Gloria Gutman, PhD, has been honoured with the King Charles III Coronation Medal, which recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to Canada, or an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada. She will receive the medal in a ceremony March 21.
A research associate and professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University, Gutman founded the Gerontology Research Centre and the department of gerontology at SFU, serving as director of both units from 1982 to 2005. She is the author/editor of 23 books, the most recent (with Claire Robson and Jen Marchbank) titled Elder Abuse in the LGBTQ2SA+ Community (Springer, 2023).
Dr. Gloria Gutman (photo from SFU)
During her career, Gutman has held many prominent roles, including president of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, president of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics and president of the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse. Currently, she is president of the North American chapter of the International Society for Gerontechnology, vice-president of the International Longevity Centre-Canada and a member of the research management committee of the Canadian Frailty Network. Previously, she served on the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Ageing Society, World Health Organization’s expert advisory panel on aging and health, and the CIHR-Institute of Aging advisory board.
“I am grateful to SFU for having nominated me for this award.
Developing the gerontology department and Gerontology Research Centre, serving on boards, organizing conferences, and advocating for seniors in other ways nationally and internationally, has been a privilege and a pleasure,” said Gutman. “It could not have taken place without the strong support of FASS [the faculty of arts and social sciences] and senior administration.”
In 2012, Gutman was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Government of Canada and, in 2016, she was appointed to the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour.
– Courtesy Simon Fraser University
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Lana Marks Pulver (photo from Jewish Federation)
Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is proud to congratulate its board chair, Lana Marks Pulver, who was honoured by Jewish Federations of North America with the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award for exemplifying the higheststandards of philanthropy and volunteerism. Marks Pulver’s selection for this award is a testament to her exceptional dedication and leadership.
– Courtesy Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver
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The Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of long-time volunteer leaders Marie Doduck and Lee Simpson as co-chairs of the 2025/26 campaign. Please join board directors Harry Lipetz, Rick Cohen, Mel Moss, Bernard Pinsky, David Zacks, Michelle Karby and Abbe Chivers, and staff Ayelet Cohen Weil and Wendy Habif in congratulating and thanking them for their tireless commitment to our Jewish elderly.
The federal government’s designated point person on antisemitism raised alarm bells for Canadians following attacks on Jews last month in Amsterdam.
Deborah Lyons, Canada’s special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism, spoke to the Vancouver Jewish community Nov. 12, in a special online conversation with Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.
Lana Marks Pulver, chair of the Jewish Federation, explained that the briefing was organized after the attacks on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam Nov. 7.
The antisemitism problem is both local and global, said Lyons, but Canada has a particular problem.
“We were one of the first countries to demonstrate on the streets,” she said. “On our university campuses, unfortunately, certainly online and in some of our other institutions, [there has been] a level of antisemitism that we had never, ever expected to see in Canada.”
People were phoning her from abroad asking what’s happening to Canada. This is a country with a strong democracy and rule of law, she said, and yet 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes target the Jewish community, which makes up 1% of the population.
Deborah Lyons, Canada’s special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism (photo from international.gc.ca)
“We need leaders stepping up and a full court press to address the challenges in front of us,” she said. “This is not just about our Jewish community. This is about what kind of country we want as Canadians. I consider this a crisis that we are in that really needs a crisis response.”
Oct. 7, 2023, “shook the world,” Lyons said. “Frankly, what happened in Amsterdam, on another level, has also shaken us. I think we were hoping that, in this past year, since October 2023, in our own countries, we were putting in place some remedies, some actions to address the antisemitism that we were seeing rising in our country and in so many other, particularly Western, countries. But I think what happened in Amsterdam has been another shockwave that I think causes all of us to say we need to double down.”
Canadians may be complacent, Lyons suggested, because we believe in our historical, if possibly mythological, tolerance.
“We’ve got an incredible country, solid governments and good rule of law,” she said. “I have lived in countries that can’t even come close to that description. And we are on the island of North America. We’ve had a pretty good ride. I think that maybe we weren’t paying enough attention to some of the ills within our society.”
When a society or its economy is under stress, antisemitism inevitably rises, said Lyons.
“We already had, before October 2023, an increase in antisemitism in Canada,” she said. “Where we are now, after October 2023, is a level of antisemitism that is completely unprecedented in our country. What do we do with that? Well, clearly, we fight it. But we also have to take this as an opportunity and say, alright, some of that was lying beneath the surface. It’s now very much exposed. We have the opportunity. We need to turn this into a catharsis. We need to take this moment when all of this is exposed, when no one can deny that antisemitism exists, when no one can deny that it requires intensive effort to combat it and that it requires a systemic approach.”
She congratulated British Columbia for committing to mandatory Holocaust education, but that is a step in the right direction, not an end, she said.
“We need to do work on not just Holocaust remembrance but on antisemitism itself and making sure that teachers and school boards and faculty actually have the right perspective as they are trying to help the children understand what the Holocaust means, not just historically but in terms of today,” she said.
Those combatting antisemitism need to be doing more work with law enforcement, she said, noting that Vancouver Police and RCMP in British Columbia recently underwent training with Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. Prosecutors also need to be empowered, she added.
