Russ Klein

King David head retires soon

King David High School principal Russ Klein at the school’s 2023 Golden Thread Gala fundraiser. About to retire, this year’s event will celebrate his 16 years of service. (photo from KDHS)

Russ Klein stepped into the role of head of school at King David High School for a two-year temporary stopgap when Perry Seidelman retired in 2008. This June, he retires after 16 years at the helm.

“This job has just been a gift,” Klein said, before clarifying: “It hasn’t been a job.”

Klein was a vice-principal at Prince of Wales Secondary, in the Vancouver public school system, and was on track to become a principal when the position at KDHS opened. One of the teachers at PW was on the search committee to hire the new King David head of school and asked Klein – hounded might be a more appropriate term – to consider the role.

“I told him a number of times, using choice language, what I thought of that idea,” Klein recounted recently in his corner office at the school.

Finally, Klein consented to meet the search committee’s director, who convinced him to tour the school. He was suddenly interested.

Klein’s superiors at the Vancouver School Board thought a two-year stint as principal at an independent school would be good experience before returning to the public system, and a deal was struck.

“I thought I was in and out,” he said. “I thought I was coming because they needed someone. They knew I had a two-year contract. That’s what I signed.”

The King David experience, though, changed his life.

“When the Vancouver School Board invited me back to be a principal at one of our local Vancouver schools, I had to think long and hard about it and I realized I didn’t want to leave,” said Klein. “I had joined a community that was so different than anything I had experienced before.

“In this job, I found a community that I didn’t know I had,” he said. “That was beyond special. I really do think of this job, this position really, as a gift.”

Klein, who was divorced, found not only professional fulfilment at King David, but personal, too. At the school, he met Deborah Youngson, a King David parent, and they have been together for 13 years.

“Deborah is the gift that keeps on giving,” he said. “She is just simply unbelievable. She has managed to help me through the highs and the lows of this job because I could not have done it on my own. Believe it or not, it may be a small school and it may be a small Jewish community, but there’s a lot of pressure that one feels and trying to look like the pressure isn’t impacting you when it really is, is not always so easy. But having a person who understands and is supportive made the biggest difference in the world.”

There are many tangible and intangible measures of success in the education field. The year Klein started, the Grade 8 incoming class had 18 students. This year’s Grade 8 intake was 65. Total school population has risen to 270 from fewer than 140.

“That’s very pleasing for all of us because the whole goal is to provide a Jewish education for as many Jewish students as we can,” he said. “That’s the mission.”

As the only Jewish high school in town, King David has an obligation to reach the widest swath possible, he said.

“We need to be able to provide as much of an education as we can from secular to, let’s say, a more traditional family,” Klein said, noting they use the term pluralistic Jewish school. “We also describe ourselves as a community school. We are open to everyone. We want everyone to be here. We are not a religious school – I will just clarify that with people – but we are a faith-based school.”

Among the advances during Klein’s tenure has been the solidifying of the Judaics department and the requirement for all students to participate in that component. He cites as a point of pride the annual Grade 8 trip to Israel – though global events have hampered that tradition in recent years.

Taking Grade 8s to Israel is rare, he said, as most Jewish schools in North America wait until students are a bit older. Klein thinks getting kids to Israel as early as possible is invaluable.

Dorin Eilon-Heiber, the school’s Hebrew coordinator and Judaic studies teacher, organizes the Israel trip and she and Klein have now accompanied more than 500 students on the journey.

“That’s probably one of the biggest satisfactions I have,” he said, laughing that it’s hardly a vacation. “But it was a privilege.”

The school had previously taken students on Israel trips but when Klein arrived they began taking the Grade 8s.

“It was considered young and we even had pushback here in taking them [at that age],” Klein acknowledged. However, the impact on the students throughout their high school experience is profound, he said. “I would ask [students], why do you come to a Jewish day school? And the kids don’t know. To be honest, many of them know they’re Jewish, [but] they’ve never been to Israel, they don’t know anything about Israel. My goal was to take them in Grade 8, let them fall in love with Israel and – you know how teenagers are, puppy love, etc. You go to Israel in Grade 8 and it is one of the most special moments you have in your life. We take them to meet Israelis, to spend time in Israeli homes and, literally, they fall in love.

“And then they have four more years to understand why they are actually at a Jewish school or why they’re learning Hebrew or why the history that they are learning is meaningful,” he said. “I just think it changes the conversation for them.”

Then worldwide events intervened. COVID prevented the annual excursion in 2020, 2021 and 2022. By 2023, the only students who had been on the school trip to Israel were in Grade 12. “So, last year, we were able to organize with our Israeli sister school, Har Vagai, two trips,” said Klein. “We took one in October with our Grade 10 students and we took one in March with our Grade 11 students, trying to catch up.”

Doing two trips was too stressful on the school and stressful on the Israeli hosts. “So, we decided at that point that this year we would move the trip to Grade 10 because we couldn’t catch up to get back to Grade 8,” he said.

There were plans to take the students just after Pesach this year. “And then, of course, Oct. 7 happened and we’re not going to Israel in Grade 10 this year,” Klein said. The sister school, located just outside the Vancouver partnership community of Kiryat Shemona, in the Galilee Panhandle, is mostly evacuated due to attacks from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

“They are all in hotels and other places and it’s a terrible situation,” said Klein. “Dorin and myself and our spouses are heading to Israel in a few weeks and we’re going to visit our sister school, take them our love and presents, and we’re also going to take our alumni in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem out for dinner, offer them our love and support and just say, hey, we’re here with you.”

Klein credits the entire KDHS team for everything he has accomplished over 16 years, but especially for stepping up during COVID.

Managing education during the pandemic may have been easier for independent schools, being able to navigate separate from a massive bureaucracy, said Klein. Within two days of shutting down in March 2020, King David classes were completely online. Unlike public schools, students were back in classes, with extensive protocols, at the beginning of June.

In addition to the immediate issues of a deadly pandemic, there have been conflicting ideas about vaccines, masks and the broader needs and solutions in dealing with it. Klein credits parents and staff with superb resilience and patience.

There was a loss, though, of some of the social factors. Relationships between school staff and parents were less robust than before the pandemic simply because face-to-face contact was reduced, he said.

COVID has not been the only difficult time.

“The lows are tragic moments, when alumni passed, parents passed,” he said. “Of course, most recently, with the loss of Ben Mizrachi in Israel at the Nova Music Festival [on Oct. 7]. Those are really hard, especially to try and lead when you are feeling as heartbroken as everybody else. Those lows are pretty clear.”

Klein calls the past 16 years “the most meaningful in my life,” bringing him back into a community he had mostly left behind.

“I went to Talmud Torah [elementary school], I was part of the Jewish community in Vancouver. I had my bar mitzvah at the Beth Israel and, then, like a lot of people of my generation, I did not participate,” he said. “I went to Israel in my 20s a couple of times, spent time on kibbutzim and had that experience and fell in love with Israel, but I wasn’t living any religious life or any traditional life whatsoever. When I came to the school, my whole life changed, and I had community and that was a gift.”

As for retirement, Klein has planned not to plan.

“Very intentionally, I am not making a plan,” he said. “I’ve got tension and stress that needs to ooze out of me and it’s going to take a period of time for me to get to know myself again in a different way, without being in a position, to be able to feel relaxed and to not worry every time my phone pings.”

