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John Spencer: World’s “leading urban warfare expert” gives talk at Berney Theatre on September 11
By BERNIE BELLAN On Wednesday, September 11 an event was held at the Berney Theatre featuring John Spencer. The event was billed as “Hamas’ War: Truth and Consequences.”
Spencer, who retired from the US Army as a major, was described on the poster advertising the event as “the world’s leading urban warfare expert” and a “strategic adviser to world leaders.”
According to the website of the Modern Warfare Institute, which Spencer says he helped to create, “John W. Spencer currently serves as the chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute, codirector of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast. He is also a founding member of the International Working Group on Subterranean Warfare.
“He served over twenty-five years in the Army as an infantry soldier having held ranks from private to sergeant first class and second lieutenant to major. His assignments as an active duty Army officer included two combat deployments to Iraq as both an infantry platoon leader and company commander, Ranger instructor with the Army’s Ranger School, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Army Staff intern, fellow with the chief of staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group, and strategic planner and then deputy director of the Modern War Institute where he was instrumental in the design and formation of the institute.”
The email advertising the event that we received came from an organization known as “TAFSIK.” We have attempted to obtain more information about TAFSIK – and who’s behind it, but in response to two emails we sent to them asking them to describe who’s behind the organization, we simply got back a response that was a regurgitation of material already available on their website: “Tafsik organization emerged resolutely from the tragedy of October 7th, dedicated to combating Jew Hatred in Canada and beyond. By forging alliances with diverse communities—including Iranian, Indian, Christian, Yazidi, Venezuelan, and many other groups—Tafsik is uniting voices against Jew hatred on a global scale. The organization hosts significant events featuring prominent figures such as Douglas Murray, Gad Saad, Hillel Fuld, and Colonel John Spencer, to illuminate the challenges faced by Israel and the Jewish community worldwide. Additionally, Tafsik is leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to combat Jew Hate more effectively. As one of the fastest-growing grassroots organizations in Canada, Tafsik is committed to fostering understanding and solidarity in the fight against hatred.”
There were also names of three other organizations that were listed as sponsoring the Spencer event on the email received from TAFSIK: The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg; another organization called “Blue &”…something (the logo is unintelligible); and a third organization called Manitoba Israeli Coalition.
As well, during the event two other organizations were mentioned as having had some involvement: Winnipeg Friends of Israel and Bridges for Peace.
This event had an inordinate amount of security surrounding it. Registrants were told in advance that the actual venue would not be disclosed until shortly before the event. Here is what the email said: “Given recent threats and security events across Canada and elsewhere, we ask that you please keep this information confidential for security purposes…Filming and other recording will not be permitted.”
As it was, the venue turned out to be the Berney Theatre in the Asper Campus. When attendees arrived they might have seen one lonely protester, whose face was fully covered in a kaffiyah, holding a Palestinian flag. But there were also at least 20 Winnipeg Police Service members there – and at least five police cars. (There seemed to be even more police by the time attendees left the campus between 9:30-10:00 pm. The cost to hire all those police must have been exorbitant.)
Wow! We wondered what might be said that would be so sensitive as to prohibit recording – and how much money was spent in holding an event that was limited to only 200 individuals (the maximum capacity of the Berney Theatre), yet required a huge turnout of police.
To be honest, we didn’t hear anything from Spencer that one would think would have required a prohibition on recording the event – no discussion of military tactics or anything that he hasn’t already gone on the record as having written or said previously.
Spencer (who completed a 25-year period of service in the US Army infantry with the rank of “major,” but later was promoted to the rank of “colonel” in something called the “California State Guard”) focused largely on defending the IDF from accusations that its tactics merit criticism as, for instance, that they have been “disproportionate” to the level of threat posed by Hamas.
Interestingly, Spencer gave a full length interview to the Canadian Jewish News two days prior to the September 11 event in Winnipeg during which he went into a great more detail about Israeli military operations in Gaza than he did in the Berney Theatre on September 11. (You can read that entire interview at https://jewishpostandnews.ca/faqs/rokmicronews-fp-1/u-s-military-expert-john-spencer-to-speak-in-winnipeg-sept-11-argues-israel-isnt-committing-genocide-in-gaza/.)
As noted, the major point of Spencer’s talk, rather than being an analysis of military tactics employed by the Israel Defence Forces – which, I was rather hoping to hear, was a rebuttal of the accusation that has been levelled against Israel that what it is has been doing in Gaza amounts to “genocide.”
