Local News
Jeff Lieberman discusses how, after years of serving as chair of major organizations, he’s actually going to be CEO of one: The Jewish Federation
By BERNIE BELLAN Longtime volunteer – and successful businessman Jeff Lieberman was the surprise choice to be the next CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.
I say surprise because, after years of serving on numerous quasi-public boards – often as chair of those boards, one would not have thought that Jeff Lieberman was actually interested in becoming the full-time CEO of one of those organizations. But, that he’ll soon be.
Recently I chatted with Jeff about how he came to throw his hat into the ring for the position of Federation CEO.
I’ve known Jeff for many years now – and, along with Avrom Charach, I can’t think of anyone in our Jewish community who has committed themselves longer to serving our community in so many different capacities.
Among various volunteer positions Jeff has held, he’s been the President of Folklorama, Chair of the University of Manitoba Board of Governors, President of the Rady JCC, President of the University of Manitoba Alumni Association. He currently serves as a Board Member of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba and the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.
Jeff, now 63, is married to Robyn (née Buchwald), who is the Membership Manager of the Rady JCC. Jeff and Robyn have three children: Amy, 31, who is a teacher at Gray Academy (and who just had a baby December 31, making Jeff and Robyn grandparents for the first time); Josh, 28, who is a lawyer; and Noah, 24, who has now written two books – among other things (and who was profiled in our last edition – before we ever knew about Jeff’s becoming CEO).
I was curious to find out from where Jeff derives an abiding sense of service to the community, but we began our conversation by my asking Jeff about his long-time ownership of his company, “Great Canadian Promotional Products.”
Jeff said he started the company in 1989. “We sold clothing for local companies and organizations,” he said. Eventually, “people started asking for different promotional products…and I’ve been selling promotional products since then.”
“Around 18 years ago I associated my company with a really large promotional products company – Talbot Marketing… and it’s been really great – lots of staff and support, and it’s really made my business life simple.”
Jeff explained that he thought he would stay in business, eventually work less, then retire, “but the last couple of months (in which he began to think about applying for the CEO position) really changed that.”
His goal before was to sell the company in about a year’s time, he said, but not retire from marketing. With everything that’s now happened, however, he’s had to move much quicker to sell his company.
He said that he’s “spoken to a couple of people in the past couple of weeks” and he’s “hoping to sell it” before he steps into his new role on August 14.
At that point I turned the conversation to the process that led Jeff “to throw his hat into the ring.” I said to him: “I’m guessing you were approached to put your name forward. Is that correct?”
Jeff said that he had been the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba’s representative on the Jewish Federation Board the past couple of years and had been aware for quite some time that Elaine Goldstine was planning on retiring as Federation CEO.
“But, to be honest,” Jeff noted, “I had no interest in putting my name forward. I was happy with what I was doing – and had never even considered it (applying for the CEO position.”
He went on to say that he’s not sure exactly what led to his being approached, but “a few people in the community had approached me and asked whether I’d be interested. They thought I’d be a really good person for the position,” he said, “and I was really complimented. When the first person asked I was kind of surprised because I had never really thought of myself that way, but a few months ago two or three other people came up to me and said the same thing, so it gets you thinking a little bit. I knew that the search was still on and eventually I decided to put my name forward.
“I guess there were a number of people that they were interviewing and I was put in the interview process at the same time – and, amazingly, I was told that the search committee had decided that they’d like me to be the CEO. I certainly didn’t expect it and, as a matter of fact, when I did the interview I said: ‘I hope I’m not wasting your time.’
While Jeff has served – and headed, various boards of organizations in the quasi-public sector – as I noted at the beginning of this article, I suggested to him that he would be the first CEO of the Jewish Federation coming from the private sector, and I wondered how different it would be becoming “the CEO of a quasi-public sector organization as opposed to being the owner of a business?”
“It will certainly be different,” Jeff answered. “What I said in my job interview is that if you’re looking for someone who’s there to build relationships and be a good people person, honest, hardworking – that’s what I am – a person of integrity…and a humble person – that’s what I really am. That’s what I think I bring. I know a lot of people in our community and they know me. I think I’ve got a good reputation.
