Local News
I.L. Peretz School Class of ’63 celebrates 60th anniversary reunion

By SHARON LOVE On the weekend of July 7-9, the I.L. Peretz Folk school class of ‘63 held another get together- this time in celebration of the 60th anniversary of our graduation.
With a few Zoom meetings during the last three years, we chose a specific date and the wheels started turning. Our local organizing committee members were: Bella (Sapoznik) Ben-Ari, Donna (Gorenstein ) Cohen, Bailey Rayter, Janis (Swick) Wisher, Harold Abosh and Lanny Silver, and this writer, along with spouses/partners Marvin Ben-Ari, Mark Cohen, Karen Rayter, Ian Mckeown, Elizabeth Abosh, and Zipora Malamuth. So we just picked up where we left off.
Speaking of picking up where we left off, our very first reunion took place in Vancouver because the ‘kinder’ there like to organize. We celebrated our 50th birthday reunion there in May 2000. We were back in Vancouver in November 2010 in celebration of our 60th birthdays. We got together here in Winnipeg in August 2013, to mark the 50th anniversary of our graduation. We were in Vancouver in July 2015 celebrating our 65th birthdays. We were scheduled to come together in 2020 for a joint celebration of our 70th birthdays but we had to cancel due to the Covid lockdowns.
Covid, however did not dissuade us nor dampen our enthusiasm and our event turned out to be a weekend to remember. The ‘kinder’ included Winnipegger David Kives as well as out of towners Earl Zimmer, Carol Pollock, Faigie (Raber) Samson, Reesa (Margolis) Devlin and husband Bob, Ethel (Levine) Kofsky and partner Don Rosenbloom, Myrna Shefrin and Lorraine Meltzer.- all from Vancouver – as well as Gity (Shklarsky) Moritz-Finkel and husband Chet from Florida; Anita (Ladner) Bakal and husband, Marty from New York Candi Zell and Ron Charach and wife Alice from Toronto; Butchy Itzkow from Kingston, Laurie Landy from Appleton (near Ottawa); and Hilda (Szternfeld) Smith and husband Lennyfrom Calgary.
How did we celebrate our busy weekend? We kicked off the festivities with a Shabbes dinner hosted by our local committee at the party room at 141 Wellington Crescent, the home of Bailey and Karen Rayter. What with our reunioners and with guests and friends we were around 40 people. You could just feel and see the excitement in the air as guests started arriving. We ‘benched’ Shabbes candles and enjoyed challah buns which Gity brought from Miami. There was an abundance of food and drink and for dessert, fruit, cheesecake and Jeanne’s cake. For our first event of the weekend, could you ask for anything more?
Of course there was more. Our three special guests, mothers of three of our classmates joined us for this memorable occasion. Edith Landy, mother of Laurie, Ruth Zimmer, mother of Earl and Arnice Pollock, the mother of Carol, were beaming all evening. After all they have known many of us since we were young kids!
There were a few speeches and we also toasted classmates in our heart, Annette (Feldman) Nagler, Barbara (Shoib) Murray, and Nathan Meltzer, who left us all too soon.
A big thank you went out to our classmate Brenda (Grushko) Casey, who could not join us in person from Vancouver, but gifted the flowers and Jeanne’s cake. Thanks also went out to the I.L.Peretz School Trust, which helped sponsor this event.
We watched the video of our reunion from 2013, which was made by Marvin Ben-Ari. There were also tables covered with pictures and other memorabilia.
Saturday was a free day. Some visitors spent time with friends and relatives. Others took in the Museum for Human Rights and some just drove around their old neighbourhoods and places where they used to hang out.
Saturday dinner took place at Sorrento’s in Charleswood. The noise level was high because we all had so much to talk about. Sunday brunch was at the Hilton Garden Inn and we had the patio all to ourselves.
Parting speeches included a thank you to the Winnipeg hosts. We are awaiting the video that Marvin took of the entire weekend and appreciate his doing this. Suggestions for our next reunion were made for perhaps in two years and Vancouver seems to be where it will take place.
The weekend flew by and yet there still wasn’t enough time to visit with everyone. What with Zoom and social media these days, it’s so much easier for people to be in touch with each other wherever they live. I still say that nothing takes the place of in person schmoozing!
In my book our weekend can only be described by one word. As a proud graduate of the Peretz School, that word is ‘Oysergevanelech’!