When school reconvenes in September, he and Youngson will be on their way to London to board a cruise to Iceland. Beyond that, he has only one commitment.

Klein’s father, Emerich, who passed away last year, was a survivor of Auschwitz.

“I will totally offer my services to VHEC [the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre] to see if I can do some storytelling for them so I can bring that message,” said Klein. “But that is actually the only thing that I have thought I will definitely want to offer my services for.”

Diane Friedman, co-chair of the King David board, lauds Klein’s 16 years of accomplishments.

“Russ has overseen the transformation of King David into a strong, lively and inclusive Jewish high school,” Friedman said.

She credited Klein, and the King David team during his tenure, with adding an accelerated math and science program, annual school retreats, and an outdoor education program.

“Russ also built up the Judaics program, making it compulsory for all students with no exceptions – it is who we are – focusing on service and volunteerism,” she said. “Russ recognizes that, while our students’ academic achievements are noteworthy, student achievement is so much more than academic marks.”

Under Klein’s leadership, Friedman noted, King David also became a Canadian Accredited Independent Schools member school, which attests that the institution follows national standards and best practices.

“Russ has been a true guiding light for King David,” she said. “He exemplifies the principles and traditions of Judaism, with a sense of purpose, fairness and kindness. Russ has fostered unity and belonging to a point where the King David community is a family … everyone says so, starting with the students and including staff and families. Russ has an open-door policy and strives to create an environment where every student feels welcome and valued.”

Friedman acknowledged the support the school has received from the Diamond Foundation, which owns the land on which KDHS sits and helped fund renovations and the addition of custom modular units on the campus during Klein’s tenure.

While Klein is set to retire before the dramatic development of JWest breaks ground – a project that will ultimately see the school move into the new community hub on the site of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver – Friedman credits Klein for collaborating on that project to ensure the long-term stability of the school.

“While seeing Russ off to retirement is bittersweet, we are excited for the future of King David and we look forward to welcoming Dr. Seth Goldsweig as our new head of school this summer,” said Friedman.

Klein’s years of service will be the focus of celebration at the Golden Thread Gala May 22. Information and tickets are at goldenthreadgala.com.

KDHS chai celebration

Left to right: Jeff Ross and Stephen Kaye, King David High School co-presidents in 2006, and Diane Friedman and Alain Guez, this year’s co-presidents. (photo from KDHS)

“At King David, Jewish memory and education intersect, creating a unique and powerful learning experience that prepares our students for a lifetime of meaning and purpose,” said King David High School board co-president Alain Guez in his closing remarks at the school’s Golden Thread Gala May 18.

The gala is KDHS’s primary fundraising event of the year, and more than 300 people filled the ballroom at Congregation Beth Israel, including some 50 King David alumni, to celebrate the school’s 18 years in its current building, at Willow Street and 41st Avenue. The school itself is double chai (36) years old, its origins being found in Maimonides Secondary School, which opened in September 1987.

“We would not be here today if Maimonides … had not started us on our path, our derech, to where we are now,” said head of school Russ Klein in his opening remarks.

“This evening is to celebrate what our community has built together,” he said. “The Diamond Foundation, who support so many of our community efforts, made King David possible with their generous support, belief in our importance, and their strong Jewish values.”

Rabbi Stephen Berger, head of Judaic studies at KDHS, noted that the event was taking place on erev Yom Yerushalayim. He compared Yerushalayim – “a holy place for all people, all people can worship G-d in this one place” – to KDHS, in that there are many different Jewish schools in Metro Vancouver but only one high school, and this one high school has to serve everybody across the religious and cultural spectrum. “We don’t always get it right, but it is a place where we can try, and respect and show love to everybody,” he said.

Event co-chairs Heidi Seidman and Sherri Wise said a few words about the school, as well. “It is important to note,” said Seidman, “that not one student is left behind and, when you look around the room tonight, you are all part of the village that makes that possible.”

As auctioneer, Fred Lee – who is a regular contributor to CBC, the Province, Boulevard and Vancouver Magazine – stressed this idea. He spoke about the Jewish community and the importance of the high school. He also helped raise funds that will go towards the school’s programs and students. There was a silent auction, a 50/50 draw and other opportunities to donate.

photo - Throughout the Golden Thread Gala, there were musical performances — Throughout the Golden Thread Gala, there were musical performances. *(photo from KDHS)*

The gala featured panelists Stephen Kaye, and Jeff Ross and Reisa Schwartzman, who were integral to the transition of the school from Maimonides to King David, and for taking the school from the portables it occupied on Baillie Street to having its own building on Willow. They were introduced in a video by their respective children, David Kaye and Zachary Ross, graduates of the inaugural KDHS Class of 2006.

Stephen Kaye came to Canada from South Africa, where there is a network of Jewish day schools called King David Schools. He described himself as “very passionate about Jewish education” and said, “The feedback we got from the community was that, if we could show enough commitment from parents to send their kids to a Jewish high school, there would be support from the community.” It was a hard sell, he said, but then the Diamonds bought the land at Willow and 41st.

Stephen and Sandy Kaye shlepped three kids from North Vancouver to King David in Vancouver, noted Klein, who emceed the panel discussion.

Ross spoke of studies showing that kids who have gone to a Jewish high school are more Jewishly knowledgeable and involved. And yet, he said that, in the beginning, there was almost a feeling that you were sacrificing your children to the experiment of a new high school, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Ross gave Rabbi Mordechai Feuerstein, a co-founder of Maimonides, kudos for his efforts to keep the school going.

When the school was in “the shack” (portables) on Baillie Street, said Schwartzman, there were fewer than 60 kids and now there are more than 270. Back when she was helping bring KDHS into existence, she said she was confident this growth would happen, based on a survey that was conducted at Vancouver Talmud Torah, which would be the main feeder school into the high school. She was president of VTT at the time, and the survey of parents showed that about 50% of the kids from VTT would go to a Jewish high school if there were one.

Quality education was important to everyone, said Schwartzman, and one of the things the group behind KDHS did to ensure quality was to bring Perry Seidelman in as principal. Seidelman, who had some 30 years’ experience in teaching and administration at the time, had been contemplating retirement, but took on the principalship and held the position until 2008; he was succeeded by Klein.

In a video that featured Gordon and Leslie Diamond and their daughter Jill Diamond, as well as Class of 2023 students talking about how the school has positively impacted them, the Diamonds spoke of how proud they were of KDHS, its students, staff, and all the people who have given it its “personality” and contributed to its success. Calling the school “a labour of love for the Diamond Foundation,” Jill Diamond said, “And the most wonderful thing about King David is that it is teaching the Jewish values of tikkun olam, of chesed, of mitzvot and of tzedakah to the next generation of leaders of our community.”

Such has been the growth of the school that it added a modular unit last year, the building of which was funded by the Diamond Foundation. In her remarks with Guez, KDHS board co-president Diane Friedman spoke about how the addition is affectionately called the school’s “East Campus,” and thanked the foundation, as well as the donors who filled the modular with state-of-the art equipment, furniture and technology.

The evening came to a close with Klein and Seidelman. The former principal said he had worked at many schools before King David, and that he liked all of them – but he “loved King David.” He said he felt very proud as he looked around the room.

The gala also featured, under the direction of music teacher Johnny Seguin, the KDHS jazz band, who played at the cocktail reception – Luca Jeffery, Max Kimel, Jesse Millman and Nikki Wiseman – and performances throughout the night by singers Ella Ankenman, Kailey Bressler, Rachel Gerber, Mhairi Hemingson and Nikki Wiseman, with choreography credit given to Shai Rubin.

