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Escape from Soviet Union

A photo of Reuven Rashkovsky from the book An Improbable Life: My Father’s Escape from Soviet Russia, by his daughter, Dr. Karine Rashkovsky. Here, Reuven is pictured with a MIG 19 Soviet fighter plane. At 18, he was drafted into the military, conscripted for three years.

Perusing the pages of the Independent’s predecessor, the Jewish Western Bulletin from the 1960s and ’70s, demonstrates the centrality of the movement for Soviet refuseniks in Jewish life of that time. Jewish communities in North America and elsewhere in the West were deeply devoted to the Jews behind the Iron Curtain who sought to emigrate to Israel and other places of freedom.

That movement, ultimately, was a largely Western phenomenon. In a new book, Vancouver’s Dr. Karine Rashkovsky shares her family’s story. An Improbable Life: My Father’s Escape from Soviet Russia, and others of its still-emerging genre, open the narrative to the stories from the other side of the Iron Curtain, those of the refuseniks who Western activists were trying to free.

The Soviet Union, Rashkovsky writes, was a country based on an ideology intended to eliminate ethnic and religious lines, but which counterintuitively insisted that every citizen’s internal passport indicate their nationality – and for Jews, regardless of their geographic origins, their nationality was “Jewish.” And that “nationality” meant slammed doors in the face of opportunity for those carrying that mark.

The book is a personal testimony – written by the daughter in the first person from the perspective of her father, Reuven – but it is also part of a larger story of the struggle of refuseniks and the lives they eventually made for themselves.

After his escape from the Soviet Union, Reuven fought in the Yom Kippur War, attained a PhD in Israel and France, and both he and his wife narrowly avoided being on the hijacked Air France flight that was the centre of the famous raid on Entebbe, Uganda.

In the preface, Reuven calls his life, “a kaleidoscope of hardships and failures.” But there are plenty of successes also.

Reuven’s parents were born in Bessarabia, in what is now Moldova. It was a highly multicultural area and they spoke German, Romanian, Yiddish, Hungarian, Ukrainian and Russian. When the Romanian fascists took over their town, the family fled, but went east to Odesa, rather than to Palestine or America.

When Germany invaded the USSR, Reuven’s father was drafted into the Red Army. His facility with languages put him in the intelligence unit and he assisted in interrogating prisoners of war. He was severely injured during a Luftwaffe bombing raid and, because he was an officer, the family was evacuated to a military hospital in Uzbekistan. There, he learned to walk again and returned to service, participating in the capture of Berlin, in March 1945. Reuven was born in Uzbekistan, in November 1945.

After the war, the family relocated to Belgorod-Dnestrovsky (now in Ukraine but under shifting sovereignty for centuries and known by at least 13 different names and transliterations over time). His father was a police officer and his mother worked 25 years in a fish cannery, which was relatively good fortune for the family in terms of providing protein, thanks to fish she smuggled out of the factory in her bra.

Eventually, they would be a family of seven, with five surviving children. At age 6, Reuven was responsible for taking care of his younger siblings all day while the parents were at work.

In response to antisemitic bullying, Reuven became a scrapper, taking his malnourished body to the gymnastics coach at school and forcing the coach, through the power of determination, to take on the unpromising-looking young Jew. As his biceps grew, the bullying receded. But the discrimination became more insidious and systemic.

In the home of a more well-off classmate, Reuven discovered books. Together, they devoured foreign works in translation, “free from Communist Party propaganda and boring Soviet patriotism.” This set Reuven on a trajectory of skepticism and dissidence that could have ended badly (and, along the way, did have bad moments – but ultimately resulted in freedom and a very successful life in the West).

Reuven’s teachers ascertained that he wasn’t a fan of the Communist Party and so he did not get a favourable reference for university. After 10th grade, he got a job at a slaughterhouse, then became an apprentice electrician. He began night school, where his facility with numbers shone and where his politics were not known and he might get a recommendation for university.

At 18, he was drafted into the military, conscripted for three years.

Eventually, the American allies of the refuseniks forced the American government to put conditions on the sale of American wheat, upon which the Soviet economy depended. The 1974 Jackson-Vanik Amendment tied trade in this necessary commodity to visas for Soviet Jews. Until then, of the several million Jews in the USSR at the time, just a few hundred had been permitted to leave.

Reuven was part of a group of about 25 Jewish youths who decided to hold a hunger strike to demand emigration. They took a petition to city hall and police soon blocked the exit. They were taken before authorities and subjected to “a long lecture on how inappropriate it was to think about leaving our Soviet paradise for Israel, that aggressor capitalist country, a puppet of America.”

When an interrogator threatened the group with imprisonment, one of the dissidents explained to the KGB officers why that was not a good idea.

“She calmly explained to him that we’d communicated with Western journalists and passed them our names and plans for the hunger strike. We’d also alerted these journalists to expect a phone call before midnight to tell them what had happened today. If we didn’t call them, they would tell the Western media about us. Katya went on to tell the colonels what would happen if we were arrested: America wouldn’t sign the contract for selling wheat to the Soviet Union, which would harm the whole country. And Moscow would come down hard on Odesa’s KGB for causing such a disaster.”

The next morning, Reuven and his family went to the government offices first thing. The entire family was granted the right to emigrate except for Reuven’s brother Fima, because he was serving in the army. But the authorities finally agreed that everyone would be allowed to emigrate after Fima’s military service. Reuven’s parents refused to abandon their son and decided that Reuven and his sister Hanna should go on ahead to Israel and the rest would follow later, which they eventually did.

Traveling through Moscow, at New Year’s 1971-’72, Reuven was put up at the apartment of a friend’s mother. There, he met Fania, who was visiting from Kyrgyzstan. She didn’t know anything about Israel and it had never crossed her mind to emigrate. A few shots of vodka in, Reuven told her he would be waiting to marry her if she ever decided to come to Israel.

“It was crazy of me to say such words – to offer marriage to the most innocent girl I ever met and one I had only known for hours – on my last evening in the Soviet Union,” he says. “Of course, I was both very stressed and excited that I was leaving the country, and I had been drinking quite a lot of vodka to relax a bit.”

That was the beginning of a happy 50-something-year marriage that continues today.

