Local News
Gail Asper, David Kroft head list of this year’s Kavod Honourees
By MYRON LOVE It has been a few years since I last attended a Kavod evening – and I was greatly impressed by the caliber of volunteers in our community who are responsible for the ongoing success of our communal institutions.
I was equally impressed by the new-look Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, the host for the evening – and the first community event to be held at the synagogue since it re-opened in mid-September. The shul had been shut down for the past year and a half for its first major renovation and expansion in over 50 years. The result is a brightly lit, expansive space which, one synagogue president noted, will undoubtedly appeal to community members who have in recent years gravitated to venues – other than the Shaarey Zedek – locations such as the Convention Centre and the Gates on Roblin – for their family simchas.
The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg has been presenting the Kavod Awards yearly (except for during the Covid lockdowns) for decades. The original awards – The Harry Silverberg Young Leader of Distinction and Max Nathanson Young leadership Awards were first presented back in 1974. The Sol Kanee Distinguished Community Service Award and the Max and Mollie Shore Memorial Award were introduced in 1995. The Shem Tov Awards date back to 1996 and recognize one dedicated volunteer a year from each of the Federation’s beneficiary agencies and organizations. The Larry Hurtig Communal Professional Award was introduced by the Larry Hurtig family in 2012 – shortly after the Federation past president and community leader passed away. The Duboff Family Youth Award is of more recent vintage – having been given out for just the past four years.
This year, two new community awards were presented: The Gerry Koffman Combined Jewish Appeal Award honours the memory of the much revered former Combined Jewish Appeal campaign director who left us – far too young – in 2004. The award will be presented annually to an individual who has contributed significantly to the campaign as a volunteer over many years.
The second new award, the Magen David Award, celebrates an individual who has shown exceptional dedication and leadership in supporting our local Jewish community or Israel.
The list of honourees this year was an impressive group – and one could argue that each deserved a separate story in the Jewish Post – but space does not allow for it. So I shall do the best that I can.
I am going to start at the end. The Sol Kanee Award is the most prestigious award given out by the Jewish Federation. The honouree is someone who has contributed to the Jewish community locally, nationally and internationally – and this year’s winner fits the criteria to a tee.
“I am surprised that Gail hadn’t already received this award,” observed Moe Levy. the first executive director of the Asper Foundation in introducing Kanee Award honouree Gail Asper.
Gail Asper is the third member of her family to receive the award – following to the podium her older brother, David, and her late father, I. H. Asper (along with Moe Levy himself).
I knew Sol Kanee. He was my father’s first cousin. He has been described as arguably one of the most important forces behind the scenes in the annals of world Jewry in the second half of the 20th century. He was also modest about it. I recall one evening toward the end of his life when the community was honouring him,. His speech was succinct – “The evening is late. So thank you and good night”.
I have long been an admirer of Gail. She has made a huge difference locally – and not just in the Jewish community – nationally and internationally. She also shares Sol Kanee’s sense of modesty.
In accepting the award, she spoke of the world being divided between those who give and those who are “leaners” – people in need and the importance of giving when you can. “Your life could change in a heartbeat and a giver could suddenly find oneself a leaner,” she pointed out. “It is important to appreciate what you have and be prepared to share.”
She also spoke of the rewards of being a volunteer. “By saying ‘yes’ to volunteering, to taking on new challenges, I have had so many adventures and met so many beautiful, big-hearted, caring people. I encourage everyone to say ‘yes’ when asked to volunteer.”
The Max and Mollie Shore Memorial Award is presented annually to an individual who has distinguished him or herself through long-standing leadership and dedication to the Combined Jewish Appeal and commitment to the principles and goals of the Federation. This year’s honouree was Mr. Justice David Kroft (who was appointed to the Manitoba Court of Appeal about a year ago – a court on which his late father, Guy, also served).
The award was presented by the Shores’ great-granddaughters, Stephanie and Emily Kalo.
