Volunteers and organizers of Unity Shabbat, which this year took place on March 1. (photo from Chabad UBC)
On March 1, more than 100 Jewish students and faculty came together for a Shabbat dinner on the University of British Columbia campus. The annual event, called Unity Shabbat, was organized by Chabad Jewish Student Centre-Vancouver in partnership with Hillel BC, Israel on Campus Club, Jewish Student Association, Jewish Law Student Association and the local chapter of the AEPi fraternity. It was co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.
The guest speaker was Shalev Biton, a 25-year-old man from Israel who survived the Nova festival terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023. You could hear a pin drop as Biton told the sequence of events, which included him running from the Hamas terrorists for hours and hiding in fields and then under a building while the terrorists searched the area. The building was on the property of an Israeli Arab who subsequently saved Biton’s life – and the lives of Biton’s friends – by telling the terrorists that there was no one there.
During those hours, Biton was sure he was about to die, and repeated the Shema Yisrael prayer over and over. He told of his gratefulness to be alive and his decision to follow his passion of pursuing a career in music. Those gathered on Shabbat wereinspired by his message of hope and resilience despite everything that he has been through.
Left to right: Chaya and Dassie Loeub; Rabbi Chalom Loeub of Chabad UBC; Shalev Biton, a survivor of the Oct. 7 terror attacks; and Ohad Gavrieli of Hillel BC. (photo from Chabad UBC)
“These past few weeks have been a very difficult time for Jewish students at UBC,” said Rabbi Chalom Loeub, co-director of Chabad Jewish Student Centre. “Unity Shabbat could not have come at a better time. It was a chance for Jewish students and faculty members to get together in a safe, inclusive atmosphere and enjoy a traditional three-course dinner. It reminds us that, despite our external differences, we are one people and we need to stick together.”
To learn more about Chabad Jewish Student Centre-Vancouver visit chabadubc.com or follow them on social media.
For the second year in a row, Richmond Jewish Day School hosted a STEAM-J Night for its families. The event involves an interdisciplinary approach, integrating knowledge, methods and perspectives from multiple disciplines – science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics – all through a Jewish lens.
As part of the STEAM-J Night, which took place Jan. 30, children in RJDS’s Early Learning Centre focused on exploring trees through art. The Early Learning Centre emphasizes a play-based philosophy and an emergent curriculum tailored to children’s interests. Inspired by Tu b’Shevat and the kids’ fascination with printmaking and tracing shapes, participants compared the lines on their hands with the lines on leaf veins. Using ink pads, each child created palm prints, observing the uniqueness of their own hands.
The kindergarten and Grade 1 class explored various methods to learn Hebrew vocabulary. By combining Hebrew with art, students designed and created a game where Hebrew letters corresponded to pictures they drew. They then invited their parents and guests to participate and test their Hebrew knowledge. Additionally, the children crafted clay dioramas depicting the components of an Arctic biome. During this process, they learned about how animals adapt to changing weather and the climate.
Among the many projects on Richmond Jewish Day School’s STEAM-J Night was one in which the Grade 3 and 4 class painted self-portraits with a top part that lifts up so that people can see some of the students’ favourite aspects of life. (photos from RJDS)
The Grade 3 and 4 class learned a song written by an Israeli children’s author called “All About Me” and performed a dance to go along with it. Inspired by the same song, the students painted a self-portrait with a top part that lifts up so that people can see some of their favourite aspects of life, their individuality. They then put their graphic design skills to the test and created a PowerPoint presentation about early explorers and their contributions to the world. For their final STEAM-J project, the students put on their engineering hats and created a 3D scene with animal crossings built into different cityscapes to help wildlife thrive.
The upper grades demonstrated their learnings by taking their favourite games, such as Bingo and Rummikub, and translating them into Spanish. The goal of this project was to strengthen Spanish vocabulary, interaction, creativity and group work. They also honed their graphic design and research skills by creating digital comic strips on Jewish history, focusing on a Jewish prophet or king. They learned about Newton’s Laws of Motion through a hands-on activity where they demonstrated the centre of gravity by making a balancing heart. They experimented with their completed hearts by adjusting wooden skewers and clay balls to take the hearts from a balanced to unbalanced state and back to the centre of gravity point again.
A multi-disciplinary approach to education can help bridge the gap between different subjects and build students’ confidence in an increasingly complex and technologically advanced world. By integrating insights from the STEAM fields with Jewish culture and identity, students can develop a versatile skill set that fosters critical thinking, creativity and adaptability.
Courtney Cohen with Richmond Jewish Day School students, who generously collected personal hygiene items for this year’s Rose’s Angels. (photo from Rose’s Angels)
The 11th annual Rose’s Angels event just wrapped up. This year, the initiative was able to give donations to 15 not-for-profits in Richmond that service some of the most vulnerable people in the city, including Richmond Family Place, Mamas for Mamas, Turning Point Recovery Society, JFS Grocery Program (formerly the Jewish Food Bank), Richmond Food Bank, Tikva Housing and Pathways Clubhouse.
