Camp Solomon Schechter’s Spark event in Vancouver on May 4 honours the Siegel family’s generational connections to the camp.(photo from campschechter.org)
Once again, Camp Solomon Schechter (CSS) is hosting one of its three annual Schechter Spark events in Vancouver – on May 4, at the Tap & Barrel Bridges location on Granville Island.
The fundraising and community-building events hosted by the camp each year run simultaneously in Vancouver, Seattle and Portland – the camp’s main hub cities. This year’s Schechter Spark will honour three families – one tied to each location – who have generational connections to the camp. In Vancouver, former Beth Tikvah and Beth Israel spiritual leader Rabbi Howard Siegel, Ellen Siegel and their growing family will be celebrated.
Rabbi Siegel, originally from Spokane, Wash., first attended CSS in 1961, when it was located on Whidbey Island. His experiences there led him down a path toward the Conservative rabbinate, a Jewish family and a life of Jewish service that took him to Vancouver, as well as many communities in the United States. In 1968, he convinced his then-girlfriend, Ellen Kushner, to join him as a camp counselor. The couple returned again to CSS in 1970, this time at its new (and current) Tumwater, Wash., location – Howard as educational director and Ellen as camp nurse.
Ellen Siegel credits the camp for helping her perfect her independence as a health practitioner, while Howard Siegel built his future rabbinate under the mentorship of Portland’s Rabbi Joshua Stampfer and Vancouver’s Rabbi Wilfred Solomon.
The Siegels’ three children also attended CSS and their oldest daughter, Ronit, began her relationship with husband Tadd Berger while they were summer staff together in the 1990s. Naturally, they sent their three children to CSS, and all three have been both campers and staff.
The Seattle and Portland Sparks will recognize the Schiller families and Atkins families, respectively, with more than 500 participants expected to attend between the three locations.
“As we celebrate another year of impact, Spark is a time to honour our past, celebrate our present and invest in our future,” said CSS executive director Zach Duitch. “We look forward to gathering with our beloved community to share stories, laughter and our collective commitment to Jewish camping.”
Camp Solomon Schechter has been a cornerstone of Jewish life in the Pacific Northwest for more than 70 years. Spark endeavours to embody the spirit of camp, bringing its values to life through an evening of joy, generosity and togetherness.
Schechter Spark in Vancouver is a free event with online registration, and will include appetizers, drinks and a few camp-style special presentations. For more information or to register, visit campschechter.org/spark or contact Leah Conley, lconley@campschechter.org.
Left to right: Head of school Seth Goldsweig, former head of school Perry Seidelman, deputy head of school Alex Monchamp, head custodian and building manager Jess Sabado and former head of school Russ Klein at a February gathering of alumni to celebrate 20 years of KDHS on Willow Street. (photo from KDHS)
On May 14, with a party at Congregation Beth Israel, King David High School celebrates 20 years since it opened its doors on Willow Street.
“It’s a real blessing,” said KDHS head of school Dr. Seth Goldsweig about having a Jewish high school in the community.
“Study after study shows that the most effective way to develop and maintain Jewish identity is to go to Jewish day school,” he said. “Our students can continue to develop their Jewish identities and turn into the Jewish leaders of tomorrow.
“We have a high school that stands up to the other amazing independent schools in the area,” he added. “This means that students can have a top-notch Jewish education combined with a rigorous and enriching academic experience. They get the best of both worlds.”
Goldsweig is KDHS’s third head of school, having started the position last fall, after Russ Klein retired. Klein was at the helm from 2008 to 2024.
“In this job, I found a community that I didn’t know I had,” Klein told the Independent last year, as his tenure was winding down. “That was beyond special. I really do think of this job, this position really, as a gift.”
Klein had taken over the position after Perry Seidelman retired.
In 2001, Seidelman was hired as principal of Vancouver Talmud Torah High School – one of the iterations on the path that led from Maimonides High School, which was started in the 1980s, to KDHS. With 30 years prior experience and his approach to education, he was a key to the successful establishment of King David.
“Without Perry, there would be no school,” Larry Goldstein, president of the Jewish high school during the transition period, says in The Scribe’s Jewish Education in BC issue. “It’s as simple as that. Perry gave the credibility to other parents.”
“With growing interest in the school, a decision was made to build a permanent structure with financing from the Diamond Foundation,” Seidelman writes in The Scribe, which is the journal of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia. “It was to be built on a property at the southeast corner of 41st Avenue and Willow Street, directly across Willow Street from the Jewish Community Centre. Extensive discussions were held with the JCC administration, as intentions were to use the JCC for some programs, notably the JCC gymnasium for PE classes and the Norman [& Annette] Rothstein Theatre for drama productions.”
As enrolment grew, Alex Monchamp, who had been a teacher at the high school since its Maimonides days, was hired as vice-principal, according to The Scribe. Monchamp now holds the title of deputy head of school.
“I joined King David in July 2001,” Monchamp told the Independent. “I’d only been living in the city for a few months, and I saw a small newspaper ad for a small independent school looking for a half-time English and drama teacher. It was my first teaching job in BC!”
When asked why KDHS has proven successful, while previous versions of the high school struggled, Monchamp said, “I think the main turning point was the year I started, and the school had its biggest Grade 8 class, which I think was 25 or 26 students. Those connected to the school and who were vital in its foundation and ongoing viability made a real concerted effort to engage with the community and make a case for the importance and need for a sustainable Jewish high school. However, the real risk, the real investment, was when those Grade 8 families, and the families that came after, invested their most important resource – their children – in our school.
“When our families started to see that need and started to trust in the school, it allowed the school to grow and become more stable,” said Monchamp. “Stability turned into slow but steady growth, to more students, more teachers, and then our home on Willow Street. However, the building itself did not cement our future – it was also the school’s investment in good leadership and dedicated teachers that secured the future we enjoy today.”
Then-student Nicole Grubner and Gordon Diamond at the 2005 inauguration of the KDHS building on Willow Street. (photo from KDHS)
When Monchamp joined the high school, there were fewer than 70 students, programming was limited and there was no permanent school building, he said. Growth has occurred in multiple areas.
“There are obvious measures, like our student population is over 270 students, we have a vibrant arts program, a strong athletic program and our programming offers our students many ways to explore what they know, what they can do and who they’ll become,” said Monchamp. “All of that happens because we continue to have a team of outstanding teachers and dedicated adults who work extremely hard.
“The ultimate measure is not where our students go to university, the grades they earn or even how many of them are in the building each day,” he added. “There are bigger schools, there’s no shortage of kids going to university and no one is ever going to care what your math mark was in Grade 10. The true measure is that our students discover and develop their capabilities, figure out who they are and what it means for them to be Jewish in this world. In a world of uncertainty and change, our students have the capability to adapt and grow and the values and foundation to be a good person.”
