Local News
New JCFS office manager Mara Pellettieri has strong ties to our Jewish community
By MYRON LOVE For Mara Pellettieri, the Jewish Child and Family Service’s new office manager, community has always been of prime importance. One of eight children of Leslie and the late Les Nepon, she has truly been immersed in our Jewish community from birth.
Pellettieri – who was most recently the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s Engagement Coordinator – assumed her new position four months ago. “The posting was brought to my attention,” she says. “It sounded like a good opportunity to expand my horizons and further apply my breadth of experience.”
In introducing their new office manager, the JCFS management noted on its most recent Sherut newsletter that Pellettieri has worked in retail as well as public administration, and has managed a number of large engagement and administrative portfolios. She has “excellent creative and organizational skills”, is “community-oriented” and “committed to helping to make our Jewish community a better place”, according to the newsletter.
Pellettieri, along with all of her siblings, is a graduates of our Jewish school system (the former Talmud Torah School and Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate). While in high school, she recalls, she went on one of the annual March of the Living missions.
“The March of the Living had a really strong effect on me,” she says. “It reinforced in me the importance of community.”
Pellettieri graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a B.A. in Psychology. Following university, she volunteered for a few months at the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, helping to facilitate tours and acting as a guide for museum visitors.
Prior to joining the Federation staff, Pellettieri worked in retail at the management level. She first was manager at Stella’s Bridal and Evening Collection, followed by a stint as assistant manager for Sephora’s three Winnipeg outlets.
With three growing children however, (including 11-year-old Meir and eight-year-old twins Yael and Simi, Pellettieri felt that it was time to look for work with more regular hours (as compared to shift work and evening work hours).
She notes that she began working with the Federation as a receptionist. “Within a year, I was promoted to Engagement Coordinator,” she says.
In that capacity, her portfolio encompassed – pre-Covid – organizing the P2G programs (student and teacher exchanges between Gray Academy and Brock Corydon Hebrew Bilingual program and partner schools in northern Israel) as well as March of the Living missions, along with the PJ Library program.
She views her new role with the JCFS as ensuring that the office functions smoothly and providing assistance and support to other staff members wherever it is needed. “I am really enjoying working for JCFS,” she notes. “Although there are still things I have to learn here, I am working with great people in a fast-paced environment. It is always busy here.”
Outside of work, Pellettieri continues to contribute to the community on a volunteer basis. She is currently on the March of the Living committee. As well, she has begun sewing garments for the Chesed Shel Emes – our community’s non-profit mortuary service – and will hopefully soon be training in taharrah (the ritual preparation of the deceased for burial).
And of course, she is a busy mom. “I spend a lot of my after work hours chauffeuring my kids around the city to their various activities such as swimming and karate lessons and hockey and soccer practices,” she says.
Local News
2024 Sol and Florence Kanee Lecture with Mike Fegelman of Honest Reporting
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada is pleased to announce that our 2024 Sol and Florence Kanee Lecturer will be Mike Fegelman, Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of Honest Reporting Canada. The lecture will be held at 7 pm on Sunday, April 7, 2024 at Adas-Yeshurun Herzlia Synagogue.
Our speaker, Mike Fegelman, is a seventeen-year veteran of the Canadian journalism industry, Mike is the Editor-in-Chief of HRC and is responsible for the day to day running of the organization, its financial management and project development. Mike’s focus is on delivering efficiency and professionalism as HRC moves into new technological and geographical spheres that include the expansion of Honest Reporting’s media monitoring services to French Canada with the launch of a Montreal office.
Mike was a former editor-in-chief, reporter, and anchor of various news programs and publications. A graduate of Carleton University’s renowned journalism program, Mike specialized in broadcasting and international reporting. Mike brings a marketing savvy to HRC having been a project manager for the market research firm Canmark Technologies for over six years.
Mike has testified before parliamentary committees and has given testimony to the Standing Senate Committee for Transport and Communications to express HRC’s concerns about the CBC’s reporting of Israel and the Middle East. Mike’s opinions and views are widely sought out for by Canada’s media and political elite. Mike’s work has been published in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, La Presse, Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen and many more. Mike is a columnist for Huffington Post Canada and the Times of Israel.
In 2013, Shalom Life listed Mike as one of their Top 20 Under 40 due to his dedication and significant contributions to Israel advocacy. Mike is also the immediate past President of the Village Shul and Aish Hatorah Learning Centre.
The annual Sol and Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecture is the Jewish Heritage Centre’s only fundraising event. Tickets are $50 and are available at Eventbrite.ca
Local News
Kadima Dance Company receives rave reviews for Edmonton performace earlier this month
By BERNIE BELLAN Hadera Short has been dancing since the age of three. In an April 2022 story we wrote that Hadera told “The Jewish Post & News that she ‘started doing Israeli dance when I was six. I joined Chai when I was 16.’
“In 2014, at the age of 21, Hadera said, she ‘was accepted into the Jerusalem Academy of Music for a one-year intensive program, where,’ she adds, she ‘studied ballet, contemporary and Gaga styles of dance.’
“Upon returning to Winnipeg, Hadera rejoined Chai, becoming its dance director in 2016. In 2017, after eight years performing with Chai, she retired from the group.
“After a two-year hiatus from dance, however, Hadera said she realized how much she missed performing in front of a live audience. As a result, she had the idea of forming her own dance company.
“Hadera actually began choreographing in her mother’s living room. After sharing the idea of starting a new dance company with other dancers and discussing the concept of forming a new Israeli dance group, Hadera realized the potential success that this group could hold and Kadima Dance Company was born. Kadima, meaning ‘forward’ in Hebrew, had its first rehearsal at Kazka Dance Collective studio on December 1, 2019.
