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Jewish Federation holds first ever “town hall”

l-r: Jeff Lieberman, Dr. Ruth Ashrafi, Neil Duboff, Gustavo Zentner, Belle Jarniewski, Rabbi Anibal Mass

By BERNIE BELLAN It was a relatively small turnout – maybe 70 people were at the Shaarey Zedek Sunday morning, June 14 – but it may have been the start of a new foray by the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg into community outreach when a “town hall” was held to which members of the Jewish community had been invited to attend.

I had broached the idea of the Federation’s holding a community town hall with Federation CEO Jeff Lieberman back in the fall on an evening when he and newly installed Federation President Carrie Shenkarow had invited members of the community to come meet them for some one on one conversations.

I was disappointed that evening how few individuals showed up, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that the turnout for the town hall itself was relatively low.

But, give full marks to Lieberman and the others who were on the panel with him on June 14 for coming out to an event where they were prepared to answer any and all questions from audience members, as well as respond to questions that had been sent in by members of the community prior to the actual town hall.

Now, I should make clear that I have a particular position when it comes to attending any type of forum of the sort the Jewish Federation held, which is that any and all questions should be allowed – even if those questions might anger both the respondents to the question and audience members as well.

Toward almost the very end of the town hall I did ask a question that did elicit a somewhat negative reaction from within the audience – about the uproar over the upcoming Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, but I’ll save what I asked and the response I got for later. Suffice to say for the time being, it seems apparent the suggestion that some Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes and have a right to have their story told is anathema to many in the Jewish community.

The town hall was moderated by Neil Duboff. Accompanying Duboff on the podium at the Shaarey Zedek were four other individuals, each of whom was representing a particular Jewish organization: the aforesaid Jeff Lieberman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg; Dr. Ruth Ashrafi, Regional Director, B’nai Brith Canada; Gustavo Zentner, CIJA Vice-President, Manitoba and Saskatchewan; and Bellle Jarniewski, Executive Director, The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada. Later in the program, they were joined on the podium by Rabbi Anibal Mass of Shaarey Zedek Congregation.

Each of the panellists gave what turned out to be fairly lengthy descriptions of what it is they do in their opening remarks, lasting a total of 20 minutes.

From time to time William Sagel, who is community security director for the Jewish Federation, but was not present in person, also joined in the discussion via a remote link.

Rather than report on how each of the panellists described what they do in their respective positions, I’ll jump right into the question and answer session that ensued. However, the initial question and answer segment of the program turned out to consist of questions that had been submitted beforehand and were read out by Neil Duboff, who took turns asking different panellists to respond to different questions.

Considering that a town hall is supposed to be a forum where, after opening remarks by whoever is going to respond to questions from audience members, the floor is supposed to be opened up to members of the audience to ask questions, having Neil Duboff read questions that had been submitted beforehand contradicted what is supposed to happen at a town hall, but hey: This was a first for our community, so I’ll give them a pass this town – but guys, next time – if there is a next time, how about having a real town hall?

What follows are snippets of what turned out to be a very long event that ran well past the allotted two hours that had originally been set aside. (If answers to questions posed, either by Duboff – reading from questions that had been submitted or by actual audience members themselves, seem exceptionally short, it’s for reasons of space, not because respondents gave abbreviated answers.)

The first question Duboff asked, and which was directed at Gustavo Zentner, was: “What is CIJA’s strategy for holding public officials accountable when current laws are not being enforced?”

Zentner responded that he prefers to meet one on one with officials – on a confidential basis, but he tries “to set a paper trail of accountability.”

One particular event that had a significant impact on the relationship CIJA (as well as other community organizations, other panellists noted) has had with politicians at various levels of government was the Bondi Beach attack in Australia last December during Chanukah, when 15 people were killed and 40 wounded by two gunmen who opened fire as members of the Sydney Jewish community were gathered to celebrate Chanukah on the beach.

Zentner noted that, following that attack, he met with the premier of Manitoba as well as the leader of the opposition, to discuss how the Manitoba government could bolster security for the Jewish community here.

Zentner said that, coming out of that discussion, the Manitoba government has now created a position of prosecutor specifically to deal with hate crimes and that the government “gave specific funds for security infrastructure for the community.”

He added that “two weeks ago” the Winnipeg Chief of Police released hate crime stats for the City of Winnipeg. “We were interviewed four times in 24 hours” about what the chief had said, Zentner added.