KDHS’s director of development, Esther Mogyoros, who has worked at the school for the past 11 years, echoed Monchamp’s belief that there is more than one component to the school’s growth.
“Over the years,” she said, “King David has grown not only in student enrolment but also in its physical presence, thanks to the expansion of the east campus, made possible by the generosity of the Diamond Foundation and our supportive community. Our reputation has been built on a strong foundation of chesed programs, regular volunteer initiatives, and active participation in celebrations and community events. We take pride in nurturing students who not only excel academically but also continue their educational journeys and give back to the community long after graduation.”
Both Mogyoros and Monchamp said the best part of their jobs is when they connect with others.
“Connecting with students, parents, grandparents and the community at large,” said Mogyoros. “Building relationships and sharing my passion for Jewish education, Israel and the importance/impact of King David in the community.”
“The best part is when I can connect with a student, chat, find out more about them and then, if I can, find ways that I can support them,” said Monchamp. “It doesn’t happen nearly enough in a typical day, but I love it when it does.”
One of Monchamp’s standout moments at the school is when KDHS would take the Grade 9 students to Washington, DC, every spring to visit the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“We’d spend a full day at the USHMM, which is a lot, and our students always came away with information or artifacts they hadn’t encountered before and at times it was very emotive,” he said. “The trip also included a day at many of the Smithsonian Institution museums. It was always a treat to watch the kids see real historical items, like the Wright brother’s plane, the ruby shoes from The Wizard of Oz or Prince’s guitars. History is always more relevant to kids if they can get up close to it and connect to their own stories and memories.”
Over the past 20 years, there have been challenges, notably, the pandemic.
“There was so much unpredictability and an immeasurable amount of learning we had to do on the fly,” said Monchamp of that time. “Despite the numerous challenges, it is moments like that which demonstrate what our school is all about. The overarching goal was what it has always been: putting our students first. And when that was our guiding principle, we figured out the rest…. It was also vital that our families trusted us. Before, during and after COVID, we have consistently demonstrated to our families that we take our role in their children’s growth very seriously and that we always perform in ways that support and benefit their growth.”
“Throughout those difficult years,” said Mogyoros, “our school’s resilience and compassion shone through – not only in maintaining academic standards but also in supporting one another emotionally during a time of unprecedented uncertainty.”
Monchamp hopes the school continues on its current path, becoming “a student-centred learning environment.
“Learning is an active experience and is most successful when students are actively engaged and can apply what they know and can do to their own experiences and contexts,” he said. “We have already seen the tremendous benefit of this shift. It’s what is keeping our school competitive and on par with other Vancouver independent schools and it’s setting up our students for their future successes.”
The King David High School Class of 2019 celebrates graduation. (photo from KDHS)
“Our goal,” said Mogyoros, “is to empower students to be confident in their identities, excel in their chosen paths, and take pride in their Jewish heritage, traditions and love for Israel. We strive to inspire them to make a meaningful difference in the world around them.”
JWest is central to the high school’s future. The three-phase development project at 41st Avenue and Oak Street will see the construction of a much-expanded JCC, a new home for KDHS and two residential towers.
“Having a new building where we can continue to develop our programming, where we can engage our students and where we can host real ‘home games’ in our own gym in front of as many students and parents as possible is incredibly important,” said Monchamp. “The school is still very young and a new facility will allow it to continue to shape its identity. Additionally, our community can continue to take pride in the school and all of the many interconnected Jewish organizations in the city. I think the symbolism of one large, proud hub for the Jewish community sends not only a very strong message, but, more importantly, a unified message, one which the community can use as a foundation for its future.”
Mogyoros agrees.
“A larger campus will open doors to more programs, providing students with enhanced opportunities for learning, creativity and personal development,” she said. “We are especially excited about the addition of more space and new sports fields, which will enrich our athletic and extracurricular offerings and foster a vibrant, dynamic environment for our students.”
“We want to see the school continue to grow,” said Goldsweig. “Next year, we will be the biggest we have ever been. So many families have chosen to give their kids a Jewish high school education. We are so appreciative and hope that many more continue to make the same decision.”
The head of school says he has been warmly welcomed into the community, with Friday night dinner invitations every Shabbat, “an amazing staff,” a board that “has been supportive every step of the way,” and parents who “are dedicated to the success of the school and their children.
“The most impressive group of all has been the students,” Goldsweig said. “They are so inspiring, and I know our future is in good hands.”
To attend the May 14 gala, participate in the silent auction (which launches April 29), buy raffle tickets or donate to King David High School, visit goldenthreadgala.com.
A Night of Resilience, held at UBC Hillel House March 27, was emceed by students Samantha Schwenger and Izaiah Isaac. (photo from Hillel BC)
Jewish students, allies and community members packed the second-floor social hall at the University of British Columbia’s Hillel House March 27 for A Night of Resilience. It was a celebration of the determination and tenacity of students since the Oct. 7 terror attacks and the spike in antisemitism on campuses.
The evening was emceed by Izaiah Isaac, a third-year student studying forest biology, and Samantha Schwenger, a third-year cellular and molecular neuroscience student. They expressed solidarity with the hostages and the broader Israeli population.
“Tonight, we gather here at Hillel to honour more than just achievements,” said Isaac. “We are here to pay tribute to something far deeper – to the resilience of Jewish students, their unwavering courage and their relentless pursuit of justice in a world that has felt, at times, unbearably heavy.”
“In the past year-and-a-half, Jewish students across British Columbia have been faced with an unimaginable reality,” Schwenger said. “The war in Israel, beginning on Oct. 7, brought with it a wave of violence and sorrow that impacted not only our families, but our very sense of security. And, in its wake, antisemitism surged, leaving Jewish students on campuses everywhere to bear the brunt of hatred, fear and division.”
Rabbi Kylynn Cohen, Hillel’s senior Jewish educator, spoke of the strength she has seen among students.
“We are always living Torah and our students have truly exemplified that in the past 17 months,” she said. “I have watched you grieve, pray, teach, love, protest, rally and get up every day … to fight the violence, gaslighting and antisemitism which has been coming at you from all sides. It is truly an honour to celebrate you tonight.”
Ohad Gavrieli, executive director of Hillel BC, spoke of the changed climate on campuses after Oct. 7, 2023.
“One by one, students started showing up at Hillel, some in tears, some shaken, all looking for support,” he said. “They came not only because of the violence and devastation inIsrael, but because the atmosphere on campus was already starting to change. Their [teaching assistants] were praising the massacre, their classmates were posting support for Hamas. The shift was fast and it wasn’t subtle. Now, it’s almost 18 months later and we’re still in it. It’s not over.”
