Local News
Reaction to the valedictory address at the medical school convocation ceremony
Ed. note: We have received a number of inquiries, both from students in this year’s graduating U of M medical school class, and from former students (now practising physicians), asking whether we would print responses to what occurred during the convocation ceremony on May 16. In addition to their being published here, they will also be published in the June 5 issue of The Jewish Post.
We will continue to print whatever responses we receive as (and if) we receive them. In the meantime, here’ are the first two responses we received, on May 23:
May 23rd, 2024
Hello,
My name is Gregory Jackson. I am a member of the 2024 graduating class from the
Max Rady College of Medicine.
Our convocation has garnered more publicity than I would have ever thought. The
valedictorian’s address and subsequent aftermath compels me to act beyond my
traditional comfort zone.
A classmate of mine, Dr. Irvine, stated in an interview with the CBC that “from my
perspective, there wasn’t any students that were graduating that were upset with what was
being said”. I happened to be seated beside Dr. Irvine during convocation. Since Thursday, I
have been truly shocked, disheartened and embarrassed by what unfolded and its impacts
on our community. I regret not walking out during the valedictorian’s speech.
Boisterous cheers from emboldened supporters drown out the gasps and stunned
silence during the valedictorian’s address, turning a day that should have been shared joy
into a day of shared embarrassment. While I know that I cannot convince my classmates
on our disagreements in geopolitics, I am dismayed that our convocation was hijacked to
espouse reckless personal and aggressive political views.
I am writing this letter to show support and patience for the Dean, Dr. Nickerson, as
he navigates an appropriate and firm response. Furthermore, I am writing to formally
dissent and dispute the notion that the Class of 2024 is unified when sophistry
masquerades as advocacy. In the current climate of fear and violence, I respect those who
wish to remain anonymous to maintain their safety. Most importantly, I wish to vocalize my
support to my classmates, faculty members, and people living in our community who are
threatened and alienated by such rhetoric; I hope that our community can heal and that we
can re-aYirm an environment in which our Jewish members are safe, respected and loved.
Faithfully yours,
Gregory Jackson
Dr. Peter Nickerson, Dean and Vice-provost, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Michael Benarroch, President, University of Manitoba president@umanitoba.ca
Mr. Ernest Rady, 3420 Carmel Mountain Road, Suite 100, San Diego, California, 92121
CBC News, talkback@cbc.ca
Joe Hutchison at Dailymail.com
Roberta Lexier, Associate Professor, Mount Royal University rlexier@mtroyal.ca
Winnipeg Free Press
letters@freepress.mb.ca
I recall vividly that early morning September 1985 when I sat in my first class of Medical School at the University of Manitoba. The very first words spoken by the professor were ‘Primum non nocere’, which means ‘first do no harm’.
As physicians, we must use every means possible to gather an accurate history, using listening skills in a nonjudgmental fashion, and more often than not, creatively gathering collateral history from many sources. Dr. Gem Newman, to his credit, seems to be a passionate individual who cares about people. Unfortunately, the last few minutes of his speech made it clear that he cares only for some, on the basis of an incorrect history, leading to a disastrously incorrect diagnosis. He failed to take his own advice with respect to acknowledging one’s limitations rather than questioning if his opinion reflects fact. Nor does it seem that he consulted with those with more knowledge of the situation. His valedictorian address last week has caused harm: To the Jewish graduates, their families, as well as the Jewish community in the audience and abroad. To those who choose to believe the distortions of reality pertaining to the history of the region and current conflict. To those of us who know differently. To the truth.
Sadly, the response by the University and the media did not address specifically why Newman’s speech was so offensive. For that reason I feel compelled to provide the counter arguments, even if the damage has been done by the hundreds of thousands of views of his speech. After all, he’s a doctor. He should know what he’s talking about. Right?
