Canadian Hadassah-WIZO’s 2015 annual campaign, “Big needs, caring hearts,” is underway in support of projects in Israel. This pillar of CHW’s fundraising provides $1.42 million in aid to children in CHW’s six day-care centres, at-risk youth at CHW’s four schools, women and seniors at CHW’s two community centres, and helps those seeking medical care at CHW’s two hospitals. In Canada, CHW supports Canadian Young Judaea summer camps.
“For me, the theme for this year’s annual campaign encompasses everything that our donors and volunteers do for CHW,” said Claudia Goldman, CHW national president. “Each has their own personal story for why they support the precious work of CHW. And, together, they make a statement about their strong belief in supporting the Jewish people by engaging in the mission of CHW, which shows what huge hearts they all have.”
Donations received through the campaign make a difference for those in CHW’s care. For almost 100 years, the organization has ensured that immediate needs are met by continually reviewing the pressing issues concerning those served by CHW projects and delivering solutions.
An example of this is the new French Na’aleh program. Youth from French-speaking countries (many times those who have faced mounting antisemitism in their home countries) have found a haven at CHW’s Hadassim dormitory school, allowing these students to focus on their studies in a secure environment. Eli, a student in the program from Paris, said, “Since being at CHW Hadassim, I no longer hide my Jewish heritage. At home, I could not go out in public with my Star of David necklace on. Here, I wear it proudly and with confidence.”
With the help of donors and friends, CHW works to improve the lives of children, women and families who are battling hunger, illness, domestic violence and other complex issues.
One additional way to support the work of CHW is to attend a mission to Israel. One such trip leaves Canada on April 20, bringing CHW members and friends to Israel for a 10-day visit. Over the course of the trip, the mission aims to provide participants with a better understanding of what CHW has accomplished in its nearly 100-year history, while bringing to light the challenges that face Israelis today. A mission highlight will be experiencing Yom Hazikaron and celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut alongside their Israeli brothers and sisters.
This is the first mission led by Goldman, the newly elected national president. Over her two-year term, Goldman will concentrate on partnership through three components: Israel, volunteers and donors. She said, “My vision for CHW is based on the belief that each child we help is a life changed. Each woman we support is a life improved for the better. Each family we impact becomes strengthened. CHW makes it possible to fulfil the dream of making the world a better place, and we will continue to reach this goal by working hand-in-hand with our partners in Israel, our volunteers and donors. CHW’s mission to Israel enables us to foster these relationships.”
CHW is a leading Jewish women’s philanthropic organization. Founded in 1917, CHW is nonpartisan, volunteer driven and funds a multitude of programs and projects for children, health care and women in Israel and Canada. With a membership of 10,000, CHW has offices in more than 40 locations across Canada. For more information, visit chw.ca or contact Alina Ianson, CHW national executive director, at [email protected].
An inscription on a water fountain built by Suleiman the Magnificent. (photo by Ariel Fields)
When it comes to Jerusalem, the writing really is on the wall. The problem is, some people (easily recognized, as they go around saying “it’s like talking to a brick wall”) will try to convince you walls can’t tell you anything. Don’t listen. If you ignore Jerusalem’s walls, you’ll miss out. The following matryoshka/babushka story (or story within stories) shows that “walls are the skin of the residents,” as the muralist cooperative CitéCréation is fond of saying.
Admittedly, you might initially doubt whether writing on the wall matters. To quell your uncertainty, here is what Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Jonathan Price has to say: “Inscriptions are an important and unique historical source. They provide information in many areas no other source can provide.”
Thus, while there’s no CD of the trumpet/shofar playing, we know that trumpet blasts from the southwest end of the Temple Mount indicated the beginning and end of the Sabbath. How? In his extensive history, The Wars of the Jews, Flavius Josephus writes about this practice.
The truly astounding physical evidence, however, is a stone carved sign now located in the Roman/ Byzantine section of Jerusalem’s Israel Museum. The inscription on this first century CE stone reads, “‘To the place of the trumpeting.” The stone directed the Temple kohain “trumpeter to the high point on the Temple Mount, where he would announce the beginning and end of the Sabbath.”
An archeologist described its discovery. It was found in the “debris from the dismantled walls, engraved on an eight-foot-long piece of limestone. The stone has a rounded top indicating it was a kind of parapet situated on top of the wall or the tower at the southwest corner of Herod’s giant Temple Mount. Unfortunately, the clearly readable inscription is broken off, so we only have the beginning of it.”