Rose’s Angels was created in 2012 by Courtney Cohen and Lynne Fader, in memory of Cohen’s grandmothers, Rose Lewin and Babs Cohen, both of whom modeled philanthropy and instilled in Cohen the importance of giving back within her community.Rose’s Angels is run under the umbrella of the Kehila Society of Richmond.
Among the goods donated were essential personal care items, non-perishable food, pet food, children’s arts and crafts, books and baby formula. For many of the receiving agencies, baby formula was one of the top priority items this year – Rose’s Angels was able to donate many
baby formula cans and ready-to-feed bottles to Mamas for Mamas and the food bank, for instance.
“Being a new mom myself, I can’t imagine the feeling of not having the accessibility or means to get my baby formula,” said Cohen. “With the ever-rising cost of inflation and the toll it’s having on families and single parents, formula is becoming more of a challenge to obtain. We received this email post-event from one of our partner agencies regarding our donation of formula:‘I can’t tell you what it means to us and so many families!We had another mom come in from the hospital yesterday.They use one of the types of formula you donated, and she felt like her prayers had been answered!’ Stories like these make me so proud to carry on the Rose’s Angels legacy year after year.”
For many of Rose’s Angels’ receiving agencies, baby formula was one of the top priority items this year. (photo from Rose’s Angels)
The success of Rose’s Angels would not be possible without the support and dedication of donors, volunteers and community members. This year, donation letters were sent out to partner agencies, family friends and community members in January. In February, monetary and physical donations were collected, Richmond Jewish Day School hosted a hygiene items collection drive and grocery store gift cards were purchased. Earlier this month, donations were packaged and delivered with the help of volunteers to the 15 not-for-profits.
“My parents and grandparents taught me to recognize and respond to the needs of others with kindness and generosity,” said Cohen. “I hope to instil in my daughter the importance of tikkun olam (repairing the world), by focusing on one mitzvah at a time.”
If you would like to learn more about or donate to Rose’s Angels, email [email protected] or call the Kehila Society of Richmond at 604-241-9270.
(photo from Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver)
The JWest project recently announced two significant milestones in its journey from vision to reality: the implementation of a new governance structure that will serve the project moving forward, and a $5 million founder-level gift from the Cristall family.
JWest represents the Jewish community’s most ambitious capital endeavour undertaken in Western Canada. It is the result of three community institutions – the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and King David High School – envisioning a community hub that would be bigger and serve more people than any one institution alone.
What began as a partnership between these three founding partners has now evolved into two formal boards: the JWest Foundation and the JWest Development Corp. These bodies will provide independent expert oversight of the project and work in the long-term interests of the community as they relate to JWest.
Both boards boast key leaders from the community, who represent the three founding partner organizations, as well as members at large who bring expertise in the fields of governance, fundraising, real estate development and finance.
The JWest Foundation, a charitable organization, will provide financial oversight of the project’s costs and revenue. The JWest Development Corp. will manage the construction of the campus, including the new JCC, KDHS space and residential towers, and the ongoing maintenance of the future campus.
“Stepping into the leadership role for the JWest Foundation is a privilege,” said Bill Levine. “Our dedication to this project marks a significant step forward. Together, we’re shaping the future of our community while upholding our treasured value of building for those who come after us.”
Bringing decades of experience in fundraising, governance and strategic planning from having served on multiple boards, the JWest Foundation includes Alex Cristall, Diane Friedman, Hodie Kahn, Lana Marks Pulver, Diane Switzer and Alvin Wasserman.
On the JWest Development Corp. board, Jewish community members with significant real estate, finance and community development expertise, including Andrew Abramowich, Chris Andison, Michael Berkson, Alfonso Ergas, Phil Gertsman, Geoff Glotman, Mark Gurvis, Lana Marks Pulver and Lawrence Zimmering, will work with Vancouver real estate developer David Porte, who has taken on the role of chair.
“JWest is going to be the heart of the community and the expanding Oakridge neighbourhood, with amenities to benefit everyone across Metro Vancouver,” said Porte. “The JWest Development Corp. has been entrusted to help drive the project forward, and I am honoured to work with extraordinary leaders to bring JWest to life and ensure its success.”
The two-phase redevelopment project on 41st Avenue and Oak Street begins with a new state-of-the-art JCC that will include an expanded Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, a new gymnasium for KDHS and a home for more than 20 not-for-profit organizations. Once complete, construction of a new King David High School will begin and include classroom spaces and an outdoor playing field. The final addition to the campus will be two towers of rental housing to serve the region.
The Cristall Family, who were early donors to the project, were pleased to see the new governance boards established. As a family, they have supported multiple capital campaigns, and understand the complexities inherent in projects of this scale.
