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Film Fest starts soon

Film Fest starts soon

Sabbath Queen is a film about the life of Amichai Lau-Lavie, part of a rabbinic dynasty going back 38 generations. (still from film)

The 36th annual Vancouver Jewish Film Festival runs April 24 to May 4, beginning with opening night film Midas Man, which “offers Beatles fans a fresh look at the pivotal role Brian Epstein played in the band’s meteoric rise.” An enormous range of dramatic and documentary films, features and shorts, fill out the festival’s run, and the Independent reviews some of them here.

Tradition!

Hester Street, based on Abraham Cahan’s 1896 Lower Eastside immigrant novel Yekl, was released in 1975, about the same time as Fiddler on the Roof. The movie approaches some of the same topics of assimilation and tradition, without the song and dance.

Yankl (now Americanized Jake, played by Steven Keats) transforms from a yeshivah bocher to a shmatte sweatshop worker. Along comes Gitl, the wife who had waited behind in Russia, and young son Yossele who, payos cut off, becomes Joey.

The 50th anniversary of the film’s release reminds us that the 1970s were a time of nostalgia and of Jewish narratives that both idealized and lamented the American dream. In Hester Street, which is in black-and-white for mood, the boarder Bernstein (Mel Howard) represents tradition and continuity, contrasting with Jake in the fight of money versus learning, of getting ahead versus getting an education. Bernstein’s presence in the home of the primary couple puts Gitl in a predictable three-cornered bind both romantic and cultural.

Hester Street, which is filmed in black-and-white for mood, confronts the themes of tradition and assimilation
Hester Street, which is filmed in black-and-white for mood, confronts the themes of tradition and assimilation. (still from film)

Younger viewers might take some time to recognize Gitl (Carol Kane) as the kooky landlady from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Meanwhile, the tough-talking landlady in Hester Street is recognizable as Doris Roberts, who contemporary viewers will recognize as the buttinsky mother-in-law from Everybody Loves Raymond.

There are subversive components of the film, including the role of divorce in perpetuating traditional values. Subversion twists again and indeed Gitl assimilates in her particular ways. As the last line in the film declares ambivalently, “We mustn’t be too quick to say this or that.”

Director Joan Micklin Silver was a pioneering woman in male-dominated 1970s Hollywood. 

Kosher queen

Tradition, continuity and modern times are absolutely the themes of Sabbath Queen, a film by Sandi DuBowski about the life of Amichai Lau-Lavie.

The scion of a rabbinic dynasty going back 38 generations, Amichai is the son of politician, ambassador (“and we suspect a spy”) Naphtali Lau-Lavie and nephew of Israel Meir Lau, former chief rabbi of Israel. Filmed over 21 years, the documentary follows Amichai as he is ordained as a rabbi, via the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary. But choosing the Conservative movement over orthodoxy is the least of Amichai’s rifts with his traditional family.

In 1993, Amichai was outed as a gay man in a news report and, it seems, he never looked back. After fleeing to New York a couple of years later and getting involved with the Radical Faeries, a queer, shamanistic spirituality group, “one vodka too many” leads to his alter ego emerging “out of my head like Athena.” 

The drag queen Hadassah Gross – a Hungarian sex advisor, kabbalist, matchmaker and widow of six rabbis – was born. Amichai describes his drag persona as “something between channeling and performing” and it is all about exploring the intersections of feminine and masculine. (“What the goyim call the yingele and the yangele,” says Hadassah.)

“Artists are the new rabbis,” he declares, but eventually seems to decide that being an artist is not enough and he seeks his rabbinical smicha, in large part, it seems, to combat his brother and the larger establishment on Orthodox dogma.

He becomes the spiritual leader of a decidedly unorthodox congregation called Lab/Shul. And, when his officiating of interfaith partnerships clashes with the Conservative movement, the rabbi faces the consequences.

Amichai’s brother, father and mother have their reservations, to put it mildly, about Amichai’s activities.

“We’re pushing a lot of boundaries here,” he acknowledges. Or, as his Orthodox rabbi brother puts it, not entirely sympathetically, “He’s playing with Judaism.” 

One feels invasive as the camera goes close up on Amichai at his father’s funeral and that sense of voyeurism repeats throughout the film, as does the feeling that the documentary’s subject is something of an emotional exhibitionist.

The relationship between Amichai and his immediate family represents the larger cultural dissonance between queer and other nonconforming Jews and the orthodoxy of the tradition, though there is an astonishing, uplifting conclusion to some of these challenges by the film’s ending.

A family affair

I first saw A Real Pain on a flight home from Israel last month. Selecting a Hollywood treatment of two cousins doing a Holocaust road trip to their grandmother’s hometown in Poland, I girded myself for cringe-inducing, inappropriate or otherwise disappointing fare. My expectations were pleasantly upended. This is a profound, beautifully presented film that hits the right notes in so many ways.

I am not the only one impressed. Unbeknownst to me when I chose it, the script and the acting were already grabbing accolades worldwide. Costars Jesse Eisenberg (who won the BAFTA Award for best original screenplay) and Kieran Culkin (who won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best supporting actor) deliver moving and multidimensional characters. 

David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Culkin) are the proverbial odd couple but what I had somehow anticipated to be slapstick comedy turned out to be deeply touching. As we find out more about Benji’s story, his erratic behaviour makes more sense.

Moments that could come off as didactic – almost documentary-like scenes at the Polin Museum and the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, among others – somehow work even when you think they shouldn’t. The British tour guide James (Will Sharpe) is repeatedly challenged by Benji and acknowledges his own shortcomings as a non-Jewish facilitator, inviting viewers to ponder insider/outsider roles in the immediate and larger story.

If you ever wondered what corner Baby from Dirty Dancing ended up in, here she is – Jennifer Grey – playing a supporting role as one of the members of the cousins’ small tour group.

Spousal secrets

It is hard to write about Pink Lady without giving too much away. A seemingly ordinary religious Jerusalem couple with three happy kids and an involved extended family are upended when the husband is subjected to violence and blackmail. 

Director Nir Bergman’s Hebrew-language feature film sees Lazer (Uri Blufarb) and Bati (Nur Fibak) pondering the most existential questions of how God challenges even his most dedicated adherents. A deeply serious film with both laugh-out-loud incongruities and eye-covering discomfiture, Pink Lady is a slice-of-life with deep theological questions.

Oct. 7 revisited

image - Of Dogs and Men, which deals directly with the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, is a blend of fiction and documentary
Of Dogs and Men, which deals directly with the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, is a blend of fiction and documentary. (still from film)

At least two films in the festival deal directly with the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.  

Of Dogs and Men is a blend of fiction and documentary. Director Dani Rosenberg’s film follows 16-year-old Dar (Ori Avinoam, also cowriter) as she sneaks back into Nir Oz, her vacated kibbutz, in search of her missing dog Shula. 

