Local News
Jewish Heritage Centre to present talk on Western Canadian Jewish anarchists, including Feivel Simkin
By BERNIE BELLAN Maria Tarasova-Chomard is a young (24 year old) student, originally from Russia, now living in Paris, who will be presenting a talk on Western Canadian Jewish anarchists for the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada on Sunday, October 3rd.
In the September 1st article I noted that I would have more about my interview with Maria in our September 15 issue, including some detailed information about certain Jewish individuals who were leading anarchists in Winnipeg in the early part of the 20th century.
I should also note that Maria is the first student winner of the Switzer-Cooperstock prize, given for an original essay on a subject relating to Western Canadian Jewish history. The Switzer-Cooperstock prize is awarded biennially, with the new student prize awarded in alternate years.
Returning to my conversation with Maria, which occurred over Zoom on August 24 while Maria was in her Paris home, I asked her “whether there were any names of well-known Jewish anarchists from Western Canada that” she could “throw out for the benefit of readers”?
Maria responded: “Yes, there were the Prasow brothers – Zalman and Israel – they were the leaders of the movement actually. Then there was Feivel (Frank) Simkin.”
Saying the name “Feivel Simkin” certainly triggered a greater interest on my part, since the Simkin name is so well known within the Jewish community. While I don’t want to preempt anything Maria might have to say during her talk on October 3rd, I’m sure reading the name “Simkin”, followed by the word “anarchist” might come as a bit of a surprise to at least some readers.
Following my conversation with Maria, I sent an email to Stan Carbone, curator of the Jewish Heritage Centre, in which I noted that Maria had said that Feivel Simkin was a leading anarchist in Winnipeg – which came as a surprise to me. I had known that Feivel Simkin had been the publisher of the Israelite Press, but beyond that, I knew nothing about the man.
So, Stan sent me a transcript of an interview that Roz Usiskin had conducted with Feivel Simkin in 1977, in which he tells his life story – also how he defines “anarchism”. Here is what he said at one point in the interview: “They believed that you should educate yourself, and then you didn’t need government to look after you.”
I said to Maria that I’d always been a little unclear how to define “anarchist”. I said to her that I thought the anarchist movement had begun in the late 19th century, but she said it actually began earlier than that – “in the beginning of the 19th century”, but the “period of the flourishing of the movement was really toward the end of the century”.
I asked Maria to give me “a Cole’s Notes definition of ‘anarchism’”.
Maria answered: “The most important aspect is that it’s a movement that believes in a society based on community, based on unity, and denies constraint and privilege.”
I asked: “But doesn’t it reject most forms of government authority?”
Maria responded: “Yes, but that comes from a rejection of constraint and privilege. Every state, every government (according to anarchists) is based on constraint and privilege – and hierarchy.”
As our conversation continued, I asked Maria how easy is it to actually identify individuals in the early 20th century in Winnipeg as “anarchists”?
She said it is difficult to do because “there are very few records and since the movement was essentially clandestine, they were actually paying attention not to keep evidence as to who was an anarchist, but when I talk about the ‘anarchist’ movement’ in my work, I talk not only about those who were directly involved in the organizations and activities of the organizations, but also everyone who was interested in the ideas – who called themselves radicals or libertarians.
“We can distinguish two circles. There was the core – the actual activists, the organizers – and there were those who participated in events, were sort of around”, but who couldn’t necessarily be described as ‘anarchists’.”
I asked what documentation might have existed that would have led Maria to conclude that the Prasow brothers and Feivel Simkin were the leaders of the anarchist movement?
Maria said it was mostly through “correspondence” among those three figures, especially correspondence between the Prasows and the leading American anarchist at the time, Emma Goldman (who actually stayed with the Prasows in their house at one time when she visited Winnipeg, Maria noted).
I wondered though, whether that correspondence would have been conducted in English or Yiddish – since Yiddish would have been the mother tongue of those early 20th century anarchists.
Maria explained that English was the preferred language of the anarchists, especially since Emma Goldman had insisted that anarchists’ writing be in English, so that it would be understood by “the generation born in America”.
As a result of this emphasis on the next generation, “a lot of their effort went into education,” Maria said.
Given the anarchists’ objection to governmental authority, I wondered whether there was a convergence between anarchism and the kibbutz movement, for instance, which was also predicted on a rejection of authority?