Freed of the Soviet Union’s antisemitic shackles, Reuven’s career took off. Hebrew University was looking for a Russian-speaking mathematician to teach first-year students, then he developed a curriculum for high schoolers with advanced math skills. An opportunity landed in his lap to teach at an elite Israeli school in Paris. Friends who had migrated to New York extended an invitation, which led to a side journey to Toronto, where Reuven’s career took another turn and the family became Canadian.

While they were living in Paris, Reuven was unable to attend his brother’s wedding in Israel, in June 1976, but Fania went. On his way to the airport to pick her up on her return, Reuven heard that terrorists had hijacked an Air France plane to Uganda. Reuven was beside himself. It turned out, Fania had missed the plane and was rebooked on a later El Al flight – but jammed phone lines prevented her from notifying Reuven for several days.

Jews of a certain age remember the fight for Soviet Jewry. The Rashkovskys’ book, An Improbable Life, is a story of what they were fighting for.

Rashkovsky is part of the JCC Jewish Book Festival on Feb. 24, 6 p.m., at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, along with Sasha Vasilyuk, author of Your Presence Is Mandatory, a debut novel, based on real events, about a Ukrainian World War II veteran with a secret that could land him in the Gulag, and his family who are forced to live in the shadow of all he has not told them. Visit jccgv.com/jewish-book-festival.

Krell families give to JWest

The Krell, Lewis, Kallner and Singerman families are excited their gift will help in the creation of an expanded Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. (photo by Rachel Topham)

The JWest capital campaign cabinet is grateful to Dr. Robert and Marilyn Krell and their families, Shoshana and Shawn Lewis, Simone and Howard Kallner, and Michaela and Matthew Singerman, for supporting the redevelopment of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver site. The individual gifts from each of the four couples reflect two generations equally committed to building a strong Jewish future in Vancouver.

The Krell family has deep roots in Vancouver. Marilyn’s Polish grandfather, David Davis, who arrived in 1909, was one of the founding members of Congregation Schara Tzedeck. Robert, born in Holland, was hidden during the Holocaust and, after reuniting with his parents, arrived in Vancouver at age 10, in 1951. Both Robert and Marilyn were influenced by their parents’ involvement in the synagogue and a variety of Jewish organizations.

“Vancouver is where I became a Jew,” said Robert, who participated in Habonim as a child and became actively involved with the Canadian Jewish Congress as an adult. In 1971, he and Marilyn were married by Rabbi Marvin Hier, who was Schara Tzedek’s rabbi at the time. The couple raised their three daughters, Shoshana, Simone and Michaela, in a traditional Jewish home where Shabbat was always celebrated. The Jewish values that began at home were reinforced at Vancouver Talmud Torah, Camp Hatikvah and at the JCC.

Robert, a founder of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC), mobilized the survivor community from a concept in 1983 to a reality in 1994, when the centre opened as a museum and educational institute that ignited Shoah learning in British Columbia and beyond. The Krell daughters grew up witnessing the VHEC board meetings in their living room and attending award ceremonies that recognized their parents’ contributions to a variety of Jewish organizations.

“Through their actions and deeds, they taught us that you give when you can and volunteer when you can,” Simone said.

Now with children of their own attending local Jewish institutions, the Lewis, Kallner and Singerman families have assumed leadership roles in the VHEC, VTT, Schara Tzedeck, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Jewish Community Foundation. As they saw their parents’ commitment to support JWest, they knew they were also ready to answer the call to help build a new infrastructure to support the future of the region’s Jewish community.

“We are excited to contribute to such an important and pivotal project that will be utilized and cherished not just by future generations of our Jewish community, but of the greater community as well,” said Michaela.

Her sisters expanded that idea by saying, “The JCC has played a role for five generations of our family and it shapes many of our fondest memories.”

The family is excited that their gift will also assist in the creation of an expanded Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, an institute close to their hearts and lives. Founded with a mandate of Holocaust-based anti-racism education, the VHEC welcomes more than 25,000 students, educators and members of the public each year.

While it plays a crucial role in conveying the ongoing relevance of the Shoah, this teaching museum has long been challenged by a small footprint and its limited visibility in the lower level of the JCC. JWest will protect the legacy of the VHEC by significantly increasing its square footage and visibility. The new VHEC will be visible from West 41st Avenue and will feature state-of-the-art exhibit space for permanent and rotating exhibits. It will also have dedicated research and programming space to facilitate workshops that enhance learning and engagement. Its prominent location in the JWest campus’s Arts & Culture Centre will ensure that the VHEC remains a vital presence in the community well into the future.

“The VHEC was at the forefront of our upbringing and experience and it’s a highlight to see it being incorporated as an important component of JWest,” Simone said.

Shoshana echoed those sentiments. “It’s exciting to envision the future JCC as a hub that will encompass so many important institutions,” she said. “We want a safe space to house our next generation of Jewish institutions, so there’s an urgency for us to support this project as a commitment to the future of our children, our grandchildren and the community at large.”

Alex Cristall, chair of the JWest capital campaign, had this response to the gift: “With five generations of active involvement in Vancouver’s Jewish community, the Krell, Davis, Kallner, Lewis and Singerman families continue to demonstrate the depth of their commitment through their gifts and volunteerism. Their generous gifts to JWest will secure and revitalize our Jewish institutions and we are deeply grateful for their support of this project.”

As one of the largest capital projects underway in Vancouver, JWest is only possible with the support of donors and the encouragement of the community. In the coming months, the JWest capital campaign cabinet will continue to update and advise community members on the campaign’s progress and on opportunities to contribute to its philanthropic goal of $161 million.

For a full list of JWest donors, visit jwestnow.com.

– Courtesy Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver

Unity in tough times

Thousands of rabbis pose for a group photo in front of Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn, NY, on Dec. 1. (photo by Shmulie Grossbaum/Chabad.org)

Some 6,500 Chabad rabbis and Jewish leaders from around the globe gathered Nov. 27-Dec. 1 in Brooklyn, NY, for the annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, the largest rabbinic gathering in the world.

Attending from British Columbia were Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman (Chabad Richmond), Rabbi Binyomin Bitton (Chabad of Downtown Vancouver), Rabbi Mottel Gurevitz (Tri-Cities Chabad), Rabbi Shmuel Hecht (Okanagan Chabad House), Rabbi Meir Kaplan (Chabad of Vancouver Island), Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld (BC Regional Hebrew Schools), Rabbi Bentzi Shemtov (Chabad Nanaimo and Central Vancouver Island) and Rabbi Yitzchok Wineberg (Lubavitch BC).

