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Exchange of expertise

Among the activities in which Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Dr. Shiran Reichenberg, left, took part while she was in Vancouver was a lunch and learn at Lawson Lundell LLP, hosted by Peter Tolensky. (photo from CFHU Vancouver)

Dr. Shiran Reichenberg, executive director of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem law faculty’s Clinical Legal Education Centre, was in Vancouver recently, as part of a professorship exchange with the University of British Columbia.

The exchange program started in 2010, with funding from Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and members of the local legal profession and judiciary. From 2013 to 2019, it was named in honour of Mitchell Gropper, QC, and, since 2021, in recognition of the Koffman family’s financial support, it has been formally called the Morley Koffman Memorial Allard School of Law UBC and Hebrew University Law Faculty Professor Exchange Program.

Koffman was an alum of UBC law school in 1952. He practised at Freeman, Freeman, Silvers and Koffman, and was awarded Queen’s Counsel in 1986. His firm, Koffman Kalef, was established in 1993.

One of the founders of the exchange program was Bruce Cohen, whose career has included, among other things, almost three decades as a BC Supreme Court justice. In the CFHU and UBC announcements of the Koffman family’s donation, Cohen says, “Given the high level of respect and regard for Morley’s reputation in the legal, university, Jewish and general communities as a wise counsel and recognized leader it is perfectly appropriate for the program to be named in his honour as a reflection of the importance placed by him and his family on scholarship, professionalism and tikkun olam.”

On the CFHU website, Cohen notes, “The ability of the program to operate in the initial few years of its existence was due in large measure to Morley’s assistance.”

The CFHU Vancouver organizing committee for the exchange program consisted of Cohen, Sam Hanson, Peter Hotz, Shawn Lewis, Randy Milner, Phil Switzer, Peter Tolensky, Dina Wachtel and the late Allen Zysblat. The annual exchange even operated during the pandemic, albeit virtually.

photo - Dr. Shiran Reichenberg, left, visits Temple Sholom’s Oct. 7 memorial with the synagogue’s Associate Rabbi Carey Brown
Dr. Shiran Reichenberg, left, visits Temple Sholom’s Oct. 7 memorial with the synagogue’s Associate Rabbi Carey Brown. (photo from CFHU Vancouver)

Reichenberg’s February-March visit to Vancouver was for just over two weeks, during which time she taught a course at UBC and spoke to various groups, including at Lawson Lundell LLP for a lunch and learn hosted by Peter Tolensky and at UBC’s Peter A. Allard School of Law, as well as at Temple Sholom for a lunch and learn organized by the Sisterhood, said Wachtel, vice-president, community affairs, at CFHU.

While Reichenberg regularly attends international conferences and lectures, this was her first time in Vancouver and, she said, “It was a very, very different experience to teach an intensive course for two weeks, each class three hours.”

Reichenberg, who is also the director of the Clinical Legal Education Centre’s Children and Youth Rights Clinic, said the course she gave here focused on the development of children’s rights and covered international documents, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other agreements, like the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

“We got very deep into several aspects of the convention and main principles, mainly best interest [of the child] and the right to participation. We talked about youth at risk, in criminal proceedings, in care proceedings,” she said.

Reichenberg graduated with her bachelor and her master of laws from the Hebrew University. She also studied in London, England, having received the Leonard Sainer Chevening Scholarship for LLM studies at University College London. She became interested in children’s rights law when she was a second-year student and participated in the Clinical Legal Education Centre’s Street Law Program, which is still part of the Children and Youth Rights Clinic she now directs.

“Each of us was put in a different residential care facility for youth at risk,” said Reichenberg, who was placed with a locked facility in Jerusalem. “When we entered this place and got an explanation about the girls and their life and what happened to them, it changed the course of my life. I stayed and I did another legal clinic in my third year of law school: representation of children’s rights, of children in court proceedings.” 

In doing her PhD, Reichenberg focused on the right of youth at risk to participate in care proceedings, and her research included interviews with some of the girls from the Jerusalem care facility.

Children’s rights have their origin in labour law, Reichenberg said.

“Children, from the beginning of humanity until maybe the Industrial Revolution … died a lot, so parents didn’t get attached to them that much,” she explained. “And they were also considered as property of their parents, mostly their fathers, so they were sold, they were used to work, they were part of supporting the family; they weren’t what we consider them today. There is evidence that, in ancient times, children weren’t even given names, just numbers, because they died so much.”

But when children came to be working in mines and in factories, for example, “legislation gave them rights, to work only 12 hours a day and sleep at night, and things like that,” said Reichenberg, adding that the invention of the printing press, which meant that people needed to learn how to read, was an impetus for the establishment of schools. 

The first child-related labour laws were English laws, passed in the early 1800s. The first youth court took place in the United States in 1874, and it involved the first case reported of child abuse, said Reichenberg. “[Mary Ellen McCormack] was abused by her stepmom and when the people wanted to help her, there was no law that protected children, so they used the law that protected animals from abuse.”

The Children and Youth Rights Clinic is one of nine offered by the Clinical Legal Education Centre. There are also clinics on climate change and environmental law; human rights in cyberspace; multiculturalism and diversity; representation of marginalized population groups; criminal justice; international human rights; the rights of people with disabilities; and wrongful convictions.

The centre can take a maximum of 140 students, with each clinic having, on average, 16 to 20 students. 

“We have many more people who want to enrol than the places that we can give,” said Reichenberg, explaining that the clinics must be kept relatively small, given that they are working on legal cases.

