Local News
Jewish Federation CEO Jeff Lieberman acknowledges importance of reaching out to members of the community who are disaffected
By BERNIE BELLAN It was billed as “Java with Jeff” – a chance for anyone to talk to Jewish Federation CEO Jeff Lieberman in an open setting at Schmoozer’s Café. There were to be two sessions: an early morning session Monday morning, September 8, and an evening session Tuesday, September 23, at 7:30 pm.
While I didn’t attend the morning session held on September 8, anecdotally I heard that there was a good crowd and so, I expected much the same for the Tuesday, September 23 session – which I did attend.
As a result, I was somewhat shocked when I entered the Asper Campus that Tuesday evening and saw absolutely no one waiting in Schmoozer’s Café. I checked my phone again to make sure that I had the right date and time and, sure enough, I did.
Eventually, an old acquaintance by the name of Uriel Jelin – whom I hadn’t seen in quite a long time, walked up to where I was sitting at a table in Schmoozer’s and asked me whether I was also there to see Jeff Lieberman. I said I was, but Uriel was equally stupefied that no one else was there. (By the way, Uriel Jelin immigrated to Winnipeg from Argentina in 2015, along with his wife, Cynthia Fidel, and their two children, Anna Sofia and Eliel. They were profiled in an April 2016 issue of The Jewish Post & News by Rebeca Kuropatwa.)
While Uriel and I chatted, catching up on where he and Cynthia are at now, we noticed that, gathered in the courtyard adjoining Schmoozer’s, was a group, including Jeff Lieberman. (It turns out it was some sort of meeting for Gray Academy.) Within a few minutes, Jeff entered through the door leading into the campus. I approached him and asked him whether he was still planning on going ahead with “Java with Jeff,” despite the scarcity of attendees.
Jeff said he was going to proceed as planned but, instead of holding an open forum – which was the initial plan, he said, it would make more sense to hold a series of one-on-ones with whoever showed up. As it was, a very aggressive woman (who showed up after Uriel and I had been sitting waiting for Jeff to show up), approached Jeff and said to him that she had something to attend, so she asked whether she could sit down with him first. (I wasn’t surprised that someone had the effrontery to push herself to the head of the line.)
While that rude woman was sitting talking to Jeff, two more individuals showed up and said that they, too, would like to talk to Jeff.
While the rude woman spent over 20 minutes talking to Jeff, I engaged the two new individuals in conversation. They introduced themselves as Shota and Lia Megrelishvili – recent arrivals to our city from Georgia (not the Georgia in the USA). Georgia, which seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991, had been following a pro-Western stance, Shota explained, but its most recent prime minister has been attempting to shift the country back into a more pro-Russian stance, he noted.
Eventually, Jeff invited the four of us: Uriel, Shota, Lia, and me, to join him and Carrie Shenkarow (who said she was the incoming President of the Jewish Federation, about to take over from current President Paula Parks in November), at one table. (I should note that Paula Parks did show up as well, but she ended up sitting with someone else who had apparently come to participate in whatever it was that was supposed to take place. Paula and that person ended up having their own private conversation at a different Schmoozer’s table.)
Given the quite small number of individuals who had come out, Jeff suggested that we all just introduce ourselves and ask any questions anyone might have of him.
Shota took the opportunity to say how grateful he and Lia were to the Federation for the help they had been given in moving to Winnipeg. He added that he and Lia were there because they wanted to offer their services to the Federation to volunteer in any capacity the Federation might think useful.
At that point both Shota and Lia told the story how they had ended up in Winnipeg. While Shota said he had found work immediately in his field (IT), Lia was sadly underemployed (working in a food store), even though she was also qualified to work in IT.
I said to them that, years ago, I had been involved, along with former Rady JCC Programming Director Tamar Barr, in setting up what was called the Jewish Business Network. I said that I had retained every business card I had ever been given at any of the Jewish Business Network meetings and I knew that I had cards from at least a couple of individuals who were involved in IT. I said I would try to put Shota and Lia in touch with someone in IT – which I did the next day.
