Local News
B’nai Brith launches new Canada-wide legal networkto fight antisemitism, human rights abuses
By MYRON LOVE On Monday, February 22, B’nai Brith Canada introduced its new legal network – the Matas Law Society – to the world with a virtual program – a “fireside chat” – featuring B’nai Birth CEO Michael Mostyn and the eponymous David Matas himself – B’nai Brith Canada’s long time senior legal counsel and one of the world’s best known fighters for human rights.
Matas reported that the event – which attracted almost 500 viewers – provided an overview of the work of B’nai Brith and its Winnipeg-based League for Human Rights which is involved in highlighting war crimes, hate speech, Holocaust denial, anti-Zionism and antisemitism, as well as more general human rights issues.
“We also explained what the Matas Law Society is striving to accomplish,” Matas said. “We received a lot of positive feedback.”
In an earlier interview with The Jewish Post & News, Michael Mostyn noted that the Matas Law Society has been in the planning for about a year. “We have had a lot of discussion with Jewish lawyers across Canada about the need for a Jewish law group to fight against anti-semitism and for human rights,” he said. “There was one such group in Toronto but it disbanded in the 1970s. It was felt at the time that there was no longer a need for such a group.
“But with antisemitism rising, using the law is one way to combat it. We’ve been regularly hearing from legal professionals asking how they can help contribute to fighting antisemitism and standing up for human rights.”
Mostyn added that David Matas is the ideal individual to spearhead such a legal network. “David personifies what the Matas Law Society is about,” Mostyn noted. “We are honoured that he agreed to lead this initiative. His inspiring passion for the law and tireless work in fighting for human rights embodies the spirit of what we hope to achieve with this new law society.”
Matas himself pointed out that antisemitism has been around for a long time and is not going to go away. “Before World War II, antisemitism was acceptable everywhere,” he said. “The Holocaust drove it underground and made it disreputable for a time. But as the Holocaust recedes farther into the past, antisemitism is becoming ever more difficult to suppress.”
Mostyn reported that the new Law Society is being very well received thus far. “We have had over 120 individuals sign on even though we have not done much advertising yet,” he said. “That number includes students from almost every law school in Canada.”
He added that there have even been some American students who have shown interest.
“We have had quite a buzz,” he continued. “And we expect that interest to only grow as we continue to build our program.
“We are seeking accreditation for our educational efforts from law societies across the country.”
Membership in the Matas Law society, he pointed out, offers a whole host of exclusive opportunities that are highly valuable no matter what stage of your legal career you are at. These includ:e Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programming; access to unique networking opportunities with some of this country’s most prominent lawyers and activists; B’nai Brith lodge membership; and, for those inclined, an opportunity to improve the state of human rights in Canada by getting involved with some of the major cases with which B’nai Brith is constantly involved on the national stage. The League for Human Rights regularly intervenes before the courts in highly publicized cases.
Among the cases in which B’nai Birth has been involved are: the issue of the labeling of Israeli wines from Judea and Samaria – which is now before the Federal Court of Appeal; a case at the Ontario Court of Appeal involving the provincial government’s Student Choice Initiative policy, which permits Ontario postsecondary students to opt out of paying incidental fees for non-essential services at their schools (which may include fees towards student unions that support the BDS movement); and a landmark case before the Supreme Court of Canada as to whether the use of humour can be used as a potential defense for the promotion of discrimination. The latter case concerns Mike Ward, a Quebec-based comedian who was sued for extensively mocking a nine-year-old disabled boy during his shows.
Mostyn noted that all levels of involvement in the Matas Law Society are welcome and everything helps — from simply signing up to actively defending the community in court, there is something for everyone. Membership costs $250 per year and is open to all Jewish lawyers, paralegals, and law students. Students currently enrolled in a law program are eligible to join for free.
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.