Ohad Gavrieli, executive director of Hillel BC, was one of the speakers during the March 27 event. (photo from Hillel BC)
He noted that the UBC student union had endorsed a student strike for Palestine, part of a larger trend that, he said, has “left Jewish and Zionist students feeling unsafe and unwelcome.”
“Despite all of it, our students didn’t back down,” said Gavrieli. “They continue to speak up. The strength and resilience of our students should make everyone in this room proud. We have leaders here, we have a future in students who are brave, grounded and unwilling to be pushed aside. At Hillel, we do everything we can to stand with them, to be their Jewish home away from home, a place of strength, a place of safety and a place they are never alone. Tonight is about them. It’s about all of you who made this evening possible, as well, and those who stood with Hillel and our students through it all.”
Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, lauded students, as well as the staff and lay leadership of Hillel.
“This is such an incredible evening that I wish we didn’t have to do,” he said. “I wish that you, as students, were not going through what you’re going through. The hostile environment that’s being created for you here on this campus and on campuses across BC is unacceptable and your courage is incredibly, incredibly inspiring.”
The event featured the presentation of Maccabee Awards to students from campuses throughout the province.
Shanken presented a Maccabee to Simon Fraser University student Yael Toyber, who Shanken noted is also the recipient of Federation’s 2024 Young Leadership Award.
“This student fights for justice not through confrontation, but through education – using their creativity and insight to create educational materials that are accessible and compelling,” he said.
Toyber’s work with StandWithUs and their leadership of the Jewish Students’ Association, Shanken said, has made her instrumental in strengthening the Jewish community at SFU.
Gavrieli presented the award to UBC student Rachel Seguin, who he credited for her contributions to the Israel on Campus group, and as “a bold voice for Jewish students, ensuring that our community stands proud.”
“This student has bravely stepped into conversations with UBC administration to address antisemitism, ensuring that Jewish students feel heard and valued,” said Gavrieli.
Gordon Brandt, president of the board of Hillel BC, recognized University of Victoria student Audrey Gaulin, who he called “a force to be reckoned with.”
“Beyond Hillel,” Brandt said, Gaulin has “stepped into leadership roles as a Common Ground Ambassador with Allied Voices for Israel and as a director-at-large with the University of Victoria Student Society.”
Ellie Sherman, Hillel BC’s director of student life, presented an award to Langara College student Ethan Doctor.
Doctor is a Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC) Fellow, an active member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, and “a champion for the Jewish community,” said Sherman. In his role as the Western Canada representative for the J7 Working Group on Campus Antisemitism, he has “amplified student voices, pushing for meaningful change at both local and national levels.”
Ishmaeli Goldstein, Hillel’s campus advocacy specialist, recognized Roman Chelyuk with an award for allyship. Chelyuk is a senior fellow with CJPAC and an Emerson Fellow with StandWithUs, treasurer of Israel on Campus (IOC) and a past executive of the Ukrainian Club, who has “shown a deep commitment to standing with the Jewish community.”
Andy Gitelson, campus support director from Hillel International, attended the event from Portland, Ore., and presented the second Allyship Award to UBC student Zara Nybo.
“As the president of IOC, a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow, a CJPAC Fellow and a Campus Media Fellow with Allied Voices for Israel and Honest Reporting Canada, this person has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to using their voice to advocate for the Jewish community,” said Gitelson, who credited Nybo with being a powerful voice on social media, raising awareness, sparking important conversations, “and defend[ing] the Jewish community time and time again.”
Jewish students, allies and community members packed the second-floor social hall at the University of British Columbia’s Hillel House March 27 for A Night of Resilience. (photo from Hillel BC)
Yael Segal, a UBC alumna and co-founder of the Justin and Yael Segal Family Fund, presented the Kehilah Award to Jacoba Moscovitz. The award celebrates students who demonstrate leadership and dedication to the Jewish community by going above and beyond to support their fellow students, foster a sense of belonging and contribute to building a home for Jewish students on campus.
Segal credited Moscovitz as “a familiar and welcoming presence at UBC – somebody who helps others feel at ease and contributes to an inclusive atmosphere.… In many ways, this student has acted as the glue, bringing people together. As a member of the Jewish Students’ Association executive team and [as] a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow, they’ve also taken on leadership roles that strengthen Jewish life on campus. This student also bravely stepped up to be in ongoing conversations about antisemitism with UBC administration, and continues to work hard to ensure Jewish students are welcome and safe at UBC.”
Talia Chivo, Hillel’s lead campus professional at the University of Victoria, presented a second Kehilah Award to Bea Banack Tapia.
“This individual has a gentle way of listening to those around them,” said Chivo. “They take the time to connect one-on-one with so many members of our community and offer support and genuine friendship. Behind the scenes, they’ve put countless hours into making sure things run smoothly. Their dedication isn’t always loud, but it’s felt by everyone around them.”
Tina Malka, director of antisemitism research and education at Hillel International, traveled to the event from San Diego.
A Night of Resilience took place as the academic term concluded, marking the second year of unparalleled anti-Israel activism and antisemitic agitation on campuses. Speakers repeatedly credited students with the courage to confront the challenges facing them.
Itamar Manoff and Adi Burton, co-directors of the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture, whose vision respects centre’s history. (photo from Peretz Centre)
Adi Burton and Itamar Manoff became co-directors of the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture last summer. The Independent recently spoke with them about their relatively new positions and the secular humanist Jewish organization’s 80th anniversary this year.
Both Burton and Manoff acknowledge that they arrived at their new roles last year during a tense and uncertain time in the Jewish community. Still, they are bolstered by the vibrancy, solidarity and support that have been present at Peretz for a long time.
“Learning how to do this job is learning how not to think that you need to reinvent the wheel, but actually opening up to the amazing activity and cultural richness that exists here – and finding a way to balance out the diverse needs of this fascinating and unique community while also making space for newness,” Burton said.
Burton and Manoff are simultaneously welcoming new members and ideas to Peretz and carrying on long-standing traditions, such as the focus on Yiddish culture. Further, they are sharing the history of the centre, which is steeped in a commitment to social justice, peace activism and the integration of the Jewish and broader communities.
“Like all Jewish organizations, there is always a lively debate about what Peretz is and can be,” Burton said. “As a community, we constantly rethink and renew culture through these conversations, which shows up in our celebrations of holidays, in our classes and lectures, and community events, [and] everyone is welcome to participate in this process of recreation.”
In 1945, the founders of Peretz – socialists, communists and capitalists, among them – envisaged a place where Jewish and Yiddish culture could be preserved and cultivated. The centre, in its current location on Ash Street, is a home to the riches of that history: the Kirman Yiddish Library, photographs, recipe books, music, and stories of Jewish life in Vancouver over the past eight decades.
