Local News
Nine Jewish (or half-Jewish) Members elected to House of Commons in Sept. 20 federal election
By BERNIE BELLAN The recent federal election saw the re-election of all eight Members of Parliament who were at least half Jewish and the addition of one new member, Melissa Lantsman, who won the seat of Thornhill for the Conservatives. Among the MPs who won re-election were: Jim Carr (Liberal) in Winnipeg South Centre and Marty Morantz (Conservative) in Headingley-St.James-Assiniboia-Charleswood.
The following information is taken largely from Wikipedia:
Jim Carr (Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre) has been a Member of Parliament since 2015.
Carr was Minister of Natural Resources from 2015 to 2018, and Minister of International Trade Diversification from 2018 to 2019. He left Cabinet in 2019 after being diagnosed with cancer, but was named Trudeau’s special representative to the Prairies. In 2021, he returned to cabinet as a minister without portfolio while remaining special representative to the Prairies. He previously was a member of the Manitoba Legislature from 1988 to 1992 for the Manitoba Liberal Party.
Martin B. “Marty” Morantz (Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley) is a lawyer, businessperson, philanthropist and politician. He has served in the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament since the 2019 Canadian Federal Election.
Prior to serving in the House of Commons, Morantz served as City Councillor for the Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge ward on Winnipeg City Council from 2014 to 2018 after his win in the 2014 Winnipeg municipal election. During his time on City Council, Morantz chaired both the Finance and Infrastructure committees and also served on the Executive Policy Committee.
Leah Gazan (NDP, Winnipeg Centre), was born in Thompson, Manitoba to Albert and Marjorie Gazan. Gazan was first elected to the House of Commons in 219.
Gazan is Lakota-Chinese on her mother’s side, and Jewish on her father’s side. Gazan’s father, Albert Gazan, is a Holocaust survivor from the Netherlands, born in The Hague, South Holland in 1938.
Gazan previously taught at the University of Winnipeg prior to running in the 2019 election. She also served as president for the Social Planning council of Winnipeg.
Anthony Housefather (Liberal, Mount Royal) was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015. Housefather holds two law degrees (B.C.L. and LL.B.) from McGill University, and an MBA from Concor-dia University’s John Molson School of Business. Before his election to federal office, he served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and General Counsel, at Dialogic Corporation, a multinational technology company.
Housefather was a nationally ranked athlete as a student. He returned to competitive swimming in 2010, and earned seven medals (two silver, and five bronze) in swimming masters events at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel, and five at the 2017 Maccabiah Games.
Rachel Bendayan (Liberal, Outremont), was first elected to the House of Commons in a by-election in 2019, then again in the general election that same year.
Bendayan was born and raised in a Jewish family of Moroccan origin. Bendayan studied law at McGill University and obtained her degree in 2007, specializing in commercial litigation and international arbitration. After graduating, Bendayan was employed by the Norton Rose Fulbright law firm and also teaches at the Faculty of Law of the University of Montreal.
Julie Dabrusin (Liberal, Toronto-Danforth), was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015. Dabrusin earned university degrees in law and Middle Eastern studies. She then spent 13 years as an attorney with Rogers Partners LLP, as well as a year as commission counsel to an inquiry into government procurement. She and her family moved to the Danforth area in 1998. In 2011 she left her legal career to focus on raising her two daughters and participating in various community organizing and charitable activities aimed at promoting and preserving Toronto’s public parks. In 2013, she was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Karina Gould (Liberal, Burlington), was first elected to the House of Commons in 2019. Gould was born in 1987 and grew up in Burlington, Ontario in a family with three brothers. Her paternal grandparents were Czech Jews who survived the Holocaust.
On January 10, 2017, she was appointed Minister of Democratic Institutions, becoming the youngest female cabinet minister in Canadian history.
Ya’ara Saks (Liberal, York Centre), was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on October 26, 2020, following the resignation of Michael Levitt.
A dual citizen of Canada and of Israel, Saks was born in Toronto to an Israeli father and has lived in both Israel (1995 to 2006) and Canada. She attended McGill University for her undergraduate education, and then completed her Master’s degree in international relations and diplomacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Saks was deeply critical of the direction of the Netanyahu government in Israel for its treatment of its Israeli Arab citizens and the 2018 Nation-State law and has expressed the concern that it is leading Israel to be “deeply racist towards its minorities and … not to see itself as a light and shelter or future home to asylum seekers fleeing war,” as well as its elevation of leadership at the expense of the justice system.