Eventually though, after everyone had had their chance to talk to Jeff, I said to him that I would like to take the opportunity to ask him some questions. I must add that I had tried to get a response from Jeff around the time the Federation had enmeshed itself in the affairs of BB Camp back in April, when then-Executive Director Jacob Brodovdsky had found himself caught up in a witch hunt engendered by the publisher of a website known as the J.ca, during which Brodovsky was accused of not showing enough support for the State of Israel.
Even though the board of BB Camp had given Brodovsky a full vote of confidence, the Jewish Federation had stepped in and, only three days after the BB Camp had issued that vote of confidence to Brodovsky, the Federation held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation and – the next day, Brodovsky was let go from his position. I never did get a response from Jeff as to why the Federation had interceded in the affairs of one of its beneficiary agencies (which, presumably, operate autonomously from the Federation.)
But, now that I had the opportunity to talk to Jeff one on one, I began by saying that I wasn’t going to revisit what happened to Jacob Brodovsky and that, no doubt, Jacob himself wanted to move on from what had happened.
Instead, I said, I wanted to ask how the Federation “can reach out to people who feel the Federation doesn’t represent them?”
Jeff answered that holding this kind of session was a way for people to “talk to the Federation, to talk to me. This may be the beginning, but maybe we can do something else – like a town hall – by Zoom or something, where people could ask questions, hold a conversation. I understand that there are people out there who don’t understand what Federation does, who don’t know the difference between Federation and (Jewish) Foundation…
“After I became CEO (in July 2023), I held a series of meetings, along with Dalia (Szpiro, Jewish Federation GrowWinnipeg Director) with Israelis. I was shocked to hear from some of them that they had never set foot in this building.”
I said that “they live far away in a lot of cases.” I noted that when Gayle Waxman was Rady JCC Executive Director, she started holding events in Transcona, for instance, to take programming closer to where many Israelis live.
Jeff added that, to make things even more difficult, some of the Israelis now live in Sage Creek which, I suggested, is “about as far away from the campus as you can get.”
“Here’s the other thing,” I said though: “Aside from involvement in the community,” there’s a situation where, especially among a lot of young people” – noting I had received a number of emails around the time of the Brodovsky controversy, “there’s a feeling that ‘if we don’t line themselves up in total support for Israel, we feel marginalized, we’re not accepted as part of the community.’ Is there room for people – like me,” I asked, “to have dissenting voices?”
Jeff agreed there are people who “feel we don’t represent them because of our support of Israel and we support Israel – the right of people there to feel secure, not to have to worry about their safety, but we don’t talk about support for the Israeli government, we talk about the Israeli people.”
“You talked about holding a ‘town hall,’ ” I said, “maybe through Zoom..and that would be kind of awkward,” , but “you agree about reaching out to people who feel excluded, who don’t feel part of the mainstream? It’s a tough one – because things have become so polarized.”
Jeff acknowledged “there’s a certain percentage of Jews who don’t agree with our position on the State of Israel.”
I said, “It’s probably a lot more than you think because I meet a lot of people who are ostensibly Jewish, who say we don’t want anything to do with the Jewish Federation… but – if you can put some flesh on the bone, and reach out by having some sort of town hall, that would be a way of perhaps doing something to make people who are currently disaffected feel that the Federation is at least listening to them.”
Local News
2026 Winnipeg Limmud to offer a smorgasbord of diverse speakers
By MYRON LOVE There are many facets to the study of Judaism and the Jewish people. The focus may be religious or cultural, historical or Israel-oriented – and Winnipeg’s annual Limmud Festival for Jewish Learning has always striven to cover as many angles as possible.
This year’s Limmud program (now in its 16th year) – scheduled for Sunday, March 15 – is following in that path with a diverse group of presenters.
