Local News
Gray Academy welcomes back students…and gets immediately busy with a whole host of activities
By BERNIE BELLAN It’s been a while since I’ve been able to report on Gray Academy without having to focus on how Covid had so drastically affected the lives of both students and teachers there. While every other school in the province was similarly affected, Gray Academy offers so many unique programs – almost all of which had to be put on hold for the past two and a half years, that when I spoke with Head of School Lori Binder on Tuesday, September 20, hearing of everything that had been going on there in just the short 11 days that the school had been open when we talked was somewhat overwhelming.
I began by asking Lori how it felt to be back – now that all restrictions that had previously been imposed by the province had been lifted?
“It’s a wonderful start to a new school year,” Lori said. “It’s quite positive all around.”
While Gray Academy had complied with all requirements having to do with Covid that had been imposed by the province, Lori noted that “in each of the past two and a half years we did our own due diligence in addition to requirements from the province.”
For instance, Lori referred to the “dashboard” that Gray Academy maintains on its website which gives information about any cases of Covid that may be reported among both students and families of students. (The website is password protected and is accessible only to families of students as well as staff.)
“No other school is keeping a dashboard that I’m aware of,” Lori observed.
With reference to programs and activities that are now back in place after a long hiatus, Lori said: “Almost all of the things that we weren’t able to do are back.”
For instance, she mentioned that a trip that students were originally supposed to have taken in the spring of 2019 to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. – when those students were in Grade 9, was now happening – as we spoke, although the students were now in Grade 12. (Students had left for Washington on Sunday, September 18 and were scheduled to return on September 21. That trip had been an annual event sponsored by the Asper Foundation for years.)
As to whether students who are now in Grades 10 and 11, as well as the current Grade 9 class, will also be able to participate in similar trips to Washington, Lori said that they will, but the timetable for doing that has not been set as yet. She added that the school is working with the Asper Foundation on planning future trips.
Turning to other activities that are back in full swing, Lori noted that “athletics are back,” the musical “Mama Mia” will be put on in February, “band is fully back – with wind instruments” (as well as instruments that don’t require special breathing techniques; there were band sessions during Covid but when you have to wear a mask the amount of music a band can perform is somewhat limited). “And now our kids can sing freely,” Lori added.
Something else that has resumed is the debating program – with members of the debating team scheduled to head to Boston in October 2023.
And – here’s something that I noticed when I attended the G.R.O.W. in Gimli 20th anniversary celebration on September 14 at a house just across from the campus parking lot – and wondered why the parking lot was so full that evening: Gray Academy families were experiencing a “fun fair” (on September 14) for the first time since 2019 – on the grounds of the Asper Campus.
“We had a gathering of all our high school students in the Berney Theatre the first day of school,” Lori observed – but there wasn’t room for all 221 of them – which is an indication of how robust enrollment in the high school is once again. (The Grade 12 class alone has 45 students, which is close to the highest number it’s ever had. Lori said that she’ll have full enrollment figures available to give me by the end of September, noting that a couple of families in the JK-6 years are still in the process of enrolling their kids. She said though that she expects enrollment from JK-12 to be somewhere in the area of 468 students.)
And, while this year’s Grade 12 graduating class currently has 45 students, the 2024 and 2025 graduating classes will also have over 40 students each, if enrollments remain as they currently are.
In some respects, while Covid restrictions may have been lifted, changes that were instituted in the past couple of years, including staggered drop-off and pick-up times, and separate entrances for different age groups, have remained in place.
However, as Lori noted, the physical markings on floors that demarcated different areas for different groups of students have all been removed. “Our kids can all walk freely now,” she said.
I wondered though whether any students are still wearing masks?
“Some are choosing to wear masks,” Lori answered. “As we communicated with families prior to the start of school year, that would be no problem. Our school is a mask-friendly environment.”
I asked also about the HVAC system in the school: How good is the ventilation?
“We still have good respiratory and sanitization etiquette” systems in place, Lori explained. “Our HVAC system is a MERV filter-13 system – one of the best filtration systems available, with the cycle of fresh air intake increased” substantially over what used to be in place.
Insofar as curriculum is concerned, Lori said that the school is about to embark on a two-year project to “reimagine its Hebrew curriculum,” thanks in large part to a grant that it has received from the Jewish Foundation.
As well, a new strategic plan for all of Gray Academy will be launched in January 2023, Lori added.
