Local News
Local MPs nominate additional Jewish community members for King Charles Coronation Medals
A few months back we published a story on this website about several members of the Jewish community who had been awarded King Charles Coronation Medals. That story can be found at King Charles Medals
Since that time it has come to our attention that several other members of our community had also been nominated by local Members of Parliament to receive medals.
Following is an update to that earlier story, which was also written by Myron Love:
The medal, created to mark the coronation of King Charles III, is described in a press release as a “special commemorative honour awarded to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional service and dedication to their communities and Canada through volunteerism, leadership, and acts of courage or commitment, reflecting the values of service and unity upheld by the monarchy. It serves as a lasting symbol of appreciation for their selfless efforts in building a better society”.
At the time, I was working largely from a list of local honorees posted on the Lieutenant-Governor’s webpage. Since then, it has been brought to my attention that other deserving members of our Jewish community have also been awarded the medals. It seems that it was not only the Lieutenant-Governor’s office which submitted a list of prospective honorees, It seems that every Member of Parliament was also encouraged to nominate honorees among their constituents.
Thus, local MPS Ben Carr and Marty Morantz –subsequent to the Lieutenant-Governor’s medal presentations – have released their own slates of medal recipients. Among the new Jewish honorees are two Jewish Federation of Winnipeg leaders – one fairly recently retired and a second who is still actively involved, a retired judge, a musician who has played a leading role in Winnipeg folk music circles, a pioneering veterinarian and a long time advocate for the disabled.
Jessica Cogan was actually presented with her medal (along with Einat Paz who appeared in the original story) – in mid-November in Marty Morantz’ constituency office. Cogan has been volunteering with the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg in numerous capacities for decades. Currently she is the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s Second Vice-President, a member of the board of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and a member of the advisory/organizing team for the Holocaust Memorial Sites Study Tour for Educators. She is a Past President of the Jewish National Fund (Manitoba-Saskatchewan branch) and National JNF board member, as well as a former Folklorama adult ambassador for Shalom Square.
In the wider community, she has served as a director of the Women’s Health Clinic Board and co-chaired their capital campaign.
Elaine Goldstine admits to being “quite surprised” to have been nominated through Ben Carr’s office for the King Charles Award. Like Jessica Cogan, Goldstine has devoted most of her adult life first as a volunteer for the Federation and, over the past 20 years, as a senior member of our community’s “civil service”.
But her volunteer efforts go back even further. As noted in an earlier issue of the Post – in an interview with her two years ago – just prior to her retirement as the Federation’s CEO, as a teen, she was active in USY and was President of the Gabriels Chapter of BBYO. In 1979 she became involved with National Council of Jewish Women, and served as President of the Sarah Branch, President of the NCJW Winnipeg section, and as the organization’s National Treasurer and Vice President. She had also served on the PTA of Ramah Hebrew School, the Business and Professional Development Committee of Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University, and on the Board of the Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood.
She began volunteering with Federation after her two sons reached school age. She started as a volunteer with the CJA’s Women’s Philanthropy Division. After a short time, she was offered a job with the campaign. Eventually, she was hired to become the campaign division chair. She assumed the reins of the CJA campaign in 2004 after her predecessor, Gerry Koffman, passed away at a relatively young age.
In 2015, after the retirement of long time Federation CEO Bob Freedman – and a successor who left after a year – Elaine was tapped to become the new CEO.
Looking back over the course of her career serving our community, she feels a sense of satisfaction for a job well done – and gratitude for having had the opportunity.
Madame Justice Freda Steel also notes that she was “surprised and humbled” to have been nominated to receive the medal which, she reports, was presented to her at Ben Carr’s office – along with some of the MP’s other nominees – on Monday, March 3. “I do not know who nominated me for the medal,” she says. “I just got a letter from Ben Carr’s office telling me I was a recipient of the medal and that the medal was for community service.“
As with Goldstine and Cogan, Steel has a long history of leadership in our Jewish community. She has been a board member and/or held leadership positions with the Federation, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, the Rady Centre, the Asper Jewish Community Campus and the Winnipeg Board of Jewish Education.
