Local News
New group established ‘in the spirit’ of Canadian Jewish Congress
By RON CSILAG May 27, 2021 (CJN) Remember the Canadian Jewish Congress? Enough of its former senior leaders do, and fondly- to the point that they have founded a new organization “in the spirit” of CJC.
It was 10 years ago this summer that Congress, then 92 years old and the self-described “Parliament of Canadian Jewry,” was subsumed into a new superagency, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).
Now, say hello to the Canadian Jewish Community Forum (CJCF).
“It is the prime objective of the CJCF to take lessons from the past and use them to inform communal policy in the present and future, to promote Jewish values of chesed, diversity, anti-racism and embrace harmony within a Canadian context,” says a media release issued May 26.
“In the spirit of the former CJC, it wishes to create a forum for the greater Jewish community to provide input and determine what the current urgent issues are that our own community and society are facing and witnessing here in Canada and globally.”
The group’s origins are somewhat nostalgic: Interest in creating a new Jewish organization, or maybe resurrecting an old one, arose when stalwarts of the old CJC, including several young people, came together in 2019 to mark the 100th anniversary of Congress’s founding, recalled Les Scheininger, spokesperson for CJCF’s steering committee and president of CJC from 1989 to 1992.
The CJCF, Scheininger told The CJN, will address a need for consultation with the grassroots of Canadian Jewry, much like Congress did.
“The original CJC came together as a result of a number of individuals and organizations feeling that there should be a grassroots organization representative of the Jewish community and the sense was there should be consultations with the grassroots and (that) people should have input in discussions,” he said.
Scheininger gently sidestepped a question of whether the new group will challenge CIJA’s turf.
“It’s not a competition,” he said. The CJCF is “a different forum for discussion and debate. There are a variety of opinions and political affiliations in the Jewish community.”
The organization, volunteer-driven for now, is federally incorporated, has a logo, a statement of purpose, and a steering committee comprised of a long list of former CJC officials from across the country.
Indeed, the CJCF says it hopes to engage the former leadership of CJC, as well as new young leaders, “to honour, learn and draw from the legacy of Congress, a body that worked and fought for social justice in Canada. The CJC understood that making Canada a peaceful, inclusive and just society is good for all of its peoples.”
The actual work of the CJCF will be up to those who respond to surveys in the coming weeks and months, Scheininger said.
“The shape and format will be determined as result of consultations and discussions.”
In its words, the organization will “promote participation in, engagement with, and a sense of ownership of the Jewish agenda in Canada by all members of the Canadian Jewish community by the establishment of active, democratic, local grassroots community advocacy groups across the country.”
The CJCF promises that regional representation will be stressed.
Its founding documents recall CJC’s decades of defending civil and human rights, and championing inclusiveness and dialogue among all groups in Canada—perhaps pointing the way toward an agenda that leans to domestic issues of fairness.
But Israel is not ignored. “The safety and welfare of Israel are central and hold a place of supreme importance to us as a Jewish people,” the group says, and it’s also important “that we communicate with the people and government of Israel with respect to our common interests from the Canadian perspective.”
CJC’s legacy of focusing on domestic affairs and its “democratic tradition” will contribute to making CJCF attractive to younger people, believes Henry Paikin, a 27-year-old advisor to Sen. Frances Lankin and a member of the new organization’s steering committee.
“For too long, young Jews in this country have fled community institutions due to their obsession with Israel-Palestine,” Paikin wrote in an email to The CJN. “Bringing democracy back into the mix will correct the out-of-touch narratives perpetuated by existing leadership, and allow us to re-focus our attention on making Canadian society more just.”
Post script from Bernie Bellan:
I was somewhat surprised to see that there is now an effort underway to reestablish the Canadian Jewish Congress, albeit under a new name. I wondered to what extent this new activity might not only add to the actual number of existing Jewish national organizations whose ostensible purposes are to serve the entire Canadian Jewish community, it might actually confuse Canadian Jews.
