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March 30, 2007
Our story on display
After years of planning, Jewish museum opens.
PAT JOHNSON
Years of planning – and decades of research and collecting
– resulted in the historic opening Monday of Vancouver's newest
cultural landmark.
The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia opened its doors
to the public March 26 on the third floor of the Jewish Community
Centre of Greater Vancouver. An invitation-only gala launch took
place a day earlier, with leaders of the community and political
representatives touring the new facility and shmoozing over noshes
and entertainment downstairs in the Wosk Auditorium. The Kol Halev
Performance Ensemble presented historically inspired tap dancing
for guests.
"It's almost as though we've been given permission to look
our elders in the face once again," said Rabbi Yosef Wosk,
a leading supporter of the new museum, to which he loaned numerous
artifacts. "Having a museum and an archives and a genealogical
society is both an anchor and a crown for the Jewish community."
There are no anchors on display, but there is a Torah crown amid
numerous religious items at the entrance of the facility. The displays
begin with a brief introduction to Jewish civilization, asking the
immortal question, "Who is a Jew?" Among the religious
items on display is a reader's desk from Vancouver's first shul,
B'nai Yehuda, which became Schara Tzedeck. The exhibit goes on to
describe Jewish lifecycle events and the major defining aspects
of Jewish life for millennia, before launching into more specific
details of Jewish life in British Columbia.
Throughout the museum, tree iconography is the recurring theme,
reflecting the central strength but diverse branches of Jewish life,
said Gary Averbach, who, with Shirley Barnett, co-chaired the campaign
to raise funds for the museum.
Early Jewish life in British Columbia centred in Victoria, with
provisioners for the gold rush of the 1850s coming north from California.
Jewish British Columbians quickly integrated into the social, economic
and political mainstream of colonial society. The exhibits depict
Jewish merchants in the fur trade, mining and harvesting.
Political and social achievements are highlighted, including those
of David Oppenheimer, the second mayor of Vancouver, whose desk
chair is a central artifact in the new museum. Dave Barrett, the
province's first Jewish premier, is featured here, as are Jack Diamond
and Joseph Segal, who both served as chancellors of Simon Fraser
University, and Nathan Nemetz, who served as chancellor of the University
of British Columbia, as well as chief justice of the B.C. Supreme
Court.
International events impacted on the local community in diverse
ways, as the exhibits show. Correspondence from and about the endangered
Jews of Europe are on display, as are testaments to the postwar
efforts to assimilate surviving Jews into the community here.
The museum also includes the Omansky Learning Centre, dedicated
by Betty Averbach in honor of her parents, Moishe and Buba Omansky,
which is a multipurpose room ideal for educational sessions. The
Nemetz Archival Research Centre, dedicated in memory of Esther Nemetz
Dayson, is a space where researchers can listen to the more than
400 audio recordings of archival interviews.
Bill Gruenthal, president of the Jewish Historical Society of British
Columbia, credited Janine Johnston, the archivist, Donna Bryman,
the museum consultant, and Marcy Babins, the office administrators,
for bringing the project to successful opening.
Richard Henriquez was the architect, Catherine Youngren was the
interior designer, Irv Nitkin was project manager. Design and fabrication
of the museum interior was by Aldrich, Pears, Panther Management
and Artcraft Graphics.
Cyril Leonoff, the B.C. Jewish community's unofficial historian,
whose work provided much of the material known about early British
Columbia Jews, was acknowledged and Donna Bryman took the microphone
to draw attention to Gruenthal's tireless commitment.
"This man ate, slept and drank this project," Bryman said.
"Actually, he ate, didn't sleep and drank this project."
Pat Johnson is, among other things, director of development
and communications for Vancouver Hillel Foundation.
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