National – Page 17

Alberta’s Jewish home

On the 14th floor of Edmonton’s Our Parents’ Home, one can enjoy panoramic views. (photo from OPH)

In 2015, Edmonton opened Our Parents’ Home (OPH), still the only kosher seniors home between Winnipeg and Vancouver. OPH offers 80 independent living suites and 50 Alberta Health Services supportive-living units.

Lesley Jacobson assisted Irving Kipnes on the project for more than a decade, until recently retiring.

Jacobson grew up in Sydney, Australia. She made her way to Calgary in the early 1970s, a place she called home for 27 years, before moving to Edmonton some 20 years ago. “I was always involved in [Jewish] federations in some way or the other,” she told the Independent.

About 12 years ago, Jacobson began working for Delcon Development, which was founded by Kipnes.

“Irv is one of the major proponents of this [OPH] project, and has been on the committee working to develop this facility for over 20 years,” said Jacobson.

The project was incorporated as a nonprofit organization under the Society Act of Canada in 1996, and obtained a charitable number from Revenue Canada that same year.

“It wasn’t until about a dozen years ago, after fundraising and much discussion about what the project should entail that the committee determined to move ahead,” said Jacobson. “Irv took the lead in that, and started investigating sites and plans seriously.”

The committee included Jewish community members who felt it was important that Edmonton have a facility that caters to the needs of Jewish seniors.

It took several false starts before a site was secured, detailed drawings were developed and a $6 million grant was secured under the Affordable Supportive Living Initiative of the Alberta government at the time. Construction began in 2012 in a prime location on Jasper Avenue, at the corner of 119th Street, next door to Beth Shalom Synagogue.

photo - Our Parents’ Home in Edmonton opened in 2015 — Our Parents’ Home in Edmonton opened in 2015. *(photo from OPH)*

The original name chosen was the Hebrew, Beit Horim, which means Our Parents’ Home. “Once we started building and dealing with contractors, banks, etc. … many of the non-Jewish professionals who we were working with had trouble with the pronunciation…. So, we dropped the Beit Horim and just became Our Parents’ Home,” said Jacobson.

While the residence caters to Jewish seniors wanting a place to live where they can keep kosher, the home does offer menu options for people of all religions and has a non-kosher kitchen as well.

At press time, there were 17 independent living suites available (one- and two-bedroom apartments), while the supportive-living space – the units overseen by Alberta Health Services – was running at full capacity.

“They have a two-year waiting list of people trying to get into the supportive-living space,” said Jacobson. “If someone needs to be in assisted living, wants to be at OPH and they are Jewish, we try to get them to the top of the list. But, we have no control over that, because it’s mandated and controlled by Alberta Health Services…. On the independent living side of things, people are self-sufficient. The rent includes 20 meals per month, so people have that option … while those living in supportive care are provided with all meals and snacks.”

The home’s 50 supportive-living units cover three floors, which are staffed by care personnel 24/7. The two memory care floors are secured, so residents cannot leave those levels unless accompanied by someone with a fob. A third floor is for residents in need of care but with no memory issues.

Since the facility is open to the general public, regardless of religion, there are varied faith-based offerings. While there is a rabbi-led Shabbat service offered on the third Friday of each month, there is also hymn singing once a month led by a non-Jewish chaplain and a variety of other programs.

“We had beautiful seder [last] year and several non-Jewish residents of our community came, because they were interested,” said Jacobson. “People can come to whatever program they wish.”

Jacobson, while not on staff at OPH, worked with the staff to ensure the place became all that it was intended to be by the other committee members.

“It was exciting to be on the committee designing the building, to sit with the architects and interior designers,” said Jacobson. “We chose designs and fabric for the furniture, picked colours and selected the china and silverware. It was a pleasure to facilitate meetings with such dedicated and enthusiastic board members.”

According to Jacobson, when you walk into the OPH building, “it’s like walking into a boutique hotel. It doesn’t look like an old folks’ building. We have modern art on all the walls and, from the common rooms on the 14th floor, one can enjoy panoramic views of downtown Edmonton and the beautiful river valley. You walk into the dining room and it’s like walking into a first-class restaurant … linens on the tables to complement the china – no paper napkins.

“Seniors come here to live, not to die,” she stressed. “During the summertime, we take people from the memory care floors to walk in the neighbourhood, through the green streets. There are many activities designed to physically, socially and intellectually stimulate our memory care residents.

“Our independent residents live the lives they’ve always lived – they go to the opera or ballet, the gym, to their friends and to family. If they need a ride, we have a car that will take them. They live independent lives and, as a plus, enjoy all the extra activities provided – the book club, bridge club, fitness room, movies, social programs, etc.

“The people who have been involved are to be commended for their vision and enthusiasm,” said Jacobson. “Special credit needs to go to Tulane Rollingher, who conceived the idea in the very beginning, way back in the 1990s, of having a Jewish home. She was the very first person to start getting this group together.”

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

2018 CHW campaign begins

Canadian Hadassah-WIZO’s 2018 annual campaign, Come Together, Right Now, began on March 1 in support of various CHW projects. This pillar of CHW’s fundraising efforts provides $1.5 million in support of children, healthcare and women in Israel and Canada.

CHW is a non-political, nonpartisan national network of dedicated volunteers and professionals who believe that the advancement of childcare, education, healthcare and women’s issues transcends politics, religion and national boundaries.

Over the last century, CHW has been involved in all aspects of Israeli life, supporting women, children and families around the world. CHW’s support has strengthened, and continues to strengthen, the very fabric of Israeli society.

“I can give you 161,453 reasons to be proud of being a donor to Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW),” said Debbie Eisenberg, CHW national president. “It’s really quite simple: this is the number of lives CHW positively impacted in Israel just this past year. This is the difference you made through your generous support of CHW.”

