Local News
Professor Bryan Schwartz weighs in on issue of campus antisemitism
By BERNIE BELLAN The emergence of antisemitism on university campuses on Canada since the Hamas massacre of October 7 has shocked and saddened much of the Jewish community.
Whether it’s ongoing rallies and demonstrations against Israel, Jewish students being bullied and threatened, or – perhaps what has come to be one of the most insidious forms of Jew hatred – the vehement denunciations of Israel by academics who refuse to countenance opposing views, university campuses in both the United States and Canada have become hostile environments for Jews, both students and teachers.
On Thursday, November 30, Professor Bryan Schwartz of the University of Manitoba Law School, engaged in a dialogue with Dr. Ruth Ashrafi, Regional Director Manitoba, B’nai Brith Canada about the subject of campus antisemitism. The setting was the Berney Theatre at an event organized by Winnipeg Friends of Israel and B’nai Brith Canada, which drew a very large crowd, made up of a good mix of younger and older members of the community, along with many individuals from outside the community as well.
Prof. Schwartz is certainly good for some choice quotes, but much of his analysis of what is happening to Jews as a group certainly leaned toward being heavily pessimistic and, when it came to offering advice how to combat campus antisemitism well, frankly, he didn’t have much to suggest in the way of concrete advice beyond extolling the merits of a free exchange of ideas.
In fact, Prof. Schwartz repeated the expression “Jews don’t count” several times during the evening, explaining what he meant by saying that is “there aren’t a lot of Jews to count.” If it’s simply a matter of Jews being outnumbered, however, then there isn’t much that can be said to counter the torrent of antisemitism that’s been unleashed. But, as I note in my Short takes column in this edition, a professor at Columbia University by the name of Shai Davidai has achieved a high degree of recognition as the result of a Youtube video that was posted of him denouncing the administration of Columbia University for enabling antisemitism on that campus.
Frankly, Prof. Haskell Greenfield, who’s head of the Judaic Studies program at the University of Manitoba, has also been urging a much stronger stand be taken against university administrators who wring their hands and resist denouncing antisemitism on their campuses – and that includes the president of the University of Manitoba, even more so the president of the University of Winnipeg – which has a shocking number of so-called “expert” academics for whom an open exchange of ideas is anathema.
With reference to what it’s like being a university professor who is willing to stand up for Israel, Prof. Schwartz admitted,: “It’s pretty lonely where I am.” The much easier route to follow, Prof. Schwartz suggested, is for academics who want to further their career ambitions to join in on the piling on of Israel.
“What’s easy is going along to get along,” he said. “It’s a safe environment to follow the official doctrine.”
In introducing Prof. Schwartz, Dr. Ashrafi noted that he has just authored a recently-published book titled, “Reenlightening Canada” which, although it was written prior to October 7, sheds a great deal of light on the dire situation in which so many Jews, especially students on university campuses, now find themselves.
In his opening remarks, however, Prof. Schwartz set the tone for what proved to be a deeply depressing outlook on what the future holds, not only for Jewish students on campuses, but for Jews everywhere
“The arc of history is not trending toward Jewish survival,” he suggested. Later in the evening he added this: “I can’t think of another civilization that’s facing extinction as we are.”
“A university is supposed to be a place where you excel based on your excellence,” Prof. Schwartz said. “That was the only criterion in which Jews have been able to survive.”
Now, however, the ideology at universities has become dominated by what he described as “DEI”: Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion.
What’s been happening, Prof. Schwartz explained, is that campuses have been applying litmus tests for would-be academics based on how well they score on the criteria of DEI. Later in the evening, he repeated his condemnation of the sweeping trend toward DEI on university campuses, noting that there are entire bureaucracies at universities “largely hostile to Israel,” populated by DEI officers. He opined, “The Woke industrial complex is a big business. DEI is a big business.”
Dr. Ashrafi spoke of a book by someone by the name of David Batthil, who is a British comedian. A couple of years ago Batthil wrote something called “Jews Don’t Count: How Identity Politics Failed One Particular Identity.”
As Batthil points out in his book, and as Dr. Ashrafi explained to the audience, “Jews are white (strike one), privileged (strike two), and part of the structure of white hegemony” (strike”(strike three) – to use the stereotypical description of Jews now so popular with “Woke” academia.