While the quest for the dog may be a stand-in for the larger search 

Israelis have undertaken as individuals and collectively to discover the fate of missing people – Dar’s mother’s fate remains unknown – it is hard not to wonder if the choice to centre a (missing) dog in the story is not meant to invite dissonance among overseas viewers. Given the indifference and even celebration with which some people worldwide have responded to the Oct. 7 attacks, is the tragedy of a lost dog a statement on the qualitative value the world places on Jewish life?

Dar tags along with a woman who rescues animals in the abandoned and war-torn areas.

“Aren’t you afraid of dealing with those dogs?” she asks the woman.

“Look what human beings did. So, I should be afraid of dogs?” the woman responds. “There’s no creature more awful, crueler than human beings and I still live among you.”

Through the imagery of destruction and the litany of names of victims, the film breaks down distinctions between Israeli and Palestinian victims.

The documentary 6:30 provides a harrowing, minute-by-minute narrative of Oct. 7 events from different locations and perspectives. The interviews with survivors just a week after the attacks show raw emotion.

Some of the Nova festival-goers thought they were hallucinating as the hellish day unfolded. Several people, including first responders, speak of detachment, of a disconnect between what they were seeing and what they could believe. In retrospect, one survivor wonders if his liberation is real or if he died and that is what he is now experiencing. Others talk of the emotional burdens they will carry forever.

Linor Attias, a United Hatzalah volunteer who arrived at Kibbutz Be’eri in a mass casualty event vehicle, notes with pride that Arabs and Jews were united among the rescue workers trying to save the lives of victims. She loaded people into ambulances, where they released piercing shrieks of agony, having held them in for hours of silence in order to save their lives.

“That howl of pain cuts through the soul,” she says.

The most chilling thing about the film is realizing, amid all these horror stories, that these are the testimonies of the lucky ones.

Full details and tickets are available at vjff.org. 

Format ImagePosted on April 11, 2025April 10, 2025Author Pat JohnsonCategories TV & FilmTags drama, history, identity, immigration, Israel, movies, New York, Oct. 7, thrillers, Vancouver Jewish Film Festival
Comedy can unite and heal

Comedy can unite and heal

Comedian Erik Angel performs his one-man standup show, Speaking Falafel, at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver on Nov. 14. (photo from Erik Angel)

“This year, I discovered even more how comedy is an important tool to bring people together, for release and relief, and I won’t be exaggerating if I say that comedy saved me this year,” Erik Angel told the Independent in an interview in advance of his solo performance Nov. 14, 8 p.m., at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. He’ll also be taking part in a show for students at the University of British Columbia while he’s here.

“This is perhaps the saddest time in my life, with a lot of pain, sorrow and worry, and going on stage night after night and making people laugh, helps me clear my mind and move on,” said Angel of the year since Oct. 7, 2023. “On stage, I deal with my reality today, with antisemitism, but I do it in an entertaining way. They say that comedy is tragedy plus time and I call my performance a humanitarian respite for the soul.”

Angel, who lives in New York, has opened for headliners like Maz Jobrani and Zarna Garg. He’s been part of several comedy festivals and has performed in more than a dozen countries to date. This will be his first time in Vancouver.

Born and raised in Israel, Angel moved to the United States for love, he said, after meeting his bashert at, of all places, the Jewish community centre in Krakow, Poland, in 2015. 

“I went to Krakow for a long weekend and all my life changed completely,” he said. 

Angel has worked in several creative fields. As a singer-songwriter, he released three albums in Israel. He studied drama and worked as an actor for five years. He did some standup comedy in Hebrew at open mics in Israel almost a decade ago, but said he quickly switched to doing routines in English, even while still in Israel.

“Since summer 2016,” he said, “I’ve been doing comedy in English, almost on a daily basis.”

The show that Angel is bringing to the Vancouver JCC next week is the product of a lot of work. 

“Speaking Falafel is an hour of comedy that I worked on for seven long years of comedy spots, day after day, and I am very proud of it. It’s a very funny show about my journey since I went on this long weekend in Krakow and met the love of my life. I share the difficulties of becoming a new immigrant, newly married in my 40s, the differences between Israeli culture and other cultures in the world, how to be now ‘the Jew’ everywhere, to live 24/7 with a second language. I tell stories, I speak with the audience, and I even sing a little bit.”

The Nov. 14 show is a bonus for Vancouverites, as Angel’s main purpose for coming to the city is the UBC show, which is the start of a winter tour for Comedy for Peace. 

Angel established Comedy for Peace five years ago.

“I grew up in Israel with two million Muslims. I never met one – not in school, not in my basketball team,” he said. “I started to meet Muslims when I started to travel the world. The meetings were always friendly, and I wanted to do something artistic together. When I moved to New York, I became part of the New York comedy scene. I produced the first show, that was a huge success, and since then we have had shows in more than 50 cities in the US and Canada.

“Comedy for Peace is not a political event,” he stressed. “It’s about different communities who sit together under one roof and have fun. Simple as it sounds, we want to show people how easy it is to collaborate, laugh, learn about each other and discover how much we are more alike than different. Today, we also have a version with Christian comedians that will travel with the West Coast tour. Nov. 9, Comedy for Peace will be part of the New York Comedy Festival for the second time.

“After Oct. 7, a few shows were canceled (and a few not) and very fast we decided that, for us now, it’s more important than ever and this is why we keep going,” added Angel. “There are comedians, mostly Muslim or Christian Arabs, that cut me off and don’t want to be a part of it – it’s painful because I didn’t change – but most of the comedians are still on board. And our goal now is to bring our message everywhere possible, and [I] will never give up and will always believe most of us, the people, just want to live together peacefully.”

Performing alongside Angel at UBC will be Liz Glazer, Gibran Saleem and Paul Schissler.

“From my experience, people that come to support the show support the idea and are not coming to protest or say something against it and I hope it will be the same this time,” said Angel when asked if he was concerned about the protests and vandalism that have taken place at UBC and other universities. “We are a non-political peace show, so it’s crazy for me to think that things will go differently. Until today, the only problem we have had to deal with was people calling/writing or trying to shame online our Muslim/Christian Arab comedians or asking them not to do it anymore. Most of them just want to do it more since then. But still, we have the reality, there are many haters out there and everything can happen. We have a Q&A session at the end and we are open to speaking with reasonable people that will come with an open heart and ask questions they want to speak about or to understand more. This is part of our mission, to be there together on stage.”

To watch some clips of Angel’s performances from around the world, visit his YouTube channel, youtube.com/@erikangelcomedy9702, or his Instagram page, instagram.com/erikangelcomedy/?hl=en. For tickets to Speaking Falafel, go to eventbrite.com. 

Format ImagePosted on November 8, 2024November 7, 2024Author Cynthia RamsayCategories Performing ArtsTags antisemitism, comedy, Comedy for Peace, Erik Angel, immigration, JCC, marriage, peace, Speaking Falafel
Artist reflects on career

Artist reflects on career

Imre Székely, left, gives his artwork to then-prime minister Jean Chrétien. (photo from szekelygallery.com)

From his hometown of Győr, Hungary, a city halfway between Vienna and Budapest along the Danube River, to his studio in Victoria’s Chinatown, Jewish community member Imre Székely has been creating art for more than five decades, primarily in the linocut/monotype style of printmaking.

