Features
Do you want a challenge? Try opening a restaurant in Mexico – four different times in six years
By BERNIE BELLAN In December 2021 Myron Love wrote a story for The Jewish Post & News about former Winnipegger Megan Kravetsky.
How I happened to give Myron that particular assignment was an interesting story in itself. I had begun delivering Meals on Wheels for the Gwen Secter Centre in the summer of 2021 – which, if you can recall, was a period when we were still enduing periodic shutdowns due to Covid. As a result, the Gwen Secter Centre stepped up the number of meals that it began producing – not only for Jewish clients, but for hundreds of non-Jewish clients as well.
I wrote several times about the incredible effort that the staff at Gwen Secter put into producing what ultimately became over 600 meals a week, but that’s not the point of this story. This story is about food though, so there’s a connection.
In any event, beginning in the fall of 2021 I began delivering kosher meals for Gwen Secter on a weekly basis to a number of clients, some of whom some have remained on my list ever since.
One of those clients was a woman by the name of Joanne Field. Like most of my Meals on Wheels clients I developed a nice rapport with Joanne. One day she asked me if I’d be interested in doing a story about her granddaughter, whose name she told me, was Megan Kravetsky. According to Joanne, Megan had been operating a popular restaurant in Puerto Vallarta by the name of Blake’s Bar & Grill, and Joanne thought that readers of the paper who might be heading to Puerto Vallarta that winter would be interested in dropping into Blake’s.
As it turned out, I asked Myron Love to do that story instead of doing it myself because we were coming up to our Chanukah issue at the time and I didn’t have time to talk to Megan and write a story – but I did think that the Chanukah issue presented the perfect opportunity to let readers know about Megan and her restaurant.
That was in December 2021 and, even though my wife and I have been to the Puerto Vallarta area several times – and really love it there, what with Covid putting a crimp in travel plans for several years, it wasn’t until this year that I had the opportunity to head back to Puerto Vallarta. While I was there, I thought, I’d like to touch base with Megan and visit Blake’s myself.
Which is how I came to do a completely different type of story than I expected to write.
You see, Megan Kravetsky’s experiences in Mexico can fill a book – and a good part of that would be a horror story. Try this one on for size: Not only was her business badly affected by Covid in 2020 – just after she had moved into what was then the second location for Blake’s – after having moved from the first location because it was just too small – this past October, after having moved yet again into a different location for Blake’s in what Megan thought was going to be a great location – Hurricane Lidia swept through Puerto Vallarta and Blake’s was forced to close down.
Still, Megan persevered. She had opened another small pop-up restaurant last May called Drop Shot Chill n Grill in an area well known to many Winnipeggers who spend time in Puerto Vallarta, near what is known as the hotel zone. But, in another series of unfortunate circumstances, this time having to do with a very nasty landlady (who repeatedly cut off the electricity to Drop Shot), Megan was forced yet again to close down.
Read on and you’ll find out about the long string of unfortunate events that seem to have accompanied Megan ever since she decided to move to Mexico in 2018, but once you finish reading the story you’re bound to have an immense amount of admiration at how resilient Megan has proven to be.
Here’s some of what Myron wrote in his December 2021 story: “Three years ago, the veteran chef and restaurant consultant came across a deal she couldn’t refuse when she took advantage of an opportunity to buy Blake’s Restaurant and Bar, an established operation in Puerto Vallarta. Megan is now happily living year round in Mexico.
“Now, in truth, the former River Heights kid (Brock Corydon and Grant Park) was no stranger to the Mexican resort community. She notes that her parents, Charles (whose mother is Joanne Field) and Vivian Kravetsky, are long time seasonal residents of the city – spending six months a year there and six months in Winnipeg – and she had visited many times over the years.
“ ‘It was perfect timing,’ she says of her move to Puerto Vallarta.
“ ‘The first year was tough,’ she adds. ‘My Spanish was limited – which made it sometimes difficult to communicate with my staff. Now I am fluent.’