Since October 7 we’ve now seen how it’s become fashionable for so many members of academe to engage in those tropes. It’s as if the events of the past two months have unleashed pent-up feelings of hatred toward Jews that were bubbling under the surface, but which many might have been embarrassed to admit prior.
Returning to Prof. Schwartz’s dire warning that Jews are on the wane, he recited some figures to back up that contention.
“There is a worldwide shortage of Jews,” he observed. “Jews make up 2 percent of the world’s population.’ (I did some fact checking: There are 14 million Jews in the world. There are 2.38 billion Christians and 1.8 billion Muslims.) “The myth is we’re so powerful…What difference does it make to the people in power?… It’s very career enhancing to criticize Israel.”
Dr. Ashrafi asked Prof. Schwartz about Jews finding themselves in quandaries wondering now about the financial support so many have given to universities – and what should they do going forward ?
Prof. Schwartz used an interesting analogy – that seemed to perplex most of the audience, when he responded that many Jews are now having a “Colonel Nicholson moment.”
He explained that Colonel Nicholson was a character in the movie, “Bridge Over the River Kwai” (played by Alec Guinness) who, upon realizing that he had been aiding and abetting the Japanese enemy by helping to construct a bridge that was intended solely to prolong the Japanese war effort, asked himself: “What have I done?”
That is what many Jewish donors to academic institutions must now be asking themselves, Prof. Schwartz observed. (Again, I refer to Prof. Shai Davidai of Columbia University, who offers a clear prescription for how Jewish donors to academic institutions should respond to what is happening on campuses everywhere. He suggests that you not call or write to your alma mater or favoured institution saying you’re not going to be making a donation; rather, he says, “Wait until they call you, then say no.” However, I’m writing this in the same issue where Myron Love profiles the University of Manitoba’s Jewish Vice-President, Donor Relations. There is some irony there.)
Prof. Schwartz offered an imaginary description of a Jewish student applying for advancement at a typical university these days. When asked about their background and the student says, “I went to Jewish school, to Jewish summer camp, and to Israel, and my parents are well-to-do – it’s not going to do a lot for you when it comes to passing the DEI litmus test.”
Instead of donating to universities, Prof. Schwartz suggested, “Jewish donors should expend some of their energy and goodwill making sure the next generation of Jews will survive,” by insuring that anyone who wants to send their kids to a Jewish school will be able to do so regardless of their income.
He also recommended looking to the concept of “free universities,” where no tuition would be charged. Instead, they would be supported by donations, but where a free exchange of ideas would be guaranteed, not hampered by notions of political correctness
Prof. Schwartz turned to the subject of religion, suggesting that “the Jewish religion is a lot more tolerant than the ‘Woke’ religion.”
“There were many flawed characters in the Bible,” he observed, pointing to King David as an example.
“The Talmud is a record of debates,” he added, whereas “Woke religion is a substitute for many forms of religiosity.”
As for the Jews who have been joining the pro-Hamas crowd, Prof. Schwartz offered this pithy comment: “What good is an anti-Israel demonstration without a ‘show Jew’?”
At that point, Dr. Ashrafi said she wanted to entertain questions from the audience. I happened to be sitting right near where Adriana Glickmann of B’nai Brith was holding the mobile mic, so I motioned for Adriana to hand me the mic. (I’m usually too shy to ask questions – well, maybe not.)
I asked Prof. Schwartz about a story that had just appeared in that day’s Free Press – about a University of Manitoba nursing student who had been suspended for one year from the program, allegedly over anti-Semitic posts on her Instagram account.
I said that I was shocked that university administrators actually took steps to sanction a student over anti-Semitic posts and I wondered whether perhaps the U of M Faculty of Nursing administration had shown other administrators at universities here how to respond to anti-Semitic behaviour?
Prof. Schwartz responded that he wasn’t able to comment about that particular case because he didn’t have all the “facts,” saying “I have to learn more…Merely having a non-conforming view is not sufficient” grounds for punishment, he suggested.
He added though, that “if we had an atmosphere of free discussion, then the Jewish cause would do quite well.”
Someone asked Prof. Schwartz if he could distinguish between free speech and hate speech?
He responded: “In practice, free speech means you have the freedom to denounce Israel.”