Linocut, also known as lino print, is a design carved in relief in linoleum. The art form was popularized in the early part of the 20th century. In monotype, an artist presses ink directly onto a plate. The plate is then pressed against paper to transfer the ink.

photo - As Imre Székely’s approaches 70 years old, he looks back at his career
As Imre Székely’s approaches 70 years old, he looks back at his career. (photo by Kor Gable)

Székely discovered his calling early in life, under the tutelage of Imre Krausz and István Tóvári-Tóth, both distinguished artists in Hungary. However, Hungary in the 1970s and 1980s was no place for anyone whose views differed from those of the regime. 

“The communist regime at the time did not have a role for a forward-thinking, modern artist. There wasn’t much chance of self-actualization,” Székely told the Independent.

Thus, in 1987, he said goodbye to his family and jumped on a westward-bound bus. His first stop was a refugee camp in Austria, then on to France, the Netherlands and, finally, Canada, in 1988. After stops in Winnipeg and Toronto, he set off west where, in 1991, he settled in Victoria, finding the provincial capital to be an ideal spot for his professional and private life. His wife and children joined him shortly after he arrived in British Columbia.

Székely describes himself as a hyper-surrealist artist, who blends “a variety of colours, patterns and shapes that are the spices of life.”

Throughout his career, he has donated his works and given them to people who couldn’t otherwise afford a work of art. He also has presented his artwork to provincial ministers, foreign dignitaries and prime ministers. 

In 1999, for example, he traveled to Rome for a personal audience with Pope John Paul II, to donate his work “Abba Pater” to the Vatican.

In 2001, he showed his gratitude to his adopted homeland by donating his art-deco-styled piece “Canada: Past, Present and Future,” to then-prime minister Jean Chrétien, who accepted it on behalf of the government of Canada.

“This occasion was especially meaningful to me, as it presented a way to express my thanks to Canada for accepting so many refugees to this country with open arms,” said Székely, who has also presented a work to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

“Gifting Justin Trudeau with one of my art pieces was a highlight in my life … this kind of event was impossible in my home country under communist rule,” he told Senior Living Magazine in 2021.

One of the works of which he is most proud, “Hungarian Conquest (Honfoglalás),” was presented to the Hungarian parliament in Budapest. When, in 2010, Pecs, Hungary, was chosen as the European Capital of Culture, Székely provided the city with 31 of his works for a solo exhibition. His hometown Győr’s city hall houses his artwork and he has donated his works locally, to the City of Victoria and to the Hungarian consulate in Vancouver.

photo - Imre Székely at the Vatican in 1999, giving one of his artworks to Pope John Paul II
Imre Székely at the Vatican in 1999, giving one of his artworks to Pope John Paul II. (photo from szekelygallery.com)

At the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, retreating to his studio, Székely produced “Satan Sneers,” a work in which, as an artist, he detaches himself from shared circumstances to show pity for the human race as it confronts an undetermined fate.

Székely sent a photo of the work to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, director-general of the World Health Organization, in the hope of donating the work. According to Székely, Dr. Tedros (his preferred moniker) liked the piece very much.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t personally hand it over to him in Geneva at the time because the two-week quarantine was introduced before my departure,” Székely recalled. 

In 2021, the artist created a work entitled “Hope and Genius,” dedicated to Katalin Karikó, the biochemist and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, who, together with Drew Weissman, took home the 2023 Nobel Prize in medicine for work leading to the discovery of mRNA vaccines to fight COVID-19.

“She deserves lots of thanks and appreciation from us all,” he said. “My work is recognition and homage to her human and scientific greatness.”

At present, Székely is working on several projects, one of which is called “Magical Artificial Intelligence,” a surrealistic piece on what he views as the issue that offers the most positive potential for humanity – and the most danger.

He hopes to donate works to other notable people in the political and business worlds, such as Bill Gates, Kamala Harris and Ernő Rubik, a fellow Hungarian who invented the Rubik’s Cube.

As he approaches his 70th birthday in December, Székely said he feels freer now than at any time in the past, drawing strength from family, friends and art.

“Artistic creation is the outflow of strength, good mood and joy of life. A true artist enjoys his own creative power. Creation is one of the most difficult things in the world, creating from nothing,” he said.

“I am convinced that art and culture will unite the world again. I know that artistic ability can be viewed as a blessing, but it is worthless without creative work and humility.” 

For more on Székely, visit szekelygallery.com. 

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Format ImagePosted on October 25, 2024October 24, 2024Author Sam MargolisCategories Visual ArtsTags art, COVID-19, immigration, Imre Székely, Linocut, milestones, monotype, painting, pandemic, printmaking, Victoria
The need for transparency

The need for transparency

Justice Jules Deschênes, who was appointed by the Canadian government in February 1985 to oversee the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada. (screenshot from B’nai Brith Canada)

For nearly four decades, Jewish human rights organizations have been trying to figure out how Nazi war criminals were able to gain citizenship and refuge in Canada following the Second World War. Why were high-ranking members of the Nazi Allgemeine Schutzstaffel (Nazi SS) and Waffen SS troops who fought on Germany’s behalf considered eligible for Canadian citizenship? And who were they? What were their names?

The answers to many of these questions can be found in an obscure list of reports held in government archives. Since 1985, when the Deschênes Commission was appointed to investigate allegations that Nazi war criminals were living in Canada, B’nai Brith Canada and other Jewish organizations have been urging the federal government to release all the commission’s findings. Those records include an historical account of Canada’s post-Second World War immigration policies, written by historian Alti Rodal (the Rodal Report).

“We have always felt that providing the general public with a greater understanding of Canada’s ‘Nazi past’ is a significant venture to providing closure to that time period,” explained Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith’s director of research and advocacy. “This is important because, at a time of rising antisemitism, where there are less and less survivors of the Holocaust around, it is essential that we furnish educators and advocates with as many tools as possible to enable as fulsome a teaching of the [history of the] Holocaust,” including, noted Robertson, those decisions that may have indirectly made it easier for Nazi perpetrators to escape prosecution. 

The Hunka affair

Last September, a critical portion of the documentation was made public by the federal government after it was revealed that a former member of the Waffen SS Galicia Division, Yaroslav Hunka, had received a standing ovation in Parliament. Human rights advocates wasted no time in calling for the rest of the Deschênes Commission’s documents to be released, arguing that the unredacted reports could help further Holocaust education in Canada and avoid such mistakes. More than 15 groups, representing Jewish, Muslim, Iranian and Korean ethnic communities and interests, supported B’nai Brith’s petition and, on Feb. 1, the Trudeau government released the bulk of Rodal’s account. 

That move has given human rights organizations access to a wealth of information about the politics, the thinking and the apprehensions that often steered the government’s decision not to prosecute or extradite war criminals. Compiled as an historical account of Canada’s post-Second World War policies, the 618-page redacted Rodal Report provides details that aren’t revealed in Deschênes’ deliberations.