Gala committee members were Cyndi Ankenman, Dalia Bressler, Laura Feldman, Andrea Foxman, Nicole Ginsberg, Margaret Hemingson, Anna Herman, Ruth Jankelowitz, Joelly Simkin and Annie Simpson. Other volunteers were Lina Chernov, Kim Fisher, Jessica Forman, Simon Karsyente, Matilda Rosman Levsky, Melina Baum Singer, Gaenor Vaida, Jacqueline Wener and King David students Danielle Agulyansky, Eden Almog, Ali Fadida, Tamir Gini and Yuli Kabazo.

Survivor breaks his silence

Emerich Klein speaks to a student following his recent talk at King David High School. (photo from KDHS)

For decades, Emerich Klein kept his story of survival during the Holocaust to himself. While raising two children in Vancouver and making a life, he shared nothing of what had happened to him after he, together with his family, was deported to Auschwitz.

After years of cajoling, Klein shared his experiences with Russ Klein, his son, who is principal of King David High School. In 2019, he also sat with interviewer Hodie Kahn and recorded almost four hours of testimony for the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.

On Feb. 14, with his son the principal at his side, Emerich Klein spoke of his survival story for the first time to an audience, addressing students in a Holocaust studies class. The students had viewed the recorded testimony in advance of the visit.

Klein was born in Uzhorod, Czechoslovakia, in 1930, and lived with his sister Judith and their parents Isidor and Rose on the site of the electric power plant where Isidor worked. They had a large extended family and Emerich remembers Shabbat dinners at his grandparents’ home, with throngs of cousins. His grandparents, who were very traditional, were in charge of the mikveh and his grandfather was a melamed, a teacher.

Emerich’s early childhood was largely uneventful, except for being taunted and beaten up on his way to and from school by non-Jewish kids. At one point, on the advice of a teacher, he loaded his school bag with rocks and took revenge on his tormentors. When one of the bullies dragged the police to the Kleins’ door urging assault charges, Emerich’s father explained how his son frequently returned from school bloody. The cop apologized and left. The father of the bully beat his own son – not for bullying, it would seem, but for being bested by a Jew.

While older people may have sensed the shifting social climate, for kids like Emerich, things seemed pretty good for a time. By 1941, though, Jewish businesses could operate only with an Aryan partner and so an uncle had to close his small bakery.

When Isidor was conscripted – first into the army and then, when Jews could no longer serve in the military, in a work battalion – the family’s fortunes suffered. His boss at the power plant eventually convinced authorities that he was an irreplaceable employee.

One day, a stranger showed up in town, speaking a language Emerich did not understand. The boy took the man to a rabbi and, after the rabbi shooed Emerich away, the man explained that he had escaped Poland and told the rabbi what was happening to Jews there. The man’s stories of ghettoization, forced starvation and worse was unimaginable to the Jews of Uzhorod.

Under the 1938 Munich Agreement, which British prime minister Neville Chamberlain signed with Hitler to partition Czechoslovakia, Uzhorod was returned to Hungary, to which it had belonged until the First World War. (It is now in Ukraine.) In 1944, the Nazis occupied Hungary, and things got much worse for the Jews living there. When they heard the word “ghetto,” the words of the Polish stranger who had shown up in town returned to them.

Emerich’s grandfather was stopped on the street, beaten up and had his beard cut off. Jews were ordered to report to a cordoned-off area but, because this ghetto was so small, it served mostly as a deportation area. The Kleins remained there only for a couple of days.

They were packed into railway cars, with only room to stand. One big drum served as a potable water supply and another as a toilet. Children were crying, people were moaning.

After several days – Emerich doesn’t know how long – the train stopped. People were banging on the outside of the cars and the doors were flung open. People in striped clothes screamed at them to get out. They had arrived at Auschwitz.

Once they got down off the train, the women and children were separated from the men. The old and sick were yanked across the tracks and packed into big waiting trucks. Rose pushed Emerich to join the men. The boy didn’t want to let go of his mother but she screamed at him to leave. He ran and found his father.

While waiting for the next step in their processing, Emerich saw what he thought were piles of cordwood but he soon realized they were human bodies. The new arrivals were taken to a building for a cold shower, then they were shaved, doused in disinfectant and handed clothing in random sizes.

When an army officer called for metal workers, Isidor volunteered and a fellow prisoner advised Emerich to step forward or risk being separated from his father. Despite his lack of knowledge in the field, Emerich passed himself off as an apprentice. Together, the father and son were separated from the rest of the group and transported out of Auschwitz, on a train again for days, until they arrived in France.

Isidor and Emerich worked at a mine in tolerable conditions, with survival rations for a time, until they were moved again, to a salt mine in Germany. There, they were joined by 1,000 inmates from Poland and Emerich and the others learned the horrors of what was happening further east.

At the salt mine, their job was to break boulders to make gravel and then level out the ground, so concrete could be pored over it. After a time, Emerich was put on burial duty, which was less physically onerous work. A Russian prisoner assured Emerich that the war would soon be over and to keep up his strength. He would move on to factory work, cleaning the floor and cutting aluminum.

In April 1945, the workers were forced on a death march. Planes were flying so low that the prisoners could see the pilots. As the march continued, Isidor insisted he couldn’t go on, but Emerich and two of their friends stuck together and forced the father to keep moving. Eventually, they were loaded onto a train and provided food for the first time in nine days. Then, in the midst of a great commotion, the incarcerated passengers realized that the German army was in full retreat. The guards abandoned the prisoners.

Emerich and his group walked into the nearest town, which was already overrun with freed prisoners. They were put up in a German army base that had been repurposed as a repatriation centre. Tables had been set up for each country and people registered their names and hometowns.

Emerich and Isidor eventually made it back to Uzhorod, but Emerich’s mother Rose and sister Judith never returned. All the extended relatives but two cousins were gone. Emerich spent most of the time crying.

After a few weeks, Emerich left by himself for Prague and registered with the Joint Distribution Committee, after which he was transferred to a displaced persons camp in Germany. He intended to go to Palestine with members of his youth movement, but word came that the British were halting migration.

A friend told him of an opportunity to go to Canada, so they signed up. Six months later, Emerich docked in Halifax and made his way to Toronto, where he stayed for two years. The Jewish community there was highly supportive and Emerich became an apprentice jeweler. Isidor, who in the new world would be known as Robert, and his new wife arrived during this time.

Isidor/Robert had remarried a fellow survivor from Uzhorod, who had a sibling in Chilliwack, B.C., so the family headed to the West Coast. Emerich met his wife, the Vancouver-born Jenny, in a bowling alley during a B’nai B’rith event.

In the King David classroom last month, students asked thoughtful questions and Klein responded. His son told students they were lucky to see the elder Mr. Klein at his most talkative, as getting a sentence from the soft-spoken senior is considered by family members to be an accomplishment.

photo Russ Klein, principal of King David High School, and his father, Emerich Klein, who spoke to a KDHS class in February about his experiences during the Holocaust. — Russ Klein, principal of King David High School, and his father, Emerich Klein, who spoke to a KDHS class in February about his experiences during the Holocaust. *(photo from KDHS)*

A student asked if he ever lost faith that he would survive.

“Yes, definitely,” said Klein. “We lived not from week to week or day to day, but from hour to hour. Life didn’t mean a thing.”