Speaking of Hebrew, I asked whether the exchange program with Danziger High School in Kiryat Shemona, during which students in Grades 10 and 11 go to Israel, while students from Danziger come here in turn, is back on?
“Yes, it is,” Lori answered, with students from Gray Academy scheduled to travel to Israel this coming Purim. However, rather than students from Danziger coming to Winnipeg this current school year, the plan is for them to come next Sukkot, which begins late September next year.
As far as the graduating class’s usual trip to Israel goes, Lori said “we have enough data to support Grade 12 going,” but with the planned resumption of March of the Living (which has also been on hold for three years) – also around the same time, it is not yet clear how many students might want to go on a graduating class trip to Israel in 2023.
As if reading about all these activities weren’t enough to want to make you pause and take a breath, Lori continued: “Our student council just went on a leadership retreat to Camp Massad” (which was the very first time that’s happened, she noted).
Grades 8 and 9 will also have their own spirit weeks, which often take place in Gimli or Hecla, over the next few months, she added.
I asked about plans for a Shabbaton – which would often take place in Gimli or Hecla in the past?
“This year the Shabbaton will be at the Clarion Hotel,” Lori said.
Some other interesting facts that Lori mentioned during our conversation include:
• This fall year marked marks the 25th anniversary of the opening of Gray Academy.
• The school has more than 65 new students. (Interestingly, some of the students new to the school this year are from Ukraine.)
• 17 students left the school when their parents moved to different cities.
• Once again the school has an international student – from Brazil, the sibling of a previous international student.
• The Kaufman Silverberg Library is once again open to students – something that hadn’t been the case since March 2019. And – for the first time, students can now access digitized books there.
One final note though – and this is more a sign of the times when it comes to restaurants of all types: Schmoozer’s is not accessible to in-person visits by students during school hours – because Schmoozer’s doesn’t have enough staff on hand to accommodate all those students who would typically want to come there for lunch. Instead, arrangements have been made to have lunches delivered to designated drop-off points within the school itself if parents phone Schmoozer’s prior to 9:30 am on a given day and place their orders.
Local News
This man – Michael Kalo – has been defaming prominent Winnipeggers online for years, but now he’s getting a taste of his own medicine
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted May 3, updated May 8)) There’s a particularly ugly side that often comes with being in the public eye – and that’s being on the receiving end of some of the most vile and awful comments, often threats – sometimes on social media, sometimes in emails, and sometimes on websites.
For years now many prominent Winnipeggers (almost all of them Jewish) have had to endure just that kind of vicious attack from someone by the name of Michael Kalo. But how do you fight back against someone who writes some of the most awful things – and then sends them out to various members of the media (including me), all the while hiding behind a series of aliases? There’s no point in suing him for defamation; he’s penniless. (The police have seized his computer in the past and are well aware of him, but the individuals whom he has defamed have always been reluctant to have the Crown press charges, thinking that it will only draw more attention to him – which is what he seems to want.)
But I’m different – and I’ve finally had enough of his crap.
I just received another email from Michael Kalo. This time I told him I was going to post his email and my response – but I was going to reveal his true name. (He sent the email under the name “Harvey Weinstein”.)
It must be particularly embarrassing for Michael’s two very accomplished daughters, Stephanie Kalo and Emily Kalo, to have people realize who their father is.
I’m also posting a video that was sent to me that shows Kalo engaging in an argument with someone (and the identity of that person was not revealed to me by the person who sent me the video.) In it you can hear Michael explain why he’s consistently called Ben Carr a “kike”, “a spoiled Jew boy,” along with some other choice epithets. (Kalo has sent out numerous emails defaming Ben Carr using the name “Mohammed Greenberg” as the sender.)
First, here’s the email in which Kalo goes after Jacob Brodovsky, who recently left his post as co-executive director of BB Camp following a storm of controversy (about which you can read elsewhere on this site):
Dear Bernie:
Jacob Brodovsky is a vile and entitled (self-hating) JEW BOY Bastard, who should keep his long nose away of the private affairs of a foreign sovereign and free country he knows nothing about.
We hear that him and his JAP wife Lexi are expecting a baby.
We respectfully believe that if a boy, they should name him Adolf, and that in a case of a girl, her name should be Eva.
In terms of these scums’ future employment, we suggest that they now look into finding, for a change, a real job.
