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Multiple Tony n’ Tina roles

Marc Gelmon as the priest in Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding. Gelmon has played several roles in the production, which will be at Legion #179, on Commercial Drive, May 22-23. (photo from Marc Gelmon)

The priest is drunk and sleeping it off at our table. The bride is slow dancing with her former boyfriend and the caterer is highly recommending that I eat my bun by dipping it in the chicken sauce. The nun keeps chatting me up and, by now, I’m thinking she has a crush on me.

Welcome to Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding (TNT), an interactive, comical dinner theatre production starring, among others, Jewish community member Marc Gelmon. The night I attended in April, he was playing the caterer and emcee.

In one scene, he ran around the large, decorated hall wrapped in an Italian flag. In another, he joked about the 10 things you will never hear from an Italian husband. The almost 100 audience members laughed or groaned in appreciation.

Gelmon has played several different characters in TNT, first with Hoarse Raven Theatre Etc. from about 1995 to 2005 and, in the last year, with Hammer Up Productions. You never know, but he might be playing the priest when you arrive on May 22 or 23 at 6:30 p.m., upstairs at Legion #179 on Commercial Drive.

“For the show’s purpose and for my fun of pretend, I take each role seriously and immerse myself as much as I can into that world and character,” Gelmon told the Independent. “In doing so, I have had many audience members ask if I’m really a priest!”

In real life, Gelmon works in the health sector, including having been a mental health worker. He says that TNT does wonders for both his and his audience’s mental health.

“It’s just a great way to escape for a few hours amongst the mishigas [craziness] that goes on,” he said. “There’s always somewhere to look and someone saying or doing something ridiculous. The cast and production team are all really great people who want nothing more than to ensure the audience has a good time.”

photo - Marc Gelmon as the emcee in Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding — Marc Gelmon as the emcee in Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding. *(photo from Marc Gelmon)*

Gelmon has had many adventures with TNT, including one time where the Vancouver Police showed up to break up a pretend altercation between Tina’s ex-boyfriend and the groom and groomsmen.

“I can recall when we’d have the final fight scene and, at that time, we ran outside the restaurant, and around to where there were these big windows, so audience members could see us outside against the windows in this fight. I’m aware of at least two times when the VPD happened to be in the vicinity and ran after us to stop the ‘fight.’ We also had an audience member decide to strip during the end of the show.”

Incidents like this are rare, though, Gelmon insisted.

“My experiences with both shows have been really wonderful. Michael Fera and Tanja Dixon-Warren were the first ones to bring Tony n’ Tina’s to Vancouver and they gave me the room to grow and develop as a performer, as well as becoming lifelong friends. I hold them in the highest esteem, as they have been a source of love and support for decades.

“Director and producer Jeff Laurin has taken this production and infused it with his love, care and devotion,” Gelmon continued. “Plus, our stage manager, Chellé Tanner, and the loving and funny cast have really made this second time around so good for my soul!”

Gelmon said he has been influenced by watching actors on SNL and SCTV. His favourite comics today include Gary Gulman, Jon Stewart, Sarah Silverman and Gianmarco Soresi.

“These are my favourite comics because they’re all really smart, make me laugh, especially Gary Gulman, and they all talk about their Jewish experiences, and I love that,” said Gelmon, whose big break was performing in the children’s play Puss in Boots at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in 1994, where he played a lord and the king’s assistant.

“I was absolutely terrified, as this was my first actual play and I had two parts in it,” he said. “All I can tell you is that I loved it. I loved the costumes, makeup, being on stage, and camaraderie. That gave me a bit of confidence that I was really lacking, when I saw an advert in the Georgia Straight for Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding.”

Gelmon also loves the stories of Yiddish theatre and how many people in the early days of music, theatre and TV were often Jewish.

“I always feel that I have a Jewish sensibility to life and that always adds to my performance, even when playing a Catholic priest!” he said.

Over the years, Gelmon has been part of a few different community events.

“I think I’m most proud of participating in the Hanukkah convoy, which I first heard about over Facebook a few years ago,” he said. “I am not someone who people know I’m Jewish unless I tell them, so this was a great feeling of pride to drive, alongside many other cars, with these big electric menorahs on the tops of our cars, driving through downtown.

“The first time I did this, the folks at Chabad let me keep the menorah on my car for the remainder of the holiday. At that time, I was working at an elementary school and the teachers loved it, and a couple asked me to come and talk about Hanukkah to their classes. Also, someone left a note on my car. At first, I was worried, but then I read it and smiled. Whoever wrote the note described being thankful for seeing other people’s traditions and it made them feel good to see the menorah on the roof of my car.”

TNT runs for close to four hours, so you might want to bring a cushion if you have a sensitive tush like mine. If you have mobility issues, you can sit on the legion’s stairlift all the way to the festivities. Dress up and put on your dancing shoes because you are going to a wedding!

For tickets, go to linktr.ee/Tntweddingshowvancouver.

Cassandra Freeman is a Vancouver storyteller and improviser.