“Each clinic is taught by a lawyer and there is a maximum number of cases that one person can handle, so we can’t have too many students,” she said. “Also, it allows us to have in-depth discussions in our classes with our students. And we always sit in a circle and there’s always dialogue, and it’s something that can be accomplished only in small groups.”

The Clinical Legal Education Centre takes a three-pronged approach. It handles upwards of 1,000 cases a year, providing legal aid and representation to individuals from marginalized groups. It also works for policy change, through test cases and position papers, for example, and offers public lectures and workshops to raise awareness, increase knowledge and promote discussion.

Since the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the centre has taken on an increased role in teaching and advocating for human rights. It has represented groups like the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in front of different United Nations bodies, for example, and has been operating Hamal Hevrati (War Room), a Facebook page providing legal aid to vulnerable populations, which has handled about 100 inquiries to date.

As well, the centre serves diverse clients and has a multicultural staff and student body, all of which include members of the Palestinian minority.

“We are not in war with the entire Palestinian people, we are in war with Hamas, and there is a difference,” said Reichenberg.

“So, we help those who need our help. And we work together, we study together,” she said.

It’s been hard, she admitted. “But we have to believe in working together and living together because none of us is going anywhere and we have to live together and work together for a long time … we have to find a way to do that and this is what we do.”

Reichenberg is proud of how the centre has adapted to the situation.

“In class, we have students who came from military reserves, still with their uniforms and their weapons. We have Arab students who have family in Gaza, which they haven’t heard from,” she said. “We have students who lost people they loved on the 7th of October and since. I personally have a student who I loved deeply and he died in the war, in his military reserve [service] in Gaza. And, also, in the staff, as I said, we’re a mixed staff and a lot of emotions came out on the 7th of October and we did a lot of preparation for staff, how to work with the students in this environment.”

While it’s not perfect, Reichenberg said, “it is certainly an amazing thing to see how everyone is sitting together, learning together, doing legal work together, for the same goal.” 

Definition of genocide

Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish lawyer, coined the term “genocide” in 1944. (photo from Arthur Leipzig Estate, courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery, via ushmm.org)

Anna-Mae Wiesenthal was in the United Kingdom recently and passed a table in Dublin that was accusing Israel of perpetrating genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. She engaged the people at the table in conversation.

It was a small act of dialogue between a few individuals, but it reflects what Wiesenthal views as a vital act in mutual understanding.

Encouraging conversations like these is one of the reasons the Vancouver educator recently led a course at Temple Sholom on the definition of genocide. 

Wiesenthal holds a master’s degree in Holocaust and genocide studies and is about to defend her PhD dissertation in the same discipline. Both degrees are from Gratz College, in Pennsylvania. She retired last year as a teacher at Vancouver’s King David High School.

The three-class course at Temple Sholom addressing the emotionally and academically challenging topic of genocide comes at a time when 

Israel is being accused of perpetrating crimes against humanity in Gaza. The topic has immediate resonance. Wiesenthal’s intention, however, was to take a more nuanced approach to the subject.

“My goal when I retired is to continue to be an educator in different capacities,” she said. After discussions with Temple Sholom’s Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, she put together the course, which ran on three consecutive Wednesdays, ending March 19.

The focus, she said, was an examination of the concept, introducing students to when and why the term “genocide” was coined, in 1944, by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish lawyer, and looking at its definition, examining the wording and identifying problematic components. 

In 1948, the United Nations Genocide Convention defined “genocide” as: “Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting conditions intended to destroy the group in whole or in part; imposing measures to prevent births within the group; forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”

“The word ‘intent’ in the definition is problematic,” Wiesenthal said, as an example of the exploration the class undertook. “How do you prove intent?”

The goal of the course, she said, was “to come out possibly with more questions or appreciation for the complexity of the definition.”

The small group of students analyzed the 10 Stages of Genocide, a framework developed and introduced in 1996 by Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, the founder of Genocide Watch, to help identify the warning signs of genocide and prevent it before it escalates.

These steps include classification (dividing people into “us” versus “them” based on ethnicity, race, religion or nationality); symbolization (assigning symbols or names to distinguish groups, such as the yellow Star of David for Jews in Nazi Germany); discrimination (dominant groups deny rights to a specific group, often through laws or policies); dehumanization (the targeted group is compared to animals, vermin, insects or diseases to strip them of their humanity); organization (genocidal acts are planned and coordinated, often by governments, militias or extremist groups); polarization (propaganda and hate speech are used to drive society further apart, making violence seem justified); preparation (authorities or groups begin making lists, planning logistics and even building camps or weapons for mass killing); persecution (victims are identified, isolated and deprived of rights, for example, forced deportation, concentration camps, starvation); extermination (the mass killing of the targeted group begins, often justified as “cleansing” or necessary for national security); and denial (perpetrators cover up evidence, deny crimes, blame victims or rewrite history to avoid accountability).

“It’s not always linear,” Wiesenthal said of the 10 stages. “Some of the stages can overlap, some of the stages may not necessarily be present, but it’s a way to identify and help you predict. If we see conditions of the stages unfolding then perhaps we can predict more accurately that there is groundwork being laid for genocidal actions.”

While Wiesenthal wanted to encourage depth of understanding on the topic, its immediacy – with Israel being accused of genocide by groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – led some students, and the Independent, to pressure her to comment on current events. 

“What do we say when somebody says Israel is committing genocide?” Wiesenthal asked. “I could ask a question like: What is your understanding of genocide? What does that mean to you?”

