מדד המדינות המושחתות בעולם: קנדה במקום השמיני וישראל רק במקום השלושים ושתיים. (צילום: Cynthia Ramsay)
בימים האחרונים התפרסם מדד המדינות המושחתות בעולם לשנת 2017. המדד כולל מאה ושמונים מדינות שנסקרו, ומיקומן נקבע על פי השחיתות במגזר הציבורי, באמצעות שלושה עשר מקורות מידע משנים עשר מכוני מחקר עצמאיים ובלתי תלויים.
מהתוצאות עולה כי קנדה נמצאת במקום השמיני והגבוה בקרב המדינות הכי פחות מושחתות. ואילו ישראל איך לא לאור פרשות השחיתות הרבות שמאפיינות אותה, ובעיקר את ראש הממשלה, בנימין נתניהו, נמצאת מאחור במקום השלושים ושתיים.
להלן העשירייה הראשונה של המדינות הכי פחות מושחתות: ראשונה – ניו זילנד, שנייה – דנמרק, שלישית – פינלנד, רביעית – נורבגיה, חמישית – שוויץ, שישית – סינגפור, שביעית – שבדיה, שמינית – קנדה, תשיעית – לוקסמבורג ועשירית – הולנד.
העשירייה השנייה: אחד עשרה – בריטניה, שתיים עשרה – גרמניה, שלוש עשרה – אוסטרליה, ארבע עשרה – הונג קונג, חמש עשרה – איסלנד, שש עשרה – אוסטריה, שבעה עשרה – בלגיה, שמונה עשרה- ארצות הברית, תשעה עשרה – אירלנד ועשרים – יפן.
העשירייה השלישית: עשרים ואחד – אסטוניה, עשרים ושתיים – איחוד האמירויות הערביות, עשרים ושלושה – צרפת, עשרים וארבעה – אורגוואי, עשרים וחמשה – ברבדוס, עשרים וששה – בהוטן, עשרים ושבעה – צ’ילה, עשרים ושמונה – איי בהאמה, עשרים ותשעה – פורטוגל ושלושים – קטאר.
אחריהן במקום השלושים ואחד טיוואן, במקום השלושים ושתיים ישראל, במקום השלושים ושלושה ברוניי, במקום השלושים וארבעה בוטסואנה ובמקום השלושים וחמשה פולין.
ערים מתקדמות הופכות אשפה למשאב: ונקובר פועלת להיות העיר הירוקה בעולם
ערים רבות בעולם פועלות בשנים האחרונות לחסוך את העלות הגבוהה של סילוק פוסלת האשפה, הנוצרת בהן מדי יום בכמויות ענק. הן פועלות להפחית את כל צורות הפסולת שלהן, ולהשתמש בפסולת עד כמה שאפשר כמאשב, כך שהיא תהפוך לחומר גלם אחר. כך מדווח אתר הידען מישראל המפרסם מידע בתחום המדע והטכנולוגיה.
הערים בעולם הופכות למאוכלסות יותר וראשי הערים מחוייבים לשאת באחריות למצוא ולפתח פתרונות להרי הזבל שנוצרים בהן. הנוף העירוני הוא כיום הסביבה, שבה מתרכזים האתגרים הכרוכים בניהול חיים אנושיים מורכבים. בערים מתבזבות כמויות גדולות של אנרגיה, פחמן דו-חמצני, מזון, מים, מרחב וזמן. העירייות יכולות לפתור מספר בעיות בעת ובעונה אחת, ולהבטיח לתושבים, הפחתה משמעותית של חלק מהפסולת, תוך הפיכתה למשאב בעל יתרונות כלכליים.
כיום אין בהזרמת הפסולת למי הביוב פתרון סופי ויש להפחית מראש את הפסולת שנוצרת בערים, ולהשתמש בחלק גדול ממנה, לשימושים יעילים יותר. פעילות זו נקראת “כלכלה מעגלית”.
באתרי הטמנה האשפה של ונקובר לוכדים את גז המתאן הנפלט מהאשפה הרבה, ובחום שנוצר משריפתו משתמשים לחימום חממות בסמוך להם, בהן גדלות עגבניות. זו דוגמא טובה של יצור אררגיה חיובית מאשפה.
ונקובר שפועלת להיות העיר הירוקה ביותר בעולם, מחלקת לתושבים מיכלים נפרדים לאשפה רגילה, לפסולת אורגנית (כמו שאריות מזון, ענפים וגזם), לפסולת זכוכית, פסולת נייר, פסולת פלסתיק ועוד. עיריית ונקובר שמצפה מאזרחי העיר שיפעלו בהתאם עם הפסולת לסוגייה כמתבקש, שולחת מעת לעת פקחים לבדוק שזה אכן נעשה.
מן הפסולת האורגנית העירייה מפיקה את גז המתאן, וכן מוצרים מוצקים שיכולים לשמש לדישון הקרקע. לפתרונות אלה מספר יתרונות בעת ובעונה אחת: הם חוסכים לעיר הוצאות על אנרגיה, הם מפחתים משמעותית את הצורך בהטמנת פסולת באתרי האשפה וכן הם מועילים לענף החקלאות.
An aerial view of the proposed redevelopment of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver site, looking south. (image by Acton Ostry Architects Inc.)
On Feb. 7, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver was packed with community members, as well as some area residents. For the three-hour open house hosted by the City of Vancouver, visitors worked their way through the crowded atrium, reading the numerous poster boards about the proposed redevelopment of the centre site, and how that redevelopment fits in with the massive changes proposed for the Oakridge neighbourhood.
While it is still early in the process, the City is looking for public feedback by March 30 on the rezoning application it has received for 950 West 41st Ave., i.e. the JCC.
The proposed redevelopment comprises a nine-storey building to replace the current JCC, a 13-storey replacement for the Louis Brier Home and Hospital and a 24-storey residential building.
The rezoning application proposes that the redevelopment starts with the building of most of the new JCC on what is now the existing centre’s parking lot, then moves to the construction of the underground parking, followed by that of the new Louis Brier Home and ending with the residential tower and the rest of the JCC. (image by Acton Ostry Architects Inc.)