In her professional life, she has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Manitoba and a Masters of Law from Harvard. For much of her career, she was a Professor of Law – first in Ottawa, then at her alma mater. She was appointed to the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench in 1995 and to the Court of Appeal in 2000. She stepped down from the court last year, but remains active as an arbitrator and mediator.
“My parents taught me that it was important to give back to your community and I have always tried to live up to the values that they inspired in all of us,” she says.
“I was honoured to be included along with so many accomplished individuals,” says Karen Dana, who was also one of Ben Carr’s nominees.
The daughter of Nate and Phyllis Dana was recognized for her lifelong contributions to the music scene in Winnipeg. A social worker by profession, Dana’s avocation has been folk music, primarily as a member of the organizing committee of the annual internationally-known Winnipeg Folk Festival. She began volunteering at the festival early on, serving for many years as backstage kitchen co-ordinator. As well, 30 years ago, she established an apprentice program for the festival, aimed at bringing in younger volunteers.
For veterinarian Dr. Jonas Watson, receiving the King Charles III Coronation Medal was “a tremendous honour”. he award, he notes, as presented to him in recognition for his leadership locally, nationally and internationally in animal health and welfare.
In a profile I wrote about Watson for this newspaper six years ago, the owner of Grant Park Animal Hospital in the rant Park Festival Centre on Taylor Avenue spoke about what he referred to as his philanthropic outreach was inspired, he recalled, by his participation in a spay-neuter clinic in the northern Saskatchewan community of Île-à-la-Crosse during his university studies where he saw first-hand the critical need for veterinary services in remote communities.
Among the initiatives he has led over the past few years are regular “0ne health” clinics up combining veterinarians and other healthcare professionals in neighbourhoods that have a disproportionately large number of vulnerably-housed or homeless people – providing vaccinations and deworming for their pets and dental care, flu shots and other services for the pet owners.
As well, he and his team regularly visit isolated parts of northern Manitoba and Nunavut to spay and neuter the dogs in these communities. And , farther afield, he has been recruited to provide his spay and neuter services to underserviced communities in Mexico and villages bordering national parks in the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar– to alleviate the dogs’ impact on endangered species – specifically lemurs,”
The graduate of the Hebrew bilingual program at Sir William Osler (now at Brock Corydon) elementary School points out that “an entire section of Jewish law- the concept of “tsa’ar ba’alei hayim”- prescribes that all animals be treated with compassion, and spared any suffering”.
”This notion has been the driving force behind everything I’ve done professionally over the last 25 years,” he says. “It is in fact the reason I pursued a career in veterinary medicine in the first place. And so, to be awarded this medal for what has been my life’s work is truly humbling. The fact that this work is being highlighted now is, I hope, a promising sign for the animals themselves.”
Among the most recent members of our community to have been awarded the Coronation medal is Dan Saidman, the Gwen Secter’s popular program director.
“I was really surprised,” says Saidman, who was presented with the award this past Saturday by Raquel Dancho, the Member of Parliament for Kildonan-St. Paul.
The honoree notes that he has been recognized for his work at the Gwen Sercter Centre over the past seven years. Previous to coming to the north Winnipeg seniors’ centre, he had served as director of BBYO for a time – followed by programming stints at the Waverley Retirement Home and the Heritage Lodge personal care home.
Saidman describes his time working at the Gwen Secter as the best job he has ever had. “It is a nice working environment and the staff and membership have been great,” he says.
A particularly notable honoree was the recently deceased Shawna (Shoshana) Forester Smith. I only learned about Smith – and her membership in our Jewish community when I was contacted by her husband, Brent, after my original report “Jewish Coronation medal recipients” was published int this paper in early January.
Some readers may be familiar with Smith’s name from the regular column she wrote for the Free Press in her role as an advocate for hospitalized patients like herself in long term care.
Shoshana and Brent became part of the Temple Shalom family about 15 years ago. “It was important to Shawna to explore her spirituality and find the right home and community for that aspect of her life and she found those things with Temple Shalom,” Brent recalls.
