Local News
Jews from Ukraine who have settled in Winnipeg offer conflicting opinions about the Russian invasion
By BERNIE BELLAN With the war in Ukraine still raging, its effects are being felt especially closely by individuals who have relatives or friends in that country.
Such is the case with several newer members of our own Jewish community in Winnipeg, who either came to Winnipeg directly from Ukraine, or who emigrated first to Israel, then to Winnipeg.
Wanting to learn more about the attitudes of former Ukrainians who are now members of our Jewish community here, I contacted Dalia Szpiro, who is the GrowWinnipeg Director at the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, to inquire whether she could put me in touch with one or more of those individuals.
Subsequently, I spoke with two men of Jewish Ukrainian origin on Tuesday, March 22. The first, Alexey Guider, was quite willing for me to use his name, but the second individual asked me not to mention his name. The reason for that, as you’ll see if you read on, is that he was not totally unsympathetic to the view that Russian-speaking Ukrainians would not be opposed to seeing a part of Ukraine transferred to Russian control. He was worried that taking a position that might not be all that popular here was something that he didn’t want to lead to potential backlash against him or his family.
My primary purpose in speaking with both men was to try and find out what they are hearing from friends and relatives still in Ukraine. Further, I wondered what their attitudes were toward the war that is currently going on in Ukraine.
Alexey Guider explained that he and his wife (from whom he is now separated) came to Winnipeg 11 years ago, directly from Kiev, which is where he and his wife lived for 10 years before emigrating to Winnipeg. He noted that they were both planning on making aliyah to Israel, but they “decided to come to Canada instead.” Their two children were both born in Winnipeg, Alexey noted.
Alexey said that he’s a business analyst working at New Flyer Industries. He added that he has “a small business as well.”
I asked Alexey how many family members he still has in Ukraine?
His parents were living there until quite recently, he answered – in a town close to Kiev called Irpin . His “siblings live in Israel,” Alexey said.
I asked whether Irpin was under attack?
“I’m not sure at the moment,” Alexey answered. “It was captured, liberated, and captured again,” he said. “I’m not 100% sure what’s going on right now –but it’s not suitable for life at the moment.”
“Have you been in touch with your parents?” I asked.
Alexey explained that his parents were able to leave Ukraine shortly before Russia invaded, and go to Germany, where his grandfather had been living. “They went there in the middle of February – just before he died,” Alexey said. “They were able to say good bye – and then the war started…they were lucky.”
Alexey added that his mother-in-law is still in Ukraine – in the western part. “There’s no heavy fighting there,” he noted, “although at least twice a day there’s an air raid alert – so she has to run for safety.”
The rest of Alexey’s family, other than his siblings in Israel, live in other parts of Europe, he said.
“But what about your friends?” I asked. “You must still have many friends who remained in Ukraine?”
“Yes, I have lots of friends,” Alexey said. “Some of them escaped before the war. Some of them went to Poland. I have one friend who went to Spain with her kid. She was able to get her parents there too. I talk to her every day. She’s very anxious. Her husband is still in Ukraine. A man can’t leave Ukraine. “ (Men between the ages of 18-65 are not allowed to leave and must report for military duty.)
Alexey mentioned that he and his parents had been very involved with the Jewish community in Ukraine. His father, he said, was director of a Reform congregation in that country, while his mother was a program coordinator for the congregation.
Even though they’re in Germany now, “they have been helping members of the Jewish community to get out of Ukraine to Poland…not just Jewish people,” Alexey added.
I said to Alexey that I had read that most Ukrainian Jews who are able to leave that country prefer to go to Germany, rather than Israel.
“People are hesitant to go to Israel because it’s a similar situation there (as Ukraine),” he suggested. “There was shelling all over Israel.”
Something that Alexey told me though which took me somewhat by surprise was when he said that “most people who have left Ukraine (and who are still leaving) “are planning on returning when the war’s over.”
