Local News
National Christian Zionist organization holds evening of solidarity with Israel, donates $125,000 to Israeli charities
By MYRON LOVE I have known John Plantz for 25 years or so. I first met him in the late 1990s when he was volunteering as a librarian at the old Jewish Public Library on north Main Street. While he is a devout Christian – for as long as I have known him, he is also passionate about supporting Israel and the Jewish People.
Along the way in his life’s journey, John Plantz did learn that his zaida was Jewish – a revelation that further strengthened his identification with the Jewish people.
On the evening of Thursday, November 14, in his long time role as the Friends of Israel Canada Church and Fields Ministries Canada director, Plantz emceed a “Stand With Israel Night”, the highlight of which was the presentation of $25,000 in cheques to five Israel-based charities.
The event, which was held in the Multipurpose room at the Asper Campus, attracted about 100 people – comprising both members of our Jewish community and Christian supporters of Friends of Israel. Plantz noted that the funds were raised over the past few months by FOI supporters across Canada.
The evening began with music by Myron Schultz and his Klezmer Trio.
“On October 7, 2023, the world changed” Plantz observed in his opening remarks, “not just for Israel. I have a lot of Israeli friends. Israelis are stressed out. They are not sure what to do. We at FOI are praying for Israel and also redoubling our efforts to help.”
Plantz then introduced Robert Gottselig, FOI’s Canadian director. Gottselig, who lives in Regina, pointed out that FOI was founded in 1938, fully ten years before the establishment of the Jewish State, in response to the plight of the Jews of Europe.
“At the outset,” Gottselig noted, ”FOI formed a relief committee to raise funds for food, clothing and shelter for Europe’s endangered Jews. We also worked to provide passports for those who wanted to escape.
“Our mission remains constant,” he continued. “Unlike some other Christian groups whose religious philosophy is based on replacement theology (that Christianity supersedes Judaism), we stand in solidarity with our Jewish brethren. After all, the Jews gave Christians both our bible and Jesus.”
Gottselig spoke about how his own passion for Israel developed. He also spoke about FOI’s recent successful efforts, along with Regina’s Jewish community and other national Jewish organizations, to persuade Regina City Council not to raise the Palestinian flag at City Hall.
Following a break for refreshments, John Plantz introduced one by one the recipients of the $250,000 in donations. The first was the Canadian Magen David Adom, Israel’s world leading, largely volunteer, national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service.
Accepting the cheque on behalf of Canadian Magen David Adom Canada was Israeli-born Sharon Fraiman, the Calgary-based CMDA director for western Canada.
“The Magen David Adom’s history reflects the history of Israel,” she commented. “Every dollar CMDA raises counts.”
She noted that CMDA raises money in Canada to buy ambulances, medical equipment, supplies and blood testing kits to support the life saving efforts of MDA in Israel.
The second recipient was the Jewish National Fund. Plantz observed that he himself has been a supporter of the JNF for many years. Speaking on behalf of David Greaves, the JNF’s executive director for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Nola Lazar thanked the FOI and noted how much she appreciated being in a room full of welcoming allies.
The third recipient was an organization that I am not familiar with: Christian Friends of Leket Israel, which raises funds in support of Leket Israel – which has been feeding the hungry in Israel since 2003. In a video appearance, Ray MacDonald, the director of Christian Friends of Leket Israel, expressed his appreciation for FOI”s donation and spoke about the organization’s work on behalf of disadvantaged Israelis.
“We provide about 255,000 Israelis weekly with nutritious food and meals,” he reported. “We supply 330 non-profit partners that deal with poverty.”
He added that, surprising, there is a high level of homelessness in Israel and that 20% of Israeli children go to bed hungry, also that the situation has worsened over the past year due to the war.
MacDonald described Leket Israel as a “food rescue” organization that gathers its food from a variety of sources. “We work with 500 farmers (at least that was the situation before the war) that share their crops with us,” he said. “we also source food from hotel and resorts.”
According to the Leket website, “millions of tons of healthy, fresh food are wasted or destroyed because of excess quantity, minor imperfections, or financial cost.