So, I contacted Martin Sampson, who is a spokesperson for CIJA, to ask him what he thought of this new group. Here is what I wrote to Martin on May 28:
Hi Martin,
I received an email from Israel Ludwig, whom I’ve known for a long time. In his email, Israel said that there are a number of individuals across Canada who are working to recreate the Canadian Jewish Congress.
In my response to Israel, I asked him whether the members of this group are dissatisfied with CIJA. Israel responded that “to answer your question this is not an issue of whether or not we are unhappy with CIJA. We miss what CJC was able to provide for the community. We hope to seek community input on what are the important issues of the day. We hope to establish lines of communication and support to other communities in Canada that experience difficulties as we do such as racism. We would like to sponsor lectures on topics that are of interest not only to our community members but other communities as well. We plan to organize groups of interested persons from our communities in centers across the country. Eventually that will lead to establishing formal regions that will elect members to serve nationally as was done with CJC.”
Frankly, I’m confused by all this Martin. I was under the impression that CIJA had supplanted the CJC.
Would anyone at CIJA care to comment on this initiative to recreate the CJC?
Regards,
Bernie
Martin Sampson responded later that day:
Hi Bernie,
Hope you are well during these persistently challenging times.
Having not been involved in the discussions that preceded the launch of this new group, we do not know very much about it beyond what you articulated below. As you know, the Jewish community is diverse. Lots of community members have passionate opinions about a range of important subjects. People have every right to organize themselves to advance ideas about which they care. Indeed, if I understand Jewish values at all, many Jews see it as their duty to get involved. Incidentally, this is one of the many reasons I personally love the Jewish community. Judging by the description below, they will be duplicating much of what CIJA does, but it’s not a bad thing to have more people paying attention to these issues. – Martin
One of the members of the former Canadian Jewish Congress was Winnipeg lawyer Israel Ludwig. Subsequently, I spoke with Israel Ludwig to try to find out more about what this effort to reconstitute the Canadian Jewish Congress, albeit under a new name, was all about.
Ludwig said: “We knew there was a service the Canadian Jewish Congress delivered right across the country – and we don’t see that happening now.
“The organized community was not responding as quickly as it should.”
I asked Ludwig if there were some specific examples to which he could point that might better explain how CIJA has not been responding to the needs of the community as well as it should?
He said: “The CJC played a very important role in educating the local public about antisemitsm.
“The JCC used to reach out to different communities that have also suffered”, such as the Indigenous and Black communities, Ludwig said, and was able to forge effective common bonds.
I said to Ludwig that there has always been a certain amount of tension though between the Jewish community and some minority groups, including minority groups of colour, so I wondered how the CJC would be able to improve upon what other Jewish organizations have been able to do to improve relations between those groups and the Jewish community?
Ludwig admitted “that animosity was always there, but the CJC helped to dissipate it to a certain extent.”
I wondered, too, about the extent to which this new organization might also be overlapping the work that B’nai Brith Canada is doing, particularly when it comes to combating anti-Semitism?
Ludwig said that “B’nai Brith’s handicap is that it only represents its members. It cannot say that it represents the entire Jewish community.”
I asked what the next steps are likely to be for the Canadian Jewish Community Forum?
Ludwig said that the first step will be “trying to find people locally to join (the CJCF) – young people especially. We’re going to establish Chairs in different parts of the country.”
Finally , Ludwig noted, “We’ve also got to fundraise.”
Local News
Newly announced Vivian Silver Centre for Shared Society to further former Winnipegger’s lifelong efforts to foster Jewish-Arab co-operation in Israel
By MYRON LOVE Vivian Silver (oleh Hashalom) devoted her life to working toward dialogue and collaboration between Arabs and Jews in Israel. The culmination of her efforts was the Arab-Jewish Center for Empowerment, Equality, and Cooperation – Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Economic Development (AJEEC-NISPED), which she co-founded 25 year ago with her sister peace activist, Dr. Amal Elsana Ahl’jooj.
Tragically, Vivian was of the 1,200 Israeli Jews, Bedouin and foreign farm workers who were slaughtered during the Hamas-led pogrom of October 7, 2023.