Set against the backdrop of today’s rising antisemitism, the report illustrates that Canada’s current struggle to balance the needs of those targeted by antisemitism and discrimination with other democratic principles, like free speech and privacy, is nothing new.

screenshot - Alti Rodal, author of the Rodal Report
Alti Rodal, author of the Rodal Report. (screenshot from Ukraine Jewish Encounter)

According to Rodal, Canada’s postwar immigration policies were heavily influenced by a belief that extraditing naturalized Canadian citizens for war crimes would be, in the words of Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, “ill-advised.” 

“Trudeau’s concern,” Rodal wrote, “was that the revocation [of citizenship of an alleged war criminal] could alarm large numbers of naturalized citizens who would be made to feel that their status in Canada could be insecure as a consequence of the politics and history of the country they left behind.”

And Pierre Trudeau was not alone in his reticence to bring Nazi war criminals to court.

“All those goals which Canadian society has set for itself can certainly not be achieved by short-circuiting the legal process in the hunt for Nazi war criminals,” the commission wrote, while examining whether a military court might be an appropriate venue for litigating charges of war crimes. 

By the time the commission concluded its research, it had effectively struck down every available legal mechanism for pursuing action against most former Nazis living in Canada. The Deschênes Commission determined that war criminals could not be prosecuted under Canada’s Criminal Code, but neither could they be tried by military tribunal. Nor could they be successfully prosecuted under the Geneva Conventions for acts of genocide or crimes against humanity. And Canada’s extradition laws would be ineffectual in many instances, including when it came to approving requests from Israel. Israel didn’t exist at the time of the Holocaust, the commission reasoned, and thus didn’t meet Canada’s requirements for requesting extradition of Second World War criminals.

New laws, similar challenges

Canada’s only remedy would be to amend its laws going forward. In 2000, nearly 14 years after the release of the Deschênes Commission’s report, the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act was given Royal Assent. Antisemitism, hate speech and hate crimes are now federal offences as well, covered under Section 319 of the Criminal Code. However, some legal experts say the process of bringing charges of antisemitism or hate crimes to court remains too onerous.

In June, the Matas Law Society and B’nai Brith hosted an educational webinar on the legal strategies available to Canadian lawyers when pursuing charges of antisemitism. Gary Grill and Leora Shemesh, two Toronto-based lawyers who have recently represented victims of alleged antisemitism in Ontario, offered different views as to why it is so hard to bring a hate crime to court.

“We have the tools,” acknowledged Shemesh, “we’re just not effectively using them.” She said she has represented several alleged victims of antisemitism and, in each one of the cases, the charges were later dropped.

Grill, on the other hand, suggested that the issue had to do with initiative. “It’s about political will” when it comes, for example, to ensuring that prosecutors understand that “death to Zionists” is veiled hate speech and should be prosecuted as antisemitism. “The education is easy,” he said. “We can educate prosecutors. We can educate police. It’s not a problem. [But] this is about will. It’s not about law.”

“There are problems with certain [parts] of Section 319 and [its] enumerated defences,” Shemesh said. “Prosecutions under the Criminal Code for the promotion of hatred … require the approval of the attorney general to proceed, which, I say, has partially explained why such prosecutions have been rare in Canadian jurisprudence.” 

In Robertson’s opinion, there can be value in legislative oversight. The attorney general’s sign-off “is a safeguard to ensure that our hate crimes legislation … is only utilized when warranted. I believe it is designed to prevent overuse,” he said. “Listen, there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with having checks and balances to ensure that the proper charges are being laid and the severity of these charges warrant such. The issue is the reluctance of the attorney general to sign off on these charges and the procedural, I would say, slow-downs in effecting the sign-off. These are the issues. If we can perfect the procedures around the sign-off, then this is a completely fine check and balance.”

photo - Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy for B’nai Brith Canada
Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy for B’nai Brith Canada. (photo from  B’nai Brith Canada)

As for addressing the rise in antisemitism that Canada is experiencing today, Robertson believes the answer lies in ensuring Holocaust education is available and continues. That requires ensuring public access to the documents that most accurately tell the story – including those of Canada and other allied nations.

“With the recent issues that we’ve seen regarding immigration into Canada, I think [the Deschênes and Rodal reports serve as a] narrative that is more relevant than ever. I think it is important for us to understand our mistakes of the past so that we don’t repeat them in the future,” Robertson said. “And, as well, when it comes specifically to Holocaust education, I think it is important for Canadians to appreciate the level of complicity, if there was any complicity, in our government helping Nazis escape prosecution following the culmination of the Holocaust in World War II…. It helps to paint the totality of the picture of just how widespread the Holocaust was.”

Robertson said Canadians often think of the Holocaust as a “European issue,” that it only adversely impacted Jews in Europe. “So, understanding Canada’s role and [the Holocaust’s] aftermath helps to globalize the narrative, and perhaps that will help Canadians to better appreciate the truly global impact of the Holocaust [and the trauma] that is still ongoing.” 

To date, most of the Deschênes documents have been made public, with the exception of Part II of the original report, containing the identity of members of the Nazi party who were granted immigration to Canada. The ancillary documents, such as the Rodal Report, also contain information that has not been made public. B’nai Brith Canada continues to lobby for their release.

Jan Lee is an award-winning editorial writer whose articles and op-eds have been published in B’nai B’rith Magazine, Voices of Conservative and Masorti Judaism and Baltimore Jewish Times, as well as a number of business, environmental and travel publications. Her blog can be found at multiculturaljew.polestarpassages.com.

Format ImagePosted on September 20, 2024September 18, 2024Author Jan LeeCategories NationalTags antisemitism, B’nai Brith Canada, Canada, Deschênes Commission, history, Holocaust, immigration, Nazis, Richard Robertson, Rodal Report

About the 2024 Rosh Hashanah cover

I came across this Rosh Hashanah greeting card in the 2017 Forward article “The Curious History of Rosh Hashanah Cards in Yiddish” by Rami Neudorfer. The image was copyrighted by the Hebrew Publishing Company, New York, 1909, and the high-resolution version we used for the cover comes from the postcard collection of Prof. Shalom Sabar (emeritus) of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

image - JI Rosh Hashanah 2024 cover“The card depicts two eagles in the sky: under the Imperial Eagle of the Russian coat of arms, a group of impoverished, traditionally dressed Russian Jews, carrying their meagre belongings, line Europe’s shore, gazing with hope across the ocean,” wrote Neudorfer. “Waiting for them are their Americanized relatives, whose outstretched arms simultaneously beckon and welcome them to their new home. Above them, an American eagle clutches a banner with a line from Psalms: ‘Shelter us in the shadow of Your wings.’”

Not only did Prof. Sabar provide the image for the cover but he offered further explanation of the card’s meaning. The verse quoted is partially based on Psalms 57:2; the fuller quote is taken from Psalms 17:8 – “Hide me in the shadow of Your wings.” In the illustration, the quote is changed to be in the plural: “Hide us in the shadow of Your wings.” And it appears in this form in the Ashkenazi siddur, where it is part of the Hashkivenu prayer, said Sabar. The full text can be found at sefaria.org.il/sheets/29587?lang=bi, where they translate the phrase as “and cradle us in the shadow of your wings.”

