Camp Massad and BB Camp adjust – again – to Covid restrictions

By BERNIE BELLAN After a summer in 2020 that saw our two Jewish sleepover camps have to cancel all overnight stays for campers, this summer, our community’s camps are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.
While some children may be unable to attend camp with their friends – which undoubtedly comes as a huge disappointment once again, this year both camps had prepared contingency plans quite some ago in anticipation of the possibility of not being allowed to have regular overnight camps.

Norman Stein – a teacher in the Jewish school system for over 14 years, whose varied interests in music, art, films, and Jewish learning made him a true “Renaissance man”

By BERNIE BELLAN  For hundreds of Winnipeg Jews – both current and former, the name Norman Stein conjures up a multitude of memories.
For many of us, “Mr. Stein” was a teacher in the Jewish day school system during the 1950s and 60s who not only taught Hebrew subjects, he was also truly a Renaissance man with an extraordinarily broad knowledge of literature, art, films, and music.

Eira Shoichet demystifying body care

By REBECA KUROPATWA Ukraine-born, Israeli-raised Eira Shoichet is working to shed light on body care products, and help explain that mainstream body care products may not be good, either for their users or the environment.

New coffee table book takes a delightful look at Winnipeg’s rich repository of mural art

By BERNIE BELLAN Back in the fall – when our brief dalliance with the relatively loose Covid restrictions that had been in place over the summer started to come to an end, Kayla Gordon found herself with time on her hands.
Now, for anyone who knows Kayla, she’s constantly buzzing with ideas – whether it’s to create a new theatre project or, as has been more recently the case, to take her camera out somewhere and start taking photos.

The Little Synagogue in Me: How one of the last surviving prairie synagogues found a home at Calgary’s Heritage Park

By IRENA KARSHENBAUM Looking back, I can’t believe it’s been 12 years since The Little Synagogue came to Calgary’s Heritage Park Historical Village, the largest living history museum in Canada. It feels like another life.
I remember lying in bed at night, dreaming about this project, how I was going to put a synagogue in Heritage Park. Everything seemed so far into the future.

What We’re Getting, What We’ve Lost: Ben-Gvir, Friedman and Democracy

By JAMIE MICHAELS Ed. note: This article was sent to us before the latest round of coalition-forming attempts. In the pulsating balagan that is Israeli democracy, it can be difficult to pay attention to small details. At the time of writing, King Netanyahu—Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister—is attempting to cobble together an unstable coalition government. If he is able to do so his success will likely be short-lived.

Winnipeg-born mom Morgan VanDam (née Micay) writes best selling Etsy book: a heart-warming story documenting the highs and lows of being born in a pandemic

We received the following email from Morgan VanDam: My name is Morgan Van Dam (formerly Micay), I’m living in Calgary, AB but am originally from Winnipeg, MB. I wrote and illustrated “Pandemic Baby” as a fun momento for my son but quickly realized that my sister and many friends are going through the same motions of being a new parent in a pandemic. Like me, they are looking for a moment of levity in an otherwise difficult time.

More than seven acts of antisemitism a day in Canada in 2020, new B’nai Brith Audit says

The following is taken from B’nai Brith Canada’s most recent audit of antisemitic incidents in Canada, which was released April 26:
On average, more than seven antisemitic incidents occurred per day in Canada in 2020.
This is one of several disturbing facts revealed in the 2020 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, released today. The Audit is produced by B’nai Brith Canada’s advocacy arm, the League for Human Rights.

Melanie Martin (née Schachter) blazes trail for women in science



 

By MYRON LOVE In 1993, then University of Manitoba physics student Melanie Schachter had the honour of being one of just two Canadian students chosen by an organization called the Youth Science Foundation to represent our country at the Nobel Prize ceremonies and the 18th annual Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar that year. 