The next question Duboff asked was addressed to Jeff Lieberman: “What does the Federation do to prevent people from attending events who aren’t invited?”

Lieberman answered: “We pre-register” attendees.

He also said he wanted to add something to Zentner’s response to the question asked about holding public officials accountable.

He referred to Premier Wab Kinew’s controversial comment at the Federal NDP convention, held this past March, when Kinew said “Let the Epstein class fight the Epstein war” – a remark that was widely regarded as a dog whistle to antisemites.

Lieberman said that “Kinew said some things that were not favourable. We met with him and around one month later we got $1 million in new funding for security.”

Duboff asked Ruth Ashrafi to comment about the upcoming Nakba exhibit at the CMHR – which is scheduled to open June 27.

Ashrafi noted that in December 2023, in response to Israel’s incursion into Gaza following the October 7 massacre, there had been a “die-in” at the CMHR and word began to circulate that the CMHR was preparing to open an exhibit about the Nakba.

In April 2024, Ashrafi said, lawyer David Matas, acting on behalf of B’nai Brith Canada, sent a letter to the CMHR, in which he voiced reasons that such an exhibit should not be mounted.

In November 2025, Ashrafi added, Jewish organizations were supposed to be informed about the Nakba exhibit, “but B’nai Brith wasn’t informed.”

She also referred to “all that other nonsense you can be a very good Jew and a non-Zionist.”

Belle Jarniewski also spoke about the Nakba exhibit, saying “consultation has not taken place on the exhibit…The problematic title suggests that the very creation and ongoing existence of the State of Israel is an ongoing catastrophe…This exhibit is putting a target on the backs of Jews across Canada…They (the CMHR) consulted with six percent of Jews across Canada – who are not Zionists…Carla Compton (the newly elected MLA for Tuxedo) said that ‘a museum is supposed to be about facts, not feelings’…The museum refused to say who is on the advisory council for the exhibit.”

Gustavo Zentner added: “The moment we were advised of the exhibit in November we asked them (the CMHR) not to make any more announcements…It is the federal government’s responsibility to take action on this problem. It doesn’t matter whether the government appointed the board.”

Duboff asked Lieberman: “What security planning is underway for community events?”

Lieberman asked Williams Sagel to respond. Sagel said there are security enhancements being implemented across a wide swath of community institutions, but he didn’t want to get into details.

Duboff asked a follow-up question: “What do you say to the suggestion that community responses to security threats are inadequate?”

Lieberman responded that “We have to be very careful what we do.”

Questions from the audience then followed. As one might expect, given the opportunity to speak, once handed the microphone, most audience members would go on and on without asking a question.

Here, in capsule form, are some of the questions asked:

“Why is there no Israeli person on the panel?”

“Why not put on a counter exhibit to the CMHR exhibit at the Convention Centre?”

“Why do we have three different organizations dealing with antisemitism?” (Actually, the questioner could have asked “Why do we have four different organizations” doing that, because the Jewish Federation, B’nai Brith, CIJA, and the recently formed Manitoba Institute to Combat Antisemitism, which is part of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, all deal with antisemitism in one way or another.)

“How is what Belle is doing different from what Ruth and Gustavo are doing?”

Jarniewski responded: “We all collaborate all the time.”

A questioner asked what can be done about the Winnipeg Free Press which, he suggested, rarely prints an op-ed defending Israel.

Lieberman said: “It is not our mandate to take a stand against that particular business.”

A questioner asked “Why isn’t ‘Shomrim’ incorporated into the community?”

For readers unfamiliar with who “Shomrim” are, here is something generated by AI about Shomrim: “Shomrim Toronto is a dedicated volunteer organization committed to ensuring the safety and security of the Jewish communities across the Greater Toronto Area. As guardians of peace (Shalom), we bridge the gap between the community and local law enforcement through vigilant community patrols, educational programs, and direct incident response.”

In Montreal, “This is the community safety and emergency response patrol operating primarily within the Hasidic and broader Jewish communities (particularly in the Tosh and Outremont areas).”

Lieberman responded: “The organizations in Toronto an Montreal have been operated for numerous years.”

William Sagel added: “We’re training volunteers for the future.”