The Kroft Family has a long history of volunteerism. David Kroft himself has served as president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg (as did his father, Guy, and older brother, Jonathan). He has been a Combined Jewish Appeal canvasser for 25 years.
In his response, while expressing sadness about the events of October 7 in Israel and the upsurge in anti-Semitism – unprecedented in our time, Kroft stated that he remains optimistic about the future. He cited the newest jewel in our community, the new look Shaarey Zedek and the growing number of Jews who have been reconnecting with community over the past year.
In particular, he highlighted the strong leadership role that the Jewish Federation and its beneficiary agencies have played over the past year in helping the community get through what has been a very tough year for many.
‘This evening is a celebration of the Federation, its beneficiary agencies and all of the staff and volunteers who have contributed to their success,” Kroft said.
The third major award – the Larry Hurtig Award – was presented by Hurtig’s son, Jack, to Belle Jarniewski – once again, a more than appropriate choice. In just a few years, the daughter of Holocaust survivors has carved out an outsized leadership role in Winnipeg, nationally and internationally in preserving the memory of the Holocaust and fighting anti-Semitism.
“About 15 years ago,” she recalled, “Joe Riesenbach, a survivor, reached out to me to help move a project forward that had literally been collecting dust. Before I knew it, I was a member of the Holocaust Education committee, the federally appointed delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) as a member of the Academic Working Group and the Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial. The committee elaborated the first intergovernmental definition of anti-Semitism, adopted by consensus at the 2016 IHRA plenary. “
Through her work on Holocaust preservation and education, she was introduced to the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada. She was appointed the JHC’s executive director in 2018.
“The Jewish Heritage Centre is the key to our past and our future,” she noted. Exploring our archive is like walking back in time – it’s a treasure trove reflecting the incredible history and diversity of our wonderful Jewish community stretching back 125 years – the challenges and the many triumphs that have shaped who we are today. As the saying goes, you need to know the past to understand the present.
“The Winnipeg I grew up in was a golden age for Jews -a tapestry of multiculturalism with shared values,” she continued. “We thought that the kind of anti-Semitism earlier generations had faced was gone forever. While we may not be able to bring back the wonder years, we must stand united as a community and be strong in our convictions.
“As for me, I am profoundly honoured to work with all of you as we build toward a better tomorrow.”
Brownie Fleishman was the first recipient of the Gerry Koffman Award – which was presented by Koffman’s daughter Jody, and wife Rachelle. Brownie has been involved in community service all her adult life. Among the organizations to which she has contributed her time have been the Jewish Federation, CJA, Hadassah-WIZO, and the Jewish Child and Family Service.
The loudest applause of the evening was reserved for Einat Paz, who received the new Magen David Award. The Israeli-born social worker is, appropriately, the Jewish Child and family Service’s manager of volunteer services.
Paz was recognized in particular for her leadership in helping to organize and co-ordinate weekly vigils – now in their 11th month – that, in more recent months, have been held on Kenaston by the Superstore – in support of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. She has also been prominent in fostering ties between Israelis in Winnipeg and the local community.
The award was presented to Paz by Jeff Lieberman, the Federation’s executive director.
The youth and young leadership award recipients were: Noah Greenfield (Duboff Family Award); Michael Silver (Max Nathanson Award); and Bryan Hack (Silverberg Award).
Hack came to Winnipeg only five years ago. Originally from South Africa, he grew up in Vancouver, where he was heavily involved in the community and Vancouver’s Jewish Federation. In Winnipeg, he quickly continued where he left off in Vancouver. While in Vancouver, the BHC Group principal chaired the Young Adult Division for the Vancouver Jewish community, for which he received the Young Leadership Award in 2017. Over the past three years he has served as the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, Young Adult Division Chair/Co-Chair – and is currently the Chair of the CJA’s Ben-Gurion Society – the young adult outreach division.
Financial advisor Michael Silver has volunteered his time with the Rady JCC, and the JNF, as well as the CJA. He co-chaired the Top Donors division with his wife Ellie last year. In his response, he noted the example that his late uncle, businessman and philanthropist Arnold Frieman set for him.