Maria suggested though that there was a fundamental divide between anarchism and Zionism. For anarchists, “the nation should either not exist or should only exist until there are not any nations at all. The Zionist movement (in contrast) was about Jewish nationalism. For anarchists, building the nation or an ethnic movement was not important at all.”
But, just how many identifiable anarchists were there in Winnipeg in the early part of the 20th century, I wondered? “Would they have been in the hundreds?” I asked Maria.
“Oh no,” she answered. “I’ve been able to identify only five or six of them.” (And yet, in Roz Usiskin’s interview with Feivel Simkin, he referred to Emma Goldman filling a hall with 700 attendees when she spoke in Winnipeg, so surely that must have been more than a passing interest in anarchy among a great many Winnipeg Jews in the early 20th century.)
Still, as Maria pointed out, “they may have been people who were simply interested in going to a talk.”
Was anarchism more than a “fringe movement” then? I asked.
“Oh yes,” Maria responded. “They were noticeable in the ideological landscape of the time, especially before (the Winnipeg General) Strike, in 1919. They were bringing about real change in the sense that their influence, their contribution to real projects, to social education was pretty noticeable –and pretty impressive, for the time. It wasn’t just a marginal group, even though it was a lot less numerous than some of the other currents.”
During our entire conversation, the discussion was confined to Jewish anarchists. I wondered, however, whether Maria had come across any references to non-Jewish anarchists during that period in the early 20th century?
“It’s not something I have found a lot of mention about,” Maria answered. “I know there was quite a lot of cooperation in the United States between Jewish and Italian anarchists – and with Spanish anarchists toward the 1930s, and with German groups” as well, “but in Canada it’s truly hard to say (whether there was much involvement by non-Jews in the anarchist movement). “I have not been able to find any mention of that.”
Local News
Orri clementine oranges from Israel now available in Winnipeg
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted April 3) For years many Winnipeggers made a habit of buying delicious Jaffa oranges from Israel, both because they were so delicious, also to support Israel. Those oranges used to be commonly available in many stores during the winter months, but as the years passed, it became increasingly difficult to find them.
Often groups of individuals would get together and place special orders for Jaffa oranges that could be brought into stores like the former Stewart’s Fruit & Deli on Grant Avenue. I remember asking the owners of Stewart’s – Frida and Aaron Herskovits, whether they could bring in Jaffa oranges, but over the years they told me that they found it was increasingly difficult to find a wholesaler that carried Jaffa oranges.
One of the reasons was that oranges from other countries, including South Africa, Chile, Spain, Morocco, and occasionally Mexico, were much cheaper than Jaffa oranges, so wholesalers simply stopped ordering them.
But last week I was contacted by a friend who told me that he found oranges from Israel in FoodFare on Portage Avenue – of all places. Now, I don’t want to get political, but FoodFare is owned by the Zeid family – and the Zeids haven’t exactly been huge supporters of Israel. So, I was somewhat surprised to learn that Israeli oranges were being sold in FoodFare.
When my friend sent me a picture of the bag containing the oranges, I saw that the name on the bag was “Orri.” I had never heard of Orri oranges, so I asked my friend how they tasted ?
“Absolutely delicious,” came the reply. But I’ve avoided shopping at FoodFare ever since October 7, 2023 when members of the Zeid family established themselves as staunch critics of Israel. And so, I didn’t head down to FoodFare myself to buy a bag of Orri oranges.
Lo and behold, I was in Superstore on Kenaston the other day and what do I see prominently featured right in the front of the store, but bags of Orri oranges – at the very reasonable price of $6.99 for a 907 gram bag. I bought a bag, brought them home, peeled one – and was in heaven! It was the most delicious clementine orange I had ever tasted.
But how come I had never heard the name “Orri” before? I wondered. So, I did some research -and here’s what I came up with, from the Orri website:
“Few people know that the original Jaffa Orri has a long history of nearly 30 years. The project was initiated in 1989 as a collaborative effort at Israel’s world renowned Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Center. The extensive research led by leading citrus breeders and botanists managed to develop an exceptional lineup of mandarin cultivars that hit their objectives. The new cultivars were planted in experimental plots across the country, and with results being better than anticipated, the rest is history.
