volunteerism

The people’s army of Israel

Volunteers with Sar-El in Israel last March. (photo from Marina Sonkina)

Last year, about this time, I was in Israel, volunteering with Sar-El, an organization that connects the Israel Defence Forces with volunteers from more than 30 countries, who provide the army with non-combat support. So many others had wanted to help after Oct. 7 that I had to wait several months for my documents to be processed.

The mood was understandably sombre. Not just the trauma of the Hamas terror attacks, with hostages captive, but also the antisemitism that engulfed the Western world like fire.

I asked some of my fellow volunteers why they had come to Israel during such a dangerous time. The answers I got, especially from non-Jews, both surprised and comforted me. A Christian volunteer from Detroit wanted Israel to know that it did not stand alone. A middle-aged Australian had been sponsored by her church in Sydney to help people of the Holy Land under an attack. Two Romanian girls didn’t speak a word of Hebrew or English, but answered me in Italian: “Aiuto” (“Help”).

“I had a very good life. I had a chance to travel all over the world. But, until now, I’ve been traveling horizontally,” a Parisian Jew of Algerian descent told me. “Now, it’s time to travel vertically,” she said, raising her eyes to the sky. “This land is sacred. I feel it here like nowhere else. And now it’s in peril.”

In spite of rockets being fired into Israel from Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen, the volunteers felt more protected in Israel than they did back home. Many felt relieved that, finally, there was no need to conceal one’s true feelings or to hide one’s Jewishness.

“I don’t feel safe in the US anymore,” said a New York lawyer who had been attacked from behind in the streets of Manhattan, his yarmulke yanked off his head.

A German woman from Munich was on her 10th visit to Israel. “I’m not Jewish, and I can’t explain it,” she said. “All I know is that I love people here. Love their warmth. Chaos? Yes! They talk loud, they are emotional, but I don’t mind that. I plan to spend half a year here once I retire.”

Initially, I wasn’t sure how we, civilians, could help the IDF fight Hamas in Gaza, but my first day at the medical military base near Tel Aviv made it clear. Hundreds of different medications and medical devices that had come from warehouses across the country had to be sorted out, their expiration dates checked. Those who accuse Israel of racism should see these medicines, each labeled in four languages: Hebrew, Arabic, English and Russian. (Thanks to Soviet antisemitism and, lately, to Putin’s war on Ukraine, 15% of Israel’s population comes from Russia.)

On the military base, I saw clearly what is best in Israel: its people. The IDF mirrors the diversity and inclusiveness of a society that, in its short history, has accepted refugees from more than 100 countries.

Without Moshe, for example, we would have had no idea how to sort the truckloads of medications arriving every day. Having come to Israel from Bukhara (in Central Asia) as a child, Moshe kibitzed in three languages, instructing us by means of his hands while talking on his cellphone. From his easy smile, I would never have guessed that his wife had recently died of cancer, that his two sons were fighting in Gaza and that, every day after his work with us, he went to a synagogue to pray. One morning, Moshe directed us to place boxes in long rows on the floor, in an unusual configuration. The next morning, a group of children with autism and down syndrome came to finish the sorting, also helping their people’s army.

Paul, a mathematician who came from France, was in charge of the military base’s math department. Ruth, who had made aliyah from the Netherlands as a teenager, was serving as one of the madrichot (female soldiers tasked with organizing and looking after Sar-El’s volunteers); after the army, she hoped to become a specialist in Japanese culture.

On another military base, about 20 kilometres from Gaza, in the Negev Desert, one of our tasks was to assemble care packages for soldiers spending Passover at the front, away from home. In two days, we filled 15,000 boxes with grape juice, matzah and other traditional items. A soldier with a distinct Californian accent came to help us. He was a “lone soldier,” a soldier who has no family in Israel. Various families take turns welcoming lone soldiers for Shabbat, feeding them and giving them a sense of home.

photo - The cover of a Haggadah that Sar-El volunteers inserted into thousands of Passover boxes that were sent to Israeli soldiers in Gaza. It shows the multicultural character of the Israel Defence Forces — The cover of a Haggadah that Sar-El volunteers inserted into thousands of Passover boxes that were sent to Israeli soldiers in Gaza. It shows the multicultural character of the Israel Defence Forces. *(photo from Marina Sonkina)*

Once, an officer joined us, helping make up the boxes, which was unusual, given his rank. Later, I saw him in the mess hall speaking in Hebrew to the base commander, who was originally from India. I found out that the officer was Druze. Living mainly in the country’s north, in the Galilee region, the Druze community enjoys all the civil rights of other Israelis, while maintaining their Arabic language and customs. Many Druze reach high echelons in the army, in medicine and other professions. When a Hezbollah rocket struck the Druze town of Majdal Shams, killing 12 children playing soccer, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu went there, addressing community members as “brothers and sisters.” He promised that Hezbollah would “pay a heavy price” for killing their children, and he kept his word.