He also spoke of the impact of the events of October 7 on him personally and world Jewry. “The degree of anti-Semitism we are seeing now is reminiscent of the 1930s,” he observed. “The universities are breeding grounds for anti-Semitism.”
Still, he added, he firmly believes that the great majority of Canadians support Israel and the Jewish people.
“I consider it a privilege to be able to part of the Winnipeg Jewish community and help ensure a secure future for our children and generations to come.”
Noah Greenfield has been proving his leadership mettle this past year as president of Hillel Winnipeg. Since October 7, the University of Manitoba student has been speaking out against anti-Zionist and anti-Israel hate.
In presenting the Duboff Family Award, Neil Duboff described Greenfield as a “mensch”.
“If we don’t stand our ground, we will not have a place in Canada,” he stated.
Among the Shem Tov winners were: Avrom Charach (Jewish Federation of Winnipeg); Ari Hanson (Jewish Child and Family Service); Bryan Borzykowski (Winnipeg Board of Jewish Education); Al Greenberg (Rose and Max Rady Jewish Community Centre); Amy Karlinsky (Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada); Marilyn Regiec (Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre); Howard Kideckel (Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre); Shea Lerner (BB Camp); Max Palay (Camp Massad); Shael Lander (Aleph Bet Child Life Enrichment Program); and Lyle Lockhart (Shalom Residences).
Mazel tov to all and Yasher Koach
Local News
Jewish Federation now says Jewish population of Winnipeg in 2021 (according to the census) was 13,940 – not the 16,000 figure that the Federation had been touting for years
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted Oct. 27, 2026) Longtime readers of The Jewish Post & News (and this website) would probably know that I have long had a very strong interest in establishing as accurate figures as possible when it has come to reporting the size of Winnipeg’s Jewish community.
For years I argued that our Jewish Federation was exaggerating the size of our Jewish population. I heard the figure of 16,000 bandied about by leaders in our community quite often when it came to reporting the size of our Jewish population – without any empirical evidence to back that figure up.
I had long maintained that the only reasonably accurate figures when it came to reporting the size of Winnipeg’s Jewish population were those produced by the late Evelyn Katz, when she was the unofficial demographer for the Jewish Federation – over 30 years ago. What Evelyn would do is keep careful track of births, deaths, numbers of newcomers but, perhaps most important: the number of people who had left our community.
Thus, in August 2022 when I interviewed Faye Rosenberg Cohen who, at the time, was just about to retire as the Jewish Federation’s Chief Planning and Allocations Officer, I was somewhat astonished to hear Faye say, when I asked her what proportion of our Jewish community was made up of immigrants, she answered that “I can honestly say when I look at those numbers it’s somewhere around 1/3 of the community.”
In response, I asked: “So you’d say it’s somewhere between 4-5,000?”
Faye said: “I think it’s more than that.”
I wrote in that article, “I indicated my skepticism at that time, saying ‘You know that I’ve always been skeptical about the numbers that have been used by the Federation for the population of the Jewish community. I think though that it’s always been more of a case of identification – who identifies as Jewish.’ ”
Later, after the results of the 2021 census were released, I wrote that “if you take into account the results of the 2021 census, the Jewish community cannot be larger than 14,270 at a maximum. But that figure would also include anyone who had either said either their ethnic origin was Jewish or their religion was Jewish.”
Since many of the individuals who had said on the 2021 census that their ethnic origin was Jewish, but their religion was something else, I maintained that ascertaining the real size of our Jewish community was highly problematic.
Still, for the sake of argument I was willing to accept that, realistically, it was somewhere between 13,000-14,000 – but nowhere close to the figure of 16,000 that had come to be suggested by our then president of the Jewish Federation or by other leading figures in our community.
So, it was with a sense of satisfaction that I heard Sharon Graham, who is now the Jewish Federation’s Community Planning and Allocations Lead say to an audience of over 50 people who were at the Gwen Secter Centre on Thursday, October 22, that the Jewish community in 2021 was – at a maximum: 13,940.