According to the rezoning proposal, the new JCC would include “recreation space, including pools and gyms; ground-level commercial space; an Early Childhood Education Centre, including 104 private daycare spaces; cultural arts, auditorium and theatre space; [and] nonprofit office space.”
The new Louis Brier would have “266 senior assisted living, complex care and memory care beds,” and the residential building would have “160 secured market rental units,” including 64 studios, 40 one-bedroom units, 40 two-bedroom units and 16 three-bedroom units. “Underground parking, with 693 vehicle parking spaces and 250 bicycle parking spaces, is proposed.”
The rezoning application is being considered by the City under the Oakridge Transit Centre Policy Statement.
The City of Vancouver explains on its website that the Oakridge Transit Centre, across from the JCC, “was formerly home to 244 trolley and 182 diesel buses, and employed over 1,200 transit staff including drivers, mechanics and administrators…. With the completion of the Vancouver Transit Centre on the Eburne Lands in 2006, almost all services moved out of the OTC” within several years and TransLink determined that the OTC was no longer required as a transit centre. TransLink approached the City about the redevelopment of the site: “Council approved a cost-recovered planning program to create a policy statement for the site in February 2014 and the program was publically launched in June 2014.”
The statement was approved in December 2015, after “an 18-month process involving community engagement at key points, and technical planning and design work.” It guides “the rezoning and redevelopment of the Oakridge Transit Centre,” as well as that of the JCC, the Petro Canada Station at the corner of 41st and Oak, and Oakmont Medical Centre (809 West 41st).
The JCC rezoning application was coordinated by Acton Ostry Architects Inc., the JCC and the Louis Brier Home. In the application, which is on the City’s website, Acton Ostry explains that the “surrounding context is in a state of transition and transformation from a low-density semi-urban neighbourhood to a high-density urban centre. Transit is a driving force at the heart of the new town centre with the Canada Line on Cambie Street and a new B-line proposed for West 41st Avenue.” The document notes that King David High School, which is east of the JCC, on Willow Street, uses and “shares many spaces in the existing JCC and is intended to have a dedicated gym in the proposed new JCC, in addition to access and use of many other activity spaces.”
How the space in the three proposed new buildings might be used. (image by Acton Ostry Architects Inc.)
According to the timeline on one of the posters at the February open house, there was a pre-application open house in November 2016 and the rezoning application was submitted in December 2017. With the City-led open house now having been held, there will be a public hearing, “pending staff review and feedback,” followed by a council vote, again “pending staff review and feedback.” If the rezoning is approved, “the proposal becomes a development application.”
Development and building permits would take months to years to procure, and the construction itself would also take a few years. Since the JCC cannot be non-operational for that long, the project is envisioned in phases. The existing JCC would remain in place as the main building of the new JCC is built on what is now the centre’s parking lot, followed by the construction of the new underground parking lot. Once the new JCC was operational, Phase 2 would start with the new Louis Brier Home, to be located at the opposite end of the development site, then move to the construction of the residential tower and the rest of the JCC, located in between the main JCC and Louis Brier.
The entire rezoning application can be found at rezoning.vancouver.ca. Feedback can be submitted online.
Mamatefet’s first Mom and Babe Circle. (photo from Mamatefet)
Meirav Galili and her husband Itai moved to Vancouver with their two children from Israel five years ago. When their third child was born here, the family received lots of support from friends, something that helped make up for the fact that they have no extended family here.
When she heard about a plan to create a network of Israeli moms and moms-to-be, she was one of the first to sign up with Mamatefet.
Mamatefet, which has grown exponentially almost exclusively through word of mouth, is a mash-up of “mama” with the Hebrew word “maatefet,” which is a wraparound or embrace. The group welcomes those who want to be an otefet, an embracer, or a ne’etefet, an embracee. Except, the terms are not mutually exclusive.
“Sometimes it’s our turn to give and sometimes it’s our turn to get some help,” said Galili, adding that the success of the group surprised all involved.
“It was amazing because many, many people said, ‘me, me, me, me, me,’ and quickly we established something,” she said. Understanding the added burden of having and raising children without parents, aunts, sisters-in-law or other family around inspired many women to step forward.
Thanks to Mamatefet, one phone call or a WhatsApp message can put a team into action.
“The woman doesn’t need to ask even,” Galili said. “Everything is being done for her. She just needs to tell a friend, ‘My child is sick with me’ or ‘I have to stay at the hospital for tonight,’ and we’ll take it from there, and when they get home they have everything. It’s a very strong, warm feeling that we are not alone and we have this supportiveness.”
That is exactly what Rotem Regev had in mind when she and four friends conceived of Mamatefet in late 2016.
“It was one of those nights,” Regev recalled, “a few friends got together sitting around the coffee table chatting, recounting their individual – which we then realized were quite collective – stories of transition, to Vancouver, to motherhood, and how that intersected. What became really crystal clear to all of us is that we were feeling quite a bit of loneliness at that time, whenever that transition was, coming to Vancouver either pregnant or with a very little one, when there is not a school yet or any sort of structure to fit into…. To top that off, you would also be facing an extra challenge being away from your family and friends in a country that doesn’t yet quite feel like home and a language that doesn’t quite feel like home and a healthcare system that feels very, very different.
“We didn’t want any woman to feel the loneliness that we felt,” she said.
Mamatefet offers moms like Osher Cohen support, including the occasional homemade meal, and friendship. (photo by Lior Noyman)
When they decided to share their idea, they thought maybe five more women would join, perhaps seven. A few months later, they had 70 embracers and more than 40 embracees.
“The word spread out like wildfire really, because I think the need was so great,” said Regev, who is a clinical psychologist. There are a couple of similar groups in Israel and something sort of like Mamatefet in San Francisco and another in New Jersey, but, considering the evident need, it is a surprisingly rare initiative.