“I first met Shawna when I subbed for Rabbi Karen in the Intro to Judaism class at Temple Shalom in 2011,” he says. Longtime Temple Shalom president Ruth Livinston recalled standing beside Smith’s bedside at the Deer Lodge Hospital on the occasion of Smith receiving the Coronation medal . “We had a good connection right from the start. Besides attending services, Shawna came to study watercolour and the read Hebrew program with me, she painted a couple of kippahs and even came to a challah baking class. I had the honour of sitting on her Beit Din and helped her prepare for her Bat Mitzvah. She was a member of Temple Shalom’s Board of Trustees and managed our social media presence.
“When she decided to live at Riverview, she changed our weekly visits to include a watercolour class which she shared with her ward…that went on until Covid. We continued to meet weekly after Covid, including after her move here, to Deer Lodge. I treasure my visits with her – she had become family to me.”
In accepting the medal, Smith recounted her career in management for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority until she became ill in her late 20s and had to go on permanent disability. Once she became a chronic care patient in the care of the health system, she used her public relations and healthcare background to advocate on behalf of patients with some success in bringing about positive change.
Sadly, Shoshana Smith passed away just about a month after receiving her Coronation medal. “Shawna is the bravest person I have ever met,” Livingston says. “In spite of ever increasing disability and agonizing pain, she made the decision to live to the best of her ability, to keep fighting for what she needs as well as for others.
“For one little woman with so many challenges, Shawna made an enormous and important impact on our community and beyond. I am thankful and delighted that she was honoured with the King Charles Coronation medal for her work in advocacy.”
Local News
From Broadway to Berney: Winnipeg Jewish Theatre Opens Season with Razor-Sharp Thriller
By MARTIN ZEILIG The Winnipeg Jewish Theatre (WJT) launches its 2025–26 season with a bold and timely production: JOB The Play, a psychological thriller that probes the fragile boundaries between truth, technology, and identity.
Written by Jewish American playwright Max Wolf Friedlich, the play arrives in Winnipeg fresh off its Broadway run, bringing with it a reputation for intellectual grit and emotional intensity.
Running from September 11 to 21 at the Berney Theatre, JOB is a two-hander that unfolds in the aftermath of a viral workplace incident. Jane, a high-strung tech employee, f inds herself on mandatory leave. Her return hinges on therapy sessions with Loyd, a calm but enigmatic practitioner who suspects her job may be more harmful than helpful. What follows is a taut, 80-minute battle of wits and wills—no intermission, no easy answers.
For WJT Artistic Director Dan Petrenko, the decision to open the season with JOB was immediate and instinctive.
“I came across this play as it was finishing its Broadway run, and I was immediately struck by how of-the-moment it feels,” Petrenko said. He and the play’s director, Jack Grinhaus, agreed to an email interview.
“It’s a play about work, technology, and the way we always question truth in this hyper-connected world,” Petrenko continued. “As a Jewish theatre, we are always looking for plays that ask big moral and ethical questions, and JOB does exactly that. It’s sharp, unsettling, and even funny at times.”
The production stars Jada Rifkin and Dov Mickelson, two actors Petrenko describes as “incredible talents.” Mickelson, originally from Edmonton and now based in Toronto, was last seen on a Winnipeg stage in Royal MTC’s Indecent. Rifkin, also Toronto-based, recently performed in The Thanksgiving Play at Mirvish Productions.
“JOB is a two-hander, so the entire play rests on their performances,” Petrenko noted.
“Both bring immense precision and depth to these roles. After seeing them in rehearsal this week, I can already tell this is going to be an electrifying performance.”
Grinhaus is Artistic Director of Calgary’s Vertigo Theatre— Canada’s national theatre of mystery and intrigue. He is no stranger to Winnipeg, having directed a show for Prairie Theatre Exchange just five months ago.
“Feels like I didn’t actually leave,” he joked. “Winnipeg has an incredible theatre community and audience base. It’s an honour and pleasure to be here.”
Grinhaus was immediately drawn to the play’s complexity.
“I was amazed at how both intellectual and visceral the piece was,” he wrote. engagement and offers poetry and honesty without being instructive. It lays out its argument for audiences to puzzle over, asking the questions but leaving the answers for each viewer to determine.”