The message of a passage to freedom is not only enhanced by the Psalms quote, but also that the birds depicted are eagles, Sabar added. This is a reference to the liberation of the Jews from Egypt, he said, as in Exodus 19:4 – “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and [how] I bore you on eagles’ wings, and I brought you to Me.”

Posted on September 20, 2024September 18, 2024Author Cynthia RamsayCategories Celebrating the HolidaysTags antisemitism, eagles, Exodus, freedom, greeting cards, Hebrew Bible, Hebrew Publishing Company, Hebrew University, history, immigration, Jewish Forward, pogroms, Rami Neudorfer, Rosh Hashanah, Russia, Shalom Sabar, symbolism, United States

ישראלים מגיעים לקנדה בעקבות השבעה באוקטובר

קנדה מעניקה לישראלים ויזה הומנטרית בעקבות השבעה באוקטובר והמלחמה המתמשכת. לפי הערכות מאות ישראלים ניצלו אופציה זו והם מהגרים בחודשים האחרונים לקנדה. מיכל הראל שהקימה אתר לישראלים הרוצים להגר לקנדה אומרת כי קנדה מציעה חיים נוחים בחברה פלורליסטית וקוסמופוליטית, עם מערכות חינוך ובריאות טובות. כך שיש אופק כלכלי לישראלים ולדורות הבאים שלהם כאן. כמובן יש לציין שלקנדה יש גם טבע מרהיב הכולל יערות ואגמים. ויש לזכור שגם לנושא איכות הסביבה יש כאן חשיבות גדולה

לכל הטוב הזה בקנדה יש אפילו הכרה עולמית: אשתקד דורגה קנדה במקום השני והמכובגברשימה של המדינות הטובות בעולם לחיות בהן. וזאת מתחת לשווייץ שבמקום הראשון, ומעל שבדיה שבמקום השלישי. קנדה מדורגת שמינית בעולם מבחינת גובה ההכנסה ליחיד. מדובר במדינה ענקית, השניה בגודלה בעולם אחרי רוסיה ששטחה גדול הרבה מזה של ארה”ב, אבל מספר תושביה רק קצת יותר מעשירית ממספר תושבי ארה”ב. לקנדה מסתבר יש מקום לקלוט הרבה מאוד בני אדם שיחזקו את אוכלוסייתה, והיא מעודדת הגירה אליה. ועכשיו כאמור מדובר בתוכנית הגירה חדשה ומיוחדת לישראלים. התוכנית שהוכרזה בתחילת השנה הוארכה בימים האחרונים בשנה נוספת. יש שהטוענים שהארכה נובעת בשל ההסלמה בצפון והחשש למלחמה בין ישראל לחיזבאלה.
הראל עשתה רילוקיישן לקנדה לפני חמש שנים. זאת כדי להקים את הסניף של החברה שלה ושל בן זוגה בצפון אמריקה. בעקבות השבעה באוקטובר פנו אל הזוג חברים רבים שלהם מישראל והחלו לשאול אותם איך הם עברו לקנדה. החברים ביקשו שהראל ובן זוגה יעזרו גם להם להגיע לקנדה. אחרי שבועיים של שיחות טלפוניות עם אנשים מישראל הראל ביקשתה מבן זוגה שיעזור לה להקים אתר עם כל המידע שהם נתנו לאנשים בארץ בטלפון. וזאת כדי שהם יוכלו לקרוא על ההגירה לקנדה ובמה היא כרוכה. וכן שהם יעבירו את הלינק של האתר שלהם לחברים ומשפחה שלהם בישראל. במקרה, אחרי זמן קצר שהאתר היה באוויר נפתח המסלול לישראלים שנותן ויזת עבודה לשלוש שנים בקנדה, במהלכן ניתן להגיש בקשה לתושבות של קבע או אזרחות מלאה. הזוג החליט לעזור בהתנדבות לכל מי שירצה להגיע לקנדה בעקבות המלחמה

מה עם הפטריוטיות הישראלית ומה האומרים לאלה שטוענים שאנשים איכותיים עוזבים ובסיוע ממשלת קנדה וגורמים ישראלים כמו האתר של עוברים לקנדה, יורדים מהארץ, ועוד במהלך מלחמה. לדברי הראל ישנם מקרים בודדים של תגובות פחות נעימות ברשתות, אבל רובם מאוד שמחים על הפרויקט ועל ישראלים שעוזרים לישראלים. מי שלא מסוגל יותר וחייב הפסקה מגיע לו לנוח מהטירוף ונהדר שממשלת קנדה מאפשרת את זה. הציונות לא מסתיימת רק בגלל שכמה משפחות רוצות לנוח.
יהודים זכו בקנדה בדרך כלל לחיים נוחים ושלווים, נטולי גילויים אנטישמיים ברמות שחוו ברחבי העולם. כמו בכל מקום, הכל השתנה מאז השבעה באוקטובר, כידוע. אבל, המדינה הייתה מאז ומעולם יעד הגירה מועדף של יהודים מרחבי התפוצות ומאז קום המדינה גם של ישראלים.
לפי הערכות, בקנדה חיים למעלה מארבע מאות אלף יהודים. לפי מפקד אוכלוסין מרבית הישראלים ומדובר בכחמישים אלף איש, חיים ברובם בטורונטו. על פי הערכה מדי שנה מגיעים כשלושת אלפים ישראלים נוספים לקנדה ומספרם הולך וגדל לאור המצב הקשה בו נמצאת ישראל בימים אלה

יצויין שתוכנית ההגירה לישראלים כוללת רישון עבודה התקף לשלוש שנים ומאפשר לעבוד כמעט בכל עבודה. התוכנית לישראלים הוארכה והיא תפוג ביולי שנה הבאה

Posted on August 21, 2024July 24, 2024Author Roni RachmaniCategories עניין בחדשותTags Canada, humanitarian visa, immigration, immigration program for Israelis, Israel, work visa, ויזה הומנטרית, ישראל, קנדה, רישון עבודה, תוכנית הגירה לישראלים

A picture is worth a thousand words

In the first few years of 1900, my paternal grandparents – who had been married since 1886 – came to a decision. Economic life in Pinsk was too challenging and a drastic lifestyle change was required. So, in 1905, my grandfather, Yehiel Rubachka, age 34, journeyed alone from Pinsk (then under control of czarist Russia) to find work in Toronto. He knew Yiddish and a bit of Russian, having served in the Russian army for three years. He left behind my 27-year-old grandmother, Liba, and their four young children, Bessie (born in 1899), David (1902), Minnie (1903) and Herschel (1905), in Pinsk Karlin. Today, Karlin might be called a suburb of Pinsk.

