Carol Herbert

Snapshot of Jewish life

Looking Back, Moving Forward is available for purchase from the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia. (photo from JMABC)

The first thing many readers will do upon opening the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia’s Looking Back, Moving Forward: 160 Years of Jewish Life in BC is try and find their friends’ writeups and those of the organizations with which they volunteer or work. That is, if they didn’t submit their own writeup for the publication. If they did send in their bio or one for their family, then that’s the first page to find.

Even people who grew up in the province and have a multigenerational presence here will find novel tidbits in this 284-page hardcover (or soft) coffee table book. Published to celebrate the museum’s 50th anniversary last year, it is appropriately dedicated to Irene Dodek (1930-2019) and Cyril E. Leonoff (1925-2016). Leonoff was founding president of the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia, which was established in January 1971. Dodek, also a founder of the museum and archives, “helped define its direction early on and conducted more than a hundred oral history interviews with members of our community.” More about Dodek and Leonoff can be found in the first pages of the book, before the greetings from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier John Horgan.

In her president’s message, Carol Herbert writes, “Our stories are fascinating, and demonstrate the evolution over time of our communities, from a few small clusters of Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe in late 19th century to present-day diverse Jewish communities, comprised of individuals who originated from across the world; Sephardic, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi; secular and religious; leaders, activists and advocates for Jewish and general community causes.”

Both Herbert and the book’s editor, Michael Schwartz, director of community engagement for the JMABC, acknowledge that this publication is a partial snapshot of the community. They both encourage readers who haven’t done so yet “to share your memories of where we’ve been, celebrate with us where we are, and join us in envisioning where we might be headed,” writes Schwartz.

A chapter on the history of the JMABC begins the book proper. It is followed by brief regional histories – Victoria, Vancouver, Kootenay/Boundary, Okanagan, Prince George, Sunshine Coast, Central Vancouver Island and Whistler. The chapter on organizations is divided into those that work in advocacy and activism; religious observance; education; youth groups and camps; seniors; arts, culture and leisure; Zionism; Holocaust education; and anchor organizations. That last one, by the way, is where you’ll find the Jewish Independent (pages 126 and 127).

The Notables chapter is sorted chronologically: pioneers (1886-1945), postwar (1945-1970), modern (1970-2000), contemporary (2000-2010) and emerging (2010-present). Within each section, people are listed alphabetically by surname, as are the entries in the Family Album chapter. Rounding out the publication is a list of donors and an index.

Looking Back, Moving Forward offers a broad overview of many of the major players in the B.C. Jewish community over the 160 years since Jews first arrived here. It focuses on accomplishments and takes readers right up to 2021. It is easy reading, and no one need worry that any dirty laundry is aired. Given the celebratory nature of the book, none of the submitters (including the JI) talk about the challenges they’ve faced or controversies, and neither do any of the introductions to the various sections.

Some history is given only passing mention, such as what community fundraising structures were in place prior to the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s emergence in 1987, for example, but the book isn’t meant to be a comprehensive historical tome. Rather, it’s a fun, page-flipping community yearbook of sorts, which will hopefully motivate people to both learn more about the community and contribute their stories to its archival record.

Looking Back, Moving Forward is available in hardcover ($100) and softcover ($50). To place an order, contact the museum offices at 604-257-5199 or [email protected]. Shipping is available across Canada for a fee of $20 per book.

Community milestones … Order of Canada, Indspire, SFU Gerontology, JCC Jewish Book Awards

Rabbi Dr. Yosef Wosk speaks at a Vancouver Public Library event in 2017. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

The Order of Canada is one of our country’s highest civilian honours. Its companions, officers and members take to heart the motto of the order: “Desiderantes meliorem patriam” (“They desire a better country”).

Created in 1967, the Order of Canada recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Appointments are made by the governor general on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada. This year, among the 114 new appointees, are Vancouver Jewish community members Dr. Carol Herbert and Rabbi Dr. Yosef Wosk. Each recipient will be invited to accept their insignia at a ceremony to be held at a later date.

photo - Dr. Carol Herbert — Dr. Carol Herbert *(photo from schulich.uwo.ca)*

Herbert was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for her contributions to the fields of clinical and academic medicine, as a family physician, medical educator, researcher and administrator. She and three colleagues were appointed.

