Vancouver

Rule of law broken: councilor

Panelists Rabbi Philip Bregman, left, and Aron Csaplaros. Toronto city councilor James Pasternak spoke via remote link. (photo by Pat Johnson)

A Toronto city councilor, speaking via remote link at an event at Richmond’s Beth Tikvah Synagogue, slammed Canadian society and leaders for permitting – even encouraging – antisemitism.

James Pasternak told the June 23 event that the rule of law has broken down in Canada.

“It’s mostly a result of timid policing, the refusal to physically engage protesters, spineless politicians who are either scraping the barrel for a few extra votes or simply afraid to speak out and, of course, a broken judiciary that has weak bail conditions and drops a lot of the charges,” said the councilor, who is Jewish and is seeking reelection this fall in the York Centre ward, which has a significant concentration of Jewish voters.

Pasternak said anti-Israel protests have cost Toronto police more than $50 million, and yet activists continue intimidating people in Jewish neighbourhoods, harassing shoppers, interfering with subway commuters, and blocking major thoroughfares and rail lines.

“We have seen attacks on synagogues and threats against Jewish daycares and schools, against summer camps. We have seen the shooting up of a Jewish girls’ school, the firebombing of a Jewish-owned grocery store and the arrival of hateful mobs coming up to the area I represent, at Bathurst and Sheppard, every Sunday to harass the Jewish community,” he said. “There are no embassies there. There are no consulates. There are no government buildings. There’s no town square. They are up there to harass the local Jewish community.”

Pasternak directed special condemnation at elected officials who exacerbate the situation by warning that Israel’s prime minister should be arrested if he came to Canada, by diplomatically recognizing Palestine, “and spreading the tropes that the war in Gaza was genocide.”

He named Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow as one who “spreads that same trope … making a bad situation worse.”

Chow has alienated the Jewish community, said Pasternak.

“She didn’t show up to the … anniversary of Oct. 7. She didn’t show up to Walk for Israel. She didn’t show up to the Israel flag-raising. Anything to do with Israel is like a no-go zone. And she’s pandering to these groups that she feels she needs to remain in office,” said Pasternak.

He said he had a conversation with the mayor in which she told him, according to Pasternak, “Any time I take a step to help the Jewish community speak up, I get clobbered.”

“So I said, ‘Oh, clobbered by the crazies?’” Pasternak recounted, “And her answer was, ‘Yeah. Yeah, clobbered by the crazies. The crazies vote for me.’”

A spokesperson for Chow told the Independent via email the mayor hosts an annual Passover reception at City Hall and attends several public menorah lightings and High Holidays receptions. They said Chow toured the Nova Exhibition, joined memorials for the Bibas family, and attended the opening of the Toronto Holocaust Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum’s recent Auschwitz Exhibit. She also visited Congregation Chasidei Bobov, a Toronto synagogue whose congregants were targeted in a hate-motivated assault.

Joining Pasternak on the panel was Aron Csaplaros, BC regional manager for B’nai Brith Canada, who referenced his organization’s most recent annual audit of antisemitic hate crimes.

According to the 2025 audit, Canadian Jews experienced a record 6,800 reported antisemitic incidents last year – an average of 18.6 per day – representing a 9.3% increase over 2024 and a 145.6% increase since 2022. Harassment accounted for 95% of incidents, the vast majority taking place online. There were 299 reported cases of vandalism and 10 violent attacks.

“The one main theme that I keep hearing again and again and again is that Jews feel excluded. They feel unwelcome. They feel unheard,” said Csaplaros, who shared an anecdote about a unionized work environment where coworkers spoke of Zionists stealing, lying and violently killing people. When a Jewish employee reported it to human resources, they were told it was merely a political disagreement.

“That’s just an example,” said Csaplaros, “but that’s something that we hear time and time again – or teachers not understanding what it means to collectively blame all Jews for the actions of a single government.”

He welcomed Bill C-9, which just received royal assent, creating a standalone hate crime offence, among other steps against hate. He also said Prime Minister Mark Carney’s statement that confronting antisemitism requires a “whole-of-government” approach is positive, but still may not reflect the breadth required. Csaplaros said the federal government makes the laws, the provinces oversee Crown prosecutions and municipalities run law enforcement.

“So you can see how there could very easily be a breakdown where maybe the laws exist on the federal level, but, if the province isn’t doing its job in charging these crimes, and if the city isn’t encouraging the local police to make these arrests in the first place, then we’re not going to get anywhere,” Csaplaros said.

Rabbi Philip Bregman, the third member of the panel, recounted experiencing antisemitism during childhood in rural Ontario and at university in Toronto, then, on Jan. 25, 1985, when his synagogue, Temple Sholom, here in Vancouver, was destroyed in a firebombing.

“Today, in the Lower Mainland, we are spending over $100,000 a month on security for our [Jewish] institutions,” Bregman said.

The rabbi reflected on things he’s experienced in the expansive interfaith work he has undertaken, especially since retiring from the pulpit at Temple Sholom. For example, a United Church of Canada minister told Bregman that he reviewed his notes from divinity school in Toronto.

“My God, the antisemitism was right below the surface, right there,” Bregman recalls the minister telling him.

The rabbi credited the Catholic archdiocese of Vancouver with developing very strong relations with the Jewish community, and also commended Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim.

“I may not necessarily agree with all of his policies, but Ken Sim has been there for us,” said Bregman.

Like the other panelists, Bregman did not identify a great many reasons for optimism. Jewish Canadians seeking a Plan B, a place to flee if the situation here gets intolerable, might consider Panama, which he has heard is very welcoming to Jews.

The event was co-hosted by Stan Goldman and Lonnie Belfer.

Wrong person rebuked

The City of Vancouver’s integrity commissioner this month declared that Mayor Ken Sim breached the city’s code of conduct by criticizing Councilor Sean Orr’s presence and comments at an anti-Israel rally last year.