Newman stated: “ I call on you to stand in solidarity with Indigenous people everywhere.” He either does not know or chooses to ignore the undeniable fact that the Jewish people are indigenous to that region of the Middle East for over 3700 years. He insinuated that the Jews are settler-colonizers, ethnically cleansing the Palestinians. Let me be perfectly clear. There have always been Jews living in that area since Abraham moved his family from Mesopotamia. Over the centuries the population had diminished due to invasions of the land resulting in massacres and exile. However, some always remained. Biblical reference, Jewish writings throughout the ages, numerous archaeological findings and even the Qu’ ran support the historical claim of the land of the ‘Israelites’, meaning the Jewish people. Never mind the fact that the term ‘Jew’ comes from ‘Judea’, just as ‘Arab’ from ‘Arabia’. His remark echoes the libelous accusation that the Jewish people are recent ‘colonizers’ who took over land belonging to others.
Prior to control by the British after WWI, the Ottoman Empire had conquered what is now Israel in the 1500’s. By the mid 1800’s the land was desolate and sparsely populated, as numerous published reports of the time have documented. I will provide two examples: In 1881, English cartographer Arthur Penrhyn Stanley wrote: “In Judea it is hardly an exaggeration to say that for miles and miles there was no appearance of life or habitation.” Mark Twain, in the mid 1800’s, wrote that one could walk from one end of Jerusalem to the other in an hour, At this time Jewish people and organizations started buying back the land from absentee Arab landlords at significantly inflated prices. By 1864, the majority population of Jerusalem, where our first and second temples were built dating back over 3,000 years, was Jewish. Following return of the Jews, with the economic, industrial and technological advances brought with them, Arabs began immigrating to the area as well. THAT is how the population increased; both Jews and Arabs began to repopulate the land. Again, written references from that era along with deeds to the land purchased by individuals and the JNF confirm this.
In 1948, the day after Sovereignty was granted to Israel, five Arab armies invaded Israel with the intent to exterminate all of the Jews and take over the new State. Arabs living there fled of their own volition or left by order of the Arab armies, with assurance that they could return to their homes after the Jews were gone. Lo and behold, Israel won the war against all odds. The 156,000 Arabs that remained became Israeli citizens, whose descendants are now 2 million, with equal rights as the Jews, Christians, Druze and every other citizen. Meanwhile 850,000 Jews were killed or forced to flee from many Arab countries across the Middle East, leaving their property and belongings behind.
Newman also claims that Israel is waging a genocidal war against Palestinians. The only genocidal attack was perpetrated by Hamas and associated Palestinian terror groups on October 7, 2023. I am not making a false claim. Ghazi Hamad in an interview October 23, 2023, as well as other Hamas leaders have been very clear about their intentions to ‘repeat October 7 again and again and again’. I have collected many interviews and videos from across the globe with calls to Islamist extremists to kill every Jew they encounter, as a religious duty. These calls for ‘Jihad’ and ‘Intifada’ coming from extremist Muslim religious leaders has now spread across the globe, and is even chanted by those who don’t know which River to Sea they want to clear the Jewish people from. Despite these threats of global annihilation of the Jewish people, Israel has sent out 7 million leaflets in Arabic with maps of safe zones, supplementing this with millions of phone calls, text messages and voice mails. The IDF ‘roof knocks’, which is sending a dud bomb as a warning to evacuate the area. Unfortunately, Hamas and UNRWA not only told civilians to ignore these warnings, they stole car keys and even shot civilians trying to leave for safe areas as reported by Palestinians and captured on voice recordings and video. No other military past or present goes to the lengths that Israel does to minimize civilian casualties.
This war is being fought in an unprecedented extremely complex war zone intentionally designed as such over the past 18 years. There are over 700 km of tunnels exclusively for Hamas’ use and protection. These terrorists fight in civilian clothes from hospitals, mosques, schools and civilian infrastructure, all of which lose protective immunity by law if used for such purposes. The referenced doctors, health care workers and journalists Newman insists Israel targets are not all altruistic innocents; many including hospital directors captured are longstanding members of Hamas. Rather than protecting their citizens, Hamas fight from beneath, beside and behind their men, women and children. The billions of dollars in aid funneled into Palestine over the years did not get spent on one single civilian bomb shelter. Despite this, Israel has still managed to achieve the lowest civilian:combatant death toll of ANY urban war hovering at about 1:1. This is even using the original Gaza MoH numbers prior to the exposure of manipulation of data at best, fabrication more likely, which led to the U.N. quietly backtracking and halving the number of women and children casualties. For seven months, those numbers had been broadcast to every news outlet and media source with impunity, and are still being quoted to this day. Not only are the numbers provided by Hamas grossly inflated, there are several analyses of the casualty data churned out by those terrorists that prove the patterns are statistically impossible.
