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
First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students
By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard. Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging.
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty. “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”
Local News
Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition
By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”
Local News
Team Schvesters teammates Benji Harvey, Kim Gray once again among top ten fundraisers in this year’s CancerCare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life event
By MYRON LOVE This year’s annual CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life walk at Assiniboine Park is scheduled for Sunday, June 13 – and, once again, in terms of fundraising, Team Schvesters is sitting in second place overall – having raised just over $30,500 as of May 26 – which is $5,000 more than the team members had raised by the same time last year.
As well, team members Benji Harvey and Kim Gray are once again in the top ten among individual fundraisers. Harvey this year sits in fifth place, having raised a little over $16,000 as of May 17 – while Gray has raised just above $8,000 – putting her in seventh place.
Harvey reports that, -over the past 18, years participating in CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life, she has personally raised $180,000 for cancer research, while her team as a whole has brought in $367,000. In discussing her success as a fundraiser, Harvey says that she has made a lot of friends over the years and believes in giving back to the community.
The “Schvesters” are the Greenfeld sisters: Harvey and sisters Lesly Katz and Debra Lewis – the daughters of Lil and the late Ike Greenfeld. Two of the sisters are cancer survivors.
There is one other team member – in addition to Kim Gray. Judge Rocky Pollack first joined Team Schvesters in 2023. After a year away in 2024, he returned last year. Pollack lost his wife, Sharon, to cancer in 2014 after a multi-year struggle.
Nancy’s Nightingales has been a top 10 community fundraising team for Cancercare Manitoba and the Challenge for Life since its inception in 2008. As a team, they have walked together since 2006 when they walked 60 km in two days in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.
Last year, the team – including Louise Raber, Joanne Katz, Rhonda Youell, Connie Botelho and Harriet Lyons – finished fifth in fundraising. So far this year, the team is again sitting in fifth place –having raised just under $12,500 (as of May 26) – a couple of thousand dollars more than last year, and just about $300 behind the fourth place team.
The Nightingales are named after a nurse who is a cancer survivor- and a friend of Louise Raber, Nancy’s Nightingales team leader.
“Our goal, as always, is to raise at least one dollar more than last year,” says Raber.
Team Jason’s Journey team leader Jason Gisser has experienced a more intimate and longer-lasting relationship with cancer than many of the other Challenge for Life participants. He was first diagnosed with cancer when he was 18. “I am a proud cancer fighter, having lived and battled a chronic cancer diagnosis for the last 23 years,” he said in an earlier interview. “I participate in the Challenge for Life not only to give back for the care and treatment which I have and continue to receive through CancerCare Manitoba, but to ensure that others do not have to endure the journey which I have endured.”
This is the ninth year that Gisser has taken up the Challenge for Life. His teammates are returnee Nora Fien, as well as friends Danial Sprintz, Wendy Martin White and Jason Roberts, also his mother, Judge Freda Steele. He has personally raised about $5,500 this year, while the team as a whole has raised just over $7,000.
“The Challenge for Life is great opportunity to raise valuable dollars for cancer research and treatment,” Gisser notes.
Readers can make donations to their preferred team by going online to CancerCarefdn.mb.ca and click on Challengeforlife.ca.