“Food waste has severe consequences for society, the environment, and the economy. Food rescue addresses these problems by productively using surplus food instead of destroying it. With Leket’s fleet of 27 refrigerated trucks and vans, our staff and volunteers transport thousands of tons of rescued food throughout the country.
“All rescued produce is brought to the logistics center or other cold storage facilities, where it is sorted, stored, and prepared for delivery to one of our 330 nonprofit partners.
“All rescued cooked food is either brought directly from where it was cooked to a recipient nonprofit partner, or brought to one of our regional hubs to be stored overnight and reheated the following morning for timely service of a hot lunch. The food rescued by Leket Israel is distributed to 296 nonprofit organizations, including homeless shelters, soup kitchens, elderly centers, battered women’s centers, community help organizations, and schools for at-risk youth.”
Ariel Karabelnicoff is well known to many in our community. He came to us from Argentina by way of Israel and held a series of high profile positions here – including as the State of Israel Bonds’ point man here, executive director of the local chapter of the Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev – followed by filling the same role for the JNF here. In 2019, he was lured to Toronto by former employer Israel Bonds to serve as national sales director.
About two years ago, Karabelnicoff left Israel Bonds for a new gig as executive director of Canadian Friends of Haifa University. It was in the latter capacity that he thanked FOI for its substantial donation to the university.
“We are honoured to be the recipient of your generous donation,” he said.
In an earlier interview with the Jewish Post, he noted that among the largest universities in Israel, the University of Haifa is the youngest. Fully accredited in 1972, the university has an enrolment of 18,000 students – with a student body that reflects the diversity of Israel’s population. About 40% of the students come from the Druze, Circassian and Arab communities and – among the Jewish students – there are many whose families are from Ethiopia.
The University of Haifa , he adds, also boasts the highest percentage among Israeli universities – of students who are the first generation in their families to attend university.
Among the feathers in the university’s cap is the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences that offers the only graduate program in Israel in that field..
Coming soon for the University of Haifa, Karabelnicoff reported, will be a new school of medicine. “There is a serious doctor shortage in Israel,” he pointed out. “The University of Haifa is proud to lead in the efforts to train medical doctors and to be able to serve and take care of the population in the North of Israel.”
The final recipient of the FOI’s largesse was another organization I am not familiar with: Operation Lifeshield. Operation Lifeshield’s mission is to provide bomb shelters for threatened Israeli communities. Rabbi Shmuel Bowman, Operation Luifeshield’s executive director, was in Winnipeg to accept the FOI cheque.
He reported that the organization was formed 18 years ago by a small group of American olim and Israelis who were visiting the Galilee during the second Lebanon war in 2006 and found themselves under rocket attack – along with thousands of others – with no place to go. Th y decided to take action.
“Our shelter construction design and manufacturing process conform with the strictest guidelines and approval of the Israel Defense Force Home Front command,” Bowman reported. “Several types of shelters are available in order to best protect schools, kindergartens, synagogues, parks, sidewalks, bus shelters and senior centres.”
He noted that Lifeshield’s more than 1,000 shelters have been donated by caring individuals and organizations – both jewish and Christian – from around the world.
He closed his remarks with a “dvar Torah” based on God’s admonition to King David that he “will not fear terror that comes by night or the arrow that flies by day”.
owman wondered aloud how that is something that Hashem can command? “David understood that to mean that he should find a solution that would remove the threat,” the rabbi commented.
This admonition also applies to Israel and Operation Lifeshield’s bomb shelters.
John Plantz concluded the evening with the hope that we can all gather again next year to celebrate other Israeli non-profits that will be benefitting from Christian Friends of Israel’s largesse.
Local News
2026 Winnipeg Limmud to offer a smorgasbord of diverse speakers
By MYRON LOVE There are many facets to the study of Judaism and the Jewish people. The focus may be religious or cultural, historical or Israel-oriented – and Winnipeg’s annual Limmud Festival for Jewish Learning has always striven to cover as many angles as possible.