Celebrate our culture

The May 31 Festival of Jewish Culture finale will be a concert by a trio of musicians coming in from Los Angeles: Rabbi Tori Greene, accompanied by Yonatan Dror (wind instruments) and Daniel Feldman (percussion). (photo from JCCGV)

A local artisans market, food trucks, dance performances, workshops and a concert – the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver’s Festival of Jewish Culture takes place on May 31, from noon to 4:30 p.m. The event is the culmination of the JCC’s celebration of Jewish Heritage Month.

The marketplace will include Elmwood Candles, Lana’s Jewelry Collection, Keep Turning Studio, AMLiora Designs, Rheya Taylor Designs, Sind Studio, Creative Beading, Lind 3D Wurm, Circles by Nava, Nomi’s Paletas, Braids On, and Egg Plant and Co. Planted Love and Ping BBQ food trucks will be on site.

The festival will once again feature a dance showcase in the Rothstein Theatre, starting at 12:30 p.m. There will be performances by JCC Orr Chadash and Orr Yeladim, Vancouver Talmud Torah, Richmond Jewish Day School, Kol Halev, Aviv Dancers, Dena Wosk School of Performing Arts and others.

At various points in the day, there will be workshops for which people will need to sign up to attend: Israeli dance, krav maga, hamsa-making, and how to make hummus and Israeli salad. There also will be a community street art-mural-making workshop in the arts and crafts room.

The day’s finale is a concert of global Jewish music, sounds and prayers from across the Jewish diaspora and Israel, by a trio of musicians coming in from Los Angeles: Rabbi Tori Greene, accompanied by Israelis Yonatan Dror (wind instruments) and Daniel Feldman (percussion).

“I’m so excited this year for the sense of togetherness made possible by the incredible artists we’re hosting. From professional dancers to chefs to musicians, it’s truly a gift to experience it all beyachad, together. I can’t wait to see everyone, happily full of great food and fun finds, arriving at the Wosk for our grand musical finale,” said Nomi Zysblat, coordinator of Jewish and Israeli engagement at the JCC.

The May 31 program caps off a month of activities at the JCC centring on Jewish culture and heritage.

On May 10, 10 a.m., there is Hebrew Sunday Storytime & Breakfast ($7.50/adult, $5.50/child).

The Project Heroes concert with Israeli singer and storyteller Gilad Segev – celebrating courage, resilience, Jewish pride and unity through music and personal stories – takes place May 13, 7 p.m., in the Rothstein Theatre ($18/$36/$54; $10 for VTT, RJDS, KDHS and Hillel students).

There are two author talks: Caryl Eve Dolinko on A Woman’s Guide to World Travel, hosted by Circle of Friends for Women 55+ on May 14, 2 p.m., at the centre; and Adeena Sussman on Zariz: 100 Easy, Breezy, Tel Aviv-y Recipes, hosted by Hadassah USA/Canada online on May 19, at 4 p.m. For a review of Dolinko’s book, go to jewishindependent.ca/traveling-as-a-woman.

Lilian Broca’s exhibit Lilith – in which she revisits the myth of Lilith, Adam’s first wife, exploring the struggle of an empowered, independent woman whose conflicts echo those faced by women today – opens at the Zack Gallery May 20, and runs through June 29. Broca gives a talk and slide presentation on the exhibit on May 26, at 7 p.m.

For Shavuot, there will be ice cream served in the atrium on May 21, 3-5 p.m., and candlelighting on Shabbat May 29. There will be a community Shabbat dinner (dairy) for Hebrew speakers, including a short Kabbalat Shabbat with songs and readings, on May 22, at 6:30 p.m. Another Hebrew-oriented event is the May 24, 7 p.m., sing-along with Miriam Benny.

There is a community tiyul and picnic – a family nature walk, ending with a snack picnic and games on the beach – on May 24, 10 a.m., and a piano recital at the centre on May 27, 11:30 a.m., featuring Dmitri Kristalinsky showcasing the music of Jewish composers.

For more information, tickets and/or registration for any of these events, visit jccgv.com/may-events-programs. For more information on the May 31 festival and to register to attend, go to jccgv.com/program-category/jewish-festival.

– Courtesy Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver

A responsibility to help

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To attend MOSAIC, visit scharatzedeck.com.

Together in mourning

Geoffrey Druker, who leads the community’s annual memorial ceremony, consoles a young speaker on Yom Hazikaron. (photo from Geoffrey Druker)

Emotions were close to the surface April 20 at Vancouver’s annual Yom Hazikaron commemoration. The Jewish community gathered at Temple Sholom to mark Israel’s day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism – an evening that bridged decades of loss with the raw immediacy of the present.

Geoffrey Druker, who has led the annual ceremony for many years, shared multiple stories spanning decades, reflecting the losses in Israel’s many wars and incessant terror attacks.

A photograph from 2005 showed four young commanders from the Golani Brigade. Within a year, two of them – Benji Hillman and Roi Klein – would be killed in the Second Lebanon War. Hillman died in battle and, six days later, Klein was killed after throwing himself on a grenade to save his soldiers.

Nearly two decades later, the tragedy continued.

On Oct. 7, 2023, the two surviving commanders in the photo – Roi Levy and Yizhack Ben Bassat – rushed from their homes to defend Israeli communities under attack. Levy was killed that day at Kibbutz Re’im. Two months later, Ben Bassat was killed during the war in Gaza.