About liberation, he said, “I felt wonderful. I felt that I’d been given a chance to live again, to be human again.”

Asked how his experiences under the Nazis and their collaborators had affected his attitudes toward religion, Klein was blunt.

“It sort of turned me against it,” he said. Nevertheless, he insisted that his two children attend Talmud Torah elementary school. Why?

“To learn about Judaism and to learn about the Holocaust,” he said, turning to his son. “I was not able to talk about it, but you had to know about it. That was the only way that I could get my children to learn about it. They couldn’t learn it through me.”

His decades-long refusal to discuss the past with his children was intended to prevent the next generation from anguish, he said.

“Why should they suffer my pain?” he asked. “That was a terrible thing to think about. Bad enough that I suffered, [why should] they suffer the same thing through me?”

Reflecting on his postwar return to Uzhorod, Klein was again straightforward.

“I went back to see who came back from the family. I spent a month, maybe six weeks there and then I left, never to return,” he said. “It was very difficult. I came up against reality there. Up until then, we did not know what happened to the rest of our family. We were separated and that’s all I knew. I had hopes that everybody was coming back. Nobody came back. So there was no point in me staying there.”

Coming to Canada was wonderful and difficult, he said.

“Wonderful just to get out of Europe – doesn’t matter where,” he said. “I just wanted to get out of that country that was soaked in Jewish blood.” But, he added: “It was difficult – difficult to get used to a new life, a new way of living, a new language, a new country. I was 17 years old. It was very difficult but you make do. You do the best you can. You adjust.”

Settling into life in Vancouver, Klein made family and stability his focus.

“A normal person would try to make a living and get themselves a better position, work your way up in life,” he said. “To me, that was not important. To me, the important thing was family. I concentrated on one thing only. Just to give you an example, all my friends went into business – I did not. They asked me, why don’t you go into business? I said … what happens if it doesn’t go right? These children cannot be hungry. I knew what hunger was. It was so important for me to stay just at a low level but make sure that my family will not go without. That was an effect of what happened to me.”

A student asked why, after all these years, Klein decided to speak.

“Because I was convinced after an awful long time that to be silent is being complicit in what happened,” he said. “You’ve got to talk about it, even if it hurts, you’ve got to talk about it.”

He is concerned by some of the political developments he sees in the world today.

“Most of humanity is very good,” he said. “There are parts of society that are not good. Let’s face it, people can be influenced very easily. If you get a charismatic person, [they] can convince people of almost anything they want.”

Fostering literacy, education

Aaron Friedland will be the keynote speaker at this year’s King David High School Golden Thread Gala. (photo from goldenthreadgala.com)

King David High School’s Second Annual Golden Thread Gala takes place May 12. For an event that celebrates the story of KDHS, who better to represent King David’s success than one of its alumni. The night’s keynote speaker will be Aaron Friedland, Class of 2010.

Friedland is a National Geographic Explorer, a sustainable development practitioner and a PhD candidate.

In 2010, while Friedland was attending King David High School, he and his family visited Uganda’s Abayudaya Jewish community on a voluntourism project that would change his life and inspire the Walking School Bus. The Walking School Bus’s mission is to enhance access to education in low-income communities globally.

His research in the field of econometrics is focused on the intersection of economics and education, and his research-based interventions have helped more than 35,000 learners in Uganda and India improve their literacy – and literacy is the number one predictor of academic success.

Friedland also founded Simbi Foundation, an organization that creates solar-powered learning labs from shipping containers, in Uganda and India, providing access to quality educational tools in low-resource communities and UNHCR refugee settlements. His foundation was also the winner of the MBR Prosperity Grant to build BrightBox solar-power classrooms. Each BrightBox includes a shipping container with solar panels, laptops, projectors and digital aids, as well as all the installation costs at its destination. In 2016, Friedland received the Next Einstein Award for his work in furthering access to education.

This year’s Golden Thread Gala committee is co-chaired by Heidi Seidman and Sherri Wise; sponsorship chair is Brett Sandler. Committee members are Cyndi Ankenman, Dalia Bressler, Chana Charach, Nicole Ginsberg, Alain Guez and Margaret Hemingson. The development team is comprised of Esther Mogyoros, Justine Folk and Michele Zychlinski.

The event, which will be held at Congregation Beth Israel, will be emceed by KDHS head of school Russ Klein and Howard Blank will be the auctioneer. There will be a live and silent auction, as well as dinner and entertainment, a portraiture studio and more.

For tickets and other information, visit goldenthreadgala.com.

– Courtesy King David High School

Educating the next leaders

King David High School student and Climate Education Reform British Columbia member Sara Bauman (photo from Sara Bauman)

Weather events like the recent floods across British Columbia and last summer’s record fire season are prompting questions about how to plan long-term for the changing environment. One King David High School senior has come up with part of the answer: create a climate curriculum that prepares tomorrow’s leaders for addressing climate change.

Sara Bauman is a member of Climate Education Reform British Columbia (CERBC), a group of approximately 20 high school students who believe that the world’s pressing environmental challenges deserve a place in the province’s education system. Bauman says lessons about the physical climate system and the science behind phenomena such as greenhouse gases and sea-level rise should be a standard part of what students learn in school.

CERBC is pushing for a new curriculum that includes mandatory courses on climate-related topics and for the subjects to be taught across K-12 grade levels. At the present time, Grade 11 and Grade 12 students have the option to take environmental sciences, which contains a certain number of units relating to climate change. But the elective aspect, Bauman explained, means that not all students are learning about climate science or its implications.

“We want to get students to understand the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to act now,” Bauman told the Independent. “[If] not every student has to take it, different students are going to be receiving different knowledge, some less than others. [We] need the whole generation to be prepared to combat climate change, not just a few.”

A 2019 study conducted by researchers at Lund University, in Sweden, found that Canadian schools as a whole fell short when it came to educating students about climate change. In British Columbia specifically, research indicated that schools often failed to teach three core concepts: that the climate is warming, that there is consensus among experts that climate change exists, and that human-driven solutions are possible. The researchers also noted that there is no consensus among provinces or school districts when it comes to teaching students about climate change.

In October, CERBC met with B.C. Minister of Education Jennifer Whiteside to discuss its proposal. The students outlined six needs that they felt would be essential to a successful K-12 climate curriculum, including enabling students to “understand the urgency of the climate crisis” and to recognize that there are ways to mitigate or slow climate change.

Bauman said the program needs to be interdisciplinary because climate change has social implications as well. “We want students to understand the relationship that climate change has with social justice issues,” she said, noting that environmental advocacy “can’t be separated from other movements, like the Black Lives Matter or Indigenous rights movements, because, at the end of the day, climate change does come down to systems and how we structure our lives. And we also want to inspire students to start to critically engage in politics and see how they can create policy change.”

KDHS head of school Russ Klein said CERBC’s call for a mandatory climate curriculum reflects a wider sentiment among today’s students that the topic needs to addressed. Even though Bauman is the only KDHS student representing CERBC at this time, other students at KDHS are finding their own ways to raise social awareness.

photo - King David High School head of school Russ Klein — King David High School head of school Russ Klein *(photo from KDHS)*

“[In] the last two or three years, especially with Greta Thunberg and the climate protests, we’ve had a whole bunch of students actively engaging with the school, the [administration], climate protests and [other types of] activism,” said Klein.