If Israel wanted to commit genocide, Wiesenthal noted, they have the military capacity to have done so on the first day of the war. This is perhaps the most immediate, if not entirely nuanced, response. 

“You can make all kinds of arguments about how there was or wasn’t enough humanitarian aid and food trucks entering Gaza,” she said. “The fact is there were food trucks entering.”

There could be legitimate discussions about what Hamas did with that aid once it entered Gaza. But, she said, the larger issue is that governments that plan on committing genocide do not provide victims with humanitarian aid, nor do they provide vaccines for children, as Israel has done.

Military experts, such as John Spencer, who specializes in urban warfare, has said that the civilian casualty ratio in Gaza is “historically low for modern warfare” and cites Israeli Defence Forces estimates that 50-60% of Gazans killed have been civilians, well below the 80-90% of civilian casualties typical in modern conflicts. 

Spencer has praised the Israeli military’s efforts to minimize non-combatant harm, citing mass warnings to Gazan civilians, providing evacuation and relocation directives to reduce casualties, and the use of “roof knocking” techniques before airstrikes. 

While Israel has been condemned for using 2,000-pound bombs in urban areas, Spencer has claimed that these are standard for penetrating fortified underground structures, like Hamas’s extensive tunnel networks, and contends that their use is not intended to cause unnecessary destruction but to legitimately and effectively serve military objectives.

Wiesenthal turns the genocide narrative around, noting that Hamas has explicitly dedicated itself to committing genocide against Israelis and Jews, both in writing and in its repeated expressed statements.

“It is part of Hamas’s charter and something they verbally repeated, that their goal is to get rid of Jews, and their readiness to commit Oct. 7 over and over again,” she said. 

This goes to the challenging issue of intent on the part of both Israelis and Hamas, she added.

“If given the opportunity, Hamas [has said it] would kill every Jew in Israel and destroy Israel,” said Wiesenthal. “Israel is not targeting the Palestinian people or the Palestinian population in Gaza. Their campaign is solely directed at the terrorist organization Hamas, which is existentially threatening Israel. Israel is responding to a genocidal attack.” 

A Purim-Ramadan oasis

Members of the local Jewish and Muslim communities who came together in the Downtown Eastside March 16 to commemorate Shushan Purim and Ramadan by giving out food to those in need. (photo from Rabbi Philip Bregman’s Facebook page)

On Sunday, March 16, on the corner of Main and Hastings, members of the local Jewish and Muslim communities converged for a joint commemoration of Shushan Purim (the day after Purim) and the holy month of Ramadan.

Both these sacred occasions call upon their observers to feed those who are food insecure, often through charity. Muslims refer to this as “zakah,” Jews describe it as “tzedakah.” Both words denote righteousness. United in this shared charge on that day, these two Abrahamic religious traditions met at ground zero of Greater Vancouver’s mental health, addiction and housing crisis to nourish some of the residents of the Downtown Eastside. This was assuredly a “righteous” act for all participants, inspiring renewed hope for our troubled world.

The gathering was mainly the initiative of Vancouver-Granville Member of Parliament Taleeb Noormohamed, a few religious leaders of the Vancouver Muslim community and rabbis Dan Moskovitz, Philip Bregman, Jonathan Infeld and Arik Labowitz. In a social media post describing the event, Rabbi Bregman wrote: “We may not be able to solve the world’s political issues but we can come together to deal with in a small way a local issue (feeding the hungry) that affects us all.” 

It was my great honour to be a part of this group as an ordained cantor and member of the Vancouver Jewish community. My day job often places me at this street corner, serving a similar clientele. I work as a multifaith chaplain on Vancouver Coastal Health’s ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) teams, providing spiritual care to clients and staff as they navigate the existential angst, cumulative grief and moral distress that accompanies the city’s overdose crisis. Many days bring me to the same area to help provide spiritual comfort and solace through presence and song. The task often is daunting. (On the day that I wrote these words, our ACT team lost another longtime client to a preventable overdose death at the age of 29.) Standing alongside my Jewish siblings and Muslim cousins and handing out food that our respective communities had prepared and purchased brought a whole new level of hope.

I particularly needed the spiritual uplift that Sunday, which, like so many Sundays before, again witnessed my Jewish community’s impassioned rallies, calling for the release of all the remaining hostages – those alive and dead – who were taken to Gaza during the barbaric Oct. 7 pogrom that waged war against Israel’s right to exist.

I also needed the spiritual uplift that day because March 16 marked the date when 23-year-old American Jewish nonviolent human rights activist Rachel Corrie (April 10, 1979-March 16, 2003) was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer as she protested the demolition of Palestinian homes in Gaza. This horrific anniversary led me to spend that early morning reflecting once again on how to reconcile my abiding love of Israel with my vehement disagreement with those Israeli and American governmental policies that have violated human rights, killed innocent children and civilians and threatened ethnic cleansing.

As if to emphasize the point, earlier that same morning, I had breakfast with a Jewish friend with whom I had engaged in a book club to discuss Peter Beinart’s latest treatise, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. Another Conservative cantor I know well and respect recently challenged me to open myself to voices I would not otherwise have considered regarding world affairs. I took that charge to heart and decided to read Beinart’s latest work, which I would not have been likely to peruse previously. Like the death of Corrie, reflecting on this book over breakfast proved sobering, as I continue to realize the many blind spots in my own thinking over the years.