On the one hand, Pinsk, with its sizeable and well-organized Jewish population (according to Yad Vashem, 21,819 or 77.3% of the city’s population, in 1896) offered the comfort of the familiar. On the other hand, living conditions were not good. By the time my grandfather left Pinsk, he and my grandmother had buried five children. There were also political and social issues, such as the fact that, in czarist Russia, Jews by and large lived under restrictions: forbidden to settle or acquire land outside the cities and towns, legally limited in attendance at secondary school and higher schools, virtually barred from legal professions, denied the right to vote for municipal councilors, and excluded from serving in the navy or the guards. Not to mention the repercussions of the failed 1905 Russian revolution, and the deaths and damage done by periodic Cossack attacks.

It is not clear what my grandfather’s relocation ultimately meant. For all intents and purposes, entering Canada was fairly easy; he did not need a passport or a visa to enter the country. But did he go to Toronto to test the waters so to speak – perhaps Canada would turn out to be no better than eastern Europe? Or was his plan, from the start, to make enough money to bring over the rest of the family? Or was it all left open-ended? On the birth certificate of one of my aunts, his occupation in Canada was listed as a (humble) rag collector. 

In any case, around 1906, my grandparents decided a family portrait was needed. (Since my Uncle Herschel still looks like an infant, this photo was probably produced earlier than the 1910 date my father held to.) The problem, of course, was that the family was based in two distant locations, Toronto and Pinsk. So how was such a picture taken? 

photo - Deborah Rubin Fields' grandfather and family
A family living on separate continents in the early 1900s has a photo with everyone in it. (photo from Deborah Rubin Fields)

According to Rita Margolin, a Yad Vashem historian, glass plate negatives were in use from the 1850s through the 1920s. They were popular with both amateur and professional photographers. In these years before courier and other delivery services, it would have been tricky to safely send glass negatives, they might have shattered in mailing. This suggests that some other method was used for putting together the two photos that became the family portrait.

Margolin further elaborated that a Pinsk photographer named Rendall might have made the composite image, as he was active in Pinsk in 1910. She pointed out, however, that photographers generally displayed their name on the photos they took, and my family’s photo is lacking a signature both on the front and the back side. (It is probably not a good idea with my unskilled hands to search for a signature by separating this very old photo from the cardboard to which it is pasted.) The lack of signature might mean that the photo I have is a copy and not the original.

Early 20th-century photo studios preferred photomontage – the production of images by physically cutting and joining combined photos – to create, for instance, tall-tale postcards. Tall-tale postcards are also known as “exaggerations.” Examples of these kinds of postcards include hilarious old farming photos in which farmers are seen pushing a wheelbarrow or a wagon containing giant harvested onions or enormous potatoes. 

According to my father, the late Sidney (also known by his Yiddish name, Sheya) Rubin, z’l, my grandfather was added to the picture. One photographer with whom I consulted agreed that this is a likely scenario, as normally the head of the family would be prominently featured in the front, rather than the back, row of a photo. 

In my family’s photograph, my grandmother is standing, facing the camera, straight on and straight-faced. My Aunt Bessie is sitting on a wooden chair while my Aunt Minnie is sitting on what might be a tree stump. My Uncle Dave is sitting on a suitcase. The baby, my Uncle Herschel, dressed in some sort of baby’s gown, sits atop a stack of cases. My grandfather, with a somewhat wistful look on his face, is cleverly placed behind a trunk, with only his upper torso visible.

My grandfather’s family left Pinsk and joined him in Canada in 1911. Sadly, all the relatives who remained in Pinsk were killed in the Shoah. My father’s family settled at Toronto’s 13 Leonard Ave. Between 1880 and 1928, 70,000 Jews left Russian-held territory for Canada.

Four more children were born in Toronto. These included two more aunts, one uncle and my father. Rachel or Rae was born in 1911, Birdie (often called by her Yiddish name Faigel) was born in 1913, Harvey (often called Mo) was born in 1915 and my father was born in 1917. My father’s family, however, did not remain in Toronto. In 1920, they moved to the United States, settling in Chicago. Along the way, the family name was changed to Rubin. My grandfather’s first name was anglicized to Joseph and my grandmother’s first name was anglicized to Elizabeth (or Lizzie). My grandfather became a naturalized American citizen in 1953. By that time, he had been living in the United States for more than 30 years but, still, he signed his naturalization papers in Yiddish.  

As a child, I remember visiting the street where my father had lived as a young child. Perhaps surprisingly, the missionaries still had a close-by storefront. According to reports, missionaries had been “working” in the area since the time my grandfather was living in Toronto. Although they apparently succeeded in converting very few Jews, it did not stop them from trying for years on end.

Photoshop and other digital photo editing tools are a great help to today’s photographers. In the early 1900s, of course, computers and such programs did not exist. Yet, in the early 1900s, photographers on two continents managed to make a composite image nonetheless. 

Deborah Rubin Fields is 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.

Posted on July 26, 2024July 25, 2024Author Deborah Rubin FieldsCategories WorldTags family, history, immigration, photography

הקלות לישראלים בהגירה לקנדה

קנדה מקילה באופן זמני על ישראלים המעוניינים להגר למדינה. זאת עקב מלחמת חרבות הברזל הארוכה המתנהלת כבר למעלה מארבעה חודשים בין ישראל לחמאס. המסלול הזמני והחדש יתקיים בשלב זה למשך כארבעה חודשים – עד לסוף חודש יוני

על פיו יוכלו ישראלים המעוניינים בכך לקבל ויזת עבודה בקנדה במשך שלוש שנים. מדובר בויזה פתוחה שתוכל לסייע בהמשך הדרך לקבלת אישור תושבות קבוע. ולאחר מכן אף לקבל אזרחות קנדית לכל דבר. מסלול זה שנפתח עתה עבור ישראלים כאמור בעקבות המלחמה, שימש בעבר כסיוע הומניטרי עבור אוקראינים ואוכלוסיית היזידים שנרדפת על ידי דאעש וכן גורמים איסלאמיים קיצונים

הקלות עבור ישראלים המעוניינים להגר לקנדה ניתנות עבור אלה שהם בעלי אשרת תייר המבקרים כאן (ללא קשר למועד הגעתם לקנדה). וכן לאלה שהם קרובי משפחה של אזרחים קנדיים, או אלה שמחזיקים בתעודות של תושבות קבע

עד תחילת מלחמת חרבות הברזל הקריטריונים להגירה לקנדה הקלו בעיקר על בעלי מקצועות מבוקשים וכן על בעלי השכלה גבוהה (בעלי תארים מתקדמים). אך בתנאי שכל אלה הם מתחת לגיל שלושים. וזאת, על פי שיטת הנקודות. מדי מספר חודשים משנה קנדה את גובה רף הניקוד אשר ממנו כל הבקשות מתקבלות

מסלולי ההגירה בקנדה מחולקים על פי הפרובינציות השונות. על פי השיטה על המבקש להגר לכאן מוטל להציג מספיק נקודות שנקבעות לפי מספר קריטריונים. ובהם: מקצוע, גיל ורמת האנגלית. מי מבקשים להגר לקנדה שהציג מספיק נקודות, יכול להגיש בקשה לתושבות קבע, לאחר מספר שנים לעבור מבחן (באזרחות) ואז להפוך לאזרח קבוע. כידוע אזרחים יכולים לבקש דרכון קנדי, נחשב לאחד הדרכונים המבוקשים ביותר בעולם במשך שנים