The trumpeter’s corner had a distinct vantage point. From his post, the trumpeter looked out over ancient Jerusalem, from the City of David to the Upper City in the West. When he gave a blast, even the merchants and shoppers in the markets heard.
Moving slightly away from the Old City, we come to an ornate Ottoman inscription just above the southern end of Sultan’s Pool. It reads: “[There] has ordered the construction of this blessed sabil, our master the Sultan the greatest prince and the honorable Khaqan, who rules the necks of the nations, the sultan of the [land of] Rum, the Arabs and the non-Arab [’ajam], the Sultan Suleiman, son of Sultan Selim Khan, may God perpetuate his reign and his sultanate. On the date of the tenth of the month of Muharram the sacred, in the year of 943 [29 June 1536].” (Ottoman Jerusalem, Auld and Hillenbrand, eds., 2000)
This sabil (drinking fountain) served the many passing pilgrims. The Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent built five more sabils inside the walls of the older city. Moreover, several other sabils (the earliest dating back to the Byzantine period of the sixth/seventh century) have been excavated at this same location.
The drinking fountain’s water came from an aqueduct originating at Solomon’s Pools, near Bethlehem. Importantly, this aqueduct primarily serviced the Temple Mount area. To insure an adequate water supply, Sultan’s Pool (today an outdoor concert venue) was a floodwater reservoir. Just a few years ago, archeologists uncovered a Second Temple period bridge that stood over the adjacent ravine of Ben Hinom Valley. The original bridge maintained the elevation of the path along which the water coursed. In 1320 CE, the Mamluks rebuilt the bridge. Two of the original nine arches supporting the bridge were excavated to their full three-metre height.
A relatively short walk from the fountain, but with a significant leap in time, we arrive at the Hebrew year 5694 (corresponding to 1933-1934). At that time, builders completed work on a structure at 6 King David St. As the country was still controlled by the British (the Mandatory period lasted from Sept. 29, 1923-May 14, 1948), the Hebrew stone dedication might be termed both prophetic and Zionist. The inscription from Psalms 102:15 reads: “Your servants take delight in its stones and cherish its dust.” Heads up, however, to view this stone, as it is high on the right side of the entranceway.
In 2001, the French art group CitéCréation painted a mural depicting the Jerusalem Light Rail system, which didn’t start running until 2011. (photo by Ariel Fields)
No matter what you think of the Mandatory period, most people will agree that the British constructed attractive and made-to-last Jerusalem streets and boulevards. Although King George Street has changed tremendously since Israel gained independence, the stateliness of the road’s 1924 commemoration is visible in the dedication stone on the side of what is now a woman’s clothing store. The esthetically pleasing inscription is carved in the languages of the time: English, the official language of the British Crown has a central spot on the stone. It is flanked by slightly smaller Hebrew and Arabic translations.
They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words, so here goes: Across from the above inscription, where King George, Strauss and Jaffa Road intersect, look up to see what was for 10 years regarded as a “time-warp” fresco. In 2001, the French art group CitéCréation painted a long exterior building wall depicting the Jerusalem Light Rail system. Since the light rail only began running at the end of 2011, for years Jerusalemites considered this painting a bad joke. Like many other Jerusalem projects, this one finally came into being years after its original promised inauguration.
Despite a violent summer and fall, the Jerusalem Light Rail demonstrates that the city’s ethnic and religious groups can – and do, literally – come into close contact. Jerusalem’s train is an example, albeit a fragile coexistence.
Gavriel Cohen’s 1976 mural on the Gerard Behar building. (photo by Orli Fields)
In sharp contrast to the slow development of the light rail, the wall project on the Gerard Behar Theatre (its address is 11 Bezalel St.) shows how quickly things can get done, if one really works at it. In 1976, Gavriel Cohen painted a huge building mural in just 92 days. Humorously, this 18-metre-wide painting is entitled “Around the World in 92 Days.” When you see the painting, you will understand its “play” on the title of Jules Verne’s famous adventure story.
Like Verne, Cohen was born in France. Moreover, the Jerusalem Foundation donor who underwrote the building’s renovation was himself a millionaire French Jew. He named the building after his son, Gerard Behar. Today, the wall has added significance, as many French Jews are making Israel their home. The Jewish Agency reported nearly 7,000 French Jews made aliya in 2014, doubling the number of the preceding year.