When I think of the soldiers I met and talked to, one thing sets them apart from young people of their age in North America: a seriousness of purpose, and the burden of responsibility. They know that the survival of Israel lies on their shoulders. They also know that, while defending their country, they may not survive. Death lurks behind every corner in Gaza and Lebanon. It has hidden in an effigy of a child pleading, in Hebrew, for help, but booby-trapped with explosives. It was underground, in the tunnels, some going 50 kilometres deep. It disguised itself in doctors’ scrubs, inside Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, which was appropriated by Hamas terror operatives.

Every fallen soldier is loved and mourned as one’s own child. Army service acts as a social glue in a country into which millions of refugees, speaking different languages, have poured. The IDF is still the backbone and pride of this society.

At a party for troops just returned from Gaza, I saw a religious Jew in a yarmulke (skullcap) and tzitzit (prayer shawl) hanging from under his uniform, with a baby girl in each arm and an automatic rifle dangling behind his back. I talked to a medic, a corporal who was more outspoken than many – a college history teacher in times of peace, he had three young children at home.

“Is there any possibility of peace between Palestinians and Jews?” I asked him.

“Before Oct. 7, I supported a two-state solution because I wanted peace, but the Palestinians do not want peace,” he responded. “We’ve tried it many times in the past. They want only one state, an Islamic Caliphate with Sharia rule. We, Jews, are in their way and they want us dead…. We have to fight – if we want to survive.”

“What about your children?” I asked. “Will they have to fight, too?”

“Yes, them, too,” he said. “They’ll be left with no other choice.”

I shook my head in distress but said nothing.

“Look,” said the man, “illusions cost us very dearly. We can’t afford them anymore.”

I remembered Golda Meir’s words, spoken in 1957: “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

There is a truce in Gaza now. But, while some 20,000 Hamas fighters have been eliminated, 10,000 armed fighters are still at large.

Marina Sonkina is a fiction writer, and teaches in the Liberal Arts Program 55+ at Simon Fraser University.

Community milestones … Gutman, Marks Pulver, Doduck & Simpson

Gloria Gutman, PhD, has been honoured with the King Charles III Coronation Medal, which recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to Canada, or an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada. She will receive the medal in a ceremony March 21.

A research associate and professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University, Gutman founded the Gerontology Research Centre and the department of gerontology at SFU, serving as director of both units from 1982 to 2005. She is the author/editor of 23 books, the most recent (with Claire Robson and Jen Marchbank) titled Elder Abuse in the LGBTQ2SA+ Community (Springer, 2023).

photo - Dr. Gloria Gutman — Dr. Gloria Gutman (photo from SFU)

During her career, Gutman has held many prominent roles, including president of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, president of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics and president of the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse. Currently, she is president of the North American chapter of the International Society for Gerontechnology, vice-president of the International Longevity Centre-Canada and a member of the research management committee of the Canadian Frailty Network. Previously, she served on the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Ageing Society, World Health Organization’s expert advisory panel on aging and health, and the CIHR-Institute of Aging advisory board.

“I am grateful to SFU for having nominated me for this award.

Developing the gerontology department and Gerontology Research Centre, serving on boards, organizing conferences, and advocating for seniors in other ways nationally and internationally, has been a privilege and a pleasure,” said Gutman. “It could not have taken place without the strong support of FASS [the faculty of arts and social sciences] and senior administration.”

In 2012, Gutman was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Government of Canada and, in 2016, she was appointed to the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour.

– Courtesy Simon Fraser University

* * *

photo - Lana Marks Pulver — Lana Marks Pulver (photo from Jewish Federation)

Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is proud to congratulate its board chair, Lana Marks Pulver, who was honoured by Jewish Federations of North America with the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award for exemplifying the highest standards of philanthropy and volunteerism. Marks Pulver’s selection for this award is a testament to her exceptional dedication and leadership.

– Courtesy Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver

* * *

The Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of long-time volunteer leaders Marie Doduck and Lee Simpson as co-chairs of the 2025/26 campaign. Please join board directors Harry Lipetz, Rick Cohen, Mel Moss, Bernard Pinsky, David Zacks, Michelle Karby and Abbe Chivers, and staff Ayelet Cohen Weil and Wendy Habif in congratulating and thanking them for their tireless commitment to our Jewish elderly.

– Courtesy Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation

JFS honours volunteers

At the Jewish Family Services Vancouver’s annual general meeting on Nov. 26, several volunteers were recognized for their work, dedication and achievements. Stan Shaw received the Naomi Gropper Steiner (z’l) Award; Candice and Todd Thal, the Paula Lenga (z’l) Award; Congregation Beth Israel, the Community Partner Award; Karl Biernbrodt, Richard Fruchter Staff Recognition; and Simone Kallner, the Sara Ciacci (z’l) Women Leadership Excellence Award.

– Jewish Family Services Vancouver

A new generation of leaders

Howard Kallner is being honoured at Schara Tzedeck’s MOSAIC gala on June 4 (photo by kenneth88/wikimedia)

“I have been very lucky in my life to be surrounded by lifelong volunteers and builders of community, both my parents, my in-laws and multiple other role models, and it just seemed natural to volunteer and be involved,” Howard Kallner told the Independent.

Kallner is being honoured by Congregation Schara Tzedeck at MOSAIC, the synagogue’s annual gala, on June 4.

