Connect with us

Local News

Lifesaving Israeli training coming to Winnipeg

Magen David Adom paramedic Don Sharpe will be offering training for emergencies on Feb. 5 at the Rady JCC

By REBECA KUROPATWA

In 2016, when Magen David Adom (MDA) introduced the Life Guardian Program, thousands of Israelis with no medical training jumped at the opportunity to participate.
The Life Guardian Program added another layer of responders to emergencies to potentially save more lives with faster response time, by certifying or recertifying everyday Israeli citizens. Many participants had learned CPR as part of their army service or teacher certification, and others took first-aid basics for the first time.

 

 

 

When an emergency call is taken at the MDA dispatch centre, the computer system locates and contacts the closest Life Guardians and asks them to help save the life of a person in their close proximity, while also dispatching the closest medic or paramedic.
With an eye on the rise in anti-Semitic attacks in North America, Canadian Magen David Adom (CMDA) has come out with a training program that aims to give everyday people the know-how to help if they are in proximity to the site of a mass casualty incident.

The training is designed for anyone, no matter how much or how little medical training they possess, to give people the most basic tools to help save lives. It is called “The First 7 Minutes” and will soon be making its debut in Winnipeg.
The first training session is scheduled to take place on Feb 5th at 7 pm in the Rady JCC’s MPR (multipurpose room) and is being presented by CMDA and the Rady JCC. The special guest speaker will be MDA paramedic Don Sharpe, from Calgary who will train attendees and award certificates of training completion.
Sharpe has been a paramedic in Calgary for nearly 40 years. Four years ago, he had the fortune of training with MDA in Israel along with a group of other Canadian doctors.
“I’ve seen first-hand how an ambulance service should be run, and I think there are a lot of lessons there for us here in Canada – not just the actual frontline ambulance portion, but also for integration with hospital service, air service, and the Life Guardian Program,” said Sharpe.
“I tried several times to get that off the ground here, unsuccessfully, because, I think the community and cultural cohesion that seems to exist in Israel – we don’t have here.”
Sharpe grew up in the Jewish community of south west Calgary, though he is a Mormon by faith.
“As I grew older and started to watch what was happening with the rise of anti-Semitism and the violence against Jewish people and the State of Israel, I came to believe that Jews were precious,” said Sharpe.
“I wanted to work with a group that supported, not just the Jewish people, but also the State of Israel. So, when the opportunity came up…when I saw a presentation of a couple of doctors who had gone to Israel and worked with MDA, and they said they’d learned how to treat people on a moving ambulance…I was like, ‘Well, I can do that!’ They learned how to help people out in the field…and, I said, ‘I can do that!’”

Sharpe was especially impressed with MDA’s dispatch centre, which not only takes calls, but also provides lifesaving guidance over the phone until help arrives.
“We have so many people here now that, when an emergency occurs, they don’t know what to do,” said Sharpe. “The time I spent in MDA’s dispatch was really eye opening.
“When I first started in Canada, people would call 911 and we’d basically just take the call, start the ambulance, and hang up the phone.
“But, MDA’s idea that we can help people before the ambulance arrives is just brilliant. It makes such a huge difference.
“And now, to be able to teach groups of people, through “the First 7 Minutes” training, is perfect…groups of lay people on how to help a large number of people, casualties…in situations where everyone’s panicking. With just a little bit of training and some right thinking…there is now the idea that you aren’t powerless, that you can do something, you can cope. That little bit of training makes so much difference.”

Through “the First 7 Minutes” training, the first thing you will learn about is how to wrap your head around the possibility that you might be in a situation where 10 or 15 people are suddenly hurt and in need of help. The training will begin with a brief talk in order to best focus as much time as possible on practicing simulated mass casualty events.
“We start with something like a wall collapse, something without a bad guy, something that’s an accident rather than patients or blood,” said Sharpe. “This patient has a broken arm, this person’s unconscious, this person is bleeding from an abdominal wound…we go through determining who is in charge, how we know that person is in charge, where that person should stand and what s/he should do…what everyone else should do…and we also want to be alert for those people who are so freaked out by this that they don’t want to help at all.
“For those people, who might say they don’t like blood, I say, ‘Listen, there’s an important job for you. We need you to keep the people who aren’t hurt calm and look after them.’ I go, ‘Can you do that?’ And they say, ‘Oh yeah, I can do that.’”

