Local News
Lessons in Fusion” speaks to the fluidity of Jewish identity in the contemporary world
Reviewed by BERNIE BELLAN In preparing to write this review I searched our archives to see whether we had ever published anything previously about Primrose Mayadag Knazan; sad to say, we hadn’t.
It’s about time we made up for that oversight, as Primrose had already established herself as a playwright of considerable talent, having had her three plays been awarded “Best of Fest” at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival on each occasion she premiered a new play at the Fringe.
Her plays have also been produced by the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, and Sarsavati Productions.
With “Lessons in Fusion”, Primrose enters into the world of fiction writing and, while the book is described as a “Young Adult” novel – not being a young adult myself, I wondered whether I would be as interested in this particular book as much as someone who was in their teens.
It turns out that “Lessons in Fusion” would hardly be limited in its appeal to young readers. As someone who has blended two different cultures in her own life: Filipino and Jewish, Primrose Mayadag Knazan offers readers who might come from a more traditional background tremendous insight into identity, how it is forged over time, and the challenges faced by individuals who, because of the way they look, are stereotyped by others.
The storyline of “Lessons in Fusion” takes place in the pandemic world in which we all now find ourselves, although the action moves back and forth in time as we begin to develop a better understanding of the novel’s protagonist, 16-year-old Sarah Dayan-Abad.
Sarah is a precocious young woman who has developed a keen fascination for “fusion” cooking – blending ingredients from different cultures to create dishes that are an amalgam so totally original they lead to her developing quite a following on a blog she had started when she was 14 years old, titled “fusiononaplate”.
Here is how she describes her blog, when asked to give some information about it by the creators of a new online cooking show in which Sarah would like to participate: “Fusion comfort food, a mash-up of East and West and everything in between. Easy recipes of our classic cravings with a twist.”
Now, given Sarah’s interest in food, one would ordinarily expect that is something she might have inherited from her mother, Grace, who is “Filipinx” (the proper term for someone of Filipino descent, we are told, rather than “Filipino”). Grace, however, has almost no interest at all in cooking, especially Filipino food. The reasons for that become clearer as the story develops.
The reviews that I’ve read of “Lessons in Fusion” to date all make a big fuss over how the author introduces each chapter in the book with a recipe. Apparently Primose Mayadag Knazan is quite the food connoisseur, writing a regular column for the Filipino Journal about food in Winnipeg, as well as maintaining an Instagram account devoted to food,@pegonaplate.
As the story unfolds, Sarah is accepted into a competition known as “Cyber Chef”, in which five young people – all under 20, will compete on a weekly basis until only one is left. By the way, the chapter in which the competition is explained in some detail starts with a recipe for Chanukah latkes, so if this review is just a tad too late to influence your latke recipe, you might want to consider buying the book for next year. Just consider some of the ingredients in Sarah’s latke recipe: “sweet potatoes instead of russets. Instead of traditional sour cream or applesauce…raita made with yogurt, green apple, and mint” – I think you get the idea why the book is titled “Lessons in Fusion”.
Now, I’ll be honest: I barely looked at the recipes in this book, although they seemed tantalizing enough. Yet, for anyone who’s really into cooking, I’m sure the recipes in the book would be reason enough to buy it, as many of them are traditional Jewish recipes turned into something so imaginatively different from what I think most of us have come to accept that we would have a hard time recognizing them.
But, more than the recipes and the fastidious attention to food details that the book incorporates, “Lessons in Fusion” is a coming of age story that is so contemporary in its being set during the pandemic that it offers many real life lessons which can be useful for all of us.
Sarah, for instance, is a good student, yet she’s been forced into online learning as a result of the pandemic. Cooking is a diversion for her – as it had become for so many others once we found ourselves being confined to our homes during the many lockdowns that characterized the first year of the pandemic. While she has two good friends, with whom she communicates online (and you have to appreciate how thoroughly the author is familiar with what is known as “textspeak”), we can still appreciate the extent to which the pandemic has truncated what should have been some of the best parts of young people’s lives.