Perhaps by moving to Gaza and starting a summer (training) camp for (young) terrorists.
Indeed, the BB Camp Board reached the right decision as to these two haters of Israel, the brave and only Jewish state.
Having said this, we wonder why the two were hired (and overpaid) at the first place, and more importantly why it took that long to finally terminate their positions.
We thank you for your ongoing attention to this matter, in our view second only to the scandal of (former Mayor) Sam Katz stealing millions of dollars from the City’s hard working taxpayers and its Police force without, to this day, facing any consequences (other than having to move from Tuxedo to Headingly…lol).
Go (IDF’s) Jets Go!
Harvey W.
And here’s how I responded to Kalo:
You know what I’m going to do Michael. I’m going to print your letter on my website – but I’m going to say that it was sent by someone named Michael Kalo, who has been defaming various Winnipeg Jews for years. That way it will have the opposite effect of what you’re intending. I’m also going to post the video in which you call Ben Carr (and the person filming the video) a kike.) And if you want to come after me the way you’ve been going after anyone and everyone who provokes your ire, go right ahead. (You seem to have a real hate on for successful Winnipeg Jews. Is it because you’re such a failure in life yourself?) And I’m going to bcc this email to some of the people you’ve been defaming so that they can see how much of a fool you”ve been making of yourself for years.
-Bernie
And here’s the video of Michael (who is apparently walking away with a Ben Carr sign tucked under his arm):
Local News
Rabbi Matthew Leibl’s Friday afternoon service at Simkin Centre has grown in popularity
By BERNIE BELLAN In November 2023 I published a story in The Jewish Post & News about the first-ever Friday afternoon “Erev Shabbat” service at the Simkin Centre, which was held October 27, 2023.
It was an opportunity for me to see how much of an impact the newly spiritual care aide at the Simkin Centre, Rabbi Matthew Leibl, was having on residents. But that was in 2023 – only 2 years after the Simkin Centre had emerged from the most harrowing period in its history.
As you may recall, when Covid 19 began to spread in early 2020, it was personal care homes across Canada that were hit hardest – and the Simkin Centre was not spared the ravages of Covid. A total of 11 residents passed away at the Centre in 2020 and 2021.
Another result of the Covid epidemic was that the number of non-Jewish residents at the Simkin Centre jumped by quite a large number during the epidemic. Here are some figures showing how many more non-Jewish residents moved into the home by 2021 than had been there previously:
2017 – 67 non-Jewish or 33.5%
2018 – 63 non-Jewish or 31.5%
2019 – 71 non-Jewish or 35.5%
2020 – 61 non-Jewish or 30.5%
2021 – 86 non-Jewish or 43.0%
According to Laurie Cerqueti, CEO at the Simkin Centre, as of May 2, 2025, 44% of the residents are non-Jewish while 56% are Jewish.
Rabbi Leibl had been hired in the spring of 2023. His hiring was enabled by a grant from the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba. Here is how the Foundation explained what its purpose was in making a grant to the Simkin Centre for the hiring of a full-time spiritual care aide:
“I know how important spiritual care is in our type of setting,” said Laurie Cerqueti, Simkin Centre CEO. “For our residents, our families, and our community.”
Since she took over the CEO role, Laurie’s thoughts had been directed to ‘How can we serve our people even more than we are now? How can we make this bigger and better?’
This sparked the idea that someone should be brought in to look at what they were doing regarding spiritual care to see where gaps and opportunities lay to develop the program.
The Simkin Centre hired Rabbi Matthew Leibl as the person to fill the role, someone Cerqueti thought would be a perfect fit f for what they’were hoping to do.
“As I spoke with Matthew about this opportunity, we see it as an opportunity to make a significant difference for the residents and their families,” said Cerqueti.
This interaction with the Simkin Centre is not Rabbi Leibl’s first. He has been involved with the Simkin Centre for over 15 years, first working there at age 21. That year, he did concerts three times per week for the residents.
“I found that the music and performing was an incredible way to connect with the people there,” said Rabbi Leibl.
He recalled a story from that time frame where he was performing Oseh Shalom, and one resident who had been, to that point, without her memory and less present, began to mouth the words along with him. The song helped her break through what she had been dealing with.
“That moment was truly a game changer for me. I’m so excited to be able to give back to a place that helped people in my own family and was a great place for me while I was figuring out my way many years ago,” said Rabbi Leibl.
