Local News
Celebrated University of Manitoba professors reap new accolades
By MYRON LOVE This past November, a pair of internationally renowned University of Manitoba professors received further recognition for their storied careers.
In early November, Dr. Michael Eskin, chazan, singer/songwriter and Distinguished Professor in the University of Manitoba’s Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame.
In June of 2023, he was inducted into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Order of Canada, the Order of Manitoba and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Toward the end of the month, Dr. Haskel Greenfield, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Manitoba, co-director (with his wife, Professor Tina Greenfield) of the university’s Near Eastern and Biblical Archaeology Lab, and head of the University’s Judaic Studies program, became just the third Canadian to be invited to become a member of the prestigious Academia Europea, the Pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters and Sciences, which was founded in 1988 with the goal of “advancing and propagating excellence in scholarship in the humanities, law, the economic, social, and political sciences, mathematics, medicine, and all branches of natural and technological sciences anywhere in the world for the public benefit and for the advancement of the education of the public of all ages in the aforesaid subjects in Europe”.
Greenfield was welcomed into Academia Europea at the organization’s annual yearly conference which, this year, was held from November 26-28 at Wroclaw in Poland. He was one of close to 100 new inductees – among well over 1,000 Academia Europea members in attendance.
“There were numerous presentations for members, both old and new, talking about their research,” he reports, “ a lot of it cutting edge material.”
He is looking forward to next year’s conference – which is scheduled for Barcelona.
Greenfield joined the teaching staff at the University of Manitoba in 1989. As noted in an earlier article in the Jewish Post & News, his introduction to archeology came in 1973 when he was involved as a student at an excavation at Tel Gezer in Israel. Following this, he conducted archaeological work in the Balkans, Romania and Greece – work that was cut short when conflict broke out in the region in 1992. Subsequently, his research took him to South Africa, Egypt, Turkey, Egypt and Israel,
Rather than focusing on a specific region in his studies, Greenfield noted in that previous interview, he has always pursued “the big picture” – how we have come to be who we are today from our earliest origins to growing our own food, domesticating animals, developing towns and cities and adapting new technology.
One of his special interests, he said, has been researching the beginnings of metallurgy and its effects on daily life. His other major interest is in the evolution of domestic animals and how they have changed the way in which we live and feed ourselves.
In recent years, his work has been mainly focused on archaeological sites In Turkey and Israel. From 2008 to 2017, he co-directed excavation work at and analyzed findings from Tel es Safi – in ancient times known as Gath (the Philistine city that was the home of Goliath who fought David nearby)– between Ashdod and Beth Shemesh. He has also analyzed material from other sites in Israel (such as Tel Beth Shemesh and Tel Shiloh) as well as in Turkey, where he worked on a site in west central Turkey called Catalhoyuk, a site that was first settled about 9,500 years ago.
Now that he has reached 71, he says that his days of leading excavations into the past are behind him. He is not entirely abandoning field work though. Rather, while still finishing reports from his past research, he notes that he will be providing his analytical expertise to other professionals’ excavations.
“There is still a demand for my areas of expertise,” he says.
Currently, he reports, he is analyzing material from a Hebrew University archaeological team at the famous archaeological site of Tel Beit Mirsim, which was excavated 100 years ago by the father of Biblical Archaeology, William Foxwell Albright. He is also providing assistance to a Hebrew University archaeological team helping to analyze findings from a site of the Biblical town of Shiloh, where the Ark was temporarily housed after Joshua led the people of Israel into the Promised Land.
Michael Eskin’s induction into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of fame came via Zoom in early November. As a recipient, his portrait hangs in a special gallery which can be accessed online, together with a 4-minute video.
In a congratulatory letter from Senator Robert Black, Chair of the Senate committee on Agriculture and Forestry, the senator commented on Eskin’s pioneering research on canola oil and its impact on Canada’s agricultural industry and the health of consumers. Black noted, “Your work has not only improved the quality and stability of canola oil, but also expanded its market on an international scale.
“Your efforts in establishing canola oil as a heart-healthy addition to the Canadian diet have had far reaching benefits for producers, the economy and consumers.”
Black furthered praised Eskin for his role in mentoring the next generation of researchers and industry leaders.
During the course of his career, Eskin has published 19 books, over 250 research articles, book chapters, monographs and abstracts.