In the last 10 years, Peretz has lost three of its pillars: Sylvia Friedman, Claire Osipov and, just this month, Gallia Chud. As well, the centre is still recovering from the pandemic, which reduced in-person participation. A main task in the eyes of Burton and Manoff is to ensure that the legacies of past generations continue.
“We’re lucky that there are so many people of different ages and backgrounds who are committed to Peretz – often working tirelessly in the background and with little to no support – and who keep us thriving,” Manoff told the Independent.
Burton and Manoff praised Donna Becker and Iosif Gershtein, two Peretz stalwarts who have been driving forces within the centre for more than 20 years.
Becker, they said, brings a deep understanding of Yiddishkeit, music, progressive politics, programs and event coordination, and extraordinary administrative skills.Gershtein provides a comprehensive knowledge of the building, an unsurpassed work ethic and a treasure trove of idioms and expressions, they said.
“We appreciate the chance to work with and learn from them,” Burton said. “Each brings a unique perspective and experience to the work that constantly inspires us to revisit our assumptions and act with greater care and respect for others.”
The Peretz Centre, according to Burton and Manoff, prioritizes diversity. It sees the LGBTQ+ community as an important part of its membership, they said, and the organization also opens its doors to interfaith and intercultural individuals and families.
“We keep a radically open definition of what it means to be a part of Jewish life, which, as a secular Jewish organization, we’re grateful to be in the position to do,” Manoff said.
The new directors say the city is entering an exciting period of growth for Jewish and Yiddish culture. There has been a marked increase in renewals and new members this past year, they said.
On the education front, Peretz offers beginning and intermediate Yiddish classes and a Yiddish history course. Musically, there are klezmer-related events, the Jewish Folk Choir, and Yiddish dance classes with Claudia Bulaievsky.There have been performances and lectures from well-known artists in the Yiddish music world.
“We’re excited to expand our arts and culture programming, including a few really innovative theatre productions and a film project on four amazing women who were among the founders of the Peretz,” said Burton. “We’re also especially enthusiastic about reviving our programs for youth. Our p’nei mitzvah program provides a pluralistic, non-dogmatic Jewish cultural education for young people aged 10-13 and helps them reimagine the traditional bar mitzvah rite of passage.”
When the Peretz Centre’s executive director position was announced last spring, Burton and Manoff applied together. Both have been involved in nonprofit, social and academic projects and organizations for many years.
“We draw confidence from each other because we hope that, together, we can bring and represent the spirit of friendship and community that has room for difference (makhloket) and strives towards peace,” Manoff said.
During this anniversary year, the relatively new leaders are striving to pay homage to and strengthen connections with those who have been at the Peretz Centre for a long time. They stress that their goal is to make sure that the longstanding traditions at Peretz flourish.
“It’s always such a wonderful experience to see how much is happening in the community and how much has been happening for such a long time, in such creative and independent ways,” Manoff said.
Both Burton and Manoff view the Peretz Centre as a place where people from different walks of Jewish life can come together and explore important questions of identity, history, culture, language, belonging and politics, in a safe and respectful environment – one, they say, that is needed in a time of disconnection and upheaval.
Healing Space has treated more than 20,000 people since it began in response to the trauma caused by the Oct. 7 terror attacks and the ensuing war. (photo from Healing Space)
“It’s important to talk about it because there are still hostages who have been living Oct. 7 every day for over a year-and-a-half. It’s important to talk about it because antisemitism around the world is growing stronger, and there are people who deny or justify the horrors we went through that day. This is not a political matter – it’s a matter of humanity. It’s about human lives,” Raz Shifer, a survivor of Hamas’s horrific terror attack on the Nova music festival, told the Independent.
Shifer, who lives in Giv’atayim, Israel, will be joining Vancouver’s community Yom Hazikaron ceremony on April 29 and Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration on April 30. Another Nova survivor, Inbal Binder, from Petah Tikva, will be coming here as well, and she and Shifer will, among other activities, participate in the events, visit several local Jewish schools and address Federation’s Regional Communities Conference.
Also coming to Vancouver is Dr. Ilana Kwartin, chief executive officer of Healing Space Rishpon, where both Shifer and Binder have participated in workshops and treatments. She has some meetings lined up, but the Israel-related events are the main purpose of the visit.
“In addition, I’m happy to meet people one-on-one or book speaking engagements for groups, communities and teams, where we can share the story of our work and, through that, the story of Israel at this time,” she said.
Healing Space Rishpon was created by Dr. Lia Naor in response to the trauma caused by the Oct. 7 attacks and the ensuing war. With Ra’anan Shaked, therapists and volunteers, Naor set up a centre at Ronit Farm in Sharon that operated for just over a month. With Patrizio Paoletti and Rani Oren, a permanent base was then established in Rishpon. Since Healing Space began, more than 140 therapists have given almost 60,000 hours to treating more than 20,000 people in 16 trauma-healing modalities.
Kwartin became CEO right after Oct. 7. She and her family live in Eliav, a yishuv she helped found, which is in the northern Negev, abutting the separation barrier.
“The Black Shabbat of Oct. 7 upended my life, like it did for so many others, and as we – individuals, families, communities and a nation – mourn, work to pick up the pieces, mend what can be repaired and rebuild where it cannot, I put my personal and professional background to use as the CEO of this one-of-a-kind haven,” she told the Independent.
Dr. Ilana Kwartin, chief executive officer of Healing Space Rishpon, is coming to Vancouver with Nova music festival survivors Raz Shifer and Inbal Binder for Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut. (photo from Healing Space Rishpon)
Kwartin was born in the former Soviet Union and made aliyah in 1987, growing up in Jerusalem. “As an officer in the IDF, I served as a tatzpitanit [spotter] in Nachal Oz and later as a founding commander of the Netzarim observation post, and the tragedy of the tatzpitaniyot struck me deeply,” she said, referring to the female military unit that warned of a potential terrorist attack and whose soldiers were among the first killed and kidnapped on Oct. 7.
With BAs in law and psychology from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Kwartin earned an MA in conflict resolution from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Her book, Imprisoned, came from her PhD dissertation on honour-based confinement, which she did at Bar-Ilan University. The stories have inspired activist initiatives across Israel and informed legislation, she said.
Kwartin lectured in law at Sapir College, where she built their legal internship placement program and founded a centre of legal activism, A House of their Own. “More recently,” she said, “I spent three years on shlichut in Los Angeles as the director of Jewish Agency operations on the West Coast. With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, I traveled to the Ukrainian border to help rescue Jewish refugees and bring them to Israel.”