“For me, the theme for this year’s annual campaign encompasses everything that our supporters do for CHW,” said Alina Ianson, CHW national executive director. “Each person has their own reason for supporting the work of CHW, but when we come together, we make a statement about our belief in endorsing the mission of CHW.”

For information on the projects CHW supports, and to contribute to the Come Together, Right Now campaign, visit chw.ca.

Money still unclaimed

Thousands and thousands of dollars belonging to Jewish institutions and individuals are sitting unclaimed at the Bank of Canada.

Banks and federally chartered trust and loan companies are required to transfer to the Bank of Canada all unclaimed bank balances maintained in Canada in Canadian currency that have been inactive for a period of 10 years. According to the Bank of Canada’s website (bankofcanada.ca), at the end of December 2016, approximately 1.8 million unclaimed balances, worth some $678 million, were on the bank’s books. More than 93% of unclaimed balances were under $1,000, representing 26% of the total value outstanding. In 2016, the bank paid out $15 million to account holders. The oldest balance dates back to 1900.

At the Bank of Canada, there are many small amounts payable to Jewish organizations, including ones that are currently active. There are also some organizations that may no longer be active, which is why money in their name is languishing at the Bank of Canada. It is unfortunate that money intended to benefit Jewish organizations, charities or other causes, should not be used for the intended purpose, but instead sits unclaimed at the bank. Many of these organizations must have successor organizations or responsible persons that, with a little effort, could prove their right to claim the funds.

To discover whether a group you are now or have previously been associated with has such a balance, you should do the following:

Go to bankofcanada.ca.
Type “unclaimed balance” into the search box.
Once you reach the unclaimed balances registry, type one word of the organization name into the search box and scroll through the results.
If you see a name that is familiar, open the link.

If there is a bank account untouched for 10 years, the organization will pop up, along with the name and address of the originating bank. Then you can make a claim for the money through a process set out on the website. You will have to prove that the account was yours, and the website explains how to do that.

You can search by province, or by “all” (of Canada). Each year, on Dec. 31, the Bank of Canada adds another year’s unclaimed bank accounts to the website.

Members of the Canadian Jewish community should try to reclaim funds that were intended for use in the community.

Here are some of the words searched that found unclaimed balances belonging to Jewish groups or institutions: Jewish, Hebrew, tikvah, congregation, Canadian friends, beth, bnai, b’nai, rabbi, synagogue, temple, Torah, Talmud, Israel, Jerusalem, Moshe, Habonim, Zionist, ohel, Na’amat, chevra, camp, JCC, eitz, beit, chaim, kosher, yeshiva, Yiddish.

For example, the Bank of Canada holds $3,311.02 for an organization called Canadian Friends of Tikvah Lay in Ontario. It also holds $256.94 for Yeshiva of the Northwest, whose last transaction date was in 1992 in Vancouver, and $108.69 for the Edmonton Jewish Women’s Baseball League, untouched since 1997.

There may be some hurdles to jump to establish the right to the $953.08 of the Yiddish Drama Company in Toronto, untouched since 1979. However, there are at least a dozen Jewish community centres and congregations in towns across the country that should have very little difficulty in obtaining their unclaimed bank balances.

Few of the amounts found were large – but should any of the money raised or donated for a Jewish cause, charitable or not, be left at the Bank of Canada? Some effort should be made by the community to locate these funds and use them as they were intended.

You should also check your own name and those of family members, especially those family members who died more than 10 years ago, as there are sometimes bank accounts that heirs were unaware of at the time of death and that show up at the Bank of Canada years later. The process for obtaining personal unclaimed funds is also quite simple, and requires establishing your identity and your right to the funds.

Not to be confused with the funds held at the Bank of Canada, the province of British Columbia has its own, government-affiliated B.C. Unclaimed Property Society. It seems to hold more funds for individuals rather than organizations. Its website (unclaimedpropertybc.ca) says:

“Each year, millions of dollars in British Columbia goes unclaimed in dormant credit union accounts, forgotten insurance payments, unclaimed wages, overpayment to debt collectors, as well as unclaimed proceeds from courts, tax offices and unadministered estates and intestates (death without a will and next of kin cannot be notified). The British Columbia Unclaimed Property Society (BCUPS) helps reunite British Columbians with their forgotten or unclaimed assets. We hold unclaimed property as the custodian for rightful owners under the Unclaimed Property Act.”

The BCUPS website also provides an easy way to search, but if you find your name, you will find no further information about the amount of funds or the source of the funds being held for you, until you contact the society. You could think of it as a form of treasure hunt, where you expend no money, but you do expend your time, and maybe there will be a treasure chest or at least a few coins at the end of the hunt.

Felicia Folk is a retired lawyer living in Vancouver.

Proud of Jewish roots

When she was Nova Scotia’s lieutenant governor, Myra Freeman opened up Government House to the public. (photo by Alex Rose)

When Myra Freeman (née Holtzman) was appointed lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia in 2000, she broke down two major walls. She was the first woman appointed to the position, and she was the first Jewish person appointed to the position. In fact, she was the first Jewish appointee to such a position in all of Canada, and the second in the entire Commonwealth of Nations (the first was former Australian Governor-General Zelman Cowen).

“It’s always been my family and my heritage that have defined me,” Freeman told the Independent in a recent interview.

Her Jewish values, she said, were put in place by her grandparents, who moved to Canada around the turn of the 20th century, and strengthened during her upbringing in Saint John, N.B., the city where her grandparents eventually settled. The Holtzmans were one of about 120 Jewish families.

Freeman went through the Canadian Young Judaea program. She said it nurtured seeds to give back to Israel, to give back to community and to help improve the lives of Jewry on the other side of the world. These lessons were echoed by her parents – her mother was a president of the local Hadassah-WIZO chapter and her father was very involved with their synagogue.