“Jewish institutions have always been important for our community,” said Alex Cristall. “They provide a safe place to gather across generations and, in the case of JWest, a place to invite others to share in our culture and traditions. Our family sees this as our opportunity to build for our children and for the future of our city.”
JWest is grateful to the Cristall family – Lorne z’l and Sylvia Cristall, Alex, Jodi, Sydney, Tyler and Andrew Cristall, Jodi Cristall and Paul Diamond, Jackie Cristall Morris, Gary Morris, Justin and Ashley Morris – for their founder-level gift to the capital campaign.
Amy Chodos, a Grade 4 student from Vancouver Talmud Torah, was chosen as the winner of ADI’s fourth annual Make the Change Challenge. (photo from ADI)
In its fourth year, ADI’s Make the Change Challenge STEM accessible design contest drew more than 254 entries from students across North America, but Vancouverite Amy Chodos secured the contest’s $1,000 grand prize by envisioning a simple application that can make the world a more accessible place for people struggling with ADHD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Run by ADI (adi-israel.org), Israel’s network of specialized rehabilitative care for those touched by and living with disability, to mark Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (#JDAIM) in February, the contest promotes “selfless STEM” and encourages students to hack the modern world to help people with disabilities overcome the challenges that hinder their independence and inclusion.
Chodos, a fourth-grade student from Vancouver Talmud Torah, drew from her own challenges in the classroom to conceive of the Step-O-Maker, an app that uses artificial intelligence to record complex spoken instructions and then break them down into easy-to-follow checklists that can guide students through an entire process.
“As someone with ADHD, I find that starting tasks is often overwhelming, and I need help to understand where to begin. My mother teaches children with hearing loss, and I realized that an app like this could also help her students in the classroom,” explained Chodos. “I wanted to create something that could help a lot of people by making listening and understanding easier in class and making learning more fun and enjoyable.”
Instead of developing prototypes, contest entrants were asked to prepare compelling presentations that clearly explain how the original solutions they are envisioning would solve the persistent accessibility issues they choose to tackle. Chodos prepared a PowerPoint presentation that clearly explained her challenges and brought her inspired solution to life.
“Year after year, our ADI Bechinuch (ADI in Education) disability inclusion programming spotlights the inaccessibility of our world and our communal responsibility to make a change,” said Elie Klein, ADI’s director of development for the United States and Canada. “From November through February, students from our partner schools across North America become true agents of change while researching and developing original accessible design ideas in order to participate in our STEM contest, and the results are always awe-inspiring.
“We are so impressed by Amy’s poise and creativity, and the brilliant simplicity of her idea,” continued Klein. “But it’s clear to me that this exceptional young inventor always saw beyond the contest. At just 9 years old, Amy is on a mission; she genuinely wants to see this app developed so it can start to help people. This kind of leadership is what ADI Bechinuch is all about.”
More than 40 Jewish schools across North America used the ADI Bechinuch programming this year, employing the in-class activities, virtual tours and STEM contest to encourage the next generation of Jewish leaders to see the world through the eyes of others.
On Feb. 25, ADI’s panel of experts, including members of ADI’s professional staff, innovation journalists and specialists in the field of accessible design, met with the contest’s top-five finalists and their parents and teachers via Zoom to discuss the entries in greater detail. Following an uplifting discussion, the proceedings concluded with Amy Chodos being chosen as the contest winner and presented with the $1,000 prize, a gift from the Avraham and Esther Klein Young Entrepreneurs Fund.
Louis Brier Home and Hospital and Weinberg Residence (LBHH&WR) has officially been recognized as a 2023 Nonprofit Employer of Choice (NEOC) Award Recipient for its commitment to providing an exceptional work life experience for its employees.
“I am so proud and grateful for us to have received this recognition award, now four years in a row, from 2020 to 2023. It’s incredible how much our work culture has improved over the last four years,” said Loren Tisdelle, director of human resources in a special announcement held during the organization’s monthly Louis Brier LIFE Day. “The ‘Louis Brier LIFE’ is felt as soon as you walk into the building. Every year, we offer new and exciting programs while improving upon our current engagement initiatives. Last year, we launched Take Our Kids to Work Day and a masquerade ball, which were enormous successes. Engagement, inclusion and appreciation continue to be hallmarks of our work life at LBHH&WR.
“This is our award. Each and every employee makes LHBB&WR what it is today,” said Tisdelle. “We all come to work to make a difference, we actively engage in work life and, as a community, we make working at LBHH&WR a second-to-none employment experience.”
The LBHH&WR leadership team and its board of directors recognize the contributions and impact of its employees towards achieving the organization’s mission and vision to become a centre of excellence. It is through their hard work and dedication that the organization continues to make a positive impact on residents and families while upholding the positive reputation LBHH&WR has as a home and an employer.
More information about the NEOC Awards can be found at neoc.ca.