He did go on to offer a scholarly review of how the Supreme Court has approached the subject of “hate speech,” suggesting that the court takes a very narrow view of what might constitute hate speech, saying that it has to constitute “hate toward an identifiable group.”
Another questioner wondered “why aren’t there reasonable limits being placed on spewing antisemitism?”
Prof. Schwartz suggested that “being a university president doesn’t prevent you from speaking up.” He added though, that “Jewish faculty are afraid to speak up. You want to be an academic and not get pilloried. What’s easy is going along to get along. It’s a safe environment to follow the official doctrine.” (That certainly doesn’t apply to Prof. Haskell Greenfield, who has been actively pressing the administration at the U of M to do much more to protect Jewish students and faculty on campus by, for instance, clamping down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have been organized by groups that have no standing at that campus.)
Prof. Schwartz added: “The President of the U of W can say something about events where there’s no balance,” such as that marathon hatefest toward “genocidal, colonial, imperalist Israel” conducted by seven U of W professors on Friday, November 24.
On the other hand, Prof. Schwartz observed, anyone who dares to take a stand in favour of a balanced presentation has to be thinking: “What’s in it for me?”
Similarly, “if you want to get your grant money” you many come to the realization that “Jews aren’t actually powerful” and viciously attacking Israel isn’t going to hurt you monetarily.
Dr. Ashrafi observed that she’s seen “students kicked off Zoom conferences because they voiced support for Israel.” Nevertheless, she added: “We are resilient. We do not give up. We hold people to account. That’s what we do at B’nai Brith.”
Prof. Schwartz concluded with this assessment: “We’re not going to win the censorship debate where we’re arguing about censoring this, censoring that. The only hope is that in an atmosphere of free discussion the truth will prevail.”
Local News
Former nominee for Jewish Athlete of the Year and Canadian Junior Curling champion Kyle Doering is the new general manager of the Granite Curling Club
By BERNIE BELLAN When I was doing a search for Kyle Doering’s name in the Jewish Post archives I discovered that Kyle’s name was actually first mentioned in our paper back in 2003 when he was a student in the Hebrew Bilingual program at Margaret Park School. Kyle, who was then in Grade 2 in the Hebrew bilingual program at that school, had written an explanation why we eat hamentashen on Purim – which was published in a March 2003 issue. (Kyle says that following his completion of the Hebrew program at Margaret Park after Grade 6, he did continue in the Hebrew program at H.C. Avery School until the end of Grade 8.)
Now – in an effort to emulate the style of the late, great Harvey Rosen (and maybe Gerry Posner as well), both of whom would never have missed an opportunity to take an extreme leap from one unrelated subject to another – as both those guys might have written: “It’s not too far a leap to say that a curling rock could be compared to a hamentash!”
And, to further emulate the writing style of both Harvey and Gerry, let me say that Kyle, who is of the “Hebraic persuasion” (as Harvey used to say) – on his mother’s side, has used some of the genes he inherited from his businessman grandfather, the late Bill LIfchus (who used to write a very amusing financial column for the Jewish Post), has now carved a career for himself using the degree in business he acquired from the University of Winnipeg in 2019 to become the general manager of Winnipeg’s oldest, and one of its largest curling clubs: the Granite Curling Club.
A further search of Kyle’s name in our archives reveals that he has been a finalist for Jewish Athlete of the Year twice, including last year, when he was the fifth for Canadian Brier champion Brad Gushue. Kyle had also been nominated in 2017 after his junior team won the Canadian championship and placed third in the world junior championship. (Kyle was also the fifth for Reid Carrothers’ Manitoba team this year.)
Following high school Kyle entered the University of Winnipeg, where he graduated with a business degree in 2019. All the while though he remained a very competitive curler. As a matter of fact, in 2016 I happened to run into Kyle at the Granite club one afternoon (where I am also a member). Kyle was practising mixed curling with his then-girlfriend, Ashely Groff. (Kyle and Ashley actually met at the Granite in 2016, Kyle tells me – when they were curling on separate sheets of ice. They were married just this past December.)
Right: Ashley showing her sleeve with their sponsor’s name (and I never asked them to do that!)
During the course of that conversation in 2016 Kyle asked me whether I would consider sponsoring Ashley and him as mixed curlers? I asked him how much it would cost? He said: “$200” – which was far less than what I was expecting him to say, so I readily agreed.