The emotional and psychological journey of the characters is central to the production’s impact.
“I saw this as a battle for truth between two very opposing perspectives, positions, and generations,” Grinhaus explained. “There’s not one line in it where the characters can agree on a single ‘right’ Jack Grinhaus, Director JOB answer. They are often as right as the moral and ethical positions the audiences bring with them.”
Grinhaus hopes audiences leave the theatre questioning their own relationship with the digital world.
“The digital sphere is a double edged sword,” he said. “The promise of it being a place where the world is united and connected has, somehow, also created one where we are more divided and isolated. The long-term implications of this tech life are still to be figured out.”
Petrenko sees JOB as more than just a provocative opener—it’s a signal of what’s to come.
“There are so many things to be excited about in our upcoming season,” he said. “Beyond JOB, we’re bringing you a range of productions and theatrical events that celebrate Jewish stories while opening doors to broader conversations with the community at large.”
Highlights include a staged reading this fall of local playwright Alex Poch-Goldin’s comedy-drama The Right Road to Pontypool, and the Canadian premiere of Ride The Musical in April 2026. The latter tells the story of Annie Londonderry, the first woman to travel around the world on a bicycle—a Jewish icon whose adventures captivated audiences in London’s West End and San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre.
“I am so thrilled to be bringing this story to our stage,” Petrenko said.
The season will conclude in May 2026 with another family musical rooted in Jewish storytelling—details to be announced soon.
“The best way to get in on all the fun this year is to subscribe to our season,” Petrenko added, noting that special promotion packages are available until September 21.
For Grinhaus, JOB is more than a play—it’s a mirror.
“This is a very theatrical piece of theatre,” he said. “It’s pure theatre, highly engaging and entertaining while also challenging our own views on modern society. Our hope is that audiences are drawn deep into this world and, only once it is done, begin the conversation the story and its themes bring up.”
With JOB, the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre sets the tone for a season of bold storytelling, ethical inquiry, and cultural resonance. From Broadway to Berney, this is theatre that doesn’t just entertain—it interrogates and enlightens.
Local News
New Jewish Heritage centre archivist has travelled an eclectic path
By MYRON LOVE The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada’s new archivist has come to her position from Rosser, Manitoba, by way of Israel.
Ava Garfinkel – the daughter of Harvey and Lee Garfinkel (and granddaughter of the late Irv and Shirley Garfinkel) – grew up on the family cattle farm just outside Winnipeg. “My family also raises horses and chickens,” she says. “I had a pony when I was little. I did my share of chores growing up.”
After attending rural schools in Rosser and Warren, Garfinkel moved on to the University of Manitoba, where she earned a B.A. in Art History. Her life journey then led he to Israel and Tel Aviv University, where she earned a Masters Degree in Archaeology.
She reports that she worked two summers on a site called Tel Azekah – an ancient community strategically located roughly half way between Jerusalem and Jaffa.
“Two years ago – in 2023 – Israel experienced its hottest summer in decades,” Garfinkel recalls. “The sun was unbearable. I realized that I preferred the paperwork, the research, and the documentation, rather than the digging.”
While Garfinkel says that she loved Israel – and had a job lined up at Tel Aviv University, fate – in the form of the terrorist attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 – intervened. It happened that she was home visiting her family when the attack occurred.
“I also love my family and my life here,” she says. “I found that I missed my family.”
Garfinkel finished her M.A. studies – with a particular emphasis on textiles in the ancient Levant – back in Winnipeg, and took up her new position at the JHCWC at the beginning of May.
“I am doing what I enjoy – preservation and documentation,” she says. “We are preserving Winnipeg’s – and Western Canada’s, Jewish history. “I am learning so much about our community’s rich history and cultural traditions.
“My colleagues and our volunteers are great. There is a lot to do. I couldn’t be happier.”
