Local News
Israeli representative in Canada Sarah Mali talks about October 7 heroes
By MYRON LOVE Conflict often produces acts of heroism – but it is not only warriors who become heroes. As Sarah Mali noted, heroism can come in many forms.
Mali, the Director General of JFC-UIA Canada in Israel, made a stop in our community on Thursday, May 30, on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, during which she did a presentation at the Berney Theatre providing an update on the situation in the Jewish State from her perspective as an Israeli – with a focus on the different faces of heroism..
The British-born Mali made Aliyah in 2000 after earning a degree from the London School of Economics. She also has degrees from the Hebrew University and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The mother of four – the older two currently serving in the Israel Defence Forces – was the Director of Israel Engagement for the Jewish Federation of Toronto from 2007 to 2012. She returned to Israel to undertake her current assignment in 2012 and now lives in Jerusalem.
Mali is an accomplished writer and public speaker who was named one of “50 of Our Favorite Women Right Now” by ”Future of Judaism” in 2022.
Mali was introduced by Paula Parks, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s President. She presented her stories of heroism through a series of photographs. She began by recalling the first time in Israel that she heard sirens going off. “I was in the car with one of my daughters,” she recounted. “We weren’t quite sure what to do at first. But we got out of the car and did what all Israelis do.
“These past eight months, sirens have been sounded almost daily. Just recently, there was renewed rocket fire toward Tel Aviv.”
The first group of heroes that Mali highlighted was the group of 14 young female soldiers who were kidnapped from their IDF base near Kibbutz Nahal Oz – near the Gaza border – which was overrun on October 7.
She spoke of the 60,000 residents of Israel’s north who were forced to leave their homes because of the danger from Hezbollah in the north and the heroic way that their fellow Israelis throughout the country have opened their homes and hearts to these internally displaced refugees, along with survivors of the attacks by Hamas in the south.
While Mali noted that she and her family are safe – living in the centre of the country – she described a recurring nightmare of loss.
She told the story of Avitel Aladjem from Kibbutz Holit. When the kibbutz was attacked, Aladjem was tasked by her neighbor, Canadian-born Adi Vital Kaploun, with looking after the latter’s two children – a three year old boy and a baby. Kaploun was murdered and Aladjem and the children were put on bicycles and driven to the Gaza border. For some strange and miraculous reason, the terrorist left the threesome at the border. So Aladjem put the baby in a sling, picked up the three-year-old boy and carried both children back to safety.
Mali further praised the courage of the Magen David Adom medics who unhesitatingly put themselves in danger in those early desperate hours to save lives – and have continued saving lives throughout the war. She recounted one story about an Israeli soldier who was shot in the neck and pronounced dead. One medic, however, noticed that he was wearing a wedding band.
The medic noted that meant someone was waiting for the soldier at home and suggested the first responders should check him again for any vital signs. They found a pulse and had him evacuated by helicopter right away. He was able to make a full recovery.
(Mali also noted that more than 15,000 Israeli soldiers have been wounded in the current conflict.)
One of the photos that Mali put on screen was the rescuer visiting the recovering soldier in hospital.
She spoke of the tremendous efforts of Israeli mental health professionals who have been having to deal with tens of thousands of traumatized Israeli of all ages.
She noted the miracle of her own daughter recently giving birth – bringing a new life into a world gone mad.
Another photo she posted was of a letter from a seven-year-old girl in Toronto who wanted to donate $23 to Israel to help with food, clothing and housing.
Mali’s final paean was to all the Jewish communities in the Diaspora – including our own – that have raised tremendous sums of money (over $4 million alone from our community), have staged rallies in support of our Israeli brethren, and many of whom have travelled to Israel, not only to show their support, but also to volunteer to help in many ways.
“You are all heroes,” Mali told her audience.
Following her presentation, Mali took several questions from the audience. One question concerned the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah in the north. “My head tells me that the IDF has to end Hezbollah,” Mali responded. “But, as a mother with children serving in the IDF, I would be terrified.”
