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Canadian Associates of Ben Gurion University announce two new co-chairs
The Winnipeg Chapter of Canadian Associates of Ben Gurion University of the Negev (CABGU) is delighted to announce the appointments of two new co-chairs: Diandra Etkin and Aaron Migie.
Diandra has served as a CABGU board member in Winnipeg for two years. She is a teacher by profession, and a passionate advocate for education. Diandra traveled to Israel three times and during her most recent visit she attended an Ulpan course. “I am excited to be given the opportunity to co-chair the Winnipeg board. I wholeheartedly believe BGU graduates will continue doing great things for the world, and I am glad to be able to support their learning.”
Aaron has also served as a board member with the Winnipeg Chapter of CABGU. He is a Certified Financial Planner with Assante Wealth Management – Migie Wealth Group. Aaron is actively involved with several community organizations including FINCA International, Winnipeg Harvest and local cancer initiatives. “I am very honoured to have the opportunity to co-chair the board in Winnipeg. I hope to assist in furthering the support that our organization provides to BGU, an educational institution in Israel that has so much positive impact on a global scale.”
Diandra and Aaron will begin serving as co-chairs immediately.
We also thank our outgoing chair, Sheldon Zamick, for his years of service. Sheldon was appointed chair in 2013. During his 7 years of service Sheldon led countless successful fundraising campaigns and helped to guide the direction of the Winnipeg office.
“I was proud to serve as chair of CABGU Winnipeg. During this time, I believe a lot of positive accomplishments occurred. We honored Marjorie and Morley Blankstein at a gala in 2014 and helped to build a cyber security unit at Ben Gurion University. That was our first event in many years. It drew over 360 people and raises over $500,000. Our collaboration with the St. Boniface Hospital for joint research in the areas of brain, cardiovascular, autism, and nutraceutical science has raised just under $2 million! At our gala in 2019, honouring Hope and Howard Morry, we raised over $650,000 and had over 600 people in attendance. The Hope and Howard Morry Leadership Initiative will be a project that transforms the university from the top down for years to come. In my years as chair I attended two Board of Governors meetings in Israel. I participated as a national board member for the last five years and I served on the national audit committee. I am immensely proud of the work we have done. After seven years as chair I felt it was time to move on and allow our young leaders on the board to take on the exciting challenges of the future! I wish everyone all the best and look forward to all the amazing achievements to come.”
ABOUT CABGU
CABGU fulfills its mission by raising funds and awareness for Ben Gurion University (BGU) across Canada, showcasing BGU’s academic excellence and cutting-edge research from the desert for the world. Activities include educating individuals, foundations, and media about the University’s ground-breaking research through a series of exciting, informative communications, educational programs, and events featuring world-renowned faculty.
CABGU promotes the pioneering spirit of Israel’s founders that continues to flourish in the vast desert wilderness of the Negev. A unique oasis of innovation, BGU is making the desert bloom, providing expertise in desert studies, alternative energy, ecological conservation, water purification and management, bio- and nanotechnologies, community medicine and global health, social work, and Jewish literature and culture.
CABGU supports these endeavours and the University’s extensive outreach to the Negev’s diverse communities, its Arab neighbours, developing nations and the world.
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Talented Winnipeg composer Sara Kreindler teams up with her mother Reena Kreindler to create new satirical show to premiere here in May
By BERNIE BELLAN It’s been many years since I’ve heard from Sara Kreindler. Sara’s name first appeared in The Jewish Post & News in 2002 when a satirical musical titled “A Touch of Class” was reviewed by the late Arnold Ross. That particular production featured songs from popular Broadway shows that touched upon themes such as “greed, poverty, oppression, and social unrest.”
When she appeared in that show, Ross noted, Kreindler had just recently returned to Winnipeg from England, where she had obtained a doctorate in Social Psychology from Oxford University.
While at Oxford, Kreindler found time to compose a satirical musical titled “Charity,” which played to rave reviews there, and was performed five times.
Continuing in the theme of writing satirical musicals, Sara has now teamed up with her mother, Reena, to write a new musical titled “A Perfect Man,” which is set to run at the Gargoyle Theatre from May 6-17.
According to a press release we received, “A Perfect Man” is “a satirical musical, set on a fictional analogue of ‘The Bachelor’.