I don’t want to go into any further detail about the cooking show in which Sarah participates, lest I spoil any surprises for readers.
What I was most interested in reading is how Sarah develops her identity as a Jewish Filipinx. She and her siblings all attend what is described as a “Hebrew Immersion program” in a “private school”, where the students wear uniforms, so I’m assuming it’s based on Gray Academy. Sarah has had a bat mitzvah and is quite proud of her being Jewish.
Yet, beyond her interest in Jewish food, what seems to drive Sarah’s Jewish identity more than anything is her closeness to her baba. At the same time though, the book does describe Sarah’s more tenuous relationship with her Filipinx grandmother, her “lola”, and how cooking also brings the two of them together eventually.
One aspect of the book that might serve as a wake-up call for some readers is how Sarah is stereotyped because of her appearance and, although she can understand how she is regarded by almost anyone she meets (including online) as Filipinx, she herself regards her identity as first and foremost Jewish.
At one point Sarah is asked whether she considers herself “White or Filipino”?
She answers: “Jewish” – to which the questioner responds: “That wasn’t my question.”
So Sarah launches into a more detailed explanation: “But that’s what I am. My parents are Jewish. (Grace had converted when she married Sarah’s father.) I was raised Jewish. It’s not just my religion. It’s my culture. I get all the jokes. I celebrate the holidays. I eat and cook all the food. I even speak some Yiddish. I had family that died in the Holocaust. Go back far enough, I had family that were chased out of Russia. It’s in my blood. I carry it on my shoulders. I. Am . Jewish.”
That exchange goes on, with the questioner insisting on finding out whether Sarah identifies as “White” or not, and with Sarah not sure how to answer the question.
As someone who has been writing extensively about identity in this newspaper, and how much Jewish identity is evolving so rapidly as more and more individuals who have either converted to Judaism or live with someone who is Jewish bring with them backgrounds that are not Jewish, I find it quite fascinating to read a quite authentic description of how confusing it must be for a young person who comes from a blend of ethnic identities when asked to explain their own identity.
For that reason alone I would recommend “Lessons in Fusion” as a real eye opener to so many in our community – and well beyond the Jewish community, in helping to understand how someone might identify strongly as Jewish even when that person’s identity is rooted in a background that is quite different than something with which many of us are familiar.
As for how well written “Lessons in Fusion” is, as a first-time novelist, Primrose Mayadag Knazan shows remarkable talent, although given her success as a playwright to date, it should come as no surprise that she has made the transition to fiction writing so successfully.
“Lessons in Fusion”
By Primrose Mayadag Knazan
Published by Great Plains Publishing , 2021
288 pages
More about Primrose Mayadag Knazan
Primrose Madayag Knazan brings an interesting perspective to what it means to become Jewish
By BERNIE BELLAN
As someone who had already established a solid reputation as a successful playwright, Primrose Madayag Knazan knew that she was taking on a challenge of quite a different sort when a publisher proposed that she consider writing a book of fiction aimed at the Young Adult market.
“Writing plays was easier than writing a novel,” Primrose told me during the course of a lengthy phone interview.
“But Great Plains (her publisher) approached me with the idea of writing a book. They said I’ve always been so successful with plays, why don’t I write something – either non fiction or Young Adult?”
The timing was right for her to begin thinking about writing a book, she says. It was the fall of 2020, the Covid pandemic had set in, and she actually had more time to write since she was working from home. Her two young boys were both in school and, while she was certainly busy enough – she had begun writing a food blog as well as writing a regular column for the Filipino Journal about food, Primrose says that she didn’t have any plays in the works, so the idea of writing a book at that time appealed to her.
Around the same time, the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis happened, Primrose notes. “It opened people’s eyes about diversity and representation.”
So, the idea of tackling those themes, along with her passion for writing about food, jelled into the basis of “Lessons in Fusion”.
As I explain in my review of the book, the story centres around 16-year-old Sarah Dayan-Abad. The fact that Sarah’s name is a blend of Jewish and Filipino names is no coincidence. And yet, while there are distinct parallels in Sarah’s life to Primrose’s, Primrose wanted to make clear that Sarah is largely an imagined character.