“Over the years, I’ve never really lost sight of the fact that I have a responsibility to the Jewish community, and I’ve always been proud of the things that I’ve done in my shul, in Hadassah, in United Israel Appeal,” she said, just the beginning of the long list of a life of involvement in the Jewish community. But, with that, she added, “the broader community was a huge part of my life as I changed careers.”

photo - Myra Freeman — Myra Freeman *(photo from Myra Freeman/Historica Canada)*

Freeman’s first career was teaching, and she always thought it would be her only career. She loved working with students, helping them discover the joys of learning and the world around them. She encouraged students to step up and help others, to set an example by leading the way. She passed along lessons she had learned from mentors who had inspired her over the years. And, as she taught these lessons, she also took them to heart, becoming increasingly involved in community.

“And that’s when, in April of 2000, I received a call from the prime minister [Jean Chrétien], and he asked me to take on the responsibility as the queen’s representative in Nova Scotia,” said Freeman.

Aside from being the first woman and the first Jewish person to serve in the role, Freeman’s tenure as lieutenant governor, which concluded in 2006, will be remembered for some of her main initiatives, said Craig Walkington, communications advisor to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. For one, she focused on supporting education and childhood development. She also created a number of awards that recognized Nova Scotians who excelled in their fields, including writing, teaching and the environment.

“I think the one I’m most proud of is the Lieutenant Governor’s Masterworks award, which gives an opportunity for artists to showcase their creative talent,” said Freeman.

Walkington added that Freeman will also be remembered for opening up Government House, which is the lieutenant governor’s residence, to the public. It is the oldest vice-regal residence in North America – the cornerstone was laid in 1800.

“We call the Government House the ceremonial home of all Nova Scotians,” explained Walkington. “I think, for a lot of people, it was just this very big mansion on Barrington Street that they would drive by every day, and having it more accessible means that visitors and Nova Scotians can learn about the history of this province and the history of the people who worked and lived in this house.”

Walkington estimated that 14,000 to 15,000 people pass through Government House every year.

“We made it like our home. We had a kosher home, we had Shabbat, we had seders in there,” said Freeman of her time at Government House. “And I think one of the remarkable moments was we had a visit from royalty.”

When Prince Michael of Kent, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth, visited Nova Scotia in 2002, he stayed overnight in Government House. He was scheduled to arrive around 4:30 on a Friday afternoon and Freeman had been instructed to show him to his room and then leave him be, but she had other plans.

“You can’t surprise royalty, OK? You cannot just throw something on them when they arrive,” she said. But, even so, “after I showed him to the room, I said, ‘Every Friday night, our family tries very hard to be together to observe the Sabbath and have our Sabbath meal. And we’ll be eating dinner at 7 o’clock if you would like to join us.’… He looked at me and he said, ‘It would be an honour.’”

Freeman said Prince Michael was attentive throughout the whole evening, as they sang “Shalom Aleichem” and as her husband made Kiddush. At the end, he told Freeman that, as a man in his late 70s, it was the first Shabbat dinner he had ever attended; he also said it was the highlight of his trip across Canada.

“It just goes to show that we take for granted … our heritage, and we might not observe it as much because we think it’s nothing, but to somebody else … he was so honoured to be a part of it,” said Freeman.

“Each of us brings to our communities our traditions and our culture, our heritage,” she said. “And we, as people of an ethnic background, like all other people of ethnic backgrounds, contribute and make Canada unique…. We care enough to participate and to become involved in community, and we give of ourselves. And, when we do that, we add diversity to the country and we enhance the social fabric of our countries.”

As Jewish community members, she said, “we have the responsibility to our home and abroad, because, really, our heritage is our strength, and we have to preserve that through our actions. We never lost sight that we have an equal responsibility to take our place in the secular community – in our city, in our province, in our country, and globally – because Canada afforded our grandparents a home and the opportunity to achieve.”

Alex Rose is a master’s student in journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax. He graduated from the same school in 2016 with a double major in creative writing and religious studies, and loves all things basketball, especially his hometown Toronto Raptors.

A law career with many firsts

Morton Minc is Concordia University’s first jurist-in-residence. (photo from Morton Minc)

During his long career in the field of law in Quebec, Morton Minc has made several firsts. His latest – becoming Concordia’s first jurist-in-residence.

Born in Lublin, Poland, Minc came from a very religious, but also academic, family. His father was studying medicine in Paris when the Second World War broke out. The family made their way to Montreal and started over again, with only $17, provided by the Jewish community.

After graduating from Sir George Williams University with an arts degree, Minc went onto law school at the Université de Montréal, where he won several awards. He then joined a large law firm and eventually opened his own practice, specializing in general commercial banking law. He married his wife, Linda, and they had one daughter, Samantha (who is a vascular surgeon in the United States).

“I then was the first Jewish judge in the history of the municipal court of Montreal,” said Minc of his 1993 appointment. “Then, I was nominated as chief justice of the municipal court of Montreal [in 2009], and I was the first Jewish anglophone judge appointed to the municipal court in their history.

“When I became chief judge, I used the court in a different manner,” he said. “One part of the court was streamlining toward social justice programs, social justice courts and problem-solving courts, and the other was traditional justice. The aim of the social justice court is not only to identify an individual’s problem, but also to assist, rehabilitate and help him/her to find his/her way back into society … once they’ve completed the program set by the court successfully, and even decriminalizes their record when possible. In other words, they were charged with a criminal matter or with statutes where they had to pay all these fines … [and] we had made arrangements with an execution department of the city for them to get amnesty.”

Minc was responsible for initiating the program, including working with judges who specialized in mental health.

“We had Crown prosecutors who specialized in the mental health program and a defence lawyer full-time to assist the offender who had the mental health issue when he/she committed a crime,” said Minc. “These people worked not in a combative way, but it’s what we call, ‘participating justice.’”

Most judicial systems are considered adversarial, where the parties are in opposition to one another. But, in these social justice and problem-solving courts, he explained, everyone is working together on the same “side” toward the good of the person on trial.

