Local News
Camp Massad returns this summer with a new staff person: Camping Caring Director
By BERNIE BELLAN After a two-year hiatus from having regular sleepover camp, Camp Massad began to return to normal camping last summer.
However, with the world still in the grip of the Covid pandemic, it was no surprise that registration for Massad in the summer of 2022 was its lowest levels ever: just 90 campers in both the first and second sessions combined.
This summer though, things are looking up, with 130 campers registered so far – and with room for more if anyone is still interested in sending their kids to camp.
However, that number is still a far cry short of the 200 campers who were at Massad the summer of 2019 – the last summer before the Covid pandemic hit.
For many campers returning to camp – or attending for the very first time, can be a much more daunting experience than was the case prior to Covid. The effects of social isolation were profound for many kids and, even though it’s nice to think that “we can put Covid behind us,” it’s not such a simple matter for many in the youngest generation who spent some of the most formative years in their lives dealing not only with social isolation, but mask wearing requirements and distancing while at school and elsewhere.
As a result of those pressures – along with all the other pressures that come with growing up in a world where social media – and its often crippling effects on young minds, also plays an outsized role, particularly among adolescents –this coming summer, Camp Massad will be having a new staff person on site whose title will be “Camping Care Director.”
The person who will be filling that role will be Dorit Kosmin, who also wears the title of “Rabbanit” as the wife of Etz Chayim Congregation Rabbi Kliel Rose.
Recently I had the chance to participate in a Zoom call with Dorit, also with Ian Baruch, who will be filling the role of Camp Massad Director of Engagement and Programming for the first time; and with Danial Sprintz, who is now in his 13th year as Camp Massad Executive Director.
We began the call by discussing just what role it is that Dorit will be assuming.
Dorit said that her title in Hebrew will be “Mashgichah Ruchanit,” which she translated as “Supervisor of the Soul” in English. As well, she noted, she will also be responsible for kashrut supervision at the camp.
The funding for Dorit’s new position came about as a result of a grant from the “Foundation for Jewish Camping: Yedid Nefesh,” Dorit explained.
“Many camps across North America have had camper care for generations,” she observed. “My understanding is that Massad never had that position until now.”
For Dorit, however, serving as a care director at a summer camp is nothing new, she said. She has filled that role for years at different camps, all known as Camp Ramah, run by the United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism in the United States.
With both a BA in Family Studies (with a minor in Judaic Studies) and a Master of Social Work degree, Dorit is well equipped to serve in her new role.
Also, as the mother of five kids who have all attended summer camp at one time or another – and who all dealt with the profoundly negative effect that Covid had on young people, Dorit brings a special perspective to the role of Caring Director and “the heightened awareness that mental health plays in young people’s lives.”
The camp experience can often play a pivotal role in so many ways. It can reinforce a sense of community and of sharing and, for Jewish campers, a notion of Jewish identity that they might not otherwise have, or if they do have it, camp can strengthen that identity.
As Dorit noted, in her own home growing up, where her father was a demographer, he stressed that “the way to reinforce Jewish continuity is through Jewish summer camp.”
Not only can camp be great fun and a place where Jewish identity can be developed, it can also be a “place for healing,” Dorit observed, and “not just for the campers, but for the staff” as well, she added.
Danial Sprintz noted that this summer Camp Massad will be back to “a full staff (of 40) for the first time” in years.
He also observed that for many kids, issues revolving around “body image” and “depression,” which were not unusual for kids to have even before the Covid pandemic, were made all the worse during the pandemic.
Ian Baruch added that he can relate to another issue that many campers face at Massad. As a member himself of a family that immigrated to Winnipeg from a non-English speaking country (Argentina), although Ian grew up here and became fluent in English, many of the campers have just come to Canada in recent years. While some of the campers grew up in homes speaking Hebrew, many others have either no knowledge of Hebrew or very little.
“When I came to Canada I spoke only Spanish and Hebrew,” Ian recalled. “I learned English from other campers.”