The report concluded that Sim misused the influence of his office by holding a press conference to criticize Orr over inflammatory social media posts and his attendance at an anti-Israel protest alongside very problematic speakers and organizations. The report said Sim should apologize to Orr or face censure by council.

Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of British Columbia, said in a statement that the conflict commissioner’s report represented a double standard, and expressed gratitude to the mayor for raising our community’s concerns.

Nico Slobinsky, on behalf of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, criticized Orr for not showing accountability for past social media posts, including claiming that city planners were controlled by a “secret cabal of Jews,” and calling for the “destruction of both Israel and Canada.” While a city councilor, Orr spoke at the “Flood for Palestine” protest organized by Al-Awda, a group with links to the terrorist entity Samidoun.

The brouhaha at city hall is just one in a small avalanche of administrative, legal and political episodes in recent years that have left many Jews feeling abandoned and betrayed by the institutions and legal protections ostensibly in place to protect them and other minority communities.

Many Jews feel under attack and, despite pleasant words from some elected officials, actual tangible responses often seem weak or absent. For example, the flooding of a Vancouver neighbourhood with hate messages against Jews and Israel have been effectively ignored by city officials. Clearing them away has been left to local residents. Nothing, apparently, has been done to reprimand the individual known to be perpetrating the graffiti and vandalism, despite laws and bylaws against precisely this sort of behaviour.

In Ontario, some progress has been seen recently. Toronto authorities responded to demonstrations in Jewish neighbourhoods by tightening enforcement, restricting marches from entering residential streets, and arresting some participants and investigating alleged incidents of hate speech and public incitement. Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford has been vocal in defending Jewish communities and, no doubt, his unequivocal position gave some political cover to police and others to take action.

No similar political leadership has been seen in British Columbia, where the unresolved case of Charlotte Kates remains a sore point for many in the Jewish community. Vancouver police arrested Kates in April 2024 after remarks at a Vancouver rally in which she praised the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and venerated their perpetrators as heroic. Police recommended charges for public incitement and wilful promotion of hatred. Nearly two years later, Crown counsel has still not announced a charge decision. Pressed by the Independent, the premier’s office pointed to prosecutorial independence, arguing that charging decisions rest with the BC Prosecution Service, not elected officials.

This may be fair justification, but piled upon so many instances where words and actions that are perceived by Jews as hateful and inciting go officially unchallenged leave many Jewish people with an overall sense that they are being abandoned by those who should be enforcing anti-hate protections.

Parliament is now considering Bill C-9, a proposed online harms law that carries numerous provisions that Jewish leaders support. But many people are leery of more laws that likely will not be enforced, provisions intended to increase safety for minority communities – Jews, in particular – but that will not have their intended impact, whether because police do not enforce them, the Crown does not pursue charges or, if it reaches that level, courts do not convict. The proposed new federal law has much to recommend itself but, if it is just going to be another law on a dusty legal shelf, it will not change the situation we face.

The case of Vancouver’s mayor, who called out egregious incidents only to be called on the carpet himself – and ordered to apologize – portends a chilling on those who would stand up for the Jewish community.

We have laws in this country, but many of them are not being enforced. Very few Jews in this country, we confidently venture, believe the system is working as it should.

Hateful messages intensify

The Douglas Park area is being covered with hateful chalk and stickers. (photo by Joshua)

A residential pocket near Vancouver’s Oak Street corridor has become the site of an increasingly bitter battle over political messaging, public space and antisemitism. At the centre of it is one Jewish resident who says his neighbourhood – and his sense of safety – has been upended by a neighbour’s anti-Israel graffiti campaign.

Joshua, who asked that his surname be omitted, said one particular individual began tearing down hostage posters shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. The same individual was filmed tearing posters down in front of a group of community members outside Schara Tzedeck before a commemorative event a year after 10/7.

The Vancouver Police Department’s diversity unit initially advised Joshua to stop putting up pro-Israel or hostage posters and allow the city to “neutralize” the space to de-escalate tensions. He complied for several months, he said, but anti-Israel messages only intensified. He has been in discussions with police since last June; he worries that the situation will escalate as the weather improves.

photo - Over the past six to seven months, chalked and adhesive messages have appeared across sidewalks, utility boxes, crosswalk placards and construction signage. — Over the past six to seven months, chalked and adhesive messages have appeared across sidewalks, utility boxes, crosswalk placards and construction signage. *(photo by Joshua)*

The same individual has become a near-constant presence in the area, waving a Palestinian flag at busy intersections such as Oak and 12th, usually at rush hour and sometimes for hours at a time. According to Joshua, who admits he has done his share of flag-waving as a regular participant at City Hall rallies for Israeli hostages, the anti-Israel activism has gone far beyond flag-waving.

Over the past six to seven months, chalked and adhesive messages have appeared across sidewalks, utility boxes, crosswalk placards and construction signage. While some read “Gaza” or “Free Gaza,” the messaging has grown more aggressive, including “Zionism is terrorism” and “Death to the IDF,” sometimes accompanied by an inverted triangle associated with Hamas imagery and implying terrorist targets.

The most recent messaging, Joshua said, is “Stop Israel Sadistic Cult” and equating the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with Israel – “ICErael.”

Joshua said he has documented the activity extensively, as well as the antisemitic rhetoric on the individual’s social media, and filed numerous 311 complaints with the City of Vancouver. If graffiti appears on city property, the city contracts a third-party removal company. But response times range from 48 hours to more than a week – sometimes longer, Joshua said. In one park, spray-painted slogans remained for more than three weeks before being removed.

Because chalk is temporary and easily reapplied, the individual can rewrite messages almost as soon as they are washed away.

