Israeli Consulate to screen incredible film about Israeli photographer Amos Nachoum - produced by Nancy Spielberg

By BERNIE BELLAN Two and a half years ago we published a story by Martin Zeilig about a new documentary produced by Nancy Spielberg about an incredibly brave Israeli deep sea photographer by the name of Amos Nachoum. From April 22-29 you can watch that amazing documentary at https://youtu.be/TCLUq_4BoFU. Click on Read more to find out about how this film was made and how you can interact with the film's director, Yonatan Nir on April 29.
Autism variety show this Friday, April 23
By ADAM SCHWARTZ What do a burlesque dancer, a poet, and a comedian have in common? It turns out quite a lot in fact. For one thing they are all on the International Autism Variety show happening this Friday, April 23, at 7 pm.
Brock Corydon students help children around the world affected by COVID

We received the following press release from Karla Dueck Thiessen, who is a teacher at Brock Corydon School: Ms. Karla Dueck Thiessen and her students from Brock Corydon School are thrilled to announce that their book, It Starts With A Breath…a book about mindful breathing has been translated into Spanish! Students in the Grade 6 Hebrew Bilingual program are now working to translate the book into Hebrew.
New kosher bakery opens in River Heights

By BERNIE BELLAN In our Dec. 9, 2020 issue Rebeca Kuropatwa reported on the success that a recent Israeli émigré to Winnipeg, Luba Yurchenko, had found selling her own baking in Winnipeg.
Stories of Hope project at Gordon Bell High School receives kick start from Peter Leipsic

Gordon Bell High School, located in Winnipeg’s inner-city, is a thriving Grade 7-12 school whose strength lies in the diversity and resiliency of the students it serves. “Our Stories of Hope” project honours the diversity of the Gordon Bell community, which includes representation from 57 cultural groups, and is dedicated to giving Gordon Bell students the opportunity to tell their personal stories.
Construction of new home of Chesed Shel Emes complete – on time and on budget!
By BERNIE BELLAN It was just over a little over two years ago that the Chesed Shel Emes (the Winnipeg Jewish community’s burial society) launched a capital campaign, with the intent to build “a new facility to meet the needs of the Jewish community for many years to come,” an announcement in the May 10, 2019 issue of this paper said.
What’s with the Jews of Winnipeg and psychiatry?
By GERRY POSNER As I was reading through the book “Healing Lives” by Eva Wiseman, one section grabbed my attention and indeed one line in particular on page 424. It seems that as many as 20 percent of the Jewish medical graduates from the Faculty of Medicine in Manitoba went into psychiatry. That means one out of every five chose this area to pursue a career. How unusual is that? Or is it?
Art expert Gail Nep looks back on fulfilling career

By MYRON LOVE After more than 40 years immersed in the world of art, Gail Nep has cut back somewhat on her activities.
“I can’t do the schlepping I used to do when I was younger,” she says, recalling the days when she could be found crossing Portage and Main lugging paintings of different sizes to the offices of corporate clients downtown.
Peretz School graduating class of ’63 subject of Atlantic Magazine profile

By MYRON LOVE Class reunions are most often a once (or twice)in a life time event. I myself have attended two smallish reunions of my Peretz School cohort as well as Aberdeen School’s 100th anniversary and St. Johns High School’s 75th and 100th anniversaries. While many welcome the opportunity to reconnect with former classmates – and others not so much – several members of the I.L. Peretz Folk School class of ’63 have in recent years made class reunions a regular happening.
Shaarey Zedek virtual community seder attracts close to 1,000 viewers

By MYRON LOVE The Shaarey Zedek congregation’s second annual Covid-necessitated virtual community Pesach seder on Sunday, March, 27th, has attracted nearly 1,000 viewers thus far – counting those who signed on in real time and those who watched later.
“Our numbers are well up from last year,” reports Rabbi Anibal Mass, who hosted the seder. “So far, we have had 631 views on Youtube and another 300 on Facebook.”
“Agent Sonya” – the story of the Soviet Union’s most important female spy

