Local News
Two Jewish athletes receive prominent recognition in the Winnipeg Free Press – on the same day!
By BERNIE BELLAN When’s the last time two Jewish athletes received widespread recognition on the sports pages of the Winnipeg Free Press on the same day?
In today’s (March 26) issue, there are stories about Edmonton Oilers hockey player Zack Hyman and Winnipeg curler Kyle Doering.
Hyman, who’s in town today as his team plays the Winnipeg Jets, has achieved a special renown for having scored 50 goals this year. As the Free Press story about him notes, he’s the third oldest player ever to achieve that milestone for the first time.
As for Doering, his recognition today comes from his having been selected by Canadian Men’s Curling Champion Brad Gushue to serve as the fifth man on Gushue’s team in the upcoming Mens’ World Championship in Switzerland.
But, rather than focus on their most recent accomplishments, we thought we’d look back at some past stories that had run about both Hyman and Doering, both of which tell us something about their connections to the Jewish community.
As a personal aside, I had met Kyle many years ago when he was nominated for the Rady JCC Jewish Athlete of the Year. Then, in 2017, I happened to meet up with him again when he was practicing curling at the Granite Curling Club in preparation for the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. As I chatted with Kyle – and his curling partner, Ashley Groff, Kyle asked me whether The Jewish Post & News would consider being a sponsor for their team. I agreed – and for two years running, we did sponsor Kyle and Ashley. I never realized though that, as a result, Kyle and Ashley would put the name “The Jewish Post & News” on their jackets! I was impressed that they were willing to go as far as doing that.
Here then are excerpts from stories about both Kyle Doering and Zach Hyman, which give some information about their backgrounds:
From Harvey Rosen’s April 6, 2011 “Sporting Touch” column:
“Was in touch recently with former Winnipegger Billy Lifchus who has been living in Toronto for over 20 years. He tells me that his grandson Kyle Doering, 15, who is his daughter Bonnie’s son, recently skipped his team to a bronze medal over New Brunswick at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax.
Billy’s mom is the late Bella Lifchus, who came over from Europe together with my late mother Sarah Rosen.
Kyle, an East St. Paul resident, made a triple-raise takeout to score a six-ender against Ontario in the round-robin part of the tournament, and his shot was featured across Canada on TSN.
Billy, as any proud grandfather might offer, noted: “Probably the best Jewish curler in these parts since Terry Braunstein and Allan Shinfield.”
From Harvey’s March 1, 2017 column:
Now let’s rock with Jewish curler Kyle Doering (whose grandfather, Bill Lifchus, once wrote a financial column for this paper). When I last spoke with the personable young Doering, who is now 21, it was in 2012 when he was in high school in West Kildonan. The then-skip had just led his team to a Canadian Junior title.
Last year his junior curling team won the Canadian championship and earned a bronze medal in Copenhagen, Denmark at the World Junior Curling Championship.
He was in conversation recently at the Granite Curling Club with our Bernie Bellan and inquired if the Jewish Post & News would be interested in sponsoring his “Mixed Doubles” curling team. The latter game is a new and exciting variation of the sport and will be featured in the next Olympic games.
Needless to say, as many other Jewish kids (athletes) have learned over the years, financial support is a must if they hope to compete, say, in the Maccabiah or Maccabi games, they require support.
In any event, Bellan was prepared to sponsor the team with a gold member contribution of $200. Doering was extremely gratified for Bellan’s generosity and asked me to thank him again.
As for Zach Hyman, there was a terrific story in the Alberta Jewish News’ August 9, 2021 issue, which was written just after Hyman had been acquired by the Edmonton Oilers from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The story was written by Jeremy Appel.
Recent Edmonton Oilers acquisition Zach Hyman says the supportive Jewish environment he was raised in gave him a strong foundation of support for launching and sustaining his professional hockey career.
“It was very familial,” Hyman, who has four brothers, says of his Jewish upbringing in Toronto. “I had great, supporting parents, who really believed in me and tried to encourage me to follow my dreams and my passions. And I had a great support system of extended family, and of course a very strong community behind me.”
Hyman, 29, signed a seven-year $38.5-million contract with the Oilers in late-July after playing six seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he scored 185 regular season points — 86 goals and 99 assists — as well as 13 playoff points.
“That was a special time to be able to play for my home team to start my career out, but I’m really excited about this new chapter in my life and this new opportunity,” Hyman said.