“The later crowned “mandarin king” made its market debut in the early 2000s, quickly taking the Israeli market by storm. Despite accelerated orchards planting efforts, consumers simply couldn’t get enough, and demand kept falling short of supply. Year after year, as yields increased, Orri remained the premium brand of choice.
“Today, Orri’s popularity has been steadily climbing in markets such as France, UK, Holland, Germany, Russia, Canada and the US, and lately also China and Japan. While Israel remains the largest single exporter of Orri mandarins, licensed growers now exist in Spain, South Africa, South America and the US.”
Further research determined that “High sugar levels, low acidity, bright orange color, and a long shelf life, making them excellent for shipping.”
“Late-season harvest runs from January through early summer, ensuring availability when other mandarins are out of season.”
Finally, when it comes to availability in Winnipeg, here’s what I found: “Orri mandarins are available for purchase and delivery at major Canadian retailers like Loblaws (2 lb bags), Real Canadian Superstore, and No Frills. They are also available for delivery through Weee!, Uber Eats, and Instacart. Orri mandarins, known for being seedless, easy to peel, and very sweet, are usually in season from January to May.”
Local News
Jewish community leaders to take to the stage in new Theatre Centre, Manitoba Bar Association fundraising musical
By MYRON LOVE For more than 36 years a staple of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre season has been the RMTC’s annual joint production with the Manitoba Bar Association – featuring a cast composed entirely of Bar Association members. This year’s fundraising production is “Crazy for You” – a delightful romp in the style of 1930s musicals.
I well remember the Rainbow Stage production of the musical in 1999 with many memorable Gershwin Brothers’ songs – tunes such as: “I Got Rhythm,” “Naughty Baby,” “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” “Embraceable You,” “But Not for Me,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.” Introduced on Broadway in 1992, “Crazy for You” is based loosely on the Gershwins’ hit 1930 musical “Girl Crazy”.
The plot, typical of 1930s era musicals is about a young New York banker, Bobby Child, who is sent to Deadrock, Nevada, to foreclose on a rundown theatre. In Deadrock, Bobby falls for spunky Polly Baker, the theatre owner’s daughter. But Polly takes an instant dislike to the city slicker, so Bobby vows – through cunning, razzmatazz and a hilarious case of mistaken identity – to win Polly’s heart and save the theatre.
“Crazy for You” is a fantastic musical,” says an enthusiastic Gail Asper, who plays the role of Billy’s mother in the show. “I am very happy that we are putting it on this year. It has great dance numbers. Who would have thought there would be so many terrific dancers in our legal community?”
Asper, a leading patron of the arts (among her many contributions to the community) , has been involved with the annual legal stage production from its inception. “It was Steven Schipper’s idea,” Asper recalls. (Schipper served as RMTC’s artistic director from 1989 to 2019.) “He pitched it to the board who thought it was a great idea. Board member Jean Giguere was tasked with bring the idea to fruition. Jean and I are still great friends.”
Asper reports that “Crazy for You” is the 16th RMTC/MBA show in which she has had the pleasure of performing. “This is one of the best fundraising ventures I have ever been involved with,” she says.
(Her one regret though is that she isn’t a dancer.)
The cast also includes a second prominent member of our Jewish community in the person of Mr. Justice David Kroft (who was appointed to the Manitoba Court of Appeal in 2023). Kroft plays the role of Bela Zangler, the impresario (think Florenz Zeigfield) who is producing the show.
Kroft is a past president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg (following in the footsteps of his late father, Guy, and older brother, Jonathan). He has been a Combined Jewish Appeal canvasser for more than 25 years. In 2024, he was presented with the Max and Mollie Shore Memorial Award, which is given annually to an individual who has distinguished him or herself through long-standing leadership and dedication to the Combined Jewish Appeal and commitment to the principles and goals of the Federation.
For Kroft, this is his ninth Bar Association show. Last year, he reports, he was in the RMTC/MBA production of the comedy “The Man who Came to Dinner”.
Although, Kroft notes, his theatrical experience previous to the RMTC/MBA productions were high school operettas, he says that he has really enjoyed the opportunity to strut the boards.
Added to the meaning of the production this year is that Kroft is currently RMTC Board Chair. “This is one of our major annual fundraising initiatives,” he says in his role as Board Chair.