While my mind and spirit were still reeling from navigating these concurrent realities, the Purim-Ramadan event provided me with a palpable spiritual uplift, as I witnessed Jews and Muslims standing in unity side by side with wide smiles, handing out nourishment to those deprived of food. 

The spiritual boost also came from meeting devout Muslims in their bountiful humanity.

There was Aroun, who shared with some Jewish attendees and I how members of his mosque (Al-Jamia Al-Masjid) often come downtown to provide food to the poor on Ramadan. Aroun had us all in stitches when he jokingly indicated how hard it was to handle so many edibles while observing Ramadan’s required daytime fasting. In the same breath, he  reminded us that though there are indeed extremists on both sides of the aisle, events like the present one proved that we do not have to toe their party line.

I likewise will never forget talking with another Muslim participant, Mohammed Zaid, to whom I explained the traditional duties of a cantor as a chanter of prayer. Mohammed responded by offering to demonstrate his own chanting of Quranic verses in Arabic, one of five languages that he speaks. I listened to his mellifluous voice echo the similar Middle Eastern musical modes that I employ when leading synagogue services. In his prayer, I heard words such as “Rahman,” an Arabic cognate for the Hebrew “Rachaman,” meaning Merciful One, and, of course “salaam,” which I knew as “shalom.” His singing reminded me of my late friend Imam Sohaib Sultan, z”l, who was a fellow classmate in my first chaplaincy training class years ago, and with whom I traded our traditions’ sacred melodies. 

Our spirits were raised even during the traditionally dreaded cleanup time, as we together refolded the tables we had brought, and shlepped them into vans. My friend Ben Lubinizki and I shot the breeze with young Muslim men while we waited to gain access to the trash and recycling room. At that moment, I felt inspired to pull out my recent Purim costume’s toque, on which was boldly sprawled the phrase: “Canada is not for sale.” In response to this gesture, my Muslim cousins laughed and cheered me on in solidarity. Here was another front on which we were united. 

As we said our chag sameachs, Ramadan mubaraks and salaam/shaloms, I realized that a key to interfaith dialogue – even on the most fraught issues – can occur through shared life-affirming experiences such as this one. 

The memory of that Sunday morning gathering gives me hope that our mutual striving for lovingkindness can overcome all else. As Rabbi Moskovitz reflected on the occasion, two divided communities had aligned “to feed the hungry and also to collaboratively feed our soul’s hunger for shared humanity.”

May we never forget these universal lessons for our time, lessons brought to us from a very real temporary oasis, built on the most infamous intersection in the poorest postal code in Canada. If humanity can achieve this here, of all places, we can do so in Israel, Gaza and the world. 

Cantor Michael Zoosman is a board-certified chaplain with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care. He serves as a spiritual health practitioner for the Assertive Community Treatment teams of Vancouver Coastal Health, working with individuals in the community living with severe mental health disorders and addiction. He sits as an advisory committee member at Death Penalty Action and is the co-founder of L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty. He served as cantor of Congregation Beth Israel 2008-2012. 

Chabad opens a new library

Artist Mari Sue Baga listens as Rabbi Shmuly Hecht talks about a painting of the Lubavitcher Rebbe that she made in his honour. (photo from Okanagan Chabad House)

On March 9, the Chabad Living Library officially opened its doors to the public. The afternoon event was attended by members of the Okanagan Valley community and beyond, celebrating the launch of this new addition to the cultural and educational landscape of the region.

One of the highlights of the event was the unveiling of an original artwork by local Jewish artist Mari Sue Baga. The painting, entitled “Living Legacy,” depicts the Torah as a living, breathing guide, illustrating the timeless wisdom that inspires and shapes Jewish education throughout one’s life. 

photo - Artist Mari Sue Baga’s painting, entitled “Living Legacy,” hangs in the Chabad Living Library
Artist Mari Sue Baga’s painting, entitled “Living Legacy,” hangs in the Chabad Living Library. (photo from Okanagan Chabad House)
photo - Artist Mari Sue Baga’s “Living Legacy” has been made into a card
Artist Mari Sue Baga’s “Living Legacy” has been made into a card. (photo from Okanagan Chabad House)

Baga spoke about her work and shared her inspiration behind the piece. She also surprised Rabbi Shmuly Hecht with a painting of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (Menachem Mendel Schneerson) that she had made in his honour. She presented it to Hecht, thanking him for his service to the community. 

Hecht is the rabbi and emissary of Chabad to the Okanagan Valley. He spoke to the crowd about the significance of the library and its mission. He described a library as an inexhaustible source of wisdom, emphasizing that Jewish sacred literature, passed down by the sages, offers endless lessons to illuminate life’s path. He also explained that the Chabad philosophy – blending intellectual growth with emotional harmony – is embodied in the new library’s offerings.

“The essential thing is the deed,” Hecht concluded, encapsulating the library’s focus on both knowledge and action.

“In a small Jewish community, you’ve got to be creative, and keep finding new ways and avenues to engage and inspire,” he said. “The library was a perfect idea and just what the community needed. Our vision for the future is to make the library go mobile, and offer its services to communities all throughout the several-hundred-kilometre radius of space that we service, so we can include more Jewish people in the impact.”

The launch featured a variety of activities for all ages, including crafting sessions for the children. Guests were treated to sushi prepared by Jewish sushi chef David Dodgson & Co. Live music from Isaac Bloom and fellow University of British Columbia Okanagan students set a lively tone, enhancing the celebratory spirit.

A unique feature of the library is its double play kitchen – one for meat and one for dairy – designed to teach children about kosher kitchen practices in an interactive way. The library also features approximately 100 children’s books that instil Jewish ethics and morals, relevant to families of all backgrounds and affiliations.

