Local News
National Christian Zionist organization holds second annual evening of solidarity with Israel, donates $90,000 to Israeli charities
By MYRON LOVE In these stressful times – where levels of antisemitism in words and deeds have – since October 7, 2023 – reached levels that most of us have never before experienced, it is good to know that many of our fellow Canadians still stand with Israel and the Jewish People. Among the staunchest of our non-Jewish supporters are the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministries Canada (FOI).
On the evening of Thursday, October 23, the Christian Zionist organization hosted its second annual “Stand With Israel Night,” the highlight of which was the presentation of $30,000 cheques to three 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. Jared Esser, FOI’s newly-appointed director for Manitoba, the emcee for the evening, bade welcome and thanked those in attendance for coming together to show their support for Israel and the Jewish People.
The evening began with music by Myron Schultz and his Klezmer Trio.
Esser began the evening’s program by introducing 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.
“We believe that God has kept his covenant with the Jewish People and brought his chosen people back to their ancestral land,” he said. “The land of Israel and the Jewish People are inseparable. As Christian Zionists, we stand unequivocally with the Jewish People.”
He added that those who accuse Israel of such “sins” as “colonialism” and oppression of the Palestinians are lying. “Those who fight Israel are fighting God,” he stated.
Following a break for refreshments, Esser introduced one by one the recipients of the $30,000 donations. The first was the Canadian Magen David Adom, Israel’s world leading and largely volunteer driven, 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.
”Our organization in Israel has the support of 34,000 volunteers who are available 24 hours a day every day,” she reported. “We treat over one million Israelis a year in peace and war. It’s who we are and what we do. Our volunteers are our heroes. “
Fraiman added that, since October 7, 2023, the number of Israelis with mental health issues that MDA has responded to has grown exponentially.
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. She singled out Ida Alpern, a member of the board of CMDA Winnipeg who, with her late husband, Saul, contributed funding to pay for two new ambulances and one scooter. She further praised Ami Bakerman for his leadership of local CMDA efforts.
The second recipient of a donation from FOI was Christian Friends of Leket Israel, which raises money in support of Leket Israel – an organization 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 175,000 needy Israelis weekly with nutritious food and meals,” he reported. “We supply over 300 non-profit partners that feed the poor.”
MacDonald added that 20% of Israelis live below the poverty line, that one-third of Israeli children go to school hungry – and that the situation has worsened over the past two years due to the war.
He described Leket Israel as a “food rescue” organization that gathers its food from a variety of sources. “We work with over 500 farmers that share their crops with us,” MacDonald 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.”
The final recipient of the FOI’s largesse was Operation Lifeshield, whose mission is to provide bomb shelters for threatened Israeli communities. Rabbi Shmuel Bowman, the organization’s executive director, was also one of the founders of Operation Lifeshield. Winnipeg pediatrician Dr. Matthew Lazar, a cousin of Bowman’s, is president of Operation Lifeshield Canada.
Operation Lifeshield was formed in 2006 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. They decided to take action.
In a presentation that Bowman made last year – while in Winnipeg to accept a donation from FOI last year, he noted that “our shelter construction design and manufacturing processes conform with the strictest guidelines and approval of the Israel Defense Force Home Front command. Several types of shelters are available in order to best protect schools, kindergartens, synagogues, parks, sidewalks, bus shelters and senior centres.”
Lazar reported that Operation Lifeshield, over the years, has built or updated more than 1,000 shelters – making sure that they all have up to date fire fighting and communications equipment, that the shelters are water-proofed, and the walls fortified.
Jared Esser is looking forward to next year’s Stand With Israel evening.
Local News
Nakba exhbit at CMHR – you can see it right here and make your own assessment
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted June 26, updated July 19) The Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Exhibit for Human Rights opened to the public June 27. The morning before the exhibit was set to open to the public, (it had a private opening for invited guests the evening of June 26) we received a press release from the CMHR. That press release gave a very detailed description of what was in the exhibit, along with photos (supplied by Annie Kierans of the CMHR).
There is also a link right at the beginning of the press release that will allow you to watch the same videos that anyone attending the exhibit can watch. We reprinted what was sent to us without making one edit. We leave it to you to form your own opinion as to whether the exhibit is fair in its presentation, and whether it is lacking “context” – which is an accusation that has been levelled at the exhibit’s organizers by some representatives of Jewish organizations.
We have received many emails in reaction to the exhibit. If you have an opinion and would like to see it published on this website, you can send it to jewishp@mymts.net, but please indicate whether you would be willing to have it published on this website.
Here is what we received the morning of June 26:
Winnipeg, MB — June 26, 2026 — The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will open a new exhibit tomorrow that explores human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian Canadians.
Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present will be on display in the Rights Today gallery on Level 5 until 2028. Featuring personal stories told through artifacts and video testimonies, the exhibit presents Palestinian Canadians reflecting on their ongoing struggle for human rights. The small exhibit reveals enduring patterns of loss and resilience, helping visitors understand more about this contemporary human rights story.