What I didn’t expect though was that Kyle and Ashley would put the name “The Jewish Post& News” on their curling jackets. That was by far the cheapest form of advertising I have ever encountered!
Upon completion of his business degree at the University of Winnipeg, Kyle went to work for the Humane Society as its community relations officer, where he was employed up until the time he was hired as the Granite’s new general manager.
Kyle wasn’t given the job simply because he’s got such a strong background in curling though. He was among several candidates for the job and did go through an interview process, following which he was told he had been selected for the position.
For Kyle, it’s a dream position. As he says: “I can work in curling – which I love…and in this historic building and club (the Granite is 140 years old) – which has given me so much over the years. I met my wife here, learned to curl here…it’s very cool to get to manage it.”
Readers may be aware that the Granite Curling Club has been in the news a fair bit lately – but not for anything to do with curling, per se. The club is actually situated on land owned by the City of Winnipeg. (It’s a fairly complicated story how that came to be. At one time the Granite owned the land where the club is situated, but it ran into financial difficulty in the 1970s and was forced to sell the property to the city with a “lease back” arrangement.)
The city is currently in the process of redeveloping land on the west side of the club where a parking lot now exists for the purpose of building affordable housing. Most of the spaces in that parking lot are leased out to Canada Life, but the Granite has had 30 parking spaces allocated for members’ use. There is now a proposal to build a 12-storey apartment building on the parking lot. The loss of those 30 parking spaces is of great concern to many members of the Granite Curling Club.
It is into the midst of this imbroglio that Kyle Doering now finds himself. On a personal note I myself contacted the city councillor for the area, Sherry Rollins (who, by the way, also is Jewish), and a spokesperson for Canada Life. There doesn’t seem to be an easy way out to resolve the parking situation – and the future existence of the Granite Curling Club is in peril unless some sort of accommodation can be reached insofar as parking spaces for members are made available.
Kyle may be adept at putting a curling stone on to the button of a sheet of ice, but having stepped in as the brand new general manager of a curling club that has over 1300 members, he may find that the challenges that lie ahead are more than one might have expected just a few short months ago – when the city took the club by surprise when it announced its plan to develop the land where, until now, Granite curlers have been able to park their cars.
Local News
Local MPs nominate additional Jewish community members for King Charles Coronation Medals
A few months back we published a story on this website about several members of the Jewish community who had been awarded King Charles Coronation Medals. That story can be found at King Charles Medals
Since that time it has come to our attention that several other members of our community had also been nominated by local Members of Parliament to receive medals.
Following is an update to that earlier story, which was also written by Myron Love:
The medal, created to mark the coronation of King Charles III, is described in a press release as a “special commemorative honour awarded to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional service and dedication to their communities and Canada through volunteerism, leadership, and acts of courage or commitment, reflecting the values of service and unity upheld by the monarchy. It serves as a lasting symbol of appreciation for their selfless efforts in building a better society”.
At the time, I was working largely from a list of local honorees posted on the Lieutenant-Governor’s webpage. Since then, it has been brought to my attention that other deserving members of our Jewish community have also been awarded the medals. It seems that it was not only the Lieutenant-Governor’s office which submitted a list of prospective honorees, It seems that every Member of Parliament was also encouraged to nominate honorees among their constituents.
Thus, local MPS Ben Carr and Marty Morantz –subsequent to the Lieutenant-Governor’s medal presentations – have released their own slates of medal recipients. Among the new Jewish honorees are two Jewish Federation of Winnipeg leaders – one fairly recently retired and a second who is still actively involved, a retired judge, a musician who has played a leading role in Winnipeg folk music circles, a pioneering veterinarian and a long time advocate for the disabled.
Jessica Cogan was actually presented with her medal (along with Einat Paz who appeared in the original story) – in mid-November in Marty Morantz’ constituency office. Cogan has been volunteering with the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg in numerous capacities for decades. Currently she is the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s Second Vice-President, a member of the board of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and a member of the advisory/organizing team for the Holocaust Memorial Sites Study Tour for Educators. She is a Past President of the Jewish National Fund (Manitoba-Saskatchewan branch) and National JNF board member, as well as a former Folklorama adult ambassador for Shalom Square.