Having grown up in Winnipeg herself, Primrose says that, while she was raised Catholic, she didn’t find the Catholic church appealing.
“I grew up at a time when I didn’t fit in with other Filipino kids,” she says.
For instance, she notes that she “always wanted to be a blonde. I knew a part of me always wanted to be White.”
At the same time, she says that “ever since I was a kid, I wanted to write plays, books, poetry.
It was while she was in university here – where she was taking a double major in psychology and sociology, that she also had her first immersion in theatre. Primrose says she fell in love with the theatre and, years after she graduated, she became involved in it again, as an actor, as a producer, and as a playwright.
Her first plays were written for Winnipeg’s Fringe Festival (the first one was written in 2000) and each time she entered a new play there (three times altogether), her plays went on to win “Best of Fest”.
It was also while she was in university that she met the man who would eventually become her husband, Josh Knazan.
Yet, while Josh came from a firm Ashkenazie Jewish background, he didn’t insist that Primrose convert to Judaism before they married.
“It was after he proposed to me that I told him I wanted to convert to Judaism – not before,” Primrose explains.
Ever since converting – in 2002, under Rabbi Alan Green’s tutelage, Primrose says that she has become “very comfortable in being a part of the Jewish community.”
“Judaism is such a beautiful religion that I fell in love with it. With Catholicism there are no shades of gray. Everything is black and white. Judaism is so much more nuanced.”
“I’m an outgoing person,” she says. “I’ve been able to be involved in the synagogue (Shaarey Zedek). I have a lot of new friends.”
And, while Primrose says that she has made sure that her two kids will grow up in a Jewish milieu – her older son was just recently Bar Mitzvahed, she says, the notion of “fusing” Filipino and Jewish culture is something that she is keenly interested in doing.
The story in “Lessons in Fusion” centres around food – and not just Filipino or Jewish food.
Raising two boys, especially one who was now a teenager, did give Primrose a certain insight into how young people think – and how they communicate, especially through texting.
Portions of “Lessons in Fusion” have some of the young characters texting with each other. “When I showed it to my son, he told me that I had it all wrong. No one texts in full words,” he said. “I had to learn textspeak from him.”
Something that Primrose wanted to avoid though, in writing a Young Adult novel, was “writing anything dystopian”. She says that she didn’t want to write yet one more book about “the end of the world”.
At the same time that she wanted to tackle issues of “diversity and representation” in her book, Primrose says that her older son was an “inspiration” for her when he told her he “didn’t want to read ‘issue books’ or books about ‘racism’.”
And, while Primrose and Josh are determined to give their two boys a solid Jewish upbringing, they both want them to be exposed to Filipino culture as well, Primrose says.
“They were both in the Hebrew Bilingual program at Brock Corydon” – the older boy has now graduated and is at Grant Park, but they’re both also involved in “Filipino dance”.
Unlike the character Sarah in “Lessons in Fusion”, moreover, who does not have a close relationship with her Filipino relatives – save one aunt, Primrose and Josh’s boys have close relationships with both their Jewish and Filipino relatives.
Sarah, however, identifies entirely as Jewish. The idea of creating a character who, even though she looks Filipino, doesn’t think of herself as Filipino at all, came to Primrose when she herself wondered what she would have been like had she been “raised exclusively Jewish”?
As noted, Primrose has a real passion for food – experimenting with it, writing about it and, as she explained to me, helping to promote local Filipino restaurants and stores.
“My head is focused on food blogging and promoting Filipino food,” she says.
“But when the pandemic happened,” so many restaurants had to close down, including many Filipino ones, she observes. So, her blog and column in the Filipino Journal became even more important to Primrose. She says that “in the past two years I’ve taken the food blogging seriously. I’ve always wanted to feature Manitoba products” as a way of helping local producers.