“We need to do work on social media and we’ve got a campaign underway there,” said Lyons, noting that the federal government is working on an online harms bill, which could strengthen data collection, among other steps.
Noting positive signs, Lyons cited information that, “by far and away,” a majority of Canadians support the Jewish community and support Israel’s right to exist.
Exceptions emerge among younger Canadians, she said, “our 18-to-24-year-olds, kids who might not have adequate knowledge of the Holocaust, have a tendency to be disposed toward antisemitism.”
Lyons recently met with the president of the University of British Columbia and the chancellor of Simon Fraser University.
“I think university presidents and university administrations struggled after Oct. 7 in a way that many of us struggled,” she said. “It was almost a shock to see the reaction on a number of the campuses. I think we saw that with other leaders in other segments of society, that people almost needed time to get their bearings, to try to figure out what was the right response. We all want freedom of expression, we all want freedom of speech, we all want our young people to be … debating new ideas and pushing the envelope. But it has to be done in a respectful environment. It has to be done with a certain dignity and sense of acknowledgment of the other’s point of view.”
Among the shortcomings that emerged in the past year, according to Lyons, was an absence of recourse to deal with concerns from Jewish students.
“What we found was there was not the recourse in place, the systems in place, for the university administrations to actually follow up on the concerns of our students in what I would consider to be a substantive way,” she said. “I think there are better systems being put in place now to make sure that every student who has a concern or feels an unease can make their feelings known and can have that responded to substantively and with respect. I think also the presidents in many cases were challenged with their own codes of conduct and how they were to be implemented. I think that, over the last several months, particularly over the summer when they had a bit of a pause, there’s been this understanding that these codes of conduct really do need to be administered.”
Lyons is one of about 35 national envoys addressing antisemitism worldwide.
“We work together to share experiences in our countries and also to identify some remedies,” she said. “We’ve just recently published, this past summer, the global guidelines for fighting antisemitism.”
Lyons’ office and the broader federal government recently released the Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, which she said is a vital tool. It is based on an earlier European Union document and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. She urges Jewish people, but especially potential allies, to use it.
“Learn about antisemitism. Try to understand it. Try to understand what’s happening in our country,” she said.
A visit to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre is a place to start for people who seek to be allies to Jews, she said. Then, she urged people to step outside their bubbles.
“Get to know your Jewish neighbours and stand up if you see something happening that you think isn’t right,” said Lyons.
Shanken noted that Lyons is not Jewish and asked how she ended up in this role.
“I grew up in rural, northern New Brunswick and community mattered,” said Lyons. “And people mattered. Your neighbours mattered. Looking after one another mattered.”
She also remembered as a child hearing about the Holocaust.
“I can remember how it marked me, how I could not believe that the humanity that I belonged to had created, planned and carried out such horrors over such a long period of time,” she said. “So, years later when, as a diplomat, I was leaving one post and getting ready to go to another and I got the call that I could go to Israel [as ambassador, 2016-2020], I jumped at the chance, because I thought, what an incredible opportunity to really engage in a country that I’ve always been fascinated by and with a people that I have huge admiration for. My time in Israel, I think, even deepened my experience as, I suppose, an ally.”
The Vancouver and Victoria Jewish communities will each hold a memorial ceremony Oct. 7 to honour and remember the victims of the attacks on Israel a year ago.
Led by the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver (RAV) and in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and many others, an evening event in Vancouver will be an opportunity for people of all ages to come together.
A special gathering for young adults will take place from 6 to 7 p.m., providing a space for reflection and connection. The main ceremony will begin at 7 p.m., and will include what is being described as a poignant tribute led by our community’s rabbis. The location of the event will be emailed upon registration. Register atjewishvancouver.com/october-7th-memorial.
Following the ceremony, Jewish Family Services will offer “living rooms,” in both Hebrew and English, where attendees can share their thoughts and find comfort. An Israeli sing-along will also take place, with the intention of helping participants find strength in unity and to support one another.
Relatives of Oct. 7 victims will present representative stories of the heroes and victims and organizers are planning interactive elements so participants can actively memorialize. There is an intention to ensure that all the victims’ names, as well as fallen soldiers’ names, can be articulated in the course of the program.
Politics – local or international – are to be kept out of the program. Elected officials may attend but the focus is on memorializing and honouring the dead.
While Oct. 7 created an unprecedented new world, in many ways, there is a precedent for the sort of memorial event planned, according to Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, who is head of RAV.
The Yizkor service will be the template for this commemoration, said Infeld.
“We know that the Yizkor service is something that the synagogue-going Jew can relate to, but we know that not all the members of our community go to synagogue on a regular basis,” he said. “We want to make sure that it works for everyone. Yizkor is the framework, but there will be creative pieces in it as well that will work for everyone in the community.”
As the anniversary approaches, Infeld said the community should be “thinking first and foremost of the memory of those who were murdered in this horrific, horrible terror attack.”
There are 97 hostages still being held in captivity in Gaza of the more than 240 Israelis and others kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7. (Four other hostages have been held since 2014/15.)
People need to be reminded of the absolute necessity to support the people of Israel at this moment, and to support fellow Jews here in Canada and around the world against the rise of antisemitism, said Infeld. “We would like to see everyone really rally together and gather together to support each other and to show our support for Israel and the Jewish people, and to comfort each other as well.”