Regev and her Mamatefet co-founders Tamara Halamish, Yael Pilo Raz, Yael Mayer and Matti Feigelstock, have now seen their project expand from Vancouver to teams in Richmond, Ladner, Surrey, North Vancouver and East Vancouver-Burnaby, with a new team gearing up in Langley and the Tri-Cities.
In general, Mamatefet volunteers will deliver food, often including a Shabbat meal. There are regular meet-up groups for pregnant women and another for new moms. They are also on call in case of a crisis, like a miscarriage or a stillbirth.
But it’s the informal friendships that organically develop that are as important, said Marina Ingel. Being able to arrange play dates, exchange kids’ clothes, have a coffee with other new moms – this is an important outcome too, she said.
One of the reassuring things is talking to other moms about how the medical system in Canada differs from that in Israel.
“Here it’s totally different. Everything,” said Ingel. “In Israel, every time you’re going to the doctor, you’re doing an ultrasound. Here, you have maybe two the whole pregnancy. A bunch of things that they’re checking in Israel, they’re not doing this at all. But then you realize it’s fine and, if you have any problem, they will check it. Everything is OK, but the thing is that you’re worried about it, because it’s new to you.”
For Galili, cooking is both a hobby and a way to support other new moms.
“They send a message saying there is a woman who is about to come home with a baby and [asking] who is willing to participate,” she said. “I thought, OK, I need to prepare something anyway so I’ll just prepare something extra.”
Baking, homemade granola and yogurt, soups and a main dish, comfort food like chicken and rice, are the sorts of things she preps for new moms.
“If her mother were here, this is what she would probably make for her,” said Galili.
טקס יום הזיכרון ואירוע יום העצמאות המרכזי בוונקובר יערכו בג’ואיש קומיונטי סנטר ובמרכז צ’אן סנטר
טקס יום הזיכרון לחללי מערכות ישראל ולנפגעי פעולות האיבה 2018 יערך כרגיל מדי שנה בג’ואיש קומיונטי סנטר של אזור מטרו ונקובר, בשיתוף פעולה עם הג’ואיש פדרשיין של מטרו ונקובר. האירוע יתקיים ביום שלישי ה-17 באפריל החל מ-7.30 בערב והכניסה חופשית. בכך יפתח יום הזכרון בוונקובר ולמחרת יחול יום העצמאות השבעים להולדתה של ישראל. הג’ואיש פדריישן תקיים את האירוע המרכזי ליום העצמאות של ונקובר, במרכז צ’אן לאומניות הבמה בקמפוס של אוניברסיטה של בריטיש קולומביה. זאת, למחרת יום רביעי ה-18 באפריל, גם כן בשעה 7.30 בערב. באירוע החגיגי לאחר הנאומים, יתקיימו הופעות של האמנים הזמרת נינט טייב והזמר שלומי שבן.
טייב (בת ה-34) היא זוכת העונה הראשונה של תוכנית הטלוויזיה ‘כוכב נולד’. מלבד שירה היא גם משחקת ואף שימשה שדרנית ברדיו. ביולי 2016 טיבי ובעלה (יוסי מזרחי) ובתם עזבו את ישראל ועברו לגור בלוס אנג’לס.
שבן (בן ה-41) הוא זמר יוצר וגם פסנתרן ואף זכה ברפס אקו”ם. הוא נשוי לשחקנית יובל שרף ולזוג שני ילדים.
עלות מחירי הכרטיסים (רבים מהם כבר נמכרו): 18 דולר, 36 דולר או 70 דולר.
פשע בקנדה: תמונת הסלפי הסגירה את הרוצחת שחגרה חגורה בה רצחה את חברתה הטובה
מי היה מאמין שתמונת סלפי תמימה של שתי חברות טובות שהועלתה בפייסבוק, תביא להרשעתה בדין של אחת החברות שרצחה שעה קלה לאחר מכן את חברתה. סיפור הרצח המזעזע כאילו לקוח מאחד הפרקים של הבלש המיתולוגי הבריטי שרלוק הולמס.
לפנכי כשבועיים בית המשפט המחוזי בסיסקצ’ואן גזר על שיין אנטואן (בת ה-21), מהעיר ססקטון, שבע שנות מאסר על רצח חברתה הטובה בריטני גרגול (שהייתה בת 18 במותה), בחודש מרץ לפני כשלוש שנים. לפי חקירת המשטרה מתברר כי שתי הצעירות יצאו לבילוי משותף וביקרו במספר פבים ושתו הרבה וכנראה גם עישנו סמים. לאחר מכן התגלע וויכוח מר ביניהן, ובמהלכו אנטואן חנקה את גרגול והשליכה את גופתה בסמוך לאחד הכבישים בססקטון. ליד הגופה החוקרים מצאו חגורה שחורה גדולה.
במסגרת חקירה מאומצת חוקרי המשטרה בדקו את דף הפייסבוק של אנטואן ומצאו תמונה משותפת שלה עם גרגור, שצולמה זמן קצר לפני הרצח. אנטואן כדי להסתיר את העובדה כי היא הרוצחת הוסיפה לתמונה את הכיתוב: “לאן נעלמת חברתי הטובה?” החוקרים בדקו שוב ושוב את התמונה מקרוב, ולבסוף הבחינו גם בכלי הרצח: אנטואן חגרה את אותה חגורה שחורה גדולה שנמצאה ליד גופת חברתה שרצחה.
גזר הדין “הקל” באופן יחסי נקבע לאחר שאנטואן הודתה באחריות לרצח, אם כי היא ציינה שהיא אינה זוכרת שחנקה למוות את גרגול. היא אף לא יכלה להסביר לבית המשפט את המניעים שלה להרוג את חברתה הטובה, שכאמור שעה קודם השתיים בילו ונהנו ביחד. התביעה וההגנה הגיעו להסכם (עיסקת טיעון) על תקופת מאסר בת שבע השנים שהשופט כאמור אישר אותה. ההגנה ציינה כי אנטואן גדלה בבית הורים מאמצים וסבלה מהתעללויות במשך שנים רבות, דבר שהביא אותה לצרוך סמים ולשתות אלכוהול בדחיפות רבה. עורך דינה של אנטואן קרא בבית המשפט את הצהרתה בה נאמר בין היתר: “אני לעולם לא אסלח לעצמי על מה שעשיתי ושום דבר לא יחזיר לחיים את חברתי הטובה. אני מאוד מאוד מצטערת ודבר כזה בשום פנים ואופן לא היה צריך לקרות”. חרטה מאוחרת.