את הגשת המועמדות להגירה ניתן להגיש באופן עצמאי או להשתמש ביועצי הגירה המומחים לנושא, שיעזרו במילוי הטפסים הרבים. את הטפסים לבקשות הגירה ניתן להגיש מישראל, או מקנדה למי שנמצא כאן על פי ויזת עבודה או אלה שלומדים כאן

זמן ההמתנה לקבלת האישורים להגירה יכול להימשך כשנה ואף יותר מכך, בהתאם לרמת הנקודות של המבקש

באופן כללי מסלולי הגירה לקנדה נחלקים בגדול למסלולים זמנים ומסלולים לתושבות קבע. וזאת על פי קריטריונים שונים ובהם: הגירה לצעירים ומשכילים, הגירה על פי תוכניות של הפרובינציות השונות, מקצועות מבוקשים, הגירה לצורכי לימודים. וכן מסלולים למשקיעים פיננסים, קרובים מדרגה ראשונה ועוד

ניתן לקבל אשרות שהייה זמניות לצרכי לימודים גבוהים או עבודה. אם מעסיק קנדי מציע למועמד הצעת עבודה שעומדת בתנאים של משרד העבודה הקנדי, אפשר לקבל אשרת עבודה למשך מספר שנים. בדרך כלל אשרת עבודה מתקבלת מהר וניתן להאריכה בסך הכל עד שבע שנים. כמובן אם המשרה של העובד עדיין בתוקף. לאלה שעובדים בקנדה, העבודה תקנה להם נקודות כך שבתוך שנתיים הם יוכלו להגיש מועמדות של תושבות קבע במסלול המהיר. מי שקיבל שהתקבל ללימודים במוסד להשכלה גבוהה בקנדה (אוניברסיטהי או קולג’) למשך חצי שנה או יותר, יוכל לקבל ויזת לימודים. בתום סיום הלימודים המועמד יהיה זכאי לקבל ויזת עבודה בקנדה, למשך של שלוש שנים. זאת תלוי במסלול הלימודים ובאישור שהתקבל על ידי מוסד הלימודים. יש לזכור שעל מוסד הלימודים להיות מאושר על ידי מערכת ההגירה של קנדה. הלימודים או העבודה לאחריהם יכולים להקנות מספקי נקודות כדי להגיש מועמדות לקבלת תושבות קבע, במסלול המהיר

לפרובינציות השונות יש מסלולים מקוצרים ומהירים לקבלת תושבות קבע

Posted on March 6, 2024February 22, 2024Author Roni RachmaniCategories עניין בחדשותTags Canada, immigration, Israel, Operation Iron Swords, permanent residency, temporary residence visas, work visa, אשרות שהייה זמניות, הגירה, ויזת עבודה, ישראל, מלחמת חרבות הברזל, קנדה, תושבות קבע
רילוקיישן לקנדה: מידע מעודכן לישראלים בימים קשים אלה

רילוקיישן לקנדה: מידע מעודכן לישראלים בימים קשים אלה

מרכז הקהילה היהודית והישראלית נמצא בטורונטו שהיא העיר הגדולה ביותר בקנדה
צילום Fabian Roudra Baroi

קנדה היא אחת מהמדינות האטרקטיביות ביותר להגירה: מדינה מבוססת כלכלית, יפה, רגועה ועם תנאים סוציאליים נדיבים לתשוביה. עם זאת, רילוקיישן לקנדה כרוך בקשיים ואתגרים

 בשנים האחרונות הפכה קנדה לאחד מהיעדים הנחשקים ביותר להגירה עבור ישראלים. בניגוד למדינות רבות אחרות, המדינה הקנדית דווקא מעודדת הגירה לתחומה. בהתאם לכך, מדי שנה מהגרים אליה בין שלוש מאות אלף לחצי מיליון איש. לקנדה מערכת בריאות אוניברסלית מהטובות בעולם (בניגוד לשכנתה מהדרום ארצות הברית), חקיקה סוציאלית נרחבת, יציבות פוליטית וכלכלית, נופי טבע מדהימים ועוד. היא מדורגת במקום השלישי במדד המדינות שהכי טוב לחיות בהן (ולעומת זאת: ישראל מדורגת במקום הארבעים ושלושה בלבד)

עם זאת, ישנם מספר דברים שכדאי לקחת בחשבון לפני שעושים את הצעד המשמעותי  להגר. כמו: הגשת בקשות ההגירה לקנדה כרוכה בעמלות של אלפי שקלים, החורף קר להפליא ויכול להגיע גם עד למינוס חמש עשרה מעלות צלזיוס. וכן שקנדה קנדה רחוקה משראל מרחק של לכל הפחות עשר שעות טיסה (והטיסות לרוב יקרות), מה שמקשה על ישראלים המהגרים אליה להגיע לביקורים תכופים בארץ

קהילות יהודיות וישראליות בקנדה: מרכז הקהילה היהודית והישראלית נמצא בטורונטו שהיא העיר הגדולה ביותר בקנדה. זו עיר רב-תרבותית ותכולו למצוא בה קהילות מהגרים מכל העולם כולל ישראל כמובן

ממשלת קנדה הקימה פורטל המפרט את סוגי הויזות השונים וכן את ההליכים הנדרשים על מנת לקבל כל אחת מהן. הוויזות השכיחות ביותר הן: איחוד בני משפחות עם אחד מבני המשפחה יש כבר אזחרות קנדית. ויזת סטארט אפ – ניוד של חברת סטארט אפ לקנדה או הקמתה כאן (אשרת עבודה וכן שהייה קבועה). יש גם ויזת עבודה לבעלי מקצועות מבוקשים. קנדה מעודדת הגירה לאנשי מקצוע העובדים במקצועות מבוקשים עליהם נמנים בין היתר: סיעוד, הנדסה, תכנות, פיננסים ופיזיותרפיה

ויזת עבודה לעצמאים: חלק מהפרובינציות בקנדה מציעות תוכניות קליטת הגירה משלהן, כחלק מתהליך בחינת הויזה על המועדמים לעבור מבחנים בידיעת השפה האנגלית (או הצרפתית למי שמעוניין להגר לקוובק). יש לשים לב שתהליך הגשת בקשת הויזה כרוך בעמלות שיכולות להגיע גם לאלפי דולרים קנדיים. ממולץ להתייעץ עם סוכני הגירה כדי לוודא את העמידה בתנאים, תקינות מסמכים ועוד

איך מוצאים עבודה בקנדה: אחד מהיתרונות הגדולים הטמונים בהגירה לקנדה הוא העובדה שהיא מדינה דוברת אנגלית (אלא אם עוברים לקוויבק ששם השפה המדוברת היא צרפתית). לפני ששולחים קורות חיים באנגלית מומלץ לוודא עם דובר אנגלית שפת אם, שאין בתרגום שגיאות ושהמונחים המקצועיים המצוינים כתובים נכון. עוד מומלץ לפתוח/לעדכן פרופיל ברשת החברתית-עסקית לינקדין, הנחשפת למרכזית בהליכי חיפוש עבודה בקנדה. מומלץ גם להעלות לפרופיל שלכם בה פוסט המבשר על המעבר המתוכנן ועל חיפוש עבודה מתאימה. מומלץ עוד לחפש ישראלים בלינקדין מתחום העיסוק הרלוונטי שגרים בעיר אליה מתכננים לעבור ולנסות להיעזר בהם