Harvey Chochinov inducted into Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

In an online induction ceremony held April 29, Dr. Harvey Chochinov was one of six new inductees into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Following is information taken from the CMHF website: "Six Canadian medical heroes are inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame each year. Their work may be a single outstanding contribution or a lifetime of meritorious achievement. Pioneers in their field, they are role models of excellence in the health field, in Canada and around the world."

Aleeza Gerstein, Zach Raizman among recipients of Manitoba Medical Service Foundation research grants

By MYRON LOVE In the (Saturday) April 17 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press, the Manitoba Medical Service Foundation (MMSF) took out a half page ad to highlight the organization’s 2021 grant recipients. Among the 12 researchers approved for grants this year were two members of our Jewish community – Drs. Aleeza Gerstein and Zach Raizman.

Four young Jewish women join together to create “SIMCHA Zine”

 

By BERNIE BELLAN Four young Jewish women, three of whom are from Winnipeg, one from Toronto, have joined forces to produce a “zine” aimed at a Jewish audience, titled “SIMCHA Zine”.

The four are: Erin Meagan Schwartz, Adi Farage, (both of whom live in Winnipeg), Sophie Hershfield, (who is from Winnipeg, but currently living in Toronto), and Liesje Rolia (who is a Torontonian - and who is the graphic designer for the zine.

Further to the many Jewish psychiatrists from Manitoba

By BERNIE BELLAN Elsewhere on this website you can read an article by Gerry Posner about all the Jewish psychiatrists who have come from Manitoba (http://jewishpostandnews.ca/8-features/785-what-s-with-the-jews-of-winnipeg-and-psychiatry). In his column, however, Gerry explained that, for reasons of brevity, he did not include the names of Jewish women psychiatrists. Their names were actually given in Eva Wiseman’s book, “Healing Lives - A Century of Manitoba Jewish Physicians”.

Harry Prosen a psychiatric star wherever he goes

By GERRY POSNER It was not hard for me to jump on the Harry Prosen bandwagon for at least three reasons:
First, his last name is so very close to mine that I felt a kind of a brotherly connection to him. After all, Prosen and Posner have the same letters, just rearranged.
Second, Harry Prosen is likely the oldest Jewish graduate of the University of Manitoba Medical school still working in the area of psychiatry . He will be 91 in June and still counting.
Third, Prosen has serious credentials.

Combined Jewish Appeal raises record amount in midst of pandemic during 2020

By BERNIE BELLAN When we saw the announcement in our print edition by the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg that the Combined Jewish Appeal’s final tally for 2020 was $6,439,994, we were pleasantly surprised. After all, no one needs to be reminded how difficult a year 2020 had been for most people. So, we decided to ask Rebecca Brask, who is Chief Development Officer at the Federation, if she could answer some questions about last year’s campaign.

End homelessness advocate Lissie Rappaport credits her zaida for influencing her career path

By MYRON LOVE Lissie Rappaport is playing a leadership role in the campaign to end homelessness in our community. The daughter of Lynn and Alan Rappaport – and granddaughter of Rabbi Sholom and Elaine Rappaport (oleh hasholem) is currently the Manager of Housing Supply at End Homelessness Winnipeg, a position that she has held for more than two years.

Former Winnipegger Sandy Shefrin Rabin receives national recognition through the INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD®!

(San Francisco, CA) — The INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARDS recognized Prairie Sonata by Sandy Shefrin Rabin as the winner in the category of Best Young Adult Fiction.
The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Selected award winners anddistinguished favorites are based on overall excellence.

Some thoughts on the convergence of anti-vaxxers and antisemitism

By BERNIE BELLAN The Covid pandemic has often led to the convergence of several wacky conspiracy theories into one larger massive conspiracy theory, promulgated by right wing conspiracy theorists. As I noted in another article elsewhere on this site (http://jewishpostandnews.ca/local/798-notorious-anti-masker-and-holocaust-denier-slated-to-speak-at-teh-forks-on-sunday), I had been alerted by a caller to the dangerous conspiracy theories being promulgated by a notorious anti-vaxxer (and virulent antisemite) who goes by the name of "Chris Sky".