“I was responsible for establishing the court for the homeless,” said Minc. “We had judges dedicated to the issue of homelessness, so we’d find the person a place to live if s/he had a mental issue, alcohol issue and/or drug issue…. We’d work toward resolving these problems. It wasn’t necessarily a problem of homelessness.

“We dedicated a court only for these social issues, so that they wouldn’t be in the mainstream of the criminal system … so that they would not be embarrassed; the homeless, they wouldn’t feel ill-at-ease. And, the same thing for mental health and domestic violence court…. I can tell you, the success rate was over 85%. It was a win-win situation…. We had a minister of justice coming to our court every year to see what we were doing in our social programs.”

Minc attributed his own compassion for others to his Jewish heritage and its tradition of involvement with and assistance for those who are less fortunate.

When it came time for him to leave his position, Minc – who said he is not a believer in retirement – was asked to meet with Concordia University president Alan Shepard, provost Graham Carr and the dean of the faculty of arts and science, André Roy. The trio invited Minc to join the history department’s Law and Society Program, and he accepted, becoming the first jurist-in-residence.

“My role, or the goal, is to help students, mentor students, on what they could do in the future, about law school…. You don’t have to necessarily become a lawyer, but to get a law degree, or become a lawyer,” said Minc. “There are all kinds of different other institutions you could work at and use your law background for.”

In addition to introducing students to different aspects of law, Minc is helping students find ways to get involved in the legal system, using his vast knowledge and contacts.

“Perhaps Concordia will have its own law faculty one day,” said Minc. “My goal is to stimulate and excite students about the law – and it seems well-received.

“While Concordia doesn’t have a law school,” he added, “it offers students the option to minor in law and society, and to study issues like governance, crime, conflict and social justice from sociological, historical, anthropological and philosophical perspectives.”

Minc’s appointment as jurist-in-residence is for a two-year term and, while he hopes that his successor continues what he is starting, he is focused on doing what he can do now. So far, all of the events he has organized have sold out.

As example of the types of events he has put on, Minc hosted a fireside chat with now-Chief Justice Richard Wagner of the Supreme Court of Canada, on Nov 23. 2017. The talk covered Wagner’s journey to becoming a judge and what it’s really like to be part of the Supreme Court.

On Oct. 19 last year, Minc hosted an event on the legal and psychological implications of the maltreatment of children. A number of distinguished panelists took part, including Judge Patrick Healy (Quebec Court of Appeal) and Judge Martine Nolin (Court of Quebec, Youth Court Division).

Minc also mentored the Concordia Moot Law Society for a legal debate competition against other Canadian universities. He helped student delegates prepare legal arguments and taught them about legal jargon.

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

Klondike’s Jewish links

Entrance of the Jewish Cemetery in Dawson City, Yukon. The sign reads Bet Chaim (House of the Living). The photo was taken in 1961. (photo by Irving Snider; Dr. Irving and Phyliss Snider fonds; Jewish Museum and Archives of BC L.18992)

As visitors to the traveling exhibit The Jewish Presence During the Klondike Gold Rush 1897-1918 will learn, while the hope of striking it rich drew thousands upon thousands to the Klondike during the gold rush, most had left the region within five years, many as poor as when they arrived.

The exhibit, created by the Jewish Cultural Society of Yukon, is currently at Temple Sholom and will open at Congregation Beth Israel on Jan. 31, 7:30 p.m. The opening will feature a talk by Michael Schwartz of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, and the exhibit will be on display at BI until Feb. 7.

The first panel, called “Gold Fever Strikes,” begins, “It was at Schwabacher’s dock on Seattle’s Elliott Bay that the steamer Portland arrived on July 17, 1897, with her ‘ton of gold’ that electrified the world and sparked the Klondike gold rush. Soon thousands would leave that dock and others on their way to Alaska.” It notes that the Schwabachers – Abraham, Sigmund and Louis – who founded their Seattle merchandising business in 1869, had been born “in Germany of Jewish heritage” and “they left to escape the oppression of Bismarck.” The rest of the panel highlights several Jews who were involved in supplying goods and transportation to Yukon.

The second panel – “Life in the Klondike” – relates some of the stories of successful, and not so successful, Jewish prospectors and merchants. For example, “Louis Brier, a native of Romania, followed the rush and provided grubstakes to prospectors on a percentage basis. He eventually left for British Columbia with what he called ‘a rather bulging bankroll,’” it notes.

One of the less happy outcomes is that of the Shudenfreis. Among the first Jews to arrive, in fall 1897 to Dawson City, Solomon and Rebecca Shudenfrei came to the Klondike without their children. By September 1898, Rebecca had left and, soon after a fire in March 1899 that destroyed many of the city’s homes and businesses, including Solomon’s hotel, Solomon also left. The loss of the hotel was a mixed blessing, according to a letter he wrote: “I only lost all I had, which is not much, and I was glad that the fire occurred so that I could get rid of all my bed-bugs, which I could not do otherwise … the loss is not so great when you come to consider that we would have to remove the building anyhow by May 1, and [that] would have been a great expense to me…. The whole town is on the buy, and all my acquaintances are not any better off than I. This is the only consolation we have.”

The second panel also touches upon other aspects of life at the time – religious observance, politics, the Jewish cemetery and crime (of which Jews, as much as anyone else, were among the victims and perpetrators). The third panel, “After the Gold Rush, Where Did They Go?” provides brief descriptions of where some 15 Jews went after the rush was over.

The exhibit includes a booklet, as well as four videos, each about eight minutes long. They centre on the finding and rededication of the Jewish cemetery in Dawson City in 1998. One video shows the finding of the cemetery, which was established in 1902 but fell into disrepair as the Jewish presence in the area disappeared; one video covers the cemetery’s restoration; and one the July 31, 1998, rededication ceremony, which included many guests, including then-deputy prime minister Herb Gray, who spoke at the ceremony. (Gray passed away in 2014.) The fourth video, explains the document about the exhibit’s setup, “is the CBC TV coverage of the arrival of a Torah, the first time in history that Shabbat services were held in Whitehorse, a little tour of Dawson City … and the rededication services.”