Here is some of what Spencer had to say during what was almost an hour-long talk:
“Just about everything that has been said about Israel and Gaza is a lie.”
There is a “global deficiency in understanding urban combat…There has been a long history of urban combat” but, until quite recently, urban combat has been about “fighting for cities, not in cities.”
Later, Spencer expounded upon this theme when he examined in some detail battles that took place in Manila (1945), and in Mosul (2016-17), in which cities were ravaged as a result of opposing forces trying to defend positions on the one hand, while other forces were trying to take those positions on the other – but in both cases, while there was a certain amount of underground fighting, the forces attempting to defend their positions were largely above ground and their ostensible purpose was to prevent the enemy from overtaking their positions. He contrasted those situations with what Hamas’s only goal throughout this war has been, which is “to survive the conflict.”
As for how to assess the current war in Gaza, Spencer suggested that “historians take about 20 years to write about combat,” so he was reluctant to weigh in on how successful Israel has been in achieving its goals.
He did say that he has been to Israel three times since October 7 and has been inside different Hamas tunnels on two different occasions. He did agree that the extent of Hamas’s preparations for this war – which were over “15 years” in the making, were quite impressive, but when it comes down to taking a position on whether Israel is actually winning the war, it was in his interview with the CJN that he was far more decisive in his opinion than he was during his talk in the Berney Theatre, when he didn’t take a clear position on that question. Here’s what he said during that September 10 interview:
“I wrote a Foreign Affairs article countering actually four major articles that have been published on ‘Israel isn’t winning. Israel is actually creating more terrorists than it’s killing’. All of these wrong frameworks.
“Israel absolutely is winning its war against Hamas in Gaza, because I taught strategy at West Point. Wars have a start, they have an end. They have political goals, which can change, although Israel hasn’t changed its three primary goals for the war against Hamas. Those are: number one, return the hostages. Number two, destroy Hamas, its political and military power in the Gaza Strip. And number three, secure the borders.
“There’s different wording for them, but those are the three goals. And Israel is absolutely [winning] all three of those. Especially with the hostages. They brought home over half the hostages to include over a hundred living hostages. But there is the myth that Israel could have brought them home a different way. It could have been negotiated in the beginning.”
In fact, during his talk Spencer paid scant attention to the situation regarding the hostages. It would have been interesting to hear from an urban warfare expert what he makes of the challenge presented by Hamas likely holding the remaining hostages in its network of tunnels. There have been several articles written – especially in the New York Times, detailing the enormous difficulties the IDF has had in going into Hamas tunnels. Like many other commentators though, Spencer noted that the number of tunnels Hamas had built came as a major surprise to the IDF.
A major part of Spencer’s talk, however, was given over to a rejection of various arguments that have been used against Israel, including that its response to the Hamas attack on October 7 has been “disproportionate,” and the suggestion that Israel has been engaged in “genocide.” Again – it would have been nice to be able to record Spencer’s talk so as to give you a more precise account of what he said, but during that September 10 interview with the CJN he made the exact same points in response to criticisms of Israel’s conduct of the war:
“Well, at the macro level, it seems for Israel, Gaza is where the truth dies. The accusation that Israel has been disproportionate, indiscriminate, excessive, or starving the population. While none of those are true, there’s actually a counterfactual huge body of evidence, actually real and physical. Like the “starvation”. I went to the Netzarim corridor, saw where the (U.S. humanitarian) pier used to be, and there were just mountains, a whole field of humanitarian aid that just hadn’t been picked up. But from the actual execution of war, like you said, for the IDF, there’s no comparison. So the IDF was being compared to other operations where just this tunnel challenge of being able to find and operate with an entire world underneath the urban areas.
“Hamas built this world underneath their civilians for the sole purpose of using everything on the surface to cause [criticism from] the international community. the destruction, the civilian casualties, everything, but all these lies about being disproportionate, proportionality–nobody’s faced this challenge in modern history. No military has.