A memorial in Victoria will take place at the same time on Oct. 7, at the Esquimalt Gorge Pavilion. Pre-registration is mandatory atjewishvictoria.ca.
On Sept. 28, as part of Beth Israel’s Selichot service, Rabbi Infeld will lead a conversation with Thomas Hand, whose daughter, Emily, was a hostage in Gaza. Emily, who turned 9 in captivity, was kidnapped along with her friend and the friend’s mother. The two girls were released in November. Hand will talk about the “spiritual, emotional and moral roller coaster” of his daughter’s captivity and eventual freedom.
Left to right are Rachel and Ezra Shanken with their children, Vancouver city councilors Sarah Kirby-Yung and Mike Klassen, and Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver board chair Lana Marks Pulver. The City of Vancouver proclamation designated June 25, 2024, as Ezra Shanken Day, in honour of Shanken’s 10th anniversary as head of Federation. (photo from Jewish Federation)
On June 25, Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, celebrated his 10th anniversary at the job and was presented with a proclamation from the City of Vancouver by councilors Sarah Kirby-Yung and Mike Klassen declaring that day “Ezra Shanken Day.” The event took place at Federation’s annual general meeting.
Earlier this month, Shanken spoke with the Independent about the past decade, and his enthusiasm looking ahead.
The Teaneck, NJ, native, who arrived in Vancouver in his early 30s, remains one of the youngest CEOs within the 140-strong network of Jewish federations. He is quick to credit those who have helped him get to where he is today.
“A lot of it has to do with fantastic people who were around, who believed and supported me,” Shanken said. “It helped me bring my unique self to the work and the journey. They took a chance on me 10 years ago, and I have felt incredibly privileged and thankful for the confidence that people put in me at a young age.”
Shanken is equally thankful to have tremendous people around him at the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and feels “lucky to have incredibly talented staff at a senior level who allow for a two-speed operation. We have levels in which people are able to dig deeper into issues in a substantive way,” he said.
Shanken represents the third generation in his family to have a career in the Jewish community: his father worked for Jewish organizations and his grandfather was a Conservative rabbi. Before arriving in Vancouver, Shanken spent several years at the federation in Denver, Colo., and the UJA Federation of New York.
He likens the job of Federation CEO to that of a mayor of a small town, one that requires dealing with diverse opportunities and crises, which are presented or emerge at different times. Not to mention the myriad daily tasks he performs in his position. His work stretches through many different organizations and extends across several time zones.
A day might see him connecting with partners in Israel and others overseas in the morning, then with national colleagues. He’ll spend a portion of the day building up the community’s organizational culture, delivering what, he hopes, is a collective vision for vibrancy and care to more than two dozen partner agencies throughout Greater Vancouver and the province. He meets with community members who contribute to this vision and he engages, on behalf of the community, with allies in the public and private sectors, individuals, institutions and organizations, who work with Federation.
Looking back, he said some of his favourite memories come from Shabbat dinners over the past 10 years in which he has met with everyone from law enforcement to premiers, and countless others from various backgrounds, who have had a chance to experience and understand “who we are and, more importantly, who we are not.
“That for me has been a real blessing, now more than ever,” he said.
As it has with so many people, the post-Oct. 7 period has been a pivotal time in Shanken’s tenure at the helm of Federation. Since that tragic day, he has made three trips to Israel with public officials, parliamentarians and leaders of the local community. He plans to make a fourth trip in November.
“This has been a deeply personal journey for me and so many in my office,” he said. “I think that Oct. 7 has fundamentally changed every one of us, me included, on the soul-based level. It is part of my core responsibility to keep Ben Mizrachi’s name on the community [mind] for time immemorial. His heroic loss is one we will never forget,” he said.
Mizrachi was killed while trying to save others during the Nova music festival.
In his 20 years of working in the federation system, Shanken has been through a hurricane that knocked out power in New York and had people climbing the stairs of 40-floor apartment buildings to save the lives of elderly Jews by getting water and other supplies to them. He helped close the campaign in Seattle after the federation there was attacked in 2006. And, in the two decades, there have been multiple attacks on Israel and, of course, the pandemic.
Yet, none of his previous experiences prepared him for Oct. 7, he said.
“The sheer brutality of it and the images of it, which I have had the unenviable task of bearing witness to, has changed me fundamentally as a human being and has reinforced the need of centrality in community,” he said.
“It also reinforced for me why I am here and what we are doing,” he added. “It could not be more clear as to why Jewish community is not just important but precious. We are going to show strength, continue to do good and put light out into the world.”
Shanken believes the next decade, in many ways, will be defined by more opportunities for engagement in Jewish community, regardless of where someone might live in the province.
“I am hoping that, as we move through the next 10 years, we will be able to look back and see a much more vibrant provincial Jewish community, as opposed to a Jewish community that is set in Victoria, Richmond and Vancouver,” he said.
Among the key things he envisages in the coming years, as Federation enters a campaign season, are coming together to push back against those who would cause harm, and creating a stronger foundation for the Jewish community.
“This is going to be about how we can be positively proud Jews,” Shanken said.