“The appointment of Drs. B. Lynn Beattie, Joseph Connors, Carol Herbert and Roger Wong to the Order of Canada is a demonstration of their incredible commitment to the health and well-being of all Canadians,” said Dr. Dermot Kelleher, dean of the University of British Columbia’s faculty of medicine and vice-president, health, at UBC, said in a press release. “We are very proud of each of their contributions, and deeply moved by their passion for improving the lives of patients and families here in B.C., and across the nation.”

Herbert, an adjunct professor in the School of Population and Public Health, “is internationally known for her leadership in primary care research, and for her work in clinical health promotion, patient-physician decision-making, and participatory action research with Indigenous communities, focused on diabetes and on environmental effects on human health,” notes the UBC release. “She was formerly head of the department of family practice, founding head of the division of behavioural medicine and a founder of the UBC Institute of Health Promotion Research.”

This only touches on Herbert’s extensive experience. She also was dean of medicine and dentistry at Western University in London, Ont., from 1999 to 2010, was a practising family physician from 1970 to 2013, and has been involved in medical education since 1971.

Yosef Wosk, PhD, was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada for his far-reaching contributions to his community as a scholar, educator and writer, and for his generous philanthropy. BC Booklook (bcbooklook.com/2020/11/27/41941) cites the governor general: “Yosef Wosk is a Renaissance man of the 21st century. A rabbi, scholar, businessman and art collector, he is a revered educator and community activist who inspired many to become engaged in global issues and local challenges. Former director of interdisciplinary programs in continuing studies at Simon Fraser University, he founded the Philosophers’ Café and the Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars. A poet, explorer and dedicated philanthropist involved with museums, the arts, social services, publishing, nature and heritage conservation, he has endowed hundreds of libraries worldwide.”

Wosk has established more than 400 libraries, including 20 libraries in remote Himalayan villages and 37 in Jewish communities throughout the world. (See jewishindependent.ca/many-milestones-for-wosk-in-2019.) He has supported a range of local building preservation, public garden and other civic enhancement projects. He has helped fund the production of more than 250 books and videos, and has written numerous works, most recently Memories of Jewish Poland: The 1932 Photographs of Nachum Tim Gidal and the forthcoming GIDAL: The Letters of Tim Gidal and Yosef Wosk (Douglas & McIntyre, 2021). He supports several literature, writing, poetry, art and design initiatives, and is founding benefactor of the Dance Centre.

In addition to other honours, Wosk has received the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals and a Mayor’s Arts Award, as well as the Order of British Columbia.

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As part of its belief in and commitment to supporting emerging architecture practitioners, the Arthur Erickson Foundation and the Yosef Wosk Family Foundation recently announced a $110,000 donation to Indspire – Canada’s national, award-winning Indigenous registered charity – in support of Indigenous youth in Canada. The donation will fund an awards program focused on increasing Indigenous student success by growing the number of Indigenous architects and landscape architects in Canada.

Central to Arthur Erickson’s work as an architect and theorist was his belief in and commitment to education and research. Having served on the faculties of architecture at the University of Oregon and the University of British Columbia, Erickson understood the need of each generation to contribute to the training of the next. One of the ways the foundation honours Erickson’s belief is by working with donors to develop prizes and scholarships intended to reward and assist students studying architecture and landscape architecture.

“The Arthur Erickson Foundation and Yosef Wosk Family Foundation, along with Indspire, are pleased to announce the establishment of an awards program supporting Indigenous education in architecture and landscape architecture,” said Michael Prokopow, vice-president (East) Arthur Erickson Foundation. “The organizations recognize the profound importance of the shared work of decolonization and reconciliation in Canada for the transformation of society. These awards recognize the deep power of Indigenous thinking and wisdom around the making of habitation and space for well-being across generations and the vitally important stewardship of the natural world.”

Mike DeGagné, president and chief executive officer of Indspire, stated, “This new investment is a significant step in supporting First Nations, Inuit and Métis architecture and landscape architecture students to achieve their potential through education and training. They can in turn enrich their communities and create positive change in Canada. We are grateful for the support of the Arthur Erickson Foundation and the Yosef Wosk Family Foundation for investing in Indigenous achievement and education.”