Kwartin’s work at Healing Space Rishpon changes every day. “The programs are so varied and cover many groups of the Israeli population,” she said. “But the most meaningful part is the people who work here – very similar to me, they left everything they were doing and started working at Healing Space to repair the emotional damage we all see around us. They work tirelessly, in uncertain conditions, long hours, doing the hardest work imaginable. It is thanks to the team that Healing Space makes such a big difference in people’s lives.”
Binder found out about Healing Space inadvertently.
“I had heard there was a treatment centre you could go to, but I wasn’t in a mental state that allowed me to reach out for it,” she explained.
“Later on, I was looking for something that could get me out of the house in the mornings and help create a daily routine. By chance, I came across an ad for a new rehabilitative employment program at Healing Space and it sounded amazing – working with my hands, being in a warm and supportive environment, where I could focus on myself and begin a new movement in my life.”
Binder worked as a beautician before Oct. 7 and, while not currently working, she is taking courses, most recently completing one in conscious psychotherapy. She started going to Healing Space early in the war. It “was the first time I realized that another way was possible – that someone was truly listening to me,” she said.
“More than that, I got to experience treatments I never imagined I’d try, like sound healing and yoga therapy. These are treatments I still do to this day, to help maintain my emotional balance and regulate my body.”
At Healing Space, she added, “Even my mom, who was never really drawn to holistic healing, found a deep connection with one of the therapists and opened her heart to her – that really moved me.”
A group gathered outside at Healing Space Rishpon. (photo from Healing Space)
From a place of not wanting to do anything or face anything, Binder said, “I now want to grow. I want to move forward and live a good life. And none of this would have happened without the process I went through over the past six months.”
Binder’s Vancouver visit will be the first time she is telling her story publicly.
“Honestly,” she said, “it’s a little overwhelming to come and talk about my healing journey. It also means recognizing my story – and that alone is a challenge for me. I feel both excited and nervous – telling my story for the first time and receiving acknowledgment for it.
“It’s important for people to hear about the massacre because it was a Holocaust repeating itself,” she said. “The Jewish people are once again in danger, and it’s crucial to echo these stories, to make sure people know and remember.
“Beyond that, the connection between Jews in Vancouver and Jews in Israel – to build strong, deep connections across Jewish communities around the world – that connection is what has always kept us strong as a people.”
Binder attended the Nova festival with her sisters.
“It was actually the first evening that my sister’s boyfriend was introduced to our parents,” she said. “From there, the four of us drove to the party in the south.
“In the morning, when the rockets started, I called my mom to let her know and said we were heading home. We got delayed near the party because one of our friends had a panic attack, and we waited with her.
“We made it to the car, but it took time to decide what to do. At 8:30 a.m., the boyfriend took the lead, called his father, picked us up in the car, and we escaped through the fields. His father navigated him over the phone throughout the whole drive, and that’s how we managed to get out safely. Which is crazy in itself – the reality was so different for so many others. It felt like we were in a divine bubble that protected us.”
“It was the scariest day of my life,” said Shifer of Oct. 7. “I didn’t know if I would make it back home or not, and I didn’t know which of my friends would survive. It was a feeling of helplessness, complete loss of control and sheer terror.”
Unlike Binder, who is only now beginning to share her story, Shifer – who is an actor, singer and artist – has been interviewed by media around the world and has spoken at schools, universities and synagogues.
“I also found myself advocating and telling our story through music during performances,” she said. “In addition, I led tours for people who came to the Nova site and shared my personal story with them.”
Initially, Shifer refused to leave her house after Oct. 7.
“Friends told me there was a place where survivors go to heal, but I was too afraid to go outside and couldn’t bring myself to get there,” she said. “Then, one day, a volunteer came to my home and helped me take that first step – to leave the house and arrive at Healing Space. From that day on, something opened up in me, and I began coming every week.”
Healing Space has helped Shifer cope with her trauma in many ways.
“First of all, the location,” she said. “You arrive at a place full of trees and greenery – everything is peaceful and calming.
“There’s something comforting about sitting among people who have been through something similar to me,” she continued. “The therapists at the centre are kind and embracing. The shared music circles helped me find my way back to music. But, more than anything, it’s the feeling that I’m not alone. That I am seen. That there’s a place that can hold me.”
People at Healing Space Rishpon have had similar experiences. (photo from Healing Space)
The body treatments have allowed Shifer to release some stress and start letting down her defences.
“The long-term project I joined under Healing Space gave me the tools to return to a routine and become an active human being again,” she said. “Healing Space is a deeply meaningful part of my recovery process – and I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them.”
To register to attend Yom Hazikaron or buy tickets ($18) for Yom Ha’atzmaut, visit jewishvancouver.com.
David Jablinowitz, opinion editor for the Jerusalem Post, answers a question at one of his March talks at Congregation Beth Israel. (photo by Pat Johnson)
The intensely emotional debate in Israel right now centres on whether the government and military should be negotiating with Hamas for release of the hostages, extending the war or finding some combination of approaches to the situation.
David Jablinowitz, opinion editor for the Israeli English-language newspaper and media platform Jerusalem Post, spoke in Vancouver March 20. He shared with audiences at Congregation Beth Israel the rock and the hard place Israelis – including Israeli media – are between in the current crisis. Beth Israel’s Rabbi Adam Stein introduced Jablinowitz and emceed the discussion. The journalist spoke again the next night, at Shabbat services.
The Israeli government estimates that there are 59 remaining hostages in Gaza, of which 24 are believed to be alive. Testimony from rescued and released hostages say Hamas terrorists are poised to murder the captives if Israel Defence Forces ground troops approach – and this danger is in addition to the possibility that Israeli military strikes could unintentionally kill or injure Israelis held in Gaza.
“This is why there is such an emotional dispute in Israel right now,” Jablinowitz said. “Are we going to lose these 24? Because some Hamas terrorists, of whatever level, the highest or the lowest, have orders that the moment the Israelis get close, you kill the hostages.”
At the same time, Hamas is unsurprisingly not negotiating in good faith, he said. Although the terror regime has been significantly weakened, they continue to behave as though they have the upper hand.
“Hamas is playing hardball,” he said. When an individual or a group is in a weakened position, rational behaviour would see them become more amenable to compromise. Hamas appears to respond otherwise, making counter-demands that Jablinowitz characterizes as “totally unacceptable.”
“Why are they doing that? Why does Hamas have the gall to do this?” he asks. “Because it plays into their own hands.”
Israeli intelligence officials, he said, know that Hamas has been using ceasefires as an opportunity to rebuild and prepare for fresh rounds of violence.