Frustrated by what he sees as municipal inaction on targeted harassment and hate speech, Joshua has purchased an 11-litre backpack sprayer and walks the neighbourhood with water and scrub brushes to remove the chalk.

According to Joshua, the individual leaving the messages has “doxed” at least six area residents, sharing their personal information online, including their images and their licence plates. He posted Joshua’s first and last names and the cross street where he lives, with the comment, “Be sure to say hi and other things if you see him.”

Someone wrote Joshua’s full name on a public sign along with the words “IOF soldier” – IOF meaning “Israeli Occupying Forces” – and he has been accused online and in person of serving in the IDF, which he has not. In one incident, a woman confronted and filmed him at 7 a.m., shouting accusations and telling him, “We know where you live” and calling him an “IOF baby-killer.”

Joshua reported that encounter, as well as the doxing incidents, to police. Officers took a statement but indicated their options were limited, citing freedom of expression, Joshua told the Independent.

Meanwhile, the impact on the neighbourhood is tangible. A local rabbi told him that one Jewish family moved away because their children felt unsafe seeing hostile messages near their home and synagogue.

Joshua has removed his name from his building directory out of concern for his family’s safety. Confrontations and cleanup efforts are framed online as attempts by “Zionists” to silence dissent.

Within the Jewish community, there is debate about how to respond. Some have suggested stopping cleanup efforts in hopes that broader community frustration will grow. Joshua believes a coordinated, multi-block volunteer cleanup effort – involving Jews and non-Jews – is the only way to demonstrate that the issue is about shared civic space, not a private feud. He has set up an online group at facebook.com/groups/cleaningupdouglaspark.

photo - Because chalk is temporary and easily reapplied, the individual can rewrite messages almost as soon as they are washed away — Because chalk is temporary and easily reapplied, the individual can rewrite messages almost as soon as they are washed away. *(photo by Joshua)*

Residents should not have to navigate obscenities and hostile rhetoric on sidewalks and parks, said Joshua, and he questions whether the city would respond differently if racist or homophobic messages appeared in neighbourhoods with significant populations of the targeted communities.

This sort of conflict, in different permutations, is taking place in cities across Canada and worldwide. In Toronto, anti-Israel protesters have routinely set up demonstrations in areas with concentrations of Jewish residents and even marched through residential areas. Many Jews and their allies have repeatedly asked why there do not seem to be consequences for perpetrators of such deliberate harassment and intimidation.

That question was the subject of a Feb. 10 webinar with legal and policing experts, organized by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, titled Why Can’t There Be More Consequences?, which was moderated by Richard Marceau, CIJA’s senior vice-president and general counsel.

Mark Sandler, the chair of the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism, and Rochelle Direnfeld, that organization’s senior criminal counsel, have been delivering educational modules to police, making them aware of tools they have to enforce existing laws. Training for prosecutors is also necessary, Sandler noted.

Law enforcement and justice officials need to be able to recognize antisemitism and how it manifests, said Sandler.

Direnfeld provided examples, noting that average police officers cannot, for example, be expected to understand a sign that appeared at one rally: it read “Israel’s only friend is the Gharqad tree.” This is a reference to a Muslim religious verse about the only tree that would protect Jews from Muslims at the end-times.

Even the nuances of more seemingly straightforward messages – “From the river to the sea,” “Globalize the intifada” and “By any means necessary” – may not be immediately evident to those who are not engaged with the narrative, panelists said.

Sandler said police have been asking for sharper tools and the federal government is responding with Bill C-9. (See jewishindependent.ca/new-bill-targets-hate-crimes.) Panelists noted that existing laws against mischief, intimidation and unlawful assembly should suffice in cases where protesters are blocking roads or crowding into shopping malls.

Hank Idsinga, a retired inspector with the Toronto Police Service, said insufficient staffing can be used as an excuse for inaction, but this is not an appropriate response. “Police need to be prepared for various scenarios,” he said.

On the other hand, said Joseph Neuberger, chair of the Canadian Jewish Law Association, Jewish community members need to know what is and is not acceptable within the bounds of the law. Chanting allegations of genocide is protected speech, he said, whether or not the allegations are false.

Neuberger is enthusiastic about components of C-9 that would criminalize intimidation around and obstruction of cultural and religious spaces. The bill is in committee stage.

The full webinar is available at youtube.com/watch?v=kAj_D0gREIM.

עשרים ואחת שנים בוונקובר

בחודש פברואר ימלאו עשרים ואחת שנים לחיי בוונקובר. במקביל, המרחק שלי מישראל רק הולך וגדל

הזמן אץ לו רץ לו והשנים בהן אני נמצא כאן בוונקובר עברו כל כך מהר. אני זוכר את ההתחלה הקשה כאשר לא הייתה לי עבודה במשך שבעת החודשים הראשונים. באותה עת התחלתי ללכת ברחבי העיר ולהכיר מקרוב את הבית החדש שלי. בוונקובר ויתרתי על נהיגה כיוון שאני גר באזור הדאון טאון ואפשר להסתדר טוב ללא רכב

בהתחלה עבדתי בעבודה מזדמנת אצל חבר ולאחר מכן עבדתי בחברת גביה גדולה בתפקיד מחפש מידע לאור הרקע שלי בעיתונות. אחרי כשבע שנים ויותר עברתי לחברה פיננסית המספקת הלוואות ללקוחות שלא יכולים לקבל הלוואות מהבנק. עד היום אני עובד באותה חברה – למעלה מאחת עשרה שנים וחצי, ומשמש מבקר החברה בדרגת מנהל