While the yearly conference has a celebratory feel, welcoming rabbinic leaders from Alaska to Zambia, the past year was a difficult one for the Jewish people, seeing tragedy in Israel, and elsewhere. For Jews around the globe and the family of emissaries in particular, the days just prior to the conference were especially difficult: on Nov. 25, Abu Dhabi-based Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan was buried in Israel, after being murdered by terrorists in Dubai at the age of 28.

Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, known as shluchim, are husband-and-wife teams who dedicate their lives to strengthening Jewish life in communities worldwide, often in remote locations without established Jewish infrastructure. They aim to reach both affiliated and unaffiliated Jews, welcoming Jews from all walks of life.

The annual conference, also known as the Kinus Hashluchim, unites rabbis and lay leaders from all 50 US states and more than 100 countries and territories around the world for four days of workshops, networking and spiritual uplift. The conference concludes with a gala banquet, which brings all the Chabad rabbis and their guests together in a giant conference centre in New Jersey.

The Thursday was a day of catch-ups between colleagues, as well as the first of a series of workshops on contemporary issues that ran over the weekend. Topics included disaster relief, combating hate, education, counseling and dealing with grief. Conference-goers who serve students on college campuses where Chabad has become part of Jewish life participated in a separate track, discussing issues specifically relevant to campus communities.

The Friday visit to the Ohel, in Queens, NY, the resting place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, marked the pinnacle of the conference. The emissaries came to pray for their families and communities, carrying with them countless prayer requests. Many came with handwritten letters from Jews in their hometowns and read them by the holy site. The Ohel visit culminated in the reading of the pan klali (“general letter”) that was signed by all emissaries and contained prayers for Israel, the Jewish people and humanity at large.

photo - Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis pray at the resting place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, in Queens, NY, on Nov. 29 — Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis pray at the resting place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, in Queens, NY, on Nov. 29. *(photo by Shmulie Grossbaum/Chabad.org)*

With the onset of Shabbat on Friday evening, the emissaries spent the Jewish day of rest in prayer and brotherly camaraderie, often in the company of family and friends.

Sunday morning saw the snapping of the annual “class picture” under the iconic gables of 770 Eastern Parkway, the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and perhaps the most recognizable Jewish building in the world. The photo, featuring thousands of black-hatted rabbis, represents not just an annual tradition but also the many faces of the Chabad rabbis who bring Judaism to the world, from wartorn Ukraine to the towns along Israel’s hostile borders, to anti-Israel-filled college campuses across North America, to sleepier towns in quieter places.

The capstone of the conference was the gala banquet, held at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Centre, a powerful moment of remembrance and resilience. Speakers honoured Kogan with emotional tributes that emphasized the importance of continuing their global mission. The conference linked by video with the home of Kogan’s parents in Jerusalem, where his family was sitting shiva, and all 6,500 gathered shared the traditional text of comfort with the family.

Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, chair of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch – Chabad’s educational arm – greeted the audience, sharing words of consolation with Kogan’s family and the emissaries, his “extended family,” and sending prayers for the Israeli soldiers defending the Holy Land, as well as the hostages still held in Gaza.

A video tribute was made for Rabbi Moshe Kotlarksy, the vice-chair of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, who passed away after a lengthy illness on June 4. Kotlarsky was well-known for his role in the annual Kinus Hashluchim, directing an army of planners, staff and volunteers to ensure every detail of the massive event was perfect.

Among the most inspiring presentations of the evening was that of Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff, director of Chabad for the Deaf Community in Israel, who spoke of his path to finding his Jewish self as a deaf Jew.

“The voice you hear is not mine, but the words definitely are,” he said through an interpreter. “It is hard for a deaf person to find a place within the community. Torah and mitzvah while deaf are difficult. That is why I established Chabad for the Deaf Community. There are deaf Jews and Jews with various disabilities throughout the world. Let us continue our holy work to reach out to every single one of them and inspire them, just as I was once inspired,” he said to applause.

The gathering culminated in a roll call of Chabad emissaries. The event featured multilingual welcomes from emissaries around the world, including a notable announcement that a new Chabad couple had been dispatched to Andorra, highlighting Chabad’s ongoing expansion.

The evening concluded with dancing, the assembled rabbis united in their determination to continue their mission of Jewish outreach and community building, regardless of the challenges they face.

A gift of light in winter

Thanks to Doodle the village orphan, the people of Chelm celebrated Hanukkah even during “The Long Winter of the Cabbage.” (image from reformjudaism.org)

In literature, a cabbage might be a symbol for anything and everything disagreeable. In the village of Chelm, however, a cabbage is sometimes just a cabbage.

They called it “The Long Winter of the Cabbage” and, in the village of Chelm, few people were happy. There was a food shortage – all there was to eat was cabbage. Cabbage for breakfast, cabbage for lunch, and cabbage for dinner. No one was looking forward to Hanukkah.

As Rabbi Kibbitz was heard to mutter, “A diet of cabbage may sustain, but it doesn’t make you want to sing with joy.”

Except for young Doodle, the village orphan, who honestly and truly loved cabbage, and reveled in every bite. Doodle, however, had learned to keep his appreciation for all things brassica to himself. When everyone else is miserable, they really don’t want to hear someone appreciate the things they dread.

In previous years, the villagers held a Hanukkah party in the social hall, lighting candles and then dancing, and complaining about Mrs. Chaipul’s lethal latkes.

But, this winter, the thought of Mrs. Chaipul’s latkes made from cabbage made everyone shudder. So, the Hanukkah party was canceled.

“It’s the weather,” Mrs. Chaipul said. “Too cold. Too wet. Too much snow. Too much ice. Too much wind.”

“I’ll say there’s too much wind!” said Reb Cantor, the merchant, before he withered under Mrs. Chaipul’s glare.

Reb Cantor himself was particularly unhappy. Recently, the villagers of Chelm had gotten into the habit of buying and giving gifts to each other to celebrate Hanukkah.

“They’re not Christmas presents,” explained little Shemini Schlemiel, who had come up with the idea. “They’re Hanukkah gifts!”

The problem with these Hanukkah gifts was that they had become a large part of Reb Cantor’s business. The merchant discussed this at great length with his friend Rabbi Yohon Abrahms, the school teacher, but their cabbage-addled brains devised no brilliant solution. Not even a foolish solution.