We now move back in time to the Hebrew year 5632 (1872). In the tiny Jerusalem neighborhood of the House of David – the fourth neighborhood built outside the walls of the Old City – there is another inscription above the doorway of what (with controversy between different religious blocs) has recently become a yeshiva. David Reiz, a Jew from Jonava, Poland (today the Republic of Lithuania) donated the money to build this area. The Hebrew stone dedication contains a description of the 1872 purchase of the lot and the subsequent building of the apartments and a study house (bet midrash). The home of Rav Kook (first chief Ashkenazi rabbi of Mandate Palestine) and the popular dairy restaurant Ticho House (currently undergoing repair) are a few steps away. The square courtyard in which the inscription is found still has the wells residents used for their household needs. Reportedly, today’s residents are a mix of doctors, artists and yeshiva students.
Even if they never took up residence in Israel, over the years people of different denominations have considered Jerusalem to be their centre of the world. Thus, in front of Jerusalem’s City Hall, there is a large reproduction of Heinrich Bünting’s 1581 map of the world. Bünting (1545-1606), a German Protestant pastor and theologian with a strong interest in cartography, created a map (included in his printed map book) featuring a three-leaf clover (which to this day is still part of his native Hanover’s coat of arms). Europe is the western leaf, Asia is the eastern leaf and Africa is the southern leaf. Jerusalem lies at the centre of the clover.
As Hebrew University’s Prof. Rehav Rubin (1987) wrote: “These maps do not teach us anything about the appearance of the city in ancient times, but from them we learn how Christian Europeans and the map-makers themselves saw sacred texts and the place of Jerusalem in the sacred texts.”
So much of Jerusalem’s history is laid out on its walls; come visit to discover it.
Deborah Rubin Fieldsis an Israel-based features writer. She is also the author of Take a Peek Inside: A Child’s Guide to Radiology Exams, published in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
Having received letters asking for copies of her 40-year-old cookbook, the author has had it reprinted, and it is available for purchase. (photo by Barry A. Kaplan)
In the 1970s, when I made aliya, I discovered that Israel was a bit behind the United States and, when renting an apartment, chances are you would not find a stove but, rather, two burners instead. Many of my friends rented apartments with the same problem, and one of them introduced me to a gadget that looked like an angel food cake pan with a lid and holes to release the heat; it had a base to place over a burner and the lidded pot went on top. It had been used in Israel for years. It was called a “wonder pot.”
I soon wrote a cookbook called The Wonders of a Wonder Pot: Cooking in Israel Without an Oven. To my surprise, it became a bestseller among students, new immigrants and people on sabbaticals, as well as those who loved the nostalgia.
In recent years, it somehow resurfaced, and I began receiving letters asking for copies of the 40-year-old cookbook. After depleting the supply my husband Barry and I brought with us, I decided to have it reprinted. Anyone in the United States or Canada who would like a copy can now have one for $25 including postage; those in Israel can have one for 100 NIS. For more details, email me at [email protected].
Sybil Kaplanis a journalist, foreign correspondent, lecturer, food writer and book reviewer who lives in Jerusalem. She also does the restaurant features for janglo.net and leads weekly shuk walks in English in Jerusalem’s Jewish food market.
Chana Bracha Siegelbaum is founder and director of the Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin: Holistic Torah for Women on the Land. Located 20 minutes south of Jerusalem in the Gush Etzion community since 1994, its programs include monthly seminars for English-speaking women, experiential weekends and holiday studies based on a curricula emphasizing women’s spiritual empowerment through traditional Torah values. The rebbetzin also tends an orchard of 50 fruit trees, and she has recently published The Seven Fruits of the Land of Israel (Menorah Books, 2014).
Danish-born Siegelbaum wrote this cookbook over 17 years, and it features more than recipes – it includes the mystical and medicinal properties of the seven species. For each of the species, mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:9-10, there are other biblical sources. Siegelbaum offers for each species an attribute, character trait, holiday, weekday, world, body parts, shepherd, prophetess, numerical value, how often it is mentioned in the Bible and the meaning of its Latin name. After this are nutrition facts, medical associations, kabbalah references, recipes, a story and general references.
The book is compiled and expanded from the rebbetzin’s yearly workshops, and “the Torah teachings carry the main weight of the book, as Torah is [her] passion and training.”
Siegelbaum writes that the seven fruits of Israel affirm the G-d of Israel, the people of Israel and the land of Israel. Wheat is soft and sweet; barley, tough and hard; grapes are succulent and deliciously juicy; figs are plump and fleshy; pomegranates are tangy, vibrant and crunchy; the bitterness of olives contrasts with the honeyed sweetness of the dates.