“The story follows an anthropologist who arrives to research TV’s hottest reality-dating show — only to discover she’s been made a contestant, and the bachelor is her high school crush. Past and present collide against an exuberant pastiche score that uses vintage musical styles to highlight modern absurdities.”
“Praised as ‘a musician [who] can make biofuels funny’ (CBC), Sara is known for whip-smart satire on a panoply of topics. Her digital musical, ‘Larry Saves the Canadian Healthcare System, created during her former life as an academic, has garnered over 84,000 YouTube views. Naturally, she had a field day with the subject of reality dating.
“The topic just begs for campy zaniness, which I think we all need in these times — but also for a more cerebral critique of what these shows say about the culture that spawned them,” says Kreindler. And thanks to the romance context, the satire is woven into a deeper, more personal story. “It’s satire with a heart.”
Here is some more information about Sara Kreindler, taken from a 2009 article I wrote about her:
“Born in Israel, Sara’s precocious talent was nurtured by her mother, Reena, whose own particular talent is literary, not musical. According to Reena, however, Sara was singing from the time she was a baby, and she began to study piano at the age of four.
“As a young girl, Sara began writing her own songs and poems, along with the “occasional musical”, notes Reena. Yet, Sara’s rare talent put her at odds with the typical interests of other children her own age, on top of which she attended a school to which she was exposed to a fair degree of antisemtism.
“As a result, Sara says, being bullied was a common aspect of her childhood. On one occasion, when she was nine, she notes, Sara fought back against one particular bully by reciting the following little ditty:
“I write so many epigrams to you that all the people laugh.
I’m tired of writing epigrams.
I want to write your epitaph!”
“Sara went on to compose a musical titled ‘Flutesong’ while she was a student at Vincent Massey Collegiate, she says. After doing her undergraduate work at the University of Manitoba, majoring in Psychology, Sara won a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University.
“Sara eventually earned a doctorate in Social Psychology and returned to Winnipeg, where she began teaching at the University of Manitoba, but she said she didn’t enjoy the “mass production” style of teaching upwards of 300 students at a time, so she switched careers and began doing health research for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.”
All the while Sara has been continuing to compose and perform her own songs, often teaming up with her mother, as she has for “A Perfect Man.”
Showtimes and ticket information for The Perfect Man are available at:
http://www.thegargoyletheatre.com/upcoming-events/the-perfect-man
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Rabbi Kliel Rose to leave Congregation Etz Chayim for new post in Ottawa
The following email from Congregation Etz Chayim Executive Director Morissa Granove was sent to members of the congregation on Friday, April 10:
“Dear Members and Friends,
“As we know, Rabbi Kliel recently spent a weekend with Kehilllat Beth Israel where he has since been offered a position. After much thought and consideration, he has made the decision to sign a contract in Ottawa. He will continue to lead our congregation through Yom Kippur.
“This news marks a significant ending for our Etz Chayim community, and at the same time with change comes opportunity. Congregation Etz Chayim will soon embark on our own Rabbinical search with excitement as we look for our perfect candidates and explore the new possibilities that will help us to continue to shape a strong future for our synagogue and members.”
Kliel Rose took up the position of rabbi at Etz Chayim in August, 2018.
In an article announcing his appointment to the position in the June 6, 2018 issue of The Jewish Post & News, Myron Love wrote:
The congregation has been without a permanent rabbi since last summer when Rabbi Larry Lander chose to retire – after ten years here – and relocate to Toronto.
Kliel Rose is already a well-seasoned rabbi. He was ordained in 2004 by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
He previously served as spiritual leader at the West End Synagogue in Nashville and Temple Enamu-El in Miami Beach. His current posting is Beth Shalom Synagogue in Edmonton.
Following the example of his parents, Kliel Rose has been active in interfaith dialogue and human rights work for which he was honoured in 2014 with the Human Rights Hero Award by Truah: The Rabbibic Call for Human Rights.
He has also participated in the Kellogg Management Education for Jewish Leaders program at Northwestern University and was most recently chosen to be among 20 rabbis from different denominations chosen to train in the Clergy leadership Incubator – a two-year program, under the leadership of Ranni Sidney Schwarz, intended to educate younger rabbis in innovative thinking, change management and institutional transformation.
In Edmonton, Rose also served as Jewish chaplain at the University of Alberta and took the lead on a program called “Faith and Inclusion”, whose mandate was to support individuals with cognitive and physical learning challenges to feel more welcome within various faith communities.