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photo - Dr. Gloria Gutman — Dr. Gloria Gutman *(photo from sfu.ca)*

Simon Fraser University Gerontology Research Centre (GRC) founder Dr. Gloria Gutman and her team – Avantika Vashisht, Taranjot Kaur, Mojgan Karbakhsh, Ryan Churchill and Amir Moztarzadeh – received the Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Gerontechnology, held Nov. 25-27. SFUGero tweeted the news Dec. 1, noting that the paper was a “[f]easibility study of a digital screen-based calming device for managing BPSD [behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia] during bathing in a long-term care setting.”

A brief biography for Gutman, PhD, appears on the conference website. She is president of the North American chapter of the International Society for Gerontechnology, vice-president of the International Longevity Centre-Canada, past-president of the Canadian Association on Gerontology and the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics. She is co-editor (with Andrew Sixsmith) of Technologies for Active Aging (Springer, 2013) and has published widely on seniors housing, long-term care, health promotion, prevention of elder abuse, and seniors and disasters. She is on the advisory of MindfulGarden Digital Health and is the principal investigator on the first feasibility clinical studies for MindfulGarden, which is a digital treatment of hyperactive dementia in long-term care setting. She established the GRC and department of gerontology at SFU and is recipient of many awards and honours, including the Order of Canada.

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The third edition of the Western Canada Jewish Book Awards, presented by the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival in Vancouver, took place Dec. 6. Daniella Givon, chair of the awards committee, opened the evening on Zoom and the five honours were awarded by five different presenters.

Winning the Nancy Richler Memorial Prize for Fiction was Rhea Tregebov for Rue des Rosiers, in which a young Canadian woman’s search for her own identity brings her to Paris in 1982, and face-to-face with the terror of an age-old enemy. Tregebov (Vancouver) is the author of fiction, poetry and children’s picture books. She is associate professor emerita in the University of British Columbia creative writing program.

The Pinsky Givon Family Prize for nonfiction went to Naomi K. Lewis for Tiny Lights for Travellers. When her marriage suddenly ends, and a diary documenting her beloved Opa’s escape from Nazi-occupied Netherlands in the summer of 1942 is discovered, Lewis decides to retrace his journey to freedom. Lewis (Calgary) is the author of the novel Cricket in a Fist and the short story collection I Know Who You Remind Me Of.

Ellen Schwartz was awarded the Diamond Foundation Prize for children’s and youth literature for The Princess Dolls, a story about friendship between a Jewish girl and a Japanese girl, set against the backdrop of 1942 Vancouver. Schwartz (Burnaby) is the author of 17 children’s books, including Abby’s Birds and Mr. Belinsky’s Bagels.

The Lohn Foundation Prize for poetry was given to Alex Leslie for Vancouver for Beginners. In this collection, the nostalgia of place is dissected through the mapping of a city, where readers are led past surrealist development proposals, post-apocalyptic postcards and childhood landmarks long gone. Leslie (Vancouver) is the author of two short story collections and the winner of the 2015 Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers.

The Kahn Family Foundation Prize for writing about the Holocaust was given to Olga Campbell for A Whisper Across Time, a personal and moving story of her family’s experience of the Holocaust through prose, art and poetry, creating a multi-dimensional snapshot of losses and intergenerational trauma. Campbell is a visual artist whose media include photography, sculpture, mixed media painting and digital photo collage.

The jury for the 2020 Western Canada Jewish Book Awards comprised Shula Banchik, arts and culture manager of the Calgary JCC; Judy Kornfeld, former librarian at Langara College; Els Kushner, author and librarian; Norman Ravvin, writer, critic and Concordia University professor; and Laurie Ricou, professor emeritus of English at UBC.

After short acceptance speeches and readings from the authors, Dana Camil Hewitt, director of the JCC Jewish Book Festival, concluded the evening thanking the sponsors, the judges, the awards committee and the extended virtual audience, and inviting everyone to purchase and enjoy the books.

Honorary degree, book and article awards, new GM at Green Thumb … community milestones

Dr. Carol Herbert (photo from Western University)

Vancouver’s Dr. Carol Herbert, professor emerita of family medicine and adjunct research professor of pathology at Western University, was awarded an honorary doctor of science, honoris causa (DSc), at the Oct. 24 afternoon session of Western University’s 312th convocation. Herbert served as dean of the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry from 1999 to 2010. A pioneer in developing services for sexually assaulted adults and children in British Columbia, she was co-founder and co-director of the Sexual Assault Service for Vancouver from 1982 to 1988.

She spoke to graduates at the convocation, asking them to keep in mind one acronym: PROP (privilege, responsibility, opportunity and passion).

