Bermax Caffé case takes new twist

By BERNIE BELLAN

As reported on the CBC website on January 16, two of the three lawyers who had been representing different members of the Berent family, which owned Bermax Caffé & Bistro, “are no longer defending” two members of the Berent family – Alexander and Oksana Berent, following a” ‘breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship,’ Crown prosecutor Mike Himmelman told the court.”
Both James Lowry, who had been defending Alexander Berent, and Martin Glazer, who had been defending Oksana Berent, have resigned as counsel for the accused, according to the CBC report.

Former high profile “White Supremacist” to speak at Limmud

By MYRON LOVE

Once upon a time, Elisa Hategan was a protégé of noted Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel and White Supremacist leader and Canadian Heritage Front founder Wolfgang Droege.
Today, she is a member in good standing of Canada’s Jewish community and a frequent voice against the very concepts with which she was formerly identified.
On the weekend of February 29-March 1, Hategan will be in Winnipeg – for the first time – at Limmud (at the Asper Jewish Community Centre) speaking about her journey from the dark to the light and her path to Judaism.

Long time friends Ben Carr & Kevin Freedman cheering each other on in school trustee by-election campaigns

By MYRON LOVE
Long time friends Ben Carr and Kevin Freedman are hoping to be working together come March 21 as fellow members of Winnipeg School Division No. 1’s Board of Trustees.
The pair are running in two separate byelections – in Wards 3 and 4, where the previously elected school trustees, Mark Wasyliw and Lisa Naylor, quit their positions after winning seats in the Manitoba legislature in last fall’s provincial election.

Israeli-Canadian mentalist wows audience in Winnipeg debut

By MYRON LOVE
Haim Goldenberg believes that when confronted with a problem you are having trouble solving, looking at the problem from different angles can lead to a solution.
It is a philosophy that the Israeli-Canadian mentalist uses in his stage show – with sometimes surprising results.

Billed as a “real life” mentalist (whatever that means), Goldenberg made his Winnipeg premiere at the Berney Theatre on Saturday, January 11, with two shows – the first in English and the second in Hebrew.

Rabbis taking a leading role in discussion of addiction in Jewish community

By MYRON LOVE
According to Rabbi Allan Finkel, there has been a long-standing pattern of denying the existence of addiction within the established Jewish community.
As recently as 1995, Temple Shalom’s new spiritual leader reported, a study of addiction in England’s Jewish community concluded that the problem didn’t exist in the community. It has only been within the past 25 years that Jewish communities in North America have taken the problem seriously and been making efforts to help community members struggling with addiction.
Finkel addressed the issue at a presentation on Tuesday, January 14, at the Asper Campus Adult Lounge as part of a series of Rady JCC-initiated monthly talks featuring local rabbis speaking about contemporary issues.

Realtor Danielle Margolis goes for a walk in the desert... and raises $38,000 for Winnipeg women’s shelter

By MYRON LOVE

Realtor Danielle Margolis recently went for a trek in the desert to raise money for an initiative she strongly believes in. The desert was the Sahara and Margolis one of 120 Royal LePage realtors from across the country – divided into four groups - who took part in the “Sahara Desert Challenge”, on behalf of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation - in support of women’s and children’s shelters across Canada.

Lifesaving Israeli training coming to Winnipeg

By REBECA KUROPATWA

In 2016, when Magen David Adom (MDA) introduced the Life Guardian Program, thousands of Israelis with no medical training jumped at the opportunity to participate.
The Life Guardian Program added another layer of responders to emergencies to potentially save more lives with faster response time, by certifying or recertifying everyday Israeli citizens. Many participants had learned CPR as part of their army service or teacher certification, and others took first-aid basics for the first time.

