By MYRON LOVE On November 9 and 10, our Jewish community commemorated the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht – the Night of Broken Glass – the infamous series of pogroms against the Jewish communities of Germany and Austria – with the showing of a new documentary, titled “The Last Twins.” The documentary, written by Patrick McMahon and narrated by actor Liev Schreiber, tells the story of Erno (Tzi) Speigel, who risked his life to save the last surviving twins in Auschwitz.
In her opening remarks, Belle Jarniewski, the executive director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada (which co-sponsored the evening, along with the Rady JCC and the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg), reported that over a two-day period in 1938, the Nazi-inspired hordes burned more than 1,400 synagogues in the two countries, desecrated Jewish religious objects, vandalized and ransacked thousands of Jewish-owned businesses, homes and apartments, and stole valuable belongings. Nor were Jewish orphanages, seniors homes and hospitals spared the mayhem.  Nearly 100 Jews were murdered and about 30,000 Jewish men were subsequently interned in concentration camps.
To add insult to injury, the Nazis then demanded 1-billion reichsmarks from German and Austrian Jewish communities – “atonement payment” – to clean up the mess. 
“It was a turning point,” Jarniewski noted.  “It was the moment when words of hatred turned into co-ordinated destruction and when indifference from the rest of the world gave way to the Shoah – the murder of over 6 million European Jews at the hands of the Nazis and their willing collaborators.
The great 16th century kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria, taught that when God created the world, he had to hide his overpowering light in a series of shells. At some point, the shells broke and the divine light fell into the darkest levels of hell.  It is the responsibility of Jewish souls to descend into that world to redeem the divine sparks in order to repair the world – the original meaning of tikkun olam.
The Shoah certainly represents the lowest level of darkness. The catastrophe also produced many examples of individuals – both Jewish and non-Jewish – who were willing to risk their lives – in the midst of the darkness and danger around them – to save lives. The names of many of them have been enshrined over the years at Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust museum.  Erno Spiegel was one of them.
It was in May 1944, when Spiegel and his twin sister were deported to Auschwitz. They were among the thousands of Hungarian Jews who were shipped to the death camp, where the notorious Dr. Joseph Mengele greeted each trainload of Jews and determined which were to be sent immediately to the gas chambers and which were to be allowed to live on a little longer as slave labour in the death camp’s factories.
Spiegel and his sister were spared immediate death because the demonic doctor had a special interest in twins, on whom he did numerous gruesome experiments. Many – perhaps most – died.
When a new group of Jewish twins – all of whom were children – were separated from subsequent trainloads of Hungarian Jews they were housed in separate barracks for boys and girls. Mengele serendipitously put the 29-year-old Spiegel in charge of the boys’ care, and Spiegel determined to do his best to look after them.
According to the documentary, not all of the “twins” were really twins. Some were siblings who were born close together and bore a strong resemblance to each other. Spiegel made sure to enter in the forms the same birthday for both brothers in these cases.
He also quickly let them know what had happened to their families and, between experiments, tried to teach them some math and geography.
The documentary includes interviews with several of these twins – survivors – who had immigrated to Israel or North America (or, in one case, stayed in Hungary) who recalled their experiences in Auschwitz and beyond. They reported that, to them, Spiegel became a father figure who saved their lives.
The closest they came to death came in October,1944, when a junior officer discovered them in their barracks and ordered them immediately to the gas chambers. The survivors recalled how Spiegel saved their lives by risking his own to seek out Mengele. The doctor was outraged that a junior officer would try to countermand him and the boys were returned to the barracks.
Spiegel’s efforts to save as many twins as possible were put to the maximum test in January 1945 – when the Russians liberated Auschwitz and the German guards fled.  Just prior to the Russians entering the camp, the Nazis had removed most of the prisoners from Auschwitz – including the older sets of twins – and force-marched them in the worst winter weather in years into Germany – leaving the younger twins to fare for themselves.  Very few survived these death marches.
The Russians didn’t stay long. So, Spiegel took charge. He promised the kids that he would get them home again. They all set off on foot.  They walked for two days – sleeping one night in an abandoned school and the second night in a farmer’s barn.  He got them rides with Russian soldiers to Krakow in Poland, where they were housed in a building that had been German headquarters in Krakow.  There he found them enough to eat and got identity papers for the kids. He also acquired a pass from the Russians that guaranteed Russian help along the way.
