Local News
Covid situation presents synagogues with opportunities as well as challenges
By MYRON LOVE
These are trying times that we are living through. And certainly, our communal religious institutions – having been prevented from convening services for these past few months – have faced their share of challenges. But, as rabbis and synagogue spokespeople have pointed out in a series of interviews, there have also been new opportunities that have presented themselves that may never have occurred without the challenges.
“We have been trying to reach out to our community in different ways,” says Rabbi Allan Finkel, Temple Shalom’s spiritual leader. “For example, people can tune in to our live stream free of charge. We are streaming services three or four times a week and are attracting many more people than would be coming for services. People – some of whom may have disabilities or be reluctant to go out in wintry weather – can join in from the comfort of their homes.
“We are finding that we are attracting many people who are former members of our congregation or who are unaffiliated.”
He adds that his online “Introduction to Judaism” class has more students than his previous in-person classes. Among those signing on are a couple from Moose Jaw who aren’t Jewish but who are interested in learning about our religion.
Finkel points out how well the rabbis who are members of the Winnipeg Council of Rabbis are working together.
He also notes that he has initiated – for the first time – discussions with the other Reform Congregations in western Canada toward some joint programming. The idea came out of a Chanukah program online that brought together cantors from Reform congregations across the country. (“It was an incredible musical production,” he says.)
“The restrictions arising from Covid have encouraged us to think out of the box,” he says of the discussions with his colleagues in western Canada. “It opens up many new possibilities that we not have recognized before.”
He also expresses his appreciation to the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and the federal government for providing grants which have helped make up to some degree the shortfall in funding due to Covid restrictions.
“While we miss coming together and meeting up with each other, we have to count our blessings,” Finkel observes.
“The really sad part is that no one is coming into our building,” notes Ian Staniloff, executive director of Congregation Shaarey Zedek, our community’s leading synagogue. “Still, we are coping as well as we can and membership has been very supportive.”
The Shaarey Zedek had a head start on our community’s other shuls in developing an online presence. Services have been simultaneously streamed for people at home for several years now.
“Our presence online is outstanding,” Staniloff reports. “We continue to offer Shabbat services as well as weekday services and educational programming online.”
And although the Covid lockdown has meant that there are no life cycle events for the catering department to prepare, Staniloff notes that the kitchen staff has been preparing take-out meals for any and all occasions or no occasion. “We organized a pre-Christmas Chinese supper, as an example,” Staniloff points out. “We filled 270 orders. We had cars lining up to pick up their orders.
“We have a Shabbat supper coming up. We are expecting as many as 70 families to be participating. For anybody who wants to order from our kitchen, you just have to give us a little notice.
“We are looking forward though to the day when we can get back to normal.”
Congregation Etz Chayim, our community’s second largest synagogue, is also providing some takeout catering for yom tovim and Shabbat, as well as offering online services and classes. Our next class is scheduled to begin near the end of January,” reports Jonathan Buchwald, Etz Chayim’s executive director.
He notes while it has been “tough” these past ten months, the membership has been supportive. “People are paying their dues and still making donations,” he says.
He adds that a group of member volunteers has been put together to reach out and help more vulnerable members of the congregation in buying groceries, for example, or picking up medication or making friendly phone calls.
South Winnipeg’s two Orthodox congregations – while they cannot provide Shabbat services electronically – are also reaching out online as much as they can. The Lubavitch Centre continues to offer catering out of its kitchen as well as classes via Zoom.
“We have continued to operate our daycare and school throughout,” says Rabbi Avroham Altein.
The Adas Yeshurun Herzlia is offering classes online as well as weekday services. “It’s not the same on Zoom as praying together in person,” says Rabbi Yossi Benarroch. “We don’t say kaddish or repeat the kidushe. But we are still praying together.”
For Chanukah, Benarroch and the congregational leaders arranged a Zoom Chanukah party featuring the rabbi with his family in Israel. “We had maybe 130-140 people participating. It was 8:00 P.M. Israel time, noon in Winnipeg. My family lit the Chanukah candles and one of my daughters led a workshop on how to bake a Moroccan donut. (The Benarroch family is originally from Morocco.) Then, we had Zoom breakout sessions including some kids activities.
“We are planning to do something similar for Tu B’Shvat.
“It has been difficult, but our members understand.”
Because of Covid restrictions, the Chevra Mishnayes Congregation in Garden City is trying something different for its AGM at the end of the month. “We are going to have our AGM online this year,” notes congregation president Marshall Kneller.
While the congregation cancelled all services after the latest lockdown was imposed, Kneller suggest that if the lockdown continues for much longer, the membership may want o reconsider the possibility of having services online.
There are three small Orthodox shuls in the North End: the Chavurat Tefila, Talmud Torah/Beth Jacob and House of Ashkenazi. With few members, no office staff and lacking online capability, the congregants who attend the shuls can only hope that the lockdown doesn’t continue too much longer.
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!