After completing the text of the book, which took more than 15 years, Siegelbaum then spent a year working with the graphic artist and fine-tuning it. Jessica Friedman Vaiselberg, who created the illustrations, is originally from Kentucky; she studied at the Memphis College of Art and graduated from the University of Louisville. She and her family live on Long Island, where she has a home studio.
Not only is The Seven Fruits of the Land of Israel a fascinating book, but there are 162 color photographs to enhance the work, a summary chapter, three appendices and essays about the author, the artist and the Midreshet, as well as numerous illustrations and paintings.
Special touches to the book include border illustrations of each species, color-coded to match the species – for example, the use of a grape color for the grape chapter, green for barley, etc. Additional illustrations are on the bottom of each page.
There are 67 recipes, many unique, including wheat burgers, wheat-germ brownies, baked barley, barley beet salad, chocolate grape leaves, Rambam’s charoset, fresh fig spread, quinoa pomegranate almond delight, anti-wrinkle pomegranate-feel facial cream, flavored olive oil, Moroccan-inspired cooked olives, dream of date balls and guilt-free chocolate mousse pie.
Even though the rebbetzin leaves out the number of servings, her styling includes the things that I always find most useful – a little comment, numbered instructions and a separation of ingredients from instructions, in this case, in a shaded box.
The Seven Fruits of the Land of Israel was awarded the 2015 Gourmand World Cookbook Award in the best Jewish cuisine category and in the best cookbook fruits category. Here are a couple of recipes from it.
TENDER POMEGRANATE TABOULI
1 cup cracked wheat (bulgur)
1 bundle finely chopped parsley (about 2/3 cup)
1 bunch finely chopped mint or 1/2 cup dry
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions or scallions
1/2 cup pomegranate arils
1 finely chopped cucumber
juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
allspice to taste
1. Pour boiling water over cracked wheat.
2. Soak cracked wheat in water for at least one hour. Pour out extra water.
3. Soak the parsley, green onions and mint in natural soap water for three minutes. Rinse.
4. Process parsley, green onions and mint in a food processor until very fine.
5. Mix finely chopped herbs and onions with the soaked bulgur.
6. Add the pomegranate arils and chopped cucumber.
7. Pour juice of the lemons on the tabouli and add the olive oil, salt, pepper and allspice.
OLIVE WALNUT SPREAD
1 can of pitted green olives (1/4 pound)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 to 1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1. Puree olives, garlic, walnuts and olive oil in a food processor. Serve as a dip.
Sybil Kaplanis a journalist, foreign correspondent, lecturer, food writer and book reviewer who lives in Jerusalem. She also does the restaurant features for janglo.net and leads weekly shuk walks in English in Jerusalem’s Jewish food market.
Left to right: Winnipeg transplants Miriam, Ronit, Dor and Bruce Brown. (photo by Bernie Bellan)
Rehovot, Israel
Once again, Election Day has come and gone and the world continues to spin; albeit slightly more rightward for Israel.
I went to sleep the night before the recent election a bit more excited than usual – I love the hoopla of an Israeli Election Day – and a bit more apprehensive than usual – I was still not sure who to vote for.
Election Day in Israel is a holiday, and we had a fun day ahead of us. My son was set to participate in our democratic process. My wife and I were set to vote – well, almost, as I was still undecided. We had a family lunch date with friends. And I was looking forward to watching the exit polls at home.
My son – still too young to vote but not too young to hold an opinion – was manning a party booth outside the local polling station. Dressed in a party hat and T-shirt and armed with colorful brochures, he was out of the house by 7 a.m., surprising, since we can barely get him out of the house on a school day, which starts an hour later!
As opposed to the sterile polling environment of Canada, Israel’s polling stations are last-minute electioneering grounds. Every party has a booth with party hacks or students for hire (such as my son) vying for last-minute votes. And multiple cars covered with party posters and carrying huge loudspeakers on their roofs compete for sound waves by blaring political jingles – a classic Israeli balagan. The scene is lots of fun and a great place to catch up with neighbors and friends to debate Iran, the religious, the economy, last summer’s war and who to vote for and who not to vote for.
I think the last time I voted in Canada was in the 1998 election when I cast my vote for Brian Mulroney. Oops – should I have written that? In Israel everyone knows not only what you earn and how large a mortgage you have, but also how well you get along with your mother-in-law and who you vote for. We are a very open and argumentative society, so voting preferences are common water cooler and Friday night dinner table talk.
Anyway, by mid-morning my wife, daughter and I – and even our dog – went to visit my son and to cast our votes. With our identity cards and a falafel in hand (a not unusual text message arrived from my son a few minutes before we left the house: “I’m hungry”), off we went to the polling station.
