Local News
New documentary by Winnipeg filmmaker Yolanda Papini-Pollock exposes horrors of Falun Gong persecution in China
By MYRON LOVE
Genocide can take different forms. The Holocaust, for example, and the more recent Rwandan genocide were condensed in a frenzy of killing. For the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and Australia, the killing and attempted erasure of their cultures transpired over several hundred years.
Then, there is the matter of the Falun Gong.
Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa and Qi Gong) is a practice combining simple exercises with meditation based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.Of ancient Chinese origin, the practice – with the encouragement of the Chinese Communist government – developed a very large following in modern China. In 1999, however, Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, decided that practicing Falun Gong was a threat to the Chinese Communist government. He initiated a thoroughgoing campaign to demonize the practice and eradicate anyone who continued to practice the tradition.
The horrors of the ensuing persecution of Chinese Falun Gong practitioners have been effectively brought out in filmmaker Yolanda Papini-Pollock’s new documentary, “Painful Truth: The Falun Gong Genocide”, which the filmmakers premiered at the Berney Theatre on Thursday, January 9.
The half hour film demonstrates once again how easy it can be to demonize members of a segment of a population – who may stand out because of their ethnic origin, race, religious beliefs or sexual orientation. What is unusual about the Falun Gong is that the people being persecuted are ethnic Chinese – no different than their fellow Chinese citizens – who were simply pursuing an activity (non-political) that made them feel better physically and mentally.
“Painful Truth” is, in a sense, a follow up to Papini-Pollock’s “Never Again: A Broken Promise”, a documentary focusing on genocide that included interviews with Holocaust survivor Edith Kimelman, as well as survivors of the Rwandan genocide, Yazidi persecution and a former Residential school student.
It was at the premiere of that film that Papini-Pollock learned about the plight of the Falun Gong. One of those in the audience was Dr. Maria Cheung, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba, herself a Falun Gong practitioner and survivor of the Chinese gulag, who brought up the issue.
How many practitioners of Falun Gong are there in China? By 1999, about 100-million Chinese were involved in the practice of Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin feared that this had become a cult that might threaten the rule of the Chinese Communist government.
Maria Cheung observed that dictatorships – such as Communist China – need to continually be creating new “enemies” to keep the people onside.
The evening began with a demonstration of Falun Gong exercises by ten practitioners dressed in colourful garments.
Then, through visuals and interviews with former Falun Gong prisoners who are now living in Canada, “Painful Truth” delved into the multimedia propaganda campaign against Falun Gong, the social shunning, the large scale arrests and torture and, worst of all, the murders of Falun Gong prisoners for their body parts for transplantation.
The Chinese government’s harvesting of organs from Falun Gong prisoners was first exposed by Winnipeg’s own David Matas, a world leader in the fight for human rights, who, in 2009, in partnership with former Member of Parliament David Kilgour, released “Bloody Harvest: The Killing of Falun Gong for Their Organs”.
Both Matas and Cheung appeared on stage after the screening of the documentary to answer questions about the persecution of the Falun Gong. Matas explained that he learned about the Chinese Government’s organ harvesting through encounters he had as an immigration lawyer with Chinese immigrants to Canada who had been imprisoned for their practice of Falun Gong.
“They would talk about the torture, but also mention how they were subject to frequent blood tests and examinations of the health of their internal organs,” he says. While there are no public records or eye-witness accounts of Chinese organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners (whose bodies would have been cremated), Matas and Kilgour extrapolated from organ transplant figures from before 1999 and after.
Matas noted that China does not have a tradition or history of organ donation. Before 1999, he said, it was well known that the Chinese Government removed the organs of prisoners who were executed for the small number of organ transplants that took place. After 1999 – and the beginning of the arrests of Falun Gong practitioners, the number of organ transplants increased exponentially.
What has been the world’s response to the exposure of this sordid crime against humanity? Matas noted that Israel was a world leader in responding to this issue. Israel was paying all the expenses for Israelis travelling to China for organ transplants. After learning of the source of the transplanted organs, the Israeli government cut off insurance for organ transplants in China, criminalized participation in organ abuse abroad, set up an inspection system to check if Israeli hospitals are bringing in organs from outside the country and changed the rules so that people who know they are dying can choose to donate their organs for transplant after their passing.
He adds that 14 other countries – including Canada – have also passed or are in the process of passing rules monitoring the origins of organs for transplants.
The premiere was co-sponsored by Winnipeg Friends of Israel (which Papini-Pollock co-founded four years ago) along with B’nai Brith Canada and its League for Human Rights.
Local News
UNVEILING for the headstone of Dr. Velimir Kon (Sept. 18, 1950-June 27, 2025)
A true mensch and person of many talents and profoundness, Dr. Velimir (Shlomo) Kon is deeply missed and loved by his family and friends.
Known for his warmth, kindness, integrity and love of learning and teaching, Velimir continues to inspire all who knew him and his memory warms our hearts and souls. Velimir is deeply missed.
