Fair Service
Chai

West Kildonan libraryWe received the following press release on May 13 from a group rallying to keep the West Kildonan Public Library, which has been a familiar community institution for many members of our community for years, from being sold: Community members from around northwest Winnipeg and across the city will gather on Tuesday, May 17, between 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM for a rally to save the West Kildonan library. The community is speaking up to make it clear to City Hall that they have not been consulted on this back-door deal to close our library.

To see the names of the
guys in this picture click on "Read More"

We received a note from Joel Shuster, informing us that an all-Jewish team won its division in the Adult Senior Hockey League.
Joel explained that there were nine other teams in their division, and this was the first year that he and his teammates were able to finish on top of their division.
He added that the league had over 70 teams in it, “spread through numerous divisions.”

Cecil Rosner (right) with someone
he bumped into purely by chance
named Juras. Juras had read Cecil's late
mother Mina's book, "I am a Witness"
and was able to show Cecil around Buzcacz

Introduction: Not too long ago we were contacted by former CBC Manitoba managing editor Cecil Rosner, who asked us whether we’d be interested in publishing a story about a trip he took in 2012 to visit the area in Ukraine where both his parents were born. Although it’s been 10 years since Cecil visited Ukraine, given the current situation in that country we thought it timely to get a sense of what life was like in Ukraine prior to the Russian invasion.
By CECIL ROSNER ““Oi -- look at the way the schlemiel drives.”

Chai returns to the stage
on Thursday, Jun 16

Music and song have the potential to uplift us from darker moments. So, amidst troubling ongoing world events, it is comforting to know the Chai Folk Ensemble is set to release a new album. Chai will launch A Great Light at a June 16th live gala concert at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

Gerry Almendrades
CIJA Director of Community Security

By BERNIE BELLAN Gerry Almendrades was born in Peru and served 20 years in the Canadian Armed Forces. In his current role he is the Director of Community Security for CIJA (The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs).
On Tuesday, May 3, he was in Winnipeg as part of a three-day tour of various Jewish facilities, including the Asper Campus, Winnipeg synagogues, and other Jewish community organizations.

Bnai Brith audit 2021 edited 1B’nai Brith Canada released its annual Audit of Antisemitic incidents in Canada on April 25.
Here are some excerpts from the report: “B’nai Brith Canada’s 2020 Audit of Antisemitic incidents reported a shocking 18% increase from the previous year in hate crimes against Jews. The Audit called the year “tumultuous.”

Mindy Barsky

By MYRON LOVE Mindy Barsky – Rainbow Stage’s new Development Officer (as of April 4) – says that she is very excited to be a member of the team behind the non-profit organization that is Canada’s longest running outdoor summer theatre.

Dr. Brent Schacter

By BERNIE BELLAN ISBER stands for the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories.
What does that mean, you might ask?
According to its website, ISBER “is the only global forum that addresses scientific, technical, legal, and ethical issues for biobanks and biorepositories.”
What are biobanks?

Rebecca Brimmer
International President & CEO
Bridges for Peace

By BERNIE BELLAN Two years ago we ran a press release from Bridges for Peace, in which the organization announced that an interview that I had been planning on doing with BFP International President and CEO Rebecca Brimmer when she was slated to arrive in Winnipeg that April had to be postponed because of – you guessed it: the onset of Covid.

Dr. Michael Eskin

By MYRON LOVE “My mother-in-law, the late Rose Kessler, always used to say that you should never retire and she was right,” comments Michael Eskin. “If I had retired at 65, I am not sure if I would have accomplished all that I have.”
Eskin (who is originally from Birmingham, England) is now in his 54th year of teaching in the University of Manitoba Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences.

l-r: Orly Dreman, Don Barnard,
and Solly Dreman in a scene
from "Unusual in Every Way"

Review By BERNIE BELLAN In January of this year Myron Love wrote about a new film that has been produced by local filmmaker Yolanda Papini-Pollock, titled “Unusual in Every Way”.
As Myron noted in that article, the film tells “the story of the unlikely friendship between Don Barnard, an individual of Indigenous background living with disabilities and post traumatic stress, and Solly Dreman, a former Winnipegger who made aliyah almost 60 years ago and is a retired Ben Gurion University Professor of Psychology.”

Yonatan Orlov

By BERNIE BELLAN Yonatan Orlov is a past nominee for Jewish Athlete of the Year (2018). We’ve been writing about Yonatan since 2014, which is when I first saw him perform at a talent show sponsored by Jewish Child & Family Service, when Yonatan was 15 years old. I, along with everyone else who was in the audience at the Art Gallery Auditorium that day, was absolutely blown away by what Yonatan was able to do with a baton.

Bruce 001

Blog # 38 (Posted May 8) Cousin Alex

It’s just over two months since war broke out in Ukraine.  And Israel has absorbed about fifteen thousand immigrants from that part of the world.  Amongst them Alex.  A distant cousin from Mariupol.  A refugee and his wife.  Now living together in their daughter’s undersized Ashdod apartment. 

Regina Teplitsky

By REGINA TEPLITSKY It looked festive: Challah kits and flowers on tables! Forty women who belong to an organization known as Limmud FSU (former Soviet Union) Labs gathered on Sunday, March 27th at the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Learning Centre hall to pray for peace.

Members of Kadima Dance Company

By BERNIE BELLAN Hadera Short has been dancing since the age of three. Now 29, she tells The Jewish Post & News that she “started doing Israeli dance when I was six. I  joined Chai when I was 16.”

strelsin2
The late Dorothy Strelsin
A foundation started after her
death has recently donated
$1.5 million to 7 local organizations.

By BERNIE BELLAN I was recently contacted by Michel Aziza, who has spearheaded the drive to help Yazidi refugees known as “Operation Ezra”. Michel told me about a totally unexpected donation of $150,000 to Operation Ezra that was received from something called the Dorothy Strelsin foundation.

Sam Lazareck (left)/Michael Stoller
to play in Masters hockey

By MYRON LOVE After a year’s delay due to the ongoing Covid situation, the 21st Maccabiah Games are back on track. The Maccabiah, aka “The Jewish Olympics”, is the world’s largest Jewish athletic competition.

Lainie Rosner & Ian Horner

Introduction: We received a note from Lainie Rosner, in which she asked whether we would be interested in providing some coverage for a project upon which she and her husband, Ian Horner, have embarked.
Lainie wrote that she and Ian are producing pins in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Proceeds from the sales of the pins are going to the Canada Ukraine Foundation.

Rich Nairn

By MYRON LOVE For a Canadian kid born in Regina and raised in Winnipeg life couldn’t be better for Rich Nairn.
As the long-time executive vice president in charge of communications and broadcasting for the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, Nairn, the son of well-known former local broadcaster and personality Ernie Nairn, is living the dream - and then some.

Joy Kaufman

By GERRY POSNER For anyone who has spent any period of time in Winnipeg, he or she would be hard pressed not to be aware of the Kaufman family. And, for those even a bit older, like me, the names Harry and Sylvia Silverberg would also be well recognized.

Page 1 of 33