Yet, notwithstanding the desire of most Ukrainians who have left the country to be able to return home – and apparently the preference of most Jews who have left to move to Germany, I wondered whether Ukrainians would be eager to come to Canada if they were offered the opportunity?
The Canadian government has taken steps to expedite the immigration of Ukrainian refugees to this country, including dropping the normal visa requirement and allowing Ukrainians to obtain work permits immediately upon their arrival, although there will be a two-year maximum stay permitted for anyone coming here under the relaxation of the normal rules.
As a result, Alexey told me that he is in the process of bringing his parents here under the new provisions. They have family in Germany, he said, but this will be an opportunity for them to see their grandchildren again, so of course they’re eager to come, he explained.
In addition to his parents, Alexey will also be hosting two other friends who will be arriving within the next few weeks, he told me. “I’m going to have a full house,” he said.
He added that many Manitobans of Ukrainian heritage have been offering to take in refugees from Ukraine. (He said there’s been a Facebook group created for that specific purpose with a great many members already.)
Alexey added though that it would be great if the Jewish Federation here were to take the initiative and ask members of the Jewish community to volunteer to take in Jewish (and non-Jewish) refugees from Ukraine. I told him that I’d asked representatives of the Federation whether that is an initiative they will undertake and that I hoped the Federation would respond to my inquiry.
I did receive a response from Adam Levy, the Federation’s Public & Community Relations Director, to my query when I asked whether the Federation might want to ask members of the Jewish community whether they’d be prepared to take in refugees from Ukraine.
Here is what Adam wrote on March 25: “At this time, we are not making such an ask of the community, but continue to re-assess the situation on a daily basis as needs change and evolve. If community members wish to take Ukrainian newcomers into their homes, they can certainly do that.
“This is why we have settlement services in our community. Besides finding housing, there are many other vital parts to living in Canada that these services help to facilitate. We hope that they will utilize these resources so that their needs will be met and their transition to life in Canada will be as painless as possible.”
While Alexey Guider comes from Kiev, which is in the western part of Ukraine, and which is Western oriented in terms of its culture and politics, other Ukrainian Jews, especially those in the eastern part of the country, might have stronger connections to Russia.
Such was the case with Michael (not his real name), who told me he left Ukraine when he was 10, at which point his family moved to Israel for 20 years. He and his wife came to Winnipeg with their three-month-old baby eight years ago. (He wanted to thank the Jewish Federation for its help in bringing him and his family here. He specifically cited Dalia Szpiro’s assistance in that regard.)
Michael works in IT, having been involved in projects for companies both inside and outside Manitoba, he said.
When I asked Michael what part of Ukraine he came from, he said it was a town called Petrovsk, which is situated in the province of Luhansk Oblast. That area of Ukraine has been the scene of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces for the past eight years and, during Russia’s recent invasion it was taken over completely by Russian forces during the very first days of the invasion.
Two years ago, Michael noted, he was able to bring his parents and grandparents as well to Winnipeg, under a Federal sponsorship program. But, he added, “I still have a bunch of family in Ukraine.”
He said that another grandfather and an uncle of his are in Luhansk, while his wife’s mother and aunt are outside of Luhansk, in an area that has been subject to intermittent bombardment for the past eight years.
Perhaps somewhat ironically, Luhansk and the areas adjacent to it are now quiet, Michael said, as they are now totally under Russian control. “The people are working, shopping centres are open, so are restaurants,” he added.
As noted, an aunt of Michal’s left the Luhansk area with her two daughters (who are approximately the same age as Michael) eight years ago when the fighting first began there, and they moved to a town west of Luhansk.
“It’s quieter there,” Michael said. “You can’t compare to the other places, but still they have sirens in the middle of the night, they’re hiding, they’re getting some humanitarian aid – they’re volunteering in those centres. Basically, right now there is no active combat going on in that part, but there’s uncertainty where everything is going. The economy is stalled; they’re not working.”
What he’s been able to do though is send money to them through Western Union – which is “deposited directly into their bank account,” Michael said.
