Local News
Peretz School graduating class of ’63 subject of Atlantic Magazine profile
By MYRON LOVE Class reunions are most often a once (or twice)in a life time event. I myself have attended two smallish reunions of my Peretz School cohort as well as Aberdeen School’s 100th anniversary and St. Johns High School’s 75th and 100th anniversaries. While many welcome the opportunity to reconnect with former classmates – and others not so much – several members of the I.L. Peretz Folk School class of ’63 have in recent years made class reunions a regular happening.
Back row, standing, left to right: Bailey Rayter, Eric Posen, Lanny Silver, Harold Silverman, Mark Waintman, Ron Charach, Leslie Hatklin.
Middle row, left to right: Ethel (Levine) Kofsky, Bella (Sapoznik) Ben-Ari, Sharon Winokur, Ester (Schwartz) Kagan, Clara (Ross) Smukler, Barbara (Shoib) Murray z”l, Phyllis (Chrzan) Wollach.
Front row, seated, left to right: Annette (Feldman) Nagler z”l, Sharon Love, Sharen (Martin) Hogarth, Betty Eisenstadt, Janis (Swick) Wisher, Hilda (Szternfeld) Smith, Anita (Ladner) Bakal, Nettie Schwetz.
Our teacher Mrs. Brooks is on the left and Mr. P. Herstein, the principal, is standing on the right.
Top photo taken in Vancouver at the home of Bob and Reesa (Margolis) Devlin, August 2015, during our 65th birthday reuni
Seated, left to right: Leslie Hatklin, Brenda (Grushko) Casey, Arthur Itzkow, Ethel (Levine) Kofsky, Carol Pollock, Janis (Swick) Wisher, Gity (Shklarsky) Morris-Finkel, Candy Zell.
Standing, left to right: Ron Charach, Harold Abosh, Faigie (Raber) Samson, Earl Zimmer, Sharon Love, Lanny Silver, Myrna Shefrin, Bailey Rayter, Bella (Sapoznik) Ben-Ari, Reesa (Margolis) Devlin.
Now that bond that these former classmates have formed has been given international recognition in the pages of the prestigious Atlantic Monthly magazine. In the April 2 edition of the magazine, writer Julie Beck, under the aegis of her “Friendship Files” column, interviewed five of the classmates about their enduring friendship through the years. The five – Ron Charach, Reesa (Margolis) Devlin, Ethel (Levine) Kofsky, Sharon Love (my sister) and Bailey Rayter – reminisced about their elementary school days, growing up in Winnipeg’s Jewish community, the nature of their bonds over the years and how the reunions began.
As noted in the article, the first reunion was held 20 years ago to commemorate the 50th birthdays of the graduating class of ’63. Reesa Devlin, a former business owner and food writer, recalled that after she moved to Vancouver from Winnipeg – 25 years ago – she reconnected with some of her Peretz School classmates living there and they began to see each regularly. There were 14 of them living in Vancouver. It was the Vancouver group that organized the first reunion, which was held on the May long weekend in 2000. Since then, there have been three more reunions – alternating between Winnipeg (where the other large segment of the former classmates, including Love and Rayter, still live) and Vancouver – each commemorating milestones – either birthdays or other significant moments.
The second reunion, Sharon Love notes, took place in Vancouver over the November 11th, 2010 weekend, in celebration of the cohort’s 60th birthday. The third reunion was in Winnipeg in June 2013 – the 50th anniversary of their graduation from Peretz School. The fourth was back in Vancouver in August 2015, celebrating 65th birthdays. The last reunion was supposed to be last June in celebrating the 70th birthdays of the former classmates. That, however, was changed to a Zoom get together due to Covid restrictions.
Devlin noted in the article that the weekend reunions are replete with structured activities, including home dinners, some touring and a farewell brunch.
It was Ron Charach who got the ball rolling in regard to the Atlantic article. The Toronto-based psychiatrist and author (who was profiled in a recent Jewish Post & News column coinciding with the launch of his new children’ book) had written a lengthy non-fiction piece about the reunions, called “Elementary Reunion”.
“I got a reply from the editor of the Atlantic’s Family section saying she liked the idea but wanted one of her own writers (Julie Beck) to interview some of us,” Charach says. “I was asked to recommend four of my fellow students to join us in a joint interview.”
He chose Sharon Love because, he says, she has become the group’s unofficial historian (having written about the reunions in this newspaper). Bailey Rayter and Charach were best friends growing up. Reesa Devlin was one of the organizers from the Vancouver contingent. And Ethel Kofsky, Charach notes, added the perspective of being a child of Holocaust survivors.
Love reports that “the interview of us five talking lasted about an hour and a half. We did a lot of talking and, as a writer, she had to put together something that I am sure a lot of people can relate to”.
“Julie crafted a fine article,” Charach observes. “We were very happy about how it turned out.”
He adds that he is surprised at how many people have read the story. “This story has legs (in news media parlance),” he observes. “My daughter, for example, found out about it from a colleague at work.”
“We were fortunate that a special camaraderie developed within our group,” Bailey Rayter adds. “And it wasn’t just through our school ties. We saw each other a lot outside of school as well. Our lives were intertwined. We lived in the same neighbourhoods. We knew each other’s siblings. There were some family connections. We all went to the Y and many of us joined BBYO.”
As a psychologist, he points out that studies show that, particularly for boys, friendships we form can last a lifetime.
It is not so much a case of these former classmates having been lifelong best friends though, Charach points out. “After graduation, many of us went our separate ways. It is just that when you reconnect with former classmates there is a comfortable familiarity (similar to family) that you don’t share with friends who don’t go back that far.”
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!