It was more crowded than usual and we actually had to wait in line – or what counts for a line in Israel – to reach the ballot box. My wife confidently cast her vote. And I – in a last-minute decision (no doubt influenced by a quick chat with a party faithful just outside) – cast my lot for a pure centrist party. OK, there were two of them, but being a good Canadian (!) I will keep my specific choice secret.
Afterwards, we drove to Tel Aviv where we met friends at an excellent Persian restaurant, an appropriate choice given some of the election issues. For sure the talk was about the elections but also about other things just as in any normal country. And Israel, in its own special way, is a normal country … even on Election Day.
Towards mid-evening, I popped my microwavable popcorn and relaxed in front of the TV to watch the exit polls. Since it appeared to be a virtual tie, I went to sleep around 11 p.m. believing a national unity government was inevitable. True to form for Israel – where the unexpected should be expected – I woke up the next morning to a strong right-wing lead, with the overwhelming likelihood of another four years of Netanyahu rule, with a strong tilt to the religious right.
Good? Bad? With Election Day come and gone, one thing is clear: the Israeli beat goes on.
Bruce Brownis a former Winnipegger now living in Israel. This article was originally published in the Jewish Post and News and is reprinted with permission.
Jerusalem has been known as the Eternal City of the Jewish people since the days of King David and his son Solomon. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
My daily routine probably doesn’t differ much from yours. This morning, I went for an early morning walk, and enjoyed the pearly dawn before the sun broke through the clouds. Then I went to a local grocery store and bought some fresh bread for breakfast, before my workday began. Trivial, mundane things. The only difference is my day took place in Jerusalem.
This fact adds an extra dimension to all of my activities. Jerusalem has been known as the Eternal City of the Jewish people since the days of King David and his son Solomon. Even today, generation after generation continues to pray, “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand lose its cunning.” This line was sung under the chuppa at a wedding I recently attended. Jews turn towards Jerusalem as the focus of their longing three times a day in prayer – no matter in what part of the world they live.
The city’s history is long. Five thousand years ago, a group of settlers chose to make their homes on the steep ridge called the Ophel, south of the Old City. In 2000 BCE, Abraham and Isaac ascended Mount Moriah; a thousand years later, King David captured the city, bringing the Holy Ark to Jerusalem, and establishing its sanctity for the Jewish people. From the years 961-922 BCE, King Solomon constructed the First Temple. In 537 BCE, the Jews returned from their exile in Babylon and, in 517 BCE, completed the building of the Second Temple. Then the Greeks, under Alexander the Great, took the city. Antiochus ruled, desecrating the Temple until the Maccabees liberated it. In 63 BCE, Pompey the Great captured it and, for 33 years, King Herod reconstructed the Second Temple. That’s 4,000 years of Jewish history!
Jerusalem’s history continued to be a story of conquest and destruction by an endless chain of occupiers lusting for this precious jewel … the Romans, the Greeks, the Crusaders, Egyptian Mamluks, the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate, the Jordanians, all lusting for this battle-worn city that possesses no material riches, neither gold nor precious metals, no minerals, no oil, nothing to enrich their coffers.
I don’t know why, although many have tried to come up with some reasons. Jews and non-Jews alike have felt Jerusalem’s magnetism across the ages. Midrash Tehillim 91:7 tells us, “Praying in Jerusalem is like praying before the Throne of Glory, for the gate of heaven is there.” In his 1950 book Jerusalem Has Many Faces, Judah Stampfer wrote: “I have seen a city chiseled out of moonlight, its buildings beautiful as silver foothills, while universes shimmered in its corners.”
I have had the opportunity to visit many enchanting cities, including Venice, Avignon, Bruges, Hong Kong, Paris; all have a magic that transforms the senses. Yet, I can’t define the magnetism of Jerusalem. Certainly there are cities that exceed it in beauty and dignity. Perhaps we can think of Jerusalem as more an emotion than a city. It arouses passions, it nurtures the soul, it is spiritual and inspiring.
To call it home for the past 44 years is, for me, an enormous privilege. I am always aware of the history under my feet. I never forget the nameless heroes who fought to retain it for the Jewish people. Not just in long-ago history, but also those who fought to reunite the city in 1967’s Six Day War. So many heroes who gave their lives so that I, and thousands of ordinary people just like me, could live out our lives in the Eternal City.
Prof. Idit Shachar, an expert on inflammation from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, spoke to a group of almost 70 people at VanDusen Botanical Garden on March 25.