After dropping all the kids in their home communities, they all went their separate ways. Spiegel married and moved to Israel. He and his wife had two kids (who were also interviewed for the documentary).  He became involved in theatre in Tel Aviv.
He never talked about Auschwitz.
The first his daughter, Judith Richter, and son, Israel, knew about his heroism, came in 1981 when Richter’s husband, Kobi, came across a story in Life Magazine at a store in Boston where the couple were living.  Flipping through the pages, he stumbled on a story about Mengele.  In the story was a picture of Spiegel next to a photo of two of the twins.
One of the twin survivors, also living in the States, also saw the story. He contacted Kobi and Judith (who co-hosted the documentary)  which led to a dramatic reunion between Spiegel and the twin.
In 1985, Israel put Mengele on trial in absentia. Speigel was called to testify.  To his surprise, all those in the courtroom whose lives he saved were asked to stand and about a dozen did.
Several reunions between Spiegel and one or more of the twins followed and the twins continued to reach out to each other after he died in 1993. Toward the end of the documentary, four of the twins are seen holding a reunion in Israel, reminiscing, and celebrating their bar mitzvahs at the Western Wall.
“The last Twins,” Belle Jarniewski observed, “is not only a Holocaust film, but also an urgent reminder of the human capacity to choose compassion over cruelty, to protect the vulnerable, and to recognize the power one person can have in the face of systemic evil.
“But tonight’s commemoration is not only about the past. It is also about the present and the future. At a time when antisemitism has risen exponentially around the world, we are ever more aware of the danger of leaving hate unchallenged. As our youngest Holocaust survivors reach their tenth decade of life, we must continue to connect to education, remembrance and moral courage.”  

By MYRON LOVE In “Casablanca”, one of my favourite movies, the hero – after sending off to safety the woman he loves with another man and killing the bad guy Nazi major is last seen walking into the mist with the police chief  – en route to their both joining the Free French forces – and uttering these immortal words to the police chief: “this is the beginning of as beautiful friendship”.
One could say the same about the close ties between the Winnipeg chapters of Canadian Magen David Adom (CMDA) and Christian Friends of Israel.  On Thursday, October 23, the Christian Zionist group held its second Stand With Israel evening (see accompanying story). Among those in attendance were Israeli-born Sharon Fraiman, the Calgary-based CMDA director for Western Canada and her CMDA Winnipg team members, who were on hand to accept a cheque for $30,000 from the international Christian Zionist organization.
On Tuesday, November 4, the emcee for CMDA Winnipeg’s second annual fundraising gala was none other than Jared Esser,  FOI’s newly-appointed director for Manitoba, with several other FOI supporters also on hand, including a few who are also CMDA volunteers.
It clearly is a “beautiful friendship” between Israeli/Jewish and Christian Zionist charities.
This second CMDA evening – hosted by the Lubavitch Centre – was a gala evening that outdid last year’s event. The chairs and tables were covered in white linen – with an attractive floral arrangement on each table. The meals were first class. There were multiple servers to deliver said meals efficiently. And an outstanding violinist imported from Calgary serenaded the estimated 200 guests/supporters throughout the reception prior to and throughout supper.
The evening’s entertainment was provided by 21-year- old Nevo Abutbul, who has been acclaimed as the world’s youngest professional mentalist, who was flown in from Israel.
Notable among the guests were: Conservative Party MLAs Kevin Goertzen and Wayne Ewasko; Markus Chambers, Winnipeg’s Deputy Mayor; Sidney Benizri, CMDA’s national executive director; Uri Shacham, Chief of Staff to the Director General of CMDA;  Raphael Herbst, MDA Deputy Director of Fundraising & International Relationship Department);  and Chaim Dagan, MDA Executive Board Deputy Chairman and Head of Volunteering in Yarkon Region.