Col. Yizhack Ben Bassat’s sister, Hamutal, is a member of the Vancouver community and lit a candle in his memory.

In the 40 days of Operation Roaring Lion, the initial war with Iran, Druker said more than 20 civilians and 13 soldiers were killed. Among the civilians killed was Ofer Moskovitz.

“He was better known in the region and throughout Israel as ‘Pushko,’” said Druker. He was a farmer in charge of the avocado orchard of Kibbutz Misgav Am, which is located right on the border with Lebanon, in Vancouver’s partnership region of the Upper Galilee.

“Veteran members of our Federation partnership committee met with him numerous times during visits to the region,” said Druker. “He was 60 years old.

“Tonight we remember them all,” Druker said, as the congregation rose for a moment of silence.

The ceremony moved between individual stories and collective grief, underscoring the scale of loss while emphasizing its personal nature.

The evening became intensely personal with the remembrance of Ben Mizrachi, the young Vancouver man killed at the Nova music festival.

“Ben did not run away to save himself when he had the chance,” his mother had said in a previous address that was recounted. “He showed tremendous courage … as he tried to save others.”

This year, the graduate of King David High School was remembered by his uncle, Mooshon Mizrachi.

Many other stories were read aloud and relatives and community members read Yizkor and lit candles, transforming the ceremony into a living bridge between Vancouver and Israel.

“These past years, Israel has been engaged in wars on five fronts,” Druker noted, referencing the sustained conflict that has affected every part of the country.

The story of brothers Amit and Yigal Vax, killed defending their community during the Oct. 7 attacks, was told as a recollection of that morning – sirens, explosions and the sudden realization that terrorists had entered their village. The account described fear giving way to terror, as residents hid in safe rooms as gunfire echoed outside.

“Amit … heard gunfire … grabbed his weapon … and was killed,” Druker recounted. His brother Yigal, armed only with a machete, was also killed trying to defend their home.

Sivan Keidar, a member of the extended Vax family, lit a candle in their memory.

Throughout the ceremony, music and ritual provided a framework for mourning. Songs such as “Ad Machar” (“Until Tomorrow”) and “Makom L’de’aga” (“A Place to Worry”) reflected the emotional landscape of grief.

Shinshinim, Israeli teenagers participating in a year-of-service program in Vancouver, spoke about the legacy they have inherited – one shaped by wars they did not experience directly, but which continue to define their lives.

Eliyahu Kaminsky of Congregation Schara Tzedeck synagogue recited the memorial prayer El Maleh Rachamim.

Downhill after Trump?

Left to right: Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver chief executive officer Ezra Shanken, Temple Sholom Senior Rabbi Dan Moskovitz and commentator and author Yossi Klein Halevi. (photo by Pat Johnson)

The special relationship between the United States and Israel is at its greatest peak, according to American-Israeli thinker and commentator Yossi Klein Halevi. The bad news is, he predicts, it’s all downhill from here.

In conversation with Temple Sholom’s Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, Klein Halevi warned that, whoever succeeds US President Donald Trump, it is almost inevitable that the next American leader will be less supportive of Israel.

“After Trump, the deluge,” said Klein Halevi. “There really is this sense of this moment as bittersweet. We have never been in a closer alignment with the United States than now.… This is really the culminating moment of the special relationship, that it doesn’t get any better than that.”

Were Vice-President J.D. Vance, a Republican, to become president, Klein Halevi warned, the US-Israeli relationship would almost certainly deteriorate.

“If it is just about any Democrat, it’s not going to be good,” he said. “In some cases, it would be extremely negative. So, there’s a sense that this is sort of the final play.”

Change is inevitable in Israeli politics, as well, he argued. Klein Halevi emphatically believes Netanyahu will not be reelected. The only question, he said, is whether someone else can cobble together a workable majority.

Klein Halevi is scholar-in-residence at Temple Sholom and the event April 23 was presented in cooperation with the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.

Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and one of Israel’s most influential and widely read public intellectuals, exploring Israeli identity, Jewish peoplehood, faith and the moral complexities of power. His books, including Letters to My Palestinian Neighbour and Like Dreamers, have shaped critical conversations across the Jewish world, according to Karen Kollins, the institute’s director of Canada, who introduced him.

Kollins described her organization as a leading Jewish think tank and educational centre working in Israel and across North America to “help the Jewish people engage thoughtfully and courageously with the most complex moral, religious and political challenges of our time.”

Klein Halevi co-hosts, with the institute’s president, Donniel Hartman, the think tank’s award-winning weekly podcast For Heaven’s Sake, which focuses on the moral aspects of issues affecting Israel, world Jewry and Zionism.

The stresses of living in Israel, always intense, have been unprecedentedly exacerbated in recent years, said Klein Halevi in his conversation with Moskovitz.

“This has been Israel’s longest war,” he said, noting that reservists have been called up for very long tours, upending families, businesses and society at large. “I think that we’re going to start seeing the cracks in the next generation.”