I asked Michael whether he’s in touch with his family in Ukraine. He said that he is, through a platform called “Viber” (which, interestingly, was developed in Israel).
But I was curious to know what life was like for his relatives who are now living in areas totally under Russian control. “From what you say, life is pretty normal,” I said to Michael.
In response, he told this story about his uncle, who is still living in Luhansk: “He was going someplace, going shopping or something. He was stopped by two Russian soldiers…they were checking his passport and his papers. He took his hat off. He’s like 75. He’s like a traditional Jewish person – he looks Jewish. And they said to him, ‘Sorry father’– (a Russian expression, Michael explained) and they apologized. They said ‘You look like someone else.’ They were looking for resistance. They checked his paperwork and wished him good day, and off he went.”
“So this is fair and normal in the city of Luhansk,” Michael said.
I said I was surprised to hear what Michael just told me. I said, “So this means the Russian soldiers are behaving fairly nicely,” I suggested.
Michael agreed, adding, “The Western media. They are reporting just one side of the story. And, to be honest, I don’t know who is wrong, who is right. You know, you see all those terrible things on the TV, on Facebook, on Instagram, but on Viber – and I haven’t heard from my uncle for a week or so, he says that everything is stable, everyone is okay.”
“Isn’t that interesting?” I responded. I continued, asking Michael, “What would you say then if the Russians took over all of Ukraine, how do you think they would behave?”
Michael answered: “This is what the Western world really doesn’t understand. Ukraine is actually divided into two. The eastern part is truly Russian-speaking population. They share the same traditions, the same language – everything. Even myself, when I was in school, Ukrainian was like a foreign language. It’s like you learn French here. It’s as if Ontario and Quebec were combined together – and you called it Ukraine.
“For those areas where it’s mostly Russian-speaking people, the quality of life is not that great. They don’t really care who is in power, honestly. They just want to get to work, get paid, and feed their families. The people there are mostly farmers, miners (of coal). They don’t really have an agenda for politics. They don’t want war. They just want to lead a normal life.
“In the western part of Ukraine, it’s a different story because they’re more Polish in nature. They have stronger connections to Poland. There was always tension between Ukrainians and Russians. It’s not spoken of, but during the Holocaust the Ukrainians cooperated with the Nazis. (To which I said, “Yes, I know.”) More (Jewish) people were killed by Ukrainians than by Nazis. These days we don’t talk about that. But I don’t know who is better and who is worse (comparing Ukrainians and Russians). They both do the same.
“It’s not black and white, it’s sort of gray,” Michael suggested.
“But how do you react when you see what they (the Russians) are doing to Mariupol and to Kharkiv?” I asked Michael. “Mariupol has been destroyed.”
“Yes, absolutely,” Michael said. “How do I feel? I feel bad. How can you feel when the city is being destroyed, but the point is: Russia has its own agenda and Ukraine has its agenda. Someone is making a lot of money out of this.” (I didn’t ask him what he meant by that.)
I wanted to return to asking about Michael’s relatives who were still in Ukraine. I wondered whether any of them are trying to get out?
He explained that it’s all but impossible where his relatives are. “So,” I asked, “what can we as Winnipeg Jews do to help people like your relatives? We can help with money, I suppose,” I said.
“I guess so,” Michael said. “But he noted that the Russian army is not progressing to the centre of the country where his aunt and his cousins are living. His aunt is working part-time in a grocery store, Michael explained.
I remarked to Michael that I found his perspective totally different from Alexey’s and was rather unsure what to make of what he had told me.
Based on what he told me, I wondered whether the war could be brought to an end if Ukraine were to hand over the two eastern provinces (Luhansk and Donetsk) that are primarily Russian speaking, along with Crimea (which used to belong to Russia)?
“But,” Michael suggested, “they (the Russians) won’t stop. Sanctions mean nothing to them. What do you care about sanctions when you have nothing to begin with?”