Then, I asked my question, followed by angry muttering from the audience. I began by suggesting that the Jewish community is far more diffuse than the panelists would have us believe and the idea that there is unanimity about the Nakba is not right. I also said that speaking at this particular “town hall” was really nothing more than speaking in an ‘echo chamber’ since none of the questions asked dared to challenge accepted wisdoms about Israel and the Nakba. I asked: “Is it not possible to acknowledge the existence of what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba?” (And, for anyone who might think what I said was absolutely outrageous, I simply suggest you do some reading about what Israeli leaders, including David Ben Gurion, Chaim Weizman, and many others, said about the necessity of expelling large portions of the Palestinian population in order to create a viable State of Israel. I deal in reality, not mythology. And yes, I know that 800,000 Jews were also forced to leave their homes in Arab lands.)

Gustavo Zentner said: “The museum has not been transparent in its dealings….The (federal) government has a responsibility to step in and handle its responsibilities for corporate governance.”

A series of questions were asked by audience members about financial aid for members of the community, either to attend Gray Academy or Jewish camps. One audience member said that more parents are now sending their kids to Gray Academy or to Jewish camps as a result of antisemitism, but there was a need for more bursaries for those kids.

Jeff Lieberman agreed that “more and more kids” have left public schools and enrolled in Gray Academy after facing antisemitism in public school. He added that Gray Academy is giving out “$1 million in bursaries” each year. Lieberman pointed out that Gray Academy Head of School Lori Binder was in the audience and he asked her to come to the front to address the question of financial aid for parents wanting to send their kids to Gray Academy.

Binder said: “No one who comes to our door will ever be denied a Jewish education,” but in response to the suggestion from one audience member that non-Jewish families are receiving financial aid to send their kids to Gray Academy, Binder was unequivocal in saying that’s not true, saying that “non-Jewish families are not receiving financial assistance at all.”

Although this has been a long article to read (if you made it this far) I’ve really only attempted to give a flavour of what happened at the town hall. By the time it was nearing an end, Neil Duboff suggested that it would be a good idea to hold another such town hall. Yes, tempers may fray at a town hall (and I’m used to being criticized for daring to say things that don’t go over well with many others), but it was a very civil discussion, albeit with not enough time for questions from actual audience members. Full credit to Jeff Lieberman for following through on my suggestion to hold a town hall. And now that there’s been one – and the organizers may have learned where they can improve things, it would be a good idea to hold another one – but please, try to include members of the community who are either disaffected – which I would suggest is the majority of the Jewish community, or even those who are stridently opposed to the positions taken by our established Jewish organizations.

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New GrowWinnipeg “Grow Together” highlights diverse origins of our growing Jewish community

Newcomers to Winnipeg ( l-r ):Y ael Borovich, Naomi Kirshenblatt Palansky, Dora Bronstein

By MYRON LOVE On Monday, June 11, about 120 younger Jewish Winnipeggers from diverse backgrounds came together at the Asper Campus for an evening of food and music, games and prizes and, most important, the opportunity to socialize with their peers from a growing community that reflects the long term success of our community’s 26-year-old GrowWinnipeg initiative.

GrowWinnipeg Director Dalia Szpiro


“We are gathered here to celebrate your and your parents’ decisions to come to Winnipeg, build families and raise families here,” noted Dalia Szpiro, GrowWinnipeg’s director, in addressing the young adults in attendance. 
To summarize, the GrowWinnipeg Initiative arose when our past community’s leadership recognized that our Jewish population was an aging and shrinking community with aging infrastructure.
The first stage was the planning and construction of the Asper Campus, which brought our major institutions and organizations under one roof in an attractive new building.
The next challenge was to attract more people to our community.  GrowWinnipeg was created to take on the challenge. The initiative, which was officially launched in 2000, is unique in its efforts to reach out to young Jewish families throughout the Western world.
The first outreach efforts were directed at Argentina’s sizeable Jewish community at a time when the South American country’s economy was going through a very difficult period. Several of our community leaders visited the Jewish community in Buenos Aires and a website was established.  Arrangements were made for local families to host Jewish Argentinians here on exploratory visits and the community helped the prospective immigrants navigate the then new Provincial Nominee Program, find jobs and establish themselves here. 
Since then, many young families – from Argentina, as well as a great number of other countries – have chosen to make Winnipeg their new home. The young people at the recent GrowWinnipeg evening were reflective of the diversity of our growing community.  During the course of the evening, I had the opportunity to speak with not only Israeli-born participants, also young people from Russia and Ukraine, Turkey and Uruguay – and a young lady who grew up in Ottawa.