Local News
Gail Asper takes on new challenge as co-chair of major Hebrew University fundraising campaign
By MYRON LOVE Over the past 35 years Gail Asper has risen to the top ranks among Canadian philanthropists and as the go-to leader for high-profile fundraising campaigns. In her 30s, she notes, she chaired a successful Manitoba Theatre Centre fundraising campaign. In her 40s she was the youngest chair of our city’s annual United Way campaign. In her 50s she served for two years as chair of our Jewish community’s annual Combined Jewish Appeal. And, I am sure that most readers are aware of her herculean effortsbringing to fruition her father’s vision of a world class human rights museum in Winnipeg.
Now in her 60s, Asper has taken on a lead role in another major fundraising campaign – one of international scope – as co-chair of an upcoming Hebrew University campaign, which is set to launch in October.
“My dad (the late Israel Asper – Gail’s role model) always told me,” she recalls, “that when you are asked to do something, while you can’t guarantee success, you do the best you can.”
This year’s campaign will be a particularly significant one for Israel’s oldest and largest university. This year mark’s the Hebrew University’s 100th anniversary – and the Asper family has played a leading role in the university for almost 50 years.
Gail Asper remembers going to Jerusalem – with her father – and family – when she was in her 20s – when Israel Asper would be attending HU annual Board of Governors meetings. “I met the president of the university,” she recounts. “I got to see what the university was doing and got to know the people on the board. There were board members from all over the world, all accomplished and interesting people.. It was so glamourous.”
In 1989, her father – after more than 20 years on the board – told Gail that he was stepping down to spend more time building the still relatively new Canwest business – and suggested that she should replace him as a board member. Not only did she join the board, she also became one of the founding members of the newly formed Canadian Friends of Hebrew University Business and Professional Division, along with other now prominent community members Howard Morry and Murray Palay.
“I remember being on the phone, back in 1993, holding my baby Jonathan in one arm while going through my phone list selling tickets for our gala,” Asper says. “It was good training for being able to manage looking after my family, work and volunteering later in life.”
It wasn’t long after she joined the Hebrew U board that she moved on to join the board executive,” she notes. “We would have meetings in Israel three or four times a year. Thank goodness now for Zoom. But I really enjoyed meeting with fellow board members as well as university management and faculty.”
Asper says that she was really surprised to be asked to chair the new campaign. “Most of the major HU donors are American,” she explains. “I thought that an American chair would be more appropriate than a Canadian,” she says.
She agreed to take on the role, but insisted on having an American co-chair. The individual she chose is a prominent American trial lawyer from Los Angeles by the name of Patty Glaser.
“I have known Patty for years,” Asper reports. “We met through the Hebrew University. She is very well organized and a terrific fundraiser.”
Asper adds that she would also like to recruit an Israeli philanthropist as a third chair. “There are a lot more wealthy Israelis today,” she observes. “I think it is important to get an Israeli more involved. We identified a few prospects and narrowed it down to a HU alumnus who has been very successful.”
Asper officially takes up her new role in October 2025, coinciding with the investiture of the incoming president, Prof. Tamir Sheafer. “We don’t have many details about the 100th anniversary campaign,” she notes. “The target for the last seven-year campaign – which ended in June – was $1 billion. We co-chairs will have discussion with the new president as to our financial goal and how the funds will be distributed.”
One area that Asper suggests will be a focus of the new campaign will be Jewish philanthropists and foundations who had been supporting American and Canadian universities, but who have been told that since October 7, 2023, their donations are no longer welcome. “Others have pulled their donations because of anti-Jewish activity on campuses,” she points out. “We will be suggesting that their donations will be better spent supporting Israel’s leading universities rather than antisemitic universities in Canada and the US.”
She adds that she will be co-ordinating the Canadian contributions to the campaign with CFHU executive director (and former Winnipeg resident – while he was executive director of the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University here) Rami Kleinmann. “In Canada, we always punch above our weight,” Asper notes.
She does admit to be disappointed that the HU’s 100th anniversary celebrations scheduled for last June had to be cancelled because of the war with Iran. “Anita Wortzman (the Asper Foundation’s executive director) and I were already in Israel,” Asper reports. “I had planned to attend every program on campus, meet the donors and scientists and scholars and learn what they are working on.”
She is looking forward to making up for some of what she missed in June with her upcoming visit to Israel in the fall and the kick-off to the campaign.