He said that there should be “some kind of reasonable negotiations,” but when I suggested that Zelensky has been willing to engage in honest negotiations from the very beginning, yet the Russians are engaged in some kind of charade when it comes to negotiations, he said “I don’t know. I’m not a politician.”
But after listening to Michael, I felt that I had a better understanding how Jewish Ukrainians are not all on the same page when it comes to this terrible conflict. Yet, I don’t want what I’ve written in any way to come across as a defence of what Vladimir Putin has done – and I’m afraid that someone reading this could easily extract from some of Michael’s comments exactly that. Still, I wonder if perhaps, by understanding somewhat better the divisions that exist within Ukraine between Russian speaking and Ukrainian speaking Ukrainians, we might come to the realization that a compromise solution will have to take into account those divisions.
Is a compromise possible? It would seem so, but Vladimir Putin and his generals seem determined to punish Ukrainians terribly first, and for expatriate Ukrainians like Alexey and Michael, they can only watch and wait – and hope that their relatives and friends still living in Ukraine don’t become casualties.
Postscript: Several days after I interviewed Alexey and Michael, I was troubled by the message that I discerned from what Michael had said to me. He was quite sanguine about Russia’s occupation of Ukraine, I thought.
So I decided to look further into his claims that Russian-speaking Ukrainians feel quite differently about the Russian invasion than do Ukrainian-speaking Ukrainians.
According to an article in the Washington Post, “most Russian-speaking Ukrainians feel Ukrainian.” The article went on to say that “In Ukraine, the language people speak cannot be equated with ethnic identity. A larger representative study from 2013 examining the identity of Ukrainians living in various regions of the country found that the vast majority consider their ethnic identity as Ukrainian – the lone exception was in Crimea….strong Ukrainian identification can be found in predominantly Russian-speaking parts such as southern, eastern Ukraine, and even Donbas – where 70 percent or more identify as Ukrainian.”
I thought about Michael’s relative acquiescence to the Russian occupation of that part of Ukraine where he lived – until he was 10. But that was 28 years ago. Even though he says he is in touch with relatives in that area, including his grandfather and uncle, I wonder just how much Michael’s views were shaped by his experience growing up in a country that was under Soviet occupation until1991. According to what he told me, Michael would have left Ukraine for Israel in 1994. One can well imagine how much the country has changed in the past 28 years.
But to say that “But I don’t know who is better and who is worse (comparing Ukrainians and Russians),” as Michael said; “they both do the same”, would seem to be a distortion of the reality that now exists in Ukraine.
Local News
Human Rights Museum announcement of “Nakba” exhibit sets off hornet’s nest
By BERNIE BELLAN On November 19, during its Annual Public Meeting, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) announced it will be mounting an exhibit titled “Palestine Uprooted: Nakba (sometimes spelled as ‘Nagba) Past and Present,” focusing on Palestinian experiences, confirming it will open in June 2026. The CMHR website said that “This announcement follows years of advocacy from Palestinian Canadian groups, with the exhibit aiming to share Palestinian perspectives on the 1948 catastrophe.”
That announcement set off a storm of reaction from within the Jewish community, especially from the Jewish Heritage Centre for Western Canada, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg , and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
The primary concern raised by representatives of all three of those groups was that having an exhibit on the Nakba without also having an exhibit on the forced displacement of Jews from Arab countries in 1948 would offer a distorted perspective of what happened during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.
We have been reluctant to wade into this hornet’s nest as no matter what we write it is bound to lead to some individuals saying that we haven’t been balanced, but we did decide to go ahead and try to offer some idea of how this exhibit came about.
Our primary source was an interview that Isha Khan, CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, did with Sierra Sanders of CBC’s Information Radio on November 21.
Following are some excerpts from that interview. (It has been edited for clarity): Khan began by explaining that what the museum will be mounting is “an exhibit that shares the experiences of Palestinian Canadians who have experienced the Nagba or our intergenerational survivors. And it uses multimedia, so a number of different art forms, text and art and interactive to share their experiences and the human rights violations that are related to force displacement.”