Naomi Kirshenblatt Palansky


Naomi Kirshenblatt Palansky originally came here from Ottawa to go to university.  She met and married local entrepreneur Noah Palansky in 2023. (We wrote about Noah in the December 19, 2025 issue).  That same year, the former competitive swimmer who competed in the Maccabiah Games in 2009 and 2013 served as manager of the Canadian Junior swimming team participating in the games. She is currently the director of operations and strategy for a company called CoinFlip.

Yael Borovich


Although born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Yael Borovich grew up in Winnipeg.  She is the daughter of Dalia Szpiro and Eduardo Borovich (and younger sister of Vanessa) all of whom moved here in 2002.  She is a graduate of the Asper School of Business and works as a senior client relationship manager for Scotia Bank’s commercial  branch.

Siblings Igal and Edem  Avimelek


Siblings Igal and Edem  Avimelek arrived here from Turkey six years ago with their parents, Etel and Moris.  Edem is in her second year at the University of Manitoba while Igal is studying engineering at UBC.
They report that their father, Moris, has established the Upperwear Textile Agency – marketing textile products online – while their mother Etel,  is senior IT Director, software development and data analytics and enterprise architecture at Standard Aero.
“Our parents were looking to move to a new country and came across the GrowWinnipeg webpage,” Edem says.  “GrowWinnipeg has been  really supportive of us in helping us move here and become established.”    

Alex Tsmokaliuk and Jane Hin

            
More recent arrivals Alex Tsmokaliuk and Jane Hin are from Ukraine and Russia respectively and have been together since 2022.  “We were looking for a peaceful place to start a family,”: Alex says.  “We heard about GrowWinnpeg and here we are.”
Alex is a fitness trainer while Jane is working for WRE Development as a property manager.
Dora Bronstein, who is originally from Beersheva, is also a recent arrival to our community.  “I came to Winnipeg because I wanted to get away from war – and I heard about GrowWinnipeg,” she says.
She is currently working for L.C. Taylor Licensed Insolvency Trustee as an estate manager.

GrowWinnipeg Youth Ambassadors
Erele Tzidon and Daniel Mejnov

Last October, GrowWinnipeg introduced its new Youth Ambassadors program. 
“Since October, we have been working to create an organized system and opportunities to help young newcomers find their people within our community,” wrote Youth Ambassador Erele Tzidon on Facebook.
“Our mission is to help young immigrants find a sense of home in Winnipeg and support a smooth and welcoming transition.
We are excited to help bring our young Jewish community together.
As reported in the Jewish Post about 18 months ago, Tzidon is originally from Moshav Ginaton in central Israel.  She 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 – and three younger brothers.
The 20-year Gray Academy graduate has recently completed her third year in Science at the University of Manitoba. For the past three  years, she has also been  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. 
In November, 2024, Tzidon was presented with 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 campus’s Albrechchtsen Research Centre.
Tzidon’s fellow Youth Ambassador is Daniel Mejnov.  He was born in Beersheva but moved to Winnipeg with his parents, Dennis and Victoria (and younger brother Alon) 14 years ago. He is currently enrolled in an IT program at the University of Winnipeg.
 
Mejnov welcomed all those in attendance at the celebration and thanked the volunteers who helped him and Tzidon organize the event.
“It has been great being able to bring so many people together,” he said.  “This is a good way to unite our community.

Two other individuals of particular note that I spoke with at the event were Orit Agabayev and Alina Plis, partners in three year old A and O Event Décor, who provided the balloon  arches and walls, table settings and centre pieces for the evening.
Agabayev is originally from Netanya and Plis is from Yeruham (in southern Israel). The latter has been here for 18 years and operates a daycare.  The former came 16 years. Her principal career is working in the field of animal nutrition.
In an Instagram PosI from four years ago, Plis noted that “I have always been passionate about planning parties and events. I started out with planning big surprise birthday parties for my kids. Eventually I began planning and decorating events for family and friends. Now I am taking the next step with my friend, Orit, who shares the same level enthusiasm as me. What drives me to go above and beyond is simply the excitement my creations bring to those who see my work.
 On Facebook, Agabayev added that “Alina and I are so excited to start A&O event decor. We both love decorating and planning different events. We hope that you can put your trust in us to create or decorate an event for you. We do Birthday parties, anniversaries, bachelor/bachelorette parties, proposals, weddings and more..
“Message us with your ideas to get a free quote and you’re one step closer to having an unforgettable event.”