Reviewed by BERNIE BELLAN I happened to have the radio on one Saturday afternoon – more as background noise than anything, when Elanor Wachtel’s CBC program on books, “Writers & Company”, came on. Normally I don’t pay attention to Wachtel’s program because it requires paying complete attention to the radio – something which I rarely do unless I’m out for a walk. However, as soon as Wachtel began to introduce her guest, a writer by the name of Ben Macintyre, the subject matter immediately grabbed my interest. Here is how she introduced Macintyre:
University of Manitoba Faculty Association’s proposed motion opposing adoption of IHRA definition of antisemitism leads to furor within some groups in Jewish community
By BERNIE BELLAN In what became a somewhat confusing sequence of events, after much consternation expressed by various parties representing different sections of the Jewish community, a motion that had been introduced by the University of Manitoba Faculty Association to “oppose the adoption or use of the IHRA definition at the University of Manitoba and elsewhere” has apparently been put on hold for the time being.
Where you stand on the IHRA definition of antisemitism has become a litmus test whether you're pro or anti Israel
By BERNIE BELLAN As if there weren’t more important issues in the world to consider, debating the merits of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism has now become one of those wedge issues by which individuals who have differing views on Israel define themselves.
Saying you’re in favour of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism seems to have become codeword for saying you’re defending Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians.
For Harvey Minuk, the Ashkenazi Synagogue - and the Minuk family, have remained integral to his life even after he left Winnipeg

By GERRY POSNER When you talk of ex-Winnipeggers who have more than a fond spot in their hearts for the city, their past, their family and identity, look no further than Harvey Minuk, a central figure in that very large and well known Minuk clan so evident in Winnipeg and now beyond. Minuk oozes with what is the essence of Winnipeg life and I suggest he is transforming Toronto one house at a time.
Self-deprecating Ted Lyons to be this year’s Negev Gala honouree

By BERNIE BELLAN This year’s Jewish National Fund Negev Gala, on Monday, May 31, will be special for many reasons:
It will be the first Negev Gala here conducted entirely online.
It will be the first Negev Gala in Winnipeg in two years. (Last year’s had to be postponed because of Covid.)
It will be the first Negev Gala held in Winnipeg at which a medical physician will be honoured. (In 2018 the Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity was honoured as a collectivity.)
New novel set in 1968 Winnipeg Beach will certainly set off sparks...of amusement, perhaps annoyance

Reviewed by BERNIE BELLAN “The Renter” represents the fourth novel written by former Winnipegger Michael Tregebov, all of which have been set either in Winnipeg or, as is the case with this book – Winnipeg Beach.
Film producer Corey Marr’s new release draws inspiration from Leonard Cohen

By MYRON LOVE Filmmakers Corey Marr and Matthew Bissonnette have just released their newest production, “Death of a Ladies’ Man” to general acclaim. Former Winnipegger Marr reports that the film – which was unveiled in Canada on March 12th has garnered several positive reviews, is currently #6 on the iTunes charts, and has a 100% score on the popular ratings site Rotten Tomatoes.
Dr. Jack Lipkin receives presitgious award from American Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics

Dr. Jack Lipkin, DMD, is the 2020 recipient of the George H. Moulton Lifetime Achievement Award for the American Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics.
“I’m quite humbled by having won this,” says Dr. Lipkin. “I was blown away.”
World-renowned geneticist Dr. Cheryl Greenberg charged with developing new Prairie provinces diagnostic partnership

By MYRON LOVE The Federal Government, in the person of The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, recently announced funding for the creation of a Canadian Prairie Metabolic Network (CPMN), linking genetic researchers in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary. One of the individuals chosen to lead the project is internationally-known pediatric geneticist Dr. Cheryl Rockman-Greenberg.
Bygone Winnipeg: A fictitous story based on true events: University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine 1932-1944