Despite her differences with the Likud government, Saks stated that she is “an unapologetic Zionist who believes passionately in the State of Israel” and that she condemns the BDS Movement (boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel), considering it antisemitic.
Melissa Lantsman (Conservative, Thornhill) is the first LGBTQ woman and first Jewish woman ever to be elected as a Conservative MP.
Lantsman was born in Toronto in 1984 to a Russian Jewish family and raised in Thornhill. Her mother was an accountant and her father was an engineer who worked in the taxi business and ran several pawn shops. She attended a French-immersion program at Langstaff Secondary School in the York Region and speaks fluent French in addition to English and Russian.
She attended University of Toronto and graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts. She later completed the Institute of Corporate Directors education program at the Rotman School of Management.
In other related news stemming from the election, Annamie Paul, who had become the first Black and first Jewish woman to lead a Canadian political party when she became leader of the Green party in 2020, finished fourth in the riding of Toronto Centre. Paul has now resigned as leader of the Greens.
Finally, in perusing the names of candidates here in Manitoba, we came across the name of Aiden Kahanovitch, who ran for the NDP in Winnipeg South, where he finished third. We were intrigued by the name and inquired of Aiden whether he was Jewish and possibly related to Phil Kahanovitch. Aiden responded: “Yes, I am related to Phil Kahanovitch. I am not Jewish myself, but married into the family and took my husband’s last name. Phil is my father-in-law.”
Local News
March of the Living 2023 participants form Taste of Hope project to help honour the memory of Holocaust survivor Alex Buckman
By BERNIE BELLAN The March of the Living is an annual two-week international educational program that brings thousands of students and adults to Poland and Israel to study the Holocaust, Jewish history, and the rise of the State of Israel. Founded in 1988, it features a 3-kilometer silent walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day).
Attendees on the march are accompanied by adults, some of whom themselves have been Holocaust survivors.
Following the week in Poland, participants travel to Israel to observe Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day), marking a journey from darkness to life.
For many years the coordinator of the march in Winnipeg was Roberta Malam, working on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. More recently Abby Flackman filled that role, and now the person in charge is Lindsey Kerr.
Since its inception 37 years ago the March of the Living has become a rite of passage for many young Winnipeg Jews who have been able to participate as an organized group from Winnipeg and combine visits to the death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland with the subsequent trip to Israel.
Then – the Covid pandemic hit – in 2020, and the March of the Living was put on hold for two years – in 2020 and 2021.
In 2022, the March of the Living resumed, but there was no organized contingent from Winnipeg participating. (There may have been some Winnipeggers who did go on the march that year, but if there were any they would have been part of a general Canadian group since there was no Winnipeg coordinator that year.)
In 2023, however, once again a very large contingent of young Canadian Jews – 51 altogether, of whom approximately two-thirds were from Winnipeg, went on that year’s March of the Living. That particular march was memorable for many reasons, including the fact it was the last full march since 2019 and was to remain the last march to have an organized Winnipeg contingent in the past six years as the years 2024 and 2025 were interrupted by the war in Gaza. (There were smaller marches held in 2024 and 2025, but again there was no organized contingent from Winnipeg.)
Recently, we were contacted by one of the participants of that 2023 march, Ethan Levene, who asked us whether we’d be interested in running what turned out be a very poignant story about one particular aspect of that 2023 March of the Living.
Here is what Ethan wrote:
“In April 2023, the Coast to Coast Canadian delegation of March of the Living was privileged to travel with Holocaust survivor Alex Buckman (z”l). March of the Living is a Holocaust education trip that allows participants to visit and bear witness to the sites of the Holocaust. Unfortunately, while sharing his story in Poland, Alex passed away. However, the impact he left on us students was immeasurable.
“While speaking to us in Warsaw, Alex told us the story of his Aunt Becky’s gâteau à l’orange (orange cake). While in Ravensbruck concentration camp, his aunt managed to write down this recipe. After his parents’ murder, his Aunt Becky went on to raise Alex after surviving. In addition to sharing his story, Alex tasked us with baking the cake with family and friends.