“The first thing that came to my mind was discomfort,” said Kallner about finding out he was being recognized. “I was hesitant to accept because there are so many long-time shul volunteers, donors and community-builders who would be deserving of being honoured.”

Kallner has been a part of the congregation since he was 13 years old.

“My family had emigrated from South Africa when I was very young and their synagogues in South Africa were very similar to Schara Tzedeck,” he explained. “My parents, and now my family, have been members for over four decades. On my wife’s side, her great-grandfather, David Davis, was a founding member of Schara Tzedeck, and her grandfather, Charlie Davis, was a past president.”

photo - Howard Kallner — Howard Kallner (photo from Howard Kallner)

For his part, Kallner was on the board for seven years before becoming president. He served three years as president and three more as past president, for a total of 13 years. He was serving as president when the pandemic hit.

“When the COVID pandemic hit, we needed to pivot immediately to online programming, online services where applicable, continue live services with restrictions and make sure our community members, particularly our vulnerable ones, were connected and taken care of,” he said of how his role was affected. “One of the programs that came out of this was Shabbat in a Box. We recognized a need amongst our members and others in our community and delivered over 450 meals a week at the height of the pandemic. For the Jewish holidays, we were delivering over 650 meals accompanied by holiday-specific items so they could celebrate the holidays.

“Additionally, Schara Tzedeck, being an Orthodox synagogue, could not have Shabbat services online,” said Kallner. “With the exception of a few weeks when the government would not allow any public gatherings, we continued services in person with some significant modifications. When limited to 50 people per gathering, we moved services outside, in a tent in our parking lot. At times, services were held in sub-zero temperatures, with most attendees wearing ski jackets, toques and gloves. For the High Holidays that year, we had nine services a day for a maximum of 50 people. We had to find three sets of Torah readers, shofar blowers and leaders of the services.

“While, during COVID, it was undoubtedly the hardest I worked as president of the shul, it was also the most rewarding,” he said.

Now officially “just” a member and supporter of the synagogue, Kallner continues to be part of the Schara Tzedeck Cemetery Board and is a governor of the Jewish Community Foundation, as well.

“Giving back to a community that has given me and my family so much was very important,” he said. “With different experiences in my life and my relatives’ lives, including immigrating to a new country with little means and losses during the Holocaust, strong Jewish institutions ready for whatever the world would throw at them seemed crucial, and I wanted to do my part.”

Schara Tzedeck’s senior spiritual leader, Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt, described Kallner as representing the beginnings of a new generation of leadership. At the time Kallner was getting involved, said the rabbi, “There weren’t a lot of people in their 40s who were stepping up to the highest levels of leadership at Schara Tzedeck.”

Kallner helped take the synagogue from being a 20th-century organization into being a 21st-century organization, said Rosenblatt.

”The backbone of an Orthodox synagogue, certainly in the Pacific Northwest, certainly in Vancouver, is people who have come from much more traditional Jewish communities,” he explained. “For example, Schara Tzedeck has a lot of Holocaust survivors. These are people who came from very traditional Eastern European communities, but you could also have people from Winnipeg or Toronto or Montreal, New York, those places you associate with very traditional, very committed Jewish communities. For a long time, we were able to be a community of people who grew up in that kind of tradition, but there was a recognition at Schara Tzedeck that we needed to be able to be a place which translated to people who did not have that kind of traditional upbringing.”

Kallner had the analytical, organizational and people skills to help the synagogue do that, said Rosenblatt, highlighting Kallner’s leadership during the pandemic.

“He was practically a paid member of the staff at that point, in terms of generating and developing policy,” said the rabbi. “He was involved in helping us make sure that we were operating on the next level. And he also understood that our organization had to be structured in a way where we could have the manpower to be able to do that, and that outreach. Part of that was that the information technology had to be updated.”

Describing Kallner as “a very humble person but also very hard working,” Rosenblatt said, “one of the things that he was strongest at was helping us transition into a place where we were reaching out more…. One of the programs we developed under his watch was Shabbat in a Box. There were some pre-iterations before that, but it came to its full maturity under him.”

Among the other programs that will benefit from the funds raised at MOSAIC are the synagogue’s education initiatives, some of which reach beyond the shul to the broader Jewish community, such as the series Rosenblatt gave on the history of the Marranos.

“I recognize,” he said, that “one of the great sources of inspiration in Jewish identity is Jewish history.”

Since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks and the subsequent war, his education efforts have been more focused on Israel.

“When Oct. 7th hit, and people started to hear immediately just garbage about colonialization, I realized that there was just so much that people didn’t know or understand,” he said.

The Zionist story most of us have been taught is the inspirational one, he said. “Not that it’s wrong, it’s just not complete, and all histories have complexities. I didn’t want people to be caught flat-footed on these things and be surprised by them.”

He gave the example of a sign he saw on an overpass on the way into Whistler Village recently.