In the wider community, she has served as a director of the Women’s Health Clinic Board and co-chaired their capital campaign.
Elaine Goldstine admits to being “quite surprised” to have been nominated through Ben Carr’s office for the King Charles Award. Like Jessica Cogan, Goldstine has devoted most of her adult life first as a volunteer for the Federation and, over the past 20 years, as a senior member of our community’s “civil service”.
But her volunteer efforts go back even further. As noted in an earlier issue of the Post – in an interview with her two years ago – just prior to her retirement as the Federation’s CEO, as a teen, she was active in USY and was President of the Gabriels Chapter of BBYO. In 1979 she became involved with National Council of Jewish Women, and served as President of the Sarah Branch, President of the NCJW Winnipeg section, and as the organization’s National Treasurer and Vice President. She had also served on the PTA of Ramah Hebrew School, the Business and Professional Development Committee of Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University, and on the Board of the Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood.
She began volunteering with Federation after her two sons reached school age. She started as a volunteer with the CJA’s Women’s Philanthropy Division. After a short time, she was offered a job with the campaign. Eventually, she was hired to become the campaign division chair. She assumed the reins of the CJA campaign in 2004 after her predecessor, Gerry Koffman, passed away at a relatively young age.
In 2015, after the retirement of long time Federation CEO Bob Freedman – and a successor who left after a year – Elaine was tapped to become the new CEO.
Looking back over the course of her career serving our community, she feels a sense of satisfaction for a job well done – and gratitude for having had the opportunity.
Madame Justice Freda Steel also notes that she was “surprised and humbled” to have been nominated to receive the medal which, she reports, was presented to her at Ben Carr’s office – along with some of the MP’s other nominees – on Monday, March 3. “I do not know who nominated me for the medal,” she says. “I just got a letter from Ben Carr’s office telling me I was a recipient of the medal and that the medal was for community service.“
As with Goldstine and Cogan, Steel has a long history of leadership in our Jewish community. She has been a board member and/or held leadership positions with the Federation, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, the Rady Centre, the Asper Jewish Community Campus and the Winnipeg Board of Jewish Education.
In her professional life, she has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Manitoba and a Masters of Law from Harvard. For much of her career, she was a Professor of Law – first in Ottawa, then at her alma mater. She was appointed to the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench in 1995 and to the Court of Appeal in 2000. She stepped down from the court last year, but remains active as an arbitrator and mediator.
“My parents taught me that it was important to give back to your community and I have always tried to live up to the values that they inspired in all of us,” she says.
“I was honoured to be included along with so many accomplished individuals,” says Karen Dana, who was also one of Ben Carr’s nominees.
The daughter of Nate and Phyllis Dana was recognized for her lifelong contributions to the music scene in Winnipeg. A social worker by profession, Dana’s avocation has been folk music, primarily as a member of the organizing committee of the annual internationally-known Winnipeg Folk Festival. She began volunteering at the festival early on, serving for many years as backstage kitchen co-ordinator. As well, 30 years ago, she established an apprentice program for the festival, aimed at bringing in younger volunteers.
For veterinarian Dr. Jonas Watson, receiving the King Charles III Coronation Medal was “a tremendous honour”. he award, he notes, as presented to him in recognition for his leadership locally, nationally and internationally in animal health and welfare.
In a profile I wrote about Watson for this newspaper six years ago, the owner of Grant Park Animal Hospital in the rant Park Festival Centre on Taylor Avenue spoke about what he referred to as his philanthropic outreach was inspired, he recalled, by his participation in a spay-neuter clinic in the northern Saskatchewan community of Île-à-la-Crosse during his university studies where he saw first-hand the critical need for veterinary services in remote communities.
Among the initiatives he has led over the past few years are regular “0ne health” clinics up combining veterinarians and other healthcare professionals in neighbourhoods that have a disproportionately large number of vulnerably-housed or homeless people – providing vaccinations and deworming for their pets and dental care, flu shots and other services for the pet owners.