That Torah, in 1998, was only the second to have been brought to Whitehorse – the first having been brought during the gold rush. With the rededication, the Dawson City Jewish cemetery, Bet Chaim (House of the Living), once again became a place where Jews can be buried.

photo - Rick Karp, president of the Jewish Cultural Society of Yukon — Rick Karp, president of the Jewish Cultural Society of Yukon. *(photo from JCSY)*

“Cyril Leonoff’s book Pioneers, Pedlars and Prayershawls: The Jewish Communities in British Columbia and the Yukon was what started all of our research,” said Rick Karp, president of the Jewish Cultural Society of Yukon, in an email. Additional research was contributed by Dr. Brent Slobodin, who has a doctorate in Canadian history from Queen’s University and was the assistant deputy minister of advanced education in Yukon. Slobodin has been a member of a number of heritage advisory and volunteer boards.

Karp’s day job is president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, and Slobodin joined the chamber when he retired to manage its Partnering for Success Program, Karp told the Independent. “As an historian, he was fascinated with the work we were doing on the Jewish presence during and after the Klondike gold rush and we hired him to work on the research, design and preparation of the mobile display,” said Karp.

Now that the exhibit has been completed and displayed both within and outside of Yukon, Karp said the cultural society has two main priorities, the first of which is keeping “the display going across the country, so, after Vancouver, it will go to Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. Then we will get it back here and it will go to Alaska and a few other cities in the U.S.”

The second priority is closer to home. “We are also educating the Yukon on what it is to be Jewish so, for example, we celebrate Passover and have the seder in the United Church meeting hall (about 40 people attended last year), and we are part of the interfaith community in Whitehorse,” said Karp.

“We also have more than 12 Israelis living in Whitehorse and have visits from Israel often,” he added. “For example, we have Dr. Wayne Horowitz coming … from Hebrew University and we will have him do presentations when he is here, and Dr. Paul Sidoun, as well, who is coming in February.”

Leading Canadians in environment, music, mental health

Liliana Segal with Green Chair Recycling’s 2017 Canada’s Volunteer Award.

Green Chair Recycling, founded by Liliana Segal, was recognized in 2017 as a business leader in British Columbia and the north by Canada’s Volunteer Awards. The awards, given by the Government of Canada, were presented in a ceremony held in Ottawa on Dec. 5, International Volunteer Day, to individuals and businesses across the country who contribute to and strengthen their communities.

The awards booklet noted, “Vancouver-based Green Chair Recycling is helping to keep waste of out landfills one event at a time. They work with their clients to create zero waste events, where 95% of event waste is recycled. They work with over 3,000 volunteers who are green ambassadors to track waste at their events, provide education outreach and give free presentations to any interested group. Their volunteers also run free educational field trips to landfill and recycling facilities to show students the reality of landfills and to learn how recycling happens in their communities.”

* * *

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world’s leading research centres in its field. CAMH Difference Makers – 150 Leading Canadians for Mental Health was a national movement that started in 2017. Its purpose is to encourage people to speak freely about mental illness because CAMH sees how these conversations help break down the stigma that prevents people from getting the care they need.

In April of last year, guided by a national committee of leading experts and advocates, CAMH launched a cross-Canada call for nominations of people influencing change in the area of mental health and giving us new reasons for hope. It invited Canadians to nominate a person with lived experience, a caregiver or family member, a health professional, a researcher, an advocate, a philanthropist – anyone making a difference in small or big ways; in local or international circles; in public or private lives. Nominations were open until July 1, and more than 3,700 names put forward.

Among the 150 selected as Leading Canadians for Mental Health were members of the B.C. Jewish community. In alphabetical order, they were David Granirer, Dr. Gabor Maté and Lorne Segal.

David Granirer

It’s hard to laugh when it seems the entire world is crumbling around you. That is what makes Granirer’s approach to dealing with depression so noteworthy. When he experienced depression as a teenager, Granirer saw his condition as something shameful. Today, he realizes shame is as bad as the illness itself.

As a staff member at the Vancouver Crisis Centre, Granirer began to use humour at work to help trainees get through stressful days. This led to a growing passion for stand-up comedy and to eventually founding Stand Up for Mental Health. The program teaches stand-up comedy to people living with mental illness to help them build confidence and break down stigma. Through Stand Up’s 500 shows so far – performed to mental health organizations, government, corporations, the military, schools and correctional facilities – Granirer has helped thousands see mental health in a different light. Through his unique program, Granirer helps people understand not only do we need to shed shame, but that a smile, a laugh and happiness can exist alongside the challenges of mental illness.

Dr. Gabor Maté

When Maté retired from medicine, he turned from using his insights on addiction, early childhood development and trauma to support society’s most marginalized, to inviting growing audiences in Canada and around the world into new dialogues on compassion. He is internationally known for his work on the mind/body unity in health and illness, on attention deficit disorder and other childhood developmental issues, and his breakthrough analysis of addiction as a psychophysiological response to childhood trauma and emotional loss. He is the author of four best-selling books published in 20 languages on five continents, including When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection and the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction. His TED talks, YouTube videos and international speeches have helped focus attention on the mental health and trauma issues that underlie addiction. Maté shows humility and compassion, giving a sense of hope that, in a world where many people are shut down, defensive and fearful, there is a guiding light ahead and a new world of possibility.

Lorne Segal

Segal, a business leader and philanthropist, has been involved with Coast Mental Health’s Courage to Come Back Awards since their inception in 1998. At that time, the stigma surrounding mental illness was even more of a barrier to public engagement than it is today. During his almost two decades with the awards, including serving as chair for the past 12 years, he has helped transform the event into one of British Columbia’s premier mental health campaigns. Under Segal’s tenure, the number of guests has tripled to 1,500, with the awards also reaching more than a million people through television, print and other media. Segal has been instrumental in inspiring more than $15 million in support for mental health programs such as housing, employment and other support services to more than 4,000 people annually living with mental illness. His decision to start supporting the event at a time when mental health wasn’t popular was quite simple. He saw an issue that affected many and wanted to do something about it. Not only has he been successful in this, he has helped spread greater awareness and support for mental health in British Columbia.