For adults, the library’s collection of more than 1,000 books offers a treasure trove that spans a wide range of subjects, everything from Jewish heritage to practical life lessons aimed at helping individuals grow and thrive.

Guests were invited to explore the library’s exclusive collection of books that can’t be found anywhere else in the Okanagan Valley. The library is also fully automated, with all the books input online. Members get a card with a QR code and the system reminds the member in two weeks to return the book. Everyone who became members of the library during the launch event (or signed up online prior to it) were gifted a special item, made possible by local Jewish photographers Andrew and Arlene Simpson.

In a game of Jewish Jeopardy, participants competed in teams for a chance to win a Star of David necklace. However, because of the team format, organizers decided to hold a raffle for all those present instead, and the winner of the necklace was Ezra Cipes.

The new library houses a 150-year-old yarmulka donated by Jerry Cohen, housed in a glass frame. Cohen, 91, was present for the dedication. 

photo - Rabbi Shmuly Hecht and Jerry Cohen look at the 150-year-old yarmulka that Cohen donated to the library
Rabbi Shmuly Hecht and Jerry Cohen look at the 150-year-old yarmulka that Cohen donated to the library. (photo from Okanagan Chabad House)

The event was possible thanks to the generosity of many individuals and families whose contributions helped bring the library to life. 

The library’s offerings are not only about the books – it’s about creating a space where the community can learn, grow and connect. One of the visions is for community members to come by on Friday and pick up challah, wine and other Shabbat items, along with some books to make Shabbat more meaningful and more enjoyable. There’s also a little Judaica gift shop shelf. 

Hecht concluded the launch event by reminding the community of the wisdom shared by Jewish sages: “Don’t say, when I have time, I will study – perhaps you will never discover that you actually have time.” He encouraged all to seize the opportunity to enrich their minds and souls through the library’s collection.

The Chabad Living Library is a project of the Okanagan Chabad House. It is open Fridays and Sundays, 11 a.m. -1 p.m.; and Tuesdays, 5-6:30 p.m.

Those interested in becoming a member or learning more about upcoming events and programs, contact Okanagan Chabad House at 250-575-5384 or office@jewishokanagan.com. 

– Courtesy Okanagan Chabad House

Continuing a giving legacy

Rose’s Angels co-founder Courtney Cohen, left, with May Stefanov, tenant relations coordinator with Tikva Housing Society. (photo from Rose’s Angels)

Rose’s Angels recently completed its 12th year of giving, donating collected items to 14 Richmond not-for-profits, including Richmond Family Place, Colt Young Parent Program, Mamas for Mamas, Turning Point Recovery Society, Jewish Food Bank, Tikva Housing Society and Pathways Clubhouse.

Rose’s Angels, which operates under the auspices of the Kehila Society of Richmond, was created in 2012 by Courtney Cohen and co-founder Lynne Fader, in memory of Cohen’s grandmothers, Rose Lewin and Babs Cohen, who were both philanthropic and believed in giving back to community.

This year, an abundance of personal care items, non-perishable food, children’s arts and crafts, books and baby formula was donated. For many recipient agencies, baby formula and diapers are among their top priority items, and Rose’s Angels was able to give a large quantity of these items this year.

Donors, volunteers and other community members are integral to the success of Rose’s Angels. Letters were sent out to partner agencies, family, friends and others in January. Last month, monetary and physical donations were collected, Richmond Jewish Day School hosted a hygiene-item drive, and gift cards to grocery stores were purchased. Donations were then packaged and delivered by volunteers.

Cohen reflected on her hope to continue the legacy of her parents and grandparents.

“I hope to instil in my children the importance of tikkun olam (repairing the world) by focusing on one mitzvah at a time,” she said.

To learn more about or donate to Rose’s Angels, email rosesangelsevent@gmail.com or call the Kehila Society at 604-241-9270. 

– Courtesy Rose’s Angels

Ellis gives needed context

Author Israel Ellis with his new book, The Wake Up Call, after a Feb. 10 talk at Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto, where he joined journalist Dave Gordon in conversation. (photo by Dave Gordon)

In his new book, The Wake Up Call: Global Jihad and the Rise of Antisemitism in a World Gone MAD, author Israel Ellis brings the events of Oct. 7, 2023, into a compelling, fact-based and easy-to-read focus.

Backed up by scores of footnotes and references, the book is a no-nonsense look at the Hamas terror attack of Oct. 7 and, poignantly, the attack on democracy Ellis believes happened in the months prior to them. The addition of personal stories from Oct. 7 survivors and family members adds another level of documentation to an already all-encompassing book.

Ellis weaves in his own lived experience and perspective as a Jewish Canadian in the diaspora with firsthand accounts of contemporary antisemitism and his reflections on being the father of an Israel Defence Forces lone soldier fighting in Gaza. His personal observations allow the reader to connect with him, as well as better understand the interconnectedness of Jews, no matter where they live, and Israel.

For non-Jews, it can be daunting to begin learning about what happened on Oct. 7, and the global repercussions. Many non-Jews do not know the history of the Middle East, how the state of Israel fits into this history, or what the definition of “antisemitism” is. Ellis helps fill in these blanks, and this is why I am so excited to introduce this book to my friends.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Canadians (and people from other countries) have seen large pro-Palestine protests in the streets of all the major cities and in academic spaces, with large university encampments set up across the country. Most people in the Jewish community see these protests for what they are: pro-terror and anti-democratic. But, for a Canadian with little knowledge of what the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is, these protests and encampments can look like a fight for human rights. No doubt, some individuals believe they are marching for human rights while chanting  “intifada revolution,” but many are there to show support for Hamas, to some degree or another. This is why the knowledge, geopolitical insight and historical context Ellis brings with his writing is so vitally important.