In answer to a second question about what some view as Israel’s poor public relations record, Mali pointed out that a major problem is that the Western media see the conflict – and the world – in terms of victims and oppressors, and the Palestiniand in this worldview are ever the victims – and therefore, can do no wrong – while the Israelis are the oppressors whose every actions are judged as criminal or evil.
In concluding, Mali described the strong sense of determination and solidarity among most Israelis – an attitude exemplified by her own 17-year-old son who is impatient to join the IDF and take up the fight.
She added that “We Israelis want you to come to Israel, hear our stories and share them back in your communities.
“Israel is a strong country with a strong army,” she observed. “We are fighting not just for our own people but also for all Jews – and we are fighting against evil. This is our moment.”
Local News
Jewish Child and Family Service helped over 1800 families in 2025
By BERNIE BELLAN Jewish Child and Family Service will be entering the 75th year of its existence in 2027.
With a budget over $4,300,000, JCFS is also the largest beneficiary of funding from the Jewish Federation of the 12 Winnipeg Jewish community agencies that are beneficiaries of the Federation. (To see a list of the 12 agencies go to Funding for Beneficiary Agencies.)
Its impact has grown over the years as JCFS has expanded its horizon, continually adding to the many services it provides. During the JCFS’s Annual General Meeting, held in the Seniors’ Lounge of the Asper Campus on Tuesday evening, June 23, the important role that JCFS plays in the lives of so many members of the Jewish community – also a significant number of non-Jews as well, various speakers cited the many ways in which JCFS has continued to have such a huge impact.
With total revenues of $4,325,160 in fiscal year 2025 (which ended March 31, 2026), but slightly fewer expenses, JCFS not only delivered a wide gamut of services, it managed to deliver those services without incurring a deficit in 2025, despite some significant financial challenges.
As outgoing Board Chair Elana Grinshteyn observed, JCFS had to navigate some major reductions in funding, including a cut in funding from the federal government to the tune of $100,000, plus the loss of funding from the Claims Conference, which had provided support for Holocaust survivors.
Yet, despite those setbacks in funding, Grinshtein reported, “Together, we insured that services remained intact.
“We increased access to interest free loans,” she noted, “doubling” the amount that had been allocated in 2024.
And, amidst the ever-increasing demand for services, “JCFS has continued to navigate space limitations,” Grinshteyn noted. (I should note that as far back as 2019 I reported in an interview I had conducted with JCFS CEO Al Benarroch about the JCFS’s dire need for more space. Here is an excerpt from what Benarroch had to say about the JCFS’s need for more room back in 2019: “…we’ve been looking for roughly 3,000 more square feet of space. We have a footprint right now of roughly 5,000 square feet for over 40 staff. We’ve given up a board room here. It’s been taken over by older adult service staff. We have a conference room which is adjacent to the board room; we’ve moved two staff in there.
“Yesterday I gave up my office for the entire morning so that staff could interview clients.
“We need to relieve the pressure we’re facing right now – yet alone plan for expanding and growing.
“Whatever space we’d be looking at would be temporary. It’s now 22 years that we’ve been in this facility. The campus has taken over squash courts, it’s taken over a museum – internally, to accommodate the growth in services. Maybe it’s time now to look at growing outside this building…”
As the saying goes: “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” (That’s me, trying to impress.)
While I tried to take notes during Al Benarroch’s CEO report, I realized following his remarks that there was so much important information conveyed, also a slew of statistics, that it might be more helpful to reprint a good portion of what he said verbatim, so I asked Al to send me a copy of his remarks. (That’s one of the nice things about writing on a website. There’s an infinite amount of room to print the kind of stuff that nerds like me pretend to read.)
During his CEO’s report, Benarroch enumerated the many challenges JCFS encountered in 2025.