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Toronto-based band Beyond the Pale’s latest CD, Ruckus, reviewed in the Jewish Independent Sept. 15, 2017, was nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards last year, for World Music Group of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year. While the band didn’t win a 2017 award, it has been nominated now for eight CFMA honours, and won four.

“Six of the 12 songs on Ruckus are originals, while the others are arrangements of traditional melodies,” noted the JI’s review (jewishindependent.ca/the-complexities-of-ruckus). “All of the musicians either composed an original piece or participated in the arranging. They are a tight ensemble who play around with tempo and style with such ease that the complexity of what they’ve created isn’t what you’ll first notice. And that’s what makes their music so good.”

Legacy of hope for kids

Left to right are Jerry Nussbaum, president of the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada, Lillian Boraks-Nemetz, David Morley and Kit Krieger. (photo by Shula Klinger)

On Nov. 6, the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada welcomed David Morley, president and chief executive officer of UNICEF Canada, to the Ponderosa Ballroom at the University of British Columbia. In partnership with the university’s faculty of education, the event was part of an annual speaker series, created in Janusz Korczak’s name.

Korczak (1878-1942) was an educator, broadcaster, playwright, doctor and passionate advocate for children’s rights. His views on the importance of democratic education broke the mould in an era where rigid rules and harsh discipline were the norm. For Korczak, children were young citizens whose thoughts should be respected and heard.

Having spent years advocating and caring for orphans in wartorn Poland, Korczak refused all offers of sanctuary during the Second World War. Finally, he accompanied his charges as they were marched to the gas chambers of Treblinka extermination camp, where he also was murdered.

Sixty years after Korczak’s death, the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada was established in Vancouver, where it works to keep his ideas in the public eye, and in the minds of educators.

As an author and public speaker, Morley has taken a leading role in human rights advocacy for the past 30 years. His push for children’s rights has been central to his work in international development. He now leads a program of growth at UNICEF Canada on behalf of, and in partnership with, community stakeholders, to create safe, stimulating and healthy environments for children.

Morley’s topic was How We Can Make Canada a Great Country for Kids. It centred on data collected in 14 reports on the well-being of children and youth in prosperous countries. Spanning 17 years, these reports reveal vast differences in outcomes for young people in countries that appear – at least on the surface – to be equally wealthy. The reports’ scope encompasses a vast range of indicators of child and youth well-being, including literacy levels, teen pregnancy rates, the incidences of suicide and child murder, the level of poverty, the amount of bullying and how much awareness there is of environmental issues.

Morley delivered a blow to most people’s perception of Canada as a safe, peace-loving nation with a population of healthy kids. On the contrary, he showed that one in four Canadian children lives in poverty, with statistical evidence showing that Canadian children suffer from ill-health, violence and a poor sense of well-being to a surprising degree, in comparison with similarly affluent countries. He said Canada ranks 25th out of the world’s 41 richest nations, positioned roughly in the middle, with Norway in the top spot and Chile at the bottom.

Describing Korczak as “a giant in the realm of children’s rights,” Morley spoke of honouring Korczak’s legacy in Canada by “making sure that kids have a chance to reach their full potential.” He pointed to the “shocking” statistic that the graduation rate for children in care is a mere 51%, whereas the rate is 89% for kids who are not in care. Even worse, the graduation rate for Canada’s indigenous population is only 44%.

Morley explained the need to keep children involved in any program of change, seeking their participation in the planning and development of new initiatives. Themes of gender equality and sustainable development appeared throughout his call to action. His presentation concluded to applause and was followed by a lively question-and-answer period tackling a wide range of topics, including employment, education and the discrimination faced by First Nations children.

In addition to Morley’s presentation, the evening also saw the presentation of a scholarship to UBC student Assadullah Sadiq, from the JKAC. Awarded to a scholar of great promise in the field of education, Sadiq received the honour in absentia, via letter. He said, “the honour of being selected for this award is something I will always treasure. I will dedicate myself to children’s rights and education my whole life.”

The event was moderated by Kit Krieger of the UBC faculty of education, who is also an Honorary Life Fellow of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. It featured a moving presentation by local author, JKAC board member and child survivor Lillian Boraks-Nemetz, who described Korczak as “my father’s hero.”

Shula Klinger is an author and journalist living in North Vancouver. Find out more at shulaklinger.com.

Reuniting in Winnipeg

Among those at the reunion were, left to right, Helen Pinsky (Vancouver), Barbara Moser (Montreal), Chana Thau (Winnipeg), Avrum Rosner (Montreal), Cecil Rosner (Winnipeg) and Zev Cohen (Israel). (photo from the reunion)

Anyone who went to a Jewish day school in Winnipeg in the 1950s and 1960s was invited to a reunion recently – and 220 former students attended.

The Oct. 6-9 reunion was organized by Avrum Rosner, who now lives in Montreal, Zev Cohen, who now lives in Israel, and Eileen Margulius Curtis and Bert Schaffer, who both still live in Winnipeg.

Rosner started posting high school photos on Facebook. A closed Facebook group followed and then Rosner created a page inviting people to share photos from Winnipeg Jewish schools.

“So, some genius – Zev Cohen – asked on the Facebook group, ‘How about a reunion?’ And he then started laying the groundwork,” said Rosner. “It went viral after that.”

Rosner and his wife, Marnie Frain, both attended the reunion.

“There were many different Jewish schools in Winnipeg in the 1950s and ’60s, of diverse languages, attitudes to religion, attitudes to Israel, left and right,” said Rosner. “And, what was a thriving community, with unique cultural and social institutions, that reached its numerical peak around 1960, has been drastically diminished by emigration ever since.”