The second simulated scenario might include an assailant. The third simulation will depend on the attendees and Sharpe’s observations on what should be further practiced.
“By the end of the training, you will walk away with some very basic understanding of how to work together as a team,” said Sharpe. “No matter who’s there, everybody can help a little bit. And, you know, if a situation ever truly arises where we have a large number of people hurt, you will remember the basics.
“You may not be good at it. Nobody ever gets good at it unless you spend the time I do treating patients, but you’ll be comfortable enough to say, ‘We can handle this and help people. We can take care of ourselves.’”
At the end, participants will receive a certificate. “I love the idea that people have to pay $10 for the training, because sometimes, when people just wander in and out and it’s free, they aren’t really paying attention,” said Sharpe. “Now that they paid, they’ll want to get their money’s worth, so they’ll have a real commitment to being there and learning this.
“I think communities need to learn to work together and to depend on themselves. And, it’s not only a good way to save lives in an emergency. It’s also a way to simply teach people to work together, so that, when they look at each other, they know they can depend on each other in an emergency. They’re well trained.”

CMDA and Sharpe are bringing the training to schools, synagogues, churches, and more.
While the topic is serious, you can expect Sharpe to include some humour along the way. “It can be a good time,” he said. “We have fun. People will walk away thinking, ‘I thought this was going to be pretty hard, but it was kind of fun.’”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Local News

New young (and not so young) talent added to list of Jewish high achievers at most recent Winnipeg Music Festival

Shani Groisman - winner PIANO SOLO, LATE ROMANTIC COMPOSERS, GRADE/LEVEL 10 category

By MYRON LOVE The most recent (107th annual) Winnipeg Music Festival – which takes place annually in March  – produced another group of Jewish musical stars – including several who were new to the competition.  Joining repeat high achievers – such as Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout, Gregory Hyman, Alex Schaeffer, Juliet Eskin and Noah Kravetsky – this year the winner’s circle also included: Lyla Chisick, Lotan Berenstein, Benji Greenberg and Shani Groisman..
While the overwhelming majority of the music festival entrants are pre-teens and teenagers, Greenberg, who is 38, and Groisman  – who recently celebrated her  20th birthday – are exceptions to that pattern.
Shani, who finished first in the PIANO SOLO, LATE ROMANTIC COMPOSERS, GRADE/LEVEL 10 category – is an accomplished pianist, singer, and music teacher, who has participated in numerous international and local festivals and piano competitions.  As a teacher, she teaches students ranging from beginners to Level 5.
The daughter of Marina and Boris Groisman arrived in Winnipeg from Israel 10 years ago.  Shani says that she began taking piano lessons when she was 5. 
“This competition was something new for me,” observes the Grant Park High School graduate. . “I entered for the challenge. David Moroz, my teacher at the (University of Manitoba’s) Desautels School of Music was very supportive.  I am looking forward to next year’s festival.”

Benji Greenberg

Benji Greenberg reports that it was her singing teacher, Geneva Halverson, who encouraged her to enter the competition,  A lawyer by training, who currently works as a children’s advocate for Manitoba Advocate for children and youth, Benji notes that while she has always enjoyed singing and has appeared over the years in musical productions in high school and shows staged by the Manitoba Bar Association, it was  only about a year ago that she decided to take singing lessons “to learn to sing properly”.
The daughter of Debbie and Harley Greenberg, Benji competed in two categories – Musical Theatre 1965 to 2000, and Musical Theatre pre-1965 – for singers 16 and over. In both categories, she was runner-up to Yale Rayburn Vander Hout, a veteran of  four years now in the competition.
“I loved being on stage,” Benji says. “I am looking forward to the next year’s competition.”

Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout

Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout continues to build on his accomplishments at the yearly festival.  Last year, his third year in the competition, the 18-year-old son of Samantha and Peter was awarded the prestigious Gilbert and Sullivan Society Trophy – awarded for the most outstanding performance in a competition of winners of Gilbert & Sullivan classes.
A former Gray Academy student, he graduated from the University of Winnipeg Collegiate, and is currently in his first year at the Desautels Faculty of Music, where he is studying under the guidance df Donna Fletcher, the co-founder of Dry Cold Productions.
Yale – who has already graced our local stages, notes that he is hoping to pursue a career in musical theatre.