“I may not bring the most amount of management skills, but I think what the Federation – and other organizations, need, are people to build relationships and build upon a future, because it’s all about the next generation. I think I can relate to younger people. I’m 63, but I feel like I’m 43…I’ve got lots of energy.
“They asked me in the interview how long I thought do I think I could work in this position? and I said, ‘Yah, I think I could work five – ten years.’’’
I asked whether there is a term attached to the CEO position?
Jeff said, “not really,” so I said “sort of like Vladimir Putin – you could just continue on as long as you want.”
I said though that, while I would want to discuss where Jeff thought changes were needed most at the Federation, I would give him a chance to “get his feet wet” before I’d ask him to start answering those types of questions.
What I wondered about though, is from where Jeff derived his strong sense of volunteerism? Was it something he grew up with? I asked.
“Not really,” Jeff responded. “My parents were hard working and they didn’t do a whole lot of volunteering. My mum (Dora, who died in 2011) did a little bit of that. My father (Aron, who died in 2022) was born in Poland. His family was all killed (in the Holocaust). When he had a chance to come to Canada, he came – on a boat. He was sick the whole way. When he got to Montreal he was told to come to Winnipeg. He was put on a train – didn’t speak a word of English. He worked in a factory all his life, worked hard. It was all about providing for my brother (Garry) and me – providing an education.” There was nothing specific in Jeff’s upbringing that led him to want to give back so much to the community, he added.
But, when he was much younger, he “was invited to go on a Federation mission – I think it was in 1988, and really after that I got the bug to volunteer. I started off at the Rady JCC – which then was the Y – and was on the board.
“Certainly I put in lots of hours volunteering, but I get so much out of it. I’ve met so many great people and experienced so many fantastic things.”
I said to Jeff that he’s such a nice guy, I wondered how it was going to be for him when he had to start saying “no” to a lot of people and organizations when they would be coming to the Federation with requests – especially for money. I noted that Bob Freedman, who had been CEO for 28 years, had a reputation for toughness – and wasn’t afraid to be confrontational at times. (I don’t recall hearing that Elaine Goldstine could be tough in the same way that Bob was tough but, on the other hand, the Goldstine reign is not quite over – and just like retired presidents, maybe the dirt will surface once Elaine has fully retired. Anyone who’s familiar with this newspaper knows that I like nothing more than to trade in gossip and innuendo, so watch out Elaine: We’re coming for you!)
I also mentioned to Jeff that I go back long enough to remember when the late Izzy Peltz basically ran what was then the Winnipeg Jewish Community Council as a one-man show.
Jeff recalled that “in those days, Robyn’s grandfather, Ralph Hamovich (whose daughter is Mira Buchwald, Robyn’s mother), was the other member of the team with Izzy (Peltz). I think Izzy ran the office, while Ralph ran the Combined Jewish Appeal part of it.”
“Yah,” I suggested, “it was really a small organization back then. You could have a two-man show.” (Boy, from a small seedling, mighty organizations with large staffs grow.)
And, speaking of staff, I noted that there have been many changes at the Federation recently, including two recent changes that were announced in our last issue: Sharon Graham as Community Planning and Allocations Lead (a position that had been vacant since the retirement of Faye Rosenberg-Cohen in December); and Graciela Najenson, as Interim Chief Development Officer (taking over from the recently departed Rebecca Brask).
Those are two hugely important positions in our community and, although both previous occupants of those positions may not have commanded a lot of attention outside of the Jewish organizational level, both Faye Rosenberg-Cohen and Rebecca Brask played key roles in determining how much money was available for the 12 beneficiary organizations of the Federation and how that money was distributed.
I said to Jeff though that I thought Elaine Goldstine’s last day as Federation CEO was going to be August 31. He said it was, “but that we’re going to have a few days together. Elaine and I have known each other forever. She has been so helpful. We’ve spoken every day and she said to me, ‘Jeff, I’m a phone call away and if you have any questions after that, just ask.’ I really appreciate that.”
