Characterco
Fair Service

Avra Love/Marcus Spiegel

By BERNIE BELLAN It’s not easy for a writer to obtain recognition. How’s that for a cliché?

Sports betting 2Esports is rapidly growing and gaining popularity faster than any other sports game ever before. It has the same definition as every other sport, a competitive game between two or more teams or players, depending on the game. But the real question is, can Esports compete with traditional sports?

Isidora Kecman & Daniel Greenberg
in “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk”
Keith Levit photo

“The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” – a WJT production – on now at the Asper Campus
Reviewed by BERNIE BELLAN Most of us are familiar with the paintings of Marc Chagall – with his surrealistic imagery permeated with flying cows, roosters, fish, and the moon. But, what about the man himself? What was he like as a husband? And, what about the woman he married? What was she like?

Holocaust survivors edited 1
To see a full list of
survivors who are pictured
in this photo, click
on "Read more"

By MYRON LOVE In a sense, Kelly Hiebert could be designated as “righteous among the Nations”. The Westwood Collegiate history teacher is one of just a handful of teachers in Manitoba who make a point of incorporating Holocaust education in their teaching.

Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi (left)
with Bernie Bellan

By BERNIE BELLAN It was just three short years ago (in February 2019) that the mayor of Sderot, Alon Davidi, visited Winnipeg for the first time. I was invited to attend a briefing that Mayor Davidi gave in the boardroom of the Taylor McCaffrey law office back then. Here is part of what I wrote about that briefing:

Attendees at the Manitoba
Legislature on May 31
To read a full list of names
in the photo, click on Read more

By BERNIE BELLAN The Manitoba Legislature passed a motion unanimously on Tuesday, May 31 that recognizes May as “Jewish Heritage Month” in Manitoba.
In a press release describing the motion, it was noted that “Springfield-Richot MLA Ron Schuler was pleased to present Bill 240, The Jewish Heritage Month Act, which would make each year’s month of May Jewish Heritage Month.

Michael Paterson & Gail Asper

This year's Negev Gala honouring Michael Paterson and Gail Asper was, as was last year's, produced in advance, and broadcast over the internet, this year on June 2. Click on Read more to see a collage of photos from this year's gala.

Gavin Axelrod

By MYRON LOVE Readers of the Winnipeg Free Press sports section may recently have noticed a new name appearing in print in the sports pages. That would be Toronto Metropolitan (formerly Ryerson) University journalism student Gavin Axelrod who is really excited for the opportunity to serve a summer internship in his home town with his hometown newspaper.

Benji Saadia

By MYRON LOVE It was a yen for new vistas that has led former Winnipegger Benji Saadia to choose to go to university at Queen’s College in Kingston and, come the fall, begin his career as a geological engineer in Italy.

The Jewish Federation says that it
is expecting 75 newcomers to arrive here
under the Provincial Nominee Program,
with another 300 in the process
of producing required documents.

By BERNIE BELLAN Elsewhere on this website (http://jewishpostandnews.ca/local/1132-increase-in-allocations-to-provincial-nominee-program-likely-to-lead-to-influx-of-israeli-immigrants-to-winnipeg) we have a story about the Provincial Nominee Program, which is the program through which a great many new Jewish immigrants from Israel and other countries have been able to move to Manitoba.
Following publication of that article, however, we received comments from an immigration consultant who suggested that, as a result of the tightening of requirements under the PNP, there are fewer individuals from Israel who will be applying to come to Manitoba.

Méira Cook
cover of "The Full Catastrophe"

Review by BERNIE BELLAN I’ve been following the career of poet and novelist Méira Cook ever since her name was first mentioned in this paper in an article written by my niece, Suzy Waldman, in 1995. At that time Méira (who is named for her late grandfather, Meir) noted that she had been sticking with poetry to that point, but was now considering switching to prose.

Isidora Kecman & David Greenberg
rehearsing a scene in the WJT production
of "The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk"

By BERNIE BELLAN Following upon the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre’s resounding success with its 2021 summertime production of “Dear Jack Dear Louise,” the WJT is once again about to present a play outdoors, beginning June 11, with the Canadian premiere of “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk”.

Sports betting has exploded over the past few years across the United States and Europe, and for a good reason. People love betting on their favorite sports, and online sportsbooks have taken advantage of that love. Sports betting is a huge business, with billions of dollars being wagered on sporting events every year.

Michael Paterson & Gail Asper

By BERNIE BELLAN On June 2 the Jewish National Fund will be honouring Gail Asper and Dr. Michael Paterson, a couple that has long been associated with many aspects of the Jewish community, whether it’s been Gail’s storied philanthropic endeavours or Michael’s years of service on the board of Jewish Child & Family Service.

Israelis who have come here under PNPBy BERNIE BELLAN From time to time we’ve had articles on this website that refer to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). If you’re not familiar with that program, here’s a summary of how it works:
Although the Federal government is ostensibly responsible for immigration to Canada, beginning in 1998, the Federal government (when the Minister of Immigration at that time was our own Lloyd Axworthy), allowed Manitoba to “nominate” a small number of individuals to immigrate to Manitoba, to fill labour needs in the province at that time.

Nathaniel Lisak

By BERNIE BELLAN Recently we published a story about nominees for Jewish Athlete of the Year. One of those nominees is Nathaniel Lisak, an outstanding football player from Grant Park High School. The picture we ran of Nathaniel, however, was not Nathaniel. We apologize for that error. A correct picture of Nathaniel appears with this story.

3 generations of Pollock lawyers
l-r: Gordon Pollock, Marisa Pollock,
& Marisa's daughter Ada

By GERRY POSNER There are a number of businesses and professions where you see a son and a father together or a mother and a daughter or any other combination. In professional hockey, the Howes and Hulls come to mind immediately. In medicine, and law for example, there are several families in the Jewish community of Winnipeg where this two generational link has occurred.

Shireen Abu Akleh

By ZEV COHEN The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran, well-known and popular journalist working for Al-Jazeera while covering an IDF operation in Jenin on the West Bank, ignited a firestorm of mutual accusations, claims, and counterclaims. Palestinians and their supporters, as well as Abu Akleh’s employer, see it as a given that she was deliberately targeted and murdered by the Israeli forces.

Gabriel Emmanuel receiving the
President's Prize from
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

Just within the past week and a half we were made aware of prestigious awards received by two former Winnipeggers who left Winnipeg for Israel years ago, and who have established themseleves there very successfully in their respective artistic endeavours.
Gabriel Emmanuel (who was known as Gordie Wiseman in his Winnipeg days) was recently awarded the (Israeli) Prime Minister’s Prize for 2022.

Aharon Harlap
(a.k.a. Aaron Charloff)

The Azrieli Foundation recently announced the three laureates of their 2022 Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) – the Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, which will be given in a ceremony to be held in Montreal this coming October.

clockwise from top left:
Naomi Kirshenblatt, David Nepon,
Alan Greenberg, Zachary Baron

By MYRON LOVE Four Winnipeggers will be attending this summer's upcoming Maccabiah Games as either coaches or managers: Naomi Kirshenblatt - swimming team manager; David Nepon - coach, under 16 basketball team; Alan Greenberg - manager, men's open hockey team; and Zachary Baron - tennis team coach.

Ari Morantz

By MYRON LOVE Readers of the Free Press may recognize the name, Ari Marantz. For the past 20-plus years, Winnipeg’s only Jewish home inspection specialist has been writing a regular weekly column, “Ask the Inspector”, on the subject he knows best.

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.

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?

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