The main venue of the October reunion was Holiday Inn West Airport, where some of the out-of-towners stayed. But, on the Sunday, Gray Academy of Jewish Education (GAJE) hosted the reunion. The academy is the entity into which nearly all the Jewish schools have amalgamated.

The first reunion event was a dinner on Friday evening that included speeches. There was a discussion on Saturday; a brunch and greetings by GAJE staff and students, as well as a bus tour and dance party, on Sunday. On Monday, there was a farewell brunch with live entertainment, performing Hebrew, Yiddish and klezmer songs and 1960s/70s rock ’n’ roll.

Participants included students, and a small number of former teachers, from Winnipeg’s Talmud Torah, Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate, I.L. Peretz School, Rosh Pina, Herzlia, Ramah, and Sholem Aleichem School.

“For me, the highlights are not hard to identify – renewing half-century-old friendships. For me, and for many, it restored my belief in magic,” said Rosner. “Personally, I think I gained the pure pleasure of reconnection with childhood friends. Also, the confirmation of the importance and ongoing vitality of the social, cultural and ethical values … and principles many of us absorbed – not solely through formal education, but by growing up in a unique-in-many-ways Jewish community in an isolated prairie city. It was what I expected and hoped for, though exponentially better.”

Vancouver reunion attendee Helen Pinsky said, “I watched the whole thing happen on Facebook. And, despite the fact that I’d heard very little from other people who I’d gone to school with, the reunion appealed to me a lot. I made arrangements to see all my cousins in Winnipeg, and booked the trip. I attended with my boyfriend, Yossi Amit, who, at that point, knew none of my Winnipeg relatives and had never been to that city.”

Pinsky and Amit stayed at the reunion’s “official” hotel and, though the schedule for the weekend had looked quite bare, that was a plus for them, as it allowed for personal visits. “In the end, most of my cousins attended the reunion, too,” said Pinsky. “Then, we made plans for spending our free time together. The programs were well-received and gave us all a structure from which to build other plans.”

Pinsky enjoyed many aspects of the weekend, including the talk about the history of Winnipeg Jewry, the music and food at Hops, the band Finjan and reminiscences at brunch. “There were lots of photos, laughter, warmth, memories sharing, good feelings and catching up,” she said.

Helen Nadel also attended the reunion. Nadel met Vancouverite Tevy Goodman in Winnipeg in 1975, and the couple were married at what was then Rosh Pina Synagogue.

“My childhood stories of growing up in North End of Winnipeg have always interested my children,” said Nadel. “I heard about the reunion when I was in Winnipeg in April for a reunion of my high school Grade 12 class [of 1952] who all turn 65 this year. I also knew I’d have a 40th-year medical school reunion this year [Sept. 15-17]. So, I decided that this was the year to make it a trifecta.”

When Nadel and her husband decided that he would accompany her, Nadel invited her daughter, Daniella, along, too.

“For me, it was fun to see the older girls who were my cousins’ age, as I was the tag-along with my cousins when I was at Peretz School,” said Nadel. “After pointing out that I was the little pisher who was with Carol and Sandi, recognition was achieved. Reminiscences were exchanged. It was remarkable that, by the end of the weekend, people no longer looked unfamiliar. I remembered them as they were some 50 years ago.

“My daughter loved seeing me with my grade school mates. She loved hearing the stories and began texting her posse about what fun this was, wondering what they might be doing when they are our age. She particularly loved seeing us reminisce when we stopped at the two schools, Peretz and Talmud Torah. I had goose bumps when a few of us spontaneously started singing the Peretz School anthem a cappella in front of the school, although only one in the group – Pam – really remembered all the words.”

Nadel was taken aback by how close Peretz School and Talmud Torah were to one another. She had remembered them as being very far apart – not only ideologically, but in distance.

“All in all,” she said, the reunion was “a chance to re-form and strengthen our bonds and ties to Winnipeg and the wonderful community we all grew up in.”

For Myron Calof, word of the reunion reached him about a year ago, when his wife, Ros-Lynn Sheps, called him at the office to say that she had just checked their voicemail and there was a message from Bert Schafer.

“Although I had not heard that name for over 50 years, I instantly put the name to a face and called Bert,” said Calof. “After confessing that, as a kid, I had routinely stolen crab apples off his parents’ crab apple tree, Bert told me a Winnipeg Jewish schools reunion was in the works and asked if I’d attend. I didn’t hesitate for a second to say that both my wife and I would be there.”

Calof anticipated that the reunion would be a positive experience, but, he said, “It was far better than that. First, although I don’t know when I’ll see them again, I feel reconnected with old friends. Second, the experience made me realize that my classmates and I played a vital role in continuing and strengthening Jewish education – not just in Winnipeg, but in the many North American, Canadian cities where we eventually settled. We carried with us the spirit, value and importance of a Jewish education which, in the raising of our children and through participation in community endeavours, we’ve helped perpetuate.”

Calof noted the similarities between his early Talmud Torah years – less than 10 years after the founding of the state of Israel and the end of the Holocaust – and the threat the world and world Jewry face today with the rise of nationalism, antisemitism, xenophobia and challenges to liberal democracy. “I hope history is not repeating itself, especially where Jews are concerned,” said Calof. “But, if it does, I hope and I truly think, we and the generations of Jewish students who have followed us will be better prepared to oppose and push back our enemies.”

The best part of the weekend for Calof was Monday morning, when so many former students from different years and schools had the opportunity to express their gratitude to teachers, parents and school founders for helping enrich the lives of thousands of students who attended a place of Jewish learning.

Anyone who attended Jewish school in Winnipeg in the 1950s and 1960s can still add their name to the organizers’ contact list by e-mailing [email protected] and can join the 800 others in the closed Facebook group facebook.com/groups/winnipegjewishschools.