When the first night of Hanukkah arrived, with a cold wind and rain mixed with snow, that turned to muddy slush in the darkened streets, the villagers of Chelm stayed home. They shivered in front of their fires. They poked at their cabbage stews and their cabbage briskets (don’t ask).

Everyone wanted to complain, especially the children, who had become accustomed to getting presents, but nobody had the energy.

Except young Doodle, the village orphan, who had already finished a bowl of Mrs. Levitsky’s sweet and sour cabbage soup, and was about to ask for more, when he noticed the dark mood in the Levitsky house.

“What’s wrong?” Doodle asked.

“Nothing,” Martin Levitsky, the synagogue’s caretaker, said, glumly. “I’m tired of cabbage.”

“I think I’ll go to bed early,” Chaya Levitsky said, taking off her apron. “Help yourself to as much cabbage as you want.”

“But we haven’t lit the Hanukkah candles yet,” Doodle said.

“Meh.” Both Levitskys shrugged, and began making their way to their bedroom. “You do it, Doodle. We’re going to sleep.”

Now Doodle was really worried.

He ran to the window, looked outside, and saw that no other houses in the village had candles lit in their windows.

“Not again,” Doodle whispered. It was the time of year. Sometimes the cold and the dark…. Was everyone just too tired of cabbage to celebrate?

“Wait!” Doodle shouted.

This startled the Levitskys, who stopped in their tracks.

“You want us to have a heart attack, Doodle?” Reb Levitsky asked.

“No, I want you to wait two minutes while I light the Hanukkah candles.”

“All right.” Mrs. Levitsky sighed. “Go. Go already.”

Doodle ran to the cabinet and brought down the Hanukkah menorah. He set two candles, and began to sing the blessings.

At first, the Levitskys stayed quiet, but soon they began to hum.

When Doodle used the lit shammos to set the second candle’s taper alight, the Levitskys joined him.

And then, together, they all sang the words of the Shehecheyanu, giving thanks simply for being alive.

Moving quickly but carefully, Doodle set the lit menorah in the front window of the Levitskys’ house.

At that very moment, Reb Cantor the merchant happened to look out his window. As did the entire Schlemiel family.

So did Rabbi Kibbitz and Mrs. Chaipul, who had been in the middle of a three-way argument with Rabbi Yohan Abrahms. All three forgot what they had been fighting about.

Through the rain and the sleet, everyone in the village of Chelm saw the two lights burning in the Levitskys’ window.

They all fell silent. They all ran to their cupboards and shelves, got their hanukkiyahs, said or sang the blessings, and lit the candles.

Soon, there were bright lights burning in the windows of every home.

Even though it was still raining and snowing, and all there was to eat was cabbage, those small flames made everyone feel warmer. Songs were sung, children began to spin dreidels, gambling for cabbage, and a few brave souls tried to make cabbage latkes, but without much success.

That year in the village Chelm, there were no presents. The lights in the windows were gifts enough.

Izzy Abrahmson is a pen name for storyteller Mark Binder. To find out more about ‘The Long Winter of the Cabbage,’ Mrs. Chaipul and Doodle, read The Council of Wise Women. This new novel for adults is available in print, ebook and audiobook. For purchase links, visit bit.ly/council-book.

Knowing how precious life is

Lillian Boraks-Nemetz speaks at the Nov. 24 launch of her latest book, Hidden Vision: Poems of Transformation, which she wrote under the name Jagna Boraks. (photo by Rhonda Dent)

Lillian Boraks-Nemetz launched her latest book, Hidden Vision: Poems of Transformation, written under the name Jagna Boraks, at the Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery Nov. 24. Co-presented by the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre and the JCC Jewish Book Festival, the event featured Boraks-Nemetz sharing some of her poems – on themes of identity, resilience and remembrance – with musical accompaniment by Wendy Bross Stuart.

Divided into six sections, the poems in Hidden Vision travel from the Holocaust to after the pandemic, from a nadir of human experience to a zenith of hope and gratitude.

In her introduction, composed shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, Boraks writes, “Destruction is the opposite of creation. To survive in this world, in any crisis or situation, we need to strengthen ourselves and each other – spiritually. We begin by respecting ourselves and others.

“Understanding that each human life matters, and that each culture and creed are all a part of the world’s flowing river. There is greater strength in this belief than hatred and intolerance.”

The book begins in the spring of 2020, when the world was in the throes of COVID-19 and all that it brought – isolation, fright, shifts in personal and professional behaviour, and, of course, widespread sickness. In the poem “My Street,” written on March 29, 2020, Boraks confronts these issues:

“I will not wait like the brides / I will unlock my door and step outside / where the air feels fresh and crisp / breathing deeply I will begin my walk / towards life.”

Further on, she looks towards her literary influences, one of whom is Adam Mickiewicz, regarded by many as the national poet of Poland, but who also had an impact on the literature of neighbouring countries. In “The Autumn Muse,” inspired by Mickiewicz, Boraks asks: “has anyone ever written an ode / to old age – when the bird of youth / becomes time’s vulture / lurking in mid-air / its malevolent claws seeking to destroy?”

Within the later sets of poems, there is a poignant tribute to Alex Buckman, who, like Boraks-Nemetz, had been an ardent campaigner for Holocaust education in British Columbia. Buckman passed away in Warsaw in 2023 while on a March of the Living trip, where he served as a mentor to young students. In a tribute titled “In Memoriam for a Friend,” Boraks writes: “you chanted your life’s song / like the thorn bird / which sings till his heart might break / you chanted your fear of the dark / as you sang to the children / to appease their fear / as you sang to the students / to teach them lessons / of those barbaric times / when human life was cheap.…”

Despite countless social ills, personal struggles and humankind’s propensity for cruelty, Boraks ends the compilation on an upbeat note. For example, her poem “Hope” reads: “but father time in tune with God / will move the frozen earth into the sun / there – flooded by the light / a new earth will bear fruit / a new man woman and child / will behold the magic of a spring day.”

photo - The launch of Hidden Vision at the Zack Gallery drew a standing-room-only crowd — The launch of Hidden Vision at the Zack Gallery drew a standing-room-only crowd. *(photo by Rhonda Dent)*

Born in Warsaw, Boraks-Nemetz is a child survivor of the Holocaust. She lived in and escaped the Warsaw Ghetto, then hid in Polish villages under a false identity. Her family came to Canada in 1949.