He says he’ll be moving to Edmonton in early September in time for Oilers training camp. He plans to grow his family and provide his kids with a strong Jewish communal upbringing, just like the one he had.
Hyman, who says he knew he wanted to play in the NHL from a young age, describes his Jewish upbringing as secular — he grew up attending shul on the High Holidays and doesn’t consume pork. “For me, being Jewish is more than just a religion. Obviously, there’s a really big communal aspect to it,” he said, describing the distinction between various religious denominations as “blurred”.
He received a full Jewish day school education growing up in Toronto — first at the United Synagogue Day School, and then at the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto Tanenbaum Campus for high school, where he met his future wife, with whom he has an eight-month-old son named Theo and a Siberian Husky dog named Whitey.
After taking a year off to focus on hockey, Hyman spent four years playing hockey on a scholarship at the University of Michigan starting in 2011, where he majored in history.
While his Jewish education provided him with a strong communal foundation, playing hockey allowed Hyman to expand his social sphere outside the Jewish bubble, interacting with people of various backgrounds, he says.
“For me, leaving home and going to university outside of Toronto obviously was a change, but I think hockey prepared me for that,” said Hyman. “It was an incredible experience. I learned a ton there, and it really helped propel my hockey career and shape my career too.”
Growing up, he played for various teams in the Greater Toronto Hockey League — the Toronto Red Wings, the Jr. Canadiens and Mississauga Reps — before moving on to the Ontario Junior A Hockey League, where he played for the Hamilton Red Wings.
In 2013, he represented Canada at Israel’s Maccabi Games, where he won a gold medal.
Hyman was number 11 on the Leafs, but he can’t use that number on the Oilers, since it’s retired as Mark Messier’s, so Hyman will be playing as number 18, which is the day in December Theo was born on, in addition to its Jewish significance of chai, the hebrew word for life.
Hyman has published three children’s books with Penguin Random Rouse since 2014 — The Bambino and Me, Hockey Hero and The Magician’s Secret.
Ultimately, Hyman says the Toronto Jewish community’s support for his ambitions, from his teachers who allowed him to do work outside the classroom to accommodate his hockey commitments to his family’s large network of friends who all wanted to see him succeed, was instrumental in his success. “Everybody was cheering for me and supporting me, and rooting me on,” he said.
Local News
From Broadway to Berney: Winnipeg Jewish Theatre Opens Season with Razor-Sharp Thriller
By MARTIN ZEILIG The Winnipeg Jewish Theatre (WJT) launches its 2025–26 season with a bold and timely production: JOB The Play, a psychological thriller that probes the fragile boundaries between truth, technology, and identity.
Written by Jewish American playwright Max Wolf Friedlich, the play arrives in Winnipeg fresh off its Broadway run, bringing with it a reputation for intellectual grit and emotional intensity.
Running from September 11 to 21 at the Berney Theatre, JOB is a two-hander that unfolds in the aftermath of a viral workplace incident. Jane, a high-strung tech employee, f inds herself on mandatory leave. Her return hinges on therapy sessions with Loyd, a calm but enigmatic practitioner who suspects her job may be more harmful than helpful. What follows is a taut, 80-minute battle of wits and wills—no intermission, no easy answers.
For WJT Artistic Director Dan Petrenko, the decision to open the season with JOB was immediate and instinctive.
“I came across this play as it was finishing its Broadway run, and I was immediately struck by how of-the-moment it feels,” Petrenko said. He and the play’s director, Jack Grinhaus, agreed to an email interview.
“It’s a play about work, technology, and the way we always question truth in this hyper-connected world,” Petrenko continued. “As a Jewish theatre, we are always looking for plays that ask big moral and ethical questions, and JOB does exactly that. It’s sharp, unsettling, and even funny at times.”
The production stars Jada Rifkin and Dov Mickelson, two actors Petrenko describes as “incredible talents.” Mickelson, originally from Edmonton and now based in Toronto, was last seen on a Winnipeg stage in Royal MTC’s Indecent. Rifkin, also Toronto-based, recently performed in The Thanksgiving Play at Mirvish Productions.
“JOB is a two-hander, so the entire play rests on their performances,” Petrenko noted.
“Both bring immense precision and depth to these roles. After seeing them in rehearsal this week, I can already tell this is going to be an electrifying performance.”