בתחילת חיי כאן בוודאי שהרגשתי זר בוונקובר אך לשמחתי מהר מאוד מצאתי את מקומי, בתחום המקצועי והחברתי ובכלל. השתלבתי לא רע בחיי העיר, הכרתי מקומיים ולא רק ישראלים ולא חיפשתי להתחבר אל חיי הקהילה היהודית כאן. אני לא דתי ואינני שומר מסורת ואינני אף מרגיש את הצורך להדגיש את יהדותי או היותי ישראלי לשעבר. כל אלה עזרו לי בהשתלבות בחיים המקומיים. מרבית שנותי בוונקובר לא הרגשתי זר והחיים בקנדה בכלל הרבה יותר מתאימים לי מאשר בישראל

למען האמת התחלתי להרגיש כשגרתי בארץ כיוון שראיתי שהמדינה צועדת לכיוונים שאינם מתאימים לי ולהשקפת חיי. זה מאוד עצוב להרגיש כך במדינה בה נולדת כאשר את מרבית חייך עשיתה בה. ישראל הייתה מקום נפלא הצעירותי והחל משנות השמונים המאוחרות התחלתי להרגיש בשינוי לרעה. בסוף אלף תשע מאות שמונים ושמונה עברתי לתל אביב ובשנים הראשונות הרגשתי טוב ומחובר יותר. אך לאחר מספר שנים הרגשתי שוב שאני הופך יותר ויותר לזר ולא מסוגל להתחבר לתפיסת העולם הישראלית הבסיסית, להתנהגות של הישראלי הממוצע, לתזוזה ימינה ואל הדת ועוד. הנסיעות הרבות שלי לחוץ לארץ ובעיקר לאירופה רק החריפו את הפער ביני לבין ישראל

למרות שהייתה לי עבודה מעולה בתחום המדיה הבנתי שעלי לעזוב ולחפש עתיד טוב יותר מחוץ לישראל. לצערי רק בראשית אלפיים וחמש עזבתי את ישראל למרות שכבר שנים רבות קודם לכן רציתי לעשות זאת. המעבר רק היטיב עם חיי והפכתי להיות יותר מאושר ושלו. כואב לי מאוד על מה שקורה בישראל והמציאות הרבה יותר גרועה ממה שחזיתי. הקשר היחידי שלי עם ישראל נובע מהעובדה שיש לי משפחה וחברים שם. חלקם מיואשים והחלק האחר מתעלם מהמציאות הקשה ומנהל את חייו כאילו הכל בסדר. אני מבין את כולם ומאחל למציאות טובה יותר בישראל, אם כי אינני חושב שזה מה שהולך לקרות

באופן אישי היום אני מודאג מאוד ממה שקורה מעבר לגבול מדרום לאור השליט המטורף שמנהל את ארצות הברית, דונלד טראמפ. הוא גורם נזק גדול למדינתו, לקנדה ולמערב כולו. טראמפ מעולם לא חשב על תוצאות מעשיו והתנהגותו החמורה, גם בעת היה איש עסקים וכמובן מאז נכנס לבית לבן. קנדה התרגלה להיות תלויה בארה”ב ולסמוך עליה, עת שתי המדינות האלה היו קרובות מאוד בכל. כיום המציאות שונה לחלוטין בעידן טראמפ, והקנדים מתחילים להבין שקנדה צריכה להיות עצמאית ולהעמיק את הקשרים עם אירופה. במקביל יש להזיז את החסמים בין הפרובינציות ולאפשר חופש מסחר מקסימלי ביניהן

עשרים ואחת שנים להגעתי לונקובר

בראשית השנה החדשה ימלאו עשרים ואחת שנים להגעתי לונקובר ואין ספק שהזמן רץ כל כך מהר. לו יכולתי להחזיר את שעון הזמן אחורה הייתי עוזב את ישראל שנים קודם לכן. כבר בראשית שנות השמונים (לאחר השחרור מהשירות הצבאי) היה לי חלום שלא הרפה ממני והוא לעבור לגור בחו”ל. לאורך המשך שנות חיי הצטרפו סיבות נוספות (לחלום) מדוע רציתי לעזוב את ישראל ולבסוף עשיתי זאת רק בראשית שנת אלפיים וחמש.השנים הראשונות היו קשות במיוחד על רקע העבודה שנאלצתי להתמודד עם המציאות הלא פשוטה שבונקובר לא אוכל לעבוד עוד בתחום המדיה, כפי שעשיתי שנים בישראל. אמנם כתבתי כפרילאנס במשך שנים מכאן לישראל עבור ידיעות אחרונות ווינט, אך אין מקום להשוואה לעבודה הקבועה בארץ. במקביל התחלתי להבין שהמנטליות הקנדית שונה לחלוטין מזו שבישראל וזה לוקח זמן די רב להתאים את עצמך לכך

מכל מקום אחרי שעבדתי במשך כשבע שנים כמחפש מידע עבור חברה פיננסית מקומית, לאור הרקע העיתונאי שלי, הצטרפתי לחברת פרוגרסה שבה אני עובד עד היום – במשך אחת עשרה וחצי שנים. מדובר בחברה פיננסית שמספקת הלוואות ללקוחות שלא יכולים לקבל הלוואה מהבנק (בשל קרדיט גרוע). בשנתיים הראשונות שימשתי מנהל קשרי לקוחות ומזה קרוב לתשע וחצי שנים אני הוא מבקר החברה. זו עבודה אחראית ומאתגרת ואני אוהב לעשותה. אני לא חושב בשלב זה כלל על נושא הפרישה למרות שבקנדה הגיל הרשמי לצאת לפנסיה הוא 65. מבחינתי הכל פתוח לגבי השאלה עד מתי אמשיך לעבוד בחברה

