Local News
Yonatan Orlov honoured by Sport Manitoba for excellence in coaching
By BERNIE BELLAN Yonatan Orlov is a past nominee for Jewish Athlete of the Year (2018). We’ve been writing about Yonatan since 2014, which is when I first saw him perform at a talent show sponsored by Jewish Child & Family Service, when Yonatan was 15 years old. I, along with everyone else who was in the audience at the Art Gallery Auditorium that day, was absolutely blown away by what Yonatan was able to do with a baton.
Anyone who’s ever seen Yonatan twirl a baton would realize that he combines an amazing level of athleticism with creativity in a sport that one does not usually associate with boys.
In the 2014 article where I first wrote about Yonatan, I quoted his mother Olga, who described how Yonatan came to fall in love with baton twirling:
“In grade 6 (when Yonatan was 11) Dr.W. Penner school had a talent show and two girls where practicing baton. Yonatan liked how it looked so he tried it out. During school recesses Yonatan would take the baton from his friends and practice. We didn’t know about his interest at all. At the end of grade 6 Yonatan had a Farewell evening. During this evening kids were asked to tell something special about there friends. They said about Yonatan, that he is borrowing baton every recess and play with it. My husband and I knew nothing about baton; we even did not know the word “baton”. As a Jewish mom I was wondering, why my son has to borrow something every recess. So, I asked Yonatan, why he is borrowing and offered him to buy the baton. He explained to me what it is and I started to look for the baton. As I learned later it wasn’t an easy task… I was thinking baton is a toy, and I went to the Toys “R” Us. Nothing was there… We “googled” it but nothing was sold in Canada. Then we decided to make baton ourselves. We bought two small balls at Dollorama, connected it to the rod with glue and gave Yonatan to play with it. The “invention” didn’t work… I started to look for the Baton clubs in order to buy used baton from them. So I called Greendell community center and the coach Joyce Ormshaw was very surprised by my story and invited Yonatan to the club. The same summer Winnipeg hold a Canadian national championship and Yonatan was amazed how exiting the baton sport is.”
Yonatan went on from that early foray into the sport to become a Canadian champion, and to compete in a number of international competitions. More recently, Yonatan, who is now in his final years of science studies at the University of Manitoba, has moved into coaching baton twirling, as well as remaining a participant in competitions himself.
Recently Yonatan was honoured by Sport Manitoba for his coaching, when he received the Sport Manitoba Vince Leah Memorial award for Fundamentals Coach of the Year.
In a letter I received from Tammy DeJong, Manitoba Baton Twirling Sportive Association Chairperson, Tammy expounded at great length on what a fabulous coach Yonatan is.
She wrote, in part: “Yonatan is genuinely gifted in coaching young people. He has a certain way about him that makes his students love learning. He is adaptable and shifts his lesson plans depending on how his class is going. He makes learning baton fun and offers his students a safe and inclusive environment. He makes each participant feel successful and special.
“Within the Winnipeg Russian community, Yonatan is a popular coach. Baton is not a well-known sport for newcomers, but Yonatan has made it his mission to share his passion with the community so others may have the benefits he does. He attends frequent outreach events and teaches the children. His goal is to increase participation in baton twirling in Manitoba.
“Yonatan coaches classes in Russia and Germany via Zoom because he is also gifted at teaching skills and choreographing routines. His athletes compete locally, Nationally and Internationally. It is pretty remarkable that he came to Canada from Israel as a young boy, discovered baton twirling at school, trained to become an elite Canadian Champion and World level athlete, and now is giving back through his coaching.
“He is also an athlete and will compete at the World Championships in August in Turin, Italy. He is coached by Winnipeg resident, Kristin Macaraeg of Legacy Baton Club. She too is active in the Jewish community.”
In order to be able to compete internationally, however, Yonatan is in need of a certain amount of financial assistance. If you would be interested in helping Yonatan out, please contact his mother, Olga, at orlov.olga@gmail.com
Local News
Nakba exhbit at CMHR – you can see it right here and make your own assessment
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted June 26, updated July 19) The Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Exhibit for Human Rights opened to the public June 27. The morning before the exhibit was set to open to the public, (it had a private opening for invited guests the evening of June 26) we received a press release from the CMHR. That press release gave a very detailed description of what was in the exhibit, along with photos (supplied by Annie Kierans of the CMHR).
There is also a link right at the beginning of the press release that will allow you to watch the same videos that anyone attending the exhibit can watch. We reprinted what was sent to us without making one edit. We leave it to you to form your own opinion as to whether the exhibit is fair in its presentation, and whether it is lacking “context” – which is an accusation that has been levelled at the exhibit’s organizers by some representatives of Jewish organizations.
We have received many emails in reaction to the exhibit. If you have an opinion and would like to see it published on this website, you can send it to jewishp@mymts.net, but please indicate whether you would be willing to have it published on this website.
Here is what we received the morning of June 26:
Winnipeg, MB — June 26, 2026 — The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will open a new exhibit tomorrow that explores human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian Canadians.
Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present will be on display in the Rights Today gallery on Level 5 until 2028. Featuring personal stories told through artifacts and video testimonies, the exhibit presents Palestinian Canadians reflecting on their ongoing struggle for human rights. The small exhibit reveals enduring patterns of loss and resilience, helping visitors understand more about this contemporary human rights story.
Palestinian Canadian stories are now included alongside many other stories of forced displacement and human rights violations featured in the Museum’s galleries. Each of these stories contribute to our visitors understanding of human rights and help the Museum fulfill its mandate to foster reflection and dialogue.
Exhibition highlights
Personal stories and artifacts: Experience firsthand accounts from Palestinian Canadians sharing their journeys of displacement and memory through a series of five artifacts. Cases display artifacts like property deeds, house keys, and a traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, accompanied by short videos that deepen understanding of the impacts of displacement.
Powerful artworks: In her painting Bound Together in Gaza, Malak Mattar, a Gazan artist, captures the struggles and resilience of her generation shaped by conflict. Her work pays homage to Guernica, Picasso’s powerful masterpiece depicting civilian suffering during war.
Curfews and Closures, by Rajie Cook, bears witness to life under military occupation during the 2000–2005 Palestinian uprising, when curfews and closures were expanded and further limited basic rights and freedoms.
Cultural heritage: Discover traditional Palestinian embroidery called tatreez. Tatreez motifs and colours are tied to place, family history and regional identity. Patterns are associated with particular towns, villages or areas of Palestine. In this way, tatreez is a form of storytelling: a way of preserving memory, sustaining identity and expressing resilience across displacement and exile.
Poetry and reflection: Engage with Mahmoud Darwish’s evocative verses, inspiring personal reflection on exile, voice, and responsibility. Visitors can take a card containing Darwish’s poem and add a personal note, fostering ongoing dialogue beyond the exhibit.
Contemporary context: Witness striking images of current events in Gaza and the West Bank, connecting past displacement to ongoing struggles.
Quotes:
“No force can silence the truth we carry. Growing up in Canada, my children lived the Nakba through our stories. And now we watch it happen again, live, on our phones. When I see the images coming out of Gaza, I am not watching the news. I am watching my history repeat itself.” -Fouad Sahyoun, a Palestinian Canadian featured in the exhibit
“We developed this exhibit with a clear awareness that Palestinian Canadian voices have too often been marginalized, silenced or spoken over — and that anti-Palestinian racism affects whose stories are heard and whose suffering is recognized. That is why we intentionally centred Palestinian Canadian voices throughout the exhibit.” -Isabelle Masson, Curator of Palestine Uprooted
“Human rights matter precisely when they are inconvenient, when the question of who deserves the dignity of having their rights recognized is genuinely contested. These are the moments where having a national museum for human rights is most important.
There are people who believe this exhibit should not exist in its current form. There are people who believe it should have existed sooner. There are people who will visit this exhibit and feel that it does not say enough, and others who will feel it says too much.
We have listened to every one of these voices. We have reflected. And we have renewed our resolve to continue the difficult, sometimes contested, and often controversial work of building understanding about human rights. We are a museum grounded in Canada’s human rights framework, whose mandate requires us to bear witness to the full complexity of the human story. We are proud to open this exhibit because the story it tells will help achieve that mandate, and because this story belongs in the collective memory of Canadians.”
- – Isha Khan, CEO
Local News
A photo that’s being circulated on the internet about me
For those of you not familiar with nutjob Michael Kalo – the psycho who created the notorious “$hitler’s List” years ago and the same psycho who went after Ben Carr, well – now he’s obviously taken a strong disliking to the stance I’ve taken on the Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. (You can read elsewhere on this website how I simply posted the entire exhibit as it is – and asked readers to form their own opinions.)
Kalo likes to send out emails to various individual using phony names – such as Frank Ostrowski. When people ask me (or asked Ben Carr) why we don’t take action against him, my answer is: What’s the use? He only basks in the attention.
So Michael – enjoy the attention you’re receiving. I know how much of an embarrassment you are to your wonderfully talented daughters.
Local News
Ami Hassan returning as owner of Falafel Place
By BERNIE BELLAN In a surprise move – and after more than a six-year absence as owner of Falafel Place (Corydon at Wilton) the legendary Ami Hassan has decided to return as owner of one of Winnipeg’s most famous eateries.
Long known for his sometimes irreverent attitude to his customers, e.g., “If you’re finished, get out!”, Ami decided to return to running Falafel Place after having retired years ago (or so he thought) from running the Corydon Avenue restaurant.
We asked Ami whether he’ll be sending a special invitation to Julia Roberts to come visit him at Falafel Place. He asked again: “Who’s Julia Roberts?” (Just kidding – he really does know how Julia Roberts is.) Read the story how Ami told her to leave the restaurant and come back later at Julia Roberts turned away from Falafel Place
Ami did note that when customers saw him inside the restaurant one recent day as he was getting it ready for the reopening Monday, August 10, over 20 of them came in asking him if he was open already.
We asked Ami whether the menu will be the same as it was when he last ran the place and he said everything will be the same.
Falafel Place will be open 7 days a week from 7 am – 2 pm. Remember, if you’re finished – get out!