This year’s Limmud program (now in its 16th year) – scheduled for Sunday, March 15 – is following in that path with a diverse group of presenters.
Limmud’s current co-ordinator, Raya Margulets, reports that all of our community’s rabbis – including Rabbi Yossi Benarroch (who lives most of the year in Israel) – will be among the presenters. Topics to be covered by local experts encompass midrash, Jewish identity, antisemitism, conversion, biblical archaeology, textiles, parenting, art, and more.
But it wouldn’t be Limmud without interesting input from out of town personalities.
Perhaps the most prominent of the guest speakers who are confirmed is Yaron Deckel, an Israeli journalist and broadcaster who is currently the Jewish Agency’s Regional Director for Canada. According to a biography provided by Margulets, Deckel is a highly respected Israeli journalist widely known for his insight into Israeli politics, media, and society. Between 2002 and 2007, Yaron served as Washington Bureau Chief for Israeli Public Television. In that role, he covered U.S.–Israel relations and American politics, also interviewed three U.S. presidents: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter. As well, Deckel produced two acclaimed documentaries: “The Israelis” (about the lives of Israelis in North America), and “Jewish Identity in North America.”
From 2012 to 2017, he served as Editor-in-Chief and CEO of Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio), Israel’s leading national public radio station. He also hosted a prime-time weekly political show.
As a senior political correspondent and commentator for Israeli TV and radio, Yaron has covered the past 14 Israeli election campaigns and maintained close relationships with top political and military leaders in Israel. He conducted the last interview with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin—just 10 minutes before his assassination.
Decker is slated to do two presentations. In the morning, he will be speaking about the crossroads that Israel finds in the Middle East currently and what the challenges and possibilities may be.
In the afternoon, his subject will be “Israel after October 7 and the Iran War “ and what may lie ahead.
Also coming in from Toronto are Atarah Derrick, Achiya Klein, and Yahav Barnea.
Barnea is an Israeli-Canadian educator and community builder based in Toronto, with over a decade of experience working in Jewish and Israeli education, engagement, and community development.
Originally from Kibbutz Shomrat in Israel’s Western Galilee, Barnea’s outlook on life has been shaped by kibbutz values and her involvement in the Hashomer Hatza’ir youth movement.
She currently serves as the North America Regional Program Manager for the World Zionist Organization’s Department of Irgoon and Israelis Abroad, where she leads initiatives that strengthen connection, leadership, and communal life among Israelis living outside of Israel..
Barnea holds a Master of Education in Adult Education and Community Development, with a focus on intentional communities, as well as a Bachelor of Education specializing in Democratic Education, meaningful, values-based communities.
Her presentation will be titeld “A Kibbutz in the City – Intentional Communities and Immigration.”
Atarah Derrick is the executive director of the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind, an organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life of visually impaired Israelis. The charity, the only internationally accredited guide dog program in Israel, was founded in 1991, and today serves Israel’s 24,000 blind and visually impaired citizens.
Achiya Klein is one of the guide dog centre’s beneficiaries. The Israeli veteran was an officer in the IDF combat engineering corps’ elite ‘Yahalom’ unit. In 2013, while on a sensitive mission to disable a tunnel in Gaza, an improvised explosive device was detonated, severely injuring Achiya and robbing him of his vision.
He has been a guide dog client since 2015.
Klein has not allowed his disability to limit his abilities. He competed for the Israeli national team at the Paralympic rowing championship in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.
He also earned a Masters Degree in the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy in Counter Terrorism and Homeland Security,at IDC Herzliya.
Klein is married and a father to two boys.
Coming back for a second successive year is Dan Ronis from Saskatoon. A plant breeder and geneticist, Ronis has taken a quite different approach to studying Torah. He has sought out the help of a medium to discern the back stories of Biblical figures.
For readers who may be unsure of who or what a medium is, think Theresa Caputo of television fame. Mediums claim to be able to converse with those who have passed on through a spirit guide. While many may be skeptical, there are also many believers.