Local News
Cheryl Hirsch Katz, Jewish Child and Family Service’s longest serving staffer, set to retire at end of the month

By MYRON LOVE “I loved working at Jewish Child and Family Service,” says Cheryl Hirsh Katz, who is due to retire at the end of June. “I have always appreciated the warm and welcoming atmosphere here. I feel that the people working here are my extended family. I am going to miss my colleagues”.
“I have derived great satisfaction over the years to have been able to help many people in our community of all ages through my work at JCFS,” she continues.
After 44 years at the agency, Katz, the longest-serving member of the staff, was given an appreciative send-off at the JCFS’s recent (June 23) Annual General Meeting at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue.
The daughter of Art and Bess Hirsh, Cheryl grew up in Garden City. She attended Peretz School, then Jefferson Junior High and Garden City Collegiate. She joined the staff of JCFS in 1981, shortly after receiving her Bachelor of Social Work degree.
She earned an MSW in 1990.
“I chose to become a social worker,” she recalls, “because I always wanted to be able to help people.”
Katz was originally hired by JCFS to work with newcomers. After a couple of years, she was given responsibility for looking after the needs of older adults.
“I really enjoyed working in older adult services,” she says. “That is where I spent the bulk of my time at JCFS.”
After ten years as a case worker, she was promoted to a supervisory role. Later, she was also given responsibility for mental health and addictions programming and settlement services, while keeping the older adult files under her purview.
“As a supervisor, I wasn’t directly involved with individual clients,” she points out. “I was more involved with programming. Among the programs for seniors we organized were – for example – sessions on elder abuse, digital storytelling and memory loss.”
She notes that one of the trends she has seen over the last 44 years is that people are living longer and living in their homes longer. A lot more of our clients are living well into their 90s,” she observes. “We have had to continually expand our staff and the services we provide in order to accommodate the growing demands of an aging population.”
She also spoke of the mental health needs of seniors and aging Holocaust survivors.
She says that she has mixed feelings about leaving JCFS. “After so many years working full time, I am going to have to create a new routine,” she comments.
She notes that, now that she is retired, she will have more time to spend with her parents – who are in their 90s.
And then, there are the two dogs to look after. “I will have time now to try new activities,” she says. “ I might learn to play mah-jong.”
She speaks about maybe doing some traveling – although her husband, Murray, is still working full time.
(She and Murray have one daughter, Farah.)
“Retirement may also include some volunteering,” she adds.
It is quite likely, she will be continuing her association with JCFS but in a volunteer capacity.
Local News
Gray Academy students shine in provincial, national debating competitions

By MYRON LOVE It has been another good year for Gray Academy’s high school students who participated in provincial and national debating competitions. The best results were recorded by Grade 9 student Noa Mednikov, who finished fourth overall nationally, fourth in interpretive reading, and fifth in persuasive speaking at the junior National Public Speaking Championship in early May in Vancouver.
Last October, in the Junior Provincial British Parliamentary Championship – which was held at St. John’s-Ravenscourt – Noa and her partner, Raya Braunstein, finished third as a team while Raya placed third in individual debating.
Their fellow Grade 9 student Maxim Moscalenkov tied for first in persuasive speaking in Vancouver, while the Gray Academy team of Gabe Tapper and Aaron Koplovich finished fifth. Aaron also finished fifth in his individual debate.
Earlier, in March, Maxim finished fifth in the Provincial Juniors debating competition, which was held at Balmoral Hall He and his debate partner, Nate Shenkarow, finished seventh among the teams entered. Last November, he and partner, Ethan Tenenbein, finished seventh in the Junior Prepared Tournament – just behind the Gray Academy team of Nate Shenkarow and Jack Kay.
At the senior high level in that competition, the team of Jacob Tenenbein and Jonah Novoseller finished fourth and Jacob was recognized as fifth best in an individual capacity. Jonah and Jacob also paired up to win the Asper Cup, which was held at their home school.
Jacob represented Manitoba at the Junior National Speech Championship in Vancouver in May and, last October, he and Grade 12 Gray Academy students Julie Krozkin and Daniel Bokser represented Canada at an international debating tournament in Bermuda.
Gray Academy’s debating program was introduced by Linda Martin in 2003. She also led the debating teams at Balmoral Hall. In 2011, Martin was succeeded by Gray Academy high school English teacher Andrew Kaplan.
“Andrew has done a wonderful job with the debating program” says Martin, who has a debating trophy at Gray Academy named in her honour, as well as a provincial trophy for best individual junior debater. “Over the years, Gray Academy students have done very well in many local, national and international competitions,” she adds.
About three weeks ago, this writer had the opportunity to sit down with Andrew Kaplan and six of the school’s top debaters while they discussed the benefits of learning how to debate. According to Noah Strauss – who competed in the Junior Provincials at Balmoral Hall in March, public speaking leaves him with a feeling of accomplishment.
“It’s a good skill set to have,” he observes. “It builds confidence.”
“A benefit of being able to debate is that you learn how to convince people that you know what you are talking about,” adds Maxim Moscolenkov.
Raya Braunstein notes that being able to debate is a skill that she expects to be helpful in many university courses which she may choose to take.
As Andrew Kaplan notes, the ability to express yourself has a great impact in whatever career you choose to pursue.
He points out that debating is compulsory at Gray Academy for all Grade 7 and 8 students – and students can continue debating as an option in the higher grades
Of course, competitive debating is not for everyone. For those students who opt to take that path, the journey begins with internal school debate competition – with the top debating teams and individuals qualifying for local tournaments and – potentially – beyond.
Andrew Kaplan reports that a small number of high schools in Winnipeg and southern Manitoba have active debating programs – including St. Johns Ravenscourt, St. Paul’s High School, St. Mary’s Academy, Garden City and Maples Collegiates in the Seven Oaks School Division, St. Maurice (a Catholic School), as well as Morden Collegiate and Dasmesh, a Sikh private school.
Kaplan expresses his appreciation to the Asper Foundation and an endowment spearheaded by the Kives Family for providing funding for the Gray Academy debating program – as well as the Andrew Slough Foundation – which was established by his friends in memory of the outstanding former Ravenscourt student debater and lawyer who passed away suddenly two years ago at the still young age of 38.
I am confident that our Jewish community can look forward to the continued success of Gray Academy’s star debaters and to the continual emergence of future stars as the times goes by.
Local News
Antisemitism has crept into grade school in Canada