Tied to this vision, he explained, is ensuring, among other goals, that people in the community have different ways to connect, that vibrancy is built into the community, that schools are as accessible as they can be and that new people feel welcomed into the community.
The JWest project is a major part of the future. The planned 200,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art community centre, the largest infrastructure project in Vancouver’s Jewish history, will serve as a hub for more than 20 organizations, including the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre and King David High School, as well as provide housing and child-care spaces.
As Shanken describes it, JWest will be “the physical manifestation of our community’s vibrancy in the core of Vancouver’s second town centre. It is a monument of who we are projecting onto the street.”
More broadly, he added, the growth the community will see in the next decade will be game-changing. “The next 10 years will make the last 10 years seem as though were standing still,” he predicted.
Kicking off the next decade is Federation’s annual campaign launch Sept. 12. For more information and tickets ($36), visit jewishvancouver.com.
Sam Margolishas written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.
Members of the Clore & Roll Ensemble will perform in Vancouver on May 13. (photo from Clore Centre)
Every year, it is sobering to experience the transition from Yom Hazikaron, the day of remembrance for Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, into Yom Ha’atzmaut, the celebration of Israel’s Independence Day. This year, it will be even more so. And it will be especially poignant, given that the musical group headlining the local community gathering on May 13 is an ensemble from Kfar Blum, a kibbutz in the Galilee Panhandle, in northern Israel, where some 60,000 people have been evacuated because of the threats posed by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Clore & Roll Ensemble is an initiative of the music school of the Clore Centre for the Performing Arts, which also has a dance and theatre school. The centre was established in 1996 and approximately 1,000 students (which include adults) study there. They come from kibbutzim and moshavim in the area, as well as Druze and Arab towns.
“I’m glad to say that the conflict doesn’t get inside the centre,” Telem Chorin, chief executive officer of the Clore Centre and director of the ensemble, told the Independent. “Music is an international language and also an emotional language that connects people,” he said.
While the Clore Centre’s offerings remain afterschool programs, the centre has played a more important role in students’ lives since the Oct. 7 terror attacks that led to the current war.
“For some kids, the Clore is like a second home,” said Chorin. “Because, for some students, it is a more stable place than the hotel they were evacuated to, or the school that is currently closed or working partially.”
Despite being displaced, ensemble members have been coming together weekly to practise for the show in Vancouver. Rehearsals are at the centre.
“Last week, we had matriculation exams in dance and, during April and May, we will have matriculation exams in music playing,” said Chorin. “It is interesting to see how committed the students are to performing arts subjects even in such a period, and how much effort they have to invest – time, long journeys, sometimes even risking [their safety] and coming to Kfar Blum, even though it is relatively more dangerous here than in their homes or the hotels they have moved to. This shows how important it is to them and how much they don’t give up on it despite everything, and maybe even this is what keeps them ‘sane’ amidst all the chaos currently prevailing in the north.”
Some members of the ensemble have been playing together for more than five years in different capacities, but the group that is coming to Vancouver has only been playing together for the past three months, said Chorin. Due to the war and the evacuations, the group had to rebuild. “We’ve added additional musicians to the band so that you will have an amazing show!” he said.
Coming to Vancouver are Menachem Ofri (17, singer), Yaron Shir (18, singer), Kachtan Aviv (17, flute), Maman Moria (17, alto saxophone), Moyal Ido (17, tenor saxophone), Shem Tov Ido (19, trombone), Kovesh Gil (24, drums), Primor Adi (17, electric guitar), Fitzer Tal (16, piano) and Deutscher Goni (16, bass guitar). Also coming are Ziv Greenberg (music director), Ferry Stefan (dance teacher and dancer), Malki Smadar (administrative manager) and Kashri Noam (technical manager).
“Ofri, Ido Shem-Tov, Aviv and Noam were evacuated from their homes, and they are coming from all over the country to the rehearsals at the centre – sometimes, under rocket attacks!” said Chorin, who will join the band in the performance, on clarinet.
“Some of the students have already appeared in Edmonton and Calgary,” he said. “I have performed in Edmonton, Calgary, Windsor and Hamilton, but this is my first time in Vancouver and I am very excited! Some of the students were in Vancouver on student exchanges with their schools in Israel.”
Of what it means for the Clore & Roll ensemble to play a Yom Ha’atzmaut concert in the diaspora, Chorin said, “It is a great pride and honour to represent the state of Israel in general, and the Upper Galilee in particular, in such a show, on the eve of Independence Day, in a challenging time like now.”
The ensemble will present a wide-ranging repertoire.
“We are going to play modern Israeli songs (Idan Raichel, Mizrachit [Israeli pop]), classic Israeli songs and also some songs in English,” said Chorin. “A very diverse and happy program.”
“Bringing the Clore ensemble serves as a reminder of the unbreakable bond we share across borders,” said Dafna Silberstein, associate director of Israel connections and partnerships at the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. “It is also an amazing opportunity for the ensemble of teens and young adults to take a break from what they have been through for the past six months. And, for us, it feels like it is exactly what we need this year: coming together as a community united for and with our brothers and sisters in Israel.”