Shachar discussed why issues arise in the body when there is a breakdown in the cooperation, communication and mobility of the immune system. Highlights of her presentation included discussion of the dual role of the immune system, and how it is critical for defence against pathogens and critical for body homeostasis. She also spoke of how inflammation is a double-edged sword, as it is both a key weapon in host defence against infections, but also has the potential to cause severe collateral damage in tissues, causing it to be labeled “the silent killer.”
The evening was hosted and sponsored by Drs. Alisa Lipson and Charles Krieger, and the audience was a mix of academics and lay people, resulting in a dynamic question and answer session.
For more information on Shachar’s research or about the Weizmann Canada chapter in Vancouver, contact Kathryn Berkson, [email protected] or 1-877-734-5948.
Aryeh Altman, inventor of the game Kujamma, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund $25,000 to manufacture an initial run of Kujamma for retail.
Kujamma inventor Aryeh Altman. (screenshot)
The game’s concept revolves around collecting and accumulating, which is exactly what kujamma means in Estonian. The game involves opponents strategically throwing different-valued magnet pieces, called slappers, onto a metallic game board. Points are awarded by overlapping or stacking the slappers and claiming them with a special magnet called a point marker. The first player to reach 30 points wins.
Altman, a Toronto native, played the game as a child with fridge magnets that he found in the house. He and his siblings created a point-based game by trying to stack as many magnets as they could on the refrigerator. He taught the game to friends while in college, as well as to his nieces and nephews. Over the years, he has refined and developed it and is ready to take it into the production phase.
Although luck has a lot to do with the indoor and outdoor game, Kujamma also incorporates elements of skill and can bring out the competitiveness in people of all ages. Kujamma can also be used as a learning tool to teach children basic arithmetic and hand-eye coordination, and keep adults’ basic math and motor skills sharp.
אמזון מבצעת ניסויים סודיים במזל”טים בקנדה. (צילום: amazon.com)
הונאת הפונזי הגדולה של קנדה: 3,000 משקיעים איבדו קרוב ל-300 מיליון דולר
פרטי פרשת הונאת הפונזי הגדולה ביותר בתולדות קנדה נחשפים בימים אלה, במהלך משפט פלילי נגד שני אזרחים מקלגרי. גרי סורנסון (71) ומילו ברוסט (61), נאשמים שהונו כ-3,000 משקיעים בסכום שנאמד בקרוב ל-400 מיליון דולר. מקורות הכספים של המשקיעים באו מחסכונותיהם, כספים שהקציבו לטובת הפנסיה ואף מהון עצמי של בתיהם.
המשפט שנחשב לאחד מהארוכים בהיסטוריה הפלילית של העיר הקלגרי, נפתח ב-2009, וכאמור הוא עדיין מתנהל בימים אלה. בבית המשפט הוצגו למעלה ממאה אלף של דפים של מסמכים וקלטות שמע. לאחרונה אחד עשר חברי המושבעים הרשיעו את סורנסון וברוסט, בשלושה סעיפי אישום. הם הואשמו בשני סעיפים אישום של זיוף וסעיף אחד של הלבנת כספים. התביעה מבקשת להטיל על השנים את העונש המירבי שנקבע בחוק, שעומד של 14 שנים בכלא. פסק דינם של שני הנוכלים צפוי להתפרסם בקרוב.
סורנסון וברוסט שיכנעו את המשקיעים שרובם מצפון אמריקה (בעיקר אמריקנים וקנדים), בשנים 1999 ועד 2008, לרכוש מניות של שלוש חברות השקעות לכריית זהב שבשליטתם. פעילות החברות התמקדה כביכול בהונדורס, ונצואלה, אקוודור, פרו, קנדה וארצות הברית.
את הכספים השקיעו השניים בחברות קש חסרות ערך עם שמות נוצצים. ובעיקר הם לקחו את הכספים ובזבזו אותם על חיי ראווה ונוחות, שכללו בין היתר: טיסות במטוסים פרטיים, מגורים בווילות מפוארות וארוחות יקרות. סורנסון וברוסט טוענים שהם נשארו חסרי כל, והמשטרה לא בדיוק מאמינה להם. בשלב זה חוקרי המשטרה מנסים לאתר לפחות חלק מהכסף שנעלם על ידי שני הנאשמים.