Gregory  Hyman is a multi-faceted artist who can do it all. The 17-year-old son of Hartley and Rishona Hyman is a singer/songwriter/musician (guitar) who records and performs under the stage name, GMH. His versatility shone through once again in his seventh Music Festival, in which he registered three first-place finishes  – once for guitar (20th and 21st century composers), and twice for vocals (popular and contemporary music and TV and movie music).
The St. John’s-Ravenscourt student has been busy on stage the past  couple of months – headlining his own show at Sidestage on Osborne on March 2 and opening for musician/singer/’songwriter Goody Grace at the Park Theatre on March 16. His next solo performance was scheduled for the Rec Room on Friday, May 9.
Gregory has put out three albums – which readers can check out on any of the music streaming platforms as well as his own Instagram page (thegmh).  He also continues to host his own podcast – “Talk and Rock with GMH”- now in its fifth season – in which he interviews various people in the music business across Canada.

Alex Schaeffer

Fifteen-year-old Alex Schaeffer registered one first place finish this year in the Canadian musicals 16 and under category.  For the son   of Marc Schaeffer and Kae Sasake, this was his  fourth year competing in the festival
Both Alex and his older sister, Hannah  (both Grant Park students), continue their nascent careers on stage. Alex made his big stage debut last year as one of the Von Trapp children in MTC’s production of  “The Sound of Music” – followed by an appearance in the  Manitoba Opera production of Carmen as a member of the children’s chorus.
Both Hannah and Alex recently performed in Grant Park High School’s production of A Chorus Line (Hannah played Cassie, and Alex played Paul), and Meraki Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night (Hannah played Malvolio, Alex played Antonio).
 
This summer Hannah and Alex will be performing in three different shows with Meraki Theatre and Rem Lezar Theatre at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. 
 
 In the fall. Hannah will be off to to Oakville. Ontario to attend Sheridan College where she will be studying Musical Theatre Performance.

Juliet Eskin


 
Juliet Eskin, 15, also stood out. In this  her fourth go-round at the festival, the daughter of the musically talented Kelly Robinon and Josh Eskin took home  three golds  in: the  viola solo, level 7 categories; Romantic composer, Baroque  and Concerto; and was recommended by the adjudicator to compete for the Swedish Musical Club Trophy.
Juliet originally took up violin – adding the viola a couple of  years ago.  Outside of the music festival, she is the violist in the Assiniboine String Quartet and just finished performing in Evil Dead the Musical at MTYP, as well as singing the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line.

Nate Kravestsky

Rounding out this year’s returning Jewish WMF star was pianist Nate Kravetsky. playing piano. 
Twelve-year-old Nate and older brother Noah, 15, the sons of  Dr. Azriel Kravetsky and Dr. Carrie Palatnick,  both attend Gray Academy  – and have been taking piano lessons from Erica Schultz since they were five years old.  Last year, Nate won gold in three classes: Baroque, Sonatina and Canadian Composer. In this year’s music festival,  he completed in two classes: sonatina and own choice. He won gold in both classes.
His favourite thing about learning piano, Nate says, is getting to express himself and play a contemporary piece from a movie or video game when the festival is over.

This year’s music festival was the first for 11-year-old songstress Lyla Chisick – and the daughter of Daniel and Baillee Chisick acquitted herself quite well. She competed in five categories and achieved gold in three: solo performances in Own Choice; Musicals, 2965 to 1999; and 20th and 21st century English Art Song.
Lyla reports that she began taking voice lessons from Jessica Kos-Whicher abougt 18 months ago.  “I really love singing,” she says. “It is a great activity. 
 “I am looking forward to next year’s festival.”
Lyla, Gregory and Yale were also recommend for the Provincials which will be held the weekend of May 24-26. Yale was recommended in the musical theatre category, while Gregory and Lyla were recommended in the TV and Movie category. Gregory was also recommended in the Popular Contemporary category, while Lyla was further recommended in the Vocal Primary category.

We look forward to the continued musical success off Yale, Gregory, Shani, Benji, Alex, Nate, Juliet and Lyla  and what new talent may be unveiled at next year’s Winnipeg Music festival.

Continue Reading

Local News

Belle Jarniewski recognized by Manitoba Legislature for leadership in combatting antisemitism and raising awareness of the Holocaust

By MYRON LOVE This year’s community commemoration of Yom Hashoah  began on Erev Yom Hashoah – April 23 – with with the Megillat Hashoah interfaith reading of the Holocaust Scroll at Congregation Shaarey Zedek the night before.
Yom Hashoah, Thursday, April 24, began, as usual, in the morning with  B’nai Brith’s “Unto Everyone There is a Name” – at the Legislature – during which members of our community – including a group of Grade 11 students from Gray Academy – and leaders of the greater community took turns reading out the names of relatives of local Holocaust survivors.
Gray Academy Grade 11 and 12 students also participated in the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s annual public commemorative service over the noon hour – also inside the Legislative Building – with students Alex Stoller and Aaron Greaves leading the 200 or so attendees in  singing our national anthem and Hatikvah. Later in the program, they also performed “April Wind.”
Political leaders representing the three levels of Government and Jewish Federation leaders  paid their respects leading to the service’s climax – the candle lighting. The ceremony was introduced by Belle Jarniewski, the executive director of the Jewish Heritage Society of Western Canada– with local survivors Saul and Rachel Fink, Susan Garfield, Faye Hoch, Edith Kimelman and Nehama Reuter participating.
The service ended with the traditional El Malei Rachamim prayer (recited by Congegaton Etz Chayim Chazan Tracy Kasner) and Kaddish, led by Rabbi Yossi Benarroch of Adas Yeshurun Herzlia.

