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Canadian Jewish News – Canada’s flagship Jewish newspaper, announces it’s folding
By BERNIE BELLAN
This story is one that I had been dreading to see. The Canadian Jewish News has been a hallmark of superior journalism for years. It was the model for all other Jewish newspapers in Canada.
April 3, 2020
MONTREAL (JTA) — Canada’s flagship national Jewish newspaper, the Canadian Jewish News, became a coronavirus casualty after it announced that its April 9 issue would be its last after 60 years in business.
“Unfortunately, we too have become a victim of Covid-19,” president Elizabeth Wolfe said in an official statement Thursday on the Canadian Jewish News website. “Already struggling, we are not able to sustain the enterprise in an environment of almost complete economic shutdown.”
Canadian Jewish News will cease both its print and online editions.
The weekly, launched January 1, 1960 under the editorship of Myer Nurenberger, fell victim to the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic after struggling to stay afloat since coming to the brink of closure once before, in 2013. It revived after a groundswell of community support.
At the time, the newspaper let go of about 50 staffers in Montreal and Toronto and relaunched with new editorial leadership, a fresh look and layout, and a trendier variety of content. But losses continued to mount and the paper succumbed to the economic woes brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, said Wolfe. (Wolfe is a member of the board of directors of 70 Faces Media, JTA’s parent company.)
The staff was informed of the newspaper’s demise via video-conference call. Its circulation at its demise was about 32,000.
Following are excerpts from the statement posted to the CJN website by Elizabeth Wolfe, president of the Canadian Jewish News (and daughter of the late Ray Wolfe, who was driving force behind the CJN for years):
f Everywhere we have seen the devastating impact of COVID-19. It has attacked every aspect of life as we know it, and we are all struggling to cope with the upheaval. We had hoped that The CJN could play some small role to inform, console and distract our readers as we all isolate at home, worried about our families, our friends, our medical caregivers, all those risking their lives to provide essential services, our businesses and livelihood, our community, our country, our world.
It is with great regret that we have realized that we will be unable to do so. Unfortunately, we too have become a victim of COVID-19. Already struggling, we are not able to sustain the enterprise in an environment of almost complete economic shut down. It is with deep sadness that we announce the closure of our beloved CJN, both in print and online.
In the spring and summer of 2013 we saved The CJN from its announced demise. At that time, I consulted with a number of community leaders, including my mother, Rose Wolfe, a longtime board member of The CJN and community leader. Her response at the time surprised me. She said: “It had a good run. Everything has its season. It is time.”
That response did not sit well with me, as I was not satisfied that we had done everything possible to save The CJN, especially given our family’s 40 year association with the paper. I was not willing to give up without another try. With the support of the board of directors, we re-organized, restructured and created a new version of the paper and website to serve the Canadian Jewish community. Against all odds, our friends, advertisers and readers recognized how important it was to maintain The CJN as a platform to inform and engage Canadian Jewry.
The outcry at the time encouraged our efforts. It did not, however, translate into widespread support for The CJN, although our dedicated subscribers, advertisers and friends kept us afloat. Despite the challenges facing print journalism everywhere, we managed to survive, printing 100 editions (50 each in Toronto and Montreal) annually as well as supplements and periodic magazines, and providing digital access through our website.
We have not been immune to the decline of the industry, although our decline has been slower than most. Our bottom line showed small profits early on, to start to rebuild our lost reserves, became barely break-even shortly thereafter, and then recently succumbed to increasing losses. The economic devastation striking our community has also affected The CJN. The CJN suffered from a pre-existing condition and has been felled by COVID-19.
Our board of directors and management agree that, while we are committed to our community and our readers, our first obligation is to our staff, many of whom have been with The CJN throughout their careers. On behalf of all our readers, I want to extend an enormous thank you to all of The CJN staff who have provided Canadian Jewry with a much needed connection to community.
I have no doubt that there will be another outcry from the community, particularly from those readers who rely on the print edition as their source of information, and perhaps, their connection to the Canadian Jewish community. It is my hope that members of our community will recognize the need for a national platform and that a new CJN will emerge.
Please know that we have done everything in our power to continue The CJN for as long as possible. It is with tears in my eyes that I conclude: It had a good run. Everything has its season. It is time.
Elizabeth Wolfe
President, Canadian Jewish News
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Join the Sewing Circle at Chesed Shel Emes
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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.