Last year Ronis focused on women who played a prominent role in the Torah. This year, he will be discussing the “untold story” of Adam and Eve.
Readers who may be interested in attending Limmud 2026 can go online at limmudwinnipeg.org to register.
Local News
Second annual “Taste of Limmud” a rousing success
By MYRON LOVE “A Taste of Limmud” returned for a second go-round on Thursday, February 19, and I have to commend both Raya Margulets, Winnipeg Limmud’s co-ordinator, as well as the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue’s catering department, for an outstanding culinary experience delivered with flawless efficiency.
“Tonight’s Taste of Limmud showcases our diversity as a community and our unity as we come together to break bread,” observed Rena Secter Elbaze, Shaarey Zedek’s executive director, just prior to leading the guests in hamotzi.
The evening featured a sampling of Jewish staple dishes representing Jewish life in six different regions where Jews had settled over the centuries. The choice of dishes also reflected how diversified our Jewish community has become over the past 25 years.
In her opening remarks, Margulets welcomed her 130 guests. “After last year’s success,” she said many of you asked us to bring it back, and we’re delighted to do so, so welcome again. Today’s celebration is all about sharing stories, connections, and flavours, and it is brought to you in partnership with Congregation Shaarey Zedek and with the support of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.
“We would like to take a moment and express our heartfelt gratitude to Congregation Shaarey Zedek for their amazing partnership, to Joel, the Head Chef at Shaarey Zedek, and his fantastic staff for their contributions, and to all the volunteers who made tonight possible,” Margulets said.
“Thank you all for joining us tonight. Savour the flavours, the stories, and the connections as we celebrate the richness of Jewish cuisine and community together.
“Whether you’re returning or attending for the first time,” she continued, “we’re excited to stir up a wonderful evening with old and new friends. Some of you may have realized it already, but the name Taste of Limmud has a double meaning. While, yes, this event is all about taste and sampling Jewish flavours from around the world, it is also a tiny glimpse, in other words, a taste, into our established annual Limmud Festival.”
Limmud, she explained – the Hebrew word for “learning”, is a volunteer-run organization that celebrates Jewish learning, thought, and culture. It’s a conference where participants have a choice of dozens of sessions led by rabbis, scholars, artists, authors, and community members. At Limmud, everyone can be a teacher and a student, in other words, more fitting with tonight’s theme, everyone has something to add to the recipe.
Margulets then introduced the “talented cooks from our very own community who prepared the dishes”: Mazi Frank, who presented a “delicious” Mussakah, a Turkish classic; Adriana Vegh-Levy and Karina Izbizky who brought a “tasty” Pletzalej, a type of bread that the forebears of today’s Argenitnian Jewish community brought with them from Poland; Karen Ackerman, with a special Hard Honey Cake; Naama Samphir, who presented a tasty Yemenite Hawaij soup (and that’s right – Hawaij – not Hawaii; Hawaij is Iraqi); Kseniya Revzin ,sharing a rich Kubbete, a savory pie from the Crimean Karaites; and Ruth Harari, (who wasn’t able to join her sister cooks) who had prepared Mujadara, a flavourful lentil-and-rice dish from Aleppo, Syria.
“We would like to take a moment and express our heartfelt gratitude to Congregation Shaarey Zedek for their amazing partnership, to Joel, the Head Chef at Shaarey Zedek, and his fantastic staff for their contributions, and to all the volunteers who made tonight possible,” Raya Margulets concluded.
“Thank you all for joining us tonight. Savour the flavours, the stories, and the connections as we celebrate the richness of Jewish cuisine and community together.”
The six samplings were dished out – one at a time – in either small paper plates or cups with the paper removed after each tasting.
The first recipe to be presented was pletzalej onion bread. As was the pattern for each tasting, the first food presented was preceded by a brief overview of the history of Argentina’s Jewish community and its connection with its local contributor, followed by a plezelaj bun with a piece of meat inside .
Next up was a taste of Hawaij soup, a Shabbat and Yom Tov staple of Yemen’s former centuries-old Jewish community, most of whom are now in Israel. The soup included piecesof chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, tomato and several spices. Hawaij is a spice mixture consisting of cumin, black pepper, turmeric and cardamom.