On an end note, I said to Jeff that I thought his being hired was a refreshing change for the Federation and, while the piece I was going to write was going to be all “flowery,” (which this has been), “the muckraking was yet to come.”
Local News
Young pediatrician Daniel Kroft and his Jewish history podcast
By MYRON L0VE It has been said that if you want to make sure to get something done, give the task to the busiest person in the room. That adage would certainly apply to Daniel Kroft.
Although only 30 years old, Daniel, the son of community leaders Jonathan and Dr. Cara Kroft, has emulated both of his parents by being a community leader as well as a pediatrician. In the former category, Daniel is a member of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s Community Planning Committee (His father, Jonathan, is a Past President of the Federation).
The younger Kroft is also a co-founder of the Manitoba Maccabim – a young Jewish advocacy group. He recently joined Belle Jarniewski, executive director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Manitoba, in a presentation to the Internal Medicine Department of Health Sciences Center on the subject of antisemitism.
Professionally, the Gray Academy graduate (class of 2012) is a member of a clinic run out of St. Boniface Hospital, is on staff at the Children’s Hospital, puts in time at the Health Sciences Centre, and serves as a consultant pediatrician at Brandon’s regional hospital. He also takes trips to northern Manitoba to offer his services.
In addition, he is a member of the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
With all that on his plate, you wouldn’t think that Kroft would have time for much else. If so, you would be wrong. Four years ago, he launched a new initiative, a podcast – “The Jewish Story” – intended to teach interested listeners about Jewish history.
The idea came to him, he says, back in 2021, when he was still a medical student. “It was the time when Black Lives Matter was in the news,” he recalls. “At med school, we were learning all about Black history and Indigenous history. I realized that I actually didn’t know much about my own Jewish history.”
The first source he turned to was the Anglo-Jewish historian Simon Schama and his book, “The Story of the Jews”. He followed up with online courses from Oxford and Harvard as well as a lecture series led by prominent historian Henry Abramson.
Setting up a podcast, he notes, required another learning curve. “It takes me about a year to do the research and organize my podcasts,” he reports. “I had to learn how to do a podcast and about which equipment to buy. I set up a recording studio in a room in my house.”
On his website (rss.com/podcasts/thejewishstory/), Kroft describes “The Jewish Story” as “a Jewish history podcast for the 21st century”. “We use the latest in archaeology, linguistics and historical methods to sculpt the history of the Jewish People from the exodus from Egypt until the present,” he notes.
He started his series of podcasts going back to the beginning – from the earliest evidence of Jewish existence through the establishment of the Jewish kingdom, its conflicts with neighbouring empires, to its destruction by the Babylonians.
And that is just the first episode.
The first season – seven episodes – encompassed Jewish history up to and including the Roman invasion of Jerusalem and destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE. Kroft points out that some of his podcasts feature guest commentators. In his first season, for example, in the third episode, he interviews Rabbi Matthew Leibl about the relevance to modern Jewish life of the first eight centuries of Jewish history.
In the seventh episode, he discusses with his former elementary school teacher, Sherry Wolfe Elazar ,what lessons modern Jews can learn from the Greco-Roman period for Jewish history.
The second series of podcasts focuses on the development of Jewish life in the first centuries after the Diaspora and the effects of the new Christian and Muslim religions on the Jewish people. The seventh and last episode of season two features Rabbi Anibal Mass, the spiritual leader of the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, talking about a wide range of subjects ,including the breakaway Karaites, he definition of Jewish music, and how technology has shaped modern Jewish practice.
The third season covers the 11th-15th centuries while the most recent series of episodes spans the period from 1500 to 1650. Kroft reports that the next group of podcasts will provide an overview of Jewish life in the 17th and early 18th centuries, including the beginnings of Jewish life in North America.
I asked Kroft when he finds the time to work on his podcasts. His response: in his spare time – weekends and holidays.