Even as new olim (immigrants) are arriving from France and elsewhere, he said, more and more Israelis are questioning whether they and their children have a future in the country.

“At what point do Israelis start to say, I – we – can’t do this anymore?” Klein Halevi asked.

Disenchantment is further aggravated by widespread dissatisfaction with the government.

“We’ve never had a government in wartime that more than half the country doesn’t trust,” he said. “When you combine that with the endless pressure, there’s this sense that I think many young Israelis have of, What’s the future here right now?”

In contrast, the post-Oct. 7 societal unity, while fraying over time, remains a uniquely enveloping Israeli phenomenon.

Moskovitz asked if the war with Iran has been successful.

“I think the question is, What were the realistic expectations going into this war?” Klein Halevi replied.

He accused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of prioritizing his own political interests ahead of those of the country, as well as raising expectations of not only eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat but deposing the Islamic regime.

“So, he was plugging this idea of total victory,” said Klein Halevi. “There’s not going to be a total victory.”

Setting back Iran’s nuclear ambitions has been successful, but regime change in Iran will come only from internal forces, he said.

From that perspective, he believes that, in the near to medium term, the Iranian regime is finished.

“When you lose the legitimacy of your people or, to put it more strongly, when you massacre tens of thousands of your own citizens, there’s no recovery from that,” he said. “You’ve decisively lost your legitimacy.”

Klein Halevi said that Israel, for decades, has fallen into Iran’s trap, engaging with Iran’s proxies – Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis – instead of confronting the source of the conflict, which is Iran.

“This war will be resolved not in Lebanon, and not in Gaza,” he said. “It will be resolved in Tehran.”

Responding to critics of Israel, Klein Halevi said he has high standards for Israeli morality, but all things have context.

“[Israel] was never an exemplar of democracy in an absolute sense,” he said, “but it was very much an exemplar of a democracy in conditions of extremity. No democracy anywhere has experienced the kind of sustained opposition – war, terrorism, siege, diplomatic boycott – that Israel has known since literally the day of its birth. The fact that we have managed to sustain an imperfect democracy is extraordinary.… And then when you bring in wave after wave of traumatized refugees who themselves come from countries with no democratic [traditions] – 90% of Israelis do not come from the West; they come from the Middle East or Eastern Europe, and yet we have managed to sustain a credible democracy. That, to me, is really the glory of Israeli democracy.

“If you strip away the context, which is what the critics of Israel do … they just leave the fact that, well, Arab Israelis don’t have full rights – and that’s true. And, for me, that’s a scandal,” he said. “But it’s also a scandal that I understand, because I can’t think of another more complicated minority/majority dynamic than having as your main minority people who are culturally and even to some extent politically aligned with the enemy you’re fighting.”

Moskovitz asked how Israeli media covers antisemitism in the diaspora and whether Israelis are conscious of the extent of the crisis.

“It is reported the way the Israeli media would cover an Israeli crisis,” said Klein Halevi. “It’s very much seen as a major Israeli story. That’s good news and bad news. It’s good news that the Israeli public really cares about the diaspora more so than in the past.”

Conversely, he said, the traditional Zionist mindset toward the diaspora tends to assume that, if Jews around the world are not making aliyah en masse, the situation they are facing worldwide can’t be that bad.

Since Oct. 7, Klein Halevi said, there has been an upsurge of spirituality and Jewish observance, as well as a resurgence of creativity in music and art. He also noted a shift within some components of the ultra-Orthodox, with “a whole new ideological stream called Israeli Haredi,” that is, ultra-Orthodox who want to be more integrated into society while maintaining the differences that matter most to them.

Amy Frankel, Temple Sholom president, welcomed the packed sanctuary and said that the program and others like it would not be possible without the generosity of the late Jack Lutsky, whose wife, Susan Mendelson, and brother, Peter Lutsky, recently established Temple Sholom’s scholar-in-residence endowment fund as a perpetual benefit to the congregation and the broader community.

Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, thanked Klein Halevi.

Eco-Sisters mentorship

Reut Mealem, left, and Shahaf Ella Salach are coordinators and mentors for Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Eco-Sisters program. (photo from BGU)

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Eco-Sisters allows graduate students to mentor first-year female students or students considering studying STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.

“Our involvement in Eco-Sisters is both as coordinators and as mentors,” Reut Mealem, a PhD student in the department of information systems engineering, told the Independent of her and Shahaf Ella Salach’s connection to the program.

As a coordinator, Mealem – whose research focuses on applying machine learning methods to biological data to uncover meaningful insights – helps shape and guide the program’s activities, works closely with the mentors and supports the development of initiatives designed to encourage more female students to pursue STEM fields.

As a mentor, she provides direct support to women at different stages of their academic journey. This includes creating accessible channels of support, offering personalized guidance and building a community where women can ask questions, share concerns and feel less alone in the process.

“We chose to join Eco-Sisters as mentors because it is important to us to be a real source of support for women at the beginning of their journey and to offer guidance at eye level,” Mealem said.

Salach added that an involved mentor can make a meaningful difference by helping reduce uncertainty, organize information, support informed decision-making and strengthen the confidence that it is possible to succeed in academia while also enjoying the process.