Sharon was at the Gwen Secter Centre to speak to Remis Lecture attendees. Her presentation preceded a presentation by Jewish Federation CEO Jeff Lieberman. Sharon used a PowerPoint presentation to provide some very interesting insights into where our Jewish community was at in 2021- and I’m offering some parts of her presentation here for you to read because I thought they were so interesting.
I had actually made many of the same observations about the results of the 2021 census in my own reporting back in 2022, but seeing what I had written confirmed by the Jewish Federation’s point person on planning told me that Sharon has a much more realistic view of our community than did Faye Rosenberg Cohen.
Here, for instance, is a slide that shows the proportion of our Jewish community that is made up of immigrants. It’s slightly under one fifth, not the one third percentage that Faye had suggested.
But, what really set Sharon’s presentation apart from anything else I’ve ever seen presented by someone from the Jewish Federation – other than the aforementioned Evelyn Katz, was the slide she projected which showed that, while there had been a large influx of newcomers to Winnipeg’s Jewish community between 2016-2021 there had also been a significantly high number of people who had left our Jewish community in those same years, as you can see in the following slide:
That is something we just don’t hear discussed by leaders of our Jewish organizations, but let’s be realistic: For many newcomers who came to Winnipeg and were counted as new members of our Jewish community, Winnipeg – for a variety of reasons, was a stepping stone to other communities. It may have been for reasons of better job opportunities, moving closer to other family members, or – the reason that we hear so often when it comes to people saying they want to leave Winnipeg: the weather.
But, whatever the reason, Sharon’s figures show that, as much as GrowWinnipeg may have been an abiding success when it’s come to attracting newcomers to our Jewish community here, getting them to stay long term is a different story.
And, while there were other aspects of Sharon’s presentation that certainly merit discussion, especially the figures she produced about intermarriage, rather than delving into them here, I thought it useful simply to insert them for you, the reader, to see – and draw your own conclusions.
Local News
Marty Green expands his protest against extremist Jewish settlers to two more venues – and is arrested twice more
(Tuesday, October 27) We received the following press release about Marty Green being arrested again, both at the University of Manitoba and at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue:
Both sides came to blows on Saturday, October 24, at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue as security personnel sought to prevent Marty Green from interfering with synagogue traffic as he protested just outside synagogue grounds against the actions of religious settlers in Israel’s occupied West Bank territory. Synagogue Executive Director Rena Secter Elbaze quickly intervened to prevent further escalation. Police arrived shorty thereafter and detained Green for 45 minutes before driving him home and releasing him. It is not clear whether their decision not to lay charges was the result of their own onsite investigation or whether it was at the request of the synagogue executive.
Green has now been arrested four times in the last month and faces multiple charges for disturbing the peace, including two episodes at the Asper Campus and one more this past Friday (Oct. 23) at the University of Manitoba. While Green says initially he was merely handing out leaflets (at the Asper Campus), since his first arrest on September 23, he has returned to the campus with a large placard and an acccordion, accompanying himself while singing songs with lyrics that include such phrases as “The Jews Are Bananas….B-A-N-A-N-A-S”. In addition to listing actions of the religious settlers as including arson, vandalism, and theft, he pointedly alleges that the IDF has been backing up the settlers in their actions.
Green had earlier notified the Shaarey Zedek that he was contemplating bringing his protest to the synagogue. He was told that if he attempted to enter the grounds he would be prevented from doing so. At that time, Secter Elbaze told Green that his intentions were inappropriate, declaring the synagogue to be “a house of worship dedicated to prayer, learning, community, and spiritual engagement.” Green responded that if the synagogue were willing to contact the Crown and inform them that “that there was never any legal basis for their claims that I was conducting myself inappropriately at the Asper Campus” (with regard to his earlier arrests) that he would “voluntarily refrain from carrying his informational campaign to the synagogue(s).”