In an earlier interview, Eskin – who also served our Jewish community as a chazan for many years, quoted his late mother-in-law as saying that “you should never retire.” She was right, Eskin observed. “If I had retired at 65, I am not sure if I would have accomplished all that I have.”
Local News
Nakba exhibit at human rights museum set to open despite mounting criticism
By NOAH STRAUSS (posted June 25) The Canadian Museum for Human Rights’ Nakba exhibit is scheduled to open this Saturday, June 27, despite growing criticism and calls for it to be delayed or revised. The exhibit has sparked public debate in Winnipeg and beyond regarding how it presents the history surrounding the creation of the State of Israel.
Earlier this week, Mark Berlin resigned from the museum’s board. In his resignation letter, he expressed concern that the exhibit presents a one-sided narrative and does not adequately address the experiences of Jewish communities affected by the events surrounding Israel’s independence.
The Nakba, an Arabic word meaning “catastrophe,” refers to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the 1947–1949 conflict that followed the creation of the State of Israel. Critics of the exhibit argue that it focuses primarily on Palestinian displacement without sufficiently acknowledging the broader regional consequences of the period.
Some Jewish advocacy groups also point to the experiences of Jews who left or were expelled from several Arab and Muslim-majority countries in the decades surrounding Israel’s creation. Estimates suggest that between 850,000 and 950,000 Jews left or were displaced from countries including Iraq, Egypt, and Yemen, under a range of circumstances including persecution, expulsion, and confiscation of property.
In his resignation letter, Berlin, a faculty member at McGill University specializing in human rights law, wrote, “Telling the story with a one-sided perspective chosen by the museum serves to deepen division and contributes to further hostility toward Jews in Canada.”
Following his resignation, CIJA President Noah Shack released a statement saying, “The resignation of the museum’s only Jewish board member is a clear indictment of the museum’s handling of the controversial ‘Nakba’ exhibit.”
The exhibit’s VIP opening is expected to include invitations to representatives from all three levels of government. Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham had initially been invited but later declined following discussions with representatives from the Jewish community, including CIJA Manitoba Vice President Gustavo Zentner and Jeff Lieberman, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.
Members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community are also planning a peaceful rally outside the museum on Friday at 5 p.m., according to organizers.
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is expected to release a formal statement ahead of the exhibit’s opening.
Local News
Jewish Child and Family Service helped over 1800 families in 2025
By BERNIE BELLAN Jewish Child and Family Service will be entering the 75th year of its existence in 2027.
With a budget over $4,300,000, JCFS is also the largest beneficiary of funding from the Jewish Federation of the 12 Winnipeg Jewish community agencies that are beneficiaries of the Federation. (To see a list of the 12 agencies go to Funding for Beneficiary Agencies.)
Its impact has grown over the years as JCFS has expanded its horizon, continually adding to the many services it provides. During the JCFS’s Annual General Meeting, held in the Seniors’ Lounge of the Asper Campus on Tuesday evening, June 23, the important role that JCFS plays in the lives of so many members of the Jewish community – also a significant number of non-Jews as well, various speakers cited the many ways in which JCFS has continued to have such a huge impact.
With total revenues of $4,325,160 in fiscal year 2025 (which ended March 31, 2026), but slightly fewer expenses, JCFS not only delivered a wide gamut of services, it managed to deliver those services without incurring a deficit in 2025, despite some significant financial challenges.
As outgoing Board Chair Elana Grinshteyn observed, JCFS had to navigate some major reductions in funding, including a cut in funding from the federal government to the tune of $100,000, plus the loss of funding from the Claims Conference, which had provided support for Holocaust survivors.
Yet, despite those setbacks in funding, Grinshtein reported, “Together, we insured that services remained intact.
“We increased access to interest free loans,” she noted, “doubling” the amount that had been allocated in 2024.
And, amidst the ever-increasing demand for services, “JCFS has continued to navigate space limitations,” Grinshteyn noted. (I should note that as far back as 2019 I reported in an interview I had conducted with JCFS CEO Al Benarroch about the JCFS’s dire need for more space. Here is an excerpt from what Benarroch had to say about the JCFS’s need for more room back in 2019: “…we’ve been looking for roughly 3,000 more square feet of space. We have a footprint right now of roughly 5,000 square feet for over 40 staff. We’ve given up a board room here. It’s been taken over by older adult service staff. We have a conference room which is adjacent to the board room; we’ve moved two staff in there.