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Hungarian Holocaust survivor focus of new documentary co-produced by Winnipeggers Liam Karp and Jamie Michaels

Jamie MIchaels (left); Liam Karp

By MYRON LOVE  “I Draw Things the Best I  Can,” a new documentary co-produced by Winnipegger Liam Karp  and former Winnipegger Jamie Michaels premiered June 8 at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival.
The 40-minute film focuses on the life of Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor Adam Policzer from his childhood hiding with neighbours in Miskolc in 1944, his postwar immigration to Chile to reunite with his father (who came to Chile just before the war but was unable to bring his family out), his imprisonment in Chile for over a year under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinoche following the coup in 1972, his subsequent immigration with his wife and family to Vancouver, and his successful career as an architect.
Earlier this year, Policzer unveiled a new side of himself.  He wrote and drew all the illustrations for “The House Across the Street,” the story of his struggle for survival – a memorial he had published in the form of a graphic novel. The book was published by Jamie Michaels’ “Dirty Water Comics” in June.
According to its webpage, Dirty Water Comics is “a boutique publishing house that specializes in literary comics that showcase a unique voice and a talent for storytelling. We publish a selective catalogue, create immersive readings, and pride ourselves on championing the work we curate”. 
Michaels co-founded the company in 2016 in order to publish his own first graphic comic –an account of his ambitious journey some years before – along with a  couple of high school friends – to travel by canoe down the Red and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico. The launch of that graphic novel was reported in a story that previously appeared in The Jewish Post & News.
The son of John Michaels and Karen Stern then published a second graphic novel recounting the 1933 Christie Pitts riot, which pitted younger members of Toronto’s Jewish community and their supporters against Nazi-inspired thugs.
“The House across the Street” is Dirty Water Comics’ fourth publication. (“The Harrowing Tales of  La Coriveau” – the third publication – “is a graphic novel retelling the legend and history of Marie-Josephte Corriveau, a Quebecois woman whom the English executed in 1763 for the murder of her second husband. Following her death, Corriveau was hanged from a tree outside of Quebec City in an iron cage. In the centuries that followed, her story was transformed. She became a caged witch who haunted lone travellers, a reviled murderess, and a victim of circumstance”.)
 “I first met Adam Policzer a couple of years ago when he approached me about his book,” recalls Michaels, who recently earned his Ph.D from the University of Calgary, where he currently teaches. (His dissertation was on the evolution of Jewish and Arab nationalism during World War I.) “I reached out to Liam and he and I both thought it was a beautiful story and thAt we should make a documentary about Adam.”
Karp and Michaels have been friends since high school (Grant Park). Over the past ten years, the son of Marcia and Morris Karp has built a successful career as the go-to guy for visual effects for movies and television series being shot in and around Winnipeg. He is currently providing his expertise for the remake of the popualtr TV series “Little House on the Prairie,” which is being shot in and around Winnipeg.  
In filming the documentary, Karp and Michaels spent time with Policzer and his family in Vancouver. They also filmed on location in Budapest and visited Miskolc to interview members of the family that hid him during the Holocaust.
Karp and Michaels express their appreciation to the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba and Manitoba Film and Music, which provided funding for the project.
Michaels reports that the partners have secured several screenings of the documentary throughout North America.  “We hope to show Adam’s story at the Winnipeg Jewish Film Festival next year,” he says.
While Karp and Michaels don’t currently have any plans to collaborate again as yet, they both say that they would like to work together again.

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Former Winnipegger Libby Goszer in need of a kidney donor