זה לא חלום אלה מציאות: אמזון מבצעת ניסויים סודיים במזל”טים בקנדה
ענקית המסחר האלקטרוני האמריקנית אמזון, מבצעת בימים אלה ניסויים עם מטוסים זעירים ללא טייסים (מזל”טים) להעברת חבילות, במחוז בריטיש קולומביה, קרוב לגבול עם מדינת וושינגטון בארצות הברית. מטה החברה של אמזון ממוקם בעיר סיאטל שבוושינגטון. באמזון מסרבים לחשוף את מיקומו המדויק של אתר הניסויים כדי למנוע מעקב מצד המתחרות הקשות, בהן גוגל ופדקס. גורמים שונים בקנדה ששמעו על דבר הניסויים של אמזון, הגיבו בספק וחשבו שמדובר בדבר בדיחה. אך באמזון השיבו בתגובה שמדובר בדבר אמיתי. הניסויים באתר הסודי כוללים הטסת מזל”טים בגובה של עד 150 מטר, ובמהירות של עד 80 קמ”ש. ניסויים סודיים דומים עם מזל”טים מתבצעים ע”י אמזון באחת מהמדינות של מערב אירופה.
אמזון המתינה למעלה משמונה חודשים לקבל את אישור רשות התעופה האמריקנית, לביצוע ניסויים עם מזל”טים בתוך ארה”ב. לאחר שהתייאשה מהאמריקנים החברה פנתה לרשות המקבילה הקנדית. ולהפתעה (או לא) קיבלה את אישור המיוחל בתוך שלושה שבועות, לביצוע ניסויים עם מזל”טים במשך שנה. קנדה נחשבת למדינה ידידותית להפעלת מזל”טים לשימושים מסחריים שונים. בשנה שעברה קנדה הנפיקה אישורים ל-1,672 מזל”טים מסחריים. ולעומת זאת ארה”ב הנפיקה אישורים רק 48 מזל”טים.
שרת התעופה של הממשלה הפדרלית של קנדה, ליסה רייט, אומרת שקנדה היא המובילה בעולם כיום בטכנולוגיית מזל”טים. היא מקווה שגופים דומים כמו אמזון ילכו בעיקבותיה ויפנו לקבל אישור לניסויים, בהם רשות הדואר הקנדית – קנדה פוסט.
אמזון הכריזה בסוף שנת 2013 על פרוייקט ‘פריים אייר’ להפעלת מזל”טים, שישלחו ללקוחות שלה בתוך כחצי שעה, חבילות במשקל של עד 2.3 ק”ג. אמזון מחפשת עתה בין היתר מהנדסים ישראלים שיעבדו בפרוייקט המעניין. עם מפרסום ‘פריים אייר’ לא מעט גורמים טענו שמדובר בפרויקט מסוכן, שיגרום לנזקים ברכוש ובנפש.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of United Reform Judaism. (photo by Ian Spanier)
Temple Sholom is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. As part of its continuing celebrations of this milestone, Rabbi Richard Jacobs, president of United Reform Judaism, and Paul Leszner, head of the Canadian Council for Reform Judaism, joined Rabbi Dan Moskovitz and the Vancouver congregation last Shabbat.
Rabbi Rick, as he is fondly known, is entering his third year as president of URJ. Throughout his rabbinate, he has been a social justice activist, whether setting up a homeless shelter in his hometown of New York City, or joining an international humanitarian mission to the Chad-Darfur border. Vibrant, welcoming and warm are some of the words that he uses to describe the movement, and it was not difficult to sense the enthusiasm as he discussed with the Independent his leadership philosophy, as well as the goals of Vision 2020, a URJ campaign to reach and inspire the 900 or so Reform communities across North America.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs carries with him a business card of his grandfather, Theodore Baumritter: “He taught me as much about life and Judaism as anyone I ever met.”
JI: I read about your personal mission and the fact that you carry around a business card of your grandfather, Theodore Baumritter. What does that say to you?
RJ: My grandfather was a person with such integrity and such goodwill that everywhere he went, people came to know and love him, people he met through business and through Jewish life. He taught me as much about life and Judaism as anyone I have ever met. Generational bonds are very important. To know where you come from and the people that helped you become who you are, they shape one’s character and aspirations.
My other grandmother emigrated from Eastern Europe when she was a teen. She was a seamstress on the Lower East Side and didn’t have the privilege of going to high school until she was a senior citizen. She went back and got her degree. She raised five children.
I feel very blessed to have the grandparents and parents I had, and hope that when we talk about ancestors they are not just vague theoretical people.
JI: What would you like readers, and Jews generally, to know about Reform Judaism?
RJ: Reform Judaism is large, passionate strong, dynamic, welcoming and truly inspirational. It can speak to lifetime congregation members and to those who haven’t tasted any of the rituals of the Jewish traditions. There may be people who at one point lived somewhere in a Jewish community and are open to finding a place for themselves.