“Simkin is such a special place, and what they’re doing there is awesome.”
In the year and a half since I was present at Rabbi Leibl’s first ever Friday afternoon service at the Simkin Centre much has changed. Most of the new residents who have moved into the centre have, once again, been Jewish. But, in recognition of how many residents are not Jewish the centre has begun offering services for different denominations as well. The May calendar of events lists a Catholic Mass, an Anglican service, a Christian Bible Study, and a Hymnsing.
But it was Rabbi Leibl’s Erev Shabbat service I was interested in seeing again – some 18 months after the first service he had conducted, to see whether it had changed – and how many residents came to watch.
The atrium of the centre was filled with residents on Friday, April 26 – quite a few more than that October 2023 service. The increased number of attendees was also a reflection of how many more of the centre’s residents, once again, are Jewish. (In case you weren’t aware, if there’s a vacant unit at the Simkin Centre and someone who is Jewish is on the wait list to gain admission into the centre, that individual will be given first crack at moving into the centre. I had been told by Laurie Cerqueti that the 14 most recent new residents in the centre were all Jewish.)
There was one other aspect to Rabbi Leibl’s service which was brought to my attention. One of the residents at the Simkin Centre, Carol Manishen, also has a son living in a Shalom Residence: Josh Manishen. When Carol’s husband, Wayne, saw me at that Friday service he told me that he often comes early with Josh – before the start of the regular service at 4:00 pm, and Josh sings various Hebrew prayers, accompanied by Rabbi Leibl on the keyboard. To watch a video of Josh singing, click here:
Two more things to add though: First, Rabbi Leibl is now a regular participant on a podcast that is put on by CJN (what used to be known as the Canadian Jewish News) called “Not In Heaven.” You can find it simply by Googling CJN and scrolling down under the Podcasts link.
Also, since Rabbi Leibl and I go a long way back – and we both have a fond taste for sarcasm, he singled me out from among the audience and said to everyone there: “We’ve even got a reporter from the Jewish Post here.”
I couldn’t help but respond – in my usual facetious manner, that I was there to do an exposé.
To which, Rabbi Leibl retorted: “You can call it “Sex, Drugs, and Candlesticks.” Hmm, I wonder how much more there is about the Simkin Centre that I haven’t learned yet?
Local News
Well, that didn’t take long…BB Camp Board announces hiring of two new co-directors
(Posted April 27) In a span of a little more than two weeks, BB Camp has gone from parting ways with one of its co-executive directors, Jacob Brodovsky, to the hiring of two new co-directors. (We have been attempting to ascertain the status of Lexi Yurman, who was also camp co-executive director with Jacob – who also happened to be her husband, and who is now on maternity leave. Would she be entitled to return as co-executive director once her maternity leave is up, we wonder?)
The BB Camp board released a press release announcing the new hires at 12:42 pm today. Interestingly, there is no mention whether the positions that are to be filled by the two individuals, Sarah Gould and Aliza Millo, are to be permanent or temporary. Also, the two women are referred to as co-camp directors, not co-executive directors. Is there any significance to that, we wonder? Since no one from the BB Camp board has responded to any questions we have posed to them since this whole mess began, we won’t hold our breath waiting for answers to any of the questions we’ve just asked here either.
Here is the complete text of the BB Camp board announcement:
Dear BB Camp Community,
On behalf of the Board, we wanted to let you know that we acknowledge that the last week has caused much stress and uncertainty. We have felt it too and have been working very hard to ensure that the summer season unfolds as we all expect.
We are extremely excited to share with you that our 2025 summer senior Camp leadership team is now in place!
Please give a BB Camp W-E-L-C-O-M-E to Sarah Gould and Aliza Millo!
Sarah Gould: co-Camp Director (Wilderness and Operations)
Sarah is returning to BB Camp as co-Camp Director (Wilderness and Operations). Sarah’s history with BB Camp stretches back decades. She spent many formative summers on Town Island—as a camper, counselor, canoe instructor, and AC out-tripper. After BB, she took her skills to Camp Hatikvah in BC, where she helped develop and expand their wilderness and out-tripping program. Sarah has an intimate knowledge of wilderness programming, the importance of integrating Jewish values into outdoor education, and as camp alumni and a current camp parent, has a clear understanding of our community’s interests and hopes for BB Camp’s future.
