Local News
Haifa University professor delivers presentation on malignant influence of AI in promoting growth of online anti-Semitism
By MYRON LOVE For a lifelong journalist such as myself, the development of the internet has been a real boon. Long gone are the days when I would have to mail in my stories and photos – the latter after having to wait a week for the photos to be developed. With the click of a computer key or two, I can check the correct spelling of names and titles, the work and education history of almost anyone or any business or institution I am writing about. There is a world of information at my fingertips.
Regrettably though, as with most things in life, there is potential for harm as well as good – and the internet – in particular, social media – is no exception. Malicious players can – and do – use social media to foment “misinformation” and hate with their efforts greatly enhanced by the ongoing development of AI (artificial intelligence) against Jews in general and Israel specifically.
The scope of the problem was outlined a couple of weeks ago by University of Haifa Professor Dr. David Barak-Gorodetsky during a presentation – “Anti-Semitism Unplugged: Can AI Combat Hate” – at the new Congregation Etz Chayim – under the auspices of Canadian Friends of Haifa University. Gorodetsky’s presentation in Winnipeg was the first stop on a tour of Jewish communities in Western Canada with plans to also speak in Vancouver and Calgary.
The presentation – which attracted about 100 – began with a prayer for the People of Israel and the IDF and the safe return of the hostages, led by Etz Chayim’s spiritual leader Rabbi Kliel Rose.
Prior to introducing the guest speaker, former Winnipegger Ariel Karabelnicoff, the executive director of CFHU, screened a video and provided an overview of Israel’s youngest university (which was founded in 1972).
In an interview earlier this year, Karabelnicoff noted that the university has an enrolment of 18,000 students – with a student body that reflects the diversity of Israel’s population. About 40% of the students come from the Druze, Circassian and Arab communities and – among the Jewish students – there are many whose families are from Ethiopia.
He pointed out that the university has several campuses. The original campus – a 30-floor structure on Mount Carmel, houses several faculties – among them the Faculty of Law – in its new building – and the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences that offers the only graduate program in Israel in that field. The Computer Science Faculty is located in the port area. . The faculty of Design and Architecture – formerly the Neri Bloomfield School of Design under Hadassah-WIZO hospices – is situated in Haifa’s German Colony neighbourhood.
Coming soon for the University of Haifa, Karabelnicoff reports, will be a new School of Medicine. The school, he reported, will start teaching the first 50 students in October 2025. In subsequent years 150 students a year will be trained on a regular basis.
David Barak-Gorodetsky is a graduate of the University of Haifa – having earned his Ph.D. in 2016. (He is also an ordained Reform rabbi – Hebrew Union College , 2017.) Barak-Gorodetsky is currently head of both the University’s Ruderman MA Program for Jewish American Studies within the Department of Jewish History and the Elizabeth and Tony Comper Interdisciplinary Center for the study of Antisemitism and Racism.
One very concerning statistic that he cited, based on reports by CyberWell, is that, previous to October 7, 75% of Arabic language posts on social media flagged as anti-Semitic focused on Jewish stereotypes, tropes and conspiracy theories. Since October 7, that figure has dropped to about 25% – but now 60% are calling for violence against Jews – while many are also denying that the mass rapes happened or are blaming Israel for what happened.
“October 7 denial, spurred on by AI has become a major issue,” he said.
At the same time, Barak-Gorodetsky pointed out, there is widespread indifference to the exponential increase in anti-Semitism on social media. The scale of that indifference, he noted, is borne out by the fact that, while over 1,500 academic papers had been written about online hate, less than 1% of them deal with anti-Semitism.
One of the major difficulties in combating AI-created anti-Semitism on social media, he pointed out, is that anti-Semitism is not always easy to define or recognize. He cited the example of efforts by Holocaust deniers to discredit “The Diary of Anne Fran,” by suggesting that some of the pages were written with ball point pen ink. Ball point pen ink was not introduced until the 1950s. The allegations are based on two scraps of paper that were added to the diary – most likely by Otto Frank – decades later.
He spoke about “dog whistles” – coded language such as substituting the term “Zionist” for “Jew,” chanting “from the river to the sea,” or comparing Israel to Nazi Germany.
Barak-Gorodetsky noted that a major challenge to removing anti-Semitic material is that the process is labour intensive. “The rate of removal is only about 30%,” he reported.
