dayani leading the way in philanthropy and activism, fighting antisemitism and advocating on behalf of women’s rights. 

Dayani took the stage with her husband, Peter Traugott, presenting her material in conversation with him.

A Hollywood film producer with credits including HBO, Apple TV and Netflix, among others, Traugott also holds a master’s in business administration from Harvard University. He set a light-hearted tone, quipping, “This is my first at this – [being] Mandana’s ‘plus one’!” Speaking about their Jewish life in Los Angeles, where several members of the Dayani family live close by, he described a cross between Everybody Loves Raymond and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Traugott asked Dayani about her experiences as a new immigrant in New York. She spoke of the culture shock, the lights and traffic in New York. She also spoke, with gratitude, about HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), which supported her family’s flight from Iran, found her father a job as a shoe salesman and found them a place to live, where they became part of the community.

Dayani said her earliest memories of Iran are of “the morality police, the fear in everyone’s eyes.” She recalled having a gun pointed at her when she was just 4 years old. She is now 43.

Her family, who had wanted to leave Iran since the revolution in 1979, finally got a visa to Italy in 1987. They fled there, “leaving everything behind.” The experience has left her, she said, with an enduring sense of “how quickly this escalates, seeing my country taken over by lunatics.” 

Despite having to live “with no safety net, starting over and over again, with no money,” Dayani said, “I’ve never missed a Shabbat in my life…. Shabbat is everything to us.”

Dayani’s grandfather was a rabbi and the family Orthodox. She understands the sacrifices that had to be made to maintain their traditions and feels “a responsibility” to do so as well, she said. As for integrating into American life, she described watching TV to learn how to dress, speak and behave as an American. She said, “I feel very Persian. Being a Persian Jew, that’s integral to who I am.” She also describes herself as “deeply patriotic – the US saved my life.”

Dayani takes her two daughters everywhere, she said. “If I meet my heroes, they meet my heroes. If I’m going to the UN General Assembly or the White House, they come with me.”

She and Traugott are trying to raise active, responsible citizens. “We have conversations about what’s happening in the world and they’re always rooted in kindness, through the lens of compassion,” she said.

Dayani advises caution when it comes to internalizing the messages we see online. “If we cave to the algorithms, we’ll believe that everyone hates Jews and it simply isn’t true,” she said, adding, “So many people stand with us and love us. The kids are good!”

In response to a question from Traugott about her process as a storyteller, Dayani spoke about “using storytelling to create impact,” to change society in significant ways.

Dayani acknowledged that anger spurs some of her work, such as her fight against the first Trump administration’s policy of attempting to deter migrants by separating children from their parents. She recalled her fears as a child, landing in New York, not wanting to let go of her mother’s hand. “I can’t think of a worse thing you could do to the most vulnerable population in the world,” she said. This sentiment led her to travel to Texas to see the policy in action, as the disconnect was just too powerful, she said. “The country that saved me is doing this?”

Her strategy in situations like this, she said, is to “call all the women I know who are smarter than me” to together “redirect the world’s attention to what we want them to look at. Real issues. It worked.”

She explained, “We received hundreds of millions of dollars of donated advertising…. I was so moved by how everyone showed up.”

The advertising aspect – the dissemination of information – was absolutely essential, she said, noting that “20% of the pro-Hamas information being spread on social media right after Oct. 7 was disseminated by bots, not real people…. It was planned. There was spin on the day it happened.” 

When Mandani posted a video about this online within days of Hamas’s attack, the post got some 50 million views within a couple of hours. Death threats started coming in.

“I am a progressive leader and none of those people were speaking up,” she said, referring to other human rights and anti-hate activists.

Even though, as Traugott noted, Dayani doesn’t just work for a single demographic, but rather does outreach on behalf of various groups who have experienced different kinds of trauma and marginalization, she lost friends after Oct. 7 – or, as she put it, “so-called ‘thought leaders’ remaining silent because they couldn’t stand 10 negative comments” on their social media accounts. Dayani said the people she thought were her peers lacked the courage to stand up for justice when it came to Jews. 

Among many other initiatives, Dayani founded, in 2024, the Calanet Foundation for young people, to harness “the power of Jewish stories in response to the branding work done by the Palestinian contingent.” After Oct. 7, she saw “so many black squares on people’s feeds,” as a mark of Jews’ grief. She also wanted people to focus on “the desert flower growing out of a crack,” the calanet (Hebrew for anemone), which symbolizes strength and resilience. She quoted the adage “They tried to bury us – they didn’t know we were seeds.”

One of Calanet’s projects is One Mitzvah a Day, which entails expressing thanks to those who stand up against antisemitism and/or in support of Israel – “one text a day, such as expressing gratitude to Trader Joe’s for selling Israeli feta,” said Dayani, noting that 5.5 million messages have been sent since the project’s January launch. Traugott pointed out that “most of the allies weren’t Jewish.”

Dayani asked the audience to consider “the power of this room, when everyone does the work.” She said, “Just do what you’re doing today – keep showing up.”  

Shula Klinger is an author and journalist living in North Vancouver.

CHW expands helping efforts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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