Boraks-Nemetz graduated from St. Margaret’s School in Victoria, going on to study at the University of British Columbia, where she earned a bachelor of arts, then a master’s in comparative literature. Upon earning a certificate in ESL from George Brown College, she taught English, before eventually teaching creative writing at UBC’s Writing Centre, from 1980 until 2015.

Boraks-Nemetz’s previous volumes of poetry are Out of the Dark, Garden of Steel and Ghost Children. She has also penned three award-winning young adult novels: The Old Brown Suitcase, Sunflower Diary and The Lenski File. The Old Brown Suitcase was placed on the recommended reading list for BC schools.

In 2017, Boraks-Nemetz published Mouth of Truth, a novel exploring a family’s past and the trauma of the Holocaust. She has also translated the works of Polish poets Andrzej Busza (Astrologer in the Underground) and Waclaw Iwaniuk (Dark Times).

To order Hidden Vision, contact the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre at [email protected] and 604-264-0499.

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

Children in the Shoah

Left to right: Abby Wener Herlin, Lise Kirchner, Dr. Nataliia Ivchyk, Prof. Richard Menkis and Al Szajman at the community commemoration of Kristallnacht Nov. 7. (photo by Rhonda Dent)

The experiences of three Vancouver women who survived the Holocaust as children in Ukraine were highlighted at the community commemoration of Kristallnacht Nov. 7.

The event, which took place at and was co-presented by Congregation Beth Israel, marked both the 86th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom and the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC), which presents the annual commemoration. The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Robert and Marilyn Krell Endowment at the VHEC were co-presenters.

The keynote address was by Dr. Nataliia Ivchyk, associate professor in the department of political science at Rivne State University for the Humanities, in Ukraine. Ivchyk is a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia and has been studying the narratives of child survivors in the province.

About 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, while another million managed to flee before or near the beginning of the German-Soviet war, Ivchyk said.

“Genocide is ruthless, regardless of age or gender, and children are a special group of its victims,” she said. “Since children cannot fight back against their killers, they become a helpless and vulnerable group. The Holocaust claimed six million Jewish lives, 1.5 million of which were tragically children. Age became a vital marker of life or quick death for children during World War II and the Holocaust. Children were not seen as a separate group of victims, they were dependent on their parents, fathers, mothers and relatives, and so suffered and died with them too.”

Ivchyk quoted Malka Pischanitskaya, who was 10 years old when the Germans invaded her town of Romanov (now Romaniv), in Ukraine.

“I was brought into this world not by chance but I believe by destiny,” Pischanitskaya has said. “My destiny was to be born, to endure the sufferings that were yet to come.”

“During the genocide,” Ivchyk said, “Malka had no choice but to become an adult in order to survive.”

Another local survivor whose story Ivchyk told is Ilana, who asked that her last name not be shared. Ilana was born in 1938, just two years before Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Her father managed to evacuate the family, including Ilana, her sister, her mother and her maternal grandparents, to a Central Asian republic of the Soviet Union.

“Unfortunately, my father’s parents stayed in Kyiv and perished in Babyn Yar,” Ivchyk quoted Ilana, referring to the mass killing site that has become synonymous with the genocide in Ukraine. On Sept. 29 and 30, 1941, more than 33,000 Ukrainian Jews were killed, part of the genocide in eastern Europe known as the “Holocaust by bullets.”

Ilana has only fragmentary memories of the evacuation years. However, she remembered her sister, who cared for her, and her mother, who tirelessly worked to provide food, said Ivchyk.

A third local woman who survived is Esfira Golgheri.

“Esfira does not recall the journey from one ghetto to another, but she remembers her mother feeding her, which was crucial for her survival as an infant,” Ivchyk said.

“There is something that the Holocaust could not take away: memory, personal memories and stories of relatives and friends and our collective memory [that] remind us by honouring the memory of those who are no longer with us. Those who lost their lives and those who fought to defend us, we keep them alive in our hearts,” Ivchyk said. “The stories of these women are stories of childhood, family and survival in the face of genocide and displacement. Each narrative is unique and personal, yet the memories of Esfira, Malka and Ilana … are like pieces of a puzzle that help reconstruct this tragedy. In addition to piecing together the events of the war in Ukraine during the Holocaust, we have the chance to understand the tragedy through the eyes of these adult child survivors. We can touch their memories and experience their truth for ourselves.”

At the commemoration, Taleeb Noormohamed, member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville, brought greetings from the federal government.

“The fight against antisemitism is not one for Jews alone,” said Noormohamed. “Quite the opposite. It is a fight that all of us have to take on together.”

Nina Krieger, until recently the executive director of the VHEC and elected as member of the BC Legislature on Oct. 19, brought greetings from the provincial government.

“I know the premier of British Columbia and my colleagues in government join me in gratitude for the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre and Congregation Beth Israel for presenting this evening’s program to mark the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht,” Krieger said.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, accompanied by Councilor Lenny Zhou, presented a proclamation from the city marking Kristallnacht Commemoration Day.

Sim spoke of how his home had been recently vandalized and how many people at that evening’s event had expressed sympathy.

“The Jewish community sees this all the time and I should really be asking you how you are doing,” he said. “I obviously loved the community before, but you’ve captured my heart even more.”

He said his presence at Jewish community events is not about politics.

“If everyone was against us, we would still have your back. We are still here because we stand for what’s right,” Sim said.

Lise Kirchner, director of education at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Center, spoke on behalf of acting executive director Hannah Marazzi, who was out of the province, read greetings from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and acknowledged elected officials from all levels of government, including incoming and outgoing members of the BC Legislature.

“As we come together this evening to commemorate the 86th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom, we contemplate the dangers not only of state-instituted persecution and violence, but maybe more importantly the dangers of indifference,” said Kirchner. “We are reminded of the consequences of antisemitism which is not publicly condemned, especially at a time when we have seen the proliferation of this most pervasive and pernicious form of hatred around the world, across the country and in our own backyards.”

Prof. Richard Menkis, associate professor of Jewish history at the University of British Columbia, contextualized Kristallnacht as a turning point between the legislated antisemitism of the Nazi regime, notably the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, and the murderous violence of the Holocaust.

“The persecutions during and immediately after Kristallnacht resulted in the deaths of at least 90 Jews, the destruction of hundreds of synagogues, the vandalization of thousands of Jewish businesses and the imprisonment of over 30,000 Jewish men in concentration camps and elsewhere,” said Menkis.