“And then the other thing, which is what the prime minister and other Israeli officials or government use, which is backed up by data, is that in this execution of this war against Hamas, a defender who’s had 15 years to prepare for the attack of the IDF, Israel has done more and has implemented more civilian harm-mitigation measures than any military in the history of war, to include the U. S., Canada, the coalitions, to prevent civilian casualties and destruction. Like evacuating cities, like dropping [leaflets], the use of daily pauses, the use of certain munitions. There’s a long list that I go through. There’s actually over 10 civilian harm-mitigation measures that Israel has implemented, some that have never been created before in the history of war, like tracking civilian populations with their cell phones on or off and then restricting them. This is what I saw in Khan Younis, restricting the IDF operations because of that overriding aspect of preventing civilian harm, trying to get the civilians out of harm’s way, even though Egypt, which owns a lot of the destruction, the civilian casualties, and [took in] not a single refugee. So even that aspect of fighting a war against a military who’s trying to get their civilians killed without a complete area to move civilians to, into the Sinai, which would be really realistic. So the idea of how to find a way to create a safer zone within Gaza while still moving against Hamas.”
Spencer cited the claim that over 40,000 civilians have been killed during this war. He countered with the claim that, even if that figure is close to being correct – which he didn’t concede, over 13,000 of the deaths have been of Hamas fighters. (What Spencer didn’t do though, is offer an assessment of how strong Hamas remains. Recent reports that Hamas has been resurfacing in the north – which the IDF had previously claimed to have been rid of Hamas fighters, would tend to indicate just how difficult it will be to subdue Hamas militarily.)
Still, even if one were to accept the notion that there have been a large number of civilians killed during this war, Spencer suggested that one must take into account various criteria in evaluating to what extent a military force engaged in warfare with an enemy that is not only willing to use innocent civilians as human shields, it actually wants to see large number of casualties among its own population.
He offered these criteria for determining the level of responsibility one might attach to a military force when it is engaged in urban warfare where civilians are present:
• military necessity
• proportionality
• distinction (between civilians and combatants)
• humanity
• honor
Spencer noted that in the annals of warfare, even when tens of thousands of civilians have been killed as the result of urban warfare (or, as was the case in Manila in 1945 when the US Army fought to liberate that city from the Japanese and over 100,000 civilians died), the defending force did not deliberately want to see civilians die in order to turn world opinion against the enemy force – which is what he said, Hamas has been doing. Even ISIS, Spencer claimed, as brutal and savage as it was, was willing to surrender control of cities in situations where it was clear it was about to be defeated, rather than see entire civilian populations killed in order to enflame world opinion against the attacking forces. Hamas, he said, has as its clear goal, to survive – and if it can pressure Israel into accepting a ceasefire that will allow them to do that – even at the cost of seeing thousands of its fellow Palestinians killed as a result, then it will have achieved its aim, Spencer said.
And, as he said during the CJN interview, Hamas will want to pursue its goal of survival by having the international community exert pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire that will allow Hamas to regroup only to attack Israel yet again – and again.
Local News
A detailed look at how Jacob Brodovsky was targeted by one particular website – and how that led to him losing his job as co-executive director of BB Camp
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted April 25) The following is taken from Bnai Brith Camp’s website as the camp’s mission statement:
“BB Camp’s mission is to provide a fun, supportive, and inclusive Jewish environment in which youth can explore, grow, and mature. Campers are provided opportunities to develop independence, foster lasting friendships, and strengthen their identities within a natural wilderness setting. BB Camp is committed to making sure that every camper leaves with wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.
“Since its founding in 1954, BB Camp has remained committed to ensuring that all children, no matter what their financial situation might be, have the opportunity to experience the joy and wonder of attending Camp. At BB Camp, our goal is to offer a summer ‘home away from home’ where children can learn about and take pride in their Jewish culture, community, and heritage. It is a place where children can grow both individually and as a group. It is a place where important socializing skills are developed and where lifelong friendships are formed. It is a place where connection to the Jewish community can become part of a child’s life forever.”
Elsewhere on the website, under the category “Jewish Life at Camp,” this is what the site has to say about the role that Israel plays at the camp: Our main focus in Israel-based programming is to provide interactive opportunities for our campers and staff to develop a connection to Israel. We create connections to Israel by hiring Israeli staff to teach our
campers about daily life in Israel. Each summer we run an Israel Day program for both of our summer sessions where campers can learn about Israeli culture, food, and geography. In addition to this day-long program, we entwine Israel-based education with day-to-day camp life, including a ‘Hebrew word of the day’ at morning services and by using basic Israel education pieces including using Hebrew names for our camp buildings, flying the Israeli flag, and singing Hatikvah (Israel’s national anthem) as a camp each day when we lower the flags for the evening.”