“Yesterday I gave up my office for the entire morning so that staff could interview clients.
“We need to relieve the pressure we’re facing right now – yet alone plan for expanding and growing.
“Whatever space we’d be looking at would be temporary. It’s now 22 years that we’ve been in this facility. The campus has taken over squash courts, it’s taken over a museum – internally, to accommodate the growth in services. Maybe it’s time now to look at growing outside this building…”
As the saying goes: “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” (That’s me, trying to impress.)
While I tried to take notes during Al Benarroch’s CEO report, I realized following his remarks that there was so much important information conveyed, also a slew of statistics, that it might be more helpful to reprint a good portion of what he said verbatim, so I asked Al to send me a copy of his remarks. (That’s one of the nice things about writing on a website. There’s an infinite amount of room to print the kind of stuff that nerds like me pretend to read.)
During his CEO’s report, Benarroch enumerated the many challenges JCFS encountered in 2025.
Among those challenges, Benarroch noted, were:
• The rising and high cost of living
• Food insecurity
• Housing issues
• Our aging population demographics
• The complex needs of our newcomer families
• The increasingly complex needs in mental health & youth mental health
Yet, despite all those challenges, Benarroch said, “As always… we rose to meet those head on, and with the support of our community.”
In particular, Benarroch cited the support of the Jewish Federation, which contributed $948,800 to JCFS in 2025. (The largest portion of JCFS funding, by the way came from the Province: over $1,100,000.)
Fundraising also played a significant role in contributing to JCFS revenues, with almost $700,000 raised through that route, including direct donations of over $320,000 and bequests over $40,000.
As Benarroch noted, “Every year, we look forward with hope that it will be a quiet year.
“Well, if that’s the case, we are in the wrong business.
“We happen to be in the reflect, respond and pivot business.
“This is the nature of the human existence.”
Benarroch went on to add some more statistics about how JCFS played such a pivotal role in the lives of so many people. In 2025 JCFS:
• Served 1,800 client households – impacting almost 5,000 people.
• Assisted 15 foster children.
• Served 70 families in Child Welfare….
“But what is even more important is that we assisted 90 children that remained at home with their families,” Benarroch said.
The year 2025 also saw the inauguration of what is known as the “Asper Empowerment Program”, through which:
• 311 clients were assisted (including Passover Assistance)
• $80,000 was disbursed in financial assistance
• Over $20,000 was given out in interest-free loans.
• 6,500 kg of food were disbursed
In the area of mental health and counselling services, Benarroch noted that JCFS:
• Supported over 50 adults with mental health challenges
• Our Friday Mental Health Wellness Group participants took part in 22 group activities or outings
• We support some 20 individuals and families impacted by addictions through individual and group services.
• We delivered almost 1,100 counselling sessions, over half of which were subsidized on our sliding scale.
• We continued to support individuals, families, and partner Jewish organizations with the ongoing emotional impacts of the war in Israel and high levels of global antisemitism.
In the area of support for older adults, JCFS served over 250 seniors including:
• 70 newcomer seniors
• 50 seniors living with mental health differences
• 65 Holocaust Survivors (including celebrating “25 years of our Holocaust Survivor Drop-in Group, a partnership with the Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre.”)
In the area of settlement services, JCFS:
• Welcomed almost 80 new families
• Almost 50 families from Israel, seeking reprieve from the ongoing stresses and pressures of the war.
Benarroch noted that “These families are dealing with the deep trauma of displacement, having lived under constant stress, fear and the ensuing post-traumatic impact, family and parenting challenges as a result, emotional exhaustion, financial strain, and more.
“Thanks to the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, we hired a trained specialized support worker, with a background in therapy, to help these families cope, adjust, and receive much needed emotional supports.”
Benarroch went on to describe many more initiatives in which JCFS was engaged in 2025, but I want to return to the retirement of Elena Grinshteyn from the Board of JCFS after nine years serving on the Board, including the last two as Chair. Grinshteyn will be succeed by Bradley Abells, who has been on the Board since 2021. In his remarks, Abells noted that he is an actuary at Canada Life and that he first joined the Board when his particular expertise as an actuary proved extremely helpful in helping to solve a problem that had arisen, and he found the experience so rewarding he decided to remain on the Board ever since .
Also on the Board is Michael Schacter, who is returning as Treasurer and who looks the way you’d expect a finance guy to look.
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