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On April 2, just as National Autism Acceptance Month begins, Rowman & Littlefield will release the paperback edition of the multi-award-winning parenting and travel guide Traveling Different: Vacation Strategies for Parents of the Anxious, the Inflexible and the Neurodiverse by Dawn M. Barclay.
Dawn M. Barclay at a book signing for Traveling Different: Vacation Strategies for Parents of the Anxious, the Inflexible and the Neurodiverse, which will come out in paperback April 2. (photo from travelingdifferent.com)
In 2023,the hardcover and e-book edition won the Lowell Thomas Gold Award (guidebook category) from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, garnered first prize in the Maxy Awards (inspirational/self-help category), was a finalist in the Best Indie Book Awards in both the travel and parenting categories, and won honourable mention in ASJA Arlene Awards for Books that Make a Difference. Traveling Different also received a starred review in August 2022 from Library Journal, who called the book “an essential read, not only for parents of autistic or otherwise neurodivergent children but for all families.”
In Traveling Different, Barclay presents travel strategies and anecdotes from a range of sources. The heart of the book outlines suggested itineraries for spectrum families as well as venues that cater to the unique special interests that are characteristic of individuals with invisible disabilities, culminating with a guide of travel agents who specialize in special needs travel and lists of organizations that advocate for special needs families. (For more on the book, see jewishindependent.ca/invest-the-time-to-prepare.)
“I’m thrilled the book will now be available in paperback, which makes it more affordable for all families,” said Barclay, who has appeared on close to 100 podcasts and interviews on video, radio and television since the book’s initial launch. Barclay prints updates on her Traveling Different website (travelingdifferent.com), as well as exclusive content on medium.com.
הקבלן היהודי קנדי ממוצא איראני סם מזרחי לא ימשיך לבנות את המגדל הגבוה ביותר בקנדה הנקרא “האחד”, הממוקם בצומת הרחובות יאנג ובלור בטורונטו. הפרויקט נמצא בחובות של קרוב לשני מיליארד דולר ולכן הושט עליו הליך של כינוס נכסים מאז חודש אוקטובר אשתקד, בניהול חברת אלברז ומרשל
“האחד” שיכלול שמונים וחמש קומות (בגובה שלוש מאות עשרים ושמונה מטרים) היה לעלות כמיליארד דולר. דחיות בבניית הפרויקט שהעלויות להקמתו הוכפלו לשני מילארד דולר, וחוסר שביעות רצון מצד בעלי ההלוואות ובעיקר בנק גדול בדרום קוריאה, הביאו אותו לכינוס נכסים. כונסת הנכסים אלברז ומרשל שמונתה על ידי בית המשפט העליון של מחוז אונטריו, הודיעה כי החל מהחודש (מרץ) מזרחי והחברות שבבעלותו, לא יהיה מעורבים עוד בבניית הפרויקט
במשך שנים הופצו שמועות על הפרויקט היוקרתי הזה “האחד” שהעבודות להקמתו החלו כבר לפני כעשר שנים. יש לזכור שהוא ממוקם בצומת החשובה והיוקרתית ביותר בדאון טאון טורונטו בצמוד לשכונת יורקוויל היוקרתית. משרד האדריכלים הבריטי פוסטר ושות’ נשכר לתכנן את הבניין. רבים תהו איך בכלל יכול קבלן בסדר גודל כמו מזרחי לבנות פרוייקט כל כך גדול. אגב מזרחי השקיע כשלוש מאות מיליון דולר ברכישת מגרש עליו נבנה “האחד”. הרבה תקלות ליוו את תחילת הפרויקט כולל עיכובים בבנייה, חריגות גדולות בעלויות הבנייה, תלונות על רעש, כשלים במתן היתרי בנייה, בעיות מימון ופירוק שותפויות. במקור הפרויקט היה אמור להסתיים לפני כשנתיים, אך בפועל עד כה נבנו רק ארבעים הקומות הראשונות. מזרחי עצמו מאמין שדרושות עוד כשלוש שנים לסיום הבנייה של מגדל המגורים היוקרתי. הוא הוסיף כי כונסת הנכסים חייבת לו כחמישה מיליון דולר עבור עמלות שונות שלא שולמו עד כה. מזרחי אמר לעובדי הפרויקט באסיפת פרידה מהבניין, כי עכשיו זה יהיה קל יותר עבור הקבלן שיחליף אותו לסיים את הבנייה, לאחר כל הקשיים הרבים שבהם הוא נתקל בהם מאז תחילת העבודות. למזרחי יש מעט חרטות על מה שקרה לפרוייקט שהוא ניסה לבנות במשך שנים ללא הצלחה. לדבריו במבט לאחר הוא היה עושה את אותו הדבר
“האחד” יכלול לכלול מסעדות וחנויות מפוארות בהן חנות ענקית של “אפל” שתתפרש על פני שלוש קומות בשטח של כולל של כחמישה עשר אלף סקוור פיט. “אפל” תבעו לא מכבר את מזרחי על הדחייה בעבודות להקמת הבניין והחנות שלהם, והם דורשים ממנו שבעה מיליון דולר על הנזקים שנגרמו לחברה. הבניין יכלול ארבע קומות של חנייה תת קרקעית. חמש עשרה הקומות הראשונות במגדל מיועדות עבור מלון היאט היוקרתי. ואילו קומות המגורים שמעליו יכללו ארבע מאות ושש עשרה יחידות דיור מפוארות. ובהן ארבעה פנטהאוזים
סם מזרחי נולד בטהרן באלף תשע מאות שבעים ואחד. בשנת שבעים ושש המשפחה ביקרה במונטריאול כדי לצפות באולימפיאדה. ביקור זה הביא את המשפחה בן ששת הנפשות לעבור שנה לאחר מכן לקנדה, כאשר סם היה בן שש. מאז המשפחה גרה באזור טורונטו. בתחילה מזרחי החזיק ברשת של מכבסות. לאחר מכן הוא עבר לבנייה והקים פרוייקטים שונים בטורונטו והסביבה