“It says there can be no peace on stolen land. And I’m thinking to myself who stole the land from whom? At what point do you decide that the land belongs to someone? Are you willing to say that 638 is where we’re going to start everything, when Omar ibn al-Khattab conquered Jerusalem, is that the right time? Should we ask ourselves when the Abbasids or the Fatimids or the Umayyads, which one of them? Were the Ottoman Turks? Which one becomes the real owner? At what point do you decide that these things happen? People don’t know – maybe now they do more, but certainly on October the 8th they didn’t know – when was Israel first called Palestine, when did Muslims come to Jerusalem, when were Jews forced out, which empires conquered it … what really happened at Deir Yassin, what were the stages of the War of Independence, what happened? These things, there are a lot of resources on them … and, I thought, Jews didn’t know these things – not to mention that there are libraries full of evidence on Jewish indigenous life in Israel that is far, far older than anything having to do with the name Palestine, and I wanted Jews to be able to know that. I wanted Jews to be able to articulate it. I want Jews to understand a stronger connection to Israel. And I think that has been something that has been a real value added to people’s knowledge base.”

The congregation has several individuals who have gone to do military service in Israel. “They are primarily Israelis who are here for various purposes, as shlichim [emissaries] or for educational reasons, and we’ve had real success in having them share their experiences and stories over the past number of months,” said the rabbi.

These types of programs have been a priority, said Rosenblatt, “to make sure that our community really stays close and understands the nuances and the issues. Every time we have the opportunity to give further insight, we do that.”

One of the people from Schara Tzedeck who has gone to serve was Assistant Rabbi Ishay Gottlieb. “He’s a major in the reserves in the IDF, and he left on Oct. 9th and wasn’t really back until the beginning of January,” explained Rosenblatt. “You’re essentially funding a staff member, like many Israeli organizations [are having to do], but there’s lots that had to be compensated for in that context.

“In some ways,” added Rosenblatt, “we’ve doubled our programming – run a regular program plus an Israel program. Not that we’re that different from the other synagogues [in that respect] but everything costs money and this is part of a case for giving. Since Oct. 7th, we really have been prioritizing the connection with Israel.”

He said, “When you walk into Schara Tzedeck, we want you to feel like you’re in a little embassy of Israel in this building. And participating in MOSAIC means that’s what you’re doing, you’re helping to support that – you’re helping to support a branch of Am Yisrael that is in Vancouver.”

To attend MOSAIC, RSVP by May 28 to 604-736-7607 or [email protected].

Call for human “books” – share your lived experience with community members

(image from dirtdaubber.wordpress.com)

Do you defy a stereotype? Have you faced prejudice or stigma in your life? Do you have unique life experience, or a story to tell? Apply now to be a human book for the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library’s Human Library event on Sunday, April 7, and share your lived experience with others.

The Human Library originates in Denmark and has spread across the globe. The program is based on the idea of “unjudging” others, and seeks to challenge our preconceived notions of people through conversation.

The local Sunday event will run from noon to 4 p.m. Community members will come in and ask to take out certain “books,” meaning they’ll have the opportunity to have a conversation with certain volunteers. To give an example, the library currently has three volunteer books and their titles are “Child Holocaust Survivor,” “Brain Cancer Survivor” and “Police Officer,” which indicates the facet of their lived experience/identity that they are willing to talk about. Each volunteer can expect to have four to seven sessions with “borrowers,” either one-on-one or in small groups. There will be a lot of breaks and snacks, and volunteer books are empowered to decline talking about anything that makes them uncomfortable. There will be a training session prior to the event to help everyone prepare.

A Human Library is a way for people to reach out and connect with individuals in their community with whom they might not normally engage. Human Libraries promote tolerance, celebrate differences and encourage understanding of people who come from varied cultural or lifestyle backgrounds.

Apply to be a human book at bit.ly/WaldmanHumanLibrary2024 within a few days of March 8. Email any questions to [email protected].

– Courtesy Waldman Library

People helping one another

The author’s husband, Dr. Scott Fields, picking tangerines in southern Israel, on Kibbutz Nitzanim. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields)

I have just returned from laundry brigade duty. Of course, your first question is, what is the laundry brigade? As you may or may not know, in my city of Jerusalem, as well as in other parts of Israel, the hotels are currently filled with people who, for safety’s sake, have left their homes in southern and northern Israel. These moves have created an unprecedented event in Israel’s history. As one friend from Adamit, a far northern kibbutz pointed out, “We are refugees in our own country.”

In my neighbourhood, as well as in other Jerusalem neighbourhoods, residents are volunteering to clean the clothes of those evacuated to hotels. This help is very organized, with a pool of volunteers listed on an Excel file. So, I just returned the laundered clothes of a young family from the northern town of Shlomi.

And, speaking of clothes, there have been clothing drives to help those who left their homes quickly. Books and games have also been donated so that displaced families have some positive way to occupy their time.

But there are so many other noteworthy acts of goodness. One of our sons and other staff from Kfar Saba’s Meir Hospital recently drove south to the Netivot area to help a farmer pick and box watermelon. The farmer’s usual Thai or Palestinian workers are gone. In their place, hundreds, if not thousands of ordinary citizens are in the fields picking – and this is happening all over the country.