JI: What are the specific goals of Vision 2020 and how do you propose to carry them out?
RJ: With guidance and help from rabbis and leaders across the U.S. and Canada, UJR envisions three major strategic priorities.
The first is to strengthen congregations, even congregations that are thriving and growing…. The world in which we live and the Jewish communities in which we find ourselves are having to change at an extraordinary rate. Congregations have to learn about how to engage in learning, spirituality and worship to nourish the soul. How do we ensure the synagogue is not frozen in one moment even though we have been growing steadily? How do we express chesed (loving kindness) in the congregation?
The second priority is called “audacious hospitality.” Audacious hospitality reaches beyond politeness…. Anyone who shows an interest in Judaism should not be turned away. If someone walks into the synagogue for the first time, it’s a very tentative moment. “Will I feel at home? Will I want to explore and get to know people?” Particularly a family with children. We want and need everyone to feel a genuine connection, rather than institutional – seniors, disabled, interfaith families; someone who has no knowledge of their Jewish faith; a traditional person who is now seeking something more contemporary. It’s about inclusion with no barriers. What’s important is building the bridges outside the walls and at the same time paying very close attention to those inside our walls.
JI: Low-income people or families may not have the means to afford membership or event costs. How do you propose to remove that barrier?
RJ: One of the barriers that keeps people outside the synagogue can be a financial barrier. Sometimes it’s a barrier or a priority they choose to avoid. Either way, we want to lower those because it’s not the finances that bind us together. We are bound together because we are part of a people, and we want to reduce ways in which you have to formally affiliate. Although, supporting something you care deeply about is a deeply held Jewish value. But, if someone wants to participate, it cannot be a barrier. Whether it’s participation in summer camp or Jewish day school, we have to remove those barriers.
JI: The third pillar of Vision 2020 is tikkun olam. Could you give me some examples?
RJ: Tikkun olam [perfecting the world] is a very large category to express a fundamental Jewish commitment. In the past 20 years, every study of the Jewish community [asks] … “What is the most compelling way you express your Judaism?” Pew Research [results] said: One, remembering the Holocaust. Two, standing up for equality and social justice. We use [tikkun olam] to actually express a fundamental Jewish commitment. When we pray or celebrate holidays, it is not instead of doing community work for people who have no home or food – tikkun olam is becoming a partner with G-d and making the world as God intended it to be. It’s primary. It is the pillar of Jewish life.
For us, tikkun olam also involves core Jewish values on a local and national level. It’s about helping immigrants, making sure that gun violence is not to the point that it inhibits our society. It also means making sure that public policy is responsible to [people’s] needs, whether it’s health care or caring for seniors. We don’t separate public policy and say, “That’s the government’s job.” We care about them. On a local and a national level, these are core Jewish values.
So, how do we lead and support the things that our Jewish tradition commands us to do? Young people tell us (whether they are involved or not) that, for them, the way that tikkun olam is practised is a serious, ongoing discipline, a way of life and a top priority.
JI: Is that where all the passion is to be found? What happens to the ritual and liturgy? Can these inspire people in these high-tech times?
RJ: Not only can we, but it’s happening. I recently attended a convention in Atlanta, Ga., where 1,000 of our own youth leaders attended, but also youth professionals who lead prayers, study. They [made] sure that we learned about the history of civil rights. Atlanta is where Martin Luther King preached. I use the example of young people because they have the fire burning in them. They speak Hebrew, they know how to pray, chant Torah and they have attended Birthrights. It is one thing to hear it from rabbis and educators. It is another thing to hear it from youth leaders.
We have 15 summer camps. Young people will talk about their expressions of Jewish commitment, such as meditating, praying and singing. They will stand up for Israel in their schools. This is the kind of Jewish engagement we are seeing. But this is also the time to be thinking about the young people who aren’t engaged.
JI: How do you reach them?
RJ: One method, which we can now use, is technology. We have, for instance, a website, reformjudaism.org. Last year, there were two million users on the website looking for Jewish learning and connection. Technology can be a connector but can’t have the same experience as a face-to-face real community, only virtual.
JI: What really excites you about your job?
RJ: I love traveling and getting to know Jewish communities all across North America. From a small little community in Mississippi or a large congregation in Arizona. Or, this weekend, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. It’s a privilege getting to know the different communities and bringing a sense that we are part of something larger.
Jenny Wright is a writer, music therapist, children’s musician and recording artist.