And, while “Lessons in Fusion” is largely a coming of age novel, as Sarah participates in an extremely demanding competition where she is required to come up with entirely original recipes for a TV show on a weekly basis, Primrose observes that “the growth in Sarah’s recipes parallels the growth in Sarah as a person to the point where she blends her two cultures” – and feels wholly comfortable in both.
That’s also the story of Primrose Madayag Knazan’s life: Someone who feels totally comfortable in her own skin as she blends Filipino and Jewish cultures into a unique amalgam. And, for someone who is as interested in identity as I am – and how fluid it is, having Primrose as part of the Jewish community offers one more reason why other members of our community should feel warm in the knowledge that the Jewish community is a blend of cultures and one in which people of quite different backgrounds can feel totally accepted.
Local News
Gavin Katz: “The next great Jewish football player”
By BERNIE BELLAN Back about 15 years ago I had the idea to hire renowned sports writer Scott Taylor to write occasional columns for The Jewish Post & News. Although the great Harvey Rosen – who passed away in 2022, was still our regular sports columnist, I thought that having Scott contribute his own takes on sports might add some additional flavour to the paper.
And it did – for several years – until Covid hit and I had to pare back expenses, including for freelance writers.
Scott has kept in touch from time to time since he last wrote for us though, so it was with great delight that I received an email from him the second week in June that had in the subject line: “Next Great Jewish Athlete.”
Here’s what Scott wrote in that email: “I was talking with Fort Garry Lions head coach John Makie last night.
“Thought you might like to know about the next great Jewish football player … if you don’t know already.”
Attached to the email was a poster that was a montage of different images – all highlighting someone by the name of Gavin Katz. Part of the poster is attached here – and in it you can see all sorts of accolades for young Gavin, including his having been designated “lineman of the year” by Coach Makie last year, as well as his having captained his Pee Wee team (which is limited to players under 14 years of age).
I followed up Scott’s suggestion and contacted John Makie to try and get some comments from him about Gavin Katz, as well as contact information for Gavin’s parents.
Here’s what Coach Makie wrote to me about Gavin who, last year, was in his second (and final) year playing for the pee-wee level Fort Garry Lions:
“I’ve known Gavin Katz for a season of football. In this season, I’ve come to learn his grit, toughness and his sheer willingness to get to the ball. A lot of our players on the team would run to the ball, but Gavin sprinted. If he was challenged, he rose to the occasion. We made him our Most Outstanding Lineman not only because of his talents on the field but his leadership. He was committed to the process, he began to lead others to this through guidance and exemplary attendance.
“I am quite proud of Gavin and what he did for us this year.”
“Unfortunately, we came up just short last season, but Gavin taught us how to become a champion and the Lions will be hungry for success next season.”
“I really hope he continues to play football!”
That was high praise for Gavin Katz, indeed. During my conversation with Makie he told me that Gavin’s father was Regan Katz and that Regan was the vice-president and Chief Operating Officer of the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team.
I contacted Regan and asked him whether I could get in touch with Gavin. Regan gave me Gavin’s phone number, but when I tried calling him all that I got was his voice messaging. I did leave a voice message, but didn’t hear back from Gavin right away – which should come as no surprise for anyone who’s tried contacting a teenager by phone: They simply don’t use their phones for phone calling – only for texting.
So, on a Saturday morning – when I figured Gavin would probably be at home, I emailed Regan again, asking him whether he could have Gavin call me. It was 10:40 in the morning. Regan responded that Gavin was still asleep.
I wrote back: “What? I thought he’d be up jogging or doing some heavy exercise at 7 AM. What kind of pro football player is he anyway?” (Um, if you’re reading this and not familiar with my writing style, I do veer into sarcasm quite readily.)
In any event, around 11 am Gavin did call me back and we had a most pleasant conversation. After talking to him I could well understand why Coach Makie was so effusive in his praise for him.
I began by asking Gavin where he goes to school?
He said he’s currently in the French immersion program at Ecole River Heights and before that he was also in the French immersion program at Sir William Osler School. Next September Gavin will be going to Kelvin, he said.
We then began to discuss his football career. I asked Gavin when he first started to play organized football?