You may also wish to verify the way the IDF conducts military operations with the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies of West Point, Major John W. Spencer.
Another resource is Colonel Richard Kemp of the British Army. Their opinions regarding whether a genocide is being waged on the Palestinians carry significantly more weight than Dr. Newman’s, I would think. The IDF is not called the ‘most moral army in the world’ for nothing.
On to the ‘famine” in Gaza. As of this writing, Israel has allowed entry of 427,981 tons of food, 59,930 tons of shelter equipment, 541 tanks of cooking gas, 23,260 tons of medical supplies, 34,940 tons of water. COGAT provides daily updates on humanitarian aid that has crossed into Gaza. Plenty of video evidence is available of Hamas confiscating the aid, shooting and killing civilians trying to get aid, and charging up to ten times the value of the aid (intended as donations, not to sell) which many cannot afford. There are estimates that Hamas has made close to $500,000 profit from this despicable abuse. The pier that the US provided has been targeted by Hamas rockets during and after construction. Videos are also posted daily of bustling markets full of produce in Gaza.
Apart from the poor taste the valedictorian displayed by using the last few minutes of his speech to grandstand, the greatest issue I have is that his claims do not contain fact. This is exactly the way the blood libels began, were spread, and continue to be spread. We witnessed the result of this less than a century ago and vowed ‘never again’. Yet here we are on our way to repeating history that apparently was not learned, with the help of people like Dr. Newman. We lost over 1/3 of the world Jewish population in the Holocaust, and 85 years later our census is still lower than it was in 1939; a mere 16 million, whose voice cannot come close to the volume of our adversaries.
I agree with free speech, but there must be accountability. There must be truth.
Annilea Gunn, MD, CCFP, FCFP
University of Manitoba Class of 1989
Local News
What was in a letter sent to Etz Chayim Congregation that led to Winnipeg police visiting the home of the sender and the barring of the sender – along with their family, from coming to Etz Chayim?
By BERNIE BELLAN (June 2, 2025) On Friday, May 30, we received an email from an individual that immediately aroused our curiosity – and which subsequently led to an exchange of emails with both that individual and the Chief Operating Officer of Etz Chayim Congregation.
At the time of writing we have no idea what was in the letter that elicited such a strong reaction from the COO and President of Etz Chayim Congregation.
Here, in chronological order, are the emails we received, along with emails we sent in response to those emails:
email received Friday, November 30, at 12:42 pm from an individual whose name will not be revealed:
“I have just had a pair of police officers at the door telling me that we are now banned from Etz Chayim and if we show up the police will be called, no reasons given. I suspect it was an accumulation of things, including a letter I sent.”
email received Friday 2:40 pm from Morissa Granove, COO of Etz Chayim Congregation and Allan Cogan, President (Note: Although I am not a member of Etz Chayim Congregation I do receive emails from them, as I do from other Winnipeg congregations):
“Dear Congregation Etz Chayim Community,
“Please click HERE to read a letter informing you of an important CEC Safety & Security Update.
“Thank you,
“Morissa.
“Morissa Granove
“Chief Operating Officer
“Congregation Etz Chayim – Winnipeg, Manitoba
“Phone 204.589.6305 ext. 107 | Fax 204.582.0246
“1155 Wilkes Ave, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R3P 1B9”
Here are the contents of the letter to which Morissa and Allan referred in their email:
“Congregation Etz Chayim – Safety and Security Update”
“May 30th, 2025
“Dear Members & Friends of Congregation Etz Chayim,
“As a sacred community (kehillah kedoshah), we are writing to inform you of an important matter concerning the safety and well-being of our congregation.
