Local News
Belle Jarniewski recognized by Manitoba Legislature for leadership in combatting antisemitism and raising awareness of the Holocaust
By MYRON LOVE This year’s community commemoration of Yom Hashoah began on Erev Yom Hashoah – April 23 – with with the Megillat Hashoah interfaith reading of the Holocaust Scroll at Congregation Shaarey Zedek the night before.
Yom Hashoah, Thursday, April 24, began, as usual, in the morning with B’nai Brith’s “Unto Everyone There is a Name” – at the Legislature – during which members of our community – including a group of Grade 11 students from Gray Academy – and leaders of the greater community took turns reading out the names of relatives of local Holocaust survivors.
Gray Academy Grade 11 and 12 students also participated in the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s annual public commemorative service over the noon hour – also inside the Legislative Building – with students Alex Stoller and Aaron Greaves leading the 200 or so attendees in singing our national anthem and Hatikvah. Later in the program, they also performed “April Wind.”
Political leaders representing the three levels of Government and Jewish Federation leaders paid their respects leading to the service’s climax – the candle lighting. The ceremony was introduced by Belle Jarniewski, the executive director of the Jewish Heritage Society of Western Canada– with local survivors Saul and Rachel Fink, Susan Garfield, Faye Hoch, Edith Kimelman and Nehama Reuter participating.
The service ended with the traditional El Malei Rachamim prayer (recited by Congegaton Etz Chayim Chazan Tracy Kasner) and Kaddish, led by Rabbi Yossi Benarroch of Adas Yeshurun Herzlia.
This year’s Yom Hashoah commemoration concluded with a special honour for Belle Jarniewski who, later in the afternoon, was publicly recognized in the Legislature for her leadership in Holocaust awareness and the ongoing fight against antisemitism.
In recommending her for special recognition in the Legislature, Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton noted how Jarniewski’s upbringing as the daughter of Holocaust survivors instilled in her a passion for tikkun olam and spurred her to dedicate her life to teach people of all ages about the Holocaust and other genocides.
“Through her work as executive director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada,” Compton noted, “Belle brings education about the Holocaust to thousands of students, teachers, administrators and professional groups each year. She has partnered with Manitoba Education and Training numerous times. She is also a writer who has been published in numerous Canadian, Israeli and European newspapers.”
Compton cited, in particular, Jarniewski’s 2010 book, “Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors,” which documents the histories of 73 local survivors before, during and after the Shoah and can be found in the libraries of every secondary school in Manitoba and in university and national libraries in several countries.
“At a time when antisemitism is on the rise, we must do whatever we can to combat it,” Compton stated. “Belle is doing this great work every day. Today, on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, I cannot think of a better person to celebrate and honour.”
In response to this most recent honour, Jarniewski stated that she “feels tremendously humbled and honoured by Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton’s Member Statement in the Legislature about me. Carla has been a true friend, supporter, and ally to our community.”
She added that she met Compton when the latter was running for office about a year ago in the byelection to replace the former MLA from Tuxedo and former premier, Heather Stefanson.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to honour the memory of my parents and that of the many members of my family who were murdered in the Shoah – through my work. I’m sure my mom (Sylvia) and dad (Samuel) would never have imagined that our provincial government would one day rise to honour their daughter for working to combat antisemitism and remembering the Holocaust.”
As mentioned earlier, this was the most recent of several awards that Jarniewski has received over the past few months. Last month, she was one of several Jewish Winnipeggers who received a King Charles III Coronation medal. Hers was presented by the Manitoba Government.
Last September, our Jewish Federation – at the annual Shem Tov Awards evening – bestowed on her the Larry Hurtig Communal Professional Award in recognition of her outsized leadership role in Winnipeg, nationally and internationally, in preserving the memory of the Holocaust and fighting antisemitism.
“About 15 years ago,” she recalled at that time, “Joe Riesenbach, a survivor, reached out to me to help move a project forward that had literally been collecting dust. Before I knew it, I was a member of the Holocaust Education committee and was then named to the federally appointed delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), as a member of the Academic Working Group, the Education Working Group and the Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial. The committee elaborated the first intergovernmental definition of anti-Semitism, adopted by consensus at the 2016 IHRA plenary. “
Through her work on Holocaust preservation and education, she was introduced to the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada. She was appointed the JHCWC’s executive director in 2018.
“The Jewish Heritage Centre is the key to our past and our future,” she noted. Exploring our archive is like walking back in time. It’s a treasure trove reflecting the incredible history and diversity of our wonderful Jewish community stretching back 125 years- the challenges and the many triumphs that have shaped who we are today. As the saying goes, you need to know the past to understand the present.