Ayala and Ariel Wilchfort are recent arrivals to Vancouver. (photo from Ariel Wilchfort)
Two years ago, Rabbi Gideon Osher Shmueli donated a kidney to a stranger, saving that individual’s life. These days, he works at Magen David Yeshivah in Brooklyn, N.Y., teaching Hebrew and bringing with that teaching the culture and values of Judaism and eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel.
To him, teaching about Judaism is akin to donating a vital organ. “Connecting Jews to Torah and mitzvot is no different from helping someone to live,” said Shmueli, 32, who, with his wife, Leore Sachs Shmueli, was matched with the school by Ohr Torah Stone’s Beren-Amiel Practical Training Program for Educational Emissaries, which trains educators who are sent to teach Judaic studies in both Orthodox and non-Orthodox schools throughout the Diaspora. A similar initiative, the Straus-Amiel Program for Rabbinical Emissaries, trains rabbis for synagogue postings in the Diaspora.
Like Shmueli, Rabbi Ariel Wilchfort is a recent arrival to his new post. He is city director for the National Conference of Synagogue Youth in Vancouver, following his participation in the emissary training at OTS’s Israel campuses.
“They guided me and helped me choose positions,” said Wilchfort, 33, who relocated to Vancouver with his wife Ayala and their two young children.
Wilchfort, who attended the emissary training from 2015 to 2017, said he found his current job when a representative for NCSY, the youth arm of Orthodox congregations in North America, visited with him and other emissaries.
Based in Israel, OTS is a modern Orthodox network of 24 institutions on 12 campuses, founded by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin with a mission in part to demonstrate that Judaism’s “laws and traditions remain profoundly relevant to the contemporary world,” Riskin has said.
As part of that mission, OTS has some 200 emissary families serving in more than 50 countries, according to Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum, who directs the emissary programs. Shlichim (emissaries) serve on average five to six years, with some who have been at their posts as long as 18 years.
They serve not only in large Diaspora communities but also in places that are far afield and have few Jews, such as Quito, Ecuador; Guangzhou, China; Cochin, India; and Harare, Zimbabwe. “We believe that people need to work with people, and the only way to influence other people and strengthen their Jewish identity, as well as the community itself, is by having emissaries and creating personal connections,” Birnbaum said.
OTS annually receives at least 150 applications for the program, and chooses 25. “We accept only applicants who have advanced Torah knowledge and yeshivah background, high academic level and, most important, very good people and leadership skills,” said Birnbaum.
The training program consists of weekly classes with educators, rabbis, experts in halachah (Jewish law) and advisers. Shlichim assignments range from teaching positions, to youth directors to pulpit positions.
In a smaller Jewish community like Vancouver, Wilchfort occupies several roles on the community scene, mentoring young people at Congregation Schara Tzedeck and running a religious education program called Torah High, in which Jewish students can attend afternoon classes and gain a few credits toward earning their high school degree.
Originally from Englewood, N.J., Wilchfort’s family immigrated to Israel when he was a child, and he received his rabbinic ordination from Israel’s Chief Rabbinate at the same time that he was enrolled in the Beren-Amiel program. He said he was drawn to the initiative by a desire to serve Jews in the Diaspora and help them enrich their Jewish lives.
“I entered the program out of a care for other Jews, a love for our nation, and especially a love for our fellow Jews who have not had an adequate religious education,” he said.
Wilchfort has enjoyed settling into Vancouver, which he credits for having a vibrant Jewish scene. “Our community has a great infrastructure; it’s a very pro-Israel community here,” he said. “As for the area itself, it’s beautiful. In Vancouver, we live between forests and the ocean, and everyone is so health-aware, nature-aware.”
For Wilchfort, whose wife’s first language is Hebrew, not English, it’s a true cross-cultural experience. “It’s a new city, new country, new culture. It’s really an adventure, and we feel so excited to be here.”
Left to right: Advah Soudack, Tom Pickett and Adam Abrams co-star in Two Views from the Sylvia, playing at the Waterfront Theatre Nov. 8-12. (photo from Kol Halev)
“For me, the ‘coolest’ thing is Sylvia herself,” Advah Soudack told the Independent. “From everything I have read and heard, she was a dynamite of a woman – fiery, passionate and full of life. The woman lived until 102, for goodness sake, and did so with a heart murmur that caused much concern for doctors and her parents when she was young. I like the story of how she met her husband, Harry. The two were on a Jewish singles cruise and, when Harry witnessed Sylvia dive enthusiastically off the side of the boat, he knew in that moment that she was the gal for him. I only wish Sylvia was alive to see the show.”
Soudack takes on the role of Sylvia Ablowitz, née Goldstein, whose father, Abraham, built the Sylvia Hotel and named it after his daughter. The family’s story and stories about the renowned establishment in English Bay are depicted in Two Views from the Sylvia, which is being presented by Kol Halev Performance Society Nov. 8-12 at the Waterfront Theatre.
“This is the most ambitious show Kol Halev has produced, and their first as a registered society. But it fits perfectly into their mandate to tell stories of Jewish history and local Vancouver history, with music, song and performance, in an engaging and entertaining way,” said Adam Abrams, who plays Abraham in the production, and is also vice-president of Kol Halev. “I’m so excited to be a part of it,” he said.
Two Views from the Sylvia is comprised of two original one-act plays. Its genesis can be traced back some four years, to a Jewish psychology network meeting attended by Kol Halev president Sue Cohene and Ablowitz’s great-niece, Marsha Ablowitz, who pitched the story of her famous great-aunt to Cohene. In mid-2013, members of Kol Halev met with Marsha Ablowitz and her mother, Sally Seidler, who is now 99 years old.