One of our daughters spent a week at Jerusalem’s Bezalel Art School sewing uniforms and add-ons for protective ceramic vests, equipment the soldiers currently need. Sewing machines were even delivered to some kibbutzim so kibbutz members could also help with this task.

While there is enough food for soldiers, some people are still providing extra food. One Jerusalem restaurant owner prepared a meal for 70 soldiers (including his son) serving up north. The food was driven to the soldiers by someone else whose partner is serving with this platoon. In my area, one of my older religious neighbours gave his Pesach dishes to observant soldiers who are staying in a university dorm (camping “in” rather than “out” as it were).

There has been a big emphasis on checking people who live alone or who have mobility issues. Volunteers are helping with shopping, picking up medication, or just visiting these solitary individuals.

During this war period, Jerusalem’s branch of Magen David Adom has held more than one blood drive. Each turnout has been unbelievable, as potential donors stood in line for hours waiting their turn. Moreover, in addition to the sandwiches the MDA staff and volunteers regularly eat on their extended 12-hour shifts, volunteers have been cooking and delivering meals (including vegetarian portions) to the staff.

On the kibbutz where one of our sons lives with his family, each family is responsible for the needs of the 100 evacuees who are currently living on the kibbutz. Yad Sarah, the Israeli nonprofit that loans medical equipment, has offered to loan equipment that the evacuees were unable to take with them. In addition, volunteers have given their time to fix up these temporary living spaces while other locals have organized hazit habayit, drop-off sites where furniture and electronics are collected for those who have had to relocate. Another nonprofit, Tenufa Bakehila, is right now fixing up neglected bomb shelters and repairing homes damaged by rockets.

Other nonprofits have opened their doors to evacuees. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel has people lodging in its Eilat Field School. For the past month, it has likewise been providing meals.

All over the country, evacuated children have been enrolled in local schools. Even the National Library of Israel has become involved. It just moved into a beautiful new building, but its old building on Hebrew University’s Givat Ram campus has become a temporary school for children from Shlomi.

There is the story of a small family consisting of two sons and the father. When one son, Sgt. Maj. (Res) Gil Phishitz, was killed on Friday, Nov. 3, the word went out on social media. Thousands of people dropped what they were doing to attend the funeral in Hadera. Out of respect and to show support for the tremendous sacrifice of these fallen soldiers, people who don’t personally know the families have also been visiting during the shiva period.

Israeli farmers employ many Thai citizens. On Oct. 7, some of the Thai farm workers witnessed their co-workers being kidnapped. Some even saw their friends brutally murdered by Hamas. Our younger son, along with other volunteers, has been helping Thai workers find necessary food, lodging and medical care. Volunteers organized counselors and translators to help these people deal with what could easily turn into post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Volunteers advocated for these Thai workers with the Ministry of Agriculture and with local councils. At this point, many (estimates are 8,000 out of 30,000) Thai farm workers have left Israel.

In some places, acupuncturists and massage therapists are offering free sessions to people who have been evacuated. Several social workers and psychologists continue to give voluntary assistance to those put up in Dead Sea hotels.

Volunteerism is not just with people, it is also with animals. Volunteers have gone to the south to rescue pets and farm animals that were left behind. Veterinarians have provided medical care for injured animals. The rescued animals are now in shelters, awaiting foster homes.

Last, but certainly not least. In the big cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, many have been showing up at memorial services and vigils for the fallen and the kidnapped.

Why are people doing all these things? I think the best answer comes from Hillel in the Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot), 1:14: “If I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?”

Deborah Rubin Fields is an Israel-based features writer. She is also the author of Take a Peek Inside: A Child’s Guide to Radiology Exams, published in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

Helping Jews globally

Candace Kwinter (photo from Jewish Federation)

“Tikkun olam,” said Candace Kwinter, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver board chair and Jewish Agency for Israel board member, about what drives her to donate so much of her time and energy both locally and globally.

“I feel it in my heart and soul to assist every Jew in the world who needs help in whatever way necessary,” said Kwinter, who is concluding her two-year term as chair. She will continue with the board as immediate past chair.

As board chair, Kwinter works alongside fellow volunteers and Federation staff.

“We provide our more than 30 partner agencies, including the day schools, supplementary Hebrew schools, Jewish Family Services, the Jewish Community Centre and more, with support, not only through funding but by bringing our partners together to collaborate and innovate to meet our community’s evolving needs today and in the future,” she said.

With the Jewish Agency, Kwinter attends the board of governors meetings twice a year; additionally, she sits on the agency’s aliyah, unity of the Jewish people, and antisemitism committees.

“With antisemitism on the rise and aliyah doubling because of Ukraine and Russia, the Jewish Agency has been extremely busy. We are working hard to connect Israelis to world Jewry and, from a local perspective, more Jews in British Columbia specifically,” she said.

According to Kwinter, the partnership between Federation and the Jewish Agency is vital because each can achieve much more by joining forces. She noted that it is the federation system across North America – not only the local federation – that partners with the Jewish Agency by financially supporting the agency’s work on the ground.

“The impact our community can make at an international level is so much greater when we work together,” she said. “Locally, Federation supports the Jewish Agency and the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) with funding to assist world Jewry in aliyah, humanitarian needs and security concerns, as well as bridging the gaps between Israelis and world Jewry.”

