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Rady JCC Golf Tournament raises $200,000

l-r: Daniel Worb, Blair Worb,
Bernie Nicholls, Marshall Love, & Jacob Love

Over 150 golfers participated in the Rady JCC golf tournament, held August 10 at the Glendale Golf & Country Club.

Among the golfers was former NHL hockey great Bernie Nicholls.

Winners of the tournament l-r: Steve Werier,
Aaron Bernstein, Zach Stein, Nate Weltman
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Jewish Heritage Centre publishes new collection of essays about the history of Jewish life in Manitoba

Jewish Life and Times: A Collection of Essays Volume X
Review by MARTIN ZEILIG This soft covered collection of interesting and even entertaining essays, which are grouped under umbrella topics, brings together, as is stated in the introduction, presentations made to the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada over the past few years.
It provides a glimpse into the life of Jews in this part of Canada, as well as, at least in some of the essays, lessons for today’s world.
For example, in the section, Social Issues in Winnipeg’s Jewish Community, Esyllt Jones, Professor of History at the University of Manitoba, has contributed an essay, Jews In Winnipeg’s Influenza Pandemic, 1918-1919. It’s based on a talk she gave to the JHC in 2006, and formed part of her award-winning book, Influenza 1918: Disease, Death, and Struggle in Winnipeg (University of Toronto Press, 2007).
This exploration has contemporary significance because the COVID pandemic, as is stated, “has increased awareness of the social implications of disease.”
As Professor Jones writes, “… the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 hit Winnipeg and worldwide societies hard. Both the course of the disease and the response followed along class and ethnic lines of division within society. The poor, especially in Winnipeg’s immigrant-dominated North End, lived and worked in conditions that put them at greatest risk, as death statistics show. Their poverty made treatment difficult and often depended on the willingness and ability of wealthier strata to provide nursing care and financial relief. This extended even to burying the victims.
“Within this context, the Jewish community drew on its long tradition of community self-help through philanthropic organizations and through mutual-aid societies that reflected the North End community more closely.”
Communal Solidarity: Immigration, Settlement, and Social Welfare in Winnipeg’s Jewish Community, 1882-1930, is a contribution by Arthur Ross, Professor Emeritus and Public Administration at Metropolitan Toronto University and a former Winnipegger “with deep roots in the North End.” It is based on his book, which published by the University of Manitoba Press, of the same name that was launched at the JHC in 2019.
Ross describes the activism of the North End Jewish community.
“Few of the Jewish immigrants who established Winnipeg’s Jewish community could have imagined that their children and grandchildren would live in a society in which the government was responsible for universal health care, provided various forms of income assistance, and funded social services,” he concludes.
“Certainly, the establishment of the welfare state reduced much of the need for Winnipeg’s Jews to engage in collective action to protect each other from life’s misfortunes. After the 1930s, communal solidarity continued to shape the development of Winnipeg’s Jewish community.”
The section entitled JEWS IN WORLD WAR 1 contains a series of essays that, taken together, form a fairly comprehensive look into Jews as soldiers on both sides during that four year long pointless war: Jewish Canadians and the Great War, by (the late) Jim Blanchard; German Jewish Soldiers in World War 1 by Lionel Steiman; French Jewish Soldiers in World War 1, by Robert J.Young; Russian Jews During the First World War, by Daniel Stone; The General Monash Branch, by Daniel Stone.
“Jews made good citizens in all countries in which they lived and fought valiantly; although their efforts were not always recognized or appreciated,” noted a presenter, during a panel discussion at the JHC to mark the centenary of the Great War (which erupted in August 1914).
Some of the other fascinating essays in this useful little book deal with The 1919 WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE, RABBI ZALMAN SCHACTER, THE GARMENT TRADE IN WINNIPEG, LEISURE ACTIVITIES, and BEYOND THE CITY.
A section at the beginning, PASSAGES, acknowledges the passing of several board members and staff members of the JHC and its predecessor, the Jewish Historical Society: Abraham J. “Abe” Arnold, CM (1922-2011); Mildred Gutkin (1921-2021); Leon Michaels (1925-2015); Irma Rachel Penn (1945-2013); Judith Putter (1948-2021); Maurice Steele (1929-2022); Roseline (“Roz”) Wolodarsky Usiskin (1928-2022); Norman Vickar (1917-2015); Marshall Wilder (1926-2017).
“Their insight, dedication, and contributions have greatly furthered the win aims of the Jewish Heritage Centre: the documentation, preservation, and sharing of information on the development of the Jews in Western Canada and advocacy of anti-racism, especially through Holocaust education,” says the Introduction.
One now awaits the next installment of Jewish Life and Times. What an invaluable historical resource for our community. It reinforces the truth that all people and cultures are living histories.