Students at KDHS have a variety of avenues in which to get involved, including the youth groups Sustainabiliteens and the Green Club, which are aligned with addressing social and environmental issues.

Klein said Bauman brings an important quality to this dialogue. “She lends a Jewish voice of perspective to some of what she’s been doing, which I think is also very relevant for other people,” he said. “We need more diversity in the room.”

Of course, students aren’t the only ones who want to see a curriculum that reflects today’s challenges. Many teachers do as well. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation publishes downloadable “Climate Change Heroes Lesson Plans” to help teachers develop new learning modules.

Still, Klein said, many schools want the province to lead this effort. “There are so many different things and priorities for schools to do, and I think this one has to be very high on the list. And how we do that, of course, is [we] look to government. These things must be mandated,” he said, pointing out that, until the province implemented LEED-compliant building codes requiring contractors to adhere to sustainable practices, “builders weren’t doing anything. Because why would they? But when it’s the law of the land, they have no choice.”

Last week, Whiteside’s office issued a statement acknowledging that it is working with the BCTF and the Climate Change Secretariat to increase climate-related resources for teachers. It noted, “The flexible nature of B.C.’s curriculum provides many opportunities in which topics like climate change can be explored in various levels of detail.”

The ministry maintains that both K-10 and 11-12 curricula contain resources for “possible connections” to climate change that allow teachers to introduce new study topics. The elective nature of 11 and 12 grade courses, it said, “offer[s] interested students an opportunity to delve deeper [and] encourage exploration from a local to a global scale.”

While the ministry did not say whether it will invite the students to participate in writing a new climate curriculum, Bauman said she hopes the ministry will accept CERBC’s input – “Because we are the students. We know what is best for our generation [when it comes to] learning. I think the ministry doesn’t realize what an asset we are to helping this process.

“We want to create a relationship with them,” said Bauman. “We want to partner with them [and] help the process in any way that we can.”

Bauman said it’s important for students to be part of the solution.

“The most important thing, at least for me,” she said, “is to get students to envision a better world and help them feel inspired, empowered and engaged because, a lot of the time, we hear about climate change and it’s a lot of doom and gloom. [Working] with CERBC has allowed me to put my climate anxiety into other things and channel it into meaningful action, and I want other students to have the chance to do the same.”

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

Back to school, safely

Cautious optimism. That seems to be the consensus among Jewish school administrators as students and teachers prepare to return to classes in September.

One of the key lessons of the past year-and-a-half has been that things can change swiftly and the pandemic response requires resilience and adaptiveness.

“We’ve all learned that whatever is final is only final until it changes,” joked Russ Klein, King David High School’s head of school. Despite the circumstances, he said, the last academic year was a good one. He credits students, parents and teachers for working together, being flexible and making the best of the situation.

“It sounds strange to say, but, in terms of the context, we had a really good year,” he said. “People were incredibly positive, even with a few COVID cases here and there.”

The biggest challenges were wearing masks, cancelling extracurricular activities, including inter-school sports, and the cancellation of all school trips. Grade-specific cohorts were instituted, with staggered schedules to avoid interactions between groups.

As it stands now – unless changes are announced before classes starts Sept. 13 – cohorts will no longer be required. Klein hopes that some competitive sports will also be possible.

While hoping for a school year that is as normal as can be, Klein is also confident that the experience of last year has made the entire school community more sanguine about changes to routines.

Like Klein, Emily Greenberg, head of school at Vancouver Talmud Torah, gives kudos to students, parents and teachers.

“I would say the last year was all about being flexible and understanding that we couldn’t anticipate for sure how things were going to go,” she said. “It was really a team effort. We were really appreciative of our parents and staff and everybody as regulations shifted…. This was the ultimate team effort because it would not have gone as well as it had had we not all rolled up our sleeves and done the work we had to do to get through to where we are today.”

A big remaining question is how kids under 12, who have not yet been cleared for vaccinations, will be required to behave at school.

Some people use the term “new normal,” but Greenberg prefers “near-normal.”

“I am hopeful that our near-normal will be one that we can all live with and still appreciate the liberties that we are starting to gain back,” she said.

With about 500 students set to converge on the school this year, Greenberg is confident that students, parents and staff will step up again to do whatever it takes to learn safely.

“I think the most important piece is just understanding the team mentality,” she said. “The school can’t do it alone. No business can do it alone. Everybody has to play their role.”

Shalhevet Girls High School had a different experience than most. Because of its small student body – this year 11 students will be starting classes – there was no need to form cohorts. However, Ian Mills, incoming principal at Shalhevet, noted that the confluence of Jewish holidays coinciding with the start of the school year raises concerns about kids spreading the virus to siblings, parents and grandparents.

“We are going to encourage mask use, I think, no matter what happens,” said Mills. They will also continue to have the sanitization stations to which everyone has become accustomed and disinfecting protocols will also proceed.

“We’re just really excited,” he said of the new school year. “But, also, things can change. I’m not letting my guard off.”

Vancouver Hebrew Academy also benefited last year from its relatively smaller size, being able to accommodate more of its student body within the capacity limits that were set by the government. Outgoing head of school Rabbi Don Pacht told the Independent in a June interview, “I think schools have been doing a phenomenal job overall, but it’s easier when you only have two cohorts instead of eight cohorts.”

By the time of that interview, basically all of the VHA students had returned to the classroom. Unfortunately, the JI was unable to reach VHA’s new head of school, Rabbi Barak Cohen, for an update before we went to press.

Like all administrators, Sabrina Bhojani, the new principal at Richmond Jewish Day School, will be closely watching the edicts coming from the province’s ministry of education and public health officials.

“Until we have that information, we are hoping things are going to be normal,” she said. “Right now, it’s a waiting game and things are changing minute by minute.”

“I think people are hopeful,” she said. “There is always a little bit of anxiety as well. I think it’s mixed emotions [but] I think people are optimistic for a back-to-normal start.”

Gala raises more than $350K

Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Leonard Brody spoke with King David head of school Russ Klein about soccer, history, business, education and the pandemic at the Golden Threads Gala on May 13. (PR photo)

Entrepreneur Leonard Brody was the featured speaker at King David High School’s Golden Threads Gala on May 13, which attracted 600-plus viewers. The event raised more than $350,000 for the school from community donors in both live (via video stream) and silent auctions.

Hailed in the financial media for his innovative approach to thinking about management, Brody, who helped found the news site NowPublic, is an award-winning entrepreneur, venture capitalist and two-time Emmy Award nominee. He has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in start-up capital, taken a company to a $6 billion market capitalization at its initial public offering, and been involved in several other companies. Brody is also the co-author of two bestselling books, Innovation Nation: Canadian Leadership from Jurassic Park to Java and Everything I Needed to Know About Business … I Learned from a Canadian.

Before introducing Brody, King David head of school Russ Klein read through the speaker’s extensive curriculum vitae, calling it “one of the most impressive bios I have ever read.” The first question of the wide-ranging interview, though, had to do with Brody’s forays into owning professional sports teams.

“It sounds more glamorous than it is,” said Brody, who has been involved with European soccer clubs for almost 20 years and co-owner of the Coventry City Football Club for 10. “Coventry has arguably been one of the most challenging turnarounds in English football and we got promoted last season into the Championship League, and it looks like we will stay there next season. This is a big accomplishment for us. It’s been fun.”