“For us, personally, the program has highlighted the power of support and belonging. Meeting candidates and students, listening to them, guiding them and offering both practical and emotional tools has strengthened our sense of purpose. It gives us the opportunity to help other women take their first steps with greater confidence,” said Salach, a master’s student in mechanical engineering, whose research involves understanding the flow mechanism driving the cerebrospinal fluid in the brain.

Eco-Sisters was initiated in 2022 by Prof. Halleli Pinson, who served at the time as the president’s advisor for gender equity at BGU. The program was established as part of a broader national effort to promote gender equity in academia. Israel’s Council for Higher Education launched a five-year strategic plan in response to persistent gender gaps.

One of the clearest findings from the early research was the underrepresentation of women in STEM disciplines, despite these fields being both vital to the economy and offering strong professional opportunities.

“This underrepresentation is not seen as the result of innate differences, but rather as the outcome of long-standing social and educational patterns that often steer women away from STEM and toward more traditionally ‘feminine’ fields, typically associated with caregiving, interpersonal work and lower pay,” said Yael Hashiloni, a professor in the department of sociology and anthropology, who served as the president’s advisor for gender equity until October 2025.

“In response, increasing the number of women studying STEM became a national priority, and universities received dedicated funding to help advance this goal,” Hashiloni said.

Eco-Sisters was created to encourage women to take that first step into STEM fields and to support them along the way. The program does this through dedicated scholarships, mentoring and the creation of peer networks among women. These efforts are grounded in research showing that personal support, community and access to role models can play an important role in driving social change. Additionally, Eco-Sisters promotes women’s entrepreneurship through collaboration with the university’s entrepreneurship centre.

“This reflects not only a commitment to advancing women themselves, but also a broader understanding that diversity strengthens creativity, leads to more innovative solutions and helps address the needs of diverse communities in a more equitable way,” said Hashiloni.

Since its start, Eco-Sisters has supported dozens of female students, according to Hashlioni. And, this year, the program continued to grow, with the number of mentors increasing from 10 in 2025 to 13, and three additional university departments joining: computer science, software engineering and data engineering.

Last year’s program evaluation indicated strong mentor engagement and encouraging signs of increased women’s enrolment in the departments where the program has been active.

Mealem and Salach joined the program this year, so most of what they have seen by way of impact comes from their first conversations with prospective students, particularly during University Open Day, where they ran an Eco-Sisters booth and met young women considering STEM studies.

“Even in brief interactions, it was clear how much personal connection matters. Many were not only looking for information, but also for reassurance, encouragement and someone they could speak to openly,” said Mealem.

According to Salach, last year’s mentor survey reflected the program’s impact. Mentors described helping students with both practical and emotional aspects of the transition into university, from questions about registration and courses to the uncertainty that often comes with starting a degree.

“Many shared that the most meaningful part of the experience was knowing they had helped prospective students feel more confident and less alone,” Salach said of the mentors’ comments.

“From our experience so far,” she continued, “we feel that even a short conversation can make a difference. Seeing someone a little further along the same path can help prospective students imagine themselves there, too. That is part of what makes the program so meaningful: it gives women a welcoming first point of connection and helps them begin their journey with greater confidence.”

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

Unexpected discoveries

Prof. Brian Berkowitz, Sam Zuckerberg Professorial Chair in Hydrology, at his lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science. (photo from Weizmann Institute)

Prof. Brian Berkowitz of the Weizmann Institute of Science recently visited Vancouver and Calgary for meetings with members of the Weizmann Canada community.

Berkowitz, who was born in Edmonton, joined the staff of the Weizmann Institute in 1993. He received his bachelor and master of science degrees from the University of Alberta and his doctorate from the Technion-Israeli Institute of Technology. He worked as a research hydrologist for Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture for several years and as a visiting professor at the University of British Columbia for two years before joining the Weizmann faculty. A former head of the department of environmental sciences and energy research (now the department of earth and planetary sciences), he is the incumbent of the Sam Zuckerberg Professorial Chair in Hydrology.

Berkowitz’s research centres around the experimental analysis and computer modeling of ﬂuid and chemical transport in geological formations, with emphasis on soil and groundwater systems. He and his colleagues are developing new models that realistically describe pollutant migration patterns; these models show conditions under which groundwater contamination can occur. He is also developing experimental methods for environmentally friendly chemical treatment of contaminated water.

Recently, he has become involved in research related to urology and treatment of kidney stones, and to the active treatment of lymphedema and related tissue-swelling disorders, including the development of biomedical devices.

Berkowitz – who is married and the father of three children – was first motivated to apply his physical science expertise to the medical field when his son was diagnosed with a serious kidney condition. Because what is the kidney if not a water filtration organ?

He applied his knowledge of fluid dynamics and chemical transport to the development of a ureteral stent that allows urine to drain from the kidneys to the bladder when there are blockages. The preexisting stents often caused pain and irritation in people who relied on them, and Berkowitz was able to develop a much-improved stent that was more comfortable and effective.