Jewish Life and Times: A Collection of Essays Volume X

Edited by Daniel Stone & Annalee Greenberg

Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada

184 pages

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Winnipegger David Ganetsky becoming go-to guy for mould and asbestos removal throughout Western Canada

By MYRON LOVE David Ganetsky’s Enviro Doctors is fast becoming the preeminent specialist throughout Western and Northern Canada when it comes to mould and asbestos removal.  In the past year alone, Ganetsky points out, his employee numbers have grown from 10 to 35.
“Over the past couple of years, our business has been growing exponentially,” he reports.  “We currently have seven crews (each consisting of four members) operating in places such as Thompson, Brandon and The Pas.   We have one crew that specializes in mould removal.
“We have contracts for projects – beyond Manitoba – in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northwestern Ontario, Nunavut and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories.  None of our competitors match our geographical reach.”
Ganetsky and Enviro Doctors have come a long way in just nine years but, for the long time resident of Garden City, his latest reincarnation is built on his many years of experience as an entrepreneur.  The son of Walter and Penny Ganetsky notes that he was inspired to pursue a career largely in business by his work with his zaida, the late Bernard Mondell, who was in the wholesale business.
Following high school graduation (from Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate), he began looking for business opportunities.  “My first business venture was in communication,” he recalls.  “I founded Delta Communications, one of the original cell phone providers in Winnipeg.”   
He learned the art of business largely by hands-on experience but, he points out, he also took a number of business courses over several years.”
Ganetsky’s work history also includes working in sales in the golf business and serving for two years as executive director of the Portsmouth Retirement Residence. His entry into mould and asbestos removal came about through his work as a business consultant.
“I was hired by a company involved in mould remediation and removal to help grow their sales,” he recounts.  “After helping them to achieve their goal, I could see that there was a void in the marketplace.  There was no company specializing specifically in mould removal.  I did some research into the industry, took a few courses and proceeded to open The Mould Doctors.”
That was in 2014.
As business grew, Ganetsky notes, he began to get a growing number of calls asking about asbestos removal as well. As a result, in 2016, he changed the company name to Enviro Doctors to better encapsulate the services Ganetsky offers.
(He later added a demolition service.)
The mould and asbestos removal maven points out that there are very stringent guidelines to be followed in his line of work, in particular when  it comes to asbestos removal.   “We are required to do a yearly audit,” he says.  “We have one fulltime staff member dedicated to ongoing training.”
Ganetsky observes that there is a clear relationship between mould build-up and health issues.  It has only been in recent years that doctors have become aware of the link between mould build-up and ongoing flu-like symptoms and respiratory ailments such as asthma, he reports
He adds though that not everyone is affected negatively by mould build-up. He explains that mould build-up is created by a combination of high humidity or moisture, resulting from a spill or a leak, and a “food source,” such as drywall or furniture.
“Much of the time, mould is invisible,” he notes.  “We at EnviroDoctors can do an air quality test which will confirm the presence of build-up.”
Homeowners can remove small amounts of mould, he suggests, by spraying the affected area with a 50/50 mixture of  vinegar and water, then wiping way the black film.
He points out that mould is a particular problem in Aboriginal communities.  “We have sent our teams into numerous First Nations bands throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwestern Ontario and the North.  There was one such community, for example, where about one-third of the houses had mould problems.  
“Most of these communities suffer from overcrowding, neglect and lack of knowledge how to prevent mould build-up,” he points out.  “As part of our service,  we try to teach the community members how to prevent the development of mould.”
Ganetsly  notes that he is proud of the fact that the environmentally-friendly formula Enviro Doctors uses for mould removal was developed in a Canadian laboratory. 
He further touts Enviro Doctors’ “fresh air guarantee,” which includes free air quality testing and a follow-up test 90 days after completion of the work.
Enviro Doctors’ potentially most high-profile project to date may be the upcoming excavation of Winnipeg’s  Prairie Green Landfill in hopes of finding the remains of two or three female Indigenous murder victims.  While the original estimate for the project was around $180 million, a new report released in late January by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and ISN Maskwa (an Indigenous-owned company that provides emergency response training and services) suggest that the work can be carried out for about $90 million.
“We have been approached to participate in the project,” Ganetsky reports.  “That landfill is one that accepts asbestos.”
Ganetsky states that he believes that excavation is doable, providing  fundinf can be found.  “Wab (Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew) is on board,” Ganetsky notes.   “Maybe we find something. Maybe we find nothing.  But at least it may give the families of the murder victims some closure.”