The podcaster reports that when he started, he was getting 30-40 listeners per episode. Now his numbers are up to 200-300 from all over the world.
For readers who may want to hear Daniel Kroft’s story in person, he will be one of the presenters at the upcoming Limmud Winnipeg. Kroft will be presenting on Sunday, March 23, at 1:30 at the Campus.
For more information aboutLimmud, contact coordinator@limmudwinnipeg.org or 204-557-6260
Local News
Former Winnipegger Ezra Glinter to discuss his new biography of Rabbi Schneerson at upcoming Limmud Winnipeg
By MYRON LOVE The Chabad-Lubavitch movement is one of the world’s largest and best-known Hasidic groups. Driven by the belief that we are on the verge of the messianic age. Lubavitch, under the leadership of the charismatic Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson , has, over the past 70 years. engaged in an outreach program to the Jewish world which may bemunprecedented in Jewish history. Wherever there is a Jewish community in the world, no matter how small, you will find a Lubavitcher Rebbe.
I have seen one survey that more younger American Jews – almost 40% -have developed a connection with Chabad than another branch of Judaism.
Last October, former Winnipegger Ezra Glinter published “Becoming the Messiah: The Life and Times of Menachem Mendel Schneerson,” the first biography of Rabbi Schneerson to combine a nonpartisan view of his life, work, and impact with an insider’s understanding of the ideology that drove him and that continues to inspire the Chabad-Lubavitch movement today.
On Sunday, March 23, Glinter will be introducing his biography to his home town as one of the presenters at the 15th Limmud Winnipeg Festival of Jewish Learning.
(Limmud was founded in England in 1980 with the aim to build bridges between professional and nonprofessional educators and between those of differing religious commitments. Today, the Limmud Festival is held in more than 90 Jewish communities in over 40 countries around the world.)
The New York-based son of Nancy and Harry Glinter has had an interesting life journey of his own – a journey that has included his own immersion for several years in the Orthodox world – making him an ideal individual to explore the Rebbe’s life and work and impact on Judaism.
“It was helpful hat I could apply the skills that I learned in Yeshiva to the research,” Glinter notes.
The fact that he is also self-taught in Yiddish was also helpful.
Glinter in a graduate of Talmud Torah. At the age of 16, Glinter chose to pursue a more religious lifestyle. With his parents’ support, he enrolled in Ner Yisroel in Batimore.
In 2004, after four years in yeshiva, he enrolled at McGill, graduating with a BA in English (in 2008), followed by a year at New York University. Since then, he has pursued a career as a freelance journalist. For five years, he served as deputy arts director for the Jewish Daily Forward. Over the past eight years, he has contributed book, theatre and arts reviews and lifestyle stories to numerous prestigious American publications, as well as the Israeli newspaper Haaretz,”and the Paris Review.
The Schneerson biography is his second book. In 2016, he published “Have I Got a Story for You” – a compilation of 42 stories – published in Yiddish in The Forward over its almost 130—year history.
The stories are an assortment of wartime novellas, avant-garde fiction, and satirical sketches about immigrant life in New York – with short biographies of the contributors. Glinter served as editor of the project – with the stories being translated into English by leading Yiddish translators who were able to capture the sound of the authors and the subtleties of nuance and context.
Glinter notes that he spent four years doing the research for his current book. He reports that his Shneerson biography has been generally well-received – although, he adds, there haven’t been a lot of reviews.
“It seems that both followers of Chabad and secular readers appreciate the book,” he comments.
For the past two years, he has been working as the senior staff writer and editor for the National Yiddish Book Centre, which is located in Amherst, Massachusetts. “We have our own press and newsletter,” he points out. “We translate newly published Yiddish works into English.”
Readers who may be interested in attending Limmud this year can cal l204 557-6260 or email coordinator@limmudwinnipeg.org. Ticket prices are $55 for the full day (which includes lunch and snacks) and $30 for a half day attendance. Reduced rates are available for younnger adults (under 30), students and children.