Upon hearing of this success, Klein suggested Brody consider assisting the Vancouver Canucks, but then turned to more serious matters, asking about what Brody calls “pushing the reset button.”

Brody discussed historical cycles, beginning at the start of the Industrial Revolution, in about 1760. During several periods since then, something has triggered a reset, whether it be disease or war. Each of these cycles, said Brody, including our present circumstance, creates a “forced reality” and the question becomes “what is the behaviour that is going to stick?” It is a question “everyone on the planet is thinking about.”

The conversation then veered to the concept of “successful failure” in terms of what companies promise to the market and what they deliver. In Brody’s view, many sectors are “grossly over-promising” and “half-delivering” on their products. If a company can only attain half of its promise, it is, in Brody’s view, ahead of the market as a whole. Using the example of Tesla, he cited the company’s history of “overshooting a mark, creating a vision and taking customers with it” towards a higher-end goal.

On Klein’s question of whether post-secondary education is still necessary, Brody responded, “If you want to create a generation of profit-centric, money-hungry idiots, then, yes, you can avoid university.” However, he added, if you want to create a society of good citizens with critical thinking skills and the ability to be independent adults, then university education is still essential.

Brody himself holds a bachelor of arts (honours) from Queen’s University and a law degree from Osgoode Hall at York University; he is a graduate of the Private Equity Program at the Harvard Business School.

The last discussion point was the pandemic, which Brody deemed “one of the most well-managed human traumas ever.” While not discounting the tragedy inflicted on those who have fallen victim to the disease, Brody stated that we should emerge from this stage with “an unprecedented economic growth pattern.”

Currently, Brody is writing a new book in partnership with Forbes magazine, entitled The Great Re:Write, based on the successful documentary series he and Forbes produced – which has had an audience of more than seven million in the past year.

The Golden Thread Gala: Connecting Generations celebrated the community that nurtures King David High School, inspires the next generation of leaders, and was rooted in the appreciation of Jewish values and traditions. The inaugural gala highlighted a story of success told through generations, with education as the “golden thread weaving our past to our Jewish future.”

Live auction items included a “be head of the school day” for one lucky student, a set of Forevermark Black Label earrings, dinner with Russ and Deborah Klein, and a Nuevo Vallarta vacation package. Meanwhile, dozens of items, from paintings to cosmetics, weekend getaways to vintage B.C. wines, were available in the silent auction.

Emceeing the event was comedian Ivan Decker, a frequent guest on TV talk shows around North America, on Netflix and on CBC’s The Debaters. Media executive Howard Blank, past president and chair of Variety British Columbia and vice-president of the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame, was the auctioneer.

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

KDHS honours grandparents

Ivan Decker, left, and Leonard Brody are among the presenters at King David High School’s Golden Thread Gala May 13. (PR photos)

On May 13, King David High School is honouring its “grandparents,” people who have particularly supported the school over the years, in a variety of ways. With the theme “education is the golden thread weaving our past to our Jewish future,” the virtual Golden Thread Gala “celebrates the community that nurtures King David High School, inspires the next generation of leaders and is rooted in the appreciation of Jewish values and traditions.”

The Diamond Foundation is being recognized as an “honorary grandparent,” while the “grandparents” being paid tribute are Gary Averbach, Shirley Barnett, Beth and Leon Bogner, Sylvia Cristall, Marie Doduck, Rose Marie Glassman, Dr. Arthur and Arlene Hayes, Dr. Simon and Rosalind Jacobson, Evelyn Kahn, Tamar Khalifa, Dr. Robert and Marilyn Krell, Lana and Mendy Landa, Norman and Sandra Miller, Norman and Lola Pawer, Dan and Trudy Pekarsky, Yvette Porte, Lyle Pullan, Arnold and Anita Silber, and David and Elaine Youngson. Dr. Robert and Elke Mermelstein are being celebrated as “adopted grandparents.”

“We can never fully show the Diamond Foundation the gratitude they deserve, so we named the foundation as honorary grandparents,” explained gala co-chairs Jacci Sandler, Chana Charach and Margaret Hemingson in an email interview. “Gordon, Leslie, Jill and Lauri have made our school possible. They are foundational, literally and figuratively, for King David’s existence and success. They have not only provided the building in which we live, learn and play but also have provided ongoing support and funding for the Judaic studies program to ensure the ongoing success of the school.

“Over the years, King David has been blessed by the ongoing support we receive from our grandparents,” they continued. “Whether it’s giving of their wisdom, time or financial support, they are always there for us. This gala recognizes them all! All of our grandparents deserve thanks for instilling Jewish values in their children that they are passing on to our students.”

The 19 grandparent families’ philanthropy has ensured that a Jewish education is accessible for every child, said the co-chairs. “The reality is that, without their generous support, we would not be able to provide a Jewish education to every child. It is a time to show our appreciation and thank every one of our grandparents for continuing the golden thread that binds our past to our future.”

Regarding the Mermelsteins, the co-chairs said, “They are passionate about Jewish education and have adopted all of us at King David as their grandchildren. They are integral members of our King David family and provide ongoing positive input and generous support so all students can attend and be proud King David Lions.”

In Judaism, l’dor v’dor (from generation to generation) is an enduring idea, said the co-chairs. “The passing of knowledge to future generations provides both legacy and a story. Each generation passes down wisdom, ancient traditions, rituals and customs. Jewish education values and honours this transmission of knowledge, literacy and skills…. Our grandparents’ colourful tapestry of experiences enrich the lives of students every day.”

The gala program “includes comedy, inspiration, musical performances by King David students and alumni, plus silent and live auctions with incredible items,” said the co-chairs.

Comedian Ivan Decker – who has appeared at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival and has various TV and radio appearances, including his own comedy special on CTV and Netflix – will emcee the gala. KDHS head of school Russ Klein will interview entrepreneur, venture capitalist, author and media commentator Leonard Brody, co-founder and executive chair of Creative Labs, about “disruption, innovation, and their effects on our world and children.” And entertainment and media executive Howard Blank will act as the evening’s auctioneer. The online silent auction is currently open and will close during the gala. “Items include workout sessions, cooking classes, handbags, beauty and relaxation products, power tools, wine and so much more!” said the co-chairs.

The inaugural Golden Thread Gala was originally scheduled for May 2020, but it was postponed due to COVID-19. “We witnessed so many families in our community that suddenly found themselves being impacted by the pandemic, financially as well as emotionally,” said Sandler, Charach and Hemingson. “This event is so important as it is King David’s major fundraiser and friendraiser. All funds raised will directly impact our students and enable the school to achieve its vision of ‘empowering Jewish minds and engaging Jewish hearts’ by enhancing our fundamental curriculum, educational excellence and vibrant Jewish life programming.”

With respect to the effects of the pandemic, Klein said, “King David has experienced, as a family, the same challenges that individual families have had and yet the students and staff have been so positive and resilient. We have had full-time school all year and, although we have had to adjust our schedule a little, there has been no loss of learning. I feel for the students, though, in that so many of our wonderful experiential programs are on hold. Our Grade 8 Israel trip is now two years behind, our Los Angeles Holocaust studies trip is a year behind, and our school-wide retreats are not happening. And, of course, the students cannot play competitive sports against other schools, which is a big loss for many of our students.”