Limmud’s current co-ordinator, Raya Margulets, reports that all of our community’s rabbis – including Rabbi Yossi Benarroch (who lives most of the year in Israel) – will be among the presenters. Topics to be covered by local experts encompass midrash, Jewish identity, antisemitism, conversion, biblical archaeology, textiles, parenting, art, and more.
But it wouldn’t be Limmud without interesting input from out of town personalities.
Perhaps the most prominent of the guest speakers who are confirmed is Yaron Deckel, an Israeli journalist and broadcaster who is currently the Jewish Agency’s Regional Director for Canada. According to a biography provided by Margulets, Deckel is a highly respected Israeli journalist widely known for his insight into Israeli politics, media, and society. Between 2002 and 2007, Yaron served as Washington Bureau Chief for Israeli Public Television. In that role, he covered U.S.–Israel relations and American politics, also interviewed three U.S. presidents: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter. As well, Deckel produced two acclaimed documentaries: “The Israelis” (about the lives of Israelis in North America), and “Jewish Identity in North America.”
From 2012 to 2017, he served as Editor-in-Chief and CEO of Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio), Israel’s leading national public radio station. He also hosted a prime-time weekly political show.
As a senior political correspondent and commentator for Israeli TV and radio, Yaron has covered the past 14 Israeli election campaigns and maintained close relationships with top political and military leaders in Israel. He conducted the last interview with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin—just 10 minutes before his assassination.
Decker is slated to do two presentations. In the morning, he will be speaking about the crossroads that Israel finds in the Middle East currently and what the challenges and possibilities may be.
In the afternoon, his subject will be “Israel after October 7 and the Iran War “ and what may lie ahead.
Also coming in from Toronto are Atarah Derrick, Achiya Klein, and Yahav Barnea.
Barnea is an Israeli-Canadian educator and community builder based in Toronto, with over a decade of experience working in Jewish and Israeli education, engagement, and community development.
Originally from Kibbutz Shomrat in Israel’s Western Galilee, Barnea’s outlook on life has been shaped by kibbutz values and her involvement in the Hashomer Hatza’ir youth movement.
She currently serves as the North America Regional Program Manager for the World Zionist Organization’s Department of Irgoon and Israelis Abroad, where she leads initiatives that strengthen connection, leadership, and communal life among Israelis living outside of Israel..
Barnea holds a Master of Education in Adult Education and Community Development, with a focus on intentional communities, as well as a Bachelor of Education specializing in Democratic Education, meaningful, values-based communities.
Her presentation will be titeld “A Kibbutz in the City – Intentional Communities and Immigration.”
Atarah Derrick is the executive director of the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind, an organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life of visually impaired Israelis. The charity, the only internationally accredited guide dog program in Israel, was founded in 1991, and today serves Israel’s 24,000 blind and visually impaired citizens.
Achiya Klein is one of the guide dog centre’s beneficiaries. The Israeli veteran was an officer in the IDF combat engineering corps’ elite ‘Yahalom’ unit. In 2013, while on a sensitive mission to disable a tunnel in Gaza, an improvised explosive device was detonated, severely injuring Achiya and robbing him of his vision.
He has been a guide dog client since 2015.
Klein has not allowed his disability to limit his abilities. He competed for the Israeli national team at the Paralympic rowing championship in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.
He also earned a Masters Degree in the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy in Counter Terrorism and Homeland Security,at IDC Herzliya.
Klein is married and a father to two boys.
Coming back for a second successive year is Dan Ronis from Saskatoon. A plant breeder and geneticist, Ronis has taken a quite different approach to studying Torah. He has sought out the help of a medium to discern the back stories of Biblical figures.
For readers who may be unsure of who or what a medium is, think Theresa Caputo of television fame. Mediums claim to be able to converse with those who have passed on through a spirit guide. While many may be skeptical, there are also many believers.
Last year Ronis focused on women who played a prominent role in the Torah. This year, he will be discussing the “untold story” of Adam and Eve.
Readers who may be interested in attending Limmud 2026 can go online at limmudwinnipeg.org to register.