בהיבט האישי יש לי זוגיות קרובה במשך למעלה משמונה שנים וזה מעניק יציבות לחיי שנינו. בת הזוג שלי הגיעה מסין והפכה את ונקובר כמוני, לבית הקבוע שלה. למרות הרקע השונה יש לנו עניין משותף בלא מעט תחומים בהם אמנות, מוסיקה ועיצוב. שנינו מאוד אוהבים את אירופה והקלאסיות שבה. מאוד נהנינו לבקר בשנים האחרונות בציריך, ברצלונה, מדריד, לונדון, דבלין ואמסטרדם – שהיא עדיין העיר האהובה עלי. אנו מתכננים בשנים הקרובות להמשיך ולטייל בערים המרכזיות של אירופה

אני אוהב לחלק את בני האדם לשתי קבוצות מרכזיות: עכברי עיר ועכבר שדה. אנו עכברי עיר שאוהבים את מה שהערים יכולות להציע, ובעיקר בתחום התרבות. בנוסף הנוף העירוני מושך אותנו בעיקר כשמדובר במבנים עם היסטוריה ארוכה

בשעות הפנאי ביוזמתי אנו לוקחים חלק באירועי מוזיקה המתרחשים בונקובר בהם: קונצרטים של התזמורת הסימפונית המקומית ואופרות של בית האופרה המקומי. בנוסף אנו הולכים בקביעות למועדון הג’אז המקומי שמארח אמנים מארה”ב ומקומיים כאחד. בתחום מוסיקת הפופ הלכנו למספר הופעות באצטדיון הגדול (שנמצא סמוך לביתנו) ובהן של: פול מקרטני, אלטון ג’ון, פיטר גבריאל, להקת קולדפליי וטיילור סוויפט.

יש לי כאן גם מספר חברים ורובם לא ישראלים וזה טוב כי חיפשתי להשתלב בחברה המקומית ולא להישאר זר לנצח . גיוון החברים שלא שייכים לקבוצה אחת ואף לא מכירים אחד את השני, הופכים את המפגשים עימם למעניינים ופוריים. מי שמכיר אותי יודע שאני לא אוהב מפגשים חברתיים בקבוצות גדולות, אלה מפגשים של אחד עם אחד או זוג עם זוג נוסף

ונקובר נחשבת לאחת הערים היפות בעולם עם טבע מדהים גם ממש בעיר עצמה. לא צריך להרחיק לכת כדי להגיע לפינות טבע שקטות, כיוון שהעיר מוקפת במים ובתוכה נמצאים מספר פרקים בהם סטנלי פארק שהוא גדול מהסנטרל פארק של ניו יורק. בהחלט עיר שמומלץ לבקר בה

A way to meet fellow Jews

OneTable dinners – a platform for young professionals to meet on Shabbat – are occurring in 700 cities, including Toronto, but not yet Vancouver. (photo from OneTable)

My son moved to Florida in August, choosing the Sunshine State for its large Jewish community, great weather and the many outdoor recreational possibilities it offers when Vancouver is soaked with rain. He quickly found opportunities to engage with young Jewish professionals like himself, through a synagogue, but also through OneTable Shabbat dinners.

“I had an amazing Shabbat experience,” he told me, as he explained how it works.

Someone agrees to host a Shabbat dinner for a certain number of people, who each bring an item to help with the meal. OneTable reimburses the host $10 per person, which doesn’t cover the costs, but it helps, particularly if the host is feeling cash-strapped.

In my son’s case, the meal was take-out sushi, which was completely fine with the 20-somethings gathered around that Florida table. They talked, laughed and ate together, kindling new friendships and inspiring my son to play host at a OneTable Shabbat soon.

My curiosity piqued, I started making inquiries about OneTable. What a great fit this would be for Vancouver, I thought, given how difficult it is to make new Jewish friends here. That’s especially true for young Vancouverites looking for Jewish partners in a city with an intermarriage rate of 43%, according to a 2011 study and intermarriage rates in Canada have increased, according to another study that came out this year, so likely Vancouver’s has, too.

But it’s also a challenge for Gen Xers like me. What an incredible idea, to surround yourself with potentially new Jewish friends at a home table defined by challah and shared food! Alas, OneTable is not offered here.

Irit Gross, chief advancement officer at OneTable, described how the organization began in 2014, when two philanthropists united to address the epidemic of loneliness that was occurring. Young Jewish adults were focusing heavily on their mobile phones, and disassociating themselves from the traditional Jewish institutions where their parents and grandparents had socialized.

OneTable sent out a survey, asking young people what it would take to get them to choose Shabbat on a Friday night, rather than another option.

“People were socializing online, so we knew we needed to meet them in a virtual space,” Gross said. “We began investing in a platform similar to Airbnb, where, as a host, you could go online and post your dinner and, as a guest, you could join one. That’s the essence of how we started, with the goal of people going online to be offline.”

The $10 per person remuneration was added when OneTable realized money was a barrier to millennials wanting to host five to 10 people in their homes. The reimbursement allows the host to elevate their offering; for example, by buying better wine, or a nicer tablecloth for the event.

That first year, OneTable began in the Jewish heartbeat of North America – New York City. As the organization fundraised and collaborated with local federations in other cities, it quickly expanded to Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston and Miami.

“We knew where the young adults were and went to set up shop in those locations,” said Gross. Today, OneTable dinners are occurring in 700 cities, including Toronto, and 49 states, as well as Washington, DC.

The organization has engaged 320,000 unique individuals, with many returning for more. “Those 320,000 people have come back and either guested or hosted two or three times. That engagement rate shows that our goal and mission of creating a Shabbat ritual is coming to fruition and happening in the community,” she said.

Prior to Oct. 7, 2023, OneTable was engaging 40,000 unique individuals annually. “After Oct. 7, that jumped to 82,000 unique people, meaning we doubled in 2023 and sustained that increase in 2024,” Gross noted. “It’s been a marker for our organization, catapulting us to really think not just about how we’re addressing millennials, but, also, bringing Gen Zs together.”