“The Winnipeg I grew up in was a golden age for Jews-a tapestry of multiculturalism with shared values,” she continued. “We thought that the kind of antisemitism earlier generations had faced was gone forever. While we may not be able to bring back the wonder years, we must stand united as a community and be strong in our convictions.”
Jarniewski is particularly pleased with the recent announcement, made by our provincial government on Yom Hashoah, reiterating its new partnership with the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada to put into place Premier Wab Kinew’s earlier promise to create and roll out a Holocaust education curriculum in Manitoba schools.
In an April 24 press release, Kinew said that “we are one Manitoba that cannot be divided by hatred. Now, more than ever, we must honour the diversity and inclusivity in our province and commit to learning the lessons of history so that they cannot be repeated. Learning lessons from the past protects some of the intrinsic values of our province – diversity, inclusion and human rights. The best way to uphold that basic understanding is to help foster these values in our young people.”
Beginning in the fall, the grades 6, 9 and 11, social studies curriculum will be updated to include mandatory Holocaust education in all schools across the province.
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada has been tasked to develop new curriculum guidance on Holocaust education, including implementation tools, supports and resources.
“Recent surveys have demonstrated that most Canadian students know very little about the Holocaust,” said Jarniewski. “With increased hate-fueled violence and incidents of antisemitism, Holocaust education is a key tool for countering prejudice and cultivating inclusion. We at the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada are tremendously grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Manitoba government in strengthening Holocaust education in Manitoba through the creation of a mandated curriculum. We know that Holocaust education encourages critical thinking and reflection on how individuals could or should act in society and provides important lessons from the past to learn for the present and the future.”
Local News
Young Winnipegger Dr. Yale Michaels receives $550,000 Canadian Cancer Society research grant
By MYRON LOVE It has been shown on many occasions that a teacher can have an outsized role in shaping a young person’s life. Dr. Yale Michaels’ life story is one example.
During a recent interview with the young cancer researcher – the son of John Michaels and Karen Stern – Yale recounted how a Grade 7 teacher at Grant Park High School was largely responsible for his decision to pursue a medical career in medicine.
The young Michaels attended Brock Corydon Elementary School and was a long time Massad camper. In junior high school at Grant Park, however, he recounts, “I was having a tough time staying on task. Thankfully, my Grade 7 science teacher suggested that I might find it interesting volunteering to help in a cancer research lab. He had a contact and got me in. I loved it. It was a good fit for me. I never looked back.”
Michaels (whose zaida, Leon Michaels, was a leading cardiologist here) spent much of his free time during his high school years volunteering in the lab. After graduation, he enrolled in Harvard –with help from the university’s financial aid program – where he earned his Bachelor’s degree. He followed that up with a Ph.D. from Oxford in 2019, followed by three years as a post-doctoral Fellow – before returning to Winnipeg in 2023 to work at Cancer Care Manitoba, as well as teach at the University of Manitoba.
“I enjoyed my time both at Harvard and Oxford,” he says. “What made England even more enjoyable is that Yale has family there. His grandparents – Leon and Joan Michaels – were born and raised in London and Yale’s time there overlapped for a few months with his brother Jamie (about whom there was a story in a July issue of the Post), who earned his Master’s Degree in Creative Writing at the University of London.
This past June, the young researcher learned that he was to be the recipient of a $550,000 Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Research Grant, covering five years of research.
Michaels’ field of research focuses on new ways of combating blood cancers – specifically in the new area of immunotherapy. He is being aided in his research by lab tech Dana Segal and graduate student Serena Dembowksi.
Michaels adds that he is collaborating with a number of other researchers from Winnipeg – and throughout Canada, including Drs. Harinad Maganti, David Szwajcer, Jody Haigh, Versha Banerji, and David Knapp.
Using the patient’s own immune cells – specifically CAR T cells -to treat blood cancers was first approved in 2017, Michaelsreports. “The treatment has shown itself to be really successful. Many patients go into remission and some may have the potential to be cured.”
One of the drawbacks, he explains, is that the treatment is prohibitively expensive. Each dose costs about $500,000 U.S.
“What we are trying to do in my lab and elsewhere is find a way to greatly reduce the cost,” he explains. “It becomes a matter of scale. Other drugs used in treating cancer can be produced in amounts of 1,000 doses per production run. But right now CAR T therapy is made on a one-off basis with an individual manufacturing run for each patient. We are attempting to instead make CAR T cells from stem cells – which can be grown in large quantities. We are trying to use genetic engineering to manipulate them so that they can be administered safely to patients.
