First report of COVID at Simkin Centre

The following was received Thursday, October 22, 2020:

Late yesterday afternoon we were notified that one of our Residents tested positive for Covid-19. The affected Resident has been moved to our Adult Day Program space which has been designated as our Covid-19 Isolation Unit.

The Bermax saga takes a new twist - Is returning to Israel the Berents' next step?

By BERNIE BELLAN
As reported in various media on October 6, the three members of the Berent family: father Alexander, mother Oxana, and son Maxim, are all now living in Los Angeles, having gone there in January of this year.

Dolphins Swim Club looking for new members

Submitted by ALEX SHOGOLEV
We are a medium sized team that has expanded from Selkirk to Winnipeg. Michelle (Head Coach) and I have discussed and agreed that this move will create a spark within the swimming community; by showcasing that two locations can act as one unit. We have created a program that includes our non-competitive (Dolphins Swim School) and competitive (PODs 1-3) program.

Josh Morry – outstanding young University of Manitoba alumnus: Becoming a change agent who inspires a new dialogue

Reprinted with permission from UM Today The Magazine
Seven years later, Josh Morry still remembers the unsettling phone call he answered that one day in 2013. It was from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
“Things are out of control,” the man told him. “It’s time you had a bodyguard follow you around campus.”

Winnipeg Conservative/Reform congregations’ virtual Yom Tov services very well received

By MYRON LOVE
Due to a combination of government-imposed limitations on numbers and many people’s reticence in attending religious services because of Covid, our community’s congregations were forced to rethink their usual High Holiday services.

JNF Manitoba/Saskatchewan president Nola Lazar slated to be next president of Mercaz Canada

By MYRON LOVE
These are challenging times that we live in – but Nola Lazar, the current president of JNF Manitoba/Saskatchewan has proven over the years that she is up to the challenge. If the presidency of the local Jewish National Fund operation is not enough heavy lifting, she is also slated to be stepping into the same position on a national level with Mercaz Canada – the Zionist voice of Conservative Judaism in Canada – as soon as her term as JNF president here comes to a close.

Allan Levine combines his ability as a historian with his talent as a novelist in his latest book

By BERNIE BELLAN
Winnipeg’s own Allan Levine has established himself as an award-winning author of non-fiction history – with probably the book best-known to Winnipeg audiences being Coming of Age: A History of the Jewish People of Manitoba, which was published in 2009.

Former Winnipegger Lucy Manusovich Lipari releases first novel

By MYRON LOVE
Former Winnipegger Lucy Manusovich Lipari, educator and construction company executive, has now added author to her resumé. She released her maiden effort – The Genghis Code – on Amazon late last month.

A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency

Review/Interview by MARTIN ZEILIG
There are parallels between our wartime experience and the climate current crisis, maintains author Seth Klein in his optimistic new book.
“I ultimately decided to structure the entire book around lessons from Canada’s Second World War experience,” he writes.

Prince and the Jews: The late rock star’s best Jewish friend tells all in new memoir

By STEPHEN SILVER
(JTA) — In the late 1960s, when Neal Karlen was not even 10 years old, he would spend time at the home of his grandparents, one of the few Jewish families that remained on the north side of Minneapolis. Karlen would play basketball and ride bikes with a group of African-American kids who lived in the neighborhood. One of them, he later realized, was a young Prince Rogers Nelson.

Calgary-based Art and Scroll Studio’s Zoominars unlock the world of Judaica

By MAXINE FISCHBEIN
(AJNews) – For many of us, three silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic have been the gift of time, a nudge toward new and often creative pastimes and the chance to nurture new relationships, albeit from a safe distance and, often, in cyberspace.

Lifelong writer Freda Glow takes to the airwaves in new podcast

By MYRON LOVE
Freda Glow is proof positive that one is never too old to try something new (health permitting). A few weeks back, the long-time writer and journalist – who is turning 88 in December – embarked on a new venture with “A Blast From The past” – a podcast which can be heard on nostalgia radio station CJNU 93.7 (www.cjnu.ca) on Fridays between 12:30 and 1:00 P.M. as part of Adam Glynn’s “Community Café” series.

Asper Foundation seeking new Executive Director

The Asper Foundation, a Winnipeg-based philanthropic organization, develops major projects and provides general support to the Jewish Community while also supporting the broader community in areas of culture, education, community development, and human rights on a local, national and international scale.

Corporate and community leader James Cohen also passionate musician and composer

By MYRON LOVE (This story first appeared in the Oct. 31, 2018 issue of The Jewish Post & News. It's been updated to include a link to a new video for the critically acclaimed single, “Dreaming My Life Away”, by Winnipeg’s James Cohen and the Prairie Roots Rockers. You can watch that video here: “Dreaming My Life Away” - YouTube)
James Cohen was 11 years old when his parents first signed him up for guitar lessons.

Annamie Paul becomes first Black and Jewish Canadian party leader

By MARCY OSTER (JTA) Oct. 4, 2020 — Toronto attorney Annamie Paul made history when she was elected head of Canada’s federal Green Party on Saturday.