Local News
Bright future for Israeli-born University of Manitoba Science student Erele Tzidon
By MYRON LOVE Erele Tzidon, a second year Science student at the University of Manitoba, seems to have a bright future ahead of her.
Rabinovich-Nikitin
The year before last, the Israeli-born graduate of Gray Academy received a University of Manitoba undergraduate research award, which allowed her to pursue research as a member of Dr. Inna Rabinovich-Nikitin’s research team at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, (ICS) researching the link between pregnancy complications and the risk for heart disease.
The world-renowned institute, directed by Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, studies heart disease and heart function with the goal of researching means to repair damaged heart cells and prevent heart failure.
This past November, Tzidon was presented with a second award – the Dr. James S. McGoey Student Award – based on the quality of her cardiovascular research at the ICS, which operates out of the St. Boniface Hospital’s Albrechchtsen Research Centre.
“We are very proud of Erele and her achievements,” says Dr. Inna Rabinovich-Nikitin. “We believe she has a promising future in medical research.”
Originally from Moshav Ginaton in central Israel, Tzidon came to Winnipeg in 2018 with her parents Ofer, formerly regional manager for a car rental agency in Israel and now an RBC branch Manager, and Sharon, an emotional therapist in Israel who is currently working as an educational assistant at Gray Academy. Tzidon also has three younger brothers.
The 19-year-od reports that it was through a connection she forged with Rabinovich-Nikitin at G ray Academy (where the latter has three children enrolled in the elementary program) that opened the door to a summer position at the ICS in 2023. She notes that she is at the ICS two days a week and at the U of M three days a week.
“I have always wanted to do research,” she says, “because I have an unlimited number of questions. And I love working with the great team at the ICS.”
One of the primary focuses at the ICS in recent years has been on women’s heart health. Three years ago Kirshenbaum created a new research program within St. Boniface Hospital specifically for the study of heart disease in women. Dr. Rabinovich-Nikitin was the first faculty member seconded to the new research program
In an earlier article I wrote about her in the Post (in 2021), I noted that she, like Erele Tzidon, is originally from Israel, having arrived in Winnipeg in 2016 with her husband Sergey, and their two children (a third child was born here) to further her scientific knowledge through working in Kirshenbaum’s lab.
Rabinovich-Nikitin is graduate of Tel Aviv University with a Ph.D. in biotechnology.
“I was always interested in science, how things work,” she notes. “I have a particular interest in women’s cardiac health.”
Four years ago she herself was presented with the Winnipeg Foundation’s Martha Donavan Leadership Development Award. The award is intended to provide leadership development opportunities for women in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Eligible applicants include women who are full-time or part-time academic faculty members, students of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, and students as well as post-doctoral trainees (including residents), presently enrolled in a program of study within the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.
In 2022 Rabinovich-Nikitin, was the winner of the Louis N. and Arnold M. Katz Basic Science Research Prize for Early Career Investigators awarded by the American heart Association (AHA). This award is the highest international recognition of research excellence for an early career investigator to receive, and Rabinovich-Nikitin is the first ever Canadian scientist to receive this award.
That same year she joined the University of Manitoba Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology as an assistant professor, studying heart disease in women. Rabinovich-Nikitin observes that heart disease in women presents itself in a different way than in men. She notes that one of the new lab’s initial findings was that there is one specific gene that leads to cardiovascular issues in some pregnant women that can point to heart disease later in life, and also have negative implications for the development of their children. Those children are smaller at birth and, as adults, are prone to hypertension, diabetes and obesity,
“We are looking into how that particular gene increases the risk of heart disease.” she says.
Rabinovich-Nikitin would like to invites readers who may be interested in learning more about women’s heart health to a free program the ICS is offering on Sunday, February 23 at the Wellness Institute at 1075 Leila Avenue from 1:00-4:00. The afternoon will feature speakers, children’s activities and Zumba sessions.
“I would encourage everyone who has questions and wants to learn about women’s heart health to attend,” she says.
You can find more about the event at https://megaheartevent.com/
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