By August 2013, Joan Stuchner had drafted the first two pages of a play. A few months later, Deborah Vogt joined the writing team, with she and Abrams assisting Stuchner. Sadly, Stuchner died in June 2014 of pancreatic cancer and Vogt had to complete the script without her.
Vogt’s one-act play, Sylvia’s Hotel, with music by Britt MacLeod and Kerry O’Donovan, lyrics by MacLeod, is set in 1912, and focuses on the origins of the hotel and on the Ablowitz-Goldstein family. “Both young Sylvia Goldstein and Joe Fortes, the beloved lifeguard who taught Vancouver children to swim, experience the challenges of those who didn’t quite ‘belong’ in the Vancouver of the time,” notes the promotional material. It forms Act 1 of Two Views from the Sylvia.
Act 2, called The Hotel Sylvia, is by Cathy Moss and Kelsey Blair. It focuses on the period after the building of the hotel, and “we meet the characters whose lives and loves became interwoven with the story of the Sylvia over her 100-year history.”
In Act 1, most of the characters are based on real people, members of the Goldstein family and Fortes. In Act 2, most of the characters are composites of more than one person or story, notably the character of Franny, who is a nod to a longtime Sylvia employee.
“Several of the stories told in this one act play are the stories as told to Cathy Moss and me by Huguette Gingras, who was the front-desk clerk at the Sylvia Hotel for 35 years,” said Cohene.
Tom Pickett, who plays Fortes in Act 1, plays the character of John in Act 2. “Though John is an independent character, he cares about the Sylvia the way Joe cares about the kids and English Bay so, in my mind, I imbue a hint of John with a bit of Joe and maybe vice versa,” said the actor.
Pickett – who said he has played Fortes a few times before – was immediately on board when he heard that Christopher King was the director and Shelly Stewart Hunt was the choreographer of the production. “Then I had the pleasure of talking with Sue Cohene on the phone and the connection was instantaneous,” he told the Independent. “And then, as we began rehearsals, the artistic opportunities to honour a Vancouver landmark like the Sylvia and represent a historical figure like Joe Fortes deepened. I think many people know of the Sylvia but don’t know a lot about the Sylvia. I’ve done a gospel concert at the Sylvia, my wife’s cousin from Montreal always stays at the Sylvia, my mechanic, the teller at my bank, the list goes on.”
“It seems that everyone has a story or a connection to the Sylvia,” agreed Abrams, “so it’s exciting to be telling a story about something so iconic, that means so much to people in Vancouver. And though I’m thrilled to have a great role, I’ve been mostly just impressed with what everyone else is bringing to it. There are some really beautiful moments both visually and dramatically, and some wonderful music, too. I think people are going to leave the theatre humming the title theme, ‘At the Sylvia’!”
About his character in Act 1, Abrams said, “Abe is someone who wants more than just personal success, he really wants to make his city a better place and feels the hotel will help achieve that. He’s also proud of his Jewish heritage and wants to show what his people can accomplish – despite facing a lot of the prejudice that was so common at that time.”
In Act 2, Abrams plays Mr. Lowry, “the manager of the present-day Sylvia, [who] is trying out Franny for the front-desk job to see how she does. He just shows up a couple of times, but I’m finding a lot of little moments of humour in his appearances.”
In preparing for the show, Soudack met with Marsha Ablowitz. “I not only flipped through piles of photos and heard stories,” said Soudack, “but also held Sylvia’s hairbrush, mirror and curling iron with her initials gracefully engraved on them in my hands. If the audience is paying close attention, they may even catch a glimpse of these artifacts in the show.”
While Sylvia appears in Act 1, she is only talked about in Act 2. In the second half of the production, Soudack plays Nora, who appears, said Soudack, “as a flashback to the Sylvia during the Second World War.”
“She is an interesting character, not only because of her independent nature, but also because of the times in which she would exercise this independence,” said the actor. “Nora, as explained by her daughter Gloria in Act 2, would visit the Sylvia twice a year. Gloria mentions that her mother, Nora, would come to write in her journal. She made a routine of it and even wore the same blue dress…. It turns out that she didn’t always come to write in her journal, she would also come to the Sylvia to dance.
“For me,” said Soudack, “Nora is an intriguing character to play because there has to be a reason why she came to the Sylvia and did so year after year. In the script, she talks about ‘taking a night off from everything.’ She mentions things about the war, headlines, air-raid precautions, however, as the actress, I choose to dig deeper and find what else she is ‘escaping’ from and taking the night off from…. There is a pure innocence to Nora going to the Sylvia twice a year to write in her journal and dance, but is there also an alter ego or an alternate life she desperately wants to explore?”
Other Jewish community members in the cast are Anna-Mae Wiesenthal and Joyce Gordon, while Heather Martin is associate producer and Gwen Epstein is on the production team. The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia has created a photo exhibit, which will be on display at the theatre.
“Lots of things are very exciting,” said Cohene, “like watching amazingly creative choreography being developed on the spot. Hearing beautiful singing by the cast makes me want to sing along. I don’t – I am the producer and need to remember my role.
“I hope that people who come to the show are aware that we are a community theatre group. We are so fortunate to have the wonderful participation of two professional actors,” she said, referring to Pickett and Soudack, “who work alongside our very talented group of emerging actors. Kol Halev strives to be inclusive, accommodating performers of all ages, backgrounds and levels of experience. We aim to offer the opportunity to learn and create, in all aspects of our production. I’m hoping that this value is appreciated when the public sees the show.”
For tickets ($28) – and a chance to win free ones with your story of the Sylvia – visit kolhalev.ca.