After reading reports about how Jews across many different age groups were looking for ways to find community, OneTable expanded its offerings, though its core audience remains the 20-to-30-something demographic, which accounts for 95% of its time and budget.

The organization’s research is far from over. “We’re still trying to figure out how to stay relevant and continue to be the number one choice for young adults in their 20s and 30s, so they can create their own Shabbat rituals,” said Gross.

Five years ago, the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto requested collaboration with OneTable, beginning a conversation that would take two years before the program launched. OneTable began operating in Toronto in 2023 with a three-year funding grant, and Gross said Toronto has been one of its most successful communities.

OneTable is not in Vancouver, and there seems to be no conversations about it coming here. Prior to Oct. 7, the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation reached out to OneTable.

“I think it’s a great organization, but we’re not funding in the space of young adult engagement,” said Mark Gurvis, the foundation’s chief executive officer. “If we were funding young adult engagement, we’d fund this for sure. Federation’s involvement is the key for this, and whether we’ll step in with Federation remains to be seen.”

I asked the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver about the possibility.

“While Vancouver doesn’t have OneTable, we’re fortunate to have many organizations that host meaningful Shabbat dinners and gatherings that bring people together throughout the community,” said Caryl Dolinko, Federation’s communications and marketing director.

“We are continuing to develop a family-connector model to strengthen engagement. We’re also happy to explore other initiatives and opportunities that are out there in the community, as we would love to do with OneTable.”

She continued, “Our focus remains on supporting the many partner organizations and community initiatives that already create opportunities for meaningful Shabbat experiences and peer connection.”

Dolinko gave the example of Axis, a Federation initiative for Jews in their 20s and 30s. “Last year, Axis held 15 events for 682 unique participants, with 345 attending multiple events,” she told the Independent. The network connected 32 volunteers to community organizations and maintains active WhatsApp and Instagram engagement, she said.

“We are restructuring our PJ program to prioritize mixed-heritage families and have expanded PJ Library access into public school libraries, pediatrician offices and other community spaces,” she added.

With an intermarriage rate like ours in Vancouver, I’d argue that the current model is not working. But no one is asking me.

I moved to this city to start my family, in 2000. Now, a quarter-century later, three of my children have left for other cities and countries, where their odds of meeting Jewish partners are much better. My youngest will follow in two years. I miss them desperately, but I want them to spread their wings – and I want them to marry someone Jewish.

Gross understands all too well that funding dollars need to go to other worthy initiatives.

“There are a lot of people out there fighting against hate,” she noted. “I don’t know if there are enough people fighting for the joy of Jewishness, the special rituals that remind us why we love our traditions.”

For more information, visit onetable.org.

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

Editor’s note: This article has been updated from the print version to better reflect Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s commitment to youth engagement in the community.

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

Orr action sparks complaint

Jewish agencies have filed a complaint against Sean Orr, a Vancouver city councilor who spoke earlier this month at an event they say has links to terrorism.

Orr was elected to council in a by-election last April, representing the Coalition of Progressive Electors. He spoke at the “Flood Vancouver for Palestine” rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery Oct. 4.

The protest was organized by Al-Awda Vancouver, an organization that the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) says has documented links to Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Movement, which the Government of Canada last year designated as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code.

CIJA identified Al-Awda Vancouver as being connected with Samidoun through Samidoun’s international coordinator, Charlotte Kates, who was listed as a member of Al-Awda’s national board as recently as Nov. 6, 2024, on a webpage that has since been deleted. Both Al-Awda and Samidoun are members of the NY4Palestine Coalition, according to CIJA, which noted that Dave Diewart, a director listed on Samidoun’s corporate filings, was seen working at the Oct. 4 event.

CIJA, with the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, filed a formal complaint with the City of Vancouver’s integrity commissioner, Lisa Southern, regarding Orr’s participation in the protest.

“Sean Orr is an elected official of the city of Vancouver,” Nico Slobinsky, CIJA’s vice-president, Pacific region, told the Independent. “We strongly believe that those who hold public office should hold themselves, and should be held to, a higher standard. We believe that it is inappropriate for an elected official to use their public office, to use their platform, and to give legitimacy to organizations that have links to terrorist organizations, terrorist entities.”

The complaint was filed on Oct. 9, and an acknowledgment from the integrity commissioner’s office was received. The complainants are now waiting to hear back.

Sean Orr, a Vancouver city councilor, spoke at the “Flood Vancouver for Palestine” rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery Oct. 4. (photo from vancouver.ca/your-government/sean-orr)

Orr’s speech was shared on social media. The councilor insists there is nothing controversial in his remarks.

“Being against what the UN calls of a genocide is not controversial,” he said. “Being against apartheid is not controversial. Calling for an end to illegal settlements is not controversial. Being in favour of enforcing international law is not controversial. Condemning the murder of journalists, doctors and children is not controversial. Calling for an arms embargo is not controversial. Calling for a boycott on Israeli wines is not controversial. But here we are. I think silence is controversial. I think famines are controversial. I think blockades are controversial. I think intercepting aid ships is controversial.”

Orr cited his family’s history as explaining his position.

“As someone whose parents are from the north of Ireland, I’m deeply aware of the effects of colonialism, famine, checkpoints and collective punishment,” he said in the speech. “So, while some will criticize me for speaking here today, I will remember where I’m from.”

Slobinsky said Orr’s presence at the rally sends the wrong message.

“At a time when cities in our country are seeing an unprecedented rise in antisemitism,” said Slobinsky, “and when cities like Manchester … have come face-to-face with the deadly impacts of extremism and support for terrorism, our civic leaders in Vancouver should be a model for dialogue, for inclusion and for protection and safety for all communities. I would like to remind Sean Orr that that is his duty to the residents of the city.”