Sanders asked: “And so I understand the Palestinian community has been lobbying for years for an exhibit like this or something like this. When was it decided that the museum would be doing an exhibit like this?”
Khan: “So it’s both true that Palestinian Canadians and others have been asking us – demanding that that there be more content in the museum that it shares their experiences. And we’ve been working on this for the last four years because we made the decision that absolutely we need to share these stories that are human rights stories about displacement and and so we’re at the stage where we can announce the exhibit and want people to come see it.”
Sanders: “… I understand the Palestinian community was a part of the conversations when it came to this exhibit. Who did you if you can tell me, who did you consult with during the process of this exhibit?”
Khan: “Yeah. So, in the same way that we really tell any story that you see in an exhibit here in the museum, we rely on the lived experiences of people who have experienced those atrocities or affected communities. And so we’ve been working and consulting with a really wide network of Palestinian Canadians and others from across Canada to to help ensure that we share their story that they’ve entrusted and their stories that they’ve entrusted with us in a responsible way.”
Sanders: “…and why is this exhibit important to the CHR?”
Khan: “The CHR is a museum for human rights and our job is to tell stories, to share stories that enable people to reflect, to understand human rights, to navigate the human rights issues of our day. This exhibit is going to be in our rights today gallery. So, it’s about contemporary issues and there’s no question that people are looking for information. They’re looking to better understand what to do with the information that they have around them, around the Nagba and the Palestinian experiences.”
Sanders: “And what does the museum hope visitors will take away from it and what kind of conversations are you hoping to start with this exhibit?”
Khan: “We hope that people will come and see this exhibit. We hope that by being exposed to or being able to touch and and feel Palestinian experiences of forced displacement that they’ll be able to understand the human rights impacts that displacement can have on people and draw connections to other situations in history and today. Every exhibit that we tell takes stories from the past often and allows people to apply those principles and the feelings and the reflections that they have so that they can better understand human rights today and they can actually take action and do something about it.”
Sanders: “So the announcement of this exhibit has stirred up some concern from the Jewish Heritage Center of Western Canada and they’re worried the exhibit will lack balanced scholarly research and and key historical and current geopolitical context. What’s your response to this concern? “
Khan: “We understand that there are people who are who are concerned, who are worried about what the exhibit may do. What I can share is for one, we’ve had a long really long good history working with the Jewish Heritage Center of Western Canada on Holocaust remembrance and other important issues related to combating anti-semitism. This exhibit isn’t a historical retrospective. This exhibit is about the experiences of Palestinian Canadians who have lived through forced displacement and their families. So it’s told from their perspective, from their eyes, just like many other exhibits in the museum are. Currently we’re running a major exhibition on the LGBTQ purge and it’s told through the eyes of survivors, their words, their stories in order to impact others and help them understand what happened at that time. The Palestinian and Jewish community – they are kind of intertwined in their own ways.”
Sanders: “Do you think that the Jewish community should have been consulted in the curation of this exhibit?”
Khan: “The exhibits that we develop are for all people. As a museum for human rights, we try to share stories that allow people to make connections between human rights violations occurring around the world and here in Canada. We understand that there is a question about how the exhibition was developed. This exhibition was developed with a big team of researchers, academics, a curator who leads the choice making around art and design and many others. And that’s how we do our work. The development of this exhibition has the same rigour as any exhibition we develop. And we do that because we feel responsible for ensuring that if a community or individuals entrust us with their stories, we’re going to make sure we share them responsibly. We really steward others other people’s stories and we really encourage people to come and see the exhibit to help answer some of those anxieties that they may have.”
Sanders: “Now, so the Jewish Heritage Center of Western Canada is pulling out of a partnership with the museum to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day because of the this exhibit. How will this impact the museum’s ability to provide Holocaust education and programming to combat antisemitism?”