As well, he and his team regularly visit isolated parts of northern Manitoba and Nunavut to spay and neuter the dogs in these communities. And , farther afield, he has been recruited to provide his spay and neuter services to underserviced communities in Mexico and villages bordering national parks in the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar– to alleviate the dogs’ impact on endangered species – specifically lemurs,”
The graduate of the Hebrew bilingual program at Sir William Osler (now at Brock Corydon) elementary School points out that “an entire section of Jewish law- the concept of “tsa’ar ba’alei hayim”- prescribes that all animals be treated with compassion, and spared any suffering”.
”This notion has been the driving force behind everything I’ve done professionally over the last 25 years,” he says. “It is in fact the reason I pursued a career in veterinary medicine in the first place. And so, to be awarded this medal for what has been my life’s work is truly humbling. The fact that this work is being highlighted now is, I hope, a promising sign for the animals themselves.”
Among the most recent members of our community to have been awarded the Coronation medal is Dan Saidman, the Gwen Secter’s popular program director.
“I was really surprised,” says Saidman, who was presented with the award this past Saturday by Raquel Dancho, the Member of Parliament for Kildonan-St. Paul.
The honoree notes that he has been recognized for his work at the Gwen Sercter Centre over the past seven years. Previous to coming to the north Winnipeg seniors’ centre, he had served as director of BBYO for a time – followed by programming stints at the Waverley Retirement Home and the Heritage Lodge personal care home.
Saidman describes his time working at the Gwen Secter as the best job he has ever had. “It is a nice working environment and the staff and membership have been great,” he says.
A particularly notable honoree was the recently deceased Shawna (Shoshana) Forester Smith. I only learned about Smith – and her membership in our Jewish community when I was contacted by her husband, Brent, after my original report “Jewish Coronation medal recipients” was published int this paper in early January.
Some readers may be familiar with Smith’s name from the regular column she wrote for the Free Press in her role as an advocate for hospitalized patients like herself in long term care.
Shoshana and Brent became part of the Temple Shalom family about 15 years ago. “It was important to Shawna to explore her spirituality and find the right home and community for that aspect of her life and she found those things with Temple Shalom,” Brent recalls.
“I first met Shawna when I subbed for Rabbi Karen in the Intro to Judaism class at Temple Shalom in 2011,” he says. Longtime Temple Shalom president Ruth Livinston recalled standing beside Smith’s bedside at the Deer Lodge Hospital on the occasion of Smith receiving the Coronation medal . “We had a good connection right from the start. Besides attending services, Shawna came to study watercolour and the read Hebrew program with me, she painted a couple of kippahs and even came to a challah baking class. I had the honour of sitting on her Beit Din and helped her prepare for her Bat Mitzvah. She was a member of Temple Shalom’s Board of Trustees and managed our social media presence.
“When she decided to live at Riverview, she changed our weekly visits to include a watercolour class which she shared with her ward…that went on until Covid. We continued to meet weekly after Covid, including after her move here, to Deer Lodge. I treasure my visits with her – she had become family to me.”
In accepting the medal, Smith recounted her career in management for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority until she became ill in her late 20s and had to go on permanent disability. Once she became a chronic care patient in the care of the health system, she used her public relations and healthcare background to advocate on behalf of patients with some success in bringing about positive change.
Sadly, Shoshana Smith passed away just about a month after receiving her Coronation medal. “Shawna is the bravest person I have ever met,” Livingston says. “In spite of ever increasing disability and agonizing pain, she made the decision to live to the best of her ability, to keep fighting for what she needs as well as for others.
“For one little woman with so many challenges, Shawna made an enormous and important impact on our community and beyond. I am thankful and delighted that she was honoured with the King Charles Coronation medal for her work in advocacy.”
Local News
Shalom Residences’ Executive Director Mike Goldberg looks back on 3 years in the job
By BERNIE BELLAN Three years ago – almost to the date (March 30), I reported on the retirement of of one of the longest-serving executive directors of an agency within the Jewish community: Nancy Hughes.
Nancy had been serving as executive director of Shalom Residences since 1991. The very first Shalom Residence opened in 1980, which means Shalom Residences will be celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
Among the 12 agencies that receive funding from the Winnipeg Jewish Federation, Shalom Residences though might have one of the lowest profiles, as it serves a fairly small segment of the community – adults with special needs intellectual disabilities. As previous editor of The Jewish Post & News and, prior to that, when my late brother Matt served as editor, we always tried to give Shalom Residences due recognition. One of the reasons, as current Shalom Residences executive director Michael Goldberg explained during a recent phone conversation we had, is that there are members of our community who may not be aware of what Shalom Residences provide – and who may have children who would benefit from living in one of the residences once they reach adulthood.