Prior to and after his election on April 5, Orr was called out by Jewish organizations and others for statements on social media, including statements after the 10/7 terror attacks in Israel.

“[M]erely 23 days after Hamas’s barbaric Oct. 7 massacre in which over 1,200 Israelis were murdered, Councilor Orr falsely accused the state of Israel of committing acts of genocide while it acted to defend its citizens and sovereign territory from terrorist aggression,” the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and CIJA said in a joint statement three days after Orr was elected. “Such reckless and inflammatory language not only distorts reality but also endangers Jewish communities by further inflaming antisemitism and denying Israel’s right to defend itself.”

From the archives … JCC, 1937

It was the big black square on the cover of the June 11, 1937, Jewish Western Bulletin that caught my attention initially. Then, as I flipped backwards and forwards through the archived papers, it was the weekly drama – that kind of left me hanging – and the sheer bluntness of tactics that drew me in to the JWB’s coverage of the 1937 campaign to raise funds for a second unit of the Jewish Community Centre, then located at Oak and 11th. (The building still exists, the home of the BC Lung Association for a long time now.)

The campaign action plan came out of a shareholders’ meeting in March of that year, at “which over one hundred men of the community were present,” according to the March 12, 1937, JWB, the JI ’s predecessor. I’ve no idea who the shareholders of the centre were. Nor if any women were at that planning meeting, but Lillian Freiman Hadassah, Council of Jewish Women and the Schara Tzedeck Auxiliary were among the organizations that helped solicit and collect pledges.

The appointed campaign committee set a quota of $12,500 (or $271,217 in today’s dollars) and collections were divided into three divisions: donors of $100-$250 (Group A), $25-$100 (Group B) and up to $25 (Group C). The “keynote” of the campaign was “that each give according to his ability,” and every organization on the committee committed “its intention of getting whole-heartedly behind the task ahead.” Meanwhile, “The proposal submitted to shareholders by Schara Tzedeck Congregation of taking over the building has been tabled for a period of three weeks.”

While that proposal obviously fizzled out, I couldn’t find any later mention of it. As I’ve often found when looking through the paper’s archives, it’s easy to find when things start, but harder to find out how they ended up. What is clear is that there was a hard push to raise the $12,500, and, while the March 12 article noted that, “possibly, for the first time in community history, there is no division of opinion concerning the necessity of and the urgent need for doing constructive work for [the] community Centre,” the JWB did feature some disparate views as soon as the next issue.

Rabbi J.L. Zlotnik summed up those concerns in a March 19 article: the quota was too much, given other community concerns and organizations that also needed financial support; and the quota was too little, given that actual building costs are almost always larger than planned, and the community would, therefore, become even more indebted as a result.

“After a period of ten years, twenty thousand dollars are still to be paid before this building can truly be called our own,” wrote Rabbi Samuel Cass in the March 31 issue, about the existing centre, while also pointing to the need for a second unit. He observed, “First, we must not repeat the mistakes of the past,” so the second unit should “be paid for in cash to the very last penny, before the first sod is turned. Second, the campaign must go beyond the amount necessary to erect the contemplated addition.” Lastly, he said, the whole community must agree that the debt on the first unit be paid off “even speedily, and at a near time.”

The advice seems to have gone unheeded. In the same March 31 paper as Cass’s article, the page 2 headline read, “All Organizations Endorse Second Unit Campaign.”

The next edition’s cover blared, “2ND UNIT CAMPAIGN IN FULL SWING,” with the news that more than $3,000 had come in on the campaign’s first day, “collected from twenty men.” The building plans were also outlined in the April 9 paper: a two-storey building with a balcony was envisioned. The lower floor would be a gymnasium and banquet room, with “kitchen, showers, wash room, steam rooms, cloak-room, etc.” The upper floor would house an “Auditorium and Ball Room, cloak-room and lounge.” The balcony would be divided into small meeting rooms. “This present building is 33 feet 11 inches on 11th Ave. The addition would be 47 feet 9 inches or more than 40% larger,” the article stated.

By the April 23 issue, the A Division quota was “already assured.” A couple of weeks later, in the May 7 paper, a completely fictional piece was published on the cover, titled “Will You Make This Dream Come True?” It was written as if the second unit of the centre had opened, with a banquet, a highlight of which was the announcement of a $5,000 gift from an anonymous donor to pay for all the unit’s furnishings and appliances. The article imagined what meetings and other banquets were already being held in the new building and the great number of athletics classes available now that “the use of the gymnasium was available to all persons in the Community.”

By the end of May, though, the JWB was asking whether everyone had “done their share.” By June, the optimism hit a wall.

The cover of the June 11 issue featured the large black square that caught my eye. The label-sized caption with a white background read: “700 Jewish families in Vancouver can and must give towards the building of the Second Unit of the Community Centre.”

The dramatic editorial choice was explained in the June 18 paper:

“The editorial staff of the Bulletin was bombarded with heated criticism for allowing such a hideous, melancholy, morbid and depressing thing to appear on the front page of the paper. Jewish people in all walks of life shouted words of rebuke, prominent Jewish business men cried ‘Shame, Shame,’ and Jewish society matrons muttered ‘Oh, how awful, it nearly frightened me to death.’

“No one, however, said ‘That little message in white, standing so pure, apart from that black hideousness was TRUE. Every body should give to the Centre – How we need that second unit – How essential it is to our Youth to have a proper meeting place.

“What our Community needs is more players, and less bench criticisizers. More workers, and less kickers.”

It concluded: “If you have a conscience, if you have the true community spirit – come through and show it. If you haven’t already given your contribution to the Second Unit – Mail it in to the Centre – tell them this article made you feel your responsibility. If you have given your donation, send in notification to the Centre to have it doubled. No matter what you give, make it as much as you can afford. Don’t let us be criticisers – LET’S BE BUILDERS.”