Khan: “We remain absolutely, unwaveringly committed to combating antisemitism. We have a gallery that allows people to examine the Holocaust. We do Holocaust Remembrance Day programming every year in addition to talking about anti-semitism in our school tours and education programs and public tours. We will continue to do that work. We’ve worked with Holocaust memorial sites and organizations across the country and around the world. We hope to continue to work with the Jewish Heritage Center of Western Canada in the future.”
As has been noted, there was fierce reaction from many different organizations in the Jewish community over the announcement that the CMHR would be mounting an exhibit on the Naqba. However, it’s not clear whether there is an official spokesperson for the Jewish community – or if there ever was just one spokesperson.
But, what we were really interested in finding out from the CMHR was when did this idea to mount an exhibit about the Naqba really begin so, on December 7, we sent this query to someone by the name of Amanda Gaudes, who was listed as a Media Relations Specialist for the CMHR on its website:
Hi Amanda,
I’m the consulting editor of the Jewish Post newspaper, also publisher of the jewishpostandnews.ca website.
I’m interested in doing a story about the upcoming Nakba exhibit but, unlike others in the Jewish community who may have been in touch with you, I aim entirely for objectivity – much as that term seems to have been devalued in recent years.
I have no interest in rehashing the arguments that have been raised by members of the Jewish community about fairness and giving equal weight to the expulsion of Jews from Arab countries in 1948 if I’m reporting on what had led the museum to want to mount this exhibit at this time. While I don’t dismiss the validity of those arguments, I find them all too predictable in the sense that they level the same tired criticisms of an exhibit simply because the name “Nakba” is offensive to them in and of itself.
I, myself, can appreciate what impact the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes had. I’ve lived in Israel and have seen the results of that expulsion first hand.
What I’d like is the opportunity to give a full airing of what had led the museum to want to mount this exhibit after all these years – without rebutting anything anyone might have to say. Of course, I’d love to know more about the decision making process, but I rather expect that much of that will remain confidential. However- if you take a look at what’s been said about me online, you can see that I’m not afraid to plunge into discussion of subjects that many in our community would rather remain untouched.
Then, if there are responses from members of the Jewish community that would want to criticize the museum, they can appear at a separate time, so that we don’t immediately plunge readers into a debate the first time we have a mention of the issue which, so far, I can tell you, has gone completely uncovered in the Jewish Post to date.
Thanks
-Bernie Bellan
We received a response from Amanda Gaudes, Media Relations Specialist for the CMHR two days later:
Good afternoon Bernie,
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights announced several new exhibits that are part of the Museum’s core gallery renewal including Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present. It will be a smaller scale exhibit in our Rights Today gallery on Level 5 of the Museum and will open in late June 2026. This exhibit is about the lived experiences of Palestinian Canadians and the human rights impacts of forced displacement that they have faced over generations. It will use art, first-person reflections, and personal artifacts to share the stories of Palestinian Canadians who were displaced during the 1948 Nakba to today.
There are always individuals or groups who are interested or concerned in the nature of our content and we think it’s important to emphasize that the exhibit is about the personal experiences of Palestinian Canadians. The exhibit is not a historical retrospective, or an examination of the founding of the State of Israel or a commentary on current Israel-Palestine relations.
We began working on this exhibit four years ago to look at the issue of forced displacement of Palestinians. Exploring this content in no way diminishes the experience of others who have also faced displacement including the Jewish community.
We also share the community’s concerns about rising antisemitism and take our mandate as educators very seriously. We are continuing to develop and deliver antisemitism education programs and teaching resources, which have their foundation in our renowned Examining the Holocaust gallery. All of our education programs are designed to not only examine the Holocaust, but to delve into antisemitism today. We are increasing programming in this area in January to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Our role as a museum is to help people understand our world through the lens of human rights. Through that lens, we can see that every individual – and this includes Palestinians and Jewish people everywhere – has the right to live in safety and security and dignity and that all people have the right to self determination.