Among those challenges, Benarroch noted, were:
• The rising and high cost of living
• Food insecurity
• Housing issues
• Our aging population demographics
• The complex needs of our newcomer families
• The increasingly complex needs in mental health & youth mental health
Yet, despite all those challenges, Benarroch said, “As always… we rose to meet those head on, and with the support of our community.”
In particular, Benarroch cited the support of the Jewish Federation, which contributed $948,800 to JCFS in 2025. (The largest portion of JCFS funding, by the way came from the Province: over $1,100,000.)
Fundraising also played a significant role in contributing to JCFS revenues, with almost $700,000 raised through that route, including direct donations of over $320,000 and bequests over $40,000.
As Benarroch noted, “Every year, we look forward with hope that it will be a quiet year.
“Well, if that’s the case, we are in the wrong business.
“We happen to be in the reflect, respond and pivot business.
“This is the nature of the human existence.”
Benarroch went on to add some more statistics about how JCFS played such a pivotal role in the lives of so many people. In 2025 JCFS:
• Served 1,800 client households – impacting almost 5,000 people.
• Assisted 15 foster children.
• Served 70 families in Child Welfare….
“But what is even more important is that we assisted 90 children that remained at home with their families,” Benarroch said.
The year 2025 also saw the inauguration of what is known as the “Asper Empowerment Program”, through which:
• 311 clients were assisted (including Passover Assistance)
• $80,000 was disbursed in financial assistance
• Over $20,000 was given out in interest-free loans.
• 6,500 kg of food were disbursed
In the area of mental health and counselling services, Benarroch noted that JCFS:
• Supported over 50 adults with mental health challenges
• Our Friday Mental Health Wellness Group participants took part in 22 group activities or outings
• We support some 20 individuals and families impacted by addictions through individual and group services.
• We delivered almost 1,100 counselling sessions, over half of which were subsidized on our sliding scale.
• We continued to support individuals, families, and partner Jewish organizations with the ongoing emotional impacts of the war in Israel and high levels of global antisemitism.
In the area of support for older adults, JCFS served over 250 seniors including:
• 70 newcomer seniors
• 50 seniors living with mental health differences
• 65 Holocaust Survivors (including celebrating “25 years of our Holocaust Survivor Drop-in Group, a partnership with the Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre.”)
In the area of settlement services, JCFS:
• Welcomed almost 80 new families
• Almost 50 families from Israel, seeking reprieve from the ongoing stresses and pressures of the war.
Benarroch noted that “These families are dealing with the deep trauma of displacement, having lived under constant stress, fear and the ensuing post-traumatic impact, family and parenting challenges as a result, emotional exhaustion, financial strain, and more.
“Thanks to the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, we hired a trained specialized support worker, with a background in therapy, to help these families cope, adjust, and receive much needed emotional supports.”
Benarroch went on to describe many more initiatives in which JCFS was engaged in 2025, but I want to return to the retirement of Elena Grinshteyn from the Board of JCFS after nine years serving on the Board, including the last two as Chair. Grinshteyn will be succeed by Bradley Abells, who has been on the Board since 2021. In his remarks, Abells noted that he is an actuary at Canada Life and that he first joined the Board when his particular expertise as an actuary proved extremely helpful in helping to solve a problem that had arisen, and he found the experience so rewarding he decided to remain on the Board ever since .
Also on the Board is Michael Schacter, who is returning as Treasurer and who looks the way you’d expect a finance guy to look.
Local News
EXCLUSIVE LISTING – $399,900!
You will fall in love with this very cute 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom & over 1300 sq ft LAKE VIEW cabin in Gimli MB that has been well cared for by the same family since the 40’s. One of a kind & mid-century with thoughtful modern updates which exhibits a professionally redesigned interior that enhances both comfort & functionality. Adorable eat- kitchen with an 8 foot island, loads of cupboard space, high vaulted ceiling & open to the living room. You will spend plenty of time in the 3 season sunroom with windows all around to enjoy the incredible lake views & sunrises with your morning coffee. The primary bedroom has a king size bed and the two other bedrooms have queen beds. The walls in the cabin were updated with notty pine & indoor/outdoor carpeting throughout. The cottage includes a 4 piece bathroom, laundry/storage area with washer & dryer included, 200 amp service, electric baseboard heat, 2 wall AC’s & all the furniture/accessories included.