“Kravetsky notes that her original career goal was to become a lawyer (like her father). ‘After five years of university (the University of Manitoba), I realized that that was not what I wanted to do, she recalls.
“Instead, she earned a business degree in management and marketing and went to work in the restaurant industry. She had worked in the restaurant trade part time throughout university. Over the next 15 years, Kravetsky worked successively for the McDonalds chain, Moxie’s, the Olive Garden and Montana Steak House.”
Before I met with Megan on March 16 – at the location of the most recent incarnation of Blake’s Bar & Grill in the port area of Puerto Vallarta known as Puerto Magico, which is where passengers from cruise ships disembark, I had a chance to see for myself the damage that Hurricane Lidia had done to her restaurant. The interior was all covered with tarp, but I was able to see through a hole in the tarp. I was quite surprised to see that the restaurant itself was largely intact – tables and chairs all in place, dishes, utensils and cooking equipment all in place, but the windows to the outside were all blown out. That piqued my curiosity and became the subject of part of our conversation.
Still, as my wife Meachelle and I sat down with Megan to enjoy a beverage in a nearby coffee shop and listen to her story, I couldn’t help but be impressed by Megan’s very positive attitude. As it turns out, Megan had been in my son Jordy’s class at Brock Corydon School (of which I was not aware. Also, somewhat coincidentally, Jordy, who now goes by the name Jitendradas Loveslife, also lives in Mexico, in a town populated by New Age former hippies known as Ajijic.)
I asked Megan how she came to own a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta?
Megan explained that she had gone about as far as she could as a restaurant manger in Winnipeg. As Myron noted, Megan had worked for McDonald’s, Montana’s (helping to open their Kenaston location where she worked as a line cook), Moxie’s Bar & Grill, Olive Garden, also Famous Dave’s – all before she had even turned 30.
Megan had been traveling to Mexico with her parents and siblings for years, she told me, and fell in love with the country. So, in 2018, she took all the savings she had accumulated and bought Blake’s Bar & Grill in downtown Puerto Vallarta, which had first opened in 2006. Before she was able move to Mexico though, Megan had to acquire a residency permit – which was no easy task, she explained.
You see, in order to purchase a business in Mexico, one needs something called an “RFC” (which translates from the Spanish to Federal Taxpayers Number).
As Megan told us, “without that (the RFC) you can’t purchase cars, housing, anything. I got my residency before I moved down. You have to do your residency out of country.”
I asked her how she could become a Mexican resident while still in Canada?
She said, “You apply, you have to make a certain amount of money. So I applied three times – within a six month period. I went to Toronto twice. Applied. Denied. Both times. Went to Calgary” – and finally got her residency permit.
But, there’s something else Megan explained that made the challenge of buying Blake’s even more difficult: She wasn’t able to finance the purchase – she had to pay cash entirely – something, we were also told, is par for the course for just about any major purchase in Mexico, including houses.
But, just because Megan was able to buy Blake’s, she wasn’t able to work in her own restaurant, she told me, until she had a work permit. As she explained, “…so you get one year temporary residency, then you apply for a three year extension after that, and then after that, then you apply for your permanent residency. But temporary residency doesn’t include a work permit. That’s the biggest thing, so I had to apply for my work permit to be attached to my temporary residency.”
Megan, however, had forgotten to apply for a work permit – which she would have needed to work in her own restaurant. “But,” she explained, “then when my daughter was born (in 2019) – because she’s Mexican, I automatically became a permanent resident. So I didn’t have to wait for four years – I only waited two (to become a permanent resident)” – thus allowing her to work in her own restaurant.
Now, while Megan’s initial foray into the restaurant business was quite successful, the first Blake’s Bar was too small to accommodate the high number of customers it was attracting. As Megan put it, “the place was too small. It was a very small… very small restaurant.”