He said that he started playing flag football five years ago – and that he still plays flag football (which has only five players on a side, as opposed to the 12 players on a side in tackle football). Gavin added that, in addition to playing flag football – which he really loves, he noted, he also coaches and referees flag football.
Gavin’s interest in playing tackle football though, was piqued by his attending a Winnipeg Blue Bombers camp for putative young players four years ago.
“That’s when I first put on pads,” he explains.
Gavin added that he’s been going to Blue Bomber games ever since he was quite young and that, at various times he’s had the privilege of meeting such Blue Bomber greats as Adam Bighill, Nick Demski, Brady Oliveira, and Zach Collaros.
Two years ago Gavin joined the Fort Garry Lions Pee Wee level team (when he was 12).
“My first year I was on the offensive line,” he notes. “My second year (last year) I started as a linebacker, but then I was moved to the defensive line.”
Here’s a link to a clip of Gavin showing his prowess as a defensive lineman in a game last fall: Gavin in action (He’s number 50 in the video.)
Now, while Gavin was not overly tall for his age last year… he was 5’4″ and weighed 135 pounds, he was certainly big enough to play on the defensive line at the Pee Wee level.
But – talk about a growth spurt! Gavin says he grew four inches since the Lions season ended in October; he’s now 5’8″, but even more impressive – he says he’s put on another 35 pounds – and in Gavin’s case, it’s all muscle.
I asked him where he works out and he answered that the family has a home gym, which he uses assiduously, in the evenings.
Gavin says he’s ready to move up to the next level of football, which would be at the Bantam level or Junior Varsity, and that he will try out for the Kelvin Clippers when he enters Kelvin this fall. He says though that he would probably “end up on the practice roster” for the Clippers varsity team where he will be fighting for a playing role, because if he does make the team he’d be among the youngest players on the team (usually Grades 11 & 12 only).
Our conversation then turned to my asking Gavin about his family. I already knew his father’s name, I told him (and that his father was former mayor Sam Katz’s nephew), so I asked him what his mother’s name was? He said it was Mandy or Amanda and that her maiden name was Falk. Gavin also has a younger sister, Brynlee, who is eight, he said.
Gavin notes that he was bar mitzvahed last year. He’s also maintained very high marks in school, he says, getting a 91 in math and an 87 in science.
So, since Scott Taylor had billed Gavin as the “next great Jewish athlete” in his email to me about Gavin, I asked Gavin how far he wants to pursue football?
His answer was that “I’ll go as far as I can.”
Considering that he grew four inches and gained 35 pounds in less than a year, Gavin could very well be big enough soon to play on the defensive line for a team of under 16 year olds but, he says, “I like playing linebacker,” which requires a great deal more mobility than playing on the defensive line.
Still, linebackers have to combine a great many skills, including mobility, strength – and most of all, toughness, as they not only have to stop running backs, they often have to take on offensive linemen as well.
I asked Gavin what he likes most about playing linebacker? His answer: “I like hitting.” (Now, don’t take that the wrong way. It’s simply the enjoyment that many football players derive from the contact that comes with playing tackle football. And these days many young women have begun taking up tackle football for the same reason.)
But, what about injuries? I wondered. Has Gavin suffered any? I asked him.
“I’ve had a few injuries,” he answered. “I dislocated the growth plate in my elbow,” he noted and, “when I was ten I injured my achilles tendon,” he added. However, in neither case did Gavin require surgery – lucky for him.
How far into the future did Gavin see his football career headed? I asked him. He was ready with the answer: “I’d like to play for the Arizona Sun Devils” (the name of the Arizona State football team).
I told Gavin that, in past years (when I was more active as a writer) I’d profiled many young Jewish athletes for The Jewish Post & News. One of the athletes with the most potential was a young hockey player who could skate like the wind, I told Gavin, but unfortunately, he stopped growing and, as his coach at the time told me, he could teach skills, but he couldn’t teach “height.”
In Gavin Katz’s case though, since he’s only 14 and is already growing rapidly, it seem certain that his height and weight are not going to hold him back from continuing to excel at football when he moves up the ladder of stiffening competition as he grows older.