Thank you,
Amanda Gaudes (she/her|elle)
Media Relations Specialist | Spécialiste des relations avenc les médias
I did send a follow-up email to Amanda Gaudes, but did not hear back. Here’s what I wrote:
Thanks for this Amanda but can I ask you to elaborate on a number of points you mentioned:
What are the other exhibits that the museum will be mounting in addition to the one on the Nakba?
You say you began working on this exhibit four years ago. But, had the idea been tossed around prior to four years ago? If so, I’m curious where the idea came from? Was it someone from within the museum or did it come from someone outside the museum?
Thanks
-Bernie
Then, on December 11, we received this message from reader Irwin Corobow:
I am embarrassed for the Jewish Community here in Winnipeg for the absurd and ill conceived push back by the Jewish Heritage Centre to the plans by the Canadian Human Rights Museum to stage an exhibit reflecting the Palestinian community history during the Nakba. Why in the world should the Museum have to consult with the Jewish Community in order to plan this exhibit? What is there in the Heritage Centre’s mandate that gives the authority to speak on issues that are not related to its mandate? None that I can see. Why is the Executive Director Centre of the Heritage Centre given apparently freedom to act as spokesperson for the Community on such matters such as perceived anti-semitism. I challenge anyone to read through the mission and purpose of the Centre and find anything that supports this reactive behaviour. Ironically this dust up involving the Centre and the Museum will likely increase attendance at the exhibit when it occurs.
Local News
Shalom Residences board announces hiring of Tamar Barr as new executive director
By BERNIE BELLAN The board of Shalom Residences, the agency that provides housing and support for adults in our community who have special needs, will soon have a new executive director, effective December 22.
Tamar Barr, whose name is well known in the Jewish community, is set to take over from Mike Goldberg, who will be leaving Shalom Residences after having served as executive director since the spring of 2022.
It was in March 2022 that the previous – and to that point, only executive director Shalom Residences had ever had, Nancy Hughes, retired from the position after 31 years at the helm. Mike is moving on to take a senior position elsewhere.
Shalom Residences maintains six different houses in Winnipeg on: Enniskillen Avenue (home to the very first Shalom Residence), Hartford Avenue and Seven Oaks Place – all three of which are in West Kildonan; McAdam and Cathedral Avenues – in the North End; Daffodil – in Garden City; and Oxford Street, in River Heights.
The smallest home has three residents and the largest one – five.
Twenty-nine adults live in those homes, while another nine live in supported independent living apartments, and three adults are supported in community outreach.
Tamar Barr is probably best known in the community for her many years at both the Rady JCC and its predecessor, the YMHA. Tamar served as program director at both the YMHA and the Rady JCC from 1990-2013 and was Assistant Executive Director at the Rady JCC from 2013-2021.
Since then Tamar has filled a variety of different roles, including working in donor relations at the University of Manitoba; project coordinator at the Mennnonite Heritage Centre Gallery; and Alternate Funeral Director for Congregation Shaarey Zedek.
Tamr obtained her B.A. and Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Mantioba; and her Masters of Social Work from Yeshiva University in New York.
Tamar had this to say about her moving into the role of executive director of Shalom Residences: “Stepping into the role of Executive Director feels like a full-circle moment for me. Some of my most meaningful and formative experiences have been alongside people living with intellectual disabilities, whose strength and spirit continue to inspire me. I am honoured to join an organization rooted in Jewish values and dedicated to supporting individuals living dignified, connected and fulfilling lives in a community-based setting.
“I look forward to bringing my enthusiasm, experience and compassion to support and strengthen Shalom Residences important mission.”
In welcoming Tamar as Shalom Residences’ new executive director, the board of Shalom Residences said: “Shalom Residences Inc. is pleased to announce the hiring of Tamar Barr as our new executive director effective December 22, 2025.
“Tamar has a Masters degree in Social Work and brings a wealth of management experience in the non-profit sector and at the Rady JCC. She is looking forward to meeting our residents with intellectual disabilities, families and staff as she transitions into her new role with the kind assistance of our current executive director, Mike Goldberg.