Last month, AJEEC-NISPED announced plans to create the Vivian Silver Center for Shared Society in her memory – a new national hub for Jewish-Israeli Arab collaboration and social innovation in Be’er Sheva – backed by an initial $1 million donation from UJA-Federation of New York, along with support from the Meyerhoff Foundation, the Gilbert Foundation, and other philanthropic partners committed to strengthening shared society in Israel.
“It’s a great honor and a beautiful gesture,” comments Vivian’s son, Yonatan Zeigen, “and I hope it will be a central building for civil society, both in the physical sense, that it will become a substantial home for the organization and for other initiatives that will use the spaced and also symbolically, as a beacon for this kind of work in the specific location in the Negev.”
As this writer noted n an article earlier this year in relation to the announcement of the launch of the Vivian Silver Impact Award by the New Israel Fund (NIF) – of which she was a long time board member, and which was developed in conjunction with her sons, Yonatan and Chen), Vivian made aliyah in 1974. She first went to Israel in 1968 – to spend her second year at university abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, studying psychology and English literature.
In an article she wrote in 2018 in a publication called ”Women Wage Peace,” she related that during her final year at the University of Manitoba, she was among the founders of the Student Zionist Alliance on campus and was invited to its national conference in Montreal. There she met activists in the Habonim youth movement who planned on making aliyah and re-establishing Kibbutz Gezer. The day she wrote her last university exam, she boarded a flight to New York to join the group.
She spent three years in New York, where she became involved in Jewish and Zionist causes, including the launch of the Jewish feminist movement in America.
“It was a life-changing period,” she recalled. “I came to understood that in addition to being a kibbutz member, I was destined to be a social change and peace activist.”
Vivian and her group made aliyah in 1974 and settled on Kibbutz Gezer. In 1981, she established the Department Promoting Gender Equality in the Kibbutz Movement. She moved to Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza border in 1990, along with her late husband, Lewis, and their two sons
In 1998, Vivian became the executive director of the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development in Beer Sheva, an NGO promoting human sustainable development, shared society between Jews and Arabs, and peace in the Middle East. Soon after, she was joined by Amal Elsana Alh’jooj as co-directors of AJEEC-NISPED, winning the 2011 Victor J. Goldberg Peace Prize of the Institute for International Education.
In the article she wrote for “Women Waging Peace,” she noted that “while we later focused on empowerment projects in the Bedouin community in the Negev, initially we worked with Palestinian organizations on joint people-to-people projects. I spent much time in Gaza until the outbreak of the second intifada. We continued working with organizations in the West Bank. I personally know so many Palestinians who yearn for peace no less than we do.”
According to a report in the Israeli newspaper Arutz Sheva, in the November 24th edition, the Vivian Silver Centre – which is expected to open in the spring – will be located within AJEEC-NISPED’s soon-to-open AJEEC House, and will provide a permanent home for programs that promote equality, leadership, and cooperation among Israel’s diverse communities.
“The Vivian Silver Center for Shared Society, within AJEEC’s headquarters, “the Arutz Sheva report noted, “will serve as a regional platform for dozens of Israeli Arab and Jewish social organizations. Through AJEEC’s educational, vocational, and leadership programs, the center will support thousands of young adults each year – offering mentorship, professional training, and opportunities for cross-cultural collaboration.
“These programs,” the report continued, “already reach more than 15,000 participants nationwide, helping young people integrate into higher education and meaningful employment while narrowing social and economic gaps.”
AJEEC House is located in Be’er Sheva’s Science Park, near Ben-Gurion University. The three-storey AJEEC House has been designed to foster cooperation and dialogue. It will host community partnerships, provide shared workspaces for social entrepreneurs, and serve as a hub for initiatives addressing social and economic development across the Negev and beyond.
Readers who may be interested considering a donation can dial into NISPED’s website – – for further information.