For readers who may be unfamiliar with MDA, the organization doubles as both Israel’s Red Cross and the country’s blood services organization. The MDA was founded on June 7, 1930 and acquired its first ambulance a year later.  The MDA has over 4,000 staff and has on its roster 34,000 volunteers representing a cross section of Israel’s religious communities and people of all ages.  The organization operates over 2,000 ambulances, first responder scooters, helicopters and life-saving boats.
The really remarkable fact is that the MDA operates without any financial support from the Government of Israel. That is why it is so important that donors such as those at the gala have to step up.  The goal of the evening, according to Ami Bakerman, the Winnipeg chapter president, was to raise $150,000. As of the time of writing this, the local group has raised a bit over $$100,000 toward the $140,000 cost of one ambulance.
In his remarks, Uri Shacham described the MDA as “the heartbeat of Israel.” 
“What we have had to deal with over the past five years has been unprecedented, “ he noted.   “First there was Covid, then October 7.  The MDA spearheaded Israel’s emergency response efforts.  While the Israel Defense Force is responsible for protecting our nation’s borders, MDA is responsible for saving lives.”
On October 7, Shacham recalled,  MDA volunteers rushed into the danger zones – despite the terrorists purposely targeting their ambulances.
And, during the brief, 12-day war with Iran in June, MDA volunteers responded to the shell-shocked and the wounded who had been hit by Iranian missile strikes.  At one point, Shacham recounted, MDA was required to provide special buses to move patients from Beersheva’s  Soroka Hospital after it was hit by a missile.
But, it is not only in conditions of war where the MDA shines. During the period of time in the summer when wildfires were devastating northern Israel and forcing large scale evacuations, MDA was on the scene.
“We at MDA have the best emergency response times and best technology n the world,” Shacham noted.
As to the current situation, he cautioned that the ceasefires with Hezbollah in Lebanon and in Gaza do not mean that the fighting is over – as reports indicate that, despite strong IDF pressure, the terrorists continue to try to rebuild their forces and armaments.
“If you are asking what you can do for our Jewish homeland,” he noted, “continue to donate to the MDA and allow us to bring about more happy endings.”
To finish the evening, Sharon Faiman recognized major local MDA donors Ida Alpern, Larry and Tova Vickar and Ruth Ann Borenstein, as well as Candice Tenenbein. Fraiman also had special praise for Linda Filbert, the Lubavitch Centre’s administrator, who played a major role in ensuring that the gala was a success.
“The men and women of the MDA are our heroes,” Fraiman concluded.  “But they can’t do what they do alone. We need your continued support.  There is nothing more important than saving lives.” 

By MYRON LOVE In these stressful times – where levels of antisemitism in words and deeds have – since October 7, 2023 – reached levels that most of us have never before experienced, it is good to know that many of our fellow Canadians still stand with Israel and the Jewish People.  Among the staunchest of our non-Jewish supporters are the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministries Canada (FOI).
On the evening of Thursday, October 23, the Christian Zionist organization hosted its second annual “Stand With Israel Night,” the highlight of which was the presentation of $30,000 cheques to three Israel-based charities.
The event, which was held in the Multipurpose room at the Asper Campus, attracted about 100 people – comprising both members of our Jewish community and Christian supporters of Friends of Israel. Jared Esser, FOI’s newly-appointed director for Manitoba, the emcee for the evening, bade welcome and thanked those in attendance for coming together to show their support for Israel and the Jewish People.
The evening began with music by Myron Schultz and his Klezmer Trio.
Esser began the evening’s program by introducing Robert Gottselig, FOI’s Canadian director.  Gottselig, who lives in Regina, pointed out that FOI was founded in 1938, fully ten years before the establishment of the Jewish State, in response to the plight of the Jews of Europe.
“At the outset,” Gottselig noted, ”FOI formed a relief committee to raise funds for food, clothing and shelter for Europe’s endangered Jews. We also worked to provide passports for those who wanted to escape.
“We believe that God has kept his covenant with the Jewish People and brought his chosen people back to their ancestral land,” he said.  “The land of Israel and the Jewish People are inseparable. As Christian Zionists, we stand unequivocally with the Jewish People.”
He added that those who accuse Israel of such “sins” as “colonialism” and oppression of the Palestinians are lying.  “Those who fight Israel are fighting God,” he stated.