לדין שיינדלר תושב אזור ונקובר מסתבר שיש מנהג מוזר ביותר שאינו זוכה כלל להערכה. במשך עשר השנים האחרונות הוא נוהג להופיע בעשרות טקסי אשכבה שונים (בעיקר אלה שנערכים במועדוני גולף מהודרים), ולהינות בחינם מהאוכל והשתייה שמוגשים בהם – לקרובים של הנפטרים. שיינדלר שיהיה ברור לא מוזמן כלל לאירועים אלה והוא פשוט מופיע אליהם כאילו הוא אחד ממקורבי הנפטרים. הוא אינו מדבר עם אחד וללא בושה ניגש לאחד השולחנות העמוסים אוכל מתיישב ומתחיל לאכול. לאחר סיום הארוחה המכובדת כאשר מילא את כרסו, הוא מכבד את עצמו בשתיית מספר כוסות של בירה או יין ואז נעלם. מספר קרובים של נפטרים מציינים כי הם ראו את שיינדלר אף לוקח אוכל הבייתה. וחוזר חלילה. איך הוא לא מתבייש?
במשך השנים הצטברו עדויות רבות בגין התנהגותו השערוריית והביזארית של שיינדלר שהוא איש מבוגר המרכיב משקפיים עם שיער שיבה לראשו, שכנראה נחשב לאיש בודד מאד בעולמנו וחי לבד. לא מעט תושבים מקומיים ראו אותו שוב ושוב בטקסי האשכבה שונים. אז גם החלו להגיע תלונות כנגדו לתחנות הרדיו והטלוויזיה המקומיות שהולכות ונערמות.
במספר מקרים ניגשו לשיינדלר קרובי משפחה שלא הכירו אותו ושאלו אותו ישירות איך וכיצד הוא קשור לנפטר. לפי תשובתו המתחמקת הם הבינו מייד שהוא לא מכיר את הנפטר כלל. באחד המקרים אומרת אישה שאימא נפטרה, כי שיינדלר סיפר לה שכביכול שאימא ואימו היו חברות טובות. ואימא נהגה להסיע את אימו אף למקומות שונים כולל לקניות. נו באמת? “אך מה לעשות” אומרת האישה “לאמי לא היה רשיון נהיגה ואף לא רכב”. לאחר השיחות הלא נעימות הללו שיינדלר היה קם ומסתלק מהמקום בשקט ומהירות רבה.
לתשובת כתבת תחנת הטלוויזיה ‘גלובלניוז’ שתפסה אותו ליד ביתו, אמר שיינדלר שלא הרגיש בנוח עם הראיון (הוא לא הפסיק להתגרד, להוריד ולהרכיב את משקפיו), כי הוא אכן מבקר בטקסי ההשכבה, אך זה נובע לטענתו לאור כביכול תחקיר שהוא עושה במסגרת ספר שהוא כותב. הספר שהולך להיות פרוייקט מאוד ארוך יעסוק בסיפור מפחיד מאוד הוא מוסיף. הוא דחה את הטענה כי הוא מגיע לאירועים בגלל האוכל והשתייה בחינם. שיינדלר הודה כי הוא נהג לבקר בשלושה עד ארבעה טקסי הלוויות מדי חודש לאורך שנים רבות. את המידע בדבר האירועים לכיבוד המתים הוא פשוט מצא במודעות אבל בעיתונות של משפחות הנפטרים. להגנתו אמר עוד כי הוא כן נהג לשוחח מעת לעת עם האורחים באירועים, אך הוא לא יכול לספר להם מדוע הוא נוכח במקום. לאור התלונות הרבות נגדו הבטיח שיינדלר להפסיק ולבקר בטקסי הלוויות שאליהם לא הוזמן. הוא גם התנצל. לא ברור עדיין האם יש אמת בדבריו כי הוא אכן כותב ספר. שיספר זאת למתים.
אחד מהגושלים באינטרנט שקרא על מעלליו הרבים של שיינדלר הגיב באופן הבא: “כשיבוא היום ונקווה לא בזמן הקרוב כולנו נגיע להלוויתו שלו”. גולש אחר הגיב בחריפות גדולה יותר: “מדוע שלא נעמוד על הכבר שלו ובתור נשתין עליו?”. גם אחת הגולשות הגיבה בחריפות רבה על התנהגותו של שיינדלר: “אין שום תרוץ למעשיו. האיש הזה הוא כדור רפש שמנצל צער של אנשים אחרים כדי להשיג רווח פרטי. זה מעורר רחמים”. ולסיום גולשת אחרת ענתה בתחכום: “יש כאלה שהולכים לסרטים ויש אחרים שהולכים להלוויות”.
Left to right, Lilia Apelbaum, Olga Livshin and Tanya Kogan, during their reunion in Vancouver. (photo by Tanya Kogan)
For two weeks this August, my apartment was unusually crowded. Friends from Haifa and Los Angeles were staying with me. We talked almost nonstop the entire time they were here. While they have already left for their respective homes, the memory of their presence still lingers in my house, in the photographs and in my fond recollections.
In 1973, the three of us, three Jewish girls, high school graduates from different Moscow schools, lived in the Soviet Union. We met for the first time when we enrolled in the Moscow Institute of Economics and Statistics. For five student years, we were inseparable. We studied in the same groups and partied with the same friends but, after graduation in 1978, we parted ways. This year, 39 years later, the three of us met for the first time since then, at my place in Vancouver.
Many things have changed in our lives, of course, but, despite the grown-up children, deteriorating health and multiple wrinkles, all three of us have stayed basically the same: the same personalities, the same interpersonal dynamics, the same feeling of closeness as friends. And our relationship with our Jewishness also has stayed basically the same.
At the time of our youth, all observance of Jewish traditions in the Soviet Union was suppressed. Not banned, per se, but not encouraged. There was one synagogue in Moscow and, I have to admit, I never visited it. My parents tried to blend in with mainstream society, so they never visited it either. We didn’t celebrate Jewish holidays, and I didn’t even know about most of them. Only my grandfather went to synagogue on most Saturdays and some Jewish holidays. He tried to instil some sense of Jewish identity in our household (as he lived with us) but, unsupported by my parents, he was unsuccessful. I was never interested in anything Jewish when I was young.
The situation was a bit different with my two friends. Tanya Kogan (née Schneiderman) lived in a similar household to mine. Her parents’ one ardent desire was to blend in. Being “the same,” not sticking out, was safer in Communist Russia but, after her high school graduation, Tanya broke away from the “blend-in” mold.