Al Szajman, president of the Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society board, emceed the evening. Abby Wener Herlin, associate director of programs and community relations at the VHEC and granddaughter of survivors, introduced Ivchyk. Rabbi Jonathan Infeld thanked Ivchyk and reflected on her remarks. Cantor Yaacov Orzech chanted El Moleh Rachamim. Holocaust survivors lit candles at the beginning of the commemorative event.

Ivchyk spoke movingly of being welcomed into the community during her time in Vancouver.

“Coming from a wartorn country myself, you accepted me, understood me, opened the doors of your community and your homes, creating an incredibly warm and family-like environment that gave me a home away from home,” she said. “You have entrusted me with your history and the history of your families and your childhood experiences that you have kept in silence for many years. Every time you shared your stories, I could feel the sadness and pain in your eyes. You still feel for those who were taken by the Holocaust.”

Blue Rodeo is thriving at 40

A 1989 PR photo for Blue Rodeo’s Diamond Mine album. Left to right are Bazil Donovan, Bob Wiseman, Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor and Mark French. The documentary Blue Rodeo: Lost Together (left) has its world premiere at the Whistler Film Festival. (photo by Andrew MacNaughtan / bluerodeo.com)

The world premiere of Blue Rodeo: Lost Together, which gives viewers a glimpse into the rise of this iconic Canadian band, was so anticipated that the first screening of the documentary at the Whistler Film Festival sold out – a second screening has been added.

The Whistler Film Festival runs Dec. 4-8, offering several programs, including feature-length films, shorts and its “Mountain Culture” series of films, après events and Q&As. The WFF24 Content Summit, which runs Dec. 4-7 in person and Dec. 10-12 online, presents speakers, panel discussions, workshops and other opportunities to learn and connect.

Looking through the festival lineup, I came across Blue Rodeo: Lost Together and requested the screener for a few reasons. First, I grew up with Blue Rodeo’s music and knew many of their songs. Second, given the challenges of being recording and touring musicians – and Canadian to boot – I find it remarkable that the band is as popular as ever 40 years after high school friends Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor started it. Lastly, founding members included Bazil Donovan (bass), Cleave Anderson (drums) and, most interestingly from my perspective, Bob Wiseman (keyboards). Wiseman is my second cousin and, though I’ve never met him, I have always been proud to let people know that I had a relative in Blue Rodeo. Wiseman was part of the group from 1984 to 1992.

Blue Rodeo: Lost Together delicately covers the comings and goings of musicians, and the sometimes-difficult friendship and professional collaboration of Cuddy and Keelor. It is frank about the band’s challenges in becoming a commercial success, starting as it did in the era of hard rock, but also dealing with some producers who had a different vision than Cuddy and/or Keelor of what would lead to that success. It is always fascinating to see how creative people balance their very personal drive with taking other people’s feelings and opinions into consideration (or not) and the need to feed and clothe themselves.

Overall, Blue Rodeo seems to have avoided any huge drama, though marriages and partnerships were tested by the rigorous tour schedule once the group broke into the international music scene. Some member partings were clearly amicable, such as when Anderson returned to his postman job after taking a five-year hiatus to play with the band – he had a family to support and wanted to be present for them. Other separations were more fraught: Wiseman wanted to leave a good year at least before he did, his unhappiness seeming to have started – from what I understand from the documentary – with the making of the album Casino, which was released in 1990. To make Blue Rodeo fit a more market-friendly mould, so it could become popular in the United States, Wiseman’s innate energy and expressive performance style was tamped down. “That was really traumatic for me,” he says in the film.

Despite creative differences and some tough times, all the interviewees in the documentary speak of one another and their experiences with great respect and gratitude. It is uplifting to see people treating one another kindly, even as they disagree. Hopefully, it isn’t just for show. Their affection seems genuine. The bonds these musicians have created between themselves and with their listeners seem strong. With all the bad that happens in the world, this is reason enough to watch this documentary – and, if you haven’t already, check out the music of Blue Rodeo.

At press time, there were tickets left for the Dec. 8 screening of Blue Rodeo: Lost Together. Of course, the festival features many other movies during its Dec. 4-8 run, including September 5 on Dec. 5 and 8. The thriller is based on the hostage-taking of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The description reads: “At the heart of the story is Geoff, a young producer eager to prove himself to his legendary boss, Roone Arledge. Teaming with Marianne, a German interpreter, Geoff unexpectedly takes the reins of the broadcast. As tensions rise, conflicting reports swirl and the lives of the hostages hang in the balance, Geoff faces difficult decisions that test his skills and moral compass.”

For tickets to the Whistler Film Festival and the full lineup of movies, visit whistlerfilmfestival.com.

In honour of Arnold Schoenberg

The Israeli Chamber Project ensemble (PR photo)

Celebrating the 150th birth year of Arnold Schoenberg, the Israeli Chamber Project ensemble presents a semi-staged production of his expressionist cabaret Pierrot Lunaire with soprano Hila Baggio as the sad clown. Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Ravel’s La Valse complete the exploration of early 20th-century masterworks.

Two Clowns: Pierrot Meets Petrushka, presented by the Vancouver Recital Society, is at the Vancouver Playhouse this Sunday, Dec. 1, 3 p.m. For tickets, visit vanrecital.com or call 604-602-0363.

– Courtesy Vancouver Recital Society

Join Pacific Theatre in Shire

Peter Carlone, left, and Tim Carlson in Pacific Theatre’s production of The Hobbit (photo by Chelsey Stuyt)

Need a break from reality? On now at Pacific Theatre is The Hobbit, based on JRR Tolkien’s book, with all its adventure, wizardry, fantastical creatures, and more. The tale is brought to life by two actors “and a dragon’s hoard of theatre magic.”

A world premiere, Pacific Theatre’s The Hobbit was adapted by Kim Selody, with additional dialogue by Tim Carlson and Peter Carlone, the two actors who play multiple characters in the production. The Jewish Independent spoke with stage manager Julia Lank before the show opened on Nov. 15.

“We’re less than a week into rehearsal and already our performers, Tim and Peter, have made me tear up laughing with their creative solutions,” said Lank when asked what her most fun problem-solving moment had been so far. “Telling a story designed for dozens of characters with just two actors poses obvious challenges, and the entire team – including our designers – have jumped in with both feet,” she said. “The room is incredibly playful (this morning we were testing out rolling beer can ‘barrels’ down the aisles of the theatre) and our director, Laura [McLean] is also keeping the magic and wonder of Middle Earth at the forefront. The show is going to be full of surprises, and it feels great to be a part of creating something new together.”