“We wish to thank Mike for his outstanding contributions to Shalom Residences and wish him well in his new leadership role at Community Financial Services where he will be assisting individuals and families facing financial challenges.”
Local News
Canadian produced kosher wine now available in Winnipeg
By BERNIE BELLAN With the imposition last February of a ban on the sale of American liquor in Manitoba, the only type of kosher wines that were available here were from Israel, specifically wines produced by the Galil winery.
Since the latter part of September, however, kosher wines produced by a Canadian winery are now available in Manitoba liquor marts, also the Kenaston Wine Market.
The wines – a red and a white, are produced by a winery known as Tzafona Cellars – located in the Niagara region of Ontario.
On Tuesday, December 2, Rabbi Avraham Gislason, who is a a rabbi in Thornhill, as well as a Tzafona Cellars winemaker, spoke to a large crowd at the Jewish Learning Centre, where he not only explained how kosher wine differs from non-kosher wine, he brought along bottles of five different wines produced by Tzafona Cellars for members of the audience to taste.
So – what makes a wine kosher? you might ask. According to the internet, “A wine is kosher if it is made according to Jewish dietary laws… with strict supervision and handling by Sabbath-observant Jews from the crushing of the grapes to the bottling of the finished product. The winemaking process must use only kosher-certified ingredients, such as yeast and fining agents, and rabbinically-approved equipment.
Rabbi Gislason himself started Tzafona Cellars in 2014. According to the Tzafona website, Rabbi Gislason saw that the “soil, air, and microclimate of the Niagara Peninsula all come together to create an up-and-coming world class wine region, yielding a unique experience that cannot be recreated anywhere else in the world.”
While he appreciated the quality of the wines being produced in the Niagara region, there was one problem: None of the wines were kosher.
According to the Tzafona website, “Starting with the 2014 vintage, Tzafona began to produce kosher wines using the same techniques and high-quality grapes used in producing other premium non-kosher wines. Since then, Tzafona has continued to produce a variety of different wines, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, and Chardonnay. We have produced award-winning Icewines in the Vidal, Riesling, and Gewurtzraminer varietals. Tzafona is the only kosher Icewine producer in North America. Their Cabernet Franc Icewine won a Gold Medal at the All Canadian Wine Championships in 2025.
In 2016 we began to produce a line of refreshing semi-sweet wines under our brand “Nava Blanc” and “Nava Ruby.” (It is the Nava Blanc and Nava Ruby wines that are now available in Manitoba). Both of these wines are Tzafona’s bestsellers here in Canada and the USA.
The process of getting Tzafona wines approved in Manitoba was set in motion by Winnipeg marketing specialist Marsha Friedman, who for many years has worked as a marketing consultant and sales agent for businesses looking to offer premium kosher foods to their customers.
Her business, Excellence & Kosher, focuses on identifying unmet needs in the market. “I see a need and I try to fill it,” Marsha says.
“We also ensure that the most needed Kosher food products for the stores that carry Kosher are available, including Canadian Kosher wine,” she adds.
Marsha explains that she approached Tzafona—the only truly Canadian kosher wine company—some time ago with the idea of opening the Manitoba market for them and introducing their wines to local consumers.
Afterward, she contacted tManitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL), which agreed to begin carrying two Tzafona wines: Nava Ruby (Red) and Nava Blanc (White).
Since that initial success in making Tzafona wines available for purchase in Manitoba, Marsha says that she and her daughter Shira have been making similar progress in Alberta and hope to expand into the British Columbia market as well.
For more information about Tzafona Wines, including the addresses of stores in Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba that carry their products, please visit the MBLL Liquor Marts website:
https://www.liquormarts.ca/liquormarts
Go to “Find a Product” and type “Tzafona.” Both wines will appear. Select the wine you’re interested in, then click “Store Inventory.” A list of all MBLL Liquor Marts that carry that product will be displayed.
Marsha adds that “We are hoping to have more listings of Tzafona wines available for Pesach this year, and we will be presenting them to MBLL for their approval.
“L’Chaim!”