Jacob Brodovsky had been a staffer at BB Camp for 15 years. Since 2021 he and his wife, Lexi Yurman, had served as camp co-executive directors. In an article posted to The Times of Israel website in August 2024, writer Jon van der Veen wrote: “He (Brodovsky) mentioned that BB has had a positive growth in campers over the years, “about 10 percent year over year” (emphasis mine). Lexie gave me the rough numbers, saying, (BB Camp) ‘consistently in a summer through both sessions, and including our LTP and AC programs, we have 300 to 350 campers.
“Jacob describes BB as a ‘Jewish camp for everyone,’ which is important because he also informed me that ‘about 15 percent of campers are non-Jewish‘ (emphasis mine). Jacob and Lexie believe this number is a testament to the appeal of BB camp and its good reputation. Lexie added, ‘Most of our non-Jewish campers, they just come with their friends, because their friends talk about camp, and they want to be a part of it.’
In the camp’s mission statement nowhere does the word “Zionism” appear.
But, following a series of three incendiary articles that appeared on a website known as thej.ca, beginning with an article that was first posted on April 6, and which was titled “Winnipeg Parents Outraged Over Camp BB Kenora Director’s Apparent Anti‑Israel Social Media Activity,” a campaign to oust Jacob Brodovsky as camp co-executive director quickly gathered steam. Ordinarily I would not lend credence to the vituperative attacks on Brodovsky that were posted to that website, but I think it important that readers see first hand the evidence that was used to martial what became an online campaign to have Brodovsky removed as camp co-executive director.
That article went on to make several statements that might well be considered defamatory, including describing Brodovsky’s behaviour as “incendiary.” The article also quoted (from an unnamed parent): “Parents send their children to BB Kenora for a safe, enriching Jewish experience—not political indoctrination against Israel.” (There is no evidence offered as to what “political indoctrination against Israel” in which Brodovsky might have engaged.)
The entire basis of the case against Brodovsky seemed to revolve as his having “liked” certain social media posts that had been posted by someone or some group that went by the name “Rusty_Robot,” and which were posted to Instagram in April and May 2024. Those social media posts were sympathetic to Palestinians.
Further, there were comments that levelled very serious allegations, not only against Brodovsky, but also his wife, Lexie, including: “Anyone who supports the dangerous and vicious views regarding the Jewish right to exist should be held accountable and fired. Our children deserve better !”
Another commenter write: “I’m confused why there is no commentary on his wife, who runs the camp along side him and has allowed for this behaviour from him for years. She is complicit to his actions.”
A third commenter writes: “if you are the director of a Jewish camp who shuts down support for hostages and protests the raising of the Israeli flag and singing Hatikvah, then your politics are affecting your role and the climate at camp.”
There were other very serious allegations made against Brodovsky, yet there were also comments that came to his defence, including: “My children came home from BB camp last summer more secure and attached to their Jewish identity than when they left.
“They sang Hatikva. They prayed at meals. They participated in a Havdalah service. Most importantly, they got to experience the sense of community that comes from being in a secure Jewish environment.”
At first, the BB Camp Board reacted by giving Brodovsky a vote of support following an emergency meeting of the board held on April 8, at which time the Board issued a statement that read, in part: “After conducting painstaking due diligence, the BB Camp Board of Directors unanimously (emphasis mine) voted to retain Co-Executive Director, Jacob Brodovsky, following his full apology for his serious error in judgement on social media.
“After listening to all comments and concerns, the Board made a decision that it believes is best for the organization moving forward.
“ ‘While we know not everyone will agree with our decision, we have full confidence that Jacob will continue to provide our campers, families, and clients with the same safe and nurturing environment that they have come to expect and enjoy over the last four years,’ said Board chair, Leah Leibl.
Leibl pointed to Jacob’s sincerity in issuing an apology.
“’ ‘I accept full responsibility and sincerely apologize for the gravity of my mistake and lack of judgement in liking posts that did not align with the values of BB Camp,’ said Co-Executive Director, Jacob Brodovsky. ‘ am extremely remorseful for my actions and most grateful to be able to continue in my role serving our Jewish community.’
“Jacob also reaffirmed his belief in the State of Israel and is working closely with others to examine steps that can be taken to strengthen Jewish life and deepen support for Israel at Camp.
“Jacob added, ‘I ‘ believe in Israel’s right to exist and care deeply about the safety of all Jews and Israelis.’