Local News
Stanley Schwartz- it’s a long way from Waterloo
By GERRY POSNER For Stanley Schwartz, it all began on Waterloo Street. For those who remember the 1950s and 60s – take yourself back to the south end of Winnipeg. Waterloo between Corydon and Fleet had enough Jewish families to form its own High Holiday congregation. That is to say, there were a whole bunch of Jewish families there. Not quite McAdam Avenue in the north end – but close enough. One such family was that of Harold and Faye Schwartz, along with their children: Anita, Ruth, and Stanley.
Stanley graduated from Kelvin High School. In fact, he played football for the Kelvin Clipper. In addition, he was a participant in typical Jewish teen activities at the time, particularly AZA. He had a wide network of friends, some of whom remain vital connections to this day. Remember, in those days, there were no cell phones, no internet, and barely the beginnings of TV. So, as a teenage boy, Stanley spent a lot of time with his buddies.
Stanley went on to the University of Manitoba from where he graduated law in 1967. That was Stanley’s first step into a career that lasted close to 50 years. His second big step was his decision to forgo an offer to become a partner in a well known and established law firm in Winnipeg, and instead, go out on his own in a shared space arrangement. The shared space arrangement lasted several years and, during that time, he also opened up an office in Morris, Manitoba. Morris was once home to several Jewish families, but not when Stanley moved there to live.
Along his way to practicing law, Stanley got married – to the former Shirley Hooper, a woman originally from England who had moved to Vancouver and whom Stanley met by chance in Hawaii. They were blessed with two children and now have five grandkids. But the family did not end up in Winnipeg. In what was a huge life changing decision at that time, Stanley and Shirley boldly packed up their belongings and moved to Vancouver. Now, some of the thinking that entered into this move might well have been Shirley’s lack of fondness for the Manitoba winters (even though she had formed close relationships with many people in Winnipeg at that time – relationships she still maintainsto this day). But Stanley was also open to a fresh start in a new place. That decision, looking back on it now in 2025, was a wise one for both Stanley and Shirley Schwartz. For starters, who knew that Vancouver would explode with an immigrant population and with it, a dramatic increase in the value of property, caused in part by non-residents buying up land and buildings in Vancouver? Aside from that, Stanley had a specialty in his practice of law that was a perfect fit for Vancouver’s growing population- family law.
For the entirety of his legal career, Stanley focused on matrimonial law in every aspect, not the least of which was litigation. As a former lawyer myself, let me say that if there is an area of law filled with tension, aggravation, and sadness, it surely must be the field of marriage, children and custody battles, access, division of assets and all that goes with those issues. You often are not just a lawyer, but also a psychologist, father confessor and a lot more. You really have to be able to be able to watch some of the worst in humanity. And you have to be ready to, as they say, “ go for the jugular.”
You may never have to do it, but you have to be ready. Stanley Schwartz was ( nd remains so this day, in my view) on the face of it, not a likely candidate to be thought of as aggressive.That is because he was then and still is now, a friendly guy who does not seem to be one cut out for courtroom battles. But clearly, he was able to be “ rough and tough” when he had to be. When I asked Stanley what advice he would give to somebody wanting to employ him in a family law situation, he was quite frank. His immediate response to these kinds of clients was: “If you want a war, the winners will be two people -the two lawyers. The losers will be your children ( f there are kids in the picture.”)
Stanley might still have been at it, but he had medical issues relating to his back over a period of many years. He has had three spinal surgeries, and none of them has really worked satisfactorily. Standing for periods of time was hard for Stanley. He says he knew it was time to give up his practice of law when one day in court six or seven years ago, while he was in argument, he leaned against the dais and the judge told him that it was ok for him to sit down and argue. That episode confirmed what he had thought for a while: time to call it a day and a career. So with two metal rods in his back and pain in his legs, Stanley retired.
Though no longer involved in the legal world, Stanley has managed, very easily he would add, to settle into his non working life with as much travel as he and Shirley are able to do. That travel includes trips back to Winnipeg, also Winnipeg Beach – where he spent much of his youth. His visits also include time with his sister, Anita Ruth Neville, a name not exactly unknown to Manitobans given her role as the 26th Lieutenant Governor for the Province of Manitoba. And, with one daughter in Toronto, Shirley and Stanley also make regular stops in that city to see his family there.