It may be hard to believe, but two of the original residents in that very first Shalom Residence (on Enniskillen Avenue) still remain residents of Shalom Residences. (There are five other homes that house Shalom residents: On Hartford Avenue and Seven Oaks Place – both in West Kildonan, McAdamCathedral Avenue – in the North End, Daffodil – in Garden City; and Oxford Street, in River Heights.)
The smallest home has three residents and the largest one – five.
Twenty-nine adults live in those homes, while another nine live in supported independent living apartments, and three adults are supported in community outreach.
When Nancy Hughes retired in 2022, the effects of the Covid-19 epidemic were still being widely felt. In fact, there were two vacancies within Shalom Residences at that time, as I explained in my March 30 article: “Nancy explained, with the onset of Covid in 2020 a number of parents who might otherwise have wanted to place a child in one of the homes drew back from doing so out of fears that their loved one might contract Covid.”
Actually, the term “child” in referring to residents of Shalom Residences is a misnomer. In order to qualify for residency in one of the residences, one must be at least 18 years of age, but the fact is there has been very little turnover among residents over the years. One of the original Shalom residents, Rochelle Bronstein, just passed away in July last year. Rochelle had moved into a Shalom residence when she was in her twenties. According to Shalom Residences’ annual report, the average age of residents is now 54.
For those readers not familiar with Shalom Residences, its Mission and Vision are stated on the organization’s website:
“To support people with intellectual disabilities in the mainstream of community life so that they may conduct their lives in a meaningful dignified way.To empower adults with intellectual disabilities to live meaningful, dignified lives in community based homes in Winnipeg, enriched by Jewish values.
“Shalom envisions a community where individuals with intellectual disabilities are fully included, self-actualized, and valued in all aspects of life.
“Their values are:
“Inclusion: Shalom believes in the right of every individual to have opportunities to be an active, respected member of their community.
“Empowerment: Shalom supports adults in building capacity to achieve their individualized goals.
“Jewish Heritage: Shalom is committed to providing support that reflects the values and traditions of the Jewish community. They also support individuals to participate in the richness of their chosen religion and culture.
“Awareness & Acceptance: Shalom strives to foster understanding and acceptance of individuals with intellectual disabilities as valued members of the community.
“To enable people with intellectual disabilities to become as self-sufficient as possible.
“To create and maintain Judaic oriented programs for people with intellectual disabilities which reflect the philosophy of Shalom Residences Inc.
“To develop community awareness of, and increase community acceptance of, people with intellectual disabilities as full and equal citizens.
“To enable the persons in Shalom Residences’ programs to achieve their potential as contributing members of our community, and to become as self sufficient as possible.”
In 2022 Michael Goldberg took over as executive director of Shalom Residences. In my March 2022 article about Nancy Hughes’ retirement I noted that Michael was the son of Mark and Kathryn Goldberg, had attended Ramah Hebrew School, Gray Academy, and the University of Winnipeg Collegiate. Michael had also attended Winthrop University in South Carolina, where he had obtained a bachelors degree in Psychology. (He noted that he had actually gone to university on a golf scholarship!)
Later, Michael said, he obtained his masters degree in Gerontology in Regina.
Since 2015, he had been working at Palliative Manitoba in the Deer Lodge Centre Palliative Care.
Even before coming to Shalom Residences, Michael says that he had developed a familiarity with the program, as he “was able to facilitate courses in compassionate care for Shalom Residences staff members.”
Recently, I had a chance to talk with Michael Goldberg – to ask him now that he’s had to gain some experience, how he’s found working as executive director of Shalom Residences?
Michael echoed Nancy’s observation that, as residents of Shalom residences have aged, dealing with aging residents has led to different challenges.
“We want to make sure they’re aging with dignity,” he said, “and that they’re comfortable.”
As well, Michael noted that with the closure of the Manitoba Developmental Centre in Portage and the St. Amant Centre in Winnipeg, the goal now, more than ever, is ” to integrate people (who had previously been institutionalized) “into the community” – something which has been a leading purpose of Shalom Residences since its inception.