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New Federation program connects Winnipeggers with Israeli teens trying to improve their English

Israel Connect volunteers Tannis Mindell (left) and Rietta Floom

By MYRON LOVE Last fall, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg signed onto Israel Connect, an online initiative that brings together community volunteers with Israeli teens seeking to improve their English.
According to the Israel Connect website, the outreach program was founded in 2013 by Sarah Gordon, a former teacher at the Torah Day School in Ottawa, with the goal of creating a grassroots network of Canadian volunteers who answered the call of Israeli educators to provide their students with English language tutoring.
The website points out that “mastering English is crucial for success in Israel. Universities and high-paying jobs require a high level of English language proficiency. However, the current educational landscape presents a significant challenge. Immersive language experiences, proven to be the most effective way to learn, are impractical in overcrowded classrooms. It is virtually impossible for 30-40 students to engage in effective English conversations and interactions, and experiences outside the classroom are prohibitively expensive.”
Israel Connect’s results were dramatic, the website reports.  English proficiency among that first group of students quickly improved, and the demand for native English tutors became clear. Within two short years, the informal network grew into a global non-profit organization that has more than 1,000 volunteer mentors strong.    
Today, Israel Connect partners with the Israeli Ministry of Education to support hundreds of students in dozens of schools across the country. In just over 10 years, the organization has become the world’s largest external provider of services to Israel’s Department of Education – helping hundreds of 14- and 15-year-olds to perfect their English simply by chatting once a week with a mentor via Zoom.
Winnipegger Rietta Floom says that she learned about Israel Connect from relatives in Edmonton.   “I was looking for volunteer opportunities,” notes the retired  investigator, mediator and hearing officer with the province, who does some casual work as an education assistant.  She filled out an application in September 2022, and, shortly after, she was assigned her first student, a girl in  grade 12, living outside of Tel Aviv.  Her second student, this year, lives in northern Israel and goes to school in Tiberias.
Tannis Mindell, a former chairperson of Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, was also looking for a volunteer opportunity. “I learned about Israel Connect from my sister-in-law in Ottawa,” she says.
Mindell signed on last fall. She notes it was she who suggested that the Federation might want to support this initiative. 
“I connected with  Mariana Sussi – who is a member of the Federation Board (as chair of the Israel and Overseas committee) – and Abby Flackman (the Federation’s Youth and Overseas Engagement co-ordinator),” she says.  “Both Abby and Mariana are also enthusiastic about Israel Connect.”
Both Mindell and Floom point out that you don’t have to have been an educator to participate as an Israel Connect mentor, and there is little preparation required.  All that is necessary is to commit to a weekly 45-minute Zoom session with the student that is convenient for both parties. 
Each Thursday, the Israel Connect organizers send out a weekly lesson plan. At the appointed time, the student reads aloud the assigned paragraph and goes over with the mentor proper pronunciation and the meaning of new words.  After that, mentor and student chat about any number of subjects
The goal of the program, according to the Israel Connect website, is that by the end of the school year, students have the skills and confidence they need to succeed in the national university entrance exams. 
Not surprisingly, the events of October 7 and resultant ongoing conflict have introduced a new psychological element into the tutoring.  Students share in the national trauma and most have family members engaged in the fighting.  The Winnipeg mentors have had a session with Mariana Sussi – who is also a psychotherapist – and who provided them with some strategies in offering some help to their Israeli students with their trauma.
“My work with my student through Israel Connect has been one of the most gratifying experiences I have ever had,” Mindell says.
Both she and Floom would like to encourage others in our community to consider donating a little bit of their time to Israel Connect.
Interested individuals can contact Abby Flackman at 204 477-7424 or send an email to AFlackman@jewishwinnipeg.org.
“I would love to help anyone who is interested in volunteering to get started,” Flackman says.

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