As a matter of fact, he added, many of the camp counselors are Spanish-speaking, which should be comforting for campers with similar backgrounds.
This year some of the campers will have come here recently from Ukraine, while at least one camper is one from Brazil.
Regardless what language is spoken, however, Danial Sprintz said that what Massad wants to teach campers are “inclusivity, loyalty, and creativity.”
No kids are ever turned away from Massad, he added, whether for reasons of financial hardship or perhaps because of physical or intellectual disability. Danial noted that for many parents finding the money to send their kids to camp can be a real challenge and they might not even want to consider doing that because there are so many other financial obligations that they would prioritize ahead of camp. He would like to assure those parents that Massad will find a way of making it possible for them to send their kids to camp if that is what they want. All they have to do is contact him and he’ll invite them to come down to the office where they can discuss their particular situation.
As well, Dorit noted that children on the autism spectrum will also be made to feel welcome at Massad. In her role as Caring Director, she said, she will be responsible for having a “sensory space for kids who need a quiet space.”
If you’re at all interested in finding out more about Camp Massad, whether it’s for your kids or, bearing in mind that the readership of this paper skews older – for your grandkids, there is still time to contact Danial at the Massad office here. The number is 204-477-7487. Or visit online at campmassad.ca
Local News
Scenes from Shalom Square 2026
Shalom Square – the Israel pavilion, is on until Saturday night, August 8. As usual, audiences have been packing the Rady JCC gym to watch entertainment provided by the Chai Folk Ensemble and Kadima Dance Troupe.
(All photos courtesy of Keith Levit)
Local News
Nakba exhbit at CMHR – you can see it right here and make your own assessment
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted June 26, updated July 19) The Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Exhibit for Human Rights opened to the public June 27. The morning before the exhibit was set to open to the public, (it had a private opening for invited guests the evening of June 26) we received a press release from the CMHR. That press release gave a very detailed description of what was in the exhibit, along with photos (supplied by Annie Kierans of the CMHR).
There is also a link right at the beginning of the press release that will allow you to watch the same videos that anyone attending the exhibit can watch. We reprinted what was sent to us without making one edit. We leave it to you to form your own opinion as to whether the exhibit is fair in its presentation, and whether it is lacking “context” – which is an accusation that has been levelled at the exhibit’s organizers by some representatives of Jewish organizations.
We have received many emails in reaction to the exhibit. If you have an opinion and would like to see it published on this website, you can send it to jewishp@mymts.net, but please indicate whether you would be willing to have it published on this website.
Here is what we received the morning of June 26:
Winnipeg, MB — June 26, 2026 — The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will open a new exhibit tomorrow that explores human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian Canadians.
Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present will be on display in the Rights Today gallery on Level 5 until 2028. Featuring personal stories told through artifacts and video testimonies, the exhibit presents Palestinian Canadians reflecting on their ongoing struggle for human rights. The small exhibit reveals enduring patterns of loss and resilience, helping visitors understand more about this contemporary human rights story.
Palestinian Canadian stories are now included alongside many other stories of forced displacement and human rights violations featured in the Museum’s galleries. Each of these stories contribute to our visitors understanding of human rights and help the Museum fulfill its mandate to foster reflection and dialogue.
Exhibition highlights
Personal stories and artifacts: Experience firsthand accounts from Palestinian Canadians sharing their journeys of displacement and memory through a series of five artifacts. Cases display artifacts like property deeds, house keys, and a traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, accompanied by short videos that deepen understanding of the impacts of displacement.
Powerful artworks: In her painting Bound Together in Gaza, Malak Mattar, a Gazan artist, captures the struggles and resilience of her generation shaped by conflict. Her work pays homage to Guernica, Picasso’s powerful masterpiece depicting civilian suffering during war.
Curfews and Closures, by Rajie Cook, bears witness to life under military occupation during the 2000–2005 Palestinian uprising, when curfews and closures were expanded and further limited basic rights and freedoms.
