Local News
Conservative, Reform synagogues see continued expansion in number of online Yom Tov viewers
By MYRON LOVE In a full page ad on the back page of the August 4 issue of The Jewish Post & News, Shaarey Zedek Congregation let it be known that there would not be any in-person high holyday services come September, but all members of the community would be welcome to participate online.
The ad also said there would not be any charge to join online and that no tickets or passwords would be needed. In addition, the machzorim were to be digital, the aliyot virtual, and viewers would be able to chat online with other viewers.
The result, Ran Ukashi, the congregation’s executive director reports, is that over 16,000 viewers – from around the world – tuned into services at one point or another – a number that is about ten times the number of people who normally attended in person in pre-covid days.
“While the province did loosen restrictions, we felt it better – with conditions constantly subject to change – to take a safe rather than sorry approach,” Ran observes. “Our membership was really understanding.”
The Shaarey Zedek has been a leader among our community’s synagogues in livestreaming services, a technology that has been in use at the synagogue for several years.
“Everything went very well,” he adds. “It was nice to see our viewership continuing to grow.
”Maybe next year, we will be able to return to in-person services for the Holidays.”
While Congregation Etz Chayim opted to return this year to limited in-person attendance – in contrast to last year’s almost entirely virtual service(with the exception of ten people to form an in-person minyan ) – our community’s second largest congregation also increased its online presence.
“We were very pleased with how High Holy Days went this year – given the circumstances and the amount of uncertainty leading up to it,” says Jonathan Buchwald, Congregation Etz Chayim’s executive director. “We offered on-line services for the second year in a row but also included limited in-person attendance. Congregants could choose to attend either for Rosh Hashanah or for Yom Kippur in order to maximize attendance. For the first two days of Rosh Hashanah we had 50 people attend and for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur we had 100 people attend. We were able to follow all of the safety protocols and everyone was extremely cooperative. It was so nice to have our congregants back in the building for the first time in a very long time. It was actually quite emotional for many of them and they were so grateful that they could attend.”
In terms of the on-line audience, Buchwald estimates that close to 200 screens were watching services daily, including many from out of town. “This would translate into about 500-600 people watching our services at any given time,” he notes. “Congregants were also able to offer special readings live via Zoom.
“Rabbi Kliel, Cantor Tracy and the entire Etz Chayim team deserve a huge Yasher Koach for delivering such uplifting and inspiring services during these most extraordinary times.”
As with Etz Chayim, Temple Shalom, our community’s only Reform Congregation, combined limited in-person services and livestreaming.
“A lot of people still feel uneasy,” observed Rabbi Allan Finkel in an earlier interview. “We are working to make sure that everyone will feel incredibly safe here.”
That included pre-registration – with members being priorized, limited seating, vaccinations and masks, and a shortened service.
Finkel reports that in-person services were limited to 100 congregants -in addition to clergy and technical staff. “We were close to capacity for Rosh Hashonah morning and Yom Kippur,” he says. “We estimate that we had between 400 and 600 people viewing us online. We had a lot of positive comments about our service both from people who attended in-person and those who watched online.”
For our community’s other shuls, livestreaming of Yom Tov services is not an option. While for Orthodox shuls, it goes against Halachah, the Chevra Mishnayes, a Conservative congregation in Garden City, doesn’t have the technology in place.
In a pre-High Holiday interview, Murray Greenfield, a member of the congregation’s executive, reported that “we are going beyond the government Covid guidelines. We are asking people to register ahead of time and we will be assigning seating.”
Social distancing was enforced – although family members could sit together.
As with last year the Adas-Yeshurun Herzlia, our community’s largest Orthodox congregation, limited in-person attendance to a maximum of 50 – but with two services a day for Rosh Hashonah. Congregation members hoping to attend had to register in advance and be able to show their vaccination cards (a scan or photocopy sufficed).
Congregation President Jack Craven reports that everything went well.
The Orthodox House of Ashkenazi in the North End and the Lubavitch Centre in south Winnipeg were the only shuls open to non-members for the High Holidays. The Lubavitch Centre does not actually have a “membership” category.
“While we had to limit our numbers, we had a nice group in attendance,” notes Rabbi Avrohom Altein, our community’s Lubavitch Rabbi for the past 50 years. “For Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur, all of our tables were full.”
Only family members were allowed to share a table, he adds.
And Gary Minuk, the president of the House of Ashkenazi, reports that there were about 30 men and a few women in attendance for Yom Tov services – around the same number as last year.
“We had a nice service,” he says.
The Ashkenazi, he adds, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The synagogue is the last of the old time shuls in the old North End – with a women’s section upstairs. Until Covid restrictions, the Ashkenazi was still offering daily morning minyans. Currently, the congregation is trying to have minyans Thursday mornings.
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!