Building off that success, the professor has turned his attention to the development of a device that can treat lymphedema and related tissue-swelling conditions. Lymphedema is a condition in which fluid is not effectively drained by the lymphatic system and instead builds up in bodily tissue, often in the arms and legs. This is a common condition following some cancer treatments, among other causes.

Berkowitz worked with Yeda, the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute, and a medical technology company called Sub-Q Bionics was formed to develop a device based on his research.

Sub-Q Bionics recently received the funding needed to further develop what is a sort of bionic lymph node that has the potential to transform how lymphedema is managed. The device will essentially be a drainage system that is implanted under the skin to help with the painful swelling caused by lymphedema. It would be the first treatment to actively drain lymphatic fluid from the limbs, offering relief to the more than one million people who suffer from lymphedema in Canada alone.

At the Weizmann Institute, which is ranked sixth in the world for research quality, scientists are given wide latitude to follow their curiosity and interests, even across scientific disciplines. As Berkowitz’s research exemplifies, this cross-pollination of ideas can often lead to unexpected and exciting discoveries that might not otherwise be possible.

In addition to being an acclaimed scientist, Berkowitz is an accomplished musician, having played bassoon professionally in the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and in numerous chamber ensembles in Canada and Israel.

– Courtesy Weizmann Canada

Study’s results hopeful

Hebrew University researchers have discovered that non-psychoactive cannabis compounds reduce liver fat and improve metabolic health in obese mice. (image from HU)

A study led by Prof. Joseph (Yossi) Tam, Dr. Liad Hinden, PhD student Radka Kočvarová and Tam’s team at the School of Pharmacy in the faculty of medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has found that two compounds from the cannabis plant could help treat fatty liver disease. The research, conducted on obese mice, suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG), which are non-psychoactive and do not cause a high, can improve liver health by changing how the organ manages energy and cleans itself.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disorder in the world. It affects approximately one-third of the adult population and is closely linked to obesity, high blood pressure and insulin resistance. While lifestyle changes like diet and exercise are important, they can be hard to maintain, and there are very few approved medicines available for this condition.

The researchers used advanced tools to show that CBD and CBG do more than just reduce fat. They help the liver function better internally through a unique process of “metabolic remodeling.” One of the most important findings was the impact on the liver’s energy reserves. These compounds increase levels of phosphocreatine, which acts like a backup battery to help the liver stay healthy under the stress caused by a high-fat diet. This is a new discovery.

Additionally, the study showed that CBD and CBG restore the activity of cathepsins. These are enzymes that act like a cleaning crew within the cell’s recycling centres, known as lysosomes. By getting this cleaning crew back to work, the liver is better able to break down and clear out harmful fats and waste. The researchers also found that both treatments significantly reduced harmful lipids, such as triglycerides and ceramides. Ceramides are particularly dangerous because they are known to contribute to insulin resistance and liver inflammation.

The study observed that, while both compounds were effective, they each provided slightly different benefits. Both CBD and CBG were able to normalize blood sugar levels and improve how the body clears glucose. However, CBG appeared to have a more pronounced effect on certain metrics: it reduced body fat mass and improved insulin sensitivity more than CBD. CBG was also particularly effective at lowering total cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol levels.

While these results are encouraging, the team notes that more research is needed to understand how these findings can best be applied to human patients.

The research paper, which was published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, can be accessed at doi.org/10.1111/bph.70387.

– Courtesy Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Recalling a shining star

My mother, Joyce, met my father, Bernie, at a dance at the Jewish Community Centre in Vancouver. She was selling tickets. He just wanted to talk to her, but she sent him upstairs to check out the other young women at the dance. He did, then came right down and asked her out, even though she told him she had two children and was in the middle of a divorce.

photo - Joyce Freeman with Ria, her first grandchild — Joyce Freeman with Ria, her first grandchild. *(photo from Cassandra Freeman)*

My mother was both elegant and beautiful. When I was a child, she ran a “model and poise” class for teenagers out of Kerrisdale Community Centre. My sister and I modeled there for an audience when I was about 4 years old. Later, I did some ballet on stage as well, with my partner from the dance school. I still remember how nervous I was, but it was so much fun.

I grew up with the many people in the house my mother invited over. They were from all over the world and spoke English, Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish and other languages. (Looking back, I see why I chose to get a degree in international relations!) Mom would literally ask people she met shopping or on the street back to the house for dinner. A lot of them were single and lonely.

My dad worked as a court reporter and often had late hours, so refused to go out. My mother, therefore, had parties at home. I remember pancake and waffle brunches with at least 50 people going in and out. The toppings were cherry, pineapple, strawberry, blueberries, peaches and, of course, whipping cream and syrup. All my friends from the neighbourhood would be there, too.

My friends got an education in Judaism, including the Jewish holidays and the basics of keeping a kosher kitchen. One friend, Madeleine, credits my parents for her choice of a career that involved prosecuting war criminals. I’m guessing that’s because dad was a court reporter and she learned about the Holocaust from us.

I was thrilled when my mother invited the National Ballet of Canada company over for dinner after their performances – if my Uncle Sam had not been performing with them, she might have done it anyways.