“On Tuesday, May 27th, we received deeply troubling correspondence from a member of our community. The nature of this communication raised serious concerns about the safety of our congregants and staff. After careful and deliberate consultation with our Board of Directors, Clergy, the Winnipeg Police Service, the Jewish Security Network, and the Secure Community Network (in partnership with the USCJ), and on their recommendations we have made the difficult but necessary decision to terminate the membership of this individual and all members of their household, effective immediately.
“These individuals are no longer permitted on the premises of Congregation Etz Chayim, nor may they participate in any of our synagogue’s programs or activities.
“We did not take this action lightly. It was made with a heavy heart and a steadfast commitment to protecting our spiritual home and all those who enter it. We are grateful for your trust and partnership as we continue to strengthen our kehillah. May we go from strength to strength—chazak v’ematz—with faith in one another and a deep sense of pride in our Jewish identity and values.
“Thank you for your continued faith and understanding,
“Morissa Granove and Allan Cogan.
“COO and President, CEC”
email we sent to Congregation Etz Chayim Friday 3:45 pm in response to the email received from Morissa Granove and Allan Cogan (My email has been edited to remove anything that would specifically identify whether the sender of the email was a man or a woman):
“Hi,
“I received an email from …telling me that (they are) now banned from the Etz Chayim. I assume… is also banned too, judging by the way your email (sent to congregation members) is worded.
“I don’t know …at all – I can’t begin to imagine what (they) might have written, but in the interest of fair reporting and fuller disclosure, can you say anything more about what (they) wrote in (their) letter?
“-Bernie Bellan
“Publisher,
“jewishpostandnews.ca
“also Associate Editor,
“The Jewish Post Winnipeg”
email received from Morissa Granove Friday 5:19 pm
“Hi Bernie.
“Thank you for reaching out, and for your commitment to fairer reporting.
“At this time, I am not comfortable commenting on a private matter between our shul and this now past member as this is an extremely sensitive and delicate matter. Out of respect for … I will let … decide the path forward that we all take from here and “if” … chooses to have any misinformation published/reported, only then do I feel it’s necessary for CEC to chime in. I encourage you to request a copy of the letter from … and we have no issue with you printing …words should … choose to provide them to you. The decision was forwarded to the WPS for review due to its concerning nature, as well as with SCN and JSN; all of whom separately and unanimously advised to take this matter seriously and to take this next step.
“If …does choose to make any comments to the media or he provides you with a copy of the letter and we see any discrepancies that need to be corrected on record, we will certainly be in touch to have you make the necessary amendments. If you would like to share any articles in draft form before you go to print to see if we have anything more to add then, I am more than willing to work with you in an attempt to avoid any unintended slander or need for amendments.
“Thank you,
“Morissa.
“Morissa Granove
“Chief Operating Officer
“Congregation Etz Chayim – Winnipeg, Manitoba”
email received Friday at 10:51 pm from the individual who wrote the letter to Etz Chayim that set everything off:
“First, please find attached a screenshot of a letter forwarded to us by a friend – we did not receive it. (Ed. note: The ‘letter” would be the letter sent to members of Etz Chayim Congregation earlier that day.) Given the completely outrageous and unfounded allegations in this letter and a police visit with no paperwork presented to us, we have contacted a lawyer and should probably not share anything more until we have talked to him. That will be Wednesday at the earliest, thanks to Shavuot. I trust you understand my not sharing the letter at this time. Hopefully I will be able to soon.
“Needless to say, we are astounded and our poor kids are devastated. B-B Camp #2, here we come.”
Local News
New young (and not so young) talent added to list of Jewish high achievers at most recent Winnipeg Music Festival
By MYRON LOVE The most recent (107th annual) Winnipeg Music Festival – which takes place annually in March – produced another group of Jewish musical stars – including several who were new to the competition. Joining repeat high achievers – such as Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout, Gregory Hyman, Alex Schaeffer, Juliet Eskin and Noah Kravetsky – this year the winner’s circle also included: Lyla Chisick, Lotan Berenstein, Benji Greenberg and Shani Groisman..
While the overwhelming majority of the music festival entrants are pre-teens and teenagers, Greenberg, who is 38, and Groisman – who recently celebrated her 20th birthday – are exceptions to that pattern.