Following a  break for refreshments, Esser introduced one by one the recipients of the $30,000 donations.  The first was the Canadian Magen David Adom, Israel’s world leading and largely volunteer driven, national  emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service.
Accepting the cheque on behalf of Canadian Magen David Adom Canada was Israeli-born Sharon Fraiman, the Calgary-based CMDA director for Western Canada.
“The Magen David Adom’s history reflects the history of Israel,” she commented.  “Every dollar CMDA raises counts.
”Our organization in Israel has the support of 34,000 volunteers who are available 24 hours a day every day,” she reported. “We treat over one million Israelis a year in peace and war.  It’s who we are and what we do. Our volunteers are our heroes. “
Fraiman added that, since October 7, 2023, the number of Israelis with mental health issues that MDA has responded to has grown exponentially.
She noted that CMDA raises money in Canada to buy ambulances, medical equipment, supplies and blood testing kits to support the life saving efforts of MDA in Israel.   She singled out Ida Alpern, a member of the board of CMDA Winnipeg who, with her late husband, Saul, contributed funding to pay for two new ambulances and one scooter.  She further praised Ami Bakerman for his leadership of local CMDA efforts.
The second recipient of a donation from FOI was Christian Friends of Leket Israel, which raises money in support of Leket Israel – an organization which has been feeding the hungry in Israel since 2003. In a video appearance, Ray MacDonald, the director of Christian Friends of Leket Israel, expressed his appreciation for FOI’s donation and spoke about the organization’s work on behalf of disadvantaged Israelis.
“We provide about 175,000 needy Israelis weekly with nutritious food and meals,” he reported.  “We supply over 300 non-profit partners that feed the poor.”
MacDonald added  that 20% of Israelis live below the poverty line, that one-third of Israeli children go to school hungry – and that the situation has worsened over the past two years due to the war.
He described Leket Israel as a “food rescue” organization that gathers its food from a variety of sources.  “We work with over 500 farmers that share their crops with us,” MacDonald said. “We also source food from hotel and resorts.”
According to the Leket website, “millions of tons of healthy, fresh food are wasted or destroyed because of excess quantity, minor imperfections, or financial cost. 
“Food waste has severe consequences for society, the environment, and the economy. Food rescue addresses these problems by productively using surplus food instead of destroying it.  With Leket’s fleet of 27 refrigerated trucks and vans, our staff and volunteers transport thousands of tons of rescued food throughout the country.
“All rescued produce is brought to the logistics center or other cold storage facilities, where it is sorted, stored, and prepared for delivery to one of our 330 nonprofit partners.
“All rescued cooked food is either brought directly from where it was cooked to a recipient nonprofit partner, or brought to one of our regional hubs to be stored overnight and reheated the following morning for timely service of a hot lunch. The food rescued by Leket Israel is distributed to 296 nonprofit organizations, including homeless shelters, soup kitchens, elderly centers, battered women’s centers, community help organizations, and schools for at-risk youth.”
The final recipient of the FOI’s largesse was Operation Lifeshield, whose mission is to provide bomb shelters for threatened Israeli communities.  Rabbi Shmuel Bowman, the organization’s executive director, was also one of the founders of Operation Lifeshield. Winnipeg pediatrician Dr. Matthew Lazar, a cousin of Bowman’s, is president of Operation Lifeshield Canada.
Operation Lifeshield was formed in 2006  by a small group of American olim and Israelis who were visiting the Galilee during the second Lebanon war in 2006 and found themselves under rocket attack – along with thousands of others – with no place to go.  They decided to take action.
In a presentation that Bowman made last year – while in Winnipeg to accept a donation from FOI last year, he noted that “our shelter construction design and manufacturing processes conform with the strictest guidelines and approval of the Israel Defense Force Home Front command.  Several types of shelters are available in order to best protect schools, kindergartens, synagogues, parks, sidewalks, bus shelters and senior centres.”
Lazar reported that Operation Lifeshield, over the years, has built or updated more than 1,000 shelters – making sure that they all have up to date fire fighting and communications equipment, that the shelters are water-proofed, and the walls fortified.
Jared Esser is looking forward  to next year’s Stand With Israel evening.