“They keep saying, ‘No, that proposal by Israel is not good.… That’s almost good, but do that, so I can do this,’” he said. “While negotiations are going on, weeks and weeks and weeks, what’s happening on the ground in Gaza is the rebuilding of infrastructure [and] recruiting terrorists. They are just building themselves up because, as far as they are concerned, if they have their way, there will be another Oct. 7 –because the dispute with Hamas is not a dispute over territory. Hamas does not want Israel anywhere. Their charter says so. They won’t accept a Jewish state – any non-Muslim state at all, but certainly not a Jewish state.”
Another reason why Hamas feels emboldened, he said, is because the international community, like the European Union, often treats Israel and Hamas as two legitimate actors on an equivalent moral plane.
The role of Qatar, which has been wrongly accepted by world leaders as a legitimate intervenor in the conflict, deserves a far more critical eye, argued Jablinowitz.
Qatar should be on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, he said. “They are pulling the wool over the eyes of the world.”
Qatar is pretending to be a constructive party, while funding Palestinian terror, providing a haven to terrorists, and flooding the world with jihadist propaganda on social media and through their funding of courses in North American and European universities, Jablinowitz said.
This support for propaganda, among other factors, helps explain the world’s approach to the conflict.
“I’m not saying Israel is all good, I’m not saying there aren’t innocent Palestinians,” said Jablinowitz. But he takes exception to the widespread expressions of concern around blameless Palestinian civilians.
“I have to tell you, soldiers who have served there, and among the [freed] hostages themselves [in] their testimony, have said, ‘Don’t give me the “civilian innocent” business. We were there, we saw the people. There was nobody, nobody, who came to our rescue.’”
Palestinian kids and other civilians came to see where the hostages are and, Jablinowitz said, “Nobody, nobody lifted a finger to do anything.”
Relatedly, the pass the world community seems to give the Palestinians is not extended to Israel’s military, even when it goes out of its way to minimize Palestinian casualties.
“What other countries say to a terrorist, or to their enemy, ‘At 4 o’clock Wednesday afternoon, I’m attacking you, and I’m attacking you here’? But that’s what we do in order to keep down the civilian deaths,” he said. “How does the world report it? What do European and other leaders say? ‘Oh, Israel is evicting the Palestinians.’ We are trying to save their lives and save our lives at the same time. We are better to Palestinian civilians in Gaza than Hamas is to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
The rebuilding of Gaza, if and when it occurs, must address not only the physical devastation but the indoctrination of kids, who have been taught that “Jews are bad people, the Jews were meant to be killed,” said Jablinowitz.
“As long as you’re going to have that education, there’s no point in doing anything,” he said.
Jablinowitz acknowledged at least two contesting attitudes toward Israel’s overseas PR battle.
One side, typified in a Jerusalem Post op-ed by Alan Baker, Israel’s former ambassador to Canada, is that Israel should ignore global criticism.
“Enough. There is no point,” Jablinowitz summarizes this approach. “We have to do what we have to do.
“An alternative opinion is that maybe it’s not the hasbara [PR approach] that’s a problem, but the government’s policies,” he said.
He thinks the answer may be simpler.
“I honestly think that our cause is not as appealing. The Palestinians are so good at it because they are the downtrodden,” said Jablinowitz.
Israel had good PR when they were seen in the world’s eyes as the David to the Arab world’s Goliath.
“We were doing great in 1967, when … [it would have been] so easy to just decimate our country,” he said. “We were popular.”
That changed after Israel won the Six Day War, which remains contested in terms of who started the conflict, since Israel attacked its neighbours as they were preparing an offensive.
“That’s why we preempted in 1967,” Jablinowitz said. “You see what happens when we don’t preempt? Oct. 7 happens when we don’t preempt.”
A new daffodil garden at Beth Israel commemorates the 1,200 people murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
“It’s not much, but I wanted those in the Jewish community to know that they are not forgotten, and they are not alone,” Lora Anjos told the Independent.
On the morning of April 27, at Congregation Beth Israel, there will be a dedication ceremony in memory of the 1,200 people murdered in the Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. To be dedicated is a new daffodil garden at the synagogue’s southwest corner, at 28th Avenue and Oak Street. The garden was inspired by Anjos.
Just over a year ago, Beth Israel member Alan Farber paid a visit to Anjos. Farber, a retired lawyer, and Anjos, also a lawyer, shared office space for many years. During that time, they became close friends. When Farber saw Anjos in February 2024, he said, “Lora expressed to me how upset she was over the horrific events of Oct. 7 and how sorry she felt for her Jewish friends over the rise of antisemitism. Lora said she would like to do something as a memorial to the innocent victims of the slaughter, and suggested planting 1,200 daffodil bulbs that would bloom annually in memory of the fallen. She wanted to place it at a Jewish location but truly didn’t know how to go about it. I was inspired by her idea and told her to leave the organization to me.”
Farber approached Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld with the idea of a garden and Infeld “simply said do it,” Farber shared.
“Everyone I dealt with in organizing the planting was fully on board and inspired by the commitment made to our community by a non-Jewish person,” said Farber. “Grade 11 students came in October and helped plant 1,200 bulbs.”
Anjos came to that October event, spoke to the King David High School students and helped plant bulbs with them and members of the congregation, said Farber.
“There are a few stories I could tell that would explain it. But this one stands out,” Anjos told the Independent of her reason for wanting to do something for the Jewish community. She was influenced, in part, by a conversation she had with a former Dalhousie University classmate, Robert Astroff, who was part of the small Jewish community in Halifax. Some of his family members had been killed in the Holocaust and, she said, “If I recall correctly, he started keeping kosher after visiting the camps, in honour of those who lost their lives. He was gracious in all respects, including the sharing of his faith, through stories and food, hospitality and kindness, as an act of community.
“Sometime after graduation, he came to Vancouver,” she said. “We met and had lunch at the Vancouver Art Gallery. We sat outside on the terrace. It was a hot and sunny day. We talked about many things. But, at some point, the discussion turned to traveling. I mentioned the unexpected feeling I had experienced years earlier when I flew into Amsterdam after a four-month backpacking trip to Europe. As the plane descended over the flat green fields and dykes of Holland, I was reminded of Richmond, where I grew up, and immediately felt a sense of peace, as if I was landing at home. What happened next has never left me. Robert said he felt the same thing when he flew to Israel for the first time. I asked him why – because my sense of home and peace had stemmed from the similarity of the terrain between the Netherlands and Richmond, while Israel and Nova Scotia looked nothing alike. He said: Because, Lora, when they come for us again, Israel will be the only country that will protect us.
“Those words shook me,” said Anjos. “I had no doubt as to the heartfulness of Robert’s feelings. But I did not believe that that would happen. I did not believe I would live to see a pogrom. And I did not believe that, if such hatred took place, Israel alone would stand against it. I was left incredibly sad that Robert thought his fellow citizens, his friends, his colleagues and his country would not protect him. I could not fathom that. Then, Oct. 7, 2023, happened.”