By DAVID TOPPER Call me a witness. I was there and heard almost everything that’s relevant to this story.
Yet, thinking deeper, I guess you could call me a spy – well, at least, some may say that, for there was an element of skulduggery in my employment situation. It was all because of my father, who changed my name when I was born. Of course, we’re all born with a surname, but―
“Proof of Life” - New book about Syrian conflict tells spellbinding story of one man’s search for a young American who went missing in 2014

Review by BERNIE BELLAN The war in Syria which began in 2011 following upon earlier upheavals in the Arab world that were ignited by what became known as the Arab Spring has, by and large, vanished from the headlines of the world’s newspapers.
My memories of Peretz Shul
By KINZEY POSEN It was a late Friday afternoon at Peretz Shul in 1964 or so. A good friend of mine at the time whose Yiddish name was Moishe said, “That’s it! I’m not coming back to school on Monday, I’m out of here!” Ok, as an 11 year old, he might have said it in a slightly different way. It was the first day of school in September and we were just about to go home. “Sure you are Moishe, I’m sure you’ll be back on Monday,” I told him.
Congregation Shir Tikvah officially dissolves
By BERNIE BELLAN In our July 24, 2019 issue we broke the news that Congregation Shir Tikvah was ceasing operations. In that issue we reported that “A Winnipeg congregation that had been holding High Holy Day services for the past 16 years is ceasing operations. In that article we wrote that, in a letter sent to congregation members dated July 12, Congregation Shir Tikvah President Sharon Bronstone stated:
Former Winnipegger Zev Cohen publishes book of short stories: "Twilight in Saigon"

Former Winnipegger Zev Cohen, who now lives part of the year in Israel and part of the year in Calgary, has just published a book of short stories titled "Twilight in Saigon". The book is available for purchase on Amazon. Here is how the book is described on Amazon: This eclectic collection of stories crosses genre lines - war, crime, romance, espionage, science fiction, fantasy -
Defining antisemitism - a history of the "IHRA" definition
By SIMONE COHEN SCOTT Late last year I was asked by The Jerusalem Report to interview the Hon. Irwin Cotler, upon his appointment by Prime Minister Trudeau as Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism. His responsibilities will cover domestic and international antisemitism, and Holocaust education at every level.
At Limmud: New University of Manitoba president Michael Benarroch speaks of the challenges presented by stepping into his role in midst of a pandemic

By BERNIE BELLAN While there were a great many interesting speakers at this year’s Limmud, the one speaker to whom I was looking most forward to hearing was Michael Benarroch, the new president of the University of Manitoba.
Winnipeg-based researchers receive prestigious awards
By MYRON LOVE Three members of Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum’s Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences (ICS) research team – based at the St. Boniface Hospital campus’ Albrechchtsen Research Centre – were recently recognized for their efforts with prestigious awards.
Molyn Leszcz: In this case, “Leszcz” is more

By GERRY POSNER When you talk psychiatry and Winnipeg Jews, you enter into a remarkable and lengthy area for discussion, perhaps even a book. Prominent among the names of Jewish boys who became psychiatrists is Molyn Leszcz - as in very prominent. He is, among other things, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. How he got there from humble beginnings living on Ellice Avenue near his father’s grocery store and also close to the University of Winnipeg is by itself a compelling story.
Dynamic president of Canada Israel Chamber of Commerce aims to boost profile of organization so that it’s not simply a Toronto-centric organization
By BERNIE BELLAN A number of months back I was introduced, by a mutual friend in the investment industry, whose name is Mark Francis, to the president of the Canada Israel Chamber of Commerce (CICC for short): Oded Orgil.
Courage was the reason campus anti-Semites were beaten

A Tufts University student stood up to the mob of Israel-haters. His victory won’t necessarily prevent others from being targeted, but it showed how they, too, can prevail.
By JONATHAN TOBIN (March 5, 2021 / JNS) It was a familiar story but with an unfamiliar conclusion. A Jewish student objected to the anti-Semitic slanders promoted by a student organization dedicated to Israel’s destruction.