I read a lot of books on Israel, as a non-Jewish Canadian interested in educating myself, and Ellis’s new book has become a favourite. One of the reasons is that Ellis writes about many protests and political events that are still fresh in our minds. He discusses protests that took place in Toronto and the encampments at McGill University (and others). He shows the utter incompetence of Canadian politicians, such as Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, in handling the rise of radical Islam. He strongly condemns Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Mélanie Joly, who shook the hand of Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, in what is a now-famous Ramallah photo-op. These events, along with many others, are documented in Ellis’s book, illustrating a pattern of political complicity and complacency that he says has contributed to the eroding of Canada’s moral backbone. 

As a Canadian university student, I have experienced firsthand my peers sympathizing with and rallying for terrorist organizations. The university institutions have been complacent in protecting neutral academic spaces, allowing terrorist propaganda to infiltrate our lectures and giving some professors the ability to promote hatred of Israel and the Jewish people.

A quote from The Wake Up Call that gave me chills reads: “There is no coming invasion. It is already here. Jihad has already been invited into our universities, professions, communities and public institutions. October 7 was a wake-up call. It is an example of the hunger for Global Jihad, and what can happen if it is allowed to be satiated. To think that these events are restricted to a narrow strip on the Mediterranean is a complete miscalculation of reality.”

The Wake Up Call should be read by anyone – uninformed or well-informed, Jew or non-Jew – who wants to better understand the political, social and historical context behind the current rise in anti-democratic, pro-terror narratives that have taken over many Western spaces. 

Zara Nybo, a fourth-year student at the University of British Columbia, is a StandWithUs Canada Emerson Fellow. Connect with her via Instagram: @zaranybo.

Key Passover imports exempt

Tal Kinstlich and Stephanie Schneider, the owners of Vancouver’s Kosher Food Warehouse. (photo from Kosher Food Warehouse)

Canada is exempting key imported Passover foods from the current diplomatic trade war with the United States. The ministry of finance sent The CJN a list of kosher-for-Passover products imported from the United States, which are going to be allowed into Canada without being hit by the extra 25% retaliatory import tariffs that Ottawa began imposing on March 4.

The list includes matzah and related matzah products, cake mixes, chocolate, margarine, most juices (but not apple), gefilte fish, and canned fruit and vegetables. However, US exports of nuts, spices, dairy, wine, coffee, chicken and meat products are not exempt.

The development comes after Canada’s biggest kosher food importer recently predicted that the on-again-off-again tariff dispute would rocket prices for imported kosher-for-Passover food by up to 60%. Canadian Jewish leaders have been lobbying Ottawa to give relief to the country’s Jewish community as it heads into the holiday season.

While the news will likely bring a sigh of relief to consumers, it is only a temporary reprieve: it covers only Passover foods and runs only until the end of Passover.

For more on how these food tariffs are impacting Canadian kosher food stores and suppliers across Canada, and what advice they have for you, listen to the episode of The CJN Daily that features the owners of Vancouver’s Kosher Food Warehouse, Tal Kinstlich and Stephanie Schneider. Jack Hartstein also joins: he’s the vice-president of Montreal-based Altra Foods, the largest importer of kosher foods in Canada. The link is thecjn.ca/podcasts/key-passover-imports-will-be-exempt-from-tariff-war-with-u-s-ottawa-confirms. 

– For more national Jewish news, visit thecjn.ca

Unique meals for Passover

Ilan Rabchinskey’s photograph of Tamarind Street Corn Cups in Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook inspired me to make them. (photo by Ilan Rabchinskey)

Since reviewing Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook by Ilan Stavans and Margaret E. Boyle for the Independent’s Hanukkah issue, I’ve tried several more recipes. And I’ve really enjoyed everything. So much so, that I pulled out the cookbook to try some Passover meals, and found some foods I would never have thought to make.

Stavans and Boyle have a section on Passover (Pésaj) in which they discuss some of the Mexican Jewish traditions. For example, some families incorporate Mexican history into the seder discussions, and the bitter herbs on the seder plate can include a variety chiles. They list 12 seder favourites, but, throughout the cookbook, they point out which dishes – like Stuffed Artichoke Hearts – are considered essential components of the Passover meal by some.

photo - Snapper Ceviche con Maror, from Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook by Ilan Stavans and Margaret E. Boyle
Snapper Ceviche con Maror, from Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook by Ilan Stavans and Margaret E. Boyle. (photo by Ilan Rabchinskey)

Of the seder favourites, I made Snapper Ceviche con Maror, Tamarind Street Corn Cups, Apricot Almond Charoset Truffles and Tahini Brownies. The photos by Ilan Rabchinskey drew me into the corn cups, as I’m not a huge corn fan and might not have made them otherwise. I will do so again, however – they were easy, and they were a very tasty break from the ordinary. The snapper ceviche, too, will be a repeat, and the brownies were some of the best I’ve tasted, not too sweet, and very light, almost fluffy, but moist –   I broke up a chocolate bar instead of using chocolate chips, which worked really well, and the sea salt on the top tasted so good. While the truffles were also delicious, they tasted more familiar, and were very date forward – I might try to mix up the date-apricot balance when I make them again.