Jewish Federation has supported the Clore Centre as part of the Coast-to-Coast Federations’ Collective and independently, “as the centre is in our partnership region of Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee Panhandle,” explained Silberstein.
“We have wanted to bring the Clore ensemble for awhile now, to showcase the impact our support has had on its students and have been waiting for the right opportunity,” she said, noting that it is “with mixed emotions” that Oct. 7 created that opportunity.
“This year, the commemoration of Israel’s 76th Independence Day holds an even deeper meaning and significance,” said Silberstein. “It is an opportunity to stand together in solidarity and celebrate our shared values. Considering the spike in antisemitism, the need for community unity has become more important than ever.”
For tickets ($18) to the May 13, 7:30 p.m., concert at Congregation Beth Israel, as well as information about other Israel@76 activities, visit jewishvancouver.com/israelhere.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver has made a new transfer of more than $1 million from its Israel Emergency Campaign (IEC). This is its fourth transfer of funds and brings the total transferred to Israel to approximately $7.5 million.
It has been 125 days since Oct. 7 and Israel is facing challenges that continue to evolve and deepen as time goes by and the war continues. The IEC allocations committee, chaired by Stephen Gaerber, has reviewed funding proposals with great care to ensure that this latest round of allocations addresses the developing needs on the ground.
To give local community members a sense of what Israelis are facing at this stage, Federation asked Rachel Sachs, director of its Israel office, to provide this summary:
“As the army continues to fight in Gaza, the loss of soldiers’ lives and the ongoing state of captivity of 136 Israelis in Gaza is a growing and unbearable burden that is taking its toll on Israelis across the country. In the last few weeks, many reservists have been released from duty, with the understanding that they may get called up again. Their return home, after months in the battlefield, has sparked a new set of challenges in their families, their professional paths, academic journeys, and more.
“The evacuation of approximately 130,000 Israelis from the north and the south continues. Some remain housed in hotel rooms across the country, often miles away from home. Some residents of these frontline communities remain determined to return home the minute they will be allowed to, some remain determined that they will never go back, and others are trying to determine what it will take for them to return, both in terms of their sense of security, and actual security itself.
“Many of the devastated communities of the Gaza Envelope have either found, or are seeking, sites to which they can relocate together. Until their home kibbutzim are rebuilt, that is. They have been taken in by communities across the country, where they are, hopefully, experiencing a small sense of home for the first time since they fled their real homes months ago.
“The mental and emotional toll of this extended situation is growing, as the need for ongoing care and therapy for survivors, bereaved families and evacuated communities continues in multiple locations across Israel.
“In our partnership region of the Upper Galilee, the state of emergency continues.
“There is great uncertainty and concern over when the ‘day after’ will be and what will it look like. There is ongoing outreach to evacuated residents, with the understanding that community resilience is a critical factor in bringing people back home and offering them a hopeful future, together, in the north.”
Funding for this round of allocations is focused in four areas: emergency and humanitarian needs, respite for evacuees, economic support, and targeted populations. The following organizations are recipients of this round of IEC allocations:
Adler Institute: support programs for returning reservists and their families to address the specific needs related to returning from service, as defined by the reservists themselves.
Haruv Institute: a leader in training professionals who treat children suffering from trauma, abuse, and neglect, the institute is providing training for Eshkol Region healthcare professionals who are treating children.
Yeelim Centre at Ein Yael: nature therapy for survivors of the Nova festival, families of soldiers, evacuees, and more.
Ziv Medical Centre: funding to expand the centre’s emergency mental health work, so the hospital – itself in the line of fire and operating in emergency mode – can respond to the evolving needs and growing numbers of patients.
Kiryat Shmona Psychiatric Unit: currently operating from a temporary location in Tiberias, funding is to build a safe room at the Kiryat Shmona facility to ensure they can keep up treatment with patients when they return home.
Upper Galilee Hospice: support for terminally ill evacuated patients and their caregivers.
Yozmot Atid: support for the growing number of businesswomen who have been evacuated, some of whom also have spouses who have been serving as reservists for the past three months.
Israel Diving Federation: therapeutics diving excursions for survivors and evacuees from both northern and southern Israel.
Taglit-Birthright Israel: week-long respites for residents of the Eastern Galilee.
Road to Recovery: transportation for evacuees from across the country to reach their treatment sessions in their home regions, which are now often miles away.
Hannaton Education Centre: support for Kibbutz Hannaton to continue to house families of asylum seekers from Sderot, who were evacuated and have nowhere else to go.
Beit Issie Shapiro: rehabilitation and therapy programs for displaced families of individuals with disabilities.
To donate to the Israel Emergency Campaign and for a full summary of the support given to date, visit jewishvancouver.com.
BC cabinet minister Selina Robinson speaks Nov. 5 at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue. Other panelists at the B’nai Brith Canada event that day were, left to right, Schara Tzedeck’s Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt, BC United MLA Michael Lee and Aron Csaplaros, BC regional manager for B’nai Brith. (photo by Pat Johnson)
British Columbia is to become only the second province in Canada to mandate Holocaust education in the school curriculum. In a surprise announcement at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver on Oct. 30, BC Premier David Eby was flanked by Jewish community leaders and survivors of the Holocaust when he said that Grade 10 students will be required to learn about the Holocaust, beginning in the 2025-26 school year.