“I wanted to know who I was,” she told me. She immersed herself not only in her academic studies at the institute but also in Jewish customs and traditions, to the extent they existed in Moscow of that time.
“I tried to learn Yiddish from my grandmother, even though she was ashamed to speak it. I went to synagogue for some Jewish holidays and, every year, for Simchat Torah. It’s such a fun holiday. Lots of students from our institute were there. Not many colleges and universities in Russia accepted Jewish students, but ours did, and there were many of us. We danced in the streets together,” she remembered. “I bought matzos every year and fasted on Yom Kippur.”
Left to right, Tanya Kogan, Olga Livshin and Lilia Apelbaum – Class of 1978. (photo from Olga Livshin)
My other visiting friend, Lilia Apelbaum, was also part of the group of students that danced in the streets outside the Moscow synagogue on Simchat Torah. Her father came from a family where tradition was paramount.
“We bought matzos every year when I was a schoolgirl,” Lilia said. “We would travel on the Moscow Metro with the big packs of matzos wrapped in brown paper, to a seder in some relative’s home, and I would think: ‘I’m special. I’m better than all the people around me. I know something they don’t.’ I felt very proud.”
In 1996, Lilia, her parents and her young son immigrated to Israel. She still lives there, in Haifa.
“My father went to synagogue often when we lived in Moscow, but he stopped going after we immigrated,” said Lilia. “In Moscow, he needed it to prop his Jewish identity but, after we settled in Israel, he said he didn’t need it anymore. He felt Jewish and happy without the support of religion.”
Lilia herself doesn’t follow any Jewish tradition, doesn’t keep kosher and doesn’t attend synagogue, but she is still, as in her childhood, intensely proud to be a Jew and an Israeli. “I love Israel,” she said. “It’s a wonderful country, very humane.”
She told me a story about her neighbour and friend. “She is very sick. Once, we walked outside together, and she fell. Her legs wouldn’t support her and I couldn’t help her – she is a big woman, much bigger than myself. I panicked; didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, a couple cars passing along the street stopped. Totally unknown men climbed out of those cars, lifted her, helped her to a bench, and then drove away. Where else would a car stop just to help a strange woman on the sidewalk? Only in Israel.”
She talked about the urban improvements being undertaken in Haifa, about Israeli healthcare and technology, about her fellow Israelis, and her eyes shined with love for her country.
Tanya also left Russia. In 1996, she and her family immigrated to America and settled in Los Angeles. “I almost never go to a synagogue here,” she said. “But I do keep kosher. Mostly. In my own way. During Passover, we don’t eat bread. I make so many interesting dishes with matzos, my family always anticipates the holiday. They don’t want bread – they remember that torte and this pie for years after and always ask if I would make them again. It’s a game we play. It’s easy and fun to be a Jew in America.”
Like my friends, I left Russia, too, at about the same time. In 1994, I came to Vancouver. Unlike my friends, though, I didn’t get in touch with my Jewish roots right away. It took me some time to become a part of the Vancouver Jewish community. At first, I was busy with my computer programmer job, raising children as a single mother, and generally integrating into the Canadian society. But life has a wicked sense of humour. It pushed me toward my Jewishness in a roundabout way.
In 2002, I got very sick. My illness altered my worldview and induced me to change my priorities. In 2003, I started writing fiction. A few years later, I quit my computer job to dedicate myself fully to my writing career. At that time, I tried to find a writing gig. I took a course on a mentored job search, and one of the assignments was to find a mentor.
I scoured the internet for some Vancouver writing professional to approach, to ask to be my mentor, and came up with the name Katharine Hamer. At that time, she was the editor of the Jewish Independent, a newspaper I had never heard about before. I sent her an email and, to my amazement, she replied. She said she didn’t have time to mentor me, but she offered to add my name to the list of her newspaper contributors. I grabbed the opportunity.
My first article for the Jewish Independent was published 10 years ago, in July 2007. I write about Jewish artists and writers, teachers and musicians. I love my subjects, every one of them, but I have never written about myself before. This is the first time and my 301st article for the paper.
Three friends from Moscow, three Jewish women from around the world, spent a wonderful week together during their reunion in Vancouver. We are planning to meet again soon. We are not going to wait another 39 years.
Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].
Seattle comedy couple Clayton Weller and Sophie Lowenstein are bringing Naturally to the festival. (photo from Amanda Smith)
Fear of death, making comedy and fighting prejudice are but a few of the topics Jewish community members will be exploring in their productions at this year’s Vancouver Fringe Festival, which runs Sept. 7-17.
Seattle comedy couple Sophie Lowenstein and Clayton Weller are bringing Naturally to the festival. It’s not one show, but two, with audiences deciding which they want to see: the one about grief, which also contains a dating scene, “the worst theatrical audition ever” and more; or the one about what sketch comedy is, how to make it – and why to bother making it.
“We have a variety of choosing activities at the top of the show, which culminates in the audience throwing paper airplanes at the stage for the show they’d most like to see. It’s going to be bonkers,” explained Weller. “As far as seeing both shows – how flattering would that be?! – the final two performances we’re locking in which show will happen.” So, Good Grief (Heart) will be on Sept. 14 and Understanding Sketch (Head) on Sept. 16; for the other performances, you’ll have to take your chances. Though, having seen them on video in preparing for this interview, it’s not much of a risk – both shows will have you laughing, and crying. There is a reason they dub Naturally “serious comedy.”
“As a duo, this has always pretty much been our style,” said Weller. “We’ve both done a bunch of plays, both serious and completely frivolous…. We thought that a laugh never feels as good as after you’re done crying. The contrast makes both the dark and light pop out more.”
“I would also say that we find a lot of beauty in that line between joy and pain because it’s not a very thick line. It’s blurred and sometimes nonexistent,” added Lowenstein, who is part of the Jewish community. “When you’re working with comedy, experiencing other emotions besides happiness while you laugh is sort of taboo – at least rare. We play in that playground. I think, individually, we are both curious about people’s emotions and we investigate them in our own ways, so we came together to run a joint study.”