This year’s Yom Hashoah commemoration concluded with a special honour for Belle Jarniewski who, later in the afternoon, was publicly recognized in the Legislature for her leadership in Holocaust awareness and the ongoing fight against antisemitism.
In recommending her for special recognition in the Legislature, Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton noted how Jarniewski’s upbringing as the daughter of Holocaust survivors instilled in her a passion for tikkun olam and spurred her to dedicate her life to teach people of all ages about the Holocaust and other genocides.
“Through her work as executive director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada,” Compton noted, “Belle brings education about the Holocaust to thousands of students, teachers, administrators and professional groups each year.  She has partnered with Manitoba Education and Training numerous times. She is also a writer who has been published in numerous Canadian, Israeli and European newspapers.”
Compton cited, in particular, Jarniewski’s 2010 book, “Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors,” which documents the histories of 73 local survivors before, during and after the Shoah and can be found in the libraries of every secondary school in Manitoba and in university and national libraries in several countries.

“At a time when antisemitism is on the rise, we must do whatever we can to combat it,” Compton stated. “Belle is doing this great work every day. Today, on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, I cannot think of a better person to celebrate and honour.”
In response to this most recent honour, Jarniewski stated that she “feels tremendously humbled and honoured by Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton’s Member Statement in the Legislature about me. Carla has been a true friend, supporter, and ally to our community.”
She added that she met Compton when the latter was running for office about a year ago in the byelection to replace the former MLA from Tuxedo and former premier, Heather Stefanson.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to honour the memory of my parents and that of the many members of my family who were murdered in the Shoah – through my work. I’m sure my mom (Sylvia) and dad (Samuel) would never have  imagined that our provincial government would one day rise to  honour their daughter for working to combat antisemitism and remembering the Holocaust.” 
As mentioned earlier, this was the most recent of several awards that Jarniewski has received over the past few months.  Last month, she was one of several Jewish Winnipeggers who received a King Charles III Coronation medal.  Hers was presented by the Manitoba Government.
Last September, our Jewish Federation – at the annual Shem Tov Awards evening – bestowed on her the Larry Hurtig Communal Professional Award in recognition of her outsized leadership role in Winnipeg, nationally and internationally, in preserving the memory of the Holocaust and fighting antisemitism.
 “About 15 years ago,” she recalled at that time, “Joe Riesenbach, a survivor, reached out to me to help move a project forward that had literally been collecting dust. Before I knew it, I was a member of the Holocaust Education committee and was then named to  the federally appointed delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), as a member of the Academic Working Group, the Education Working Group and the Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial. The committee elaborated the first intergovernmental definition of anti-Semitism, adopted by consensus at the 2016 IHRA plenary. “

Through her work on Holocaust preservation and education, she was introduced to the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada. She was appointed the JHCWC’s executive director in 2018.
“The Jewish Heritage Centre is the key to our past and our future,” she noted.  Exploring our archive is like walking back in time. It’s a treasure trove reflecting the incredible history and diversity of our wonderful Jewish community stretching back 125 years- the challenges and the many triumphs that have shaped who we are today. As the saying goes, you need to know the past to understand the present.
 “The Winnipeg I grew up in was a golden age for Jews-a tapestry of multiculturalism with shared values,” she continued.  “We thought that the kind of antisemitism earlier generations had faced was gone forever. While we may not be able to bring back the wonder years, we must stand united as a community and be strong in our convictions.”
Jarniewski is particularly pleased with the recent announcement, made by our provincial government on Yom Hashoah, reiterating its new partnership with the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada to put into place Premier Wab Kinew’s earlier promise to create and roll out a Holocaust education curriculum in Manitoba schools.  
In an April 24 press release, Kinew said that “we are one Manitoba that cannot be divided by hatred. Now, more than ever, we must honour the diversity and inclusivity in our province and commit to learning the lessons of history so that they cannot be repeated. Learning lessons from the past protects some of the intrinsic values of our province – diversity, inclusion and human rights. The best way to uphold that basic understanding is to help foster these values in our young people.” 