The Jewish connections were obvious for some of these recipes, not so much for others. The snapper is served with a dollop of horseradish: “The use of maror, or horseradish, in this recipe was an invention during a Passover seder in Mexico City, creating a savoury contrast among the fish, the jalapeño and the horseradish,” write Stavans and Boyle.

The Jewish link to the corn cups is that the tamarind-flavoured hard candies the recipe calls for – Tamalitoz – were created by Jack Bessudo, who is of Mexican Jewish descent, and his husband, Declan Simmons. Since Tamalitoz are not available here, I bought another tamarind-flavoured candy from a local Mexican store and it worked quite well.

The brownies recipe comes from Israeli immigrants to Mexico, who shared with the cookbook writers that “tahini is also infused into their adaptations of mole, the sesame flavour substituting for more common varieties that rely on peanut or almond.”

Chag sameach!

SNAPPER CEVICHE CON MAROR
(serves 6; prep time 25 min plus chilling)

3/4 cup fresh lime
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 small jalapeño chile, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 small yellow bell pepper, seeds  removed, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 small garlic clove, minced, grated, or pushed through a press
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 pound red snapper fillets, skin removed
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
prepared horseradish, for topping (optional)

1. In a large bowl, stir together the lime juice, lemon juice, jalapeño chile, red and yellow bell peppers, red onion, garlic, cumin and salt.

2 . Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut the fish fillets into 1/2-inch pieces and add to the citrus mixture, stirring to combine. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Just before serving, stir in the cilantro and oil. Serve immediately, dolloped with horseradish, if desired.

TAMARIND STREET CORN CUPS
(serves 4; prep time 40 min)

for the corn
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 large white onion, finely chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 serrano chile, seeds removed, if desired, and finely chopped
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
2 fresh epazote leaves (whole) or 1 tsp dried oregano
5 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 10 cobs of corn, or use frozen corn kernels)
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup mayonnaise

for serving
crumbled Cotija cheese
crushed chile piquin or red pepper flakes
crushed Tamalitoz candies,  tamarind flavour
fresh lime juice

1. Melt the butter in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the serrano chile, salt and epazote leaves (or oregano), followed by the corn kernels and the water. (The water should barely cover the mixture.) Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn is tender and the liquid has almost completely evaporated, 30-35 minutes. Taste and add more salt, if needed.

3. Remove from the heat and discard the epazote. Add the mayonnaise and stir to combine.

4. Divide the corn mixture into four tall cups. Top with the Cotija cheese, chile piquin and crushed tamarind candies, to taste. Drizzle each cup with a little lime juice just before serving.

TAHINI BROWNIES
(serves 6; prep time 15 min, baking time 22 min)

3 tbsp almond flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup well-stirred tahini
4 ounces baking chocolate, roughly chopped
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Heat the oven to 350˚F and lightly grease an 8-by-8-inch dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder and kosher salt and set aside.

2. Combine the oil, tahini and chopped baking chocolate in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the eggs and sugar until frothy, 3-5 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla, followed by the cooled chocolate mixture.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine, then fold in the chocolate chips. 

5. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smoothing the top, then sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt. Bake until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean, 18-22 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

APRICOT ALMOND CHAROSET TRUFFLES
(makes about 3 dozen; prep time 15 min plus chilling)

2 cups pitted and chopped medjool dates
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup roasted salted almonds
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp sweet red wine (or grape juice)

1. Working in batches, add the dates, apricots, raisins, almonds and honey to a food processor and pulse until a textured paste forms. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the wine, 1 tablespoon at a time.

2. Scoop out tablespoons of the mixture and, using lightly moistened hands, roll them into balls. Place the truffles on a baking sheet or large plate lined with parchment paper as you go.

3. Refrigerate the truffles (uncovered is fine) for 2 hours, then transfer to a container with a lid and continue to refrigerate until needed. Serve chilled or at room temperature. 

Help with the holiday 

In Every Generation: A PJ Library Family Haggadah can be downloaded from pjlibrary.org/passover. (photo from PJ Library)

Passover is the ultimate Jewish story – a tale of freedom, hope and food – which makes it the perfect holiday to share with the entire family. Passover is time for gathering, reflecting, telling stories and working towards a world with freedom for all. But planning to cover all that with kids may feel lofty – especially if you’re a little hazy on the details yourself. The free Jewish book program PJ Library has you covered as a go-to destination for making Passover special.

Visit PJ Library’s Passover Hub at pjlibrary.org/passover to find everything you need to plan your Passover seder, set your table and answer your kids’ questions. There, you’ll find PJ Library’s free downloadable Passover Guide, a family-oriented primer that lays out how to prepare for the seders and the foods you need for your table, as well as offering up meaningful activities to make the most out of all eight days. The guide covers three main sections: how to get ready, what you need to get through the seder, and what comes after the festive meals have come to a close.

Also available for digital download from the hub is In Every Generation: A PJ Library Family Haggadah. It follows the arc of a traditional Haggadah and features all the major songs, prayers and moments, but also incorporates helpful framing and stories for kids so they can get the most out of this experiential meal. It also has new question prompts to help you reinvigorate your seder. The online version can be downloaded for free, while the PJ Library Haggadah is available for purchase in paperback from Amazon.ca.

Beyond the guide and the Haggadah, the Passover Hub features downloadable activities to keep little ones entertained during the seder, book lists, a step-by-step video playlist to help kids learn (or brush up on) the Four Questions, and recipes. There are fun and easy recipes like Charoset Breakfast Balls, a perfect grab-and-go breakfast that’s healthy and packed with protein, Chicken Skewers with Avocado Dip, or cholent, a classic hearty Jewish dish made in the slow cooker.

