Local News
Charles Marmar: From Montrose Street in Winnipeg to Park Avenue in New York
By GERRY POSNER Add yet another name to the list of Winnipeg Jews who became psychiatrists and who have achieved fame elsewhere. I speak of none other than Dr. Charles Marmar, formerly of Montrose Street in the south end of Winnipeg. Some readers may well remember his parents, Dr. Maurice Marmar and Pearl (Brook) Marmar. In fact, it was Dr. Maurice Marmar, either intentionally or not, who influenced his son Charles to follow a career into medicine. Charlie wll recalls , going as a kid with his father, a family doctor and surgeon, on rounds at the Victoria General Hospital and deciding then and there that he wanted to follow a similar path as his dad. He just went down a different path.
Charlie grew up in the south end of Winnipeg, having attended River Heights School,then Kelvin High School. He also played hockey with the River Heights Cardinals. After obtaining a BSc at the University of Manitoba in 1966, he entered medical school at the U of M and graduated with his MD in 1970. He was all of 24 when he graduated medicine.
Marmar soon departed for Toronto, where he competed his residency in psychiatry. He obtained a fellowship from the Ontario Mental Health Foundation and studied neuropharmacology at the University of Toronto in 1976. Charlie then completed another fellowship in traumatic stress and grief in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco in 1978.
After that, Marmar’s career really took off. In 1978, He advanced being a junior faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSF to becoming a professor there, then Chief of Psychiatry at the San Francisco VA Hospital in 1996. In 2009, Marmar made a major move across the continent to New York, where he assumed the position of Lucius N. Littauer Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the New York University Langone Medical Center.
Currently, he is Peter S. Schub Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychiatry, Director of the Centre for Precision Medicine in Alcohol Use Disorder, and Executive Director of the Langone Health Military Family Centre in the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Those are a lot of titles, but they clearly indicate that Marmar is one of the movers and shakers in this area of medicine.
Marmar’s list of hospital appointments started in 1983 and continues to this day. As mentioned above, he presently sits as the Director of the NYU Langone Center for Precision Medicine in Alcohol Use disorder and PTSD. Moreover, he has been deeply involved since 1982 with a variety of other professional positions and Major Visiting Appointments. You have to take my word when I say that the list is expansive, too long for the Jewish Post. Yet, that list pales in comparison to the honours and awards that have come Marmar’s way in his illustrious career as a psychiatrist. I could not help but notice the very first mention of achievement for Marmar was his Honours standing in genetics at the School of Medicine at the University of Manitoba in 1966. That was the start of many moments of distinction right up to the present time. I also note that, among the many prestigious honours bestowed upon Charlie Marmar was the 1999 J. Elliot Royer Award as the Outstanding Bay Area Psychiatrist from the University of California, San Francisco. As well, He has published over 400 (not an error) articles on the epidemiology, neurobiology and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2022, Charlie was named Master Clinician as the outstanding physician across all specialties at NYU Langone Health.
Let’s just say that Charlie Marmar has put in serious time with his work on committees, many of them major and continuing to this day. In fact, Charlie was and still is the Chair of the Disaster Psychiatry Centers Special Review Committee for NIMH. He has worked over a period of years with veterans and that work is evidenced by the many committees he has worked with, particularly in the field of PTSD. This is an area of psychiatry where Marmar has much experience and has attained much fame. His focus has ranged from combat related conditions in veterans, including veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to assisting refugees and earthquake victims suffering from PTSD.This kind of work has led Marmar to conduct studies in psychopharmacology, psychopathology, psychobiology, all relating to PTSD.
Needless to say, Marmar has been a member of professional societies all over the world and, moreover, he has been involved with editorial boards and has authored many articles and been the editor for many publications.
With all that said, what I got a kick out of was when I asked a psychiatrist with whom I am friendly in Toronto, if he knew a Charles Marmar and he answered, “ Charlie, I remember him well from his days in Toronto (now over 50 years ago). He was a rising star.”
So, you take a kid from Montrose Street and without even a shove, years later he is settled in New York, regarded as one of the leaders in his field. He is still at it. And of course, a big part of his success he attributes to his wife Anne (Stern) whom he met at the University of Manitoba Health Sciences Centre where she was studying Dental Hygiene. They married in 1971 and are the proud parents of two sons, Eli and Daniel. They also have five grandchildren: Amalya, Liyora, Tziyon, Noah and Isaiah. The couple remains close to their family and friends from Winnipeg, now living in Toronto, New Jersey, Northern California, Boston, Philadelphia and elsewhere in the Winnipeg diaspora.
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
A photo that’s being circulated on the internet about me
For those of you not familiar with nutjob Michael Kalo – the psycho who created the notorious “$hitler’s List” years ago and the same psycho who went after Ben Carr, well – now he’s obviously taken a strong disliking to the stance I’ve taken on the Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. (You can read elsewhere on this website how I simply posted the entire exhibit as it is – and asked readers to form their own opinions.)
Kalo likes to send out emails to various individual using phony names – such as Frank Ostrowski. When people ask me (or asked Ben Carr) why we don’t take action against him, my answer is: What’s the use? He only basks in the attention.
So Michael – enjoy the attention you’re receiving. I know how much of an embarrassment you are to your wonderfully talented daughters.
Local News
Ami Hassan returning as owner of Falafel Place
By BERNIE BELLAN In a surprise move – and after more than a six-year absence as owner of Falafel Place (Corydon at Wilton) the legendary Ami Hassan has decided to return as owner of one of Winnipeg’s most famous eateries.
Long known for his sometimes irreverent attitude to his customers, e.g., “If you’re finished, get out!”, Ami decided to return to running Falafel Place after having retired years ago (or so he thought) from running the Corydon Avenue restaurant.
We asked Ami whether he’ll be sending a special invitation to Julia Roberts to come visit him at Falafel Place. He asked again: “Who’s Julia Roberts?” (Just kidding – he really does know how Julia Roberts is.) Read the story how Ami told her to leave the restaurant and come back later at Julia Roberts turned away from Falafel Place
Ami did note that when customers saw him inside the restaurant one recent day as he was getting it ready for the reopening Monday, August 10, over 20 of them came in asking him if he was open already.
We asked Ami whether the menu will be the same as it was when he last ran the place and he said everything will be the same.
Falafel Place will be open 7 days a week from 7 am – 2 pm. Remember, if you’re finished – get out!