מערכת הבריאות הקנדית נחשבת לאחת מהטובות בעולם ומדורגת באופן קבוע בעשירון העליון בדירוגים שונים, כולל של ארגון הבריאות הנילאומי. בניגוד לשכנתה ארצות הברית ובדומה לרוב מדינות אירופה, בקנדה קיימת מערכת בריאות אוניברסלית הנגישה לכולם, ובנוייה על תשלום מס בריאות. כמו בישראל, ניתן להוסיף לכף ביטוח רפואי פרטי, שבכוחו להגדיל את הכיסוי, לקצר זמני המתנה לרופאים מומחים ועוד. ישנם מקומות עבודה המספקים ביטוח רפואי פרטי כהטבה לעובדיהם. כל הפרטים הללו רלוונטיים לאזרחים קנדיים. אם עדיין לא קיבלתם אזרחות של המדינה – מומלץ להצטייד בביטוח רפואי פרטי

Format ImagePosted on February 14, 2024February 7, 2024Author Roni RachmaniCategories עניין בחדשותTags Canada, immigration, Israel, relocation to Canada, הגירה, ישראל, קנדה, רילוקיישן לקנדה

לקנדה יש תוכנית נוודים דיגיטליים חדשה

קנדה מחזרת אחר עובדים שעובדים מרחוק במגזר הטכנולוגי ומציעה תכנית נוודים המאפשרת למבקרים לשהות במדינה עד שישה חודשים. זאת ללא צורך באישור עבודה, ובכך פותחת את הדלת למה שיכול להפוך למדיניות

קבועה. זהו מידע חשוב למי שמעוניינים לעשות רילוקיישן לקנדה. היוזמה החדשה מגיעה בתקופה בה קנדה מתמודדת עם מחסור בכוח אדם טכנולוגי. אסטרטגיית הכישרונות הטכנולוגיים החדשים של המדינה שואפת ליצור מאגר של עובדים שישארו בקנדה גם בטווח הרחוק. קיימת עדיפות למועמדים בתחומי המדע, טכנולוגיה, הנדסה, מתמטיקה, כולל מדעני נתונים, מפתחי תוכנה ומתכנתים, מתמטיקאים, סטטיסטיקאים, מהנדסי חשמל ואלקטרוניקה

בסופו של דבר, התהליך מיועד ומותאם בצורה הטובה ביותר לצרכיהם של עובדי הייטק  מיומנים, שמטבע העבודה שלהם, הם יכולים לעבוד מרחוק. כך מסבירה דוברת מחלקת ההגירה, פליטים ואזרחות של קנדה, ג’ולי לאפורטון. התוכנית בשילוב עם אמצעים נוספים שנקבעו כדי למשוך כישרונות טכנולוגיים, תבטיח שקנדה תישאר תחרותית במרוץ העולמי, היא מוסיפה

שר ההגירה הקנדי, שון פרייזר, אומר כי תוכנית הנוודים הדיגיטלית תאפשר לעובדים עם מעסיק זר לחיות בקנדה לתקופה של עד שישה חודשים. ואז העובדים יכלו לחיות כאן ולהניע את הכלכלה המקומית בתוך הקהילות השונות. אם עובדים אלה יקבלו הצעות עבודה בזמן שהם בקנדה, נוכל לאפשר להם להישאר כאן באופן קבוע

ההכרזה הזו בהחלט קיצצה הרבה מההגבלות הקיימות בהגירה קנדית רגילה, כך אומרת מנהלת בכירה לשירותים בינלאומיים בחברה האמריקנית בי.אם.או פרטנרס, ניקול סיסליקי. לפי מחקר שבוצע אשתקד על ידי בי.אם.או פרטרנס, בתקופת מגיפת הקוביד מיליוני עובדים עובדים האמריקאים אימצו את הרעיון של נוודות דיגיטלית. ומאז שנת אלפיים ותשעה עשרה מספרם גדל פי שלושה

לדברי סיסליקי בזמן שמספר ענקיות בולטות בתחום הטכנולוגיה בארצות הברית כמו אפל, גוגל, מטא ואמזון מחזירות עובדים למשרד למשך מספר ימים בשבוע, חברות אמריקניות רבות עדיין מאמצות עבודה מוחלטת מרחוק. חברות בכל הגדלים ובכל הענפים מנסות למצוא דרך לאיזון, היא אומרת. כיצד אנו מספקים את הצורך של העובדים לעבוד מרחוק לפחות חלק מהזמן, אבל גם נהנים משיתוף הפעולה שמתרחש כאשר אנשים מתכנסים באופן טבעי במשרד

לפני שמחליטים אם לבלות שישה חודשים, שנה או יותר במדינה זרה, נווד דיגיטלי צריך לשקול מספר גורמים, אומרת סיסליקי. החל מהאם למעסיק הנוכחי יש מדיניות נוודים דיגיטלית רשמית. חלק מהחברות משרטטות קווים כללים לגבי כמה זמן הן יאפשרו לעובדים לעבוד מרחוק, היא אומרת. חלקן מאמצות שלושים יום יום, שישים יום, המאה ועשרים יום וחלקן מאפשרות עד שישה חודשים, היא מוסיפה

שנית, מכיוון שאזרחים אמריקאים נדרשים לשלם מס הכנסה בארה”ב גם כאשר הם חיים מחוץ למדינת הולדתם, נוודים דיגיטליים צריכים להבין את חוקי המס בין ארה”ב למדינת היעד שלהם

במהלך ששת החודשים הראשונים בהם חיים בקנדה, אמריקנים שעובדים עבור חברות אמריקאיות יהיו כפופים למסים בארה”ב בלבד, הודות למה שמכונה חוק מאה שמונים ושלושה הימים הימים הקנדי, המאפשר לזרים העובדים עבור מעסיקים זרים לשהות שישה חודשים מתוך שנה נתונה במדינה, ללא תשלום מסים קנדיים. לאחר מאה שמונים ושלושה הימים הראשונים הללו, אם העובדים הזרים יתקבלו לעבודה על ידי מעסיקים קנדיים, הם יהיו כפופים למסים קנדיים בנוסף למסים בארה”ב

השטן נמצא בפרטים הקטנים, אומרת סיסליקי. אדם שהכין את עצמו ושכר את יועץ ההגירה והמיסים הנכון יקבל את ההחלטות הנכונות בנוגע לאן לעבור ולכמה זמן

Posted on September 13, 2023August 31, 2023Author Roni RachmaniCategories עניין בחדשותTags Canada, digital nomad, immigration, הגירה, נוודים דיגיטליים, קנדה

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