Sarah has been fortunate to spend every summer of her life at Lake of the Woods. Her family cottage is on Channel Island, directly across from Town Island. She has strong ties to our Lake of the Woods neighbours and an ability to navigate the lake and Kenora. Sarah also was a key volunteer on the Friends of Town Island campaign, through which Camp was able to successfully partner with the Nature Conservancy of Canada to have Town Island designated as a protected area—ensuring its legacy for generations to come.
Professionally, Sarah has years of experience in education, research, and community organizing. She taught anthropology and international development at Trent and the University of Toronto and now works as a researcher and consultant in health studies. In her community life, she leads a neighborhood organization in Toronto, where she has spearheaded grassroots initiatives—from building a skating rink to coordinating with city officials and local stakeholders on community improvement projects. Sarah is also active in the Jewish community, including advocacy for Israel and supporting students facing antisemitism on campus.
Sarah is excited to be returning to Town Island and the BB Camp family for an amazing summer of 2025.
Aliza Millo: co-Camp Director (Programs)
Aliza’s history with BB Camp dates back decades as well. She spent many years at Camp as a camper, counselor, section head, and LTP Coordinator. After Camp, Aliza pursued a career she felt was most adjacent to working at Camp and transitioned into the classroom. She moved to Toronto to pursue her education degree, where she also completed a Jewish Education Certificate at York University.
For the next seven years, Aliza taught at the Toronto Heschel School, a school dedicated to tikkun olam and social justice, with a particular focus on environmental stewardship and sustainability. While there, Aliza taught grades three through seven, with a greater focus on the upper elementary years, teaching Judaics, Hebrew, and General Studies in a pluralistic, integrated setting.
After 10 years in Toronto, Aliza was happy to move back home to Winnipeg. Aliza met her future husband David Azuelos at BB Camp many years ago; to get a sense of how important BB Camp is to Aliza, she had her wedding on Town Island. Since her return to Winnipeg, Aliza has worked at St. John’s-Ravenscourt School, teaching Grade 4, cultivating an environmental leadership team at the Junior School level, and even bringing groups of Grade 4 and 5 students to Town Island for Outdoor Ed. Aliza has also helped organize and fundraise for Kendra’s Walk, a student-led initiative at SJR supporting teens living with cancer.
Aliza’s true passion lies in building community, whether in the classroom or at Camp. Since her time as a camper, she has enjoyed returning to the island for Work Weekend, volunteering in the kitchen, and serving on the Alumni Committee ahead of the 70th Alumni Weekend. She is most passionate when working with children and believes in strong communication with parents to build meaningful and supportive relationships. Having worked in a kindergarten to Grade 12 school setting, she has enjoyed maintaining lifelong relationships with students and families in the community.
Aliza is excited to be bringing her two boys, Judah and Dubie, to Camp. She is thrilled to be returning in this position — working with and mentoring the already incredible staff, and helping to foster deep and meaningful connections to Jewish values, traditions, and culture. Aliza looks forward to helping build a strong, nurturing community where every camper feels a sense of comfort, belonging, and pride in who they are — and in being a BB Camp camper.
***
The Camp Board of Directors is grateful that Sarah and Aliza, two lifelong BB Campers who together have an exceptional skill set, will be leading our community’s beloved Camp this summer. We are looking forward to another great Camp summer, full of amazing Camp memories. We will be reaching out directly to Camp families with more information. Please bear with us as our new leadership team gets up to speed and starts working with our current staff. Reach us at info@bbcamp.ca
Ed.note: Here’s a comment we received through our “contact us” link: (Readers of this website should be aware that it is run independently of The Jewish Post newspaper. I will forward any comments sent to me that are meant to be letters to the editor of the paper, but the proper email address for the paper is contact@thejewishpost.ca)
Letter to the Editor re BB Camp
I am a former member of the Board of BB Camp and served as Board Chair for a number of years. I am disgusted in the manner in which the current Board responded to to the public assassination of its Executive Director by dishonest Israeli extremists in our community. I am equally disgusted that what should have been a private internal human resource issue at the Camp was made public by the Board through its e-mails to the community which essentially made it impossible for the Executive Director to continue in his position and which likely tarnished his reputation. All I can say that is that I hope Jacob received a large monetary settlement from BB Camp.
-Irwin Corobow
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