It will be interesting to check in with Gavin on a regular basis in the coming years to see how he’s progressing. Winnipeg’s Jewish community hasn’t produced too many star football players over the years, although I did mention to Gavin that I had done a story about a young man who had played for the Grant Park Pirates several years ago – and that my writing now about Gavin was going to lead me to try to look in our archives for that story to remind me who it was that I had written about – and perhaps whether I could find out anything about where he had gone with his football career.
It turned out that the young man’s name was Nahaniel Lisak and that he had been nominated for the Jewish Athlete of the Year award back in 2022 when he was 17 years old, but was already 6’2″ and weighed an impressive 295 pounds. Here’s what the Rady JCC had written about Lisak prior to that year’s sports dinner: “He was named to the CFC (Canada Football Chat) All-Canadian First Team and was the recipient of the Winnipeg High School Football League (WHSFL) Kas Vidruk Lineman of the Year. At the school level he was named the Grant Park Football Most Valuable Player and was awarded the school’s Football Captain Award. He was runner up for the 2021 WHSFL Defensive MVP & 2021 Harry Hood Citizenship Award. In grade 10 he became a known player in Manitoba and was named a Nationally ranked top 100 player in Canada, being a top 5 Manitoban and top three defensive tackle in the 2022 graduating class.”
I Googled Nathaniel Lisak to see if I could find out anything about him now and saw that he’s realized his dream of attending McMaster University (where he’s in his fourth year of Commerce) and is also a star player for the McMaster Marauders.
So Gavin, if you’re reading this – there’s a stellar example of someone whose career you could emulate. But the Arizona Sun Devils? Couldn’t you settle for the University of Manitoba Bisons? Why do our best and brightest almost always want to leave Winnipeg?
Local News
Rabbi Shmuly Altein passes at age 43
By BERNIE BELLAN Rabbi Shmuly Altein, the dynamic and charismatic oldest child of Rabbi Avrohom and Bracha Altein, has passed away on June 18 at age 43 after a long illness.
Rabbi Altein, who was born in Winnipeg and who returned here in 2008 following his rabbinical training – along with his wife Adina, had, for many years, been instrumental in building up Chabad’s impact upon hundreds of Winnipeggers through his leading what started as the Jewish Learning Project and which, in time, transformed into the Jewish Learning Institute.
Rabbi Shmuly’s wife Adina was also the guiding force behind what became the Chabad Preschool and Childcare centre. Together, the Alteins brought their energy into introducing so many members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community to Chabad.
Following is information sent by Rabbi Altein’s sister-in-law, Dvora Altein: “Rabbi Shmuly carried a smile that could light up souls and heal hearts. When he and his wife Adina arrived in Winnipeg in 2008, he poured himself — and his family — into building and strengthening the Jewish community here. His creative vision sparked initiative after initiative, many of which continue to inspire Jewish organizations across the city to this day.”
“His greatest passion, connecting souls, and that light he brought to Winnipeg still shines, and will shine forever.
“Rabbi Shmuly, with his great heart and his counsel that healed souls, was a true example of love for his fellow Jew.
“Even through his courageous battle with illness — with strength and with faith — Shmuly continued to serve as Rabbi, teaching, inspiring, and uplifting others, and he and Adina remained a source of inspiration for their entire community in Wesley Hills.
“Rabbi Shmuly was surrounded by his family in his final moments. Rabbi Avrohom Altein, Rebbetzin Bracha, and Rabbi Menachem from Winnipeg were with him in New York, together with the rest of his siblings.
“The funeral took place this morning in New York.
“Adina and the children — Musi, JJ, Sroly, Goldie, and Yossi — our hearts are with you.
“We will continue in his special way — to be a light in every place he touched.”
A 2013 photo of Adina and Rabbi Shmuly Altein at a Purim celebration – which exemplified the humour the Alteins brought to their roles as leaders of the Chabad movement in Winnipeg
Local News
Jewish Federation holds first ever “town hall”
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.