You are invited to helps us remember and honour our beloved husband and father who passed away almost a year ago.
We, Branka, Deborah and Lea Kon, wish to inform our relatives and friends of the unveiling of a headstone dedicated to his loving memory on FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2026 at 11:00am at the HEBREW SICK CEMETERY (2605 McPhillips Street) followed by lunch at the Chabad Lubavitch of Winnipeg – Jewish Learning Centre (1845 Mathers Avenue). Please come say a l’chaim in his honour.
In Memoriam
1st Yahrzeit
In loving memory of Dr. Velimir (Shlomo) Kon who passed away June 27, 2025, 12 Days in Tammuz.
⁃ Forever and deeply loved and missed by his wife of over 50 years, Branka, and daughters Deborah and Lea Kon. Velimir brought joy to our lives with his boundless kindness and gentleness, irrepressible humour, great intellect and love of people, tikun olam and Judaism.
Not a day goes by that we do not mention Velimir and feel his presence with us. Our lives are not the same without him and we deeply miss and cherish him. We can never forget his presence that was larger than life, yet also his humility and thoughtfulness.
A gentleman to the very core, Velimir was respected as a scientist, academic, professor, researcher, and later as a teacher and mentor. He always endeavoured to make every place he worked and lived at better and was able to bridge many cultures. He was Abraham of his generation and made many personal sacrifices; giving up status, position and privilege in order for his family to have a better and peaceful future.
May his memory always be a blessing. He left us at only 74 years young and we wish we had had more time together. Indeed, to know him was to love him.
Local News
Younger Jewish talents continue to shine in their respective categories at annual Winnipeg Music Festival
By MYRON LOVE A number of younger members of our community were repeat stars at the most recent (108th annual) Winnipeg Music Festival – which takes place annually in March. Among the repeat Jewish singers and musicians in the ranks of high achievers this year were” Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout, Gregory Hyman, Alex Schaeffer, Juliet Eskin, Noah Kravetsky, and Lyla Chisick.
Vocalist Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout, the oldest of this year’s group of Jewish repeat winners, was competing in his fifth straight festival, where he continued to build on his accomplishments in previous festivals. This year, the 20-year-old son of Samantha and Peter finished first in two musical theatre categories – songs from musical theatre productions between 1965 and 1999, and shows from the past 26 years. Yale sang “I’m Allergic to Cats,” from the 2016 musical “The Theory of Relativity,” and “Suppertime,” from the 1967 musical, “You’re a Good man, Charlie Brown.”
The former Gray Academy student is currently enrolled at the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music in the Choral program. Yale says that he is hoping to get into the performance track in the fall with the goal of earning a degree in Classical Voice Performance en route to pursuing a career in musical theatre.
As reported previously, Gregory Hyman is a multi-faceted artist who can do it all. The 18-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 eighth Music Festival, in which he registered first-place finishes for vocal performances in both “Popular and Contemporary Music” and “TV and Movie Music “categories.
Gregory notes that he was also recommended to compete in the provincial finals in June. The St. John’s-Ravenscourt student (and soon-to be) graduate continues to be busy on stage. In January, he headlined a sold out solo show at Sidestage on Osborne featuring some of his new material. In March, he released an album of his newest songs. Readers can check out his latest compositions on any of the music streaming platforms as well as his own social media (thegmh) on Instagram.
Gregory 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.
While Gregory says that a musical career is his “dream,” he reports that he is hedging his bets and considering different potential career opportunities. Come September, he will be enrolled at the University of Manitoba in a University One program, which will allow him to select from a variety of courses that can count toward a degree.
Sixteen-year-old Alex Schaeffer won first place this year in the “Musicals Prior to 1965, 16 Years and Under” category with “Try Me” from “She Loves Me,” and was runner-up in the “Musicals 1965 to 1999, 16 Years and Under” category with “On My Own,” from “Les Misérables.” For the son of Marc Schaeffer and Kae Sasaki, this was his fifth year competing in the festival.
The Grant Park High School student made his big stage debut three years ago as Kurt von Trapp in “The Sound of Music,” followed by playing Michael Hobbs in “Elf the Musical” this past winter at the Royal MTC.
Alex recently performed in Grant Park High School’s production of “Something Rotten!” This summer Schaeffer can be seen again at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, where he will be appearing in a production staged by Rem Lezar Theatre.
Rounding out the voice winners is Lyla Chisick. The daughter of Daniel and Baillee was competing in her second music festival. This year, she scored Gold performances in the “Vocal Solo,” “Manitoba Composers,” and “TV/Movie Musical, 12 and under” categories.
Lyla reports that she began taking voice lessons from Jessica Kos-Whicher three years ago. She says she regularly takes part in the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue Family Service and has sung at several community events. Lyla adds that she is already looking forward to next year’s music festival.