But, there have been bright spots, too, he added. “Our parent-teacher meetings were better attended and even more personal, and we have been able to reach out more frequently and invite parents to meet via Zoom. Assembly presentations have also been better, as the smaller in-class environment makes more student engagement and participation possible. In sports, we have been very active within the school grade cohorts and added non-competitive co-ed activities like volleyball and soccer, and the students have really loved the fun and camaraderie with each other and their teachers. No doubt, we will be keeping some things that we have learned but all of us cannot wait to get back to having the meaningful ‘extra’ experiences that make school life and learning so very enjoyable.”

Tickets to the Golden Thread Gala start at $36 for entry, with increasingly more benefits at each level. For tickets, more information about the event and access to the auction, visit goldenthreadgala.com. The pre-show starts at 7 p.m. on May 13, and the main event at 7:30 p.m.

School year has begun

Head of school Russ Klein welcomes back King David High School students. (photo from facebook.com/kdhsvancouver)

Metro Vancouver’s five Jewish day schools are officially in session – student orientation began the week of Sept. 8. But, while the schools are working hard to create a “normalized” and consistent atmosphere for learning, the new procedures set in place by the Ministry of Education’s Back to School program will likely take a bit to get used to.

In July, the Ministry of Education announced new guidelines for class sizes and safe attendance as it prepared to return students to the classroom. Elementary and middle school cohorts are limited to 60 persons each, while high school learning groups are capped at 120 students. The province requires masks to be used at middle and high schools whenever social distancing cannot be maintained.

King David High School’s head of school, Russ Klein, acknowledged that having to wear a mask at school may be awkward for many. As well, the two-metre social distancing requirements will, at times, be difficult, forcing students to study on their own, rather than buddying-up for group assignments. That means, said Klein, “you are also then reducing opportunities for group work. You’re not facing the kids together, you are not sitting them in bunches,” methods that have often proven to be effective approaches in large classrooms. Teachers, he added, “really like to help their kids and needing to stay six feet away from them at all times changes how you help somebody and how you interact with them.”

Many schools began implementing changes to classrooms, common rooms and lesson plans last school year when it became evident that social distancing would affect how classes were taught. Rabbi Don Pacht, who oversees the Vancouver Hebrew Academy daily operations, said the move to a brand-new building last spring helped with that transition.

The larger building, he said, “gives us a very desirable ratio of space per student. Keeping distance between learning groups and allowing for distance between desks will be easily achieved.”

Like other schools in the area, VHA has also implemented see-through “sneeze guards” and other preventive measures to reduce chances of transmission. “We have also invested in Plexiglass screens and additional hand sanitizing stations throughout the school,” said the rabbi.

Vancouver Talmud Torah began making changes to the curriculum last school year as well. Jennifer Schecter, who serves as the communications and admissions director for VTT, said the speed with which the school began implementing changes to address the coronavirus threat appears to have paid off.

“Our retention was at an all-time high this past year because I believe parents value our product and the sense of community we provide more now than ever. This is a testament to our faculty’s superb skill in pivoting and offering a robust remote learning program last spring,” Schecter said.

Technology plays an oversized role in teaching modules this year. All of the schools the Jewish Independent spoke with said they are prepared for a return to remote learning, should it occur.

“Every single faculty member has a VTT-issued MacBook Air to use at school and at home and each classroom is equipped with screencasting technologies,” said Schecter. “Our IT department is incredibly responsive, knowledgeable and stays ahead of the curve with respect to tools that can facilitate instruction, especially if VTT needs to go remote again.

“Last year, we put a solid infrastructure in place that allowed us to pivot quickly to remote learning,” she said. “We will be able to lean on this structure this year. Teachers are planning in anticipation of a potential shift to remote and will be acquainting their students with many of the same tools they did last year, such as Google Classroom.”

Meira Federgrun, who runs Shalhevet Girls High School, said students are outfitted to work either in-class or at home, when necessary. “All our students have personal laptops … and, in case students are self-quarantining/isolating, they have that as a resource to Zoom into classes on their regular schedule.”

KDHS’s Klein said teachers and administration are also preparing for increased absenteeism. “Because, when people are not feeling well, they are supposed to not come to school. And that could be the student or the teacher,” he said.

According to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, children in this province have a lower rate of infection than adults. Still, preparing for the chance that some students may have to study from home while they are quarantining has required some out-of-the box thinking when it comes to lesson planning.

“Managing to keep the educational program uninterrupted and keep students that are absent in the educational flow, I think that’s going to be the challenge,” Klein said.

Pacht said parents will be expected to keep the school informed about students’ health status on a regular basis. “We know that there is stress on the parents as well,” said Pacht. “There will be questionnaires, waivers and health checks. If a child has as much as a sniffle, they will not be allowed to attend school until seen by a healthcare professional.”

Provincial COVID-19 health and safety guidelines require schools to maintain daily health checks for all students, staff, administrators and visitors, and parents’ participation with that process helps reduce the chance of an accidental infection at school.

Pacht added that the students’ sense of safety is important, too, as they adjust to this new environment. “This will be stressful for students, too, and we will focus on social and emotional support for students,” he said. “They will have to adapt to a new way of experiencing school (again!), and we want to ease that transition.

“I know that if we work together we can provide an exceptional experience for our children.”

image - Dr. Lara Aknin says kids may need extra support this year to prepare them for new learning experiences — Dr. Lara Aknin says kids may need extra support this year to prepare them for new learning experiences. *(photo from sfu.ca/vpresearch/Research50/abundance.html)*

Dr. Lara Aknin, a social psychologist at Simon Fraser University, said kids may need extra support this year to prepare them for new learning experiences.

“Helping kids feel safe and secure during the pandemic is important as we return to school this fall,” she said, offering the following research-proven ways to help young students gain confidence in today’s “new normal” classroom.

Encourage gratitude. “The pandemic has exacted a large toll on many,” said Aknin. “When possible, try reflecting on what you are grateful for.” Help students “focus on what’s good, rather than what’s lost.”
Be kind and help others. Research has shown that we feel good when we help others. It can be as simple as donating tzedakah to a special charity or comforting another student, she said, “but finding ways to help others can make you feel grateful and boost your mood.”
Maintain a daily routine that kids can follow. Doing so provides predictability and structure during challenging times.
Keep up that exercise regimen. It’s a known fact that exercise helps boost serotonin and elevate mood. Aknin pointed out that exercise doesn’t have to be a workout. It can be a dance party, a family stroll after dinner or a favourite game.
And don’t forget to socialize. “Distant socializing,” even when it’s virtually or two metres apart, reinforces kids’ social connections with their friends, extended family, schoolmates and new acquaintances,” said Aknin. “[Ensuring] physical distance from others doesn’t mean we should cut off all contact with others. Find creative ways to stay connected and have meaningful contact with friends and family with Zoom, FaceTime, or distanced visits outside.”

Jan Lee’s articles and blog posts have been published in B’nai B’rith Magazine, Voices of Conservative and Masorti Judaism, Times of Israel, as well as a number of business, environmental and travel publications. Her blog can be found at multiculturaljew.polestarpassages.com.

***

New Hebrew school opens

B.C. Regional Hebrew Schools, run by Lubavitch BC, has launched a new Hebrew school for elementary students in the East Vancouver area. The Mount Pleasant location will be Lubavitch BC’s third school in the Lower Mainland.

“This program has been created uniquely for children who attend public school or non-Jewish private schools, and aims to present a comprehensive curriculum, including Hebrew language, reading and writing; Jewish pride and sense of community; Jewish holidays and customs,” said a press release announcing the opening. Rabbi Dovid and Chaya Rosenfeld serve as the directors for the three schools in the Lower Mainland. Riki Oirechman will be the new school’s principal.