Mussakah comes from Turkey – also a homeland for Jews for hundreds of years. It is a mixture of layered eggplant, beef, savoury tomato sauce and spices and is typically served with rice or a piece of bread.
Mujadara is a product of the ancient Syrian city of Aleppo, one of the world’s oldest cities and formerly home for thousands of years to a once thriving Jewish community. The recipe calls for lentils, basmati rice, onions and spices.
Kubbete is a puff pastry originally from Crimea, where the local Jewish community picked it up from the surrounding Tatar population. The pastry is filled with beef (as was the case that evening) or lamb, onions, potatoes and peppercorn, with paprika added for taste.
The last item on the menu was hard honey cake. “This was my baba’s recipem which she brought with her from Ukraine in the 1920s,” noted Karen Ackerman. “Jews like my baba (Chava Portnoy) have lived in Ukraine for over 1,000 years and they used the local buckwheat honey in their honey cake.
“I am honoured to be able to share this recipe with you,” she said.
All the presenters spoke of how the recipes that had been passed down through the generations connected them with home and family and memories of their babas.
I once had a cousin who, after enjoying a hearty meal, would say: “Good Sample. When do we eat? Well, after the sampling, it really was time for a late supper – the main course – and it was a perfect way to end the evening feasting on pita filled with veggies, falafel balls and humus and French fries with a choice of coffee cake or chocolate cake for dessert.
I ‘m really looking forward to next year’s “Taste of Limmud”.
Local News
New kosher caterer providing traditional Israeli foods for Winnipeg palates
By MYRON LOVE The Israeli community in Winnipeg continues to grow and enrich our community. Among the most recent arrivals are Maxim and Olga Markov – along with their children, who settled here less than two years ago. What the Markovs are contributing to our community is a new kosher catering operation – Bravo Good Food – that specializes in traditional Israeli fare.
The senior Markovs are both originally from Ukraine. They came with their families in the early 1990s when they were young teenagers. For the last several years before moving to Winnipeg, they lived in Afula in north central Israel.
After their arrival in Winnipeg, Olga worked for a time in the Chabad kitchen; Yural still works in the Chabad daycare – while Maxim took a job with an HVAC company.
Maxim’s passion however, and his life’s work has been in food preparation. He points out that he worked in the business for 17 years in Israel. In the early part of his career, he was head chef in a dairy restaurant. He was also a cook in wedding halls preparing food for as many as 1,000 guests.
In more recent years, he worked in a private hospital kitchen where, he notes, he gained experience with dietary menus and healthy food options.
“What we do at Bravo,” he says, “is provide our clientele with the authentic taste of the Middle East. We cook traditional dishes, using only fresh ingredients, with our own original recipes.”
Operating out of the Adas Yeshurun-Herzlia kitchen, Bravo’s menu (which readers can view on its website – bravogoodfood.com) features such well known Israeli items as falafel balls and humus, mini shislek (with chicken) on skewers, beef kebabs on cinnamon sticks, and friend eggplant with tahini.
But there is much more to choose from.
Start with salads.
You can choose from coleslaw, purple cabbage salad, beet salad with pears, celery and parsley, mushroom salad, and green herb salad.
Main course options include beef meatballs and tomato sauce with a trio of fish dishes – salmon, Moroccan fish, and custom fried fish. Also available are a broccoli casserole, pasta, and spaghetti.
Bravo also offers a corporate menu featuring a choice of continental or executive breakfast, full breakfast buffet or a buffet of mini sandwiches – and an events menu.
Maxim adds that Bravo offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.
Olga notes that individual dishes or baking can be ready for the next day. “If it’s a small event like a family dinner, we need at least three days in advance, provided the date is available,” she says. “If it’s a large event – then we need at least a week in advance notice.”
“We are not just providing food,” Maxim says. “We are creating an atmosphere. Our catering makes your event unforgettable through taste, freshness and hospitality.”