Shani, who finished first in the PIANO SOLO, LATE ROMANTIC COMPOSERS, GRADE/LEVEL 10 category – is an accomplished pianist, singer, and music teacher, who has participated in numerous international and local festivals and piano competitions. As a teacher, she teaches students ranging from beginners to Level 5.
The daughter of Marina and Boris Groisman arrived in Winnipeg from Israel 10 years ago. Shani says that she began taking piano lessons when she was 5.
“This competition was something new for me,” observes the Grant Park High School graduate. . “I entered for the challenge. David Moroz, my teacher at the (University of Manitoba’s) Desautels School of Music was very supportive. I am looking forward to next year’s festival.”
Benji Greenberg reports that it was her singing teacher, Geneva Halverson, who encouraged her to enter the competition, A lawyer by training, who currently works as a children’s advocate for Manitoba Advocate for children and youth, Benji notes that while she has always enjoyed singing and has appeared over the years in musical productions in high school and shows staged by the Manitoba Bar Association, it was only about a year ago that she decided to take singing lessons “to learn to sing properly”.
The daughter of Debbie and Harley Greenberg, Benji competed in two categories – Musical Theatre 1965 to 2000, and Musical Theatre pre-1965 – for singers 16 and over. In both categories, she was runner-up to Yale Rayburn Vander Hout, a veteran of four years now in the competition.
“I loved being on stage,” Benji says. “I am looking forward to the next year’s competition.”
Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout continues to build on his accomplishments at the yearly festival. Last year, his third year in the competition, the 18-year-old son of Samantha and Peter was awarded the prestigious Gilbert and Sullivan Society Trophy – awarded for the most outstanding performance in a competition of winners of Gilbert & Sullivan classes.
A former Gray Academy student, he graduated from the University of Winnipeg Collegiate, and is currently in his first year at the Desautels Faculty of Music, where he is studying under the guidance df Donna Fletcher, the co-founder of Dry Cold Productions.
Yale – who has already graced our local stages, notes that he is hoping to pursue a career in musical theatre.
Gregory Hyman is a multi-faceted artist who can do it all. The 17-year-old son of Hartley and Rishona Hyman is a singer/songwriter/musician (guitar) who records and performs under the stage name, GMH. His versatility shone through once again in his seventh Music Festival, in which he registered three first-place finishes – once for guitar (20th and 21st century composers), and twice for vocals (popular and contemporary music and TV and movie music).
The St. John’s-Ravenscourt student has been busy on stage the past couple of months – headlining his own show at Sidestage on Osborne on March 2 and opening for musician/singer/’songwriter Goody Grace at the Park Theatre on March 16. His next solo performance was scheduled for the Rec Room on Friday, May 9.
Gregory has put out three albums – which readers can check out on any of the music streaming platforms as well as his own Instagram page (thegmh). He also continues to host his own podcast – “Talk and Rock with GMH”- now in its fifth season – in which he interviews various people in the music business across Canada.
Fifteen-year-old Alex Schaeffer registered one first place finish this year in the Canadian musicals 16 and under category. For the son of Marc Schaeffer and Kae Sasake, this was his fourth year competing in the festival
Both Alex and his older sister, Hannah (both Grant Park students), continue their nascent careers on stage. Alex made his big stage debut last year as one of the Von Trapp children in MTC’s production of “The Sound of Music” – followed by an appearance in the Manitoba Opera production of Carmen as a member of the children’s chorus.
Both Hannah and Alex recently performed in Grant Park High School’s production of A Chorus Line (Hannah played Cassie, and Alex played Paul), and Meraki Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night (Hannah played Malvolio, Alex played Antonio).
This summer Hannah and Alex will be performing in three different shows with Meraki Theatre and Rem Lezar Theatre at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival.
In the fall. Hannah will be off to to Oakville. Ontario to attend Sheridan College where she will be studying Musical Theatre Performance.
Juliet Eskin, 15, also stood out. In this her fourth go-round at the festival, the daughter of the musically talented Kelly Robinon and Josh Eskin took home three golds in: the viola solo, level 7 categories; Romantic composer, Baroque and Concerto; and was recommended by the adjudicator to compete for the Swedish Musical Club Trophy.