Over the summer, a couple of meetings were held about the centre. There was a large notice on the cover of the July 2 paper about a July 5 meeting, but I couldn’t find a report in the paper about what transpired. Nor could I find out how the Sept. 22 “mass meeting” on “the Future of Vancouver Jewry” went – its Sept. 14 front-page notice declaring that “By your attendance … YOU SHALL BE JUDGED!”

There are no August or October 1937 papers in the bound archival collection I have, and I don’t know if they were lost to history or never published. Until June 1937, the reporting had been detailed and consistent, but the next mention of a campaign, in the Nov. 12 paper, is “the Recent Centre Drive” – not the second unit drive. In this campaign, there were seven grades, ranging from Grade A ($500 and up) to Grade G ($1 to $49). The Grade A donors were listed by name in that paper, the Grade Bs in the next issue, the Cs in the next, through to the Gs in the Dec. 24 issue, wherein the committee was congratulated for its work and the community for its “whole-hearted support to the campaign.”

Since there is no useable digital archive of the paper, sadly, my time-limited flipping came across no more mention of a second unit. The editorial two years after that campaign, on June 23, 1939, started, “Much water has gone under the bridge since our Centre Building has been re-financed. Inside and outside improvements on the building, in addition to the Amortization Plan itself has gone forward.

“Never have local Jewish efforts been more active, and the response greater, nor has the attendance within the building itself been so large. Much of the success is due to the liberal atmosphere of the Centre itself, which means the use of this building for any and all worthy Jewish efforts with but one thought – helping others to help themselves. One shudders to think of what might have happened to Jewish efforts in our city had not our fellow-Jews responded to the call for funds when it was made.”

The editorial also noted: “Some, however, have through oversight or neglect failed to send their payments in as yet.” It was hoped that “the pledgors in arrears will … see that their respective remittances are made … upon receipt of the notices.”

As far as I know, the second unit of the Oak and 11th JCC never materialized. It would be more than two decades later that a new centre would be built, at Oak and 41st, opening in 1962.

An ever-changing city

Summer is a time when our routines are happily disrupted. Kids are out of school and many of us take time off from work to enjoy the hometown that draws tourists from around the world. Maybe we wander off the beaten path and see parts of our own city we usually miss on our repetitive commute. Perhaps we leave town for a week or two and return with fresh eyes.

Anyone who has lived in Vancouver and environs for more than a few years can’t help but see change at every turn. Many of us are watching our old elementary and high schools being replaced with new structures, memories being ploughed under with the old bricks. Community centres throughout the city are seeing replacements. Canada’s oldest business, the Hudson’s Bay Company, is being liquidated, leaving another gaping hole (for now, at least) in the retail landscape at the heart of downtown. Woodward’s is a distant memory. And, of course, what old-timers call “the new Oakridge” is being redeveloped into the new new Oakridge, as anyone trying to navigate by car or bus along 41st or Cambie cannot help but be reminded.

Not everyone likes change, put mildly. But, it is inevitable.

It is simplistic to say there is only one way to go – up. There is an alternative, albeit not a good one. We could continue a 20th-century trend to suburban sprawl, in which we lay housing and concrete across precious arable land.

Novelties like laneway houses have attempted to increase capacity in erstwhile single-family neighbourhoods. Along arteries like Oak, Cambie and Granville, single-family homes are giving way to four-, six- and eight-unit developments. As was always the plan, mixed residential and commercial hubs are skyrocketing from the ground up around transit stations, as evidenced most profoundly around Brentwood, Metrotown, Marine Drive and Oakridge.

Which brings us back to what, for most of the past century, has been the “Jewish neighbourhood.”

That term is a bit of a misnomer. A place where most Jews live does not equate to a place where most people are Jews. Even in the most Jew-dense neighbourhoods, we remain single-digit or low-two-digit proportions of the population. Emotionally, traditionally, spiritually and institutionally, since the 1950s at the latest, the rough area around Oakridge, down Oak and Granville and the surrounding blocks, have been home to Metro Vancouver’s Jews.

This reality began fraying about three decades ago, when housing prices began their notorious upward escalations. (Great for homeowners. Not great for first-time buyers.) And the Jewish community became more geographically dispersed, with inevitable positive and negative consequences.

While the City of Vancouver still holds the largest share of the BC Jewish population (at 58%), other municipalities now have significant Jewish populations, including, in order of size, Richmond, Surrey, the District of North Vancouver and Burnaby. Greater Vancouver’s proportion of the BC Jewish population has decreased, though, from 81% in 2011 to approximately 75% in 2021. (For much more data, see jewishindependent.ca/quick-look-at-canadian-jews.)

For Jewish institutions, this reality has demanded accommodations, with services becoming less geographically rooted. Many agencies, notably the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Jewish Family Services and even the Jewish Community Centre, which by its nature is geographically rooted, are successfully delivering programs across the region.

For Metro Vancouver’s Jews, and for every cultural group, this relentless change has personal and collective impacts.

The JWest development on the 41st and Oak JCC site will include – among other things – hundreds of new homes, notably purpose-built rentals, the scarcity of which is a major contributor to the crisis in the housing market. These hundreds of new homes will not, of course, all be occupied by Jews. But they will be a dramatic increase in available homes in what was, and may again become, the heart of a “Jewish neighbourhood.”

This does not take into account the thousands of other new homes being developed within a radius of a few kilometres, not least at the Oakridge site. Will these be affordable housing? In Vancouver, that term has perhaps lost all meaning. Everything is relative. But volume and variety of housing options are the key to what approaches the concept of affordability.

We can only remotely predict the sociological impacts these dramatic physical changes in our city will have on our day-to-day life, including the vibrancy of Jewish life – not only here, but around the Lower Mainland and the rest of the province.