Cultural heritage: Discover traditional Palestinian embroidery called tatreez. Tatreez motifs and colours are tied to place, family history and regional identity. Patterns are associated with particular towns, villages or areas of Palestine. In this way, tatreez is a form of storytelling: a way of preserving memory, sustaining identity and expressing resilience across displacement and exile.
Poetry and reflection: Engage with Mahmoud Darwish’s evocative verses, inspiring personal reflection on exile, voice, and responsibility. Visitors can take a card containing Darwish’s poem and add a personal note, fostering ongoing dialogue beyond the exhibit.
Contemporary context: Witness striking images of current events in Gaza and the West Bank, connecting past displacement to ongoing struggles.
Quotes:
“No force can silence the truth we carry. Growing up in Canada, my children lived the Nakba through our stories. And now we watch it happen again, live, on our phones. When I see the images coming out of Gaza, I am not watching the news. I am watching my history repeat itself.” -Fouad Sahyoun, a Palestinian Canadian featured in the exhibit
“We developed this exhibit with a clear awareness that Palestinian Canadian voices have too often been marginalized, silenced or spoken over — and that anti-Palestinian racism affects whose stories are heard and whose suffering is recognized. That is why we intentionally centred Palestinian Canadian voices throughout the exhibit.” -Isabelle Masson, Curator of Palestine Uprooted
“Human rights matter precisely when they are inconvenient, when the question of who deserves the dignity of having their rights recognized is genuinely contested. These are the moments where having a national museum for human rights is most important.
There are people who believe this exhibit should not exist in its current form. There are people who believe it should have existed sooner. There are people who will visit this exhibit and feel that it does not say enough, and others who will feel it says too much.
We have listened to every one of these voices. We have reflected. And we have renewed our resolve to continue the difficult, sometimes contested, and often controversial work of building understanding about human rights. We are a museum grounded in Canada’s human rights framework, whose mandate requires us to bear witness to the full complexity of the human story. We are proud to open this exhibit because the story it tells will help achieve that mandate, and because this story belongs in the collective memory of Canadians.”
- – Isha Khan, CEO
Local News
Jewish Federation releases amounts to be allocated to each of its 12 beneficiary agencies
By BERNIE BELLAN I had been reporting on allocations given to the 12 beneficiary agencies of the Jewish Federation for over 11 years – until last year, when I took a break from covering our major Jewish organizations.
These past couple of months, however, I’ve gone back to looking at financial information for some of our major Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba and Jewish Child and Family Services. (If you want to read my reports on the two Annual General Meetings held by those organizations you can find them elsewhere on this website.)
Over the years as well, I had also been adding to a table that I began to compile 12 years ago that showed comparison figures year over year for how much had been allocated by the Jewish Federation to each of its 12 beneficiary agencies. Even though I didn’t do any reporting on allocations by the Jewish Federation last year, I was able to obtain information about the 2025 allocations that I’ve reproduced in the table that you can see here. (That table only shows information for the past five years, although I do have tables showing information about allocations going back as far as 2014 that can be found on my website if anyone is interested.)
Looking at the figures for this coming year though, a couple of things stand out: For one, there will be no allocation for Aleph Bet Child Life Enrichment, just as there wasn’t one last year either. This comes after having received allocations for as long as I’ve been covering the allocations committee, so that might require some further investigation to find out why Aleph Bet Enrichment is no longer receiving an allocation. Secondly, there will be a small allocation for the Irma Penn School of Jewish Learning – as there was last year also, after a multi-year absence of the school applying for allocations. The Irma Penn School used to advertise in The Jewish Post & News when it was active, but I don’t recall seeing anything about it the past two years. At one time it was very popular among adults. It would be worth looking into how it functions these days. (Over to you, Myron. You used to write about the Irma Penn School.)
Also, the report of the Allocation Committee says: “The Jewish Learning Institute resumed their participation in the Allocations process after a hiatus of a few years to enhance their revitalized programming.” But the Jewish Learning Institute did receive funding in 2025 and 2024, so it’s not clear why the report says there was a “hiatus of a few years.” No big deal, really.