Until now, it was possible for a student to graduate from the school system in British Columbia without ever having encountered the subject. Teachers have discretion to include the Holocaust in social studies classes and an elective on genocide is available in some schools, but there was no universally mandated requirement for learning about the Shoah. Ontario recently instituted mandatory Holocaust education at the Grade 6 level, becoming the first province in the country to make the subject compulsory.
Speaking at an event on Nov. 5, BC cabinet minister Selina Robinson recounted how the milestone decision unfolded. She credits former BC education minister (now minister of transportation and infrastructure) Rob Fleming with launching the idea in 2018. Fleming came to Robinson and asked if she knew that Holocaust education was not mandatory.
“Just like many, many others, I was surprised to learn that,” said Robinson. “He started the ball rolling.”
The COVID pandemic derailed the plans, as educators and administrators struggled to simply deliver learning to kids.
It was while reading Vancouver author Marsha Lederman’s book Kiss the Red Stairs that Robinson, who is the province’s minister of post-secondary education and future skills, wondered what had happened with Fleming’s idea.
“So, I picked up the phone and I called Rachna [Singh, the current minister of education] and then I called Rob Fleming and then I called a couple of my other colleagues who had an interest in seeing this move forward,” she recounted. “And then I called the premier and I said, David, this project that we started is moving at a snail’s pace and this needs to get done. We cannot wait any longer. I want to give kudos to our premier, to David Eby. He said, I’m on it.”
Robinson was speaking at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue on Sunday as part of a panel on antisemitism and Holocaust education organized by B’nai Brith Canada. Numerous members of the legislature, as well as mayors, councilors and school trustees from around the province joined the event virtually. Robinson’s fellow panelists were BC United MLA Michael Lee and Schara Tzedeck’s Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt. Aron Csaplaros, BC regional manager for B’nai Brith Canada, moderated, with senior leaders from B’nai Brith beaming in from Eastern Canada.
From Robinson’s post-COVID jumpstarting of the Holocaust education planning, things leapt forward, she said.
“It really moved, I would say, from June until probably the beginning of September, at lightning speed – and anyone who’s ever had to work with government knows that nothing ever moves at lightning speed,” Robinson said. “So, I want to give kudos to our partners at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre and CIJA [the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs] and [the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver] for coming together and working in partnership. I know that B’nai Brith is new on the scene [in BC] and this is a very important piece, but I also think it’s really important to recognize those that have been working … for a number of years to make this happen.”
The timing of the announcement, in the weeks after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel and in the midst of a massive spike in antisemitism worldwide, was coincidental. The issues, though, are related.
Robinson said the provincial government has been vigilant in monitoring antisemitism and potential for violence in British Columbia. She credited Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth for spearheading the response.
“He called me every single day from Oct. 7 for about 10 days, to report in to me about what was happening on the ground,” she said. In addition to her official role with advanced education, Robinson said she is known among colleagues as “the Jew in the crew,” as the provincial elected official who is most publicly visible in her Jewishness.
On Nov. 1, Robinson convened a meeting of the heads of the 25 post-secondary institutions in the province.
“I got agreement from all 25 presidents that they would do everything within their power to make sure that everyone felt safe on their campuses,” she said. “I don’t think solving that is going to be an easy task, but it’s absolutely a requirement of all of them, because, in this province and in this country, we believe that everybody has the right to be who they are and to feel safe and, if it’s not happening, then we need to fix it.”
A bipartisan love-in that has been going on between Robinson and Lee, who represents Vancouver-Langara (the provincial constituency that includes many of Vancouver’s Jewish institutions and residents), continued Sunday in the obvious respect and affection between the two MLAs despite party lines. Lee made the news last week after rising in the house to give a personal tribute to Robinson’s strength as a leader who is Jewish in this challenging time and Robinson reciprocated kind words at the B’nai Brith event.
“Michael Lee has been a steadfast supporter, not just in this particular situation,” she said. “But also [to me] as a Jewish person who is having her own experience as a Jew around what is happening.”
Robinson spoke emotionally about the impacts of current events on her family, which includes her Israeli soon-to-be son-in-law, who became a permanent resident of Canada at the end of September.
Making Holocaust education a mandatory part of the province’s education curriculum has been a dream of the people at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre since the organization was founded, in 1994, according to Nina Krieger, the VHEC’s executive director.
“I think stars aligned and David Eby acknowledged Selina Robinson as being a key driving force in this initiative,” Krieger told the Independent.
A process of consultation will now begin and Krieger expects her agency will be central to that work, identifying and providing resources to help craft the new curriculum, which is likely to be a component of the Social Studies 10 learning outcomes.
“Certainly we bring a wealth of experience and a roster of programs and resources and best practices that will be relevant to the curriculum development process,” she said. “We are also poised to work with the minister of education to play whatever role is needed for that process. Also, we know the implementation and resource tools and training that teachers are going to need will be really important as well, so we’re looking forward to supporting the province and the teachers directly with that.”
The Jewish Federation and CIJA will continue to be engaged with the planning for mandatory Holocaust education. Both organizations issued statements after the announcement Oct. 30.