Libby Goszer with husband Doug and son Micah

By MYRON LOVE   It is written in the Mishnah that whoever saves a life is considered to have saved an entire world. 
About 18 months ago, Libby Goszer’s kidneys failed and she went into renal failure.  She undergoes dialysis – at home – on a daily basis. Her life hangs in the balance and she is reaching out – with the help of first cousins Marnie Ross and Sharon Goszer Tritt – to the community in hopes of finding a kidney donor.
The only child of the late Boris and Eve Goszer grew up in West Kildonan.  After graduating with a degree in Psychology from the University of Winnipeg in 1982, she relocated to Vancouver for post-graduate studies and built a life there.  She married Doug, had one son, Micah, and practiced clinical psychology for about 35 years.
Her health problems began in 2007 when she was diagnosed with Acute MyeLoid Leukemia.  “I underwent a stem cell transplant,” she reports.  “As it happens, my donor was Israeli. The operation was successful. I did very well for a number of years.”
(Ed. note: In the June 12, 2019 issue of The Jewish Post & News I wrote about Libby’s having received a stem cell transplant from an Israeli donor. Libby was a featured speaker at a dinner sponsored by an organization know as Ezer Mizion. Former Winnipegger Solly Dreman was instrumental in fundraising for that organization and had played a pivotal role in holding a fundraising dinner in Winnipeg that June to raise awareness of Ezer Mizion.
Here’s what I wrote back then about Libby’s story:
“Libby Goszer told her own heart-rending story of how close shecame to dying when she herself developed acute leukemia in 2006.
“ ‘One moment I was a confident professional, wife and mother; the next moment I was in an isolation room…After treatment, I was given a 60 percent chance my leukemia would return – and it did. I needed a perfect stem cell donor match.”
“In November 2008, fortunately, that perfect match was found in Ezer Mizion’s registry. Transplant recipients aren’t able to find out the names of their donors until a year after having received their transplant but, waiting on the surgical bed that day in November, Goszer said she was overjoyed when she ‘saw a woman come in carrying a bag of stem cells. It never occurred to me though that bag had been transferred all the way from
Israel.’
“In 2012 Libby ‘learned about the donor’s identity’ and in 2013 she and her family flew to Israel to meet her donor, whose name was Moshe, along with his immediate family.
“ ‘They (Moshe and his family) were as excited to meet me as I was to meet him,’ Goszer said. ‘From the darkness of a life-threatening illness has emerged a set of relationships between Moshe, his family, and my family.’
“In closing, Goszer urged members of the audience to think of this ‘night as a night of solidarity where we as Jews will be reminded that we will do what we can to take care of one another.’ “)

Fast forward seven years and Myron continues his story…
“The drawback, however, Libby now notes, is that the immunosuppressive drugs that she had to be on to prevent the rejection of her earlier transplant caused irreparable damage to her kidneys over several years.
 I first became aware of Libby Goszer’s plight when – a few weeks ago – I came across an information sheet – prepared by Marnie Ross – while at a community program at the Shaarey Zedek.
“Sharon (Goszer Tritt) helped get the information sheets into the Shaarey Zedek,” Ross says.  “I also left copies at the Rady Centre.”
The sheet describes how kidney disease has impacted Goszer’s life – in particular the loss of energy and extreme physical and mental fatigue. Ross has also created a Facebook post (https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Bj35eg5nz/ which, so far, has generated 76 shares. “We hope that the people who have responded will share the information with their online contacts,” she says.  “We want to get the word out.”
Goszer adds that the members of Temple Sholom, the congregation which she has belonged to since 1992, have also been supportive.
She reports that three friends have come forth to test to see if they are a match. One of the three may be and is undergoing more tests to make sure.
“If you want a really thorough medical check-up, “she observes, “I would recommend that you volunteer to become a kidney donor.   They test everything to make sure that the donor is in good health and won’t suffer any damage to their health by donating a kidney.”
She further points out that you can live a long and healthy life with one kidney.   
 
Goszer is also listed with Renewal Canada, a Jewish organization that  “helps patients and their families navigate the complex process of kidney transplant, from finding a donor to arranging the transplant and beyond”. The organization also provides financial support for donors “to make sure their incredible self-sacrifice is as easy as can be and comes at no financial cost to them”. 
Interested readers can contact renewalcanada.org/libbygoszer  – or contact the Living Donor Kidney Program at Vancouver Coastal Health at kidneydonornurse@vch.ca (or phone 1-604 875-4111) and include Libby’s name and birthday (July 31,1958).
While Libby Goszer’s friend is a strong possibility, she notes that you can’t be sure until final approval is received.
“I generally am a positive and optimistic individual,” she says. “There are times when I feel down but, overall, I continue to have faith and hope that things will turn out well.” 
“I have so much living left to do and I ask you, from the bottom of my heart, to consider kidney donation.  I long to return to a fuller clinical practice, resume volunteering and, of course, watch my son wed and raise his children in our Jewish way of life.”

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