Not that long ago, Stanley stepped into the world of octogenarians. He is quick to say that getting old is not for sissies, but at the same time, he is one to embrace what each phase of his life has brought.
Local News
Farah Perelmuter – a former Winnipegger in the spotlight
By GERRY POSNER From the north end of Winnipeg, Garden City to be exact, comes yet another Winnipeg woman who has almost singlehandedly built a prosperous business in Toronto – almost out of the blue. And who is this Winnipeg woman? None other than Farah Perelmuter, bornFarah Vinsky, the oldest of Toby and Irv Vinsky’s three daughters.
Farah attended Talmud Torah and Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate, also spent a year at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate. Upon graduation from high school, Farah took a gap year in Toronto working in the modelling industry. During that year, she had a chance to visit Western University in London, Ontario. That visit inspired her to apply there and, after one year at the University of Winnipeg, she was off to Western. Interestingly, not that long ago, Farah served on the Western Alumni Board – a role she filled for six years.
As a teenager in Winnipeg, Farah indicated that she had an entrepreneurial gene, as evidenced by her creating what was a “ self development “ program for teenage girls. When she started that program, Farah was all of 16 and was already working in her spare time in a modelling agency. When she came to Toronto after her graduation from university, she began working at a marketing agency, but the desire to be her own boss was so strong that, in 1995, Farah, along with her husband, Martin Perelmuter, started a business known as “ Speakers Spotlight.”
The business’s purpose was to bring prominent speakers to address audiences at locations all over the world. The couple initiated the business right from the spare bedroom in their apartment – with only one phone and one computer. Worse than that, Farah and her husband had no clients, no experience, no staff and, of course – no money. What they had was a clear vision. That vision was to put the right speaker in front of the right audience and, if they could do that, the impact would be significant and lasting. They also had so little business experience that they tried out different ways of doing things in their business and were not afraid to be innovative. That willingness to create and change likely propelled them speedily into the forefront in their field. As proof of their standing in the industry, Farah and Martin were selected twice as Entrepreneurs of the Year by Ernst and Young.
From that modest beginning emerged what is today called “ Speakers Spotlight,” a business that has grown into one of the world’s largest and indeed most respected speakers’ agencies. Farah and Martin have developed a team of people working for and with them (now up to 35 people, who work both in and out of the office) and, as well, they have created an incredible roster of extraordinary speakers. Their list of speakers includes people with deep experience in their respective fields. That combination of prominent speakers and a loyal, dedicated group of people putting the speakers on to platforms has allowed “Speakers Spotlight” to raise the bar of professional service and integrity within the industry. Would you believe 40,000 speaking engagements over 50 countries are now part of the history of a business that started in Farah’s spare bedroom? Just the list of names who have participated with Speakers Spotlight is staggering. Google Speakers Spotlight and I promise you will be overwhelmed, both by the quantity and quality.
Along the way, the company has received numerous awards and accolades. Most importantly, they have, through the various people that have been involved as speakers, helped to plant the seeds for people in the audience to make changes, alter plans and to inspire them to go forward. Sometimes, it’s as little as hearing the right person tell a story that can affect one person and from there, big things often develop. For Farah, that is what keeps her excited about her business.
In 2017, the couple started another business related to the first one, called “ The Spotlight Agency.” This company connects celebrity talent with opportunities all over the world. The talent comes from every area of life including the fields of entertainment, sports, food, decor and more. What the Spotlight Agency does is to unite these personalities to a brand of partnerships, with digital and creator content,TV, streaming, podcasts and publishing.
Even with the real success of Farah’s business ventures, what pushes her are her two children, Jade and Cole, both now in their 20s, and forging their own trails. As well, Farah appreciates from whence she came and she looks forward to what lies ahead. She treasures her return trips to Winnipeg to see her parents, relatives and indeed, old friends. So much is Farah Perelmuter a true Winnipgger that she still roots for the Winnipeg Jets, especially when they play the Toronto Maple Leafs. So, let the spotlight shine on Farah Vinsky Perelmuter.