“When left unchecked, antisemitism culminates in some of the darkest chapters in human history. By learning from the Holocaust, we honour the memories of its victims and, we hope, contribute to preventing future tragedies,” said Ezra Shanken, Federation’s chief executive officer. “Today’s announcement shows the BC government’s commitment to creating a safer society for all.”
“Education is key to ensuring that our children learn to combat hate and that the Jewish community can live in a safer province,” said Nico Slobinsky, CIJA’s vice-president for the Pacific Region. “We look forward to working with the BC government on implementing mandatory Holocaust education in our province’s K-12 curriculum.”
At Sunday’s event, Marvin Rotrand, national director of B’nai Brith’s League of Human Rights, speaking virtually from Montreal, noted that 15 US states have some form of mandatory Holocaust education – and early indications from studies in those jurisdictions indicate a decrease in hate crimes not only toward Jews but other groups as well.
While a report this spring by the New York-based Jewish Education Project showed a decline in Jewish supplementary education in North America over the past 15 years, participation in after-school and weekend educational programs in British Columbia is on the rise.
Since the 1990s, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver has provided small grants to local supplementary schools; at present, it funds 11 programs. And, in 2015, Federation convened the Jewish Education Task Force to look into the state of part-time education.
“Through this work, we recognized the importance of focusing on innovation and change to attract a new generation of families,” said Shelley Rivkin, Federation’s vice-president of local and global engagement. “We were able to provide innovation grants and professional development opportunities for supplementary school educators to learn new and diverse ways to offer Jewish education. More importantly, we expanded the definition of fundable supplementary schools to include Shabbat, family and Hebrew literacy programs.”
According to Rivkin, while the Jewish Education Project report brought attention to the fall in enrolment elsewhere (see jewishindependent.ca/drop-in-jewish-learning), Federation’s experience has been that enrolment here has either remained stable or grown in the last few years.
“We have seen significant gains in supplementary school enrolment in both the regional and emerging communities, where families are seeking opportunities to connect with other Jewish parents and provide opportunities for their children to have Jewish experiences,” Rivkin said.
For example, BC Regional Hebrew Schools, operated through Chabad and funded in part by Federation, has become an important part of building Jewish community life in places like Langley, Coquitlam and Whistler. Likewise, programs directed toward Hebrew-speaking families, which have a broader focus on Israeli culture, are attracting new families who are looking for different content.
“We have seen all of our supplementary school providers adapt and change in response to changing demographics. All offer a range of activities utilizing innovative teaching methods and engaging content to appeal to a diverse group of children and their families,” Rivkin said.
The same is true for the Lower Mainland, where Federation notes that supplementary schools are making a difference as well.
“The Jewish Federation’s Supplementary School Grant helps us in many ways,” said Noga Vieman, education director of Congregation Har El in West Vancouver. “First, we believe that every child in every Jewish home deserves an enriching Jewish education and experience. The grant helps us keep the program reasonably priced, and offers us the opportunity to create scholarships for those in need, so that financial challenges will not prove a barrier to getting quality Jewish education and becoming part of the Jewish community.”
The grant also helps Har El provide its teachers with fair compensation, allowing the North Shore Jewish centre to attract and retain quality educators with a passion for working with children and building the future of the Jewish community in the region.
Further, part of the grant Har El receives is dedicated to funding classroom assistants to help increase inclusion.
“In our program, this money goes towards paying for an education assistant for a child who is blind, and also for teens who help children with different learning abilities, and who need personal support during class,” Vieman said. “This helps to create intergenerational connections, and keeps the teens involved in the community past their own education in our program.”
At the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture, the Federation grant has been used for Pnei Mitzvah, its secular humanist program for youth aged 10 to 14 that focuses on the Hebrew language, Bible stories, Jewish holidays and Jewish culture.
“We have been growing the program in recent years and have expanded it province-wide through an online cohort,” said Maggie Karpilovski, executive director of the Peretz Centre. “This growth would not be possible without Federation’s funding. It allowed us to attract expert teachers and innovate the delivery model so that it is accessible to more Jewish families throughout the region. As we are the only secular Jewish humanist organization in BC, and the Jewish community is spread out quite widely, it is important for us to make our programs accessible.”
Jen Jaffe, school principal at Temple Sholom, confirms the value of Federation’s financial support. “The grants allowed us to become more accessible to students of varying learning needs,” she said.
At Temple Sholom, the funding has been used to contribute to the school’s madrichim program and create a “learning hub” space for students with needs including sensory materials and furniture. The space is used each time school is in session.
“We need to celebrate these successes,” said Rivkin, “and applaud the educators and parents who are ensuring the survival of part-time Jewish education.”
The 2022 Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver annual campaign raised $13.17 million: $10.24 million through the campaign and $2.91 million in additional support (this includes additional special project funding, community relief and emergency relief). Federation chief executive officer Ezra Shanken noted in one of his weekly emails last month that 2,500-plus donors made “Amazing Happen,” the campaign’s theme. There were more than 900 donors “who gave for the first time or increased their gifts, 21 partner agency boards achieved 100% campaign participation, meaning that every one of their directors supported the annual campaign,” and there were more than 200 volunteer canvassers.