One other member of our Jewish community who will be in “Crazy for You” is Benji Greenberg, who will be making her sixth appearance in the annual fundraiser. She says that she has the role of Elaine, one of the show girls.
“I love the Gershwin music,” she says.
I wrote about Greenberg last year in regard to her participation for the first time in the annual Winnipeg Music Festival competitions. In high school (Grant Park) and university (the U of W), she notes, she was involved in performing arts study and productions.
She was called to the Bar in 2015. For the past four years, she has been working as an investigator for the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth.
A couple of years ago, she decided to take proper singing lessons. She credits her teacher, Geneva Halverson, for encouraging her to enter the Music Festival competition,
“Crazy for You” is scheduled to run from May 5 to 9 at the Tom Hendry Warehouse. Tickets can be purchased through RMTC. If you have a friend in the show, on the RMTC board or staff member, you can help them win a prize by buying a ticket linked to their name using the list online.
Sponsorships and advertising would also be welcomed.
Local News
Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada panel highlights contributions of Jewish women in building our community
By MYRON LOVE For much of the Jewish community’s early history in Winnipeg, it was men who were acknowledged as our community leaders – as was common in society in general – while the work of scores of women working diligently behind the scenes was largely overlooked. While women’s organizations such as ORT, Hadassah, National Council of Jewish Women and many others raised money to help the needy in our community and Israel, noted Marsha Cowan, it was usually men who made the decisions.
On Tuesday, March 17, the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada hosted a panel discussion: “Let Her Works Praise: Panel on the role of Women in Jewish Communal Life” (which was pretty well attended considering the wintry conditions) – seeking to show our community’s appreciation for the work of countless women over the years behind the scenes, as well as the growing number of women now working side by side with men in leadership roles.
Marsha Cowan – one of the three panelists, has straddled both worlds – as a leader in National Council of Jewish Women, and later as the first woman to serve as CEO of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.
Cowan began her presentation by reminiscing about her time at Peretz School and the old YMHA. Her first vehicle of choice as a volunteer was with the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW). The latter’s major project was the Golden Age Club – Canada’s original drop-in centre for (largely) Jewish seniors. For years, the club operated out of a building near Salter and Selkirk in what used to be the heavily Jewish North End.
“After 40 years,” she recalled, “we realized that we needed a new building.”
The site for the newly renamed Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre was a former tire store at Smithfield and Main. Cowan chaired the successful campaign to raise the funds for the transformation of the building into the Gwen Secter Centre.
Cowan subsequently served as Vice-President of the National Council of Jewish Women. She also served as President of Jewish Child and Family Service;, Vice-President of the Women’s Division, Combined Jewish Appeal; and, most recently, as the first woman to be President and CEO of The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.
““I remember walking into my first board meeting at the Foundation and finding myself one of only two women among 18 men,” she recalled. “But it was never a problem for me working in male-oriented organizations and institutions.”
One of the first things that she did as a board member though, was to push to establish the Foundation’s Women’s Endowment Fund in order to give women an opportunity to make philanthropic decisions involving the distribution of funding.
The fund, she noted, started with $20,000 contributed by about 150 women. Today, 32 years later, the Women’s Endowment Fund has a capital base of $2.4 million and distributes more than $100,000 a year to women’s charities.
In her presentation, Susan Turner began by recalling growing up in a traditional home in the North End, her early schooling, Shabbats spent with her father, Leible Hershfield, at the Rosh Pina Synagogue, and going to the YMHA, where Leible was the Athletic Director. The family moved south in 1958 so that her maternal grandfather, Lazar Tuberman, who lived with them, could be closer to the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, where he was the shames. In her teen years and then at university, Turner sang in the synagogue choir.
A lifelong professional visual artist in printmaking and in video, Turner has worked in a number of positions – by turn as a school librarian, an editor, a graphic designer, an art instructor, a lecturer at the School of Art, a researcher and curator in the area of multiculturalism, an exhibits curator and designer, a gourmet pastry chef for restaurants, and as a volunteer in the arts community.
She noted that it was her mother, Babe, who got her involved working on projects in the Jewish community. “For many years Babe was Executive Director of the Jewish Historical Society. In the late 1970s, she recruited my husband Myron and me to be on the Programming and the Archives committees, and we remained active in one form or another for close to 40 years.”
“From 1999 to 2004,” Turner said, “I was the Coordinator of Volunteers at the Sharon Home, where I learned so much about ageing, dementia, and respectful elder-care.”