Nate Kravetsky and Juliet Eskin competed in the festival as musicians rather than singers. Juliet, 16, plays the viola, and is also is the violist in the Assiniboine String Quartet. In this, her fifth go-round at the festival, Juliet, the daughter of the musically talented Kelly Robinon and Josh Eskin, had first place finishes in the “Viola Solo, level 8,” “Baroque or Classical Concerto,” and “Romantic Composers” categories.
Juliet originally took up the violin – adding the viola a couple of years after. She also just finished performing in the Grant Park High School production of “Something Rotten!”
Nate Kravetsky is currently in Grade 5 level piano. He studies with Erica Schultz and has been taking lessons from her since age 5.
Nate competed in three categories at the Winnipeg music festival: “Baroque,” “Sonata,” and “Contemporary/own choice.”
His own choice selection was the theme from his favourite video game, “Hollow Knight.”
Nate, who is in Grade 7 at Gray Academy, is also preoccupied preparing for his upcoming bar mitzvah.
We look forward to the continued musical success off Yale, Gregory, Alex, Nate, Juliet and Lyla, and what new talent may be unveiled at next year’s Winnipeg Music festival.
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Local News
Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada’s Archivist and Curator Stan Carbone retires
By MYRON LOVE Stan Carbone, a long-time friend of our Jewish community and fixture at the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada (JHCWC) for the past 25 years, retired last week. His last day of work was May 13.
Most recently, he was the JHCWC’s Director of Programs and Exhibits.
“For the past 25 years, the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada has been an integral part of my life,” Carbone said. “I have made a lot of friends in the Jewish community, and I hope to maintain those friendships.”
Carbone’s own history reflects the immigrant experience. He arrived in Canada in 1960 as a three-year-old with his mother and sister, from San Giovanni in Fiore, Calabria in southern Italy. His father had come a few months earlier. Initially, the family settled in Fort Rouge which, at that time, had a substantial Italian community. Within a couple of years, they had relocated to East Kildonan to be closer to where his father’s two sisters and their families lived.
He earned a BA Double Honours in History and Political Studies at the University of Winnipeg, followed by an MA in History at the University of Manitoba, from where he graduated in 1981.
In 1993, he was hired at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature (as it was then called) as Curator of Multicultural Studies.
“I always enjoyed doing research,” he said.
His first project for the JHCWC came in 2000, the year after the organization was formed through the amalgamation of the Jewish Historical Society, the Ed and Marion Vickar Jewish Museum of Western Canada and the Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre.
Marim Zipursky had approached the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature looking for a curator to organize a JHCWC exhibit featuring Jewish music and musicians in Winnipeg,” Carbone recalled. “I didn’t know much about Jewish music and musicians, but I was familiar with the Jewish Historical Society – which preceded the JHCWC. I was really impressed by its extensive archives, and I was intrigued by the Jewish community’s history and the wide range of subject materials in the archives.”
The next year, when a position opened at the JHCWC, Carbone applied.
“I have been here ever since,” he said.
Over the past quarter century, Carbone has been involved in bringing to fruition several interesting exhibits. He mentions the synagogues display, a history of the YMHA, and the current exhibit highlighting the important role of women’s organizations. The exhibit that was closest to his heart though was “A Stitch in Time,” a look at how Jews contributed to the development of the garment trade in Winnipeg. Both of his parents worked in the garment industry.
The exhibits though are just one facet of the JHCWC’s focus, Carbone noted. He mentioned how the organization contributed to the publication of Allan Levine’s “Coming of Age: A History of the Jewish People of Manitoba.”
There have also been several compilations over the years of talks that the JHCWC has organized. These are known as the “Jewish Life and Times,” consisting to date of ten volumes.
Carbone further pointed out the organization’s commitment to Holocaust education and the numerous initiatives that have brought that subject to greater public attention.
The organization’s genealogical component, he reported, draws numerous queries from people all over the world.
One particularly interesting project that Carbone spoke about is an ongoing cooperative partnership with Gray Academy. For the past 10 years, the JHCWC has been loaning photos from the archives to the school’s art program, allowing the students to make drawings based on the photos.
“It has been a wonderful program which has given the students a better understanding of local Jewish history,” he said.
“During my time here, we have worked with numerous Jewish and non-Jewish organizations,” Carbone added. “It helps to build bridges between the Jewish and other communities.”
In retirement, Carbone is looking forward to doing more travelling with Anna, his wife of 40 years. They were scheduled to leave for southern Italy on May 16.
He will also continue to be busy in his role as Italy’s vice-consul here, helping fellow Italians and others in Winnipeg.
And he is excited about having more time to spend on his own genealogical and historical research. He has already published two books: “Italians in Winnipeg: an Illustrated History,” and “The Streets Were Not Paved With Gold: A Social History of Italians in Winnipeg”.
A future project which he is seriously considering is a study of the history of Jewish life in Calabria.
He is also working on a family tree.
“I may be retired,” he said, “but I will still be available from time to time to help out if needed.”