Beginning in the fall, the grades 6, 9 and 11, social studies curriculum will be updated to include mandatory Holocaust education in all schools across the province. 
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada has been tasked to develop new curriculum guidance on Holocaust education, including implementation tools, supports and resources.
“Recent surveys have demonstrated that most Canadian students know very little about the Holocaust,” said Jarniewski. “With increased hate-fueled violence and incidents of antisemitism, Holocaust education is a key tool for countering prejudice and cultivating inclusion. We at the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada are tremendously grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Manitoba government in strengthening Holocaust education in Manitoba through the creation of a mandated curriculum. We know that Holocaust education encourages critical thinking and reflection on how individuals could or should act in society and provides important lessons from the past to learn for the present and the future.”

Continue Reading

Local News

This man – Michael Kalo – has been defaming prominent Winnipeggers online for years, but now he’s getting a taste of his own medicine

By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted May 3, updated May 8, updated May 11) There’s a particularly ugly side that often comes with being in the public eye – and that’s being on the receiving end of some of the most vile and awful comments, often threats – sometimes on social media, sometimes in emails, and sometimes on websites.

For years now many prominent Winnipeggers (almost all of them Jewish) have had to endure just that kind of vicious attack from someone by the name of Michael Kalo. But how do you fight back against someone who writes some of the most awful things – and then sends them out to various members of the media (including me), all the while hiding behind a series of aliases? There’s no point in suing him for defamation; he’s penniless. (The police have seized his computer in the past and are well aware of him, but the individuals whom he has defamed have always been reluctant to have the Crown press charges, thinking that it will only draw more attention to him – which is what he seems to want.)

But I’m different – and I’ve finally had enough of his crap.

In my original column I had posted the email Kalo had sent out to a great many individuals in which he defamed Jacob Brodovsky, who was forced to resign as co-executive director of BB Camp after a website called the j.ca launched a series of attacks on Jacob over his perceived “anti-Zionist” attitudes. I suppose these days who defines “Zionist” is a decision made by certain individuals who reserve for themselves the right to define what support for Israel means. I guess all those hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have been marching on the streets protesting Netanyahu’s deliberate strategy of letting the remaining hostages linger in tunnels in Gaza – however many may still be alive) are also “anti-Zionist.”

Anyway, I’ve now removed that vile email. If anyone still wants to see it, email me at jewishp@mymts.net and I’ll send it to you.

Something else I’ve now removed from this article is my referring to Michael Kalo’s very accomplished daughters. My intention was to attempt to induce them to use their influence to sway their father to stay off the internet and stop defaming members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community. But then I received an email from a prominent member of our community who asked me to remove my references to Michael Kalo’s daughters. That person wrote, in part: ‘His daughters don’t have anything to do with him. They don’t talk to him.”

Well, if his daughters don’t want anything to do with him, then I suppose there’s no point in retaining what I had written about them – so that’s gone too.

What’s left now though is a video of Michael Kalo that gives anyone who has never heard of him – or seen him in pubic, a clear idea of what type of person he is.

The video that was sent to me shows Kalo engaging in an argument with someone (and the identity of that person was not revealed to me by the person who sent me the video.) In it you can hear Michael explain why he’s consistently called Ben Carr a “kike”, “a spoiled Jew boy,” along with some other choice epithets. (Kalo has sent out numerous emails defaming Ben Carr using the name “Mohammed Greenberg” as the sender.)

But, I did respond to Kalo, whom I’ve know for many years, starting with when he achieved notoriety by being banned from entering the Asper Campus over 30 years ago. Here’ what I wrote to him:

“You know what I’m going to do Michael. I’m going to print your letter on my website – but I’m going to say that it was sent by someone named Michael Kalo, who has been defaming various Winnipeg Jews for years. That way it will have the opposite effect of what you’re intending. I’m also going to post the video in which you call Ben Carr (and the person filming the video) a kike. And if you want to come after me the way you’ve been going after anyone and everyone who provokes your ire, go right ahead. (You seem to have a real hate on for successful Winnipeg Jews. Is it because you’re such a failure in life yourself?) And I’m going to bcc this email to some of the people you’ve been defaming so that they can see how much of a fool you”ve been making of yourself for years.

-“Bernie”
Here’s the video of Michael (who is apparently walking away with a Ben Carr sign tucked under his arm):

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News