מזרחי נחשב לתומך גדול של ישראל והוא אף פעיל בארגון הגג של הפדרציות היהודיות בקנדה. הוא נמנה על האחראים והפעילים של הצעדה השנתית בטורונטו עבור תמיכה בישראל. מזרחי נמנה גם על חברי הנאמנים של ארגון הידידים של המרכז ללימודי השואה סימון ויזנטל
On March 3, many stories of heroism were shared at the weekly rally for Israeli hostages, of whom 13 are women, still being held by Hamas. The gathering marked International Women’s Day, which takes place on March 8. (photo by Pat Johnson)
On Oct. 7, Amit Mann, a 22-year-old paramedic, spent six hours treating the wounded and dying in a dental clinic on Kibbutz Be’eri.
“Six hours during which she did not stop treating the wounded, six hours during which she did not lose hope,” recounted Ruth Jankelowitz at the weekly rally for Israeli hostages March 3. “Amit Mann, a Magen David Adom paramedic, treated the wounded at Kibbutz Be’eri with her dedication and heroism with the sounds of gunfire all around her and the threatening voices of the murderers getting closer. Together with a nurse and a dentist … she tried to do everything to save everybody as she had done since she was 13, until the bullets of the vile terrorists hit her, too.”
Mann’s tragic story of heroism was one of numerous shared at the gathering Sunday, marking International Women’s Day, March 8, where speakers called for the release of all the hostages, including 13 women still being held.
Ofra Sixto, owner of Ofra’s Kitchen restaurant, whose pro-Israel activism in recent months has attracted threats and intimidation, led a moment of silence for female victims of Oct. 7.
“The world is angry when women are being raped, abused, disrespected and brutally murdered by men – unless they are Jewish women,” she said. “Then the world is silent, complacent and, at the time, had the audacity to question the acts.
“What gets me the most is the young and old women that support Hamas, knowing what they know of how they treat women in general and our women in particular,” Sixto said. “It’s beyond me.”
Masha Kleiner, an Israeli-Canadian who co-founded NOAH, Nonviolent Opposition Against Hate, said that, for every Jew, “Oct. 7 is absolutely personal.”
“Each and every single one of us knows it could have been me who was tortured and kidnapped and killed,” she said. “I am selfishly lucky that nobody I personally know was killed or kidnapped on Oct. 7, but many of our tribe have been, so this is a personal loss for every one of us.”
Jews worldwide are grieving the loss of life, she said, but Jews lost something else that day and in the months since, she said.
“One other thing that we are all grieving in the post-Oct. 7 world is our illusions, the illusion that the world around us is safe and sane and friendly,” she said. “We grieve, and this grief can be lonely because some people that we considered friends chose to keep their distance and some of them turned their backs on us. But, while this happens, we become so much closer to the people who do have the moral clarity and the courage to stand with us.”
Mirit Murad – an Israeli who came to Vancouver two decades ago and has two nieces, Gal Klein and Ofek Elias, serving as reservists since the onset of the war – urged people to take time on International Women’s Day to honour and celebrate Israeli women, both civilians and soldiers.
“These women are demonstrating unparalleled strength, resilience, resourcefulness, bravery, intellect and protective instincts,” she said. “They embody the very essence of courage, never hesitating to leap into action or shield others from harm.”
The week’s rally took place at Jack Poole Plaza, rather than the usual location at the Vancouver Art Gallery because that space was provided to organizers of Vancouver’s International Women’s Day event.
That event’s theme was Palestinian women and featured images of “activists” including Fatima Bernawi, Ahed Tamimi and others.
Bernawi served a decade in Israeli prisons after planting a bomb in a Jerusalem movie theatre in 1967, which was discovered before detonation. Tamimi is something of a social media star, a young woman who came to prominence as a 16-year-old when a video of her assaulting an Israeli soldier in 2017 went viral. After the Oct. 7 attacks, Tamimi wrote on social media: “We will slaughter you and you will say that what Hitler did to you was a joke, we will drink your blood and eat your skulls.”