“In addition to the apology, the Board requires their Co-Executive Director, who agreed, to exercise due caution in his use of social media and avoid any activity that may run counter to the mission of the organization. The Board of Directors has also expressed to Jacob the extreme seriousness of this matter, and has reinforced to him his obligation to uphold all Camp policies.”
On April 9, however, thej.ca once again criticized the BB Camp Board of Directors in an article titled “Weak Leadership Exposed: Camp BB Kenora Board Keeps Controversial Director Despite Overwhelming Outcry”.
The lead line of that article said: “Despite irrefutable evidence of his anti‑Israel bias and incendiary pro‑Palestine online activities, the board’s decision to retain Jacob Brodovsky reveals a dangerous capitulation to woke (emphasis mine) pressures—at the expense of true Zionist values.”
On April 16, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg held an emergency meeting for the purpose of discussing the BB Camp situation. On April 17 the BB Camp Board released a statement in which it reversed its decision to retain Brodovsky as co-executive director, noting “the camp’s Board of Directors has announced that “the Board of Directors and co-Executive Director Jacob Brodovsky have amicably agreed to part ways, having regard to the best interests of the Camp and the community at large.”
We have been in contact with various camp staffers, some of whom who wished to remain anonymous, but all of whom have denied that there were any instances where Hatikvah was not allowed to be sung or where the Israeli flag was not raised.
Another issue which was raised by other commenters had to do with campers not being allowed either to make or wear “yellow ribbons,” which have become symbolic of sympathy for the hostages still being held in Gaza.
Following the BB Camp Board’s complete reversal of its position, the j.ca ran a third article, on April 17, titled “Stunning Turn Of Events At BB Camp Kenora As Board Reexamines Leadership Choice.”
Following the article, however, a commenter who identified as a camp staffer posted this comment: “As a current staff member at Camp BB, I have to say it’s outrageous that Jacob is being slandered over baseless rumours and social media activity taken wildly out of context. What’s even more ridiculous is that most of the people fuelling this outrage haven’t stepped foot on camp during the summer and have no idea how things are actually run. Jacob’s personal political views never once interfered with camp life. Camp BB remained very much a Jewish camp, rich in tradition and community, under his leadership.
The camp staffer goes on to refer to the “yellow ribbon” situation – in apparent reference to a paragraph which appeared in the April 6 j.ca article, which wrote: “Several parents told TheJ.Ca that Brodovsky also refused campers’ requests to create yellow ribbons in solidarity with the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. ‘My daughter was heartbroken,’ said one mother. ‘She wanted to show support for the hostages in Gaza, but Jacob wouldn’t allow it.’ “
The camp staffer who posted a comment in defence of Brodovsky on the j.ca site wrote – with specific reference to the “yellow ribbon” situation: “It’s also interesting that none of the staff can recall this supposed ‘yellow ribbon’ situation—so where did that even come from? Are we really at the point where rumours and assumptions are enough to justify firing someone?”
Questions now remain as to why the BB Camp Board reversed its original decision to retain Brodovsky as camp co-executive director? Was it a result of some well-heeled donors exerting financial pressure on either the BB Camp Board or the Jewish Federation?
We have also received a copy of a letter that was sent to the BB Camp Board which also levels some very serious allegations against Brodovsky, especially with respect to his interactions with camp staffers. That letter offers specifics which the articles in thej.ca do not. Whether that letter – and perhaps other letters that were sent to the BB Camp Board played an influential role in the dramatic reversal of the Board’s original unanimous decision made on April 9 to retain Brodovsky as co-executive director, only to be followed by a decision eight days later to part ways with Brodovsky, we do not know.
Unlike the j.ca, however, we do not engage in idle speculation. We ask questions and await answers.
There is one final – and somewhat intriguing aspect to this controversy, and that has to do with BB Camp’s charitable status. As some readers might be aware, Jewish National Fund Canada had its charitable status revoked by the CRA in August 2024. To read more about how that came about, go to https://jewishpostandnews.ca/faqs/rokmicronews-fp-1/jnf-canada-responds-to-cra-decision-to-revoke-its-charity-status/
In order for any charity to retain its charitable status it has to clearly state its charitable object. If BB Camp were now to include, as part of its charitable object, “to better reflect the Camp’s fundamental support of Israel” (emphasis mine), which it says is now part of its mission in the statement issued on April 17, one might well ask whether that constitutes quite a departure from its previous mission statement, which makes no reference at all to Israel, and in particular, “fundamental support of Israel?” Based on what happened with the JNF, which lost its charitable status, allegedly for having deviated from its “charitable object,” one might wonder how the CRA would react to BB Camp becoming politicized to that extent?