Anjos spoke fondly of Farber and his late wife, Felicia Folk, who died in August 2023, as well as other Jewish friends and colleagues who have shown her kindness over the years, including Janet Stern.
“She had worked at Mills Brothers in Halifax, which I frequented often,” said Anjos. “When I was set to leave Halifax for the last time, she took a tired and broke student out to the most glorious lunch. It was so unexpected and so appreciated, I remember it still. Kindness from people who knew me well, and not so well.”
To attend the dedication, register at bethisrael.ca.
Canadians will elect a new federal government on April 28. The resignation of Justin Trudeau upended expectations, and opinion polls suggest a more competitive contest than was predicted when the year began.
While British Columbia’s Jewish community has not historically produced a great number of elected officials at the municipal, provincial or federal level, several candidates in the province have connections to the community.
Tamara Kronis (photo from rossmcbride.com)
In the Vancouver Island riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith, Conservative Tamara Kronis is mounting another run. She came a close second in 2021, in one of the most watched races in the country. Paul Manly, one of only two Green Party members of Parliament at the time, was defeated in that race by New Democrat Lisa Marie Barron. Barron is seeking a second term while Manly, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel, seeks to retake the seat and Kronis aims to beat them both. With the New Democrats and the Greens at historic lows in opinion polls, and the Liberals having placed a distant fourth last election, this may be the likeliest BC riding to send a Jewish representative to Ottawa.
Kronis is a lawyer with experience in the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, as an independent director of Ontario Hydro, and she was an instructor at George Brown College in Toronto. She has served as advocacy director of Egale Canada, the national LGBTQ+ rights organization.
Zach Segal (photo from LinkedIn)
In Richmond East-Steveston, Zach Segal is also running for the Conservatives. Born and raised in Richmond, Segal has served on the board of the Rotary Club of Richmond, the Kehila Society, and the City of Richmond’s seniors advisory committee. He was also a Big Brother in the Big Brother and Big Sister Program.
During the Stephen Harper Conservative government, Segal worked in Ottawa in national defence and transportation, and now works in commercial real estate. Segal was the Conservative candidate in Vancouver Granville in 2019.
Richmond East-Steveston is a swing riding that has changed hands in each of the past three elections. First-term Liberal MP Parm Bains aims to hold the seat, which he took from the Conservatives in 2021.
In Vancouver Centre, filmmaker, activist and associate professor at the University of British Columbia Avi Lewis is running for the New Democratic Party, trying to unseat Liberal Hedy Fry. The longest-serving female MP in Canadian history, Fry has won 10 consecutive elections since defeating then-prime minister Kim Campbell in 1993.
Avi Lewis (photo from Wikipedia)
Lewis is socialist royalty in Canada, son of the former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis and grandson of David Lewis, a federal leader of the NDP in the 1970s and a leading figure in the NDP’s predecessor party, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, almost since its inception in the 1930s.
Avi Lewis is one of Canada’s most prominent critics of Israel. He has characterized Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide,” urged the Canadian government to cease arms sales to Israel, and supports South Africa’s call for the International Court of Justice to investigate Israel.
While the New Democrat candidate historically comes second in Vancouver Centre, Fry has held the riding even in the darkest days of the federal Liberals’ fortunes and, in 2021, won by more than 10 points over her NDP opponent. With polls currently suggesting historic lows for the NDP, the 83-year-old Fry seems as safe as ever.
Ken Charko, who has close ties to Vancouver’s Jewish community, is running as the Conservative candidate in Vancouver Quadra. Charko is a Vancouver business leader who is the proprietor of the Dunbar Theatre and has served as president of the Hillcrest Community Centre for the past five years.
Ken Charko (photo from vancouverquadra.ca)
Charko has been awarded the Trinjan Diversity Award – an award given by Trinjan & Mata Gujri Foundation for commitment to diversity in the workplace. He has volunteered with groups such as the Canadian Red Cross, the Vancouver Olympic Committee and the Vancouver Paralympic Committee. He provides guidance to students of the Vancouver Film School on aspects of the motion picture industry. He also serves on the board of the Motion Picture Theatre Association of BC, representing independent theatre owners. He is a recipient of the Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year.
Quadra has been held by the Liberals even longer than Vancouver Centre, having been snatched from the Conservatives in 1984 by then-prime minister John Turner. Successive Liberal MPs have held it ever since, including Joyce Murray, since 2008. Murray is not running for re-election and the Liberals have nominated Wade Grant, who has served as an elected Musqueam councilor. While riding boundaries have changed slightly since 2021, Murray won the seat easily, besting her Conservative opponent by about 15 points.
Election Day is Monday, April 28. In British Columbia, polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There are many other ways and days to vote, including advance polling from April 18 to 21, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; early voting until April 22 at any Election Canada office; and an opportunity to vote by mail. To vote by mail, you must apply online or at an Elections Canada office by April 22. Full details are available at elections.ca.
CJPAC, the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, is urging Jews and allies to engage in the political process and has details and opportunities at cjpac.ca/elections. CJPAC is a national, independent, multi-partisan organization, whose mandate is to engage Jewish Canadians and allies in the democratic process and to foster active political participation.
CIJA, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, has additional election-related information, including questions to ask candidates on topics including accountability for hate, strengthening Canada-Israel relations, and safeguarding Canadian society and values. See cija.ca.
The left in Vancouver came roaring back to life last Saturday, April 5. In the civic by-election to replace two city councilors, Sean Orr, candidate of the far-left Coalition of Progressive Electors, topped the polls, with Lucy Maloney of the left-leaning OneCity coming second.
The two candidates of Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC slate finished far back. ABC candidate and Jewish community member Jaime Stein, who was bombarded with extreme antisemitic hate on social media during the campaign, came sixth, with 9,267 votes. His running mate, Ralph Kaisers, came seventh with 8,915. By contrast, Orr took 34,448 and Maloney 33,732 (all numbers are unofficial election night results).
The first results were not reported for three hours after polls closed, as officials held back counts until every voter had a chance to cast a ballot. The city was apparently caught off guard by higher-than-expected voter turnout, leading to hours-long lineups at voting stations, even after the 8 p.m. scheduled poll closing. Election day turnout was 15% of eligible voters, representing a 40% increase from the last civic by-election, in 2017.
Orr has a history of anti-Israel activism and social media posts, as well as arguably antisemitic expressions, including reposting comments such as “What does the ‘I’ in CIJA stand for?” and “Antisemitism is when I’m not allowed to chant ‘Death to Arabs.’”
The results seem to spell disenchantment with Sim’s ABC slate, which still holds seven seats on the 11-member council. ABC swept into office in 2022 on a platform of public safety, affordability and housing.