Largely due to the global pandemic, needs have shifted during Kwinter’s time on both boards. “COVID changed everything. We all had to pivot when the pandemic hit and it created a lot of uncertainty,” she said.

Among the social consequences resulting from COVID-19 – locally, in Israel and around the world – have been increased food insecurity, a surge in mental health issues, inflation and isolation. In 2022, humanitarian needs were exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, thereby increasing the demand for aliyah.

“I am incredibly proud of the way our community responded and, because of the partnerships already in place with organizations like the JDC and the Jewish Agency, we were able to get people the help they needed quickly and effectively,” said Kwinter.

Concurrent with the European conflict, the Jewish Agency established Tzur Israel at the beginning of 2022 to unite the remaining Ethiopian Jews with their families in Israel, she said. “Once again, world Jewry came together to fund the aliyah segment – the Israeli government funds the entire absorption costs. I had the privilege of being on the first plane of Operation Tzur Israel last June, where we brought 179 Ethiopians to Israel. It was incredible.” (See jewishindependent.ca/israels-new-ethiopian-airlift.)

Kwinter’s love of Israel derives from a concern about antisemitism and the history of the Holocaust and a commitment to “Never Again.”

“To me, Israel represents ‘Never Again’ and gives me a sense of security as the homeland for every Jew in the world,” Kwinter said. “It is with great pride I speak of Israel and all it has achieved in the past 75 years. It is truly a beacon of tikkun olam and innovation, for all the world to benefit. It is a light among the nations.”

Kwinter holds 40-plus years of experience in financial services, including owning and operating her own financial services agency for 29 years, before selling it in 2017. She has been involved with Federation in various capacities and volunteers with the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver, the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Pacific Region. She is president of the North Shore Jewish Community Centre / Congregation Har El, having also served as synagogue president from 2005 to 2007. From 2008 to 2011, she served on the Pacific Northwest Region of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

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

Creating a new home

Khalid Aziz (photo from Khalid Aziz)

Khalid Aziz got out of Afghanistan about six weeks before the government fell. Eighteen months later, he has a job here at a local café/bakery and works part-time with a local advisory group on refugees called Diverse City. In his spare time, he volunteers with Jewish Family Services, who he considers family, and attends JFS events.

“Khalid is amazing. He just lights up the room when he walks in,” said Emi Do, former supervisor of the Community Kitchen.

Recently, Aziz planned and led a JFS Community Kitchen event, where he taught participants to cook Afghan dumplings.

“It’s all about community building, celebrating and sharing skills and knowledge about food,” said Stacy Friedman, director of food security at JFS, about Community Kitchen events, where people meet and cook together. She hopes the program will pick up again later this spring.

“Khalid has a very warm presence and is a good communicator,” she said.

But how did Aziz connect with JFS in the first place?

When he was still new to Vancouver, Aziz found the JFS and Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver websites. He also heard on the news that Israel was taking in 150 to 200 Afghan refugees. That caught his attention and he wanted to find out more about the local Jewish community, so he contacted JFS and spoke to case manager Corrina Frederick. He was going through a rough time and Frederick was happy to listen to him.

“She showed so much empathy towards me … it was unbelievable,” Aziz said.

Soon after, Aziz was invited to a JFS Community Kitchen event, where he chatted with one of the other volunteers.

“While having our coffee, my friend asked me whether I was a Jew. I replied with Muslim. She was surprised and happy that I was among them, sitting next to each other in a beautiful atmosphere, with no hesitation, which was quite amazing to me,” he said.

Since then, Aziz has learned a lot about the Jewish people.

“Obviously, Judaism believes in one God. And its history is phenomenal. And what I learned and liked about the Jewish people is that they practise fasting, almsgiving and follow the dietary laws.” He also learned that Judaism uses the word kosher in the same way that Muslims use the word halal.

Aziz’s gratitude to JFS knows no bounds.

“The JFS assisted me with employment sources and invited me to their educational programs, as well as different events, to have the utmost experience in B.C. It really gives me pleasure to be a part of the Jewish Family Services, which helps others to achieve their goals and live peacefully.”

This is in stark contrast to his life in Kabul, where he received letters containing death threats from the Taliban for his work at the National Bank of Afghanistan, on U.S. embassy projects and at the United Nations, where he supervised and led 16 staff members involved in agriculture projects.

“Definitely, like many others, my life was in danger, without a doubt,” he said. And so were the lives of most of his family members, who were working with other organizations.

While most of his family are now living safely in different countries around the world, Aziz, 30, is still reeling from his experience getting here, and finding food and shelter.

To escape from Kabul, in July 2021, Aziz traveled to Pakistan to apply for a student visa in the United States. He successfully passed his interview at the U.S. embassy and was granted a visa one week before the Afghan government fell. With the help of family and friends, he traveled to the United States to live with his sister.

Due to the financial crisis in Afghanistan, his bank account was frozen. He waited five months for support from the American government. When that fell through, he decided to come to claim asylum in Canada.

