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Lifelong friend of Israel and the Jewish people John Plantz is the epitome of humility
By MYRON LOVE In the Torah, the prophet Micah, asks the question: “O man. What does the Lord require of you?” to which the Lord responds: “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
John Plantz tries to live those precepts every day. Though recently retired as the Christian Friends of Israel’s director, the lifelong supporter of Israel and our local Jewish community has been and remains actively involved as a volunteer in several of our institutions, among them Canadian Magen David Adom, Friends of JNF Canada, Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Canadian Friends of Haifa University, Leket Canada, Operation Lifeshield, and the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba. (He and his wife, Irene, were Endowment Book of life singers a few years back.)
I first met John Plantz more than 25 years ago when I joined the board of the old Jewish Public Library; he was the volunteer librarian back then – and he told me his story.
His first encounters with Jews came while he was growing up near the former Jewish farm colony at Camper – about a two hour drive northwest of Winnipeg. “It was one of the Baron Hirsch farm colonies,” he recalled. (Hirsch started several Jewish farm colonies in Western Canada and Argentina in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.) When I was a kid, there were still a lot of Jewish families in the area.”
Post high school Plantz found himself adrift – unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. He worked in construction for a time, tried joining the RCMP (but they weren’t taking on any new recruits at that time) – and contemplated going to university. He also thought about playing professional baseball.
Then he heard about an evangelical bible school – Briercrest College and Seminary – in west central Saskatchewan, and applied for admission. He says that he was initially attracted to the institution because of its sports program. However, he also found himself becoming increasingly interested in the Bible and became a devout Christian. His experience at Briercrest further fostered his passion for Israel.
In 1979, he graduated with a Bachelor of Religious Education and a teaching certificate. In 1983, John married Irene Plett. He recalls that, at the reception, he suddenly leaned over to his new bride and said, “One day, I’m going to Israel.”
From 1978 to1988, he worked as a youth pastor and as a “circuit preacher” in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In 1989 he decided to go back to school, to attend Briercrest Seminary to obtain his Masters of Ministry with studies in archaeology in Israel.
“As I studied the Bible more intently,” he recalls, “one of my professors suggested that if I really wanted to understand the Bible better, I should hear it taught from a Jewish perspective.”
To that end, in 1991, he began attending the Beth Jacob Synagogue in Regina. He went to Shabbat services regularly for a year and became friendly with the rabbi. One day, after Shabbat service, the Rabbi asked him if he was Jewish because he had a Jewish friend with the same last name.
“My plans to visit Israel were already in the works,” he says, “and so I tucked this away as something I should pursue while there.”
In Israel that first time – the first of many visits to Israel – 28 at last count – he took archaeology courses at the Hebrew University and went on some digs. He also looked into his surname and found that it was a Hungarian Jewish name.
When he returned to Canada, he asked his grandfather, Ralph Plantz, whether he was, in fact, Jewish, his grandfather acknowledged that he did have Jewish ancestry. When John asked why his grandfather had never mentioned it before, the response was that no one asked.
“My ‘zaida’ (which is how John now refers to his late grandfather) always encouraged us to treat Jewish people with respect,” John notes.
While still a devoted Christian, he says that he does consider himself Jewish.
After coming back from Israel that first time John began volunteering with Christian Friends of Israel. He also began volunteering at the old Jewish Public Library.
“I loved being at the library,” he reminisces. “I had studied both Hebrew and Yiddish so I could work comfortably with the collection.”
He speaks fondly about some of the regulars who visited the library. “I learned a lot from them,” he says.
He remembers the late Noach Witman in particular. “Noach was one of the kindest men I have ever known,” he says.
(Witman was the founder and long time host of the Jewish radio hour Sunday afternoons – which is still on the air every Sunday from 1:30 to 2:30 on CHJS radio 810 on the am dial.)
During that time, Plantz began to attend north Winnipeg synagogues on Shabbat and volunteer for a number of Winnipeg-based Israel fundraising organizations.
In 2018, he assumed the role of Manitoba Director of Christian Friends of Israel, a position he just retired from at the end of August. He declares however, that he will continue to work on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people as long as he is able.
He is proud to report that his seven children all share his and Irene’s passion for the Children of Israel and all helped out at the Jewish Public Library. “All five of my sons took Yiddish lessons and one of my daughters studied Hebrew,” he says.
Plantz quotes the Prophet Jeremiah as declaring that – to paraphrase – as long as the sun, the moon and the stars are in the sky, “the seed of Israel shall not cease from being a nation before me”.
“And so must be our love for the Jewish People and Israel,” Plantz concludes.
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First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students
By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard. Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging.
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty. “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”
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Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition
By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”