“The campaign is led by volunteer leaders from across our community,” wrote Shanken, “and I want to thank the entire annual campaign cabinet who did a remarkable job guided by the leadership of Lana Marks Pulver in her second year as chair: Shay Keil, Megan Laskin, Alvin Wasserman, Al Szajman, Chana Charach, Lindsay Isserow, David Linde, Catherine Epstein, Andrew Altow, David Porte, Michael Nemirow, Todd Thal, Sue Hector, Lucy Adirim and Justin Ergas.
“On behalf of the thousands of people, here and around the world, whose lives are made better by collective giving,” he continued, “I want to thank everyone who participated in the annual campaign and took our results to new heights for our community.”
* * *
David Morley
Last month, Jerry Nussbaum and Lillian Boraks-Nemetz of the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada awarded the 2023 Janusz Korczak Statuette to David Morley, who has supported and advanced children’s rights and well-being in Canada and around the world in his 30-plus year career. He only recently retired from his position as president and chief executive officer of UNICEF Canada.
Prior to joining UNICEF Canada, Morley served as executive director of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders Canada (during his tenure, Médecins Sans Frontières was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize); as president and CEO of Save the Children Canada; and was the founding executive director of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. Morley was invested into the Order of Canada “for his leadership in international development and for his humanitarian commitment to improving the lives of children and families around the world.”
The 2023 Janusz Korczak Statuette recognizes lifetime achievement in child advocacy, and vision and leadership in promoting a holistic approach to the well-being of children in the spirit of Korczak. It is awarded under the auspices of B.C. Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin (honorary patron of the association), who participates in the annual event. The ceremony this year took place at Government House in Victoria on May 3.
“Tikkun olam,” said Candace Kwinter, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver board chair and Jewish Agency for Israel board member, about what drives her to donate so much of her time and energy both locally and globally.
“I feel it in my heart and soul to assist every Jew in the world who needs help in whatever way necessary,” said Kwinter, who is concluding her two-year term as chair. She will continue with the board as immediate past chair.
As board chair, Kwinter works alongside fellow volunteers and Federation staff.
“We provide our more than 30 partner agencies, including the day schools, supplementary Hebrew schools, Jewish Family Services, the Jewish Community Centre and more, with support, not only through funding but by bringing our partners together to collaborate and innovate to meet our community’s evolving needs today and in the future,” she said.
With the Jewish Agency, Kwinter attends the board of governors meetings twice a year; additionally, she sits on the agency’s aliyah, unity of the Jewish people, and antisemitism committees.
“With antisemitism on the rise and aliyah doubling because of Ukraine and Russia, the Jewish Agency has been extremely busy. We are working hard to connect Israelis to world Jewry and, from a local perspective, more Jews in British Columbia specifically,” she said.
According to Kwinter, the partnership between Federation and the Jewish Agency is vital because each can achieve much more by joining forces. She noted that it is the federation system across North America – not only the local federation – that partners with the Jewish Agency by financially supporting the agency’s work on the ground.
“The impact our community can make at an international level is so much greater when we work together,” she said. “Locally, Federation supports the Jewish Agency and the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) with funding to assist world Jewry in aliyah, humanitarian needs and security concerns, as well as bridging the gaps between Israelis and world Jewry.”
Largely due to the global pandemic, needs have shifted during Kwinter’s time on both boards. “COVID changed everything. We all had to pivot when the pandemic hit and it created a lot of uncertainty,” she said.
Among the social consequences resulting from COVID-19 – locally, in Israel and around the world – have been increased food insecurity, a surge in mental health issues, inflation and isolation. In 2022, humanitarian needs were exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, thereby increasing the demand for aliyah.
“I am incredibly proud of the way our community responded and, because of the partnerships already in place with organizations like the JDC and the Jewish Agency, we were able to get people the help they needed quickly and effectively,” said Kwinter.
Concurrent with the European conflict, the Jewish Agency established Tzur Israel at the beginning of 2022 to unite the remaining Ethiopian Jews with their families in Israel, she said. “Once again, world Jewry came together to fund the aliyah segment – the Israeli government funds the entire absorption costs. I had the privilege of being on the first plane of Operation Tzur Israel last June, where we brought 179 Ethiopians to Israel. It was incredible.” (See jewishindependent.ca/israels-new-ethiopian-airlift.)
Kwinter’s love of Israel derives from a concern about antisemitism and the history of the Holocaust and a commitment to “Never Again.”
“To me, Israel represents ‘Never Again’ and gives me a sense of security as the homeland for every Jew in the world,” Kwinter said. “It is with great pride I speak of Israel and all it has achieved in the past 75 years. It is truly a beacon of tikkun olam and innovation, for all the world to benefit. It is a light among the nations.”
Kwinter holds 40-plus years of experience in financial services, including owning and operating her own financial services agency for 29 years, before selling it in 2017. She has been involved with Federation in various capacities and volunteers with the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver, the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Pacific Region. She is president of the North Shore Jewish Community Centre / Congregation Har El, having also served as synagogue president from 2005 to 2007. From 2008 to 2011, she served on the Pacific Northwest Region of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.