Julia Lank, stage manager of The Hobbit. (photo from Pacific Theatre)

Lank is a self-taught stage manager, though she does have a degree in film production and worked as a first assistant director for several years, which, she said, is the film world’s equivalent of a stage manager.

“Stage management is one of those niche jobs that won’t be on a high school career counselor’s radar, but it’s perfect for me – a mix of technical theatre magic, caretaking, and lots of spreadsheets,” she said. “If you’re interested in how the theatrical sausage gets made and you’re unflappable, stage management might be for you.”

Lank’s recent credits include other Pacific Theatre (PT) productions (Gramma and The Cake), as well as Tuck Everlasting (Arts Umbrella), On Behalf (Fringe), L’Elisir d’Amore (Burnaby Lyric Opera), Jasper in Deadland (Awkward Stage) and City of Angels (the PIT Collective), among others.

“I worked as PT’s marketing assistant and later marketing director from 2017 to 2023,” she said. “I left last June to pursue stage management full-time, but I consider Pacific a theatre home and love the work and people there dearly. I’m also a self-taught marketer, but it’s easy to advocate for an artistic space when you genuinely believe in the work they’re doing. Many of my favourite theatre experiences, both behind the scenes and as an audience member, have been at PT.”

How she prepares for a new project differs, but, in general, she said, “I like to familiarize myself with the script and score well before a show begins so I can anticipate areas that may need extra support or take more time to come together. The director will be doing this work, too, and you want to be in the best possible position to help them execute their vision. And you definitely don’t want to be in a position where you didn’t realize there was going to be a live goat onstage until the first read.”

A good follow-up question would have been whether Lank was referring to The Hobbit when talking about an acting goat, but the JI missed that opportunity. Instead, we asked about how The Hobbit fits into Pacific Theatre’s aspiration “to delight, provoke and stimulate dialogue by producing theatre that rigorously explores the spiritual aspects of human existence.”

“Tolkien was famously opposed to religious allegorical readings of his work, but the Pacific Theatre community has a fondness for his work that stems from his personal religious background,” explained Lank. “Regardless, if you’re a person of faith or not, I think the values of compassion, the rejection of greed and needless violence in favour of communal care and quiet contentment and imagination in this interpretation of the story make Hobbit a perfect PT show.”

As for Lank, she was raised in the local Jewish community and attends Or Shalom.

“Judaism honours my curiosity and taught me that questioning a system can only improve it,” she said. “My Jewish identity calls me to care for the vulnerable, stand up for communities whose voices have been suppressed, and honour the natural world. It’s very important to me.”

Turning back to less serious matters, Lank said of The Hobbit: “It’s going to be a marvelous, silly, scary adventure – you’ll be very welcome to join us in the Shire.”

The Hobbit runs to Dec. 21 at Pacific Theatre. Performance times are Wednesday-Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; and Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. For tickets, which start at $20, visit pacifictheatre.org or call 604-731-5518.

Security through peace

Noa in conversation with Rabbi Dan Moskovitz at Temple Sholom Oct. 30. (screenshot)

Israeli singer/songwriter and peace activist Achinoam Nini (Noa) was in British Columbia recently to do a Vipassana meditation. While here, she stopped at Temple Sholom Oct. 30 for a conversation with Rabbi Dan Moskovitz (which is on YouTube) and at Congregation Emanu-El Nov. 4 for a talk with Rabbi Harry Brechner.

Noa was born in Israel in 1969. She’s the fifth generation of her family in Israel, their presence dating back to the mid-1800s. They immigrated from Yemen.

“They came because they were persecuted at the time and they came to the only place they knew, that their heart drew them to, and that was Jerusalem and the Kinneret,” she said. “That was the two places. They walked across the desert and took boats and were smuggled by Bedouins. It’s a very dramatic story, how the family made it to the Holy Land.”

Noa’s father got a scholarship to study at the University of Rochester, so she spent the first couple of years of her life in Rochester, NY.

“When I went into first grade, my family moved to the Bronx, NY. My dad was now doing his PhD in Columbia University. And my parents decided to send my brother and I to yeshivah…. I was the only dark-skinned kid in the school, the only Israeli kid in the school, the only family that didn’t live in something that looked like a mansion.

“My way of dealing was in two ways,” said Noa. “First, fortunately, I was a gifted student, so I had a scholarship to school that helped my parents…. And music. I started writing songs at a very young age…. I was interested in physics and mathematics, I loved history. I wanted to go to Harvard and do a PhD in physics and history, but that didn’t happen, obviously. Music … chose me.”

At age 17, on a summer vacation in Israel, Noa met a soldier on leave.

“I went back home,” she said. “I told my parents, I’m making aliyah. I said, you raised me to be a Zionist. We love Israel. I want to live in Israel.”

To this day, Noa is married to that man (Asher Barak, now a medical specialist and entrepreneur), and they have three children, two of whom are in the Israel Defence Forces, one in service, the other in the reserves.

Noa did her army service in a military entertainment unit, then started her music career. While at the Rimon School of Music, she met Gil Dor, who was one of her teachers. “He’s an extraordinary and amazing, brilliant musician and we’ve been working together now for 34 years,” said Noa.

They caught the attention of guitarist Pat Metheny, who produced Noa’s first album and brought it to David Geffen, who then signed Noa at Geffen Records.

“I started performing abroad and foreign journalists started asking me my opinion about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and I’m like, I’m an artist, I don’t speak about things like that, don’t ask me questions like that.”

But she didn’t feel good about not responding. “And so, I started learning more and reading more and I became more and more depressed,” she said. “And then came Yitzchak Rabin and he started talking about peace. And I was like, yes, this is great!”

A believer in the Oslo Accords, Noa was the only leading Israeli musician to agree to perform at the peace rally where Rabin was murdered.

“I saw Rabin and I hugged him … and I walked down the stairs. Ten minutes later, he walked down the stairs and was killed…. I remember the rush and the cry and everybody running, and panic, and myself running and pushing to see what had happened,” Noa shared. “It was a trauma. I haven’t recovered, absolutely not. I haven’t recovered – and neither has Israel.”