Local News
Second annual “Taste of Limmud” a rousing success
By MYRON LOVE “A Taste of Limmud” returned for a second go-round on Thursday, February 19, and I have to commend both Raya Margulets, Winnipeg Limmud’s co-ordinator, as well as the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue’s catering department, for an outstanding culinary experience delivered with flawless efficiency.
“Tonight’s Taste of Limmud showcases our diversity as a community and our unity as we come together to break bread,” observed Rena Secter Elbaze, Shaarey Zedek’s executive director, just prior to leading the guests in hamotzi.
The evening featured a sampling of Jewish staple dishes representing Jewish life in six different regions where Jews had settled over the centuries. The choice of dishes also reflected how diversified our Jewish community has become over the past 25 years.
In her opening remarks, Margulets welcomed her 130 guests. “After last year’s success,” she said many of you asked us to bring it back, and we’re delighted to do so, so welcome again. Today’s celebration is all about sharing stories, connections, and flavours, and it is brought to you in partnership with Congregation Shaarey Zedek and with the support of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.
“We would like to take a moment and express our heartfelt gratitude to Congregation Shaarey Zedek for their amazing partnership, to Joel, the Head Chef at Shaarey Zedek, and his fantastic staff for their contributions, and to all the volunteers who made tonight possible,” Margulets said.
“Thank you all for joining us tonight. Savour the flavours, the stories, and the connections as we celebrate the richness of Jewish cuisine and community together.
“Whether you’re returning or attending for the first time,” she continued, “we’re excited to stir up a wonderful evening with old and new friends. Some of you may have realized it already, but the name Taste of Limmud has a double meaning. While, yes, this event is all about taste and sampling Jewish flavours from around the world, it is also a tiny glimpse, in other words, a taste, into our established annual Limmud Festival.”
Limmud, she explained – the Hebrew word for “learning”, is a volunteer-run organization that celebrates Jewish learning, thought, and culture. It’s a conference where participants have a choice of dozens of sessions led by rabbis, scholars, artists, authors, and community members. At Limmud, everyone can be a teacher and a student, in other words, more fitting with tonight’s theme, everyone has something to add to the recipe.
Margulets then introduced the “talented cooks from our very own community who prepared the dishes”: Mazi Frank, who presented a “delicious” Mussakah, a Turkish classic; Adriana Vegh-Levy and Karina Izbizky who brought a “tasty” Pletzalej, a type of bread that the forebears of today’s Argenitnian Jewish community brought with them from Poland; Karen Ackerman, with a special Hard Honey Cake; Naama Samphir, who presented a tasty Yemenite Hawaij soup (and that’s right – Hawaij – not Hawaii; Hawaij is Iraqi); Kseniya Revzin ,sharing a rich Kubbete, a savory pie from the Crimean Karaites; and Ruth Harari, (who wasn’t able to join her sister cooks) who had prepared Mujadara, a flavourful lentil-and-rice dish from Aleppo, Syria.
“We would like to take a moment and express our heartfelt gratitude to Congregation Shaarey Zedek for their amazing partnership, to Joel, the Head Chef at Shaarey Zedek, and his fantastic staff for their contributions, and to all the volunteers who made tonight possible,” Raya Margulets concluded.
“Thank you all for joining us tonight. Savour the flavours, the stories, and the connections as we celebrate the richness of Jewish cuisine and community together.”
The six samplings were dished out – one at a time – in either small paper plates or cups with the paper removed after each tasting.
The first recipe to be presented was pletzalej onion bread. As was the pattern for each tasting, the first food presented was preceded by a brief overview of the history of Argentina’s Jewish community and its connection with its local contributor, followed by a plezelaj bun with a piece of meat inside .
Next up was a taste of Hawaij soup, a Shabbat and Yom Tov staple of Yemen’s former centuries-old Jewish community, most of whom are now in Israel. The soup included piecesof chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, tomato and several spices. Hawaij is a spice mixture consisting of cumin, black pepper, turmeric and cardamom.