“We (Michaels and fellow researchers) are making good progress in this area,” he adds.
He cautions that the research is still in the formative stages and that clinical trials are still several years away. “Our research so far though has shown that our treatment would seem to be effective at killing cancer cells,” he reports. “This grant from the Canadian Cancer Society will help us to further that research.”
Outside of work, Michaels notes, much of his time is spent with his family – Dr. Allison Marmel and their two-year-old daughter, Rose.
(Ed. note: We should note that Yale Michaels was also the punter for the Harvard University football team – by far his greatest achievement.)
Local News
Rabbi Kliel Rose, Etz Chayim’s spiritual leader, taking a new position in Ottawa
By MYRON LOVE It is with mixed feelings that Rabbi Kliel Rose, the spiritual leader of Congregation Etz Chayim for the past eight years, is once again leaving the community in which he grew up. Immediately after Yom Kippur, he, his wife, Dorit Kosmin, and three of their five children are moving to Ottawa, where Rabbi Rose is to become the spiritual leader of Congregation Kehillat Beth Israel (popularly known as KBI).
“My time in Winnipeg has been wonderful,” Rabbi Rose says. “It has been a privilege to have served as Etz Chayim’s rabbi and be part of the Jewish community here. Our Jewish community has a sense of solidarity that is unlike any other Jewish community in North America.”
He wasn’t actually looking to leave, Rabbi Rose explains. “Last spring, I was just having a cursory look at postings for Conservative rabbis and KBI stood out. What attracted me was not simply the opportunity to serve a larger congregation, but the chance to lead a community with such a rich history and such a strong commitment to egalitarian Conservative Judaism, Jewish learning, inclusion and community engagement. KBI is a relatively young congregation that brings together more than a century of Jewish history in Ottawa, and I was very drawn to the opportunity to help shape its next chapter.”
KBI, Rabbi Rose reports, was created in July 2016 through the amalgamation of two long-standing and storied Ottawa congregations: Agudath Israel and Congregation Beth Shalom. The merger brought together the rich traditions of both communities to create a modern, egalitarian Conservative congregation. Today, KBI is the largest Jewish congregation in Ottawa, serving more than 500 families, with a strong emphasis on Jewish learning, inclusion, community engagement and youth and family programming.
“There is a tremendous amount of energy and possibility at KBI,” Rabbi Rose says. “It is a community with deep roots, but also a very strong desire to think about what Jewish life should look like in the future. That is exciting to me as a rabbi.”
As with many rabbis, Kliel Rose’s career path has been a long and winding road. The son of the revered Carol and Rabbi Neal Rose, he first left Winnipeg after graduating from Grant Park High School.
In an interview with the Jewish Post & News in 2018, shortly after he returned here to serve Congregation Etz Chayim, Rabbi Rose credited his parents with being tremendous role models. “They are a dynamic team,” he commented, “but they never pushed any of us (Kliel Rose is the middle child in a family of four brothers and one sister) in any particular direction. They were really nurturing. They were okay with anything we decided as long as we were passionate about it.”
For the longest time as a young man, he noted, he fought against going into “the family business”. But, he said, working in Jewish summer camps, people in leadership positions in the camps saw something in him and convinced him to pursue rabbinic ordination.
Thus, after graduating with a Judaic Studies degree from Gratz College in Philadelphia, Kliel Rose enrolled in the Jewish Theological Seminary.
He noted that the most important piece of advice his father gave him before he enrolled in a rabbinic studies program was the suggestion that he should work for a time in a large congregation to see what it is like – “both the joy and the underbelly,” as he put it.
“I took his advice,” Rabbi Rose said. “For two years, I worked under the umbrella of a special fellowship at Bnai Jeshurun Congregation in Manhattan. The congregation had 4,000 members at that time. It had been a dying congregation which had been revitalized by Rabbi Marshall Meyer, who had previously helped revive Jewish life in Argentina. Rabbi Meyer, with his vision of social justice, was an inspiration for me.”
Rabbi Rose also spent a year at an Orthodox yeshiva in Israel and a couple of years as a youth director at a large Conservative congregation on Long Island.
Before coming to Winnipeg, Rabbi Rose served congregations in Miami Beach (for three years), Nashville (for five years), and Edmonton (for five years).
The past eight years at Etz Chayim have certainly brought their share of challenges, but Rabbi Rose says they have also been deeply meaningful. Just two years after arriving, the COVID pandemic transformed congregational life. Then there was the congregation’s decision to sell its 70-year-old building on Matheson Avenue and move to a smaller facility in south Winnipeg – a process that was completed just over two years ago.