In 2005, at the behest of Stan Carbone, JHC Programs and Exhibitions Director, she began working as curator and exhibitions designer at the Jewish Heritage Centre. Some of the major exhibits she worked on were “The Jewish Wedding”, “Manitoba Synagogues”, “Jews in Manitoba’s Garment Industry”, and “Chief Justice Samuel Freedman.”
In addition to her work with the JHC, Turner noted that she and Myron volunteered through Jewish Child and Family Service with newcomers from Argentina and with Yazidi refugees. “However much Myron and I were able to assist them, our own lives were enriched by the experience,” she added.
Turner also showed images of her current art as well as a poetic video she produced using voice, music, image, and Yiddish about the final days of her mother Babe’s life.
Leah Craven, the third member of the panel, is representative of a younger generation of women who have assumed leadership roles in our community. A lawyer by training, she currently serves as President of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, Winnipeg Section. She is also a Board member of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba – serving on their Governance and Grants Committees. She has previously been actively involved with Shalom Square, Gray Academy of Jewish Education, Congregation Etz Chayim, and Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University.
“I was raised in a traditional Jewish home where volunteering was simply part of life,” she recalled. “My (late) father, Mel Craven, was deeply involved in community work, and my mother, Reva, continues to volunteer actively. In our home, contributing wasn’t an ‘extra.’ It was just… part of being Jewish.
“As the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, I grew up with a strong awareness of how vital community support systems are,” she continued. “I understood early that people struggle — and that communal care matters. I also understood I was fortunate, and that being able to give comes with responsibility.”
Craven recounted her first independent volunteer experience. While still in elementary school (Ramah), her father asked if she would teach basic Hebrew to a colleague’s church youth group.
“I took it very seriously,” she said. I made a Hebrew alphabet chart with transliterations and created name cards in Hebrew letters for each participant. It was my first time in a church and it was a welcoming experience, genuinely enjoyable. Looking back, I learned an early lesson. I stepped forward because someone asked me. Someone opened a door and trusted me.”
That pattern, Craven noted, has occurred repeatedly throughout her life.
In her university years, she was active in Jewish student organizations, Craven said. She was involved in advocacy for Soviet Jewry and spoke out against antisemitism.
“At university, I learned that community life isn’t only programming and events,” she observed. “It’s visibility, engagement, and standing up when it matters.”
As a working mother, she has continued to show up for our community – volunteering over the years at Folklorama (Shalom Square) and synagogue. “Helping to set up, clean up and greeting people (at shul) may not be glamorous, but it is foundational,” she noted. “Community is sustained by everyday acts of showing up.”
Craveb pointed out that formal barriers for women have changed over generations. “Many women are now invited to leadership tables,” she noted. “We are asked to chair, lead, speak and make decisions. That progress is real and important.
“At the same time, many women still carry the day‑to‑day responsibility for home and family,” Craven added. “As well, single mothers and women without job flexibility often face additional challenges in participating in volunteer roles.”
Craven said the biggest challenge for women volunteering in community is “capacity”. “In my experience that looks different at each stage of life”, she observed. “As a student, I had to balance community involvement with academics. As a young professional, there weere early career demands. As a parent, I sought involvement that fits naturally into family life – such as children’s programming at synagogue or volunteering at school.”
It was during that time – when her kids were babies – that Craven joined National Council. “I welcomed the opportunity to be part of a Jewish women’s organization dedicated to service, education,and social action,” she said.
Crave also noted the help her own children have given her. She would bring them to meetings and on deliveries. When they were a little older, they helped sorting ribbons and wrapping paper, stuffing envelopes and assembling mishloach manot.
“These small tasks mattered,” Craven said. “It allowed me to stay engaged and my children learned that community involvement isn’t separate from daily life,” she added. “It’s part of how we live — for me, it’s part of being Jewish.”
The balance between work, family and community is never fully resolved, Craven observed. “Involvement looks different at different times,” she noted. “Sometimes it’s leading. It can be making a phone call, delivering a meal, sitting beside somebody and saying – there is a place for you here – or just showing up.
“It often just begins because someone asks, invites or makes room.”
In conclusion, Craven expressed gratitude to ” the women who paved the way” and to “a community that values women’s leadership”.