Mussakah comes from Turkey – also a homeland for Jews for hundreds of years. It is a mixture of layered eggplant, beef, savoury tomato sauce and spices and is typically served with rice or a piece of bread.
Mujadara is a product of the ancient Syrian city of Aleppo, one of the world’s oldest cities and formerly home for thousands of years to a once thriving Jewish community. The recipe calls for lentils, basmati rice, onions and spices.
Kubbete is a puff pastry originally from Crimea, where the local Jewish community picked it up from the surrounding Tatar population. The pastry is filled with beef (as was the case that evening) or lamb, onions, potatoes and peppercorn, with paprika added for taste.
The last item on the menu was hard honey cake. “This was my baba’s recipem which she brought with her from Ukraine in the 1920s,” noted Karen Ackerman. “Jews like my baba (Chava Portnoy) have lived in Ukraine for over 1,000 years and they used the local buckwheat honey in their honey cake.
“I am honoured to be able to share this recipe with you,” she said.
All the presenters spoke of how the recipes that had been passed down through the generations connected them with home and family and memories of their babas.
I once had a cousin who, after enjoying a hearty meal, would say: “Good Sample. When do we eat? Well, after the sampling, it really was time for a late supper – the main course – and it was a perfect way to end the evening feasting on pita filled with veggies, falafel balls and humus and French fries with a choice of coffee cake or chocolate cake for dessert.
I ‘m really looking forward to next year’s “Taste of Limmud”.
Local News
New kosher caterer providing traditional Israeli foods for Winnipeg palates
By MYRON LOVE The Israeli community in Winnipeg continues to grow and enrich our community. Among the most recent arrivals are Maxim and Olga Markov – along with their children, who settled here less than two years ago. What the Markovs are contributing to our community is a new kosher catering operation – Bravo Good Food – that specializes in traditional Israeli fare.
The senior Markovs are both originally from Ukraine. They came with their families in the early 1990s when they were young teenagers. For the last several years before moving to Winnipeg, they lived in Afula in north central Israel.
After their arrival in Winnipeg, Olga worked for a time in the Chabad kitchen; Yural still works in the Chabad daycare – while Maxim took a job with an HVAC company.
Maxim’s passion however, and his life’s work has been in food preparation. He points out that he worked in the business for 17 years in Israel. In the early part of his career, he was head chef in a dairy restaurant. He was also a cook in wedding halls preparing food for as many as 1,000 guests.
In more recent years, he worked in a private hospital kitchen where, he notes, he gained experience with dietary menus and healthy food options.
“What we do at Bravo,” he says, “is provide our clientele with the authentic taste of the Middle East. We cook traditional dishes, using only fresh ingredients, with our own original recipes.”
Operating out of the Adas Yeshurun-Herzlia kitchen, Bravo’s menu (which readers can view on its website – bravogoodfood.com) features such well known Israeli items as falafel balls and humus, mini shislek (with chicken) on skewers, beef kebabs on cinnamon sticks, and friend eggplant with tahini.
But there is much more to choose from.
Start with salads.
You can choose from coleslaw, purple cabbage salad, beet salad with pears, celery and parsley, mushroom salad, and green herb salad.
Main course options include beef meatballs and tomato sauce with a trio of fish dishes – salmon, Moroccan fish, and custom fried fish. Also available are a broccoli casserole, pasta, and spaghetti.
Bravo also offers a corporate menu featuring a choice of continental or executive breakfast, full breakfast buffet or a buffet of mini sandwiches – and an events menu.
Maxim adds that Bravo offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.
Olga notes that individual dishes or baking can be ready for the next day. “If it’s a small event like a family dinner, we need at least three days in advance, provided the date is available,” she says. “If it’s a large event – then we need at least a week in advance notice.”
“We are not just providing food,” Maxim says. “We are creating an atmosphere. Our catering makes your event unforgettable through taste, freshness and hospitality.”