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.

By BERNIE BELLAN
The situation regarding the possible sale of Town Island took a somewhat confusing twist these past two weeks when an online publication known as Kenora Online reported on Monday, January 13, that Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford (who is also Ontario’s Northern Development Minister) said “he’s working with the City of Kenora on a possible Town Island land swap.”

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.

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.

By BERNIE BELLAN
The list of recipients of the Order of Canada named by Canada’s Governor General, Julie Payette, now includes Dr. Cheryl Rockman-Greenberg of Winnipeg.

By MYRON LOVE
If you are visiting the Asper Jewish Community Campus and you make a left turn at the Berney Theatre, you will come to the Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre.

By MYRON LOVE

Danny Waldman says that he has always enjoyed the challenge of doing something no one else is doing. That philosophy has led him to forge a niche creating hand-crafted mezzuzah casings out of blocks of wood.

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.

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.”

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.

“Moving Forward - An Ancient Divorce Ritual for the Modern World”
By Dr. Marilyn Beloff
Available on Amazon Books
Reviewed by RAYMOND HALL
Introduction: Dr. Marilyn Beloff, PhD is a collaborative divorce coach, child specialist, divorce mediator, and marital and family therapist. A native of Winnipeg, she presently lives and works in Vancouver, BC.

By REBECA KUROPATWA

Now living in Campbell River on Vancouver Island, Dana Mahon was born and raised in Winnipeg, where she lived until the age of 28. In Winnipeg, she was an active member of the Jewish community – through her schooling, camp, and involvement with the Chai Dancers.

By MYRON LOVE
In Winnipeg, you could say that, when it comes to connecting people, Javier Nudler is the master of connectivity.
The Argentinian-born Nudler is the man in our community who is at the centre of Business Network International (BNI), the world’s largest business networking and business referral organization.

By MYRON LOVE

In her eight years as Temple Shalom’s administrator, Ruthie Maman – who is retiring at the end of the year – says that the highlight of her tenure at Winnipeg’s Reform congregation was bringing the synagogue into the Jewish mainstream in Winnipeg. mainstream in Winnipeg.

By CURT SCHLEIER
(JTA) – Mel Brooks’ new HBO special is a departure from the comedian’s typical belly-laugh fare. In place of the slapstick gallows humor – though there’s plenty of that, too, in “Mel Brooks Unwrapped” – is a more introspective, documentary-style reminiscence of his nearly 60-year career.

By BERNIE BELLAN
There’s a lesson to be learned from how the board and staff of the Rady JCC handled their Annual General Meeting on Monday, December 16: It was over in record time!
Why was that? The answer is: No long speeches! After all, like almost any Jewish event, the main point of the evening was to get to the food - not to hear how great a year an organization just had. (Does any organization ever say they’ve had a really crappy year?)

By GERRY POSNER

Recently I was at a synagogue in Toronto to hear the former rabbi of the Tree of Life Temple in Pittsburgh recount the events of the tragedy at his former shul when, as the Torah was carried around the synagogue, who should appear in the aisle across from me, but Evelyn and Larry Hecht.

Various groups contributed to making this holiday season somewhat more pleasant for those among us who are less fortunate. B'nai Brith, in conjunction with Jewish Child & Family Service and the Chabad Lubavtich, provided 60 bags containing food and Chanukah-related items for different Winnipeg Jewish families.

Winnipeg Friends of Israel provided food bags containing only Israeli products - this year for Willow Place, which is a women's shelter. Read more about the great work that was the result of dedicated volunteers devoting hours of their time to worthy causes.

So many different organizations had different ways to mark Chanukah this year. We've put together a series of short descriptions of what's been happening in Winnipeg's Jewish community this year. Click "read more" to see what's been going on:

By MYRON LOVE
There are undoubtedly many people who ascribe to the stereotype that all Israeli Jews are Caucasian and of European background. One of the purposes of StandWithUs Canada’s recent campus WordSwap tour is to show the real, varied face of Israel. To that end, three Israeli students from the Interdisciplinary Centre at Herzlia – Rawan Agbaria, Yonatan Eyov, and Omri Zada – put in appearances in Winnipeg at both the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg on Monday, November 25, seeking to engage local students in informal conversation about Israel and clear up some of the stereotypes and misrepresentations.

By REBECA KUROPATWA
One year ago, Judy and Bill Mahon decided to make a generous donation to Canadian Magen David Adom (CMDA) with the hope that they made the right choice with their money. They donated enough to send a first responder scooter from Canada to Israel to help Magen David Adom (MDA) do its important work.

(November, 2019 – Concord, ON) The 12th annual Courage in Motion, an initiative of Beit Halochem Canada, Aid to Disabled Veterans of Israel, was an outstanding success. This year’s ride welcomed cyclists from across Canada, joined by some Americans and Israelis. From October 27-31, these international cyclists rode alongside Israel’s disabled veterans on five fully supported routes through northern Israel’s extraordinary archaeological sites and remarkable landscapes.

At the heart of the Hula Valley, home to millions of migrating birds and hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, a brand new, eco-friendly and hi-tech visitor center was launched on November 6.

After 10 years of planning and construction, the visitor center is now active, offering guests various attractions - including state-of-the-art VR stations simulating a flight from the eyes of a migrating bird, a 194 sq. ft. digital, gesture-controlled wall that projects a live feed of surrounding migrating birds, a 3D digital model of the Hula Valley, dynamically updated with terrain data, a 220 seatsauditorium fitted with a 4K projector that will remain open to the public, and more.

By JOSEFIN DOLSTEN (JTA) – As votes were counted following last week’s election in Israel, many saw the results as a loss for longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
After all, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party won fewer seats than the Blue and White party of his main competitor Benny Gantz.

By MYRON LOVE
On Wednesday August 21, 2019, a meeting was held at Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretative Centre to discuss a renewed collaboration between the Agamon Hula Valley in northern Israel and Oak Hammock Marsh (which is just north of Winnipeg).

By SIMONE COHEN SCOTT
Not often does the Remis Speakers’ Forum have two speakers at once. Further, we almost never have speakers honour us by planning their trips to accommodate our schedule.
But that’s what Shai Doron and Nomi Yeshua did, and we are the richer for it in our appreciation of Jerusalem. These two people are the President and the Chief Development Officer, respectively, of The Jerusalem Foundation, and their outstanding presentation was truly inspirational - at the Speakers’ Forum on July 29.

By BERNIE BELLAN

The ruling by a Federal Court of Canada judge that wines produced on the West Bank of Israel cannot be labeled “Product of Israel” could have much greater ramifications for a wide range of products beyond wines that are currently exported to Canada under the “Product of Israel” label.

By BERNIE BELLAN
Speaking in front of an audience of businesspeople from the Winnipeg community at large and members of the Jewish community at the Asper Campus on Monday, June 24, Canada’s Minister of International Trade Diversification, Jim Carr, described the many benefits that will ensue as a result of the newly modernized Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement.

By BERNIE BELLAN
Shabtai Shavit is a former director general of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, having served in that position from 1989-1996.
During his time as Mossad head, Shavit was involved in many secret negotiations with Arab leaders. On May 29 he was the special guest speaker at an event sponsored by Solly & Orly Dreman on behalf of an Israeli organization known as Ezer Mizion.

By BERNIE BELLAN

(Posted June 8, updated June 11 & 17) My nephew, Jeremy Cooperstock, is a professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at McGill University in Montreal, spending his academic sabbatical year in Jerusalem.