We had sent a copy of this article to both the Federation and BB Camp Board asking both of them whether they had any response to issue before this article was published. Neither organization responded.
Local News
Ilana Shapera one of the leads in dancing dentists upcoming production of “Chicago”
By MYRON LOVE Dr. Ilana Shapera is looking forward to once again treading the boards – this time with a role that she can really sink her teeth into. One of three principals in Affinity Dental – the others being her husband, Igal Margolin, and her brother-in-law, Artiom Margolin – has been cast in the role of Velma Kelly in the upcoming Manitoba Dental Foundation’s production of “Chicago,” which is scheduled to run May 7-11 at the Theatre Cercle Moliere.
“Velma is a real fun character,” Shapera says. “I love her snarkiness.”
“Chicago” the nusical, notes Phil Corrin, the production’s musical director, is based on a 1926 play by the same name that was intended to expose political corruption and its interface with celebrity. Fifty years later, it was restaged as a musical.
“Chicago” is the MDF’s seventh all-dentist musical production. A new show is staged every second year.
Shapera, who previously appeared in the Foundation’s production of “Lucky Stiff” in 2017, says that she is looking forward to getting back to dancing – a passion she has had for most of her life – in her role as Veloma. She reports that she began taking dancing lessons when she was four years old. In her teen years, she studied with Shelley Shearer and participated in Gray Academy musical productions. For several years, she was a member of the Chai Folk Ensemble choir and, for the past six or seven years, she has been singing with the Prairie Voices’ Horizon Choir.
The mother of two young sons, Lev and Shai, expresses her appreciation to her husband, Igal, “for holding down the fort at home, allowing her to live out her Broadway dreams”.
Some readers may remember Phil Corrin for his 25 year career as a band teacher at Garden City Collegiate. He holds a Bachelor of Music (Major in Music Education) from Brandon University and a Graduate Diploma in Fine Arts (Conducting) from the University of Calgary. His first foray into the world of theatre was in the sixth grade when he played Huckleberry Finn in his school’s production of “Tom Sawyer.” Since then, he has been involved in nearly 80 productions as an actor, musician, director, producer, stagehand, audio technician, and music director. He has worked with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Rainbow Stage, Winnipeg Studio Theatre, Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Little Opera Company, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, as well as numerous high schools (including Gray Academy) throughout Winnipeg.
“Phil is happy to once again sink his teeth into the world of All-Dentist Musicals – having previously served as Associate Music Director for “Young Frankenstein” in 2015,” says Frank Hechter, currently the Manitoba Dental Foundation’s executive director (since 2018), who is also a member of the production’s organizing committee.
Hechter will be the conductor for the show and will also be a member of the ensemble. For Hechter – who began practising dentistry almost 55 years ago, appearing in “Chicago” will allow him to recreate his St. John’s high school operetta days, renew and create new friendships, challenge himself, and “move beyond his comfort zone,” he says.
A second Jewish member of the organizing committee is Bonnie Antel, the wife of Dr. Joel Antel, a former president of both the Manitoba Dental Foundation and Manitoba Dental Association and who is currently the Canadian Dental Association president. Bonnie says that while she would have loved to be in the “Chicago” cast, she isn’t a dentist. She has, however, been involved in music – both as a singer and choir leader, most of her life.
“I developed a love for music and singing in high school (Grant Park),” she recalls.
Bonnie has a Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education from University of Manitoba and recently retired from teaching music in the Pembina Trails School Division.
As with Ilana Shapera, Bonnie Antel is a Chai alumna. For many years, from the time she was 13, she was a member of the Shaarey Zedek Choir. She adds that in the 1990s, she was the choir director and conductor. Currently, she is the Yom Tov choir leader at the Simkin Centre. “Chicago” is the second Dental Foundation all-dentist musical production that she has been involved with.
“We are all really thrilled that we were able to get the rights to “Chicago” this year,” remarks Antel, who has been involved in the all-dentist musical productions since their inception.. “We do these shows every second year but there has always been another production of “Chicago” somewhere else in the province taking place.”