At that moment, said Noa, “I said, OK, well, if this guy just paid with his life for our future, the future of Israel, the future of my children, then I, too, can do something. And then, maybe, I’ll pay a price and that’ll be OK because it’s the right thing to do. And that’s when I started becoming an activist for peace.”

There were two other life-changing events for Noa in the 1990s. She was invited to sing at the Vatican for Pope John Paul II and she was asked to write the lyrics and sing the theme song of the film Life is Beautiful (La Vita e Bella), which won an Oscar.

Among her many achievements, Noa represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009. She did so with Palestinian-Israeli singer/songwriter Mira Awad. “I wrote a song called ‘There Must Be Another Way,’ and we sang it in English, Hebrew and Arabic,” said Noa. “It made a lot of waves around the world and I have to say that, until today, it is taught in schools around the world.”

She related a story about that experience.

“Mira, her mother is from Bulgaria and her father is Palestinian. She’s quite fair-skinned, with green eyes. My family is from Yemen…. I’m an Arabic Jew. And so, when we sat in front of media, I remember there was one day where they had BBC Iran, they had Al Jazeera, they had all kinds of media…. All the Arab media immediately came up to me in Arabic and to her in English, [assuming] she’s the Jew. And so, I told them, you see, that is the role of art – our role is to shake you up a little. You think you understand everything. Maybe you don’t. Maybe there’s another way of looking at it…. You can’t think that you understand everything about everything. No, it’s not black and white. And that’s, of course, very relevant to where we are today.”

That said, there has been progress towards peace, she contended.

“There’s a huge polemic about whether there should be or there shouldn’t be a Palestinian state,” she admitted, “but there is a conversation being had about it…. In the past, it was not even talked about at all. It was underground.”

She also pointed to the many organizations that work with and/or are staffed by Arabs and Jews. Noa is on the boards of the Arava Institute and the Umm el-Fahem Museum of Art, for example. She’s also involved with the Parents Circle – Families Forum.

“The world in general is not a great place for people who believe in peace right now,” she acknowledged. “I think that we are under attack by forces, if you like, forces of darkness from everywhere. But, like I always say, that’s not reason enough not to continue raising the voice…. I believe in peace. I don’t see any other way to live. Has the peace camp changed? It has transformed in many ways.”

She gave the example of a WhatsApp group called Voices of Solidarity. She said a lot of young people are doing things – “it’s either art, it’s underground theatre, it’s alternative music.” She mentioned the organization Standing Together.

“Yitzhak Rabin, when he started talking to [Yasser] Arafat, the terrorist, everyone was like, what, no way, forget it. Seventy-five percent of the Israeli public were against any kind of interaction with Palestinians but then he came [along] with his charisma and his leadership and his integrity and his honesty and his track record, and he started saying, we’re going to be doing this and this is the right thing and this is for Israel’s future, for our children, we’ve made enough wars…. And then, it was like a month later, the entire public opinion, it shifted towards being positive about the chances for peace.”

That could happen again. A change in circumstances, a particular leader’s personality, the right timing, she said.

For Noa, Israel is in a worse situation now than immediately after Oct. 7.

“The hostage situation … is a nightmare beyond words. I go every week, sometimes I go twice a week, three times a week, to stand with them [the families and others calling for the hostages to be brought home]…. They’re desperate. I don’t know how they are still sane…. And the fact that that their children are still there [in Gaza], that they haven’t been brought back, that not everything has been done to bring them back, is not anything that Israel will ever recover from.”

She is appalled that the government is still in power.

“Not only did they not resign,” she said, “they then turned around to blame everybody that saved Israel, including Brothers and Sisters in Arms, including all the organizations that volunteered, [and] to blame the hostage families for daring to want their children back…. It’s beyond words.”

She advised diaspora Jews to distance themselves from the government: “separate the Israeli government from the Israeli people, it’s not the same thing,” she said.

“If you are going to look at a lot of consistent polls, you’ll see that people – even people that voted for the present government – feel betrayed by what the government has eventually done. They don’t understand how the government is not taking responsibility. They don’t understand how the dictatorship coup keeps moving forward when we’re in such a stressful situation. They don’t understand how our relationship with the entire world has come to a complete collapse under the auspices of this government. The Israeli government right now is the enemy of the Israeli people. And you can say that…. We support the Israeli people, we support the country of Israel, but we do not support the government of Israel.”

She warned of the dangers extremists pose in any country, and asked people to “strengthen the moderates in civil society in any way you can.”

She added, “Throughout history, countries have fallen into terrible situations of leadership. Italy, my favourite country in the world after Israel, became a fascist country at some point, with Mussolini, and there was Franco [in Spain] and there were other people, other countries that came into [similar] situations. Does that delegitimize the country? No. It means that a certain combination of events led to the fact that a country was now held hostage by leadership that did not work in her benefit. That is what is happening right now to Israel, and we have to work through it together with the help of our friends, and you are our friends.”

Noa doesn’t just fault the Israeli government. “In my opinion,” she said, “everybody in the region is to blame for the horrible situation we’re in. Nobody made the efforts. The leadership did not make efforts to make peace, not Israeli leadership, definitely not Palestinian leadership.”

She believes Israel had to defend itself after Oct. 7.

“What were we supposed to do? Sit around [twiddling our thumbs] while our kids were being massacred and our women were being raped? Yes, Israel needed to go in. The war was legitimate. But – it was legitimate to the extent that there was a plan. There needs to be a plan. Say, we have to fight, but now, let’s see, we’ve attacked, we’ve retaliated, we’ve done this, we’ve shown that, we’re there for our people. But we have to bring the hostages back…. Second, we have to see, who are our allies? We’re a small country, we’re nine million people – whoa, we want to attack the entire world? No. Who are our allies? Who are our friends? How can we start progressing towards a solution to this? Not endless warfare. Who are the people that want to talk to us? The UAE, the Saudis, the Americans, the Europeans, let’s reach out to them. This is what the Israeli government should have done immediately.”

While acknowledging that Israel needs a strong army, Noa said, “at the same time, parallel institutions need to come in and do their job, the diplomatic job, to reach out to our friends … and make sure that Israel is secure. Our security will come with peace, only with peace, and we have to look at this as an opportunity to make peace. And are there partners? There are.”

She said, “As a woman who lives in Israel, loves Israel and sends her kids to the army…. We need to be able to look forward to a time when we will not be sending our children to the army. Is it possible? Yes.”