Palestinian Canadian stories are now included alongside many other stories of forced displacement and human rights violations featured in the Museum’s galleries. Each of these stories contribute to our visitors understanding of human rights and help the Museum fulfill its mandate to foster reflection and dialogue.
Exhibition highlights
Personal stories and artifacts: Experience firsthand accounts from Palestinian Canadians sharing their journeys of displacement and memory through a series of five artifacts. Cases display artifacts like property deeds, house keys, and a traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, accompanied by short videos that deepen understanding of the impacts of displacement.
Powerful artworks: In her painting Bound Together in Gaza, Malak Mattar, a Gazan artist, captures the struggles and resilience of her generation shaped by conflict. Her work pays homage to Guernica, Picasso’s powerful masterpiece depicting civilian suffering during war.
Curfews and Closures, by Rajie Cook, bears witness to life under military occupation during the 2000–2005 Palestinian uprising, when curfews and closures were expanded and further limited basic rights and freedoms.
Cultural heritage: Discover traditional Palestinian embroidery called tatreez. Tatreez motifs and colours are tied to place, family history and regional identity. Patterns are associated with particular towns, villages or areas of Palestine. In this way, tatreez is a form of storytelling: a way of preserving memory, sustaining identity and expressing resilience across displacement and exile.
Poetry and reflection: Engage with Mahmoud Darwish’s evocative verses, inspiring personal reflection on exile, voice, and responsibility. Visitors can take a card containing Darwish’s poem and add a personal note, fostering ongoing dialogue beyond the exhibit.
Contemporary context: Witness striking images of current events in Gaza and the West Bank, connecting past displacement to ongoing struggles.
Quotes:
“No force can silence the truth we carry. Growing up in Canada, my children lived the Nakba through our stories. And now we watch it happen again, live, on our phones. When I see the images coming out of Gaza, I am not watching the news. I am watching my history repeat itself.” -Fouad Sahyoun, a Palestinian Canadian featured in the exhibit
“We developed this exhibit with a clear awareness that Palestinian Canadian voices have too often been marginalized, silenced or spoken over — and that anti-Palestinian racism affects whose stories are heard and whose suffering is recognized. That is why we intentionally centred Palestinian Canadian voices throughout the exhibit.” -Isabelle Masson, Curator of Palestine Uprooted
“Human rights matter precisely when they are inconvenient, when the question of who deserves the dignity of having their rights recognized is genuinely contested. These are the moments where having a national museum for human rights is most important.
There are people who believe this exhibit should not exist in its current form. There are people who believe it should have existed sooner. There are people who will visit this exhibit and feel that it does not say enough, and others who will feel it says too much.
We have listened to every one of these voices. We have reflected. And we have renewed our resolve to continue the difficult, sometimes contested, and often controversial work of building understanding about human rights. We are a museum grounded in Canada’s human rights framework, whose mandate requires us to bear witness to the full complexity of the human story. We are proud to open this exhibit because the story it tells will help achieve that mandate, and because this story belongs in the collective memory of Canadians.”
- – Isha Khan, CEO
Local News
A photo that’s being circulated on the internet about me
For those of you not familiar with nutjob Michael Kalo – the psycho who created the notorious “$hitler’s List” years ago and the same psycho who went after Ben Carr, well – now he’s obviously taken a strong disliking to the stance I’ve taken on the Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. (You can read elsewhere on this website how I simply posted the entire exhibit as it is – and asked readers to form their own opinions.)
Kalo likes to send out emails to various individual using phony names – such as Frank Ostrowski. When people ask me (or asked Ben Carr) why we don’t take action against him, my answer is: What’s the use? He only basks in the attention.
So Michael – enjoy the attention you’re receiving. I know how much of an embarrassment you are to your wonderfully talented daughters.
Local News
Ami Hassan returning as owner of Falafel Place
By BERNIE BELLAN In a surprise move – and after more than a six-year absence as owner of Falafel Place (Corydon at Wilton) the legendary Ami Hassan has decided to return as owner of one of Winnipeg’s most famous eateries.
Long known for his sometimes irreverent attitude to his customers, e.g., “If you’re finished, get out!”, Ami decided to return to running Falafel Place after having retired years ago (or so he thought) from running the Corydon Avenue restaurant.
We asked Ami whether he’ll be sending a special invitation to Julia Roberts to come visit him at Falafel Place. He asked again: “Who’s Julia Roberts?” (Just kidding – he really does know how Julia Roberts is.) Read the story how Ami told her to leave the restaurant and come back later at Julia Roberts turned away from Falafel Place
Ami did note that when customers saw him inside the restaurant one recent day as he was getting it ready for the reopening Monday, August 10, over 20 of them came in asking him if he was open already.
We asked Ami whether the menu will be the same as it was when he last ran the place and he said everything will be the same.
Falafel Place will be open 7 days a week from 7 am – 2 pm. Remember, if you’re finished – get out!