“Asked why she wanted to start her own Israeli dance company, Hadera explained that ‘I started Kadima because I wanted to create a new space for adult dancers who are passionate about Israeli dance and wanted the freedom to express themselves creatively. I encourage the dancers to select their own music to choreograph to, or come to me with potential performance ideas and opportunities. I want to show off everyone’s full potential as dancers, performers and choreographers. One of my primary goals for Kadima is encouraging a balance between professionalism, creativity and fun. Our rehearsals and our relationships outside of the studio are a reflection of just that.’
Just recently Hadera contacted us to inform about Kadima’s most recent experience, when members of the group travelled to Edmonton to perform in an Israeli dance festival, known as Festival Hatzafon, which was mounted by the Aviv Israeli Folk Dance Association (AIFDA) on the occasion of AIFDA’s 18th year anniversary. According to Hadera, “AIFDA was formed in 2006 by choreographer and artistic director Sari Uretsky.”
The festival, held in the Westbury Theatre in Edmonton,featured Kadima alongside other Israeli dancers and other cultural groups from across Canada in what Hadera said was a “sold out show.”
Currently Kadima has 20 dancers in the troupe, of whom 13 went to Edmonton.
Their performance elicited this reaction from Sari Uretsky: “You should be so proud!!! You guys are a strong, cohesive group in such a short time! And you’ve already accomplished so much! It was an honour to have you and your company! You are all gorgeous dancers and added so much to our festival! We cannot wait to collaborate with you in the future!”
In addition to having just performed in Edmonton, Kadima also performed in Vancouver last year in what is known as “Festival Harikud.”
Upcoming, according to Hadera, Kadima will also be performing at “MTYP April 4 for the Robyn Braha School of Dance show, and May 14 at the Rady JCC for the 3rd year in a row for Yom Ha’atzmaut.”
In the email Hadera sent to us informing about Kadima’s performing in Edmonton, she added this at the end: Follow Kadima on social media: Instagram @kadimadanceco and Facebook Kadima Dance Company, or email kadimadance@gmail.com for more information or if interested in auditioning.
Local News
Irwin Eisenstein has made a name for himself in two different types of “court”
By GERRY POSNER The name Eisenstein is one familiar to many Winnipeggers, particularly for those who remember the late Sheppy and Hannah Eisenstein. Sheppy Eisenstein was a pharmacist and the owner of McCullough Drugs in St. Boniface. Hannah was a proud member of the Rosh Pina Choir for many years. The Eisensteins, along with older son Norman and younger son Irwin, lived for many years on Forest Park Drive in Garden City.
Irwin Eisenstein has become accomplished in two “courts.” The first court relates to his career in criminal law. He is what might be called the “go to guy” for driving offences. I don’t suggest you commit those kinds of offences, but if you do, just know that Irwin has made a real mark in the area, assisting accused people mainly in Ontario, but also in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Alberta, as well as Manitoba.
How did this happen? A graduate of Talmud Torah and Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate, Eisenstein earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Manitoba in 1978 before earning an LL.B. three years later from that university’s law school. After law school, he received his “real education” at two well known Winnipeg law firms – first with the late Alvin and Martin Corne, and then with Wilder and Wilder, as in Joe and the late Sam. For a variety of reasons, Eisenstein felt the pull of the larger city of Toronto and, in 1986, he was called to the Bar in Ontario. After a stint with a firm in Toronto, Eisenstein started his own law firm where, 42 years later, he continues to practice as a sole practitioner in criminal law, specializing in motor vehicle infractions, many of which can have serious repercussions, such as losing one’s driver’s license, job or worse.
In addition to his large practice, Eisenstein has been active within the profession. He has chaired or co-chaired the annual Law Society Continuing Legal Education program on Impaired Driving for over 10 years. This particular program has been so successful that in his last year of chairing the program, the attendance was over 450 members of the legal profession. Moreover, Eisenstein was invited to be the guest speaker on several occasions at the Continuing Legal Education program for judges of the Ontario Court of Justice. In addition, Irwin has been a legal commentator on several television networks, and a regular contributor in print media, both as counsel and commentator. In short, he has a reputation as a big player in this important area of criminal law. As an aside, I am not a big fan of ratings for professionals on the internet, but I was impressed by the glowing tributes to Eisenstein from many individuals whom Irwin had assisted over a period of years…Quite remarkable.
Now, as often as Irwin appears in the law courts with great success, he has also distinguished himself in another court – the tennis court. In 1976, Eisenstein represented North Winnipeg in tennis in the Manitoba Summer Games, which were held in Neepawa that year. He also represented Canada in the Masters Tennis competition at the Maccabi Games in Israel in 2022. The opening ceremony was held in Jerusalem in front of 30,000 spectators, including US President Biden. All told, Eisenstein has been a prominent player in tennis for over 50 years.
Eisenstein has also been blessed with two daughters. His older daughter Sari received a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from the University of Toronto and has started to practice in that field. His younger daughter Michelle graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School with a JD. She is now an associate with an established law firm on Bay Street in Toronto. This is Nachas with a capital N. Irwin has also been involved in a long term relationship with Debbie Lindsay, a pharmacist, something that made his parents, especially his father, very happy.
The Irwin Eisenstein story is a familiar one to people from Winnipeg, especially from the North End of the City – “Winnipeg boy” makes good in Toronto. Only this time on two counts and courts.
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