Grinhaus is Artistic Director of Calgary’s Vertigo Theatre— Canada’s national theatre of mystery and intrigue. He is no stranger to Winnipeg, having directed a show for Prairie Theatre Exchange just five months ago.
“Feels like I didn’t actually leave,” he joked. “Winnipeg has an incredible theatre community and audience base. It’s an honour and pleasure to be here.”
Grinhaus was immediately drawn to the play’s complexity.
“I was amazed at how both intellectual and visceral the piece was,” he wrote. engagement and offers poetry and honesty without being instructive. It lays out its argument for audiences to puzzle over, asking the questions but leaving the answers for each viewer to determine.”
The emotional and psychological journey of the characters is central to the production’s impact.
“I saw this as a battle for truth between two very opposing perspectives, positions, and generations,” Grinhaus explained. “There’s not one line in it where the characters can agree on a single ‘right’ Jack Grinhaus, Director JOB answer. They are often as right as the moral and ethical positions the audiences bring with them.”
Grinhaus hopes audiences leave the theatre questioning their own relationship with the digital world.
“The digital sphere is a double edged sword,” he said. “The promise of it being a place where the world is united and connected has, somehow, also created one where we are more divided and isolated. The long-term implications of this tech life are still to be figured out.”
Petrenko sees JOB as more than just a provocative opener—it’s a signal of what’s to come.
“There are so many things to be excited about in our upcoming season,” he said. “Beyond JOB, we’re bringing you a range of productions and theatrical events that celebrate Jewish stories while opening doors to broader conversations with the community at large.”
Highlights include a staged reading this fall of local playwright Alex Poch-Goldin’s comedy-drama The Right Road to Pontypool, and the Canadian premiere of Ride The Musical in April 2026. The latter tells the story of Annie Londonderry, the first woman to travel around the world on a bicycle—a Jewish icon whose adventures captivated audiences in London’s West End and San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre.
“I am so thrilled to be bringing this story to our stage,” Petrenko said.
The season will conclude in May 2026 with another family musical rooted in Jewish storytelling—details to be announced soon.
“The best way to get in on all the fun this year is to subscribe to our season,” Petrenko added, noting that special promotion packages are available until September 21.
For Grinhaus, JOB is more than a play—it’s a mirror.
“This is a very theatrical piece of theatre,” he said. “It’s pure theatre, highly engaging and entertaining while also challenging our own views on modern society. Our hope is that audiences are drawn deep into this world and, only once it is done, begin the conversation the story and its themes bring up.”
With JOB, the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre sets the tone for a season of bold storytelling, ethical inquiry, and cultural resonance. From Broadway to Berney, this is theatre that doesn’t just entertain—it interrogates and enlightens.
Local News
New Jewish Heritage centre archivist has travelled an eclectic path
By MYRON LOVE The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada’s new archivist has come to her position from Rosser, Manitoba, by way of Israel.
Ava Garfinkel – the daughter of Harvey and Lee Garfinkel (and granddaughter of the late Irv and Shirley Garfinkel) – grew up on the family cattle farm just outside Winnipeg. “My family also raises horses and chickens,” she says. “I had a pony when I was little. I did my share of chores growing up.”
After attending rural schools in Rosser and Warren, Garfinkel moved on to the University of Manitoba, where she earned a B.A. in Art History. Her life journey then led he to Israel and Tel Aviv University, where she earned a Masters Degree in Archaeology.
She reports that she worked two summers on a site called Tel Azekah – an ancient community strategically located roughly half way between Jerusalem and Jaffa.
“Two years ago – in 2023 – Israel experienced its hottest summer in decades,” Garfinkel recalls. “The sun was unbearable. I realized that I preferred the paperwork, the research, and the documentation, rather than the digging.”
While Garfinkel says that she loved Israel – and had a job lined up at Tel Aviv University, fate – in the form of the terrorist attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 – intervened. It happened that she was home visiting her family when the attack occurred.
“I also love my family and my life here,” she says. “I found that I missed my family.”
Garfinkel finished her M.A. studies – with a particular emphasis on textiles in the ancient Levant – back in Winnipeg, and took up her new position at the JHCWC at the beginning of May.
“I am doing what I enjoy – preservation and documentation,” she says. “We are preserving Winnipeg’s – and Western Canada’s, Jewish history. “I am learning so much about our community’s rich history and cultural traditions.
“My colleagues and our volunteers are great. There is a lot to do. I couldn’t be happier.”