“These women are arbiters of Palestinian resistance who advocated for the rights and freedoms of Palestinian people and are continuing to do so every day,” organizers of the Vancouver IWD event said in a statement.
“International Women’s Day belongs to everyone, everywhere,” said Daphna Kedem, organizer of the weekly vigils. “Where are you, women’s organizations? Believe Israeli women. Release our women.”
Israeli women among the hostages still being held by Hamas
Amanda Alvaro, left, and Rachael Segal cohost the podcast Beyond a Ballot, on which they will interview former BC premier Christy Clark live on stage at the Waterfront Theatre on March 25. (photo from NCJW)
International Women’s Day is marked today, March 8, and this month one of Canada’s oldest women’s organizations is partnering with a new female-focused startup to encourage greater engagement with politics.
National Council of Jewish Women, Vancouver branch, is holding a special event March 25 with Beyond a Ballot. The social enterprise launched by Rachael Segal, a Vancouver woman with extensive experience in politics and broadcast journalism, aims to encourage women to get more informed and involved in politics at every level. Segal is cohost of the Beyond a Ballot podcast, which will be recorded in front of a live audience for the first time at this month’s event. She and Amanda Alvaro will interview former BC premier Christy Clark on stage at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island.
The collaboration between one of Canada’s oldest Jewish women’s groups and one of the newest innovations on the Canadian political scene is a product of the friendship between Segal and Jordana Corenblum, Vancouver chapter president of National Council.
Corenblum took over less than two years ago as president of the local section of NCJW, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year. The chapter is in the process of a major generational shift, she said, and partnering with a new female-focused organization on a live podcast fit the group’s vision. It is also a consequence of their personal connection.
Jordana Corenblum, Vancouver chapter president of National Council of Jewish Women. (photo from NCJW)
Corenblum’s first job out of university was as a youth director at Congregation Beth Israel, where she met a 14-year-old Segal. They have remained tight ever since.
Corenblum, who is a career youth worker, said she had been urging Segal for some time to create something that educates and encourages women to get more involved in politics. With
Segal launching Beyond a Ballot last year and Corenblum taking over the local branch of National Council, a partnership was a cinch.
Segal holds a master’s in law and worked on Parliament Hill with Conservative members of Parliament, ministers and senators. She has extensive broadcast experience in TV and radio and is a commentator on CBC’s Power and Politics. During her undergraduate studies at the University of Victoria, she was president of the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students and she has worked with the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee. She has served as senior director of the BC Liberal party.
Segal’s podcast cohost, Alvaro, who lives in Toronto, runs a communications agency and has also worked as a political advisor for provincial and federal Liberals. She is a regular commentator on CBC TV’s Power and Politics and appears regularly in national print media.
“For a generation, we’ve been talking about putting your name on the ballot,” Segal said. “We need more women in the Legislature. We need more women in the House [of Commons]. But nobody was ever talking to the women who didn’t want to put their name on the ballot, [who] just wanted to be more engaged. I decided to launch this company, which uses media product, educational product and the building of community to try to talk to women differently about politics.
“My goal is for every woman in Canada to have a daily touch point with politics, whether that means having a conversation with your girlfriends, talking to your kids about something in the news, reading a news story or maybe that means deciding to run,” she said.
The podcast has been “astronomically successful, beyond belief,” Segal said. “Amanda and I put hours and hours a week on it.”
Future plans for Beyond a Ballot include developing a mentorship model that allows women to engage in smaller, more intimate groups, and hosting national conferences to give a platform to women in politics.
“Nothing like that exists right now in this country,” she said.
Beyond a Ballot is all about multi-partisanship and that comes through in the podcast.
“We don’t care what your position is, just that you have one,” said Segal. “Amanda is from the Liberal side, I’m from the Conservative side, but we have a really interesting conversation, where it is not divisive. We don’t go after people based on their political positions. It’s really about education above all else.”
While Segal started Beyond a Ballot from scratch last year, Corenblum took over as the new face of an established organization already in progress.
The Jewish community has a long history of women’s philanthropic and leadership organizations, which have had huge impacts over more than a century. Social changes – not least the increase in women working outside the home in the past several generations – have had an impact on these groups. Moreover, as happens in any volunteer agency, leaders burn out or simply weary of the commitment.
Local leaders approached Corenblum, who had not been involved previously, and urged her to take a role.
“The people who had been involved in the leadership for decades were all stepping back,” said Corenblum. “They were looking to the next generation and courting me and my friends and really flattered us and said, we need you young people to be involved. When you’re in your mid-40s and somebody’s calling you young, it’s flattering. We’ll listen to anything they have to say.”
The relevance of National Council, she said, has not diminished, as there is backsliding on some of the issues facing women. More than many other women’s groups of longstanding, NCJW has always been deeply engaged in political issues, she said.