Don’t miss out on this fantastic LAKE VIEW opportunity where memories will be made. Call now for your private showing!
Mark Richard Meyers Personal Real Estate Corporation with Re/Max Executives Realty. 204-995-5496
Local News
Jewish Foundation’s asset base surpasses $200 million for first time
By BERNIE BELLAN The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba continues to show stellar growth – having achieved total assets over $200 million in the 2025 fiscal year (a 7.4% increase from the 2024 fiscal year), also having distributed $8.2 million in grants during the year.
Those were among the highlights reported at the JFM’s Annual General Meeting, held Wednesday evening July 18, in the multipurpose room of the Asper Campus.
JFM CEO John Diamond noted that one of the most successful aspects of the year just past was the launch of what is known as “Fund Match II” which, he explained, is “building on the success of the original FundMatch project introduced in 2012.”
Under the terms of the new Fund Match program 18 initial organizations that created endowments with a combined value of $689,388 at the JFM benefitted from matching funds of $178,000 that were added to those endowments, with an additional four other organizations having joined in the program during the course of the year.
Other highlights (which can all be perused in the JFM’s annual report, available simply by going to the JFM website) include the JFM having “awarded 72 scholarships and academic awards totalling $230,759.”
JFM Board treasurer Bruce Caplan also spoke of some other notable achievements of the JFM in 2025, including a 12.64% return on investments and $4.27 million in new contributions.
The AGM also saw a number of changes to the composition of the board. Most notable among them is the retirement of Dan Blankstein as Board Chair – after having served two two-year terms, to be succeeded by Dafna Shore.
Also, the current longest-serving member of the board, Bonnie Cham, is retiring from the board after having served on it for 13 years, including three terms as Chair.
One other significant retirement announced at the AGM was that of Chief Financial Officer Ian Barnes – who will be retiring in December after 26 years as CFO During his remarks to the audience Barnes noted that “When I arrived at the Foundation, the assets were $29 million.” As noted, that figure has now grown to $200 million.
He also noted that “Since the Foundation was established in 1964, total grants and
distributions are $113.6 million.”
Barnes paid tribute to the three Chief Executive Officers with whom he worked: David Cohen, Marsha Cowan, and John Diamond. With regard to Marsha Cowan, Barnes said that “Marsha taught me about business – and how to dress!” (Barnes will be succeeded as CFO by Lynda Joyal.)
One of the annual customs of the JFM AGM is to thank the JFM staff – and to announce how many years each staff member has served at the JFM. While there are a number of individuals who have been with the JFM for a fairly long time, no one comes close to Patti Boorman, Director of Administration, who has been with the JFM for 37 years.
Among the largest new grants given by the JFM in 2025 were: a grant of $122,000 to the Asper Jewish Community Campus, Gray Academy of Jewish Education and Rady JCC to support the construction of a “new accessible outdoor play structure, ensuring safe, inclusive play for children and families; a grant of $150,000 to the Simkin Centre for the hiring a Volunteer Engagement Specialist – a three-year project to modernize volunteer programs and enhance resident, family, and intergenerational involvement.
Among the leading recipients of distributions from donor-recommend endowment funds – all of which had received grants in the past were:
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada $149,618
Rady JCC 154,746
Gray Academy 168,535
Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University 163,488
Jewish Child & Family Service 447,471
Simkin Centre 858,654
Asper Campus 431,099
Combined Jewish Appeal 907,688
Jewish Federation of Winnipeg 531,076
Note: A number of the above organizations also received community impact grants – which are one-time grants given for special purposes.