Local News
Gail Asper takes on new challenge as co-chair of major Hebrew University fundraising campaign
By MYRON LOVE Over the past 35 years Gail Asper has risen to the top ranks among Canadian philanthropists and as the go-to leader for high-profile fundraising campaigns. In her 30s, she notes, she chaired a successful Manitoba Theatre Centre fundraising campaign. In her 40s she was the youngest chair of our city’s annual United Way campaign. In her 50s she served for two years as chair of our Jewish community’s annual Combined Jewish Appeal. And, I am sure that most readers are aware of her herculean effortsbringing to fruition her father’s vision of a world class human rights museum in Winnipeg.
Now in her 60s, Asper has taken on a lead role in another major fundraising campaign – one of international scope – as co-chair of an upcoming Hebrew University campaign, which is set to launch in October.
“My dad (the late Israel Asper – Gail’s role model) always told me,” she recalls, “that when you are asked to do something, while you can’t guarantee success, you do the best you can.”
This year’s campaign will be a particularly significant one for Israel’s oldest and largest university. This year mark’s the Hebrew University’s 100th anniversary – and the Asper family has played a leading role in the university for almost 50 years.
Gail Asper remembers going to Jerusalem – with her father – and family – when she was in her 20s – when Israel Asper would be attending HU annual Board of Governors meetings. “I met the president of the university,” she recounts. “I got to see what the university was doing and got to know the people on the board. There were board members from all over the world, all accomplished and interesting people.. It was so glamourous.”
In 1989, her father – after more than 20 years on the board – told Gail that he was stepping down to spend more time building the still relatively new Canwest business – and suggested that she should replace him as a board member. Not only did she join the board, she also became one of the founding members of the newly formed Canadian Friends of Hebrew University Business and Professional Division, along with other now prominent community members Howard Morry and Murray Palay.
“I remember being on the phone, back in 1993, holding my baby Jonathan in one arm while going through my phone list selling tickets for our gala,” Asper says. “It was good training for being able to manage looking after my family, work and volunteering later in life.”
It wasn’t long after she joined the Hebrew U board that she moved on to join the board executive,” she notes. “We would have meetings in Israel three or four times a year. Thank goodness now for Zoom. But I really enjoyed meeting with fellow board members as well as university management and faculty.”
Asper says that she was really surprised to be asked to chair the new campaign. “Most of the major HU donors are American,” she explains. “I thought that an American chair would be more appropriate than a Canadian,” she says.
She agreed to take on the role, but insisted on having an American co-chair. The individual she chose is a prominent American trial lawyer from Los Angeles by the name of Patty Glaser.
“I have known Patty for years,” Asper reports. “We met through the Hebrew University. She is very well organized and a terrific fundraiser.”
Asper adds that she would also like to recruit an Israeli philanthropist as a third chair. “There are a lot more wealthy Israelis today,” she observes. “I think it is important to get an Israeli more involved. We identified a few prospects and narrowed it down to a HU alumnus who has been very successful.”
Asper officially takes up her new role in October 2025, coinciding with the investiture of the incoming president, Prof. Tamir Sheafer. “We don’t have many details about the 100th anniversary campaign,” she notes. “The target for the last seven-year campaign – which ended in June – was $1 billion. We co-chairs will have discussion with the new president as to our financial goal and how the funds will be distributed.”
One area that Asper suggests will be a focus of the new campaign will be Jewish philanthropists and foundations who had been supporting American and Canadian universities, but who have been told that since October 7, 2023, their donations are no longer welcome. “Others have pulled their donations because of anti-Jewish activity on campuses,” she points out. “We will be suggesting that their donations will be better spent supporting Israel’s leading universities rather than antisemitic universities in Canada and the US.”
She adds that she will be co-ordinating the Canadian contributions to the campaign with CFHU executive director (and former Winnipeg resident – while he was executive director of the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University here) Rami Kleinmann. “In Canada, we always punch above our weight,” Asper notes.
She does admit to be disappointed that the HU’s 100th anniversary celebrations scheduled for last June had to be cancelled because of the war with Iran. “Anita Wortzman (the Asper Foundation’s executive director) and I were already in Israel,” Asper reports. “I had planned to attend every program on campus, meet the donors and scientists and scholars and learn what they are working on.”
She is looking forward to making up for some of what she missed in June with her upcoming visit to Israel in the fall and the kick-off to the campaign.