“Out of this, a group of alumni from our trip have created this project: ‘A Taste of Hope.’ On February 1st, university students from over 5 universities across Canada will come together to bake the gâteau à l’orange and hear Alex’s story. Proceeds from the event and this fundraising page will support the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants. Alex was heavily involved with this organization, whose mission is to both create community for Holocaust survivors and their descendants and educate about the Holocaust to help fight against antisemitism and all forms of bigotry and hate.
“Here is information from our fundraising page for the event – ‘A Taste of Hope’: Fundraising for A Taste of Hope.
Ethan added that “it’s completely student led, all by alumni from our 2023 trip attending university at these various locations across Canada; Winnipeg, London, Kingston, Montreal.”
He also added: “Follow us on instagram@tastehope.“
Here is a link to a CBC story about Alex Buckman: Alex Buckman story
In a subsequent email Ethan gave the names of Winnipeggers who are involved in A Taste of Hope: Ethan Levene (studies at McGill), Zahra Slutchuk, Alex Stoller (studies at Queens), Coby Samphir, Izzy Silver (studies at Waterloo).
He also added names of others who are involved in the project: Jessie Ages, Anneke Goodwin, Lilah Silver, Ella Pertman, Ellie Vogel, and Talia Cherun.
To find out more about March of the Living in Winnipeg go to: March of the Living
Local News
Young Researcher Eryn Kirshenbaum 2025 recipient of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences prestigious Dr. T. Edward Cuddy Award
By MYRON LOVE Fifth year University of Manitoba Faculty of Sciences Microbiology student Eryn Kirshenbaum is this year’s recipient of the Dr. T. Edward Cuddy Student Award in recognition of her excellence in research under the supervision of Dr. Inna Rabinovich-Nikitin, Assistant Professor of Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Manitoba and Principle Investigator in Women’s Heart Health Research at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre.
When asked for her reaction to learning she was the 2025 recipient of the student award, Kirshenbaum says “I was so honoured, humbled and excited to have been nominated and then chosen as the recipient out of many well deserving students.”
Rabinovich-Nikitin, Kirshenbaum’s mentor, says “This is Eryn’s third year working in my lab and I am incredibly proud of her for winning the Dr. T. Edward Cuddy Research Award.” She adds: “It is a truly deserved honour. Since joining my laboratory in 2023, Eryn has shown an exceptional combination of technical skill, intellectual curiosity, and professional maturity, becoming an integral contributor to our research on women’s heart health, an area of growing scientific importance that demands both rigorous methodology and a strong understanding of sex-based differences in heart disease.
“Not only has Eryn provided invaluable experimental support, but she has also taken on a leadership role in training new students and has demonstrated a strong commitment to collaboration and mentorship.”
In return, Kirshenbaum notes that she has “learned a lot from Dr. Rabinovich-Nikitin. She is a great mentor and I look forward to learning and growing even more under her leadership”.
The T. Edward Cuddy Award is one of 12 awards presented annually by the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences in partnership with the University of Manitoba.
The 27th Annual Institute of Cardiovascular Naranjan Dhalla Awards were held on December 2nd and 3rd as part of a two-day conference comprised of a scientific forum and awards ceremony. The awards celebrate the leadership of individuals who have profoundly influenced the advancement of cardiovascular research, medicine and health education, including, in previous years, Nobel Prize winners and Gairdner Award Scholars. The Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences Gold Medal was awarded to Dr. Stanley Nattel, Director of the Montreal Heart Institute for his outstanding contributions to advancements in cardiac arrythmias and patient care.
Eryn Kirshenbaum, the daughter of Barry and Kim Kirshenbaum, says she was always interested in understanding the functioning’s of the human body, in particular the heart, which has fit with her desire to pursue a career in medicine and possibly continued heart health research.
A graduate of the Hebrew Bilingual program at Brock Corydon Elementary School, Ecole River Heights, and Kelvin High School French Immersion, Eryn says that she has always been interested in science, particularly cardiology. She reports that she has assisted as co-author on 5 research papers, including one where she was the primary author, focusing on women’s heart health and how heart disease affects women differently than men. That paper also investigated the connection between disrupted circadian rhythms and heart disease, specifically related to individuals with irregular sleep patterns, such as shift workers.