“I think there’s a lot of overlap between this vast array of Jewish women’s groups,” she said. “The unique piece about National Council is that it is specifically focused on social justice work. They have a long history of being involved in political advocacy.… The entire focus of the organization is about social justice and engagement of women in tikkun olam.”
Corenblum and the mix of new and experienced local leaders are conscious of the embarrassment of riches the Jewish community has in terms of organizations doing good works.
“There doesn’t need to be another organization that is doing programming,” she said. “We don’t need to get in and continue to offer more, because our community has so much to offer. What we really want to focus on is collaboration with organizations that are doing work or have values that are aligned with ours and doing things with them and supporting them in their work.”
One new NCJW initiative is working with Jewish Family Services on a garden-to-table project where they join with families planting vegetables in a community garden, then nurturing and harvesting the produce and cooking healthy meals.
Ideas sometimes fall into their laps. A thread on an online Vancouver Jewish moms group indicated that several families were coming to Vancouver from Israel for a respite from the chaos there. People were asking for car seats, warm clothing, highchairs, toys and other needs for families visiting for a few weeks.
“With National Council support, we were able to create a new local program called Warm Welcome,” Corenblum said. Before long, they had more donations than they could handle.
Ongoing projects the group runs include Books for Kids.
“It’s about getting kids books to families and institutions that don’t necessarily have access to new beautiful books for families and children to take pride in,” she said.
In January, as a local part of a national fundraiser, NCJW organized a games day that raised $8,000 in Vancouver alone to support a counseling service in Israel that has been overwhelmed with demand since Oct. 7.
“The thing that I love about this organization is that it so incredibly flexible,” said Corenblum. “People who are doing small projects around BC can apply to us for funding to help with whatever projects that are going on.”
She calls on anybody who has a passion project or is excited about an idea to reach out and make it happen together. “We really want this to be a grassroots organization for things that matter on the micro scale – and sometimes on the macro scale,” she said.
Corenblum acknowledged that her own politics do not mesh with those of the guest at the live taping her group is sponsoring – but that dialogue across divides is precisely the point, she said.
For Segal, Clark is a great get.
“Christy was on our A-list for our dream conversations,” Segal said, “so she very kindly agreed to do this one not only with us, but in person, which is amazing.”
The partnership with NCJW is an opportunity to reach new audiences, Segal added. “They approached us with this idea,” she said. “I think it’s pretty awesome that they’ve recognized the importance of this conversation and they have been incredible partners and hosts for this event.”
Segal said that, as a Jewish woman in the current climate, finding a supportive community is important.
“We saw everything with Selina Robinson on the provincial level, we’ve seen international issues, and I think there’s a lot of women who are feeling like they want to do more,” she said. “Beyond a Ballot aims to provide women with that opportunity. Engaging with us and knowing that you have a community across the country that is here to support whatever issues are important to you, and give you the tools to be a better advocate for your community, is what women across Canada should know about Beyond a Ballot.”
Tickets for the March 25 event, at 7 p.m., are $18 and available online at eventbrite.ca.
“If you’re going to go and engage in Women’s Month events, please consider putting this one on your calendar because it may not be the sexiest of all topics, but it is definitely the one that impacts your life every day,” Segal said.
On Nov. 1, about 200 Jewish students and their supporters engaged in a low-key demonstration at the University of British Columbia, with many holding posters of kidnapped Israelis. Since the terror attacks of Oct. 7 and the start of the Israel-Hamas war, universities and colleges worldwide have been hotbeds of conflict. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Jewish students and their supporters at the University of British Columbia celebrated a victory last week after the student government overwhelmingly rejected motions that critics say were openly antisemitic.
The Alma Mater Society (AMS), which represents UBC students, voted in the early hours of Feb. 29 not to include a number of referendum questions on the ballot during upcoming student elections.
One proposed question accused Israel of genocide and called for an end to UBC’s exchanges with Israeli institutions. It would have also invited students to vote on whether they believe Hillel BC, the organization that has represented Jewish students, faculty and staff at the university since 1947, should be evicted from campus. (Hillel’s lease is with the university and the AMS has no jurisdiction over whether Hillel does or does not remain on campus.) This question was rejected by a vote of 23 to 2.
A second proposed referendum question would have asked students to massively revamp the governing structure of the AMS, adding dozens of additional elected representatives of marginalized groups. The change would have assigned designated groups representation on student government, including the Social Justice Centre, UBC Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, UBC Trans Coalition, Black Student Union, Indigenous students, and the Women’s Centre. Explicitly excluded from representation were Jewish students and groups that represent them. This proposal was rejected 25-0.
Referendum questions can be submitted anonymously, so it is not known from which individuals or groups these proposals emerged, though they had support from the Social Justice Centre, which calls itself “a resource group that works toward progressive social change, inclusivity and equity through a survivor-centric, harm-reduction, radical, feminist, decolonial, anti-oppression framework.”