It was nightfall and Aziz was able to avoid the U.S. border guards.

“Luckily, I made it to the border and entered Canada with happiness and hope for a better life and leaving all my stress and anxiety behind the crossing line,” he said.

The Canada Border Services Agency stopped him and cuffed him, but told him not to be afraid. They also told him that there was homelessness in Canada and he had better be prepared for that.

Aziz has no ill feelings towards the CBSA, saying they were kind in changing his handcuffs around so that he could have a drink of water.

Even though he had $1,000 when he reached Vancouver, all the hotels he found would only accept debit or credit cards. “After one hour of roaming and looking around for hotels, I ended up spending my night on a footpath downtown in the cold weather of February,” he said.

It was a tough month for Aziz, staying at shelters. “I wasn’t able to sleep well in my first month due to the inappropriate place, with no privacy and I was emotionally and mentally disturbed and stressed about what was going to happen next,” he said.

Aziz finally was able to rent a room and he bought job interview clothing while managing at the same time to volunteer for the Muslim Food Bank as a case worker and translator for refugees – he speaks several languages, including Pashto, Farsi, Urdu, Hindi and basic Arabic.

After about four months, Aziz found a job and, today, lives in a two-bedroom apartment with a roommate in Burnaby.

Aziz hopes to engage in more refugee-related work locally, as well as with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Cassandra Freeman is an improv teacher and performer living in Vancouver.

Directing the campaign

Gayle Morris (photo from jewishvancouver.com)

Gayle Morris joined the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver this summer as its annual campaign director. Morris arrives to the role with an abundance of experience in helping people both within the Jewish community and throughout the Greater Vancouver area.

Crediting “great mentors” for guiding her through several leadership and business strategist positions, Morris carries a CV that stretches from crown corporations to startups to nonprofit organizations. She also has volunteered with various Jewish community groups, including Congregation Beth Tikvah, where her son had his bar mitzvah, and has served on the City of Richmond’s Advisory Committee for Sister City Relations.

“Building relationships is central to all that I do,” she told the Independent. “For me, volunteerism has so many benefits and is quite humbling. Fast forward to this year, on June 19, I co-chaired Chabad Richmond’s 25th anniversary celebration honouring two individuals [Rabbi Yechiel and Chanie Baitelman] who I admire and respect. Planning and executing this community-wide event where 380 people were in attendance, along with overseeing a committee of volunteers, truly led me and propelled me into the role at Jewish Federation. I am honoured to take this role, so I can deepen my relationships in the community and help Federation support Greater Vancouver, Israel and the incredible partner organizations and programs here and overseas.”

As campaign director, Morris is integral to the planning, support and execution of the campaign to ensure it raises the funds necessary to meet the growing and evolving needs of the community.

“Being new to the position, the team collaboration and support among all Federation departments is invaluable,” said Morris. “Everyone brings so much value, wisdom and knowledge, which has contributed to my easing into the position as campaign director.”

Morris emphasized that “challenges” is not a word she employs frequently. She prefers to view such circumstances as opportunities that demonstrate the need to respond to changes in the environment.

“Just as we were coming out of a pandemic, the world has been hit with inflation, unlike anything we have seen in decades,” she said. “Soaring costs are wreaking havoc on families, individuals and seniors. Our partner agencies are being hit hard – their costs to deliver their services and programs are rising, while at the same time they are receiving more requests for help and cannot pass on the added costs to their clients. Our partners rely on a healthy Federation annual campaign to help provide financial stability so they can continue their important work.”

Morris could not be more excited to be spearheading the initiative. “I love it! I have always felt a strong connection to my Jewish heritage and, as a second generation Vancouverite, I am familiar with our local Jewish community,” she said.

“My appreciation, affinity and commitment to Israel have always been important to me. Two months into this role now, I have had the opportunity to observe, connect and engage and bring my skill set, passion and purpose to Jewish Federation. There is so much team collaboration and support. Overseeing all aspects of stewardship in this vitally important role, I believe, is a perfect fit for me.”

Federation’s annual campaign is the largest in the community and takes planning and input from across all departments of the organization. The local and global engagement departments, according to Morris, make every effort to be aware of the new and evolving needs of the community through work with Federation’s partners. In turn, this helps inform the focus of each year’s campaign.

Meanwhile, the marketing and campaign teams include, she said, “amazing volunteer members who work closely together to develop the creative and programming to engage our community and draw attention to community needs.”

Morris has expanded her team by bringing on Estelle Tabenkin and Ronen Sabag to join her and women’s philanthropy campaign manager Ricki Thal. “I am extremely grateful to have a team who share in Federation’s community leadership drive and outpouring of services,” said Morris.

“All that we do throughout the year is built on our core values of tikkun olam, tzedakah, klal Israel and chesed, and this is how we create a vibrant, caring and inclusive community that I am so grateful to call home.”

The Federation campaign kicked off Sept. 8 and runs through the end of December. For more information, visit jewishvancouver.com/annual-campaign.