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

NCJW Canada is honoured

At the Oct. 23 ceremony for the unveiling of a plaque honouring National Council of Jewish Women of Canada’s 120 years of service are, from the left, Sharon Allentuck, Gloria Roden, Debbie Wasserman, Dr. Richard Alway, Councilor James Pasternak and Eva Karpati. (photo from NCJWC)

On Oct. 23, National Council of Jewish Women national president Debbie Wasserman accepted a plaque honouring the work of NCJW. It was from Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and it was unveiled at the Toronto offices of NCJW Canada. The recognition came on the council’s 120th anniversary.

“NCJWC in Vancouver has an enviable track record of working with disadvantaged elementary schools, funding programs of nutrition, hygiene, cooking, farm visits and street safety,” NCJWC Vancouver’s Debby Altow told the Independent. “We have received heart-stopping letters of thanks from the kids and their teachers; they inspire us to do even more in our fight to alleviate poverty…. Our Operation Dressup delivers thousands of items of good clothing, plus shopping certificates for teens every year, and our Books for Kids program reaches into daycares, preschools, doctors’ offices and other sites…. We hope to expand these programs into other nearby communities.”

Altow said, “Vancouver section president Catherine Stoller is following in the footsteps of her mom, Sheilah, serving as president of the section for the past three years. Our section has been an integral part of the community for over 90 years, and the Heritage designation, while it rests in Toronto, really applies to every province where council has been active.”

Of the Oct. 23 event, Wasserman said, “The ceremony was very moving. We began by proceeding into the auditorium…. The Canadian flag was dominantly displayed and the plaque was draped. We all sang O Canada. The master of ceremonies then introduced all the dignitaries and all spoke about the importance of NCJWC over its 120-year history. The ceremony’s highlight was when we all came off the stage to unveil the plaque displayed on an easel.”

Wasserman and NCJWC Toronto president Eva Karpati unveiled the plaque. Ena Cord, immediate past president of the Toronto section, read the inscription in English and Dahlia Rusinek, a past Toronto section president, read it in French. There were many photos taken, and a reception followed.

“Parks Canada contacted us earlier this year to tell us that NCJWC was to be recognized as an organization of national significance to Canada, seeing that we were the first Jewish women’s organization in Canada,” explained Wasserman. “The plaque will be permanently installed at 44 St. George St. in Toronto, the former head office of NCJWC.”

Dignitaries at the ceremony included Eric Nielsen of Parks Canada (master of ceremonies), Dr. Richard Alway of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Toronto City Councilor James Pasternak (York Centre), NCJWC Toronto member and historian Gloria Roden, and Sharon Allentuck, NCJWC immediate past president and Winnipeg section member.

“As a passionate advocate for social justice and equality since 1897, the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada has forged an enduring legacy of community service across Canada,” Nielsen noted in his remarks. “It’s incredible to think that the council was founded right here in Toronto and has been growing steadily for over a century.

“The birth of the council came at a truly interesting time in Canadian history,” he continued. “During the late 19th century, urbanization, industrialization and immigration were causing social disruption in many cities across Canada. It was at this time that a pioneering group of Jewish women united to effect social change. Led by Meldola de Sola, wife of a distinguished Montreal rabbi, women of the Holy Blossom Synagogue in Toronto began meeting in private homes to study Genesis and the teachings of Judaism in preparation for beginning philanthropic activities in their communities.

“At the time of its founding in Toronto, the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada focused on supporting young girls and new immigrants. They provided shelter, training, and other forms of assistance, all while strengthening the Jewish community.”

Nielsen said that, through NCJW, Jewish women across the country “gained a voice in Canadian society and the women’s movement.”

The oldest Jewish women’s organization in Canada, NCJWC has evolved, said Nielsen, “to meet the changing needs of the most vulnerable in society.” And it “continues to work tirelessly to promote social justice, freedom, equality and tolerance at home. Equally concerned with the well-being of people outside of Canada, the council’s members have also collaborated with aid organizations, such as the Red Cross, to contribute to humanitarian efforts abroad.

“Thanks to their efforts, we are creating a rich mosaic portraying the greatest moments of our nation’s history. Future generations will better understand their history through this mosaic and, hopefully, better understand themselves and the values of our country.”

Nielsen congratulated NCJWC. “The council’s invaluable legacy,” he said, “is a source of inspiration for all who work to promote meaningful social change, at home and abroad.”

Noting that NCJWC “began in 1897 with 20 women studying and learning Bible,” Roden said the council “realized there was an urgent need to help immigrants arriving daily in Toronto. And so, by 1909, a place was needed for the growing group to expand their activities. Two rooms on Walton Street in the Ward were rented, but, by 1913, there was a move to new larger headquarters on McCaul Street.

“With the outbreak of the First World War,” she said, “young council members took an active part and McCaul Street was transformed into a Red Cross centre, providing hospital supplies and other necessities for wartime aid. In 1918, with the Spanish flu epidemic, council volunteers carried meals to 800 flu victims from our kosher kitchen and provided home nursing care.

“In 1919, council women became big sisters to children and working girls, and bought Fairview Cottage at Whitby Beach to provide these girls with an oasis for much-needed fresh air and sunshine. By 1937, council continued their involvement with the Jewish Camp Council to included Camp Camperdown near Orillia.”

The offices on St. George were “purchased with a modest down payment,” said Roden. “It was called Community House, with the Jewish community using the much-needed premises for a variety of activities. It operated classes, including cooking, sewing, journalism, language, dance and art. Sports teams were formed … [to help newcomers to Canada], a daycare centre, English classes, and even a legal storefront service was established. A club for handicapped girls was formed to teach sewing and social skills, and there were interpreters to translate for the newly arrived.

“The NCJW has continued with our motto of ‘Faith and Humanity,’ and the voluntary participation as our civic responsibility as citizens of our great country. We continue to study, educate ourselves and participate with pride.”

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.