Local News
Gifted teacher and chazan Avi Posen and wife make aliyah
This story was first published in the Nov. 27, 2019 issue of The Jewish Post & News: The departure of Avi Posen and his wife, the former Illana Minuk, right after yom tov, can be best summed up as “Winnipeg’s loss is Israel’s gain”.
More than in most cases of Winnipeggers making aliyah (which should undoubtedly be celebrated), the son of Kinzey Posen and Shayla Fink leaves a real void in our community.
Over the past eight years as a teacher at Gray Academy, Posen has taught Tanach, Hebrew, Shoa, Jewish history, current events in the Jewish world, Israel Advocacy and Yiddish. He has been in charge of Chaggim (Jewish holiday) activities for the last few years. He and Gray Academy high school Science Teacher Sheppy Coodin founded the annual Shabbat Unplugged Shabbaton for Jewish University students. He has been an integral part of the P2G program that unites Gray Academy high school students and teachers with their counterparts at Danciger High School in Kiryat Shemonah in northern Israel.
And, in addition to his many duties at Gray Academy, Posen has served as Chazan at Yom Tov for both the Chevra Mishnayes (six years) and Chavurat Tefilah (two years) congregations in the north end. (The two congregations are just a few blocks apart.) At the latter shul, he has been blessed to be able to lead Yom Tov services in partnership with his zaida, Sol Fink, who has been leading Yom Tov services for 30 years.
“Every job I have ever had since I was 15 has been in the Jewish community,” Posen says. “I have always been involved in Jewish education either through the summer camps or Hillel or Gray Academy.”
A long time Camp Massad camper, he graduated to counselor in high school and later served as the assistant director. In 2011, he was program director at BB Camp.
Although his initial career choice was psychology (he graduated from the University of Winnipeg in 2009 with a BA in psychology), it was the year that he spent at the Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University in 2008-2009, he says, that changed his focus to Zionism and “all things Israel”. On his return home, he went to work for the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.
“I became the Federation’s Jewish Engagement Co-ordinator,” he says. Avi helped coordinate Winnipeg’s first ever Limmud and helped coordinate the PJ Library program, two very successful programs in our community.
In 2011, he enrolled in the Masters program in Jewish Education at Yeshiva University. The next year, back in Winnipeg, he served as Hillel director before joining the staff of Gray Academy for the 2012-2013 year.
He relates that he and Illana met in 2013 when both were dancers with the Sarah Sommer Chai Folk Ensemble. Illana served as dance director as well as one of the dancers. “The cool thing is that my Zaida, Sol Fink, and her Zaida, Morris Intrater, are from the same town in Poland, knew each other from school and both ended up in Winnipeg after the Shoa,” Posen points out.
“Making aliyah is definitely a dream,” Avi says of himself and Illana.
The impetus to go now is that Illana has been accepted into a four-year Medical program at the Technion in Haifa which started this fall.
He adds that quite a number of his students from Gray Academy who participated in the P2G program have also made aliyah. He says that he is looking forward to reuniting with them.
From Israel, Posen reports that he and Illana have settled in comfortably in Haifa and he is about to start his new position as the Assistant Director of Education for Jerusalem U, a Jewish/Israel education digital media company based out of the old city of Jerusalem.
Posen adds that he plans on returning to Winnipeg in January for the Shabbat Unplugged Shabbaton as well as the Gray Academy Jewish Awareness Retreat and next fall to once again lead yom tov services at the Chevra Mishnayes and Chavurat Tefila.
Local News
Shaarey Zedek celebrates reopening September 29
By BERNIE BELLAN After a period of renovation that began in the spring of 2022, the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue was officially reopened on Sunday, September 29.
Here is a montage of photos from the “Chanukat Habayit” that took place on Sunday afternoon.
Local News
Canadian Yazidi Association honours Winnipeg friends who helped start Operation Ezra
By BERNIE BELLAN On Sunday, September 22, members of Winnipeg’s Yazidi community showed their appreciation to Winnipeggers who had helped Yazidis move to Canada and settle in Winnipeg since 2015 by inviting a number of Winnipeggers to a dinner at Temple Shalom. Many of the guests were individuals who had played vital roles in helping Yazidis escape persecution by ISIS in Iraq back in 2015.