Music ‘N’ Mavens kicks off 22nd season

By MYRON LOVE
The Rady JCC’s popular Music ‘N’ Mavens kicked off its 22nd season on Tuesday, January 14, with a bravura performance by the incomparable Jennifer Hanson. Accompanied by Gilles Fournier on base and Murray Pulver on guitar (both of whom are also fixtures on the local music scene) – and still getting over a cold, one of Winnipeg’s leading ladies of song delivered a range of numbers beginning with long ago hits from Cole Porter and encompassing the Turtles, the Beatles, the Pointer Sisters, Linda Ronstadt and more (including a song of her own composition) while between songs chatting comfortably with her audience of nearly 200 who filled the Berney Theatre.

New documentary by Winnipeg filmmaker Yolanda Papini-Pollock exposes horrors of Falun Gong persecution in China

By MYRON LOVE
Genocide can take different forms. The Holocaust, for example, and the more recent Rwandan genocide were condensed in a frenzy of killing. For the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and Australia, the killing and attempted erasure of their cultures transpired over several hundred years.
Then, there is the matter of the Falun Gong.
Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa and Qi Gong) is a practice combining simple exercises with meditation based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.Of ancient Chinese origin, the practice – with the encouragement of the Chinese Communist government – developed a very large following in modern China. In 1999, however, Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, decided that practicing Falun Gong was a threat to the Chinese Communist government. He initiated a thoroughgoing campaign to demonize the practice and eradicate anyone who continued to practice the tradition.

Oscars 2020 nominations: Scarlett Johansson enters elite company, Adam Sandler snubbed

By GABE FRIEDMAN
(JTA) – The 2020 Oscar nominations are out, and unsurprisingly, they’re already causing a firestorm on social media.
The list, announced early Monday morning, didn’t do much to quell longstanding concerns that the awards have issues with race and gender equality. Only one actor of color was nominated – Cyntha Erivo, for her role in “Harriet” – and the best director category is once again all male, despite the fact that Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women” was a massive critical and commercial success.

Winnipeg Board of Jewish Education awarded judgment in lawsuit brought against parents of former Gray Academy students - but costs likely to be limited only to $100

By BERNIE BELLAN

A story about which we have been reporting since December 2018 has been the lawsuit brought by the Winnipeg Board of Jewish Education against Ido and Rochelle Raam for unpaid tuition relating to the 2017-18 school year.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Shawn Greenberg on December 17, 2019, Justice Greenberg found in favour of the plaintiff (the WBJE) in the amount of “$7,450 plus pre-judgment interest and post-judgment interest at the agreed rate.”

Adventures in Jerusalem

By SIMONE COHEN SCOTT
Jerusalem
When I call this piece ‘Adventures’, you have to realize who I am. I’m an elderly Jewish woman. Even before this happened to me though, I was not into bungee jumping, mountain climbing, deep sea diving (not even light scuba diving), canoe trips, stock car racing, or anything like that. Buying myself an apartment in Jerusalem is as adventurous as I’ve ever been. That’s a long story, and it’s not one that I’m going to tell today. But, I was gradually beginning to travel here more than once in twelve months, and I wanted to stop feeling like the meter is running and you have to keep doing something because otherwise money is going down the drain.

City of Kenora says it is not interested in subdividing Town Island; will sell to only one purchaser

By BERNIE BELLAN
A story that we have been following closely has taken an interesting twist. In the case of the looming sale of that portion of Town Island which is not already owned by BB Camp, the City of Kenora has clarified that if the rest of Town Island is sold, it will not be sold to more than one purchaser.

Ongoing stories about Town Island and lawsuit against parents of Gray Academy students nearing conclusions

By BERNIE BELLAN

The above two stories on our website have to do with stories whose final resolution is up in the air. Of the two stories, the story about the future of Town Island is of much more importance.

Even though I left Winnipeg years ago, the Shaarey Zedek's online streaming service keeps me connected

By GERRY POSNER

There I was planning to go to synagogue in Toronto in late December when my throat thought otherwise. I just was not up to it and I was worried that my cough might drown out the Torah reader.