It’s always been interesting for me – and I’m sure for you, too, to look at trends: Which beneficiary agencies have been receiving the largest increases in allocations year over year or, as the case may be, the smallest increases in funding – relative to what other agencies received?
According to the report of the allocations committee, “The 2025-26 Combined Jewish Appeal Campaign raised $7,224,856 this year.”
That amount is $660,577 more than what was raised in the 2024-25 campaign, which was $6,864,279. While a portion of what was raised goes toward beneficiary agencies, another portion goes to Israel, another portion is to cover operating expenses of the Federation, and another portion goes to replenishing the Federation’s emergency fund, which was badly depleted during Covid.
Insofar as how much each of the beneficiary agencies receives,, each year the allocations committee of the Jewish Federation meets during the course of the year to decide how to allocates funds to the 12 beneficiary agencies of the Federation.
The allocations are to be given to the respective agencies on September 1.
The total amount allocated to the Federation’s beneficiary agencies is $95,700 more than what was allocated last year, and $193,600 more than what was allocated in 2024. There will be a total of $3,050,000 allocated in 2026, compared to $2,954,300 in 2025, and $2,856,400 in 2024. Interestingly, the total amounts allocated in 2023 and 2022 were higher than what were allocated in 2024 and 2025, but the allocation to Gray Academy in 2022 was exceptionally high – $974,000, compared with $900,000 this year. In 2022 Gray Academy was still dealing with the fallout from Covid and the huge increases in costs that arose from having to resort to online teaching.
As well, until this year, the most ever allocated by the Jewish Federation to its beneficiary agencies was also in 2022 – when the community was still in the grip of the Covid crisis and total allocations were $3,003,000. At that time the Federation tapped into an emergency fund that it had on hand – and totally depleted that fund.
In its report the allocations committee went into some detail explaining its methodology and how certain criteria were given special attention when it came to determining allocations.
Each of the agencies had representatives appear before the committee. Those representatives were given 15-20 minutes to make presentations to the members of the committee and answer a series of questions pertaining to eight different criteria.
Here, in summary, are the main criteria the report cites as “priorities” when it came to deciding how much to allocate to agencies:
- Social isolation and lack of belonging: “Longing for belonging,” a desire for a
stronger sense of connection to the Jewish community and Jewish identification. - Seniors Isolation: Does this program address the problem of seniors’ isolation?
- Teen Program Continuity Gaps: Gaps in programming continuity limit teen
leadership opportunities. Peer connection programs across this demographic
must be prioritized. - Building Jewish Identity and Connection: Strengthening Jewish identification
ensures every program builds Jewish community through authentic Jewish content
and context. - Poverty and Financial Barriers to Participation: Financial challenges can prevent
community members’ full participation in Jewish life. - Accessibility and Inclusion for People with Disabilities: People with cognitive or
physical challenges face barriers to full participation in Jewish life. - Exclusionary or Unwelcoming Environments: Language and practices may
unintentionally exclude interfaith families, LGBTQ+ individuals, Jews of color, and
others. - Data on Participation and Community Needs: Do you have data available on who
participates in programs, who is underserved, and what impact programs have?
Even after having subjected each of the agencies to that sort of rigorous scrutiny, however, the fact remains that the sizes of the increases given to each agency were quite consistent with what had been given in previous years.
Here, for instance, are the increases that have been given to some of the agencies for the past three years:
Gray Academy – 2026 increase over 2025: $30,000; 2025 increase over 2024: $30,000
Gwen Secter – 2026 increase over 2025: $19,000; 2025 increase over 2024: $11,500
JCFS – 2026 increase over 2025: $30,000; 2025 increase over 2024: $25,000
Rady JCC – 2026 increase over 2025: $18,000; 2025 increase over 2024: $10,000
What it all boils down to, I would suggest, is that the allocations each of those agencies received are consistent with what they had received in previous years, notwithstanding the supposedly rigorous criteria that the allocations committee says it adopted in reviewing the presentations given by each agency.