“It has been really challenging these past few years,” he recounts. “It was difficult leaving behind our old building with so much history. But I think Etz Chayim made the right decision, and I am proud of how our community came together to navigate these challenges and build a new future for the congregation.”
Rabbi Rose says he is particularly grateful for the relationships he has built during his eight years at Etz Chayim and throughout Winnipeg’s Jewish community. “There have been so many meaningful relationships and experiences during my time here. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve this community and to have been part of Etz Chayim’s story during such an important period of transition.”
“I’m leaving with an enormous amount of gratitude,” he adds. “Etz Chayim has given me the opportunity to grow as a rabbi and as a leader, and I hope that I have been able to contribute something meaningful to the congregation and to the wider Winnipeg Jewish community in return.”
Another factor that made Rabbi Rose’s decision to leave difficult is that his parents moved back here two years ago and his older brother, Carnie, returned about 18 months ago to become Shaarey Zedek’s senior rabbi.
“It has been wonderful having my parents and brother here,” Kliel says. “This has been the first time that my children have had grandparents and an uncle and aunt in the same city.”
The Rose family will also miss the many friendships and connections they have made in Winnipeg.
Our community will also miss Kliel’s wife, Dorit. “My wife is a talented and caring individual who has worked in different areas of the community,” he notes. “Most recently, she was working in spiritual care at the Simkin Centre. She has made a tremendous contribution to the community and will certainly be missed.”
For Rabbi Rose, the decision to leave Winnipeg is less about leaving something behind than about embracing a new opportunity. After eight years of helping Etz Chayim navigate a period of profound change, he says he feels ready to take on a new leadership challenge while carrying with him the lessons and relationships he has gained here.
The Rose family will be leaving two days after Yom Kippur. Kliel reports that they have sold their house and have just a few things to wind up.
Local News
Temple Shalom, Etz Chayim Yom Tov Services to be Held in Different Locations this Fall
By MYR0N LOVE In 2025, one of the most interesting aspects of Yom Tov in Winnipeg was the official debut of new rabbis Carnie Rose and Myriam Saitman, at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue and Temple Shalom respectively – also the imminent departure of Rabbi Yossi Benarroch, since 2016 the Adas Yeshrun Herzlia congregation’s spiritual leader.
This year, The Jewish Post’s pre-Yom Tov story has a different focus. Due to water damage caused by heavy rain in June (see story in previous issue of The Jewish Post) Temple Shalom’s congregation has had to move out of their building until renovations are complete and will be holding Yom Tov services at the Berney Theatre. Also, Congregation Etz Chayim will be returning to its building on Wilkes for Yom Tov after holding services in a larger facility last year and having Yom Kippur services at a Holiday Inn the year before.
“This year,” says Morissa Granove, Congregation Etz Chayim’s COO, “we are very happy to be bringing the High Holy Days home to 1155 Wilkes Avenue. We will be hosting two services each day and have had an overwhelming response to our ticket sales. Our daytime morning services have already sold out, and we expect to have a full house at each of our services this year. We are excited for everything to come.”.
It was about two-and-a-half years ago that Etz Chayim members relocated to Wilkes from their 70-year-old building on Matheson in the North End. Granove reported last year that the move south has “proven to be a great success in many ways. Operational expenses are greatly reduced in the newer and more efficient space, and our congregation is seeing an increase in attendance at services, programs, and events due to their new, convenient location”.
Etz Chayim’s services’ will be led once again by Rabbi Kliel Rose (see related story about his departure for Ottawa immediately after Yom Kippur) and Cantor Tracy Kasner, while newly anointed Cantor Kevin McIntyre will be reading the Torah. There will also be a youth and family service with activities for kids of all ages.
For further information about Etz Chayim’s High holiday services, phone 204 589-6305 or email info@etzchayim.ca.
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, our community’s oldest and largest synagogue, would like to invite members of the community to join and experience “a season of Unity, Enlightenment, Invigoration, and Renewal with services in the Sanctuary,” says Dr. Rena Secter Elbaze, the congregation’s executive director.
“We anticipate that our services – featuring Senior Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose, Rabbi Anibal Mass, and Cantor Leslie Emery – accompanied by the Shaarey Zedek Quartet and Ruach Choir with piano accompaniment – will be spiritually uplifting,” Elbaze says.
“Due to high demand, we are also delighted to offer two Family Services for Young Families, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, in the Tova Vickar Family Childcare Centre. These engaging services will be led by Rabbi Anibal Mass, with support from our Youth Band, Shinshinim – Israeli Youth Ambassadors, and dedicated volunteers.”