Juliet originally took up violin – adding the viola a couple of years ago. Outside of the music festival, she is the violist in the Assiniboine String Quartet and just finished performing in Evil Dead the Musical at MTYP, as well as singing the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line.
Rounding out this year’s returning Jewish WMF star was pianist Nate Kravetsky. playing piano.
Twelve-year-old Nate and older brother Noah, 15, the sons of Dr. Azriel Kravetsky and Dr. Carrie Palatnick, both attend Gray Academy – and have been taking piano lessons from Erica Schultz since they were five years old. Last year, Nate won gold in three classes: Baroque, Sonatina and Canadian Composer. In this year’s music festival, he completed in two classes: sonatina and own choice. He won gold in both classes.
His favourite thing about learning piano, Nate says, is getting to express himself and play a contemporary piece from a movie or video game when the festival is over.
This year’s music festival was the first for 11-year-old songstress Lyla Chisick – and the daughter of Daniel and Baillee Chisick acquitted herself quite well. She competed in five categories and achieved gold in three: solo performances in Own Choice; Musicals, 2965 to 1999; and 20th and 21st century English Art Song.
Lyla reports that she began taking voice lessons from Jessica Kos-Whicher abougt 18 months ago. “I really love singing,” she says. “It is a great activity.
“I am looking forward to next year’s festival.”
Lyla, Gregory and Yale were also recommend for the Provincials which will be held the weekend of May 24-26. Yale was recommended in the musical theatre category, while Gregory and Lyla were recommended in the TV and Movie category. Gregory was also recommended in the Popular Contemporary category, while Lyla was further recommended in the Vocal Primary category.
We look forward to the continued musical success off Yale, Gregory, Shani, Benji, Alex, Nate, Juliet and Lyla and what new talent may be unveiled at next year’s Winnipeg Music festival.
Local News
Belle Jarniewski recognized by Manitoba Legislature for leadership in combatting antisemitism and raising awareness of the Holocaust
By MYRON LOVE This year’s community commemoration of Yom Hashoah began on Erev Yom Hashoah – April 23 – with with the Megillat Hashoah interfaith reading of the Holocaust Scroll at Congregation Shaarey Zedek the night before.
Yom Hashoah, Thursday, April 24, began, as usual, in the morning with B’nai Brith’s “Unto Everyone There is a Name” – at the Legislature – during which members of our community – including a group of Grade 11 students from Gray Academy – and leaders of the greater community took turns reading out the names of relatives of local Holocaust survivors.
Gray Academy Grade 11 and 12 students also participated in the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s annual public commemorative service over the noon hour – also inside the Legislative Building – with students Alex Stoller and Aaron Greaves leading the 200 or so attendees in singing our national anthem and Hatikvah. Later in the program, they also performed “April Wind.”
Political leaders representing the three levels of Government and Jewish Federation leaders paid their respects leading to the service’s climax – the candle lighting. The ceremony was introduced by Belle Jarniewski, the executive director of the Jewish Heritage Society of Western Canada– with local survivors Saul and Rachel Fink, Susan Garfield, Faye Hoch, Edith Kimelman and Nehama Reuter participating.
The service ended with the traditional El Malei Rachamim prayer (recited by Congegaton Etz Chayim Chazan Tracy Kasner) and Kaddish, led by Rabbi Yossi Benarroch of Adas Yeshurun Herzlia.
This year’s Yom Hashoah commemoration concluded with a special honour for Belle Jarniewski who, later in the afternoon, was publicly recognized in the Legislature for her leadership in Holocaust awareness and the ongoing fight against antisemitism.
In recommending her for special recognition in the Legislature, Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton noted how Jarniewski’s upbringing as the daughter of Holocaust survivors instilled in her a passion for tikkun olam and spurred her to dedicate her life to teach people of all ages about the Holocaust and other genocides.
“Through her work as executive director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada,” Compton noted, “Belle brings education about the Holocaust to thousands of students, teachers, administrators and professional groups each year. She has partnered with Manitoba Education and Training numerous times. She is also a writer who has been published in numerous Canadian, Israeli and European newspapers.”