It was in 2015 that a spokesperson for the Yazidi community at the time, Nafiya Nasso, came in contact with some members of the Jewish community who were touched by the plight of the Yazidis in Iraq. Through the facilitation of Jewish Child and Family Service the seeds for what was to become Operation Ezra were planted. Since then Operation Ezra has helped more than 50 Yazidi families immigrate to Canada and settle here. The strong bonds that were established back then helped what was then a very small Yazidi community grow into a much larger – and what is now a thriving community.
The Canadian Yazidi Association, under the direction of Nafiya Nasso, organized a sumptuous buffet dinner at Temple Shalom on September 22. Not only was the food delicious, at the end, attendees were handed empty containers and invited to go fill them up to take home whatever they wanted. (If someone from the Yazidi community ever wanted to open a restaurant, I bet it would do very well.)
Local News
Temporary Federal Government visa program paves way for Israelis looking to Canada for reprieve from war
By MYRON LOVE Shortly after the Oct. 7th Hamas attack, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) instituted a temporary immigration measure for Israelis (as well as Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank) to apply for a temporary reprieve in Canada through applications for work permits. According to Iael Besendorf, Jewish Child and Family Service’s Settlement Services Team Lead, since last October, 70 families have arrived from Israel, comprising 191 individuals.
“While some of these families were already in the process of applying to move to Winnipeg, the conflict in Israel hastened them to leave sooner,” she reports.
She adds that approximately 50 of the families – comprising over 150 adults and children – have come through under the aegis of the temporary work visa program.
Besendorf points out many of the individuals, couples, and families arrived in Winnipeg in great distress, only taking the few belongings they needed to settle here.
“Most left behind family, friends, and jobs in a sudden state of emergency,” she notes.
”During the first few weeks following their arrival, JCFS was there to hear and acknowledge their immediate trauma. We at JCFS continue to provide individual counselling and group supports as needed.”
She further adds that JCFS created – with the financial support of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg – a special War Response Team to assess and respond to the needs of local community members and new arrivals.
“Mental health and counselling professionals on our team are available to meet with anyone needing services,” she says.
“As an adjunct of this, we at the JCFS Settlement Team are the first to interface with newcomers to our community and are also available to help triage and refer clients in need. These new arrivals receive our typical settlement supports such as: information and orientation about their first steps in Canada, which includes help with practical needs such as housing, daycare, schools for their children, employment resources, and an orientation to all the various Jewish organizations.”
The newly arrived Israelis have also been showing up at our community’s summer camps and Gray Academy of Jewish Education.
“After October 7, we welcomed 17 temporary students who came from Israel to be with friends or family in Winnipeg,” reports Lori Binder, Gray Academy’s Head of School and CEO of the Winnipeg Board of Jewish Education.
“Eight of those students remained at Gray Academy, and 12 more Israeli students have joined us for the 2024-2025 school year.”
She adds that enrolment at the school is over 500 (as compared to 472 last year) – with almost 100 of them brand new to the school. Quite a number of the new students, she points out, are from local families who see the value in a Jewish education.
Ian Baruch, Camp Massad’s Planning and Engagement Director, reports the camp at Sandy Hook welcomed “quite a few” IsraeIi kids this past summer among the 136 campers who were registered.
“About a quarter of our campers and half our staff are Israeli or from families from Russia who came here by way of Israel,” he notes.
The BB Camp office was closed through the first half of September so no comment was available as to the number of Israeli children at the Lake of the Woods camp.
Iael Besendorf further observes that among the challenges the Israeli newcomers are facing here is the length of time that it is taking the Federal Government to issue work permits.
“As a result,” she says, “the adults are unable to work, and many families are feeling this financial pressure.”
She adds that “as the situation in Israel appears to be far from over, we expect more people will seek reprieve outside of Israel. The Federal Government just announced an extension of one more year, to March, 2025, for this temporary visa program. As such, JCFS expects that more will arrive and that we will are likely to see a steady stream of more people over that time.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login