“At the Universoty of Haifa,” he noted, “we have initiated a project whose focus is to create methods of detecting Anti-Semitism on social media and developing bots and other means to counter it or remove it.”
He added that among the project’s team members are individuals who specialize in certain languages and regions such as Russia and India.
Gorodetsky was asked what individuals can do in terms of online hate. His response was: Strengthen one’s own Jewish identity. “Don’t just play defense,” he advised. “Try to find joy in Judaism.”
The Canadian Friends of Haifa University, Ariel Karabelnicoff noted, has been in operation since 1973. The organization has been, until now, largely focused on Toronto. As executive director, he is working to expand the CFHU outreach to other Canadian Jewish communities.
“There are a lot of Israelis living in Winnipeg, for example,” he said in that earlier interview. “I have begun reaching out to them.
“I would also like to see if we could negotiate some joint programming Between Haifa University and the University of Manitoba.”
For readers interested in contacting Ariel about supporting Canadian Friends of Haifa University, his email address is ariel.karabelnicoff@haifa-univ.ca.
Local News
First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students
By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard. Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging.
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty. “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”
Local News
Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition
By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”
Local News
Team Schvesters teammates Benji Harvey, Kim Gray once again among top ten fundraisers in this year’s CancerCare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life event
By MYRON LOVE This year’s annual CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life walk at Assiniboine Park is scheduled for Sunday, June 13 – and, once again, in terms of fundraising, Team Schvesters is sitting in second place overall – having raised just over $30,500 as of May 26 – which is $5,000 more than the team members had raised by the same time last year.
As well, team members Benji Harvey and Kim Gray are once again in the top ten among individual fundraisers. Harvey this year sits in fifth place, having raised a little over $16,000 as of May 17 – while Gray has raised just above $8,000 – putting her in seventh place.
Harvey reports that, -over the past 18, years participating in CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life, she has personally raised $180,000 for cancer research, while her team as a whole has brought in $367,000. In discussing her success as a fundraiser, Harvey says that she has made a lot of friends over the years and believes in giving back to the community.
The “Schvesters” are the Greenfeld sisters: Harvey and sisters Lesly Katz and Debra Lewis – the daughters of Lil and the late Ike Greenfeld. Two of the sisters are cancer survivors.
There is one other team member – in addition to Kim Gray. Judge Rocky Pollack first joined Team Schvesters in 2023. After a year away in 2024, he returned last year. Pollack lost his wife, Sharon, to cancer in 2014 after a multi-year struggle.
Nancy’s Nightingales has been a top 10 community fundraising team for Cancercare Manitoba and the Challenge for Life since its inception in 2008. As a team, they have walked together since 2006 when they walked 60 km in two days in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.
Last year, the team – including Louise Raber, Joanne Katz, Rhonda Youell, Connie Botelho and Harriet Lyons – finished fifth in fundraising. So far this year, the team is again sitting in fifth place –having raised just under $12,500 (as of May 26) – a couple of thousand dollars more than last year, and just about $300 behind the fourth place team.
The Nightingales are named after a nurse who is a cancer survivor- and a friend of Louise Raber, Nancy’s Nightingales team leader.
“Our goal, as always, is to raise at least one dollar more than last year,” says Raber.
Team Jason’s Journey team leader Jason Gisser has experienced a more intimate and longer-lasting relationship with cancer than many of the other Challenge for Life participants. He was first diagnosed with cancer when he was 18. “I am a proud cancer fighter, having lived and battled a chronic cancer diagnosis for the last 23 years,” he said in an earlier interview. “I participate in the Challenge for Life not only to give back for the care and treatment which I have and continue to receive through CancerCare Manitoba, but to ensure that others do not have to endure the journey which I have endured.”
This is the ninth year that Gisser has taken up the Challenge for Life. His teammates are returnee Nora Fien, as well as friends Danial Sprintz, Wendy Martin White and Jason Roberts, also his mother, Judge Freda Steele. He has personally raised about $5,500 this year, while the team as a whole has raised just over $7,000.
“The Challenge for Life is great opportunity to raise valuable dollars for cancer research and treatment,” Gisser notes.
Readers can make donations to their preferred team by going online to CancerCarefdn.mb.ca and click on Challengeforlife.ca.