Green further argues that the recent “psak” (religious ruling) by leading Israeli rabbi Rov Dov Lior, in which Lior declares that it is not merely permissible but praiseworthy for Jews to steal olives from Arab orchards….that this ruling brings his protest within the proper realm of religious discourse. He says further that if the local rabbis were willing to speak out to their congregations against the aforesaid psak, that he might have refrained from taking his campaign to their grounds.
Although Green was released on Saturday without charges, police confiscated his placard. They explained that it was being held as evidence pending an investigation by Major Crimes as to whether it constituted hate literature.
There was no further information given as to what happened at the University of Manitoba.
Local News
Third annual JFest Winnipeg will be offering programs for all ages
By MYRON LOVE JFest Winnipeg is back with a good variety of musical performances, a book launch, popular Jewish-themed films, children’s activities, and a family-oriented Shabbat dinner.
“JFest,” observes Laura Marjovsky, the Rady JCC Director of Programming, “is an opportunity for our community to experience Jewish art and culture. With our range of JFest events, we are trying to reach out beyond what has been our base audience and appeal to all ages. We have a commitment to bring top notch Israeli performers to share the highest caliber of Israeli entertainment with our audiences.”
The week-long festival (November 14-21) kicks off with a performance by top-ranked Israeli singer-songwriter Harel Skaat. The popular Israeli star began singing as a child. He shot to fame when he finished second in the second season of “Kochav Nolad” – Israel’s version of “American Idol.” His first album was released in 2006 and achieved Platinum status – with one of the songs being ranked as “song of the year.” He followed that up in 2009 with a second album that reached Gold status. In 2010, he represented Israel at the Eurovision competition.
Skaat’s performance is scheduled for the Seven Oaks Performing Arts Centre (which is attached to Garden City Collegiate) beginning at 8:00 P.M. on Saturday, November 14. Patrons will have the opportunity to purchase an enhanced ticket to attend a meet and greet with Harel.
All other JFest programs and activities will be at the Rady JCC.
Music Producer Karla Berbrayer says Ben Caplan’s performance on Saturday, November 21 will also be another highlight. “Ben Caplan redefines what it means to be a modern folk artist,” Berbrayer says. “His music and stories are matched by his larger-than-life stage presence. This concert focuses on how his Jewish upbringing has influenced his entire performance career.”
“Flatland Famous” is returning by popular demand. This quintet, known for its performances at Winnipeg Jets games, will be presenting its concert, “Jewish Soul of Rock and Roll,” on Wednesday, November 18, at 7:30 pm. This year’s show will feature songs by Amy Winehouse, Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, Simon and Garfinkel, and other famous Jewish icons.
On Tuesday, November 17, local author Deborah Schnitzer will be taking centre stage with the launch of her new book, “The Woman Who Swallowed West Hawk Lake.” The University of Winnipeg English Professor Emeritus’s new novel explores intergenerational trauma related to Nazi breeding programs. Joining Schnitzer on stage will be a panel of professionals who have experience working with children who have experienced trauma.
And of course, “Best of the Fest” is back. Films to be presented will include“The Floaters” and “We Met at Grossingers,” two wildly popular movies at last spring’s Winnipeg International Jewish Film Festival.
“The Floaters,” to be screened on Monday , November 16 at 7:00 pm is a funny and bang-on depiction of Jewish summer camp culture.
“We Met at Grossingers” is a loving look back at the Borscht Belt in New York’s Catskills, where generations of young Jewish performers earned their dues and developed their acts. The film will be screened on Thursday, November 19 at 7:00 P.M.
On Friday November 20, JFest will host a Family Shabbat dinner featuring Anat Kriger, an Israeli-born, Toronto-based musician, actor, and children’s performer, who has made several appearances in Winnipeg at major communal events.
Kidfest on Sunday, November 15, will be a day-long potpourri of programming that will include live performances, workshops, bouncy castles, games and crafts, and much more.
Readers seeking more information about JFest can contact Laura Marjovsky at 204 477-7539 or lmarjovsky@radyjcc/com