“Acknowledge your privilege. While you have been diligent in your studies, the fact that you and I are here today is evidence of our privilege,” she said.

With privilege, there is a responsibility to give back, she added. Graduates must reflect on what they have been given and remember to pay it forward and embrace opportunities to help others. “Be as passionate about ensuring the success of others as you are about yourself. Start small, but start contributing to your community.”

Herbert reminded graduates of the difficulties women in science continue to face today. “I want to encourage women scientists to hang in there,” she said, to juggle a career and family, to look for workplaces that support them and their complex lives, and to seek mentors. She encouraged all to work towards a level playing field in which women have equal opportunities.

For the full address, visit news.westernu.ca/2018/10/herbert-offers-props-graduates.

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Vancouverite Deborah Katz has won the 2018 Vine Award in the category of children’s literature. Of Rare is Everywhere (Miss Bird Books), which Katz wrote and illustrated, the award jury said, “Fun, exciting and such a different take on difference and diversity for our small children.”

The Vine Awards honour the best Canadian Jewish writers and Canadian authors who deal with Jewish subjects in four categories – fiction, non-fiction, history and children’s/young adult literature – each with a prize of $10,000. The 2018 jurors – Beverley Chalmers, Joseph Kertes and Lee Maracle – reviewed 59 entries this year.

The Koffler Centre of the Arts announced the 2018 winners at an awards lunch at the Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto. The other winners were Laurie Gelman for Class Mom (Henry Holt and Co.) in the fiction category, Julija Šukys for Siberian Exile: Blood, War and a Granddaughter’s Reckoning (University of Nebraska Press) in the non-fiction category and Hugues Théorêt for The Blue Shirts: Adrien Arcand and Fascist Anti-Semitism in Canada (University of Ottawa Press) in the history category.

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photo - Nathan Lucky, left, and the Jewish Museum’s Michael Schwartz — Nathan Lucky, left, and the Jewish Museum’s Michael Schwartz. *(photo from JMABC)*

The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia awarded the inaugural B.C. Jewish History Research Prize to Nathan Lucky, for his article “British Columbia newspaper responses to Jewish persecution in Europe, 1938-1939: A call for refugees and a cause for civilization.”

This undergraduate essay explores relations between the Jewish community press and the mainstream press in British Columbia. It demonstrates the ways in which Jews in the province were alert to world affairs and worked to impact Canadian policies of immigration in response to unfolding tragedy abroad. Juxtaposing reporting and editorials published by the Jewish Western Bulletin (the predecessor of the Jewish Independent) with those of contemporary non-Jewish publications, the author documents the shifting waves of public discourse as new information arrived from Germany and Austria. The article makes substantial use of the B.C. Jewish Community Archives, particularly the Jewish Western Bulletin Collection, and it demonstrates how future scholars might also incorporate the collection, and the archives more broadly, into their research.

The prize was awarded on Nov. 21 at the annual general meeting of the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia. Following the AGM, guests gathered to hear a lecture by Lucky, summarizing his research. This award and lecture will be an annual tradition of the JMABC in the coming years.

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photo - Breanne Harmon — Breanne Harmon *(photo by David Cooper)*

Breanne Harmon (née Jackson) has been appointed general manager of Green Thumb Theatre, which has been bringing live theatre to young audiences for 40 years. Before taking on the role of general manager at Green Thumb, Harmon worked as the tour and education manager for two years.

Born and raised in Richmond, Harmon has trained and worked in theatre for most of her life. She graduated with honours from the University of British Columbia with a bachelor of fine arts in theatre production/design, where she was the recipient of the Norman Young Scholarship for Theatre and the Dean of Arts Scholarship, while also completing the fine arts program in visual arts at Langara College. At UBC, she was a member of the Jewish Students Association at Vancouver Hillel and sat on the Hillel board as alumni representative after graduation.

Harmon has worked as a stage manager, production manager and arts administrator for various companies across Canada, including the Shaw Festival, Arts Club Theatre Company, National Arts Centre, and Chemainus Theatre Festival, among many others. She has sat on the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards Society board, the GVPTA’s Theatre Engagement Project Steering Committee, the Jessie Richardson Theatre for Young Audiences and Large Theatre juries and was a stage management mentor with the Cultch’s Ignite program.

She is also the very proud mother to her 1-year-old son.