Rabbi Philip Bregman, rabbi emeritus of Temple Sholom, has spent 45 of his 50 years since ordination in Vancouver, having joined the Reform congregation in 1980. (photo from Philip Bregman)
Temple Sholom and the larger Jewish community came together on erev Shabbat, March 28, to celebrate Rabbi Philip Bregman and his wife Cathy, marking 50 years since his ordination. The dinner and Friday night services were emotional but included a great deal of laughter.
Bregman, now rabbi emeritus of the Reform synagogue, has spent 45 of his 50 years since ordination in Vancouver. Early in his career, after also receiving a master’s degree in social work, he served in New Rochelle, NY, and in Toronto, before coming to Temple Sholom in 1980.
Since retiring from the pulpit in 2013, Bregman has served as Hillel BC’s executive director and as the Jewish chaplain at the University of British Columbia. Under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver, he helped found the Other People, an interfaith and multicultural group that talks about diversity to high school students, among other strategies.
Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, who is now Temple Sholom’s senior rabbi, spoke of what Bregman has contributed to the community.
Rabbi Philip Bregman in fall 2024, after receiving a King Charles III Coronation Medal, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Canada. (photo from Philip Bregman)
“All of the things that we appreciate and love about being Jewish in Vancouver, Rabbi Bregman has had a hand in,” said Moskovitz, who came to Temple Sholom 13 years ago. Motioning his arms to the packed sanctuary, he said: “Rabbi, you have planted the seeds and this is the fruit.”
Moskovitz said he has been guided in his own rabbinate by a rule of thumb: “WWBD – What would Bregman do? And I just did that. I might have done it my own way, but I just did what Philip would do, what Rabbi Bregman would do, and that has served us all so well.”
Moskovitz shared a story about the weekend of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, in 2018.
“I was crushed and devastated,” said Moskovitz. “After the service, I went into my office, which was his office, and I cried. Rabbi Bregman came in and he held me, and I cried on his shoulder. It wasn’t the first time. It wasn’t the last time I cried on your shoulder. Thank you for being this rabbi’s rabbi. Thank you for letting us cry on your shoulder, and for those shoulders holding us up.”
Rabbi Carey Brown, who came from the United States to become the shul’s associate rabbi, credited Bregman for helping her become, first, “a rabbi to Canadians” and, in time, “a Canadian rabbi myself.”
She said Bregman told her when she arrived: “The thing to know about Canadian Jews is Israel. Canadian Jews are very connected, strongly, to Israel.
“It’s really through your love of Israel that I have seen that so, so deeply,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Shai Bregman, the rabbi’s son and eldest offspring, joked, “I was saving all this material for the eulogy.”
“Who he is as a rabbi and who he is as a person can’t be separated,”
Shai Bregman said. “His passion for Judaism, his unapologetic Zionism, his determination to teach his grandchildren every swear word, are all what makes him who he is.”
The rabbi, said his son, is “one of the most vicious fundraisers you could ever imagine.”
“I’ve seen him raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in between baseball innings, both for the shul and for individuals in need.”
Speaking to the assembled crowd, Bregman donned a Toronto Blue Jays tallit that the congregation gave him upon his retirement 13 years ago, and reflected on the highs and lows.
On Jan. 25, 1985, at 1:30 a.m., Bregman received a call from Vancouver’s fire chief.
“Rabbi, your synagogue is entirely engulfed,” the head firefighter told him. “We believe it was a Molotov cocktail.”
There had been a previous incident and the congregation was in the process of erecting grates on the windows. Only two windows remained unprotected and one of those was where the firebomb entered. The crime remains unsolved.
For two and a half years, the congregation held its services at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and its religious school at Vancouver Talmud Torah. Bregman recalled being contacted by the late Rabbi Mordechai Feuerstein of the Orthodox Congregation Schara Tzedeck, offering Bregman and his staff office space for the duration.
“You’re going to catch hell,” Bregman told him. But Feuerstein insisted.
“And we paid this much rent,” Bregman said, forming a zero with his thumb and forefinger. “I will always be indebted to my beloved colleague. We had one major, major disagreement. It was not halachic. He unfortunately was a Boston Red Sox fan.”
That cross-denominational cooperation may have been a product of a uniquely Vancouver phenomenon. The Rabbinical Association of Vancouver, which encompasses congregational rabbis across the denominational spectrum, emerged from the first phone call Bregman received from outside the Temple Sholom community upon his arrival in the city. It was Rabbi Wilfred (Zev) Solomon of the Conservative synagogue Beth Israel.
“And that started the most incredible, loving, collegial friendship,” Bregman said. “Zev and I started the RAV, the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver, the collaboration that, among many things, I am most proud.”
Bregman credited the Temple Sholom community with providing a second home to his three children, who had the good fortune of remaining in one place for their entire childhoods, something that is rare for “RKs” – “rabbi’s kids,” as Bregman calls them.
The “kids’ (now adults) are daughters Shira and Jordana, and son Shai. Jordana and her husband, Itamar, are parents of Raf and Yoni. Shai and his wife, Michelle, have three children, Maya, Olivia and Talya.
Among other highlights, Bregman recalled mentoring seven individuals who went into the rabbinate and, with wife Cathy, taking “Israel virgins,” totaling about 1,000 people, to the Holy Land over the years.
Bregman credited his wife for the name of the group, the Other People, and said there was a challenge operating under the auspices of both the Jewish Federation and the RAV.
“The question was,” deadpanned Bregman, “who was going to manage him?”
The rabbi and his son, as well as other speakers, singled out Cathy Bregman as an irreplaceable force in the success of Bregman’s rabbinate and the achievements of the congregation, citing her concern for, engagement with and intuitive understanding of individual congregants.
At the dinner before Friday services, Ellen Gordon led a trivia game about events in 1975.
Anne Andrew spoke about arriving in Vancouver in 1980 and going “shul shopping.” She and her then-fiancé Eric attended the High Holiday services that year – “In those days, Rabbi Bregman was a bimah-thumper of note,” she said – and have been Temple Sholom members ever since, she serving as religious school principal when Bregman was rabbi, and Eric serving on the board, including as treasurer.
Jerry Growe, a past president of the synagogue, gave a drash on the week’s Torah portion, drawing parallels between the Book of Exodus and Bregman’s career, which included leading the congregation from the burned-out synagogue to the present structure, in 1988.
MLA Terry Yung, BC minister of state for community safety and integrated services, brought greetings from the province of British Columbia.
Taleeb Noormohamed, member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville, presented Bregman with a parliamentary recognition and discussed participating with the rabbi in interfaith work.
Former MLA Michael Lee and other members of the Other People paid tribute to the rabbi.