Compton cited, in particular, Jarniewski’s 2010 book, “Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors,” which documents the histories of 73 local survivors before, during and after the Shoah and can be found in the libraries of every secondary school in Manitoba and in university and national libraries in several countries.
“At a time when antisemitism is on the rise, we must do whatever we can to combat it,” Compton stated. “Belle is doing this great work every day. Today, on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, I cannot think of a better person to celebrate and honour.”
In response to this most recent honour, Jarniewski stated that she “feels tremendously humbled and honoured by Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton’s Member Statement in the Legislature about me. Carla has been a true friend, supporter, and ally to our community.”
She added that she met Compton when the latter was running for office about a year ago in the byelection to replace the former MLA from Tuxedo and former premier, Heather Stefanson.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to honour the memory of my parents and that of the many members of my family who were murdered in the Shoah – through my work. I’m sure my mom (Sylvia) and dad (Samuel) would never have imagined that our provincial government would one day rise to honour their daughter for working to combat antisemitism and remembering the Holocaust.”
As mentioned earlier, this was the most recent of several awards that Jarniewski has received over the past few months. Last month, she was one of several Jewish Winnipeggers who received a King Charles III Coronation medal. Hers was presented by the Manitoba Government.
Last September, our Jewish Federation – at the annual Shem Tov Awards evening – bestowed on her the Larry Hurtig Communal Professional Award in recognition of her outsized leadership role in Winnipeg, nationally and internationally, in preserving the memory of the Holocaust and fighting antisemitism.
“About 15 years ago,” she recalled at that time, “Joe Riesenbach, a survivor, reached out to me to help move a project forward that had literally been collecting dust. Before I knew it, I was a member of the Holocaust Education committee and was then named to the federally appointed delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), as a member of the Academic Working Group, the Education Working Group and the Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial. The committee elaborated the first intergovernmental definition of anti-Semitism, adopted by consensus at the 2016 IHRA plenary. “
Through her work on Holocaust preservation and education, she was introduced to the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada. She was appointed the JHCWC’s executive director in 2018.
“The Jewish Heritage Centre is the key to our past and our future,” she noted. Exploring our archive is like walking back in time. It’s a treasure trove reflecting the incredible history and diversity of our wonderful Jewish community stretching back 125 years- the challenges and the many triumphs that have shaped who we are today. As the saying goes, you need to know the past to understand the present.
“The Winnipeg I grew up in was a golden age for Jews-a tapestry of multiculturalism with shared values,” she continued. “We thought that the kind of antisemitism earlier generations had faced was gone forever. While we may not be able to bring back the wonder years, we must stand united as a community and be strong in our convictions.”
Jarniewski is particularly pleased with the recent announcement, made by our provincial government on Yom Hashoah, reiterating its new partnership with the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada to put into place Premier Wab Kinew’s earlier promise to create and roll out a Holocaust education curriculum in Manitoba schools.
In an April 24 press release, Kinew said that “we are one Manitoba that cannot be divided by hatred. Now, more than ever, we must honour the diversity and inclusivity in our province and commit to learning the lessons of history so that they cannot be repeated. Learning lessons from the past protects some of the intrinsic values of our province – diversity, inclusion and human rights. The best way to uphold that basic understanding is to help foster these values in our young people.”
Beginning in the fall, the grades 6, 9 and 11, social studies curriculum will be updated to include mandatory Holocaust education in all schools across the province.
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada has been tasked to develop new curriculum guidance on Holocaust education, including implementation tools, supports and resources.
“Recent surveys have demonstrated that most Canadian students know very little about the Holocaust,” said Jarniewski. “With increased hate-fueled violence and incidents of antisemitism, Holocaust education is a key tool for countering prejudice and cultivating inclusion. We at the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada are tremendously grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Manitoba government in strengthening Holocaust education in Manitoba through the creation of a mandated curriculum. We know that Holocaust education encourages critical thinking and reflection on how individuals could or should act in society and provides important lessons from the past to learn for the present and the future.”
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