Eryn notes that, in addition to her university studies and research activities, she works part time as a Medical First Responder with St. John Ambulance – an activity which complements her medical research. “With St. John Ambulance, I have had calls dealing with the early stages of heart attacks and strokes as well as basic first aid,” she notes.
Readers might also run into Eryn at many Jewish celebrations such as Yom Ha’atzmaut, where she helps her dad with the family entertainment business.
While her ultimate goal, she says, is to practice medicine, she adds that she is really enjoying doing research.
Local News
Young entrepreneur Noah Palansky and partner Jordan Davis are the first Winnipeggers to crack Forbes Magazine’s “top 30 Under 30” list
By MYRON LOVE From a very young age, Noah Palansky has demonstrated initiative and leadership. I first met and interviewed Palansky in 2011 at a low point in his life. His mother, Naomi Palansky, had sadly passed away at a young age. The then 12-year-old channeled his mourning into action. With his younger sister, Lexi, by his side – and the support of his father, Bruce – the preteen entered a team in the annual CancerCare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life. For the next few years, Palansky’s teams – under the banner, “Kids Count” – raised thousands of dollars for cancer researched.
Fast forward to 2019. Palansky was by then a young adult with a new initiative. The year before, he and a couple of friends had entered a potential business proposal in a competition sponsored by Winnipeg-based North Forge, Canada’s only start up incubator and fabrication lab, and won the top prize.
In that 2019 story, the young entrepreneur recalled how he came up with idea for his new business – TAIV (the AI stands for artificial intelligence). In the spring of 2018, he recounted, at the height of the Winnipeg Jets playoff run, he and his girlfriend were watching the game on a big screen while having drinks in a restaurant when an ad appeared onscreen promoting a rival restaurant and advertising the same drink he was imbibing – at a lower price.
“That ad gave me the germ of an idea,” he said in that earlier interview. “I immediately spoke to the restaurant manager and asked how he felt about the ad,” he recalls. “He was not pleased.”
That germ of an idea has developed into a highly successful new business venture. The idea that was put into practice has landed Palansky and his partner, Jordan Davis, on Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 list in the Marketing and Advertising category. The duo are the first Winnipeg-based entrepreneurs to have received this honour.
“It came as a complete surprise,” Palansky responds. “We had no advance notice that we were even being considered for this recognition.”
Since TAIV officially launched in 2021, the company – still based in Winnipeg – has grown to a workforce of about 80 – most of whom are based here. Palansky notes that TAIV also has sales offices in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
In the past four years, TAIV has built a presence in nearly 5,000 venues across the United States. The company works with brands like Coke, Pepsi, Netflix, T-Mobile, FanDuel, Fox, and United Airlines.
“The way this works,” Palansky explained to this writer in 2019, “ is that if you are in Boston Pizza, for example, watching a Jets game and a commercial comes on, our software will switch the commercial to an ad for Boston Pizza.
“We make a little box that sits between your cable box and the TV. Our box can detect when a commercial is coming on and switch the ad out for one promoting the restaurant or store the box is in.”
For larger enterprises, Palansky notes, TAIV produces a web app that allows the company to switch its own in-house ads for the ads that would be appearing on screen.
In a statement by North Force celebrating Palansky and Davis’ achievement, Palansky is quoted as saying that “the Forbes achievement offered a rare moment to pause and reflect.
“There are very few moments where a third party reaches out and says, ‘We’ve noticed what you did, and we think it’s awesome.’ This felt like one of those rare moments.”
The North Forge report also sees the recognition as a win for the community.
“I wish we had more Winnipeg entrepreneurs on the global stage because it’s really good for the local ecosystem,” Palansky is quoted as saying. “I’m trying to do what I can to help others get off the ground.”
Palansky and Davis are looking forward to going to Phoenix in April for the official presentation.
He adds that TAIV continues expanding across North America, strengthening partnerships, and onboarding advertisers as the network grows. For local venues or businesses interested in installing TAIV or exploring advertising opportunities, the company welcomes inquiries at hello@taiv.tv.