I asked Michael how someone who has a child with an intellectual disability and that child is approaching adulthood (or is already an adult) would go through the process of having that child placed in a Shalom Residence?
Michael explained that a parent with a child under 18 who has an intellectual disability has most likely already been in touch with the Department of Families in the provincial government “because they receive funding” from that department “to support their family member.”
“So that’s the first step to make sure you’re eligible to receive funding from Community Living Disability Services, ” he said, “and once people are deemed eligible, and that process involved getting documentation from a physician or psychologist insuring that intellectual impairment was perceived prior to the age of 18, then they can gain access to resources from Shalom Residences if they’re over the age of 18. We have to make sure that they require personal care when it comes to basic needs, management of property, also they have to be Canadian citizens.”
According to its annual report, only 55% of Shalom Residents are Jewish. (Yet, just as the Simkin Centre has a very high proportion of non-Jewish residents, adherence to kashrut is considered a fundamental value of Shalom Residences. I’ll offer no further observations on how important it is for non-Jews to be forced into adhering to the rules of kashrut since I don’t want to elicit another angry letter to the editor of this paper from the Winnipeg Council of Rabbis.) The funding allocated to Shalom Residences from the Jewish Federation, by the way goes to subvent the often extraordinarily high cost of kosher food.
In fact, over 90% of Shalom Residences funding comes from the province. A good chunk of that funding goes to pay the salaries of the 83 staff who work for Shalom Residences, including both part-time and full-time staff.
One of the issues I raised with Michael is the problem raised by the aging of our own Jewish community. As parents of children who have intellectual disabilities may find it increasingly difficult to care for those children – who are now adults – within their own homes, Shalom Residences might be a viable alternative for parents who, until now, would have been reluctant to see their children leave the home.
I wondered whether there is a “wait list” then, of individuals waiting to move into a Shalom residence. I was somewhat surprised to hear from Michael that there is not a wait list.
Again – that might be more of a reflection of a general unawareness of Shalom Residences than anything else because, since Shalom Residences began with only 17 residents in 1984 and has remained constant at roughly 30 residents for several years now – what with the Jewish Federation claiming that our Jewish population has grown hugely in that past 20 years (despite census figures that would show that not to be the case), one would have expected a growth in demand for placements in Shalom Residences, commensurate with that “huge” growth in our Jewish population. (The Federation actually cites the figure of 16,000 in reporting the size of Winnipeg’s Jewish population. The 2020 Canadian census has it at no more than 12,500, but who am I to argue with the Jewish Federation when it comes to embellishing population figures?)
I wondered too whether there were Shalom residents who didn’t have any relatives who had provided care for them – perhaps because those relatives were in need of care themselves or had passed on already – and those Shalom residents were the responsibility of the Public Trustee of Manitoba?
Michael answered that not only is that the case in several instances, it has also been the case that living relatives have considered handinged over responsibility for the care of their children to the Public Trustee because they simply wanted to “relinquish” responsibility for care of a child with intellectual disabilities.
I asked whether there had been any major improvements made to any of the Shalom Homes recently? Michael noted that there had been a major renovation of the kitchen in the McAdam Avenue home – thanks to a donation from the Silver family. (In October 2022 I had reported on another addition to that home when, thanks to a donation from form the Ian and Rochelle Laing Family Foundation, the unfinished basement of that home had been transformed into a beautiful recreation centre, complete with an arts and craft table, exercise equipment, new flooring, a sink, and a chairlift.)
That led me to ask Michael whether perhaps newer members of our community who might have children who would be well served by living in a Shalom Residence are totally oblivious of what Shalom Residences have to offer?
Michael said that, “in fact, we’ve just welcomed a new resident” whose family is from Russia.
“We got in touch with them. There was a vacancy in one of our homes and he actually just moved in.”
Partly in reaction to the unawareness though that exists within many members of our Jewish community about Shalom Residences, Shalom Residences will be “doing a community outreach information night program on Wednesday, April 9, at the Asper Campus in the Kroft Boardroom at 7pm,” Michael said.
Shalom Residences used to hold an annual lottery as well – but it no longer does that. There will be a donor appreciation evening though on May 27 at the Adas-Yeshurun Herzlia Synagogue.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login