Antisemitism in Canada has moved beyond protests and politics; it is now entering classrooms and altering how Jewish children see themselves functioning within them.
A a university student I have observed the experience of my younger brother in grade eight as a Jewish student. Over the past few months, his school has been at the center of several deeply troubling incidents that have made him feel unsafe in our parks, community, and even his school. Swastikas were drawn around the community, in parks and ponds. Additionally, an older man, who claims to be a pro-Palestinian influencer, stood outside his predominantly Jewish school wearing a keffiyeh, filming a video which then circulated between students on TikTok.
This same man later showed up to our local Jewish community center in keffiyeh to allegedly watch his son play basketball where my brother and many of his classmates go for their lessons, basketball games, and Jewish events. These moments made him and his peers feel watched and targeted just for being Jewish. Local political representatives condemned the incidents and raised awareness about antisemitism, but the fear among students didn’t go away. The feeling of being targeted for simply existing has been taught to my brother, something my parents had tried their hardest to escape from.
Most recently, my brother was chosen to represent his school at a regional science fair. When one of the judges arrived wearing a keffiyeh, he froze. For many, including my brother after the incidents he has faced, the keffiyeh represents a political message. But even more so for my younger brother, it is tied to the fear and intimidation he had already experienced. He felt nervous, distracted, and unsure of how to act.
This is not about silencing political expression. It is about a child who came to share his ideas and left feeling uncertain and afraid. It is about the atmosphere forming in Canadian schools, where Jewish students are being made to feel targeted and unwelcome.
His school made an effort to address the incidents, but the impact is lasting. Posts on social media, much can be very vague at times about inclusion cannot fully undo the feeling of being singled out. A kind word from a teacher does not erase the fear that builds when threats are left unspoken but deeply felt.
I am writing this as a sister who watched her younger brother lose a moment that should have been filled with confidence and pride. He deserved to feel safe. So do all Jewish students in this country.
Moving forward, schools must take concrete steps to protect all students. Antisemitism cannot only be addressed when it becomes violent or overt. It must also be recognized when it appears as intimidation, symbolic targeting, or political messaging that creates fear among students. Children should never have to question whether they are safe in their own classrooms or community spaces.
Events that are meant to support and celebrate students must remain focused on them. Individuals who feel the need to bring political symbols or messages into school grounds or children’s events should not be welcomed in those spaces. Schools must make it clear that their environments exist to support learning, safety, and inclusion, not to host agendas that can intimidate or isolate students.
Administrators and educators must develop clear guidelines for identifying and responding to antisemitic behavior in all its forms. This includes strengthening security measures, offering ongoing staff training, and engaging directly with Jewish families to understand their concerns. Inclusion is not a one-time statement. It is a responsibility that must be reflected in everyday decisions and actions. No child should ever feel unsafe or unwelcome because of their identity.
The author is a Campus Media Fellow with HonestReporting Canada and Allied Voices for Israel who lives in Toronto.