About PJ Library

PJ Library’s goal is to inspire joyful Jewish experiences by sending free storybooks and activities to families with children ages 0-12 and offering ways to connect with community. The program was founded in 2005 by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and, with the support of donors and partners, now distributes books in seven languages to more than 650,000 children in more than 40 countries every month. The PJ Library family experience is built around the monthly storybooks and also includes family-focused holiday guides and other free gifts. Anyone who visits PJ Library’s website can hear original storytelling podcasts and explore a vast collection of Jewish parenting resources. The program welcomes families across the diversity of Jewish life. Learn more or sign up for monthly children’s books at pjlibrary.org. 

– Courtesy PJ Library

The Sussita’s short history

Sussita entrepreneur Itzhak Shubinsky driving a Sabra Sport car, from the newspaper Barkav, in the 1960s. (photo from Haifa City Museum)

For a trip down memory lane, cruise over to Haifa’s City Museum at 11 Ben-Gurion Blvd., in the German Colony, to see Sussita: The Exhibition. The display, which continues until May 25 (the opening was delayed by Hezbollah rocket fire from Lebanon), documents Israel’s failed automobile industry during the early decades of statehood.

Alas, the doorways of the museum’s 19th-century Templar building are too narrow to permit restored examples of the fibreglass shell cars to pass through. So, on hand is a stripped-down version of a Sussita, and a trove of fascinating documents and photos. Missing are full-size examples of the Carmel truck and Sabra Sport roadster that Autocars Co. Ltd. assembled at its Haifa workshop and then in the city of Tirat Carmel.

The exhibit was curated by Yifat Ashkenazi, together with filmmaker Avi Weissblei. The latter produced the 2020 documentary Desert Tested, which told the Sussita’s story.

Like Shai Agassi’s Better Place electric car company, which went through almost $1 billion in venture capital before declaring bankruptcy in 2013, Israel’s ultimately insolvent auto industry never thrived.

image - A Sussita Autocars Co. Ltd. advertisement in the 1960s, featuring its “5 Road Champions!”
A Sussita Autocars Co. Ltd. advertisement in the 1960s, featuring its “5 Road Champions!” (photo from Haifa City Museum)

The Sabra’s aerodynamic curves evoke the glamour of early James Bond films. Nonetheless, even though they were jump-started by foreign firms, Haifa’s car business never quite managed to compete with Detroit.

Discussing Autocars’ 1966 Sussita at carsurvey.org, one classic car aficionado noted: “What things have gone wrong with the car? 

Almost everything! It was a very cheap car made of a fibreglass body attached to a very simple welded pipes chassis, with a Triumph engine. The car was unstable, seriously dangerous, unreliable and very badly built.”

Folklore has it that camels liked to munch on the cars’ fibreglass body. But the relative paucity of dromedaries in 1960s Israel makes the truth of this story doubtful.

Founded in the mid-1950s with assistance from Britain’s Reliant Motor Co., Autocars initially assembled quirky but popular three-wheeled micro-cars. The first four-wheeled blue-and-white vehicle, the Sussita, was also designed by Reliant.

The Sussita, meaning mare in Aramaic, developed a reputation as a reliable workhorse. By 1960, Autocars was exporting the cheaply priced car – available in estate, van and pick-up models – to the United States and Canada. Rebranded as the Sabra – a genus of cactus originally from Mexico that had become a descriptor of native-born Israelis – the car sold poorly in North America due to its inferior quality.

That year, in 1960, Autocars’ owner Itzhak Shubinsky spotted the coupé Ashley GT at London’s Sports and Racing Car Show. Changing business strategy, he purchased the bodywork moulds and created the Sabra Sport, which made its debut at the 1961 New York Motor Show. The roadster car was also sold as a hardtop coupe. Fewer than 150 were exported to the United States, while a similar number were sold in Belgium. 

Reliant also launched the car in Britain. Anglicizing its moniker to Sabre, the prickly cactus morphed into a swashbuckling sword.

image - Advertising for the Sussita: “You bought Sussita, you were not wrong”
Advertising for the Sussita: “You bought Sussita, you were not wrong.” (photo from Haifa City Museum)

Expanding production, in 1961, Autocars introduced the Carmel, named for the mountain that defines Haifa. The car featured a 1,200cc Ford Cortina engine mounted in a Reliant chassis.

By 1965, Autocars declared bankruptcy and was taken over by Britain’s Leyland-Triumph. Revamping the product line, the following year it introduced the Gilboa, a four-door version of the Carmel. In 1967, it produced an off-road, front-wheel drive utility called the Dragoon.

But the red ink continued to spill. In 1971, Leyland severed its ties with its Israeli subsidiary. Three years later, Autocars was bought by Rom Carmel Industries, which brought out its Gilboa-based Rom 1300.

Sputtering along, in 1978, the company was purchased by the Netanya-based foundry Urdan Industries. Restyled again, the Rom 1300 became the Rom 1301. But declining sales could not be reversed, going from a peak of manufacturing more than 3,000 cars annually during the 1960s to just 540 cars rolling off the assembly line in 1980, the last full year of production. In 1981, the plant shut its gates.

For more about the exhibit, visit hcm.org.il/eng/exhibitions/11128/sussita. 

Gil Zohar is a writer and tour guide in Jerusalem.