Classes will take place Wednesdays, 3:45 to 5:30 p.m., at Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, accompanied by a complimentary kosher meal.

The organization said it is abiding by all COVID-19 protocols and, as such, asks that parents understand they will not be able to accompany their children inside during classes or drop-offs. Parents can inquire about classes by calling 778-878-2025 or emailing vancouvercgi@gmail.com. The class schedule can be found at ganisraelbc.com.

– JL

Election views diverge

The Independent spoke with people in the Jewish community to gauge attitudes as the federal election approaches. What we found was a diversity of views and a lack of consensus.

An informal focus group of residents at the Weinberg Residence raised issues of out-of-pocket expenses for medical treatments and a lack of available doctors.

“You lose your doctor, you can’t get another one,” said one senior voter.

There was not great enthusiasm for any of the party leaders. One participant said she had lost respect for Liberal leader Justin Trudeau long before the recent brownface and blackface issue emerged.

“I was disappointed in him way back when he went to India and there was this whole thing of dressing up in Indian costumes. I felt it wasn’t very statesmanlike.”

“I feel that he’s had his chance and I don’t want to vote for him because he showed us what he can do. I don’t think he’s got what it takes,” said another voter.

“I expected nothing from Trudeau and I got it,” said another.

But there was no groundswell of support for Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.

“I’m disappointed,” said one. “I haven’t heard anything that’s promising.”

Some voters said NDP leader Jagmeet Singh comes across as sincere, but one said he has a lot of repair work to do with the Jewish community after his party’s positions against Israel in the past.

Elizabeth May, the Green leader, was viewed positively, but not seen as prime minister material.

“She’s very good at her subject, but I can’t envisage her really understanding what’s going on in the economy, in foreign affairs,” one resident said.

Among more than a dozen participants, the vast majority had a positive view of their incumbent MP, Jody Wilson-Raybould.

“I think she deserves better than she’s had,” said one person, while a Conservative supporter said she wishes Wilson-Raybould was running for her party, because she’d like to vote for her.

A show of hands indicated well more than half are undecided about who to vote for.

“Everybody’s confused,” said one, to laughter all around.

* * *

Alice Sundberg, director of operations and housing development for Tikva Housing Society, would like to see the federal government get back into funding nonprofit housing.

“We think that there is a really significant role for the federal government in making rental housing more affordable,” she said. Rather than subsidies to renters, which go into the pockets of landlords and don’t create new housing, she would like to see either capital grants to reduce mortgages for nonprofit or co-op housing, thus reducing the rental costs, or ongoing operating subsidies to organizations like hers that develop new housing.

“We don’t have enough supply,” said Sundberg. “Back in the ’90s, when the federal government withdrew from funding new affordable housing, it was really the beginning of our homelessness crisis.”

Housing is also a topic for Eldad Goldfarb, executive director of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. The centre’s redevelopment will include at least 300 units of affordable rental housing. His team has spoken to many federal officials, including MPs, but, so far, he said, “No commitments, no confirmations, lots of good feedback and great understanding of the project, support for it, but nothing has translated into actual commitments, funding, promises, nothing of that sort.”

Support for the housing component might include financing from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, rather than grants, though he hopes for federal cash for the new JCC building. He credited the federal government for stepping up with funding for security infrastructure for communities at risk, but added there is always need for more.

* * *

The rise of hate-motivated rhetoric and violence leads some community leaders to call for more federal action and leadership.

“With the rise of antisemitism, racism and far-right extremism, particularly in the online space, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre would welcome a comprehensive strategy to tackle hate in all its forms,” said Nina Krieger, executive director of the VHEC.

Russ Klein, principal of King David High School, would like to hear party leaders and candidates address how they are demonstrating moral and ethical leadership that creates trust and inspires Canadians, especially young people.

“How will they work to ease a society which seems quick to feel fear and seems overly stressed and anxious?” asked Klein. “I want to know how they will support a kinder, more inclusive society that offers hope and opportunity for all but especially to young people and to the most vulnerable in our society. How will they work to maintain affordable housing, livable wages and allow people to manage a balanced lifestyle in cities like Vancouver, where young families cannot afford to live in their current community? We live in extremely concerning times globally and I want Canada to lead in decreasing world tensions – how will they do that?”

* * *

Similar broad topics arose among a handful of University of British Columbia students who met at Hillel House to discuss issues that are important to them. All agreed that there has not been enough discussion of foreign affairs and there is a lack of substantive difference between the parties on issues like immigration.

“I don’t see any candidate that has a clear foreign policy vision, even though I think Chrystia Freeland is, personally, a great minister of foreign affairs,” said Adam Yosef Dobrer, a third-year political science student who is volunteering on Zach Segal’s Conservative campaign in Vancouver Granville.

Dobrer also wants Canada to return to the Conservative policy of defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which he called the greatest obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

“In the last four years, I found it very difficult to understand where Canada as a nation lies in foreign affairs,” said Nika Perel, a fourth-year psychology student from Ontario who plans to vote Conservative. She credited the previous Conservative government with more clarity on Israel and Palestine and on Russia and Ukraine. “Stephen Harper made it very clear that he took a position supporting Ukraine.”

Jake Reznik, a nursing student with an undergraduate degree in kinesiology who remains an undecided voter, said Canada is not adequately standing up to China over its treatment of the Muslim-minority Uygher population or its other human rights violations. He added: “There is a lot of influence that the Chinese government does have in Canada that goes under-recognized.”

Matt Perzow, an NDP supporter who plans to vote strategically for Joyce Murray, the Liberal candidate in Vancouver Quadra, to prevent a Conservative government, emphasized health care, including mental health services. Defending Canadian values like multiculturalism and care for the most vulnerable are also things he wants to see party leaders prioritize.

All the students agreed that supporting Israel is an important consideration in their vote, but also said it will not be the deciding factor.

“I wouldn’t vote for any party that I thought would jeopardize the future of the Jewish people, whether it’s in Canada, in Israel or in another place,” said Perzow. “I’m not voting for somebody because of that issue, but, if I thought that something compromised the well-being of the Jewish people, I wouldn’t support them.”

Dobrer, whose family migrated to Canada from Israel when he was an infant because of the Second Intifada, said he has a “very resonant emotional connection” to Israel “but I am a Canadian first.” He is concerned about some election candidates, including Green party MP Paul Manly, who Dobrer says has a “long and sordid history of antisemitism and 9/11 ‘trutherism’ and delving into conspiracy theories.” (After being elected in a by-election this year, Manly denied he supports 9/11 conspiracies after the CBC reported on statements he had made in 2007 and 2011.)

The students all agreed that the environment and climate change are top issues for them and their peers, but expressed nearly universal hopelessness that anything substantive would change.

“I have no doubt that it will not be addressed,” said Reznik. “I know personally I’m not going to be willing to sacrifice my own standard of living and, at the same time, I think it is tremendously insulting on my part to tell someone else that they can’t attain my standard of living that we have here.”

“A lot of people are standing up and screaming about things, but they’re not going to do anything about it,” said Perel.

A hint of hope came from Dobrer: “From the government, I’m very skeptical. But from young intellectual minds, from the not-for-profit sector, from the private sector, every day there is more and more innovation, technological advances and more intellectual capital devoted to dealing with climate change.”