I remember two things about the dancers. One was that they seemed to go back to the table and eat at least three times. The second was that, even though they were athletes, they didn’t have a hope when playing table tennis in our basement. Apparently, they had little hand-eye coordination. I remember meeting Karen Kain. She said I had a nice straight back and should continue to dance – and she left me all her beads.

My mother had good friends she would call almost every day. One was my godmother, Helen Friedman, who became like a grandmother to me. We spent a lot of time together. I took on her left-wing perspective and voted NDP for a very long time. She was also a feminist with a capital “F” and I took that on, too.

Growing up in my parents’ house, it was like all three of us kids – Devorah, Tzvi and me – ate social justice for breakfast. Now I see that this was clearly the ancient Jewish tradition of tikkun olam, healing the world. My sister said I had it so bad that, at age 8, I wrote to the Vancouver Aquarium and demanded they let their whale go back into the ocean.

My mother was clairvoyant. She taught me how to send her a psychic message about what I wanted for lunch on my way home. I normally got what I requested but that’s likely because I either wanted macaroni and cheese or a salami sandwich. My father says that, when we kids left home, my mother could make us call her at will, which I believe.

Mom’s favourite psychic story was about Dad and Grandma. Dad would come home from work and say, “Joyce, I don’t know why I bought that.” And Mom would say, “Oh, Grandma wanted that.”

I inherited my mother’s ability to communicate with spirits. Just before my Uncle Steve’s funeral, I was ironing. He said, “Hurry up and get to the funeral.” Mom got a message from him, too. During the transmission, it feels perfectly normal. Sometime after Uncle Sam died, I got an energy hug from his spirit. It didn’t diminish the sadness, but it was comforting.

At some point, my mother began doing I Ching readings for guests and family. I have her I Ching book and display it proudly. It is a book of strategy above all. It doesn’t tell the future, as most people think. It says that, if you are in this situation, you should do this; if you are in that situation, you should do that. It’s difficult to read but my mother was smart and seemed to know exactly what it was saying, even if it talked a whole lot about princes and generals and varied states of mind.

The other thing Mom did was cook – and she is famous for it. I remember helping her by cutting cucumbers. They all had to be about one-eighth of an inch thick or they were no good.

My mother got sick when she was 40 and was never really well after that. She had become a Chabadnik, which I believe helped her with the pain.

We knew when she was going into hospital because she would cook meals for us and put them in the freezer. In her late 70s, she was diagnosed with a cruel disease called Supranuclear Palsy. They tried a Parkinson’s pill, but it didn’t work. Mom died, at age 84, just as the sun was setting, bringing in the first night of Passover. We recently marked her yahrzeit.

A few days after she died, both my sister and I got the same message from her spirit. She said, “I am skipping.” I took this to mean she was ecstatic at being without her painful body. Now, I imagine she is a shining star in the universe. And that’s how I remember her.

Cassandra Freeman is a Vancouver storyteller and improviser.

BGU fosters startup culture

Left to right, at Ben-Gurion University’s Spark to Start-Up gala in Vancouver April 12: David Berson, Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, Michael Fugman, Martin Thibodeau, Caroline Desrosiers, Andrea Freedman and Adam Korbin. (photo from BGU Canada)

Israel is set to catapult into an unparalleled era of economic and creative growth, according to Saul Singer.

Singer is co-author, with Dan Senor, of the bestselling book, Startup Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle, and their most recent book, the The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World.

Singer made an analogy to a workout regimen in which people run with weights attached to them.

“The idea is, if you’re running with weights and you take those weights off, it’s really easy to run,” he said. “That’s what’s going to happen with Israel.”

Singer foresees something no less than “an opportunity to re-found the country.”

The generation that has fought in Gaza and in Lebanon are going to return to civilian life and feel like weights have been lifted from their shoulders, he said. “You’re going to see tremendous growth,” Singer said. “A tremendous force of building and optimism.”

Singer was in conversation with Niels Veldhuis, president of the Fraser Institute, at a gala event April 12 for Ben-Gurion University (BGU) Canada. Spark to Start-Up: Resilience Ignites Leaders took place at Beth Israel Synagogue and honoured community leader Michael Fugman. Revenue from the event supports Yazamut 360° Entrepreneurship Centre at Ben-Gurion University (jewishindependent.ca/creating-entrepreneurs).

Like Canada, Israel is a nation of immigrants, Singer pointed out. “Immigrants are natural entrepreneurs,” he said, noting that moving from one place to another takes drive and involves risks.

In their books, Singer and Senor credit mandatory military experience with instilling entrepreneurial skills in young Israelis. Singer has three daughters in the army right now, and one was put in charge of liaising with suppliers around complex weaponries, a subject in which she had no background.

“She said, ‘How am I going to do that? I can’t do it, any of this,’” Singer recounted. “And, sure enough, a year later, she was doing it. Israelis go through this experience time and time again, and it really helps make them entrepreneurs.”

Israeli society also benefits from being a unique hybrid of individualism and collectivity, he said. Most Western societies are becoming more polarized, with citizens dealing with mental health problems, depression and other consequences, which Singer puts down to, in part, “the unbridled march of individualism.”