Looking back over the past year, Elbaze reports that Shabbat morning and weekday services have been attracting “a widening circle for prayer, learning, and breaking bread under the leadership of our dedicated clergy team”.
“Our Tova Vickar and Family Childcare Centre is fully operational,” she continues, “and is already recognized provincially for achievement and excellence and connecting childcare families to synagogue life.”
She adds that the congregation’s membership base is growing, with 98 families/ households having joined since July of last year – including new members and those who have re-joined – for a total of 228 people of all ages.
As well, she notes, the congregation’s sisterhood and the Hebros Men’s Group are thriving, drawing a broad demographic of participants seeking Jewish learning, camaraderie, and connection. As well, Elbaze adds, the Young Adult Group is engaging in synagogue life and gathering regularly for Shabbat dinners and Jewish holiday celebrations.
“Our Israeli Youth Ambassador program, the Shinshinim, is infusing youth programming with dynamism, creativity, and a meaningful connection to Israel” she points out.
Readers who want to contact the Shaarey Zedek about Yom Tov tickets can call the office at 204 452-3711 or email Rena at rena@szwinnipeg.ca.
As mentioned above, Temple Shalom will be holding High Holy Day services in the Berney Theatre at the Asper Campus. Rabbi Myriam Saitman, who received her ordination last year, noted in last year’s Jeiwsh Post pre-Yom Tov story, “We are looking forward to 10 days of introspection focused on teshuva and we invite our congregation to experience the message, the spirituality, the music, and the poetry of the High Holidays”.
Temple Shalom High Holiday services will, once again, be led by Rabbi Saitman, along with Cantorial Soloist David Vamos – accompanied by the Temple choir led by Janet Pelletier Goetze.
For further information about Temple Shalom’s Yom Tov services, phone 204-453-1625 or email tshalom1@gmail.com.
South end Winnipeg further offers a fourth liberal Jewish option in the form of Rabbi Matthew Leibl’s “Services on the River: A Modern High Holy Days”. This is the fourth year that Rabbi Leibl will be leading his own services at The Gates on Roblin.
Services will be on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, September 13, starting at 10:00 A.M., while the Kol Nidre service will be on September 20 at 6:00 P.M., with the Yom Kippur service the following morning at 10:00 A.M. Rabbi Leibl will again be joined by the husband-and-wife cantorial team of Justin Odwak and Sarah Sommer, leaders of the SOTR Quartet. New this year will be The Shofar Club Kids Program, led by Halley Ritter for children ages 4-12.
For tickets, email support@tobatickets.ca, or call (during office hours) 204-934-7564.
South Winnipeg’s orthodox options are the Adas Yeshurun Herzlia and the Lubavitch Centre. High Holy Day services at Adas Yeshurun will be led by Rabbi Yossi Benarroch – with Aden Benarroch serving as Chazzan Sheini. Adas Yeshurun has approximately 100 membership units and can comfortably accommodate 250 worshippers. Please call the synagogue office – at 204 489-6262. to confirm attendance before September 9.
The Lubavitch Centre has a capacity of between 200 and 300. There is no charge for davening at Chabad, nor do you have to register in advance.
Still with south Winnipeg – The Simkin Centre offers one more High Holy Day option. Services are all held in their multi-purpose room. Family members can join but priority seating is reserved for residents. Steven Hyman will lead the services along with the Simkin Centre Choir, directed by Bonnie Antel.
If you have any questions, contact Rabbi Matthew Leibl or Heather Blackman, Manager of Resident Experience, either by phone 204 589-9008 or email heather.blackman@simkincentre.ca, so that she knows how many to plan for.
In the North End, High Holiday service options are more limited. The Chevra Mishnayes in Garden City offers an egalitarian service. Synagogue president Rob Waldman reports that about 100 attended services last year and that he is expecting about the same this year. Services will be led by Al Benarroch. For further information phone the office at 204-338-8503.
Both the venerable House of Ashkenazi, the last of our community’s older-style Orthodox congregations, and the Chavurat Tefila Talmud Torah offer Orthodox services- with each attracting about 30 to 40 daveners for the High Holy Days. The latter will have Avi Posen back again to lead services while long time Cantor Adi Stoller will be back for another Yom Tov at the Ashkenazi.
While Camp Massad has also long offered a modified Yom Tov service, the camp at Sandy Hook will bel closed for Yom Tov this year while renovations are underway.
Yom Tov this year begins on Friday, September 11, in the evening.
Wishing all readers a sweet new year.