According to the press material, Lowenstein and Weller have been performing comedy together for more than 12 years.
“Sophie and I went to the same college, University of Puget Sound, and both got cast in our college sketch comedy group,” Weller told the Independent. “We performed in several shows before we actually started living together as roommates, then we started living together, with feelings and stuff. Humour and comedy definitely permeate every part of our lives. Lots of laughter keeps our hearts light.”
With the comedy group Ubiquitous They, the couple produced about 15 shows. However, said Weller, the group “is more of an alumni network at this point. Several members have moved on to work in L.A., or across the country. We produced really regularly from 2007 to 2014, but, for the most part, it’s more of a club that hangs out every couple of months, and goes, ‘Wow, it’s tough to be an adult, am I right?’”
For the past few years, Lowenstein and Weller have been focusing on their performances as a duo. “Basically, Naturally is the only comedy project Sophie and I do now,” said Weller. “We’ll do a variety show or small play here and there on our own, but, because our lives are so crazy, we’ve pared the work we do down and this is where we put our real artistic push. I’ve never made work I’m more proud of than what I’m currently making with Sophie. She’s awesome. (Secret: This is all just an excuse for me to hang out with her more!)”
“Other secret: I feel the same way about him,” added Lowenstein. “He makes this process happen.”
In addition to Naturally, Weller runs two performance venues – the Pocket Theatre and the Slate Theatre – and Lowenstein works as a nurse practitioner.
“I look at it like this: some NPs have kids and they can do it. I have theatre and I can do it,” said Lowenstein about balancing her careers. Her recipe for success? “Save as many of your nights for rehearsals as possible. Dinner no earlier than 10 p.m. most nights. Make sure the other member of your group does all the administrative stuff and keeps you motivated when you’re dragging your butt and snarling. And, if the project doesn’t give you deep joy, don’t do it.”
In one of the Naturally shows, Weller mentions that he once had a lucrative high-tech job that he gave up for comedy. Does he have any regrets?
“I started a company called Freak’n Genius in 2012,” he said. “We made animation software, and we raised over half a million dollars in financing. At first, I was working with cool creative people and helping them make awesome things – then we slowly turned into an iPhone app for tweens. I learned a ton, but I 100% do not regret leaving. I give about three hours a week’s worth for tweens. Not the 60 hours a week I was putting in. Artists are who I really care about!”
About how he became one, or at least got into comedy, Weller said he had terrible stage fright until eighth grade. “I decided I was tired of being scared, and did improv comedy. After the first laughing crowd, I got bit by the bug, and I’ve been doing it ever since. There’s no better way to make friends than to make art together. Our relationship is proof to the point! I’m super lucky.”
For her part, Sophie said she first got into comedy “by loving that feeling of making my friends laugh. So, I practised how to do that more and more. I also had very funny friends. Now, I’m friends with the funniest human I know, and he also has a heart and mind. Bonus. As for the theatre part, I started performing when I was a little kid then throughout school: musicals, Shakespeare, etc. Stuck with it.”
The couple has been doing Naturally for a couple of years now. “After every performance,” said Weller, “we can’t help but do the ‘Oh man, next time why don’t we blah blah blah.’ The script is never permanent, and every remounting of the material we go through a rewrite and punch up all the scripts. Also, finding new ways to fit it together is a whole other way to make the thing new for us. Mostly, we just like hanging out and this is a great excuse.” Lowenstein agreed.
Naturally runs Sept. 8-16, at various times, in the gym at False Creek Community Centre on Granville Island. The 55-minute show is rated 14+ for coarse language and sexual content. Running Sept. 7-17 at the Firehall Arts Centre, also at various times, is the Canadian première of Cry-Baby: The Musical!, which is being presented by Awkward Stage Productions. It, too, is rated 14+ for the same reasons.
Jewish community member Erika Babins, who is artistic associate of Awkward Stage, choreographed the Fringe production, which features “a cast of 16 emerging artists” and runs 90 minutes.
Erika Babins choreographed Awkward Stage’s production of Cry-Baby: The Musical! (photo from Awkward Stage)
“It’s 1950s Baltimore, the conservative squares face off against the leather-clad delinquents in this rockabilly musical based on John Waters’ cult film,” reads the press release. The 2008 Broadway show was nominated for four Tony Awards, including best choreography, and won a Drama Desk Award for outstanding choreography. So, where does Babins begin?
“I start my choreographic process by obsessively listening to the music of the show so that it can live in my body,” Babins told the Independent. “Before we start rehearsals, I’ll meet with the director and we’ll talk through the shape of the show so that we know what purpose each song serves in the show, where we’re coming from and where we’re going, and how we’re going to get there.
“Then, when I get the cast in the room, I can take the story I know I’m going to tell and use them to tell it, using movement and music as my storytelling techniques. If I’m really stuck about how to tell a part of the story, I might look up a video or two on YouTube to see how a different company made something work, but I’m careful to only watch it once so that it only ever is for inspiration and I don’t accidentally steal something.”
Awkward Stage decided to mount Cry-Baby for several reasons. “Awkward has made a tradition out of presenting hilarious, and culturally relevant, full-scale musicals at the Fringe Festival,” said Babins. “Cry-Baby: The Musical came to us via artistic director Andy Toth. He brought it forward as a show that features a mostly young cast, great music and a lot of interesting and fleshed out female characters. Not only that, the messages in the show about systematic prejudices, classism and living your own truth so long as it’s not hurting anyone else, are still so relevant today.”
This is Awkward’s eighth musical at the Fringe Festival. “In that time,” noted Babins, “we’ve won three Pick-of-the-Fringe’s and the Joanna Maratta Award. We are committed to bridging the gap for emerging artists coming into the professional theatre scene in Vancouver and paying our artists for their efforts.”
For the full Fringe schedule and tickets ($14), visit vancouverfringe.com. (Note: a $5 Fringe membership is required for all shows.)