“What is unique about the Jews is that they’re able to balance these two things: to be individual and yet have community,” he said. “That’s kind of our superpower. I think it’s a big chunk of why we survived for 2,000 years … and I think Israel has doubled down on it.

“You understand that you’re part of something larger than yourself,” he said, something that is emphasized by national service. “Service, by definition, is not just about you.”

The evening’s emphasis on entrepreneurship was underscored by Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, president of BGU. Under his leadership, the university launched a 10-year, $1 billion US global development campaign to double BGU’s physical footprint in Beersheva and expand its research capabilities.

Chamovitz described BGU’s venture capital initiative Cactus Capital, which provides funding to undergraduate students. “What’s unique about it,” he said, “is the advisory committee, which is dealing out the money, are also undergraduate students. We take our undergraduate students … train them as analysts and then give them the venture funds for them to fund different undergraduate ventures.”

Last year, three graduates of BGU’s women entrepreneur program addressed the problem that women in religious, traditional communities, whether Muslim or Jewish, tend not to get routine mammograms. The students developed a wearable app that monitors breast density and uses an algorithm to alert a doctor to call the woman in for a mammogram. The company received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, and garnered seed funding of $26 million.

Chamovitz summarized the ethos of David Ben-Gurion and of his eponymous university: “The possible we can do. The impossible takes a little bit longer.”

Given the closure of Israeli airspace due to ongoing conflict, organizers had a backup plan if Singer could not make it to Vancouver. In the end, attendees got a double bill, with Nuseir Yassin joining the evening’s lineup.

Known online as Nas Daily, Yassin is a social media influencer with 68 million followers. He promotes peace and understanding with one-minute videos that focus on stories that highlight humanity and transcend political conflict.

Yassin was the first Arab Israeli to attend Harvard University.

“After 19 years of being alive,” he said, his arrival at Harvard was an awakening. “I made my first Jewish friend, my first Israeli friend, my first female friend, my first gay friend, my first Black friend and my first Canadian friend. And, to be clear, these are not the same person.”

Attending Harvard in the shadow of Mark Zuckerberg, entrepreneurship was in the zeitgeist, Yassin said.

After an unsatisfying time as a software engineer in New York, Yassin quit the 9-to-5 and started pumping out videos. He made a splash posting 1,000 videos in 1,000 days.

“I made a video and I put it on the internet,” he said. “It failed. Nobody saw it. I made another video, it failed. I made another 270 videos in 270 days, and they all failed until video 271 – and that became the beginning of what we know today as Nas Daily.”

In the past 10 years, Yassin has visited 100 countries, but, when he is looking for fascinating story subjects, he realizes, he keeps coming back to Israel.

“Every time I was looking for people who think different to make videos about, I found them in Israel,” he said. “A vegan steak company: Israel. A technology to make cars drive: Israel. A security startup to hack your phone: Israel. Even my Singaporean team asked me, ‘What’s in the water in Israel?’ And I told them, ‘Nothing. It’s not the water, you fool, it’s the air.’ The air in Israel is really different. If everyone around you is thinking of a startup idea, you think of a startup idea, too. If everyone is into tech, you are into tech. Humans are memetic animals. We mimic the people around us. It’s as simple as that. And, clearly, the startup culture is super-contagious.”

Yassin is now moving away from video creation and has launched a new venture. “It’s an AI business platform,” he said. “It helps anybody start a business just by taking a picture of what they want to sell. AI creates the store, it creates the marketing contents, the videos and the pictures and finds the customer.”

Entrepreneurship – and Israeli entrepreneurship in particular – is an antidote to the negativity evoked by world news, he said.

“Open your phone and it’s all depressing,” said Yassin. “But, in these moments, I remember Canada’s greatest contribution to the world: hockey. And, in hockey, you don’t skate to where the puck is. You skate to where the puck is going. That’s what we’re doing today – we’re skating to where the puck is going. Even if today is super-depressing, the puck is going towards more peace, more collaborations, more entrepreneurship, less death, more prosperity…. So, the only option we have is to pick the damn puck up and push it forward together – and that, we can do.”

The Spark event honoured Michael Fugman, a community leader who has served on the boards of many organizations, including the United Way, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Richmond Country Club and the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. A former president of his family’s apparel business, Fugman managed more than 100 staff and oversaw $100 million in annual sales. He is now in business development with PearTree Canada, a financial firm that created a system to help people donate to charities in a tax-efficient way. PearTree and RBC Royal Bank were the event’s presenting sponsors.

Honorary co-chairs of the event, Caroline Desrosiers and husband Martin Thibodeau, who is regional president of RBC in British Columbia, presented Fugman with the BGU Canada Award for Outstanding Leadership. They were joined for the presentation by Chamovitz, BGU Canada chief executive officer Andrea Freedman, BGU Canada regional president Adam Korbin and BGU Canada regional director David Berson.

Fugman credited his family – going back to his immigrant grandparents – for instilling in him Jewish values, devotion to family and commitment to Israel. He noted his cousin Mordechai, who died, at age 17, in Israel’s War of Independence. Fugman acknowledged his family in the audience, including wife Kathi.

Simon Margolis, who has known Fugman since Grade 1 at Vancouver Talmud Torah, was emcee.