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

JFS marks 85 years

Shirley Barnett holds the JFS Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to her by Jody Dales on behalf of the agency. (photo from JFS)

On Nov. 24, Jewish Family Services Vancouver celebrated its 85th anniversary with a mini party at the 110-year-old Heritage Hall on Main Street. It was a fitting occasion and venue to launch the organization’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.

Tanja Demajo, chief executive officer of JFS Vancouver, welcomed guests to the evening’s celebration, which had the theme “SustainAbility: The Power of Local.” Starting off the proceedings was Rabbi Adam Stein of Congregation Beth Israel, who explained some of Judaism’s blessings for the miracles of nature before making a blessing for good health and “for now, a bit less rain,” in recognition of the damage and displacement caused by flooding in the province.

JFS board member Jody Dales then presented the JFS Lifetime Achievement Award, which was established this year, in celebration of the agency’s 85th anniversary. “Its purpose is to honour someone who has demonstrated exceptional leadership over a significant period of time, who has displayed wisdom and depth of service and who has made a [major] difference to the course of our agency,” she said. “The first person who came to mind for this award was Shirley Barnett.”

When Barnett joined the board as president and executive director almost 40 years ago, said Dales, the agency was going through a rough time. Serving on the board – on a volunteer basis – for nearly 15 years, Barnett introduced several new programs, expanded the services available, and increased the fundraising capacity.

In a video about the award, Barnett notes that she joined the board in 1973. She says she was in awe of the older women who were her fellow board members. “We started a newsletter, we started a group of volunteers, we started an employment program, we started an organization that lent people money,” she says, referring to the reestablishment of the Hebrew Free Loan Association.

JFS board chair Bill Kaplan was unable to join the anniversary celebration, but sent remarks that were read by Dales. “JFS is all about service to community and so is Shirley,” he said. “It’s perfectly fitting that she’s honoured on this special birthday because she epitomizes what we strive to be – a difference-maker, uplifting lives in our community.”

Dales spoke of some of the ways in which Barnett has made her a better person, including being a better daughter, community activist and philanthropist, all through Barnett’s example. “I accessorize better because of Shirley,” Dales added, laughing.

On a more serious note, she shared how, on a recent community organization trip to Cuba, while they were having a relaxing moment, Barnett said to Dales, “You know what I’ve learned? I need to laugh more.”

“And that was so incredibly profound, and honest, and vulnerable, and I admire her for being the kind of woman who says things like that very openly,” said Dales.

In accepting the award, Barnett said her connection to JFS began before she was born – her mother’s sister, Sonja (Sara) Victor, was a founder, in 1936, of the organization, then known as the Jewish Family Welfare Bureau of Vancouver.

Barnett shared some of the challenges the Jewish Family Services Agency was facing when she joined them. “We finally hired a remarkable executive director,” she said, referring to Barry Corrin, who was ED for 12 years – “and those years were formative.”

Many of the concerns remain the same today, said Barnett. Food banks and food security, poverty, housing – “these are exactly the same issues we dealt with years ago,” she said.

In addition to honouring Barnett for her service, JFS also recognized several other community members for theirs. Maya Dimapilis, JFS director of development and communications, announced the Community Leader Awards, which went to Michael Cossever, Ewa Gersin, Kerstin Melusin, Laureen Teperson, Sherri Wise, Tamar Bakonyi, Shannon Ezekiel, Candice Thal and Todd Thal. The Community Partner Award was given to the Hebrew Free Loan Association and the Paula Lenga Award for outstanding volunteer service to Stan Shaw.

Keynote speaker Karen Malone, founder of LitPark, a Toronto organization that helps businesses with environmental, social and governance (ESG) solutions, spoke of JFS in the context of sustainability. She lauded the agency for how it has managed to meet the needs of the community for 85 years and counting, operating in an evidently sustainable manner.

Malone framed each of her three main takeaways around the history of JFS, using it as an example of a group that operates according to sound ESG principles, and one that has shown that “small, consistent, local adaptations can add up to significant progress in creating a sustainable future, and they’ve been doing it for 85 years.” From its beginnings, JFS has, among other things, been helping new immigrants integrate into life here, offered employment-finding services and provided programs for seniors who would otherwise be socially isolated. During the pandemic, JFS expanded the food bank into food delivery, and increased counseling services and housing supports, said Malone.

“It may not have been thought of in 1936 or in the ’60s or ’70s, but this just-in-time response to a change in community has a name: locally led adaptation … [which] recognizes that local communities are best placed to understand their own needs and to develop the most effective solutions.”

Malone’s third main point revolved around the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted in 2015. “The goals encompass a holistic view of sustainable development, recognizing the intersectional nature of poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, gender equality and systemic justice,” she explained.

She said, “It is inarguable that the challenges faced by the world today are a complicated, interconnected web. Building a sustainable society relies on adopting a holistic approach that embraces this interconnectedness rather than trying to compartmentalize it. JFS has shown they understand this assignment. This is an organization that is deeply connected to its community, that understands that ‘ability’ is the operative part of sustainability – the ability to see the emergent needs of the population it serves and to welcome new populations when they need help, too; the ability to provide just-in-time services in moments of crisis; the ability to learn from a rich history and apply these lessons in new ways to meet modern challenges.”