“Our purposes in producing musical theatre with all dentist performers has always been to create opportunities for dentists with an interest in musical theatre to come together; create opportunities for students and graduates of performing arts programs to gain experience, refine their expertise to enhance their career paths; and to raise funds to support educational and mentorship programs in the performing arts and other charitable organizations,” Hechter points out. “We appreciate the contributions of everyone who has participated in our productions.”
He reports that the net proceeds from the productions have provided funding over the years for the Manitoba Dental Foundation – as well as the Harvey Speigel Bursary in the College of Dentistry (U of M), the Theatre and Film program at the U of W, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Winnipeg Studio Theatre Scholarship, the Rainbow Stage Professional Mentorship Program, the Never Alone Cancer Foundation, and Cancer Care Manitoba. The net proceeds from the production of “Chicago” will be divided evenly between Theatre Cercle Moliere and the Manitoba Dental Foundation.
Readers who may be interested in supporting the MDF and seeing the show can contact Dr. Frank J. Hechter (mdf.ed@manitobadentist.ca) or phone 204-782-8146.
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Japanese author Akira Kitade recounts for Winnipeg audience role of foreign diplomats in saving Jewish lives in WWII
By MYRON LOVE One of the lesser known histories of the Holocaust was the role of various diplomats who saved thousands of Jewish lives through issuing visas to endangered Jews desperate to escape Nazi-occupied Europe. The best known of those diplomats was Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish special envoy in Budapest in 1944 who issued Swedish passports to thousands of Hungarian Jews and – with the financial support of American Jewish organizations – hid them in numerous safe houses throughout Budapest.
Sadly, he himself met a tragic fate. When the Soviets liberated Budapest in late 1944, the courageous Swede was arrested, shipped back to Russia – and never seen again.
Lesser known diplomats also pitched in to save Jewish lives. One of these Holocaust heroes was Chiune Sempo Sugihara. Japanese consul in Kovno, Lithuania, who provided thousands of Japanese transit visas to Jewish refugees who had fled from Poland and elsewhere in Europe to the Baltic capital city in a desperate effort to escape the clutches of the Nazis.
On Sunday, March 23, about 100 individuals, largely from the Jewish and Japanese communities, were in attendance at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights for a special presentation by Japanese author Akira Kitade describing Sugihara’s exploits.
The story is a central element in Kitade’s most recent book, “Emerging Heroes: World War II Era Diplomats, Jewish Refugees and escape to Japan”, which was a sequel to his previous book, “Visas of Life and the Epic Journey:How the Sugihara Survivors Reached Japan.”
The program, a joint venture between the CHHR and the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, began with remarks by Takehiko Wajima, the Japanese Consul General in Calgary. (Local immigration lawyer Ken Zaifman, Japan’s honorary consul in Winnipeg, was also in attendance.)
Belle Jarniewski, the Jewish Heritage Centre’s executive director, then set the table, so to speak, for the guest speaker. She pointed out that “the medal awarded to those recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority features the inscription – from the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 4:5), “Whosoever saves a single life, saves an entire universe.” Yad Vashem explains further that the quote is particularly appropriate when we think of the survivors and their many descendants and their many contributions to society. Chiune Sugihara did not save a single life – he saved thousands”.
She recounted that when the Nazis attacked Poland, some 15,000 Jews fled eastward, including to the then still independent Lithuania, which had been a centre for Jewish life since the 14th century. Caught between the Nazis and the Soviets, the Jews desperately sought ways to emigrate. After the annexation of Lithuania by the Soviets in the summer of 1940, all foreign diplomats were ordered to leave by August 9.
By then, the Jews were in very dire straits and could find no safe haven. Jan Zwartendijk, a Dutch consul in Kaunas at the time, agreed to stamp thousands of Jewish passports to visa-free Dutch Curacao, a Dutch colony in the Caribbean. The visas were, of course, bogus. With Europe engulfed in war, the only plausible means of escape was across the Soviet Union. For this, the refugees required transit visas showing Japan as their final destination.
As Sugihara and his family were packing their belongings, a delegation of Jews came to him with a desperate request for transit visas. They were led by Zerach Warhaftig – a Jewish refugee who, years later, was to become a minister in the government of the State of Israel. Seeing the desperation of the refugees, Sugihara began issuing the transit visas despite objections from Tokyo. Overall, he issued approximately 2140 transit visas—some of them for entire families.