“I was very pleased and relieved that the AMS leadership chose not to include what I would say are very antisemitic referendum questions on the student voting ballots,” Rob Philipp, executive director of Hillel BC, told the Independent. The intention of the proposed ballot question was to intimidate Jewish students and the vote is a reassurance to Jewish students, he said. “It’s surprising that it took them close to five hours to discuss this. But the vote, in the end, was pretty overwhelming to turn it down, so that was very heartening for us.”
A few hours later, across town at Simon Fraser University, referendum results were announced, with an anti-Israel ballot question receiving overwhelming support. The compendious policy, adopted by the Simon Fraser Student Society in 2022, was put to a vote by the broader student population, endorsing the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign and repeating the boilerplate condemnations of Zionism as “a colonial ideology” bent on “ethnically cleansing the Indigenous population.”
The referendum question passed 1,801-442 and, while the statement of results did not indicate percentage turnout, there are around 40,000 students at SFU. It appears perhaps one in 20 students voted in the elections, in which a new president was elected with a tally of 878 votes.
These are just two of the foremost fires the Jewish community has been attempting to put out on campuses across the province recently. Universities and colleges worldwide have been hotbeds of conflict since the atrocities of Oct. 7 and the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas. Administrators have struggled to balance preservation of free speech with often dangerously inflammatory, sometimes clearly antisemitic expressions. The presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University were forced to resign after their remarks before a congressional hearing late last year were viewed as insufficiently condemnatory of overt calls for violence against Jews.
Philipp emphasized that postsecondary administrators in British Columbia have all been supportive of the Jewish community’s concerns – the administrations are not where the problems are coming from, although they are inevitably placed in the middle of these dramatic conflicts.
At Langara College, a months-long controversy over the fate of Natalie Knight, an English instructor who called the Oct. 7 mass murder of Israeli civilians “an amazing, brilliant offensive,” may not be over. Knight was put on leave while the college undertook an internal investigation. She returned to work, albeit in a non-instructional role, after the investigation determined her comments were “not clearly outside the bounds of protected expression.” She then spoke at a rally on campus, where she declared: “I’ve been reinstated as an instructor with no disciplinary actions, which means we won. It means we won. It means I did nothing wrong.”
Knight was then fired. While not mentioning her by name, the college said that an employee had engaged “in activities contrary to the expectations laid out by the college and as a result this employee is no longer an employee.” Her union has taken up her case.
Philipp commended Langara’s president, Dr. Paula Burns, for her leadership.
At Emily Carr University of Art and Design, some instructors have encouraged students to leave classes to attend pro-Palestinian rallies, and what Philipp calls “very, very aggressive posters” have appeared on campus. Hillel has been in conversation with administrators there.
“They understand the issue and they are in process right now of making changes to help protect the student body,” said Philipp.
“All our relationships are pretty strong,” he said of administrators at the many institutions at which Hillel BC has a presence, adding that he was recently in Victoria and had dinner with the president of the University of Victoria.
“These administrators,” he said, “are encountering very, very challenging situations that are really stressing their organizations at different levels. Nobody’s able to figure out exactly how to handle these very tricky situations.”
Hillel is also dealing with a lawsuit from the Social Justice Centre, about which they are unable to speak publicly except to say that an independent contractor, not acting on behalf of the organization, participated in the distribution of contentious stickers around the UBC campus. Hillel terminated its relationship with the contractor but is facing a case that attempts to hold the organization responsible.
These are not easy times for Jewish students, but, in some cases, individuals are finding resources they did not know they have.
Rachel Seguin, a graduate of Vancouver Talmud Torah elementary and King David High School and a second-year psychology student at UBC, has become an accidental activist.
“Since Oct. 7, I’ve seen a new part of me that I didn’t even know existed – neither did my parents, honestly,” she said. The anti-Israel actions of the Social Justice Centre and the repeated stonewalling by the AMS in response to her complaints have driven Seguin to become a public voice against antisemitism on campus, including addressing the council last week in opposition to the referendum proposals.
“I didn’t imagine myself doing something like that,” she said. The fact that the AMS did what Seguin believes is the right thing was, she said, “really refreshing and satisfying.”
Moshe Denburg, founder of the musical ensemble Tzimmes. (photo from Tzimmes)
Tzimmes will take part in the Siyyum Sefer Torah celebration of Tri-Cities Chabad, as the community marks the completion of a Sefer Torah on March 10, 2:30 p.m., at Old Orchard Hall in Port Moody.
Rabbi Mottel Gurevitz, the driving force behind this year-long project and the spiritual leader of Tri-Cities Chabad, expressed the significance of completing a Torah: “The completion of a Sefer Torah is a monumental occasion in the Jewish tradition. It represents the unity of our community, the passing on of our heritage to future generations and the commitment to our shared values. It is a symbol of strength, resilience and continuity.”