The refugees rode the TransSiberian railroad across Russia to the Pacific port of Vladivostok. From there, they were transferred by boat, the Hikawa Maru, to Kobe in Japan. Many of the refugees were able to move on from Kobe to the United States and other places. The remainder – about 1,000 – were eventually relocated to the foreign quarter in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, where there was an existing community of German-Jewish refugees and a small number of prosperous Jewish merchant families from India.
Akira Kitade’s interest in Sugihara and the Jewish refugees, he noted, was sparked almost 30 years ago when he heard the firsthand account from Tatsuo Osaka, his boss at the Japanese Tourist Bureau, – who captained the Hikawa Maru carrying Jewish refugees from Vladivostok to Kobe. The retired diplomat recalled that, during a visit in the late 1990s, Osaka showed him an album with photos of eight of the refugees – one man and seven women – along with words of gratitude in various languages representing the many different European countries from which they were fleeing. After Osaka’s passing on 1993, his daughter gave Kitade the album.
His initial goal, the author recalled, was to find out what became of the individuals in the album. Over the next 10 years or so, he accomplished this mission. He shared with his audience at the CMHR what he learned about each of the survivors. All of them eventually reached America ,where they enjoyed successful careers and lives. Most married and had children.
Kitade’s research into the lives of the eight survivors in the album brought into contact with many more Sugihara transit visa holders and their descendants. He noted that while there are estimates that as many as 6,000 refugees – individual and family members, were saved by the Japanese consul’s actions, his view is that the real number is about 3,000. Their descendants, he suggested, are around 50,000.
The author also spoke about three European diplomats who aided Sugihara in facilitating the further movement of the transit visa holders. The problem for the refugees once they landed in Kobe was that the visas were only good for 14 days. Jan Zwartendijk, a Dutch businessman and diplomat, who was director of the Phillips factories in Lithuania and part-time acting consul of the Dutch Government in exile, provided 2,345 visas for Jewish refugees for the Dutch colony of Curacao, an island in the Caribbean.
Nicolaas Arie Johannes (Niek) de Voogd was the Dutch consul in Kobe at that time, and he also provided visas for Jewish refugees for Curacao. De Voogd returned to Japan as the Dutch ambassador in the early 1960s.
Tadeusz Romer was the Polish ambassador in Japan until the Polish embassy in Japan closed in July 1941. From August 1940 to November 1941, he otained transit visas in Japan, arranged asylum visas to Canada and other countries, immigration certificates to Palestine, and immigrant visas to the United States and some Latin American countries for 2,000 Polish-Lithuanian Jewish refugees who had arrived in Kobe. He created a ‘Polish Committee to Aid the Victims of War’ and appointed his wife, Zofia, to be president of the committee. They worked to financially support Jewish communities in Yokohama and Kobe by campaigning in Far Eastern countries for funding.
Belle Jarniewski completed the Sugihara narrative. The diplomat himself was posted to a number of different places, but in 1944 he was arrested by the Soviets along with a number of other diplomats. He was ultimately released, went to work for the Japanese Foreign Service in 1947, and held a variety of other jobs after that. Shortly before his death, Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Israel, declared Sugihara “Righteous Among the Nations” for his aid to the refugees in Lithuania during World War II. Yad Vashem conferred the title in 1984, honoring the former Japanese consul with a ceremony in Jerusalem in January 1985.
“The number of people recognized as Righteous Among the Nations – is staggeringly small when you consider the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were murdered,” Jarniewski pointed out.. “However, the impact of the Righteous – those who mustered extraordinary courage and who acted with conscience and caring is immeasurable. Today, the global Jewish community finds itself facing a sustained resurgence of antisemitism unprecedented since the end of the Holocaust. The silence of far too many we had considered as friends and allies has been shocking. We need to see the kind of courage of conscience that Chiune Sugihara so inspiringly displayed.”
One final note. Towards the end of the program, it was noted that in the audience was Winnipegger Rochelle Zucker, whose father, Meyer, was one of the Sugihara survivors. In answer to a question as to how the Jewish refugees in Shanghai survived, she spoke of her own father’s story. As with most of the refugees, they found work. Meyer Zucker was a printer by trade and was hired by a British-owned printing company. After the war, he, like most of the others, applied to go wherever he could. He had a cousin in Calgary who was able to bring him to Calgary to work in the printing industry. In Calgary, he met his wife, Miriam Pearlman, and, in 1948, they moved to Winnipeg where Meyer and Miriam both had family. In Winnipeg, Zucker worked as a printer for the Israelite Press/Yiddishe Vort until just a couple of years before his passing n 1977.