And then, in 2020, Covid hit. While Mexico had no sort of rules requiring masking in public places, it did institute rules governing social distancing – with a six feet distance required between tables. “We could only have two or three tables in at one time during high season,” Megan said.
So, in 2021, Megan moved to another location in Puerto Vallarta, in an area known as Plaza Santa Maria. Things were going really well in that new location. It had become a very popular spot for Canadians, especially Winnipeggers, as Megan made sure all Winnipeg Jets games were shown there. (Megan was in that location when Myron contacted her and she was brimming with confidence when she spoke to him about how well things were going.)
There was one major problem, however, as Megan explained: “The landowner there didn’t pay her taxes. So when you went to go take out your licensing, you have to show proof the taxes are. And if they’re not paid, then you can’t take out your licensing. And she owed back taxes of almost five years, which was over 300,000” (pesos – or about $22,000 Canadian dollars).
“And she didn’t want to pay it. So I had no choice,” Megan noted. As a result, after only one year in what had been a very successful location – even if only for a short while, Megan moved yet again, in 2022 – this time to the Puerto Magico location.
The owners of the building where Megan opened what by then had become the third location for Blake’s in only four years had induced her to move there with all sorts of promises, she said: “They had promised us numerous things that they never completed. The passport office was supposed to open upstairs two years ago. Still not open. Another restaurant was supposed to be up there. We were just alone up there. There’s nothing. They made it impossible for guests to get up the stairs. They wouldn’t fix the elevator. It still doesn’t work to this day. It’s been three years…and the whole thing with that is they don’t want to pay the electricity to have the elevator working.
“So they just made it impossible for the cruise ship people to get upstairs or any people in general to get upstairs.” On top of all that, the owners of Puerto Magico didn’t allow Megan to have any signage on the street which would have told tourists that Blake’s Bar was there.
Still, Megan might have been able to turn things around were it not for that hurricane last October. She had developed a great reputation as a restaurateur. (Just take a look at the glowing reviews on Tripadvisor for Blake’s Bar). In addition, Megan is a fantastic baker and she had opened a bakery known called Sweet Temptations Bakery Boutique next door to Blake’s in Puerto Magico. That closed too the same time as Blake’s when the hurricane hit.
You’d think, however, that notwithstanding the damage that a hurricane might have caused, it would just be a matter of time before things could have been repaired and Blake’s would have been back in business – but that wasn’t the case.
While the interior of the restaurant was left largely intact, the windows had all been blown out. So, it’s just a matter of replacing the windows – right? Or, so you’d think. But this is Mexico – and similar to the landlady who didn’t want to pay her taxes in Blake’s previous location, the owners of Puerto Magico haven’t moved to replace the windows that were blown out.
Here’s how Megan described what happened: “So, the whole thing here, after the hurricane hit, when you construct a building here, the windows and doors are property of the plaza. Doesn’t matter if you put them in, they put them in, it’s property of the plaza. You can’t leave with them. Yeah. Same with the floor. So when the hurricane came through and destroyed everything, the first thing they said to me is our insurance will cover it, our insurance is going to cover it, it’s our property.
“So we waited and waited and waited and waited and about two and a half to three months in, they said, nah, our insurance actually isn’t going to cover it. At that point, my own insurance wouldn’t cover it anymore. It has to be done within 24 hours. That’s just how it is.” (Note to readers: Anyone from Winnipeg could identify with Megan. A building burns down and a pile of rubble remains for years. A bridge closes because it’s unsafe and it sits there – unusable, but with no plan to replace it.)
Not one to let anything get her down though, Megan still had her pop-up restaurant, Drop Shot Chill n Grill. As I mentioned at the beginning of this story though, just recently that site too had to close down.
This time it was the landlady who owned the area where Drop Shot was located that forced Megan to close. While Megan leased the space for her location from an individual who didn’t actually own the land where Drop Shot was situated, he had tennis and pickleball courts there. Apparently though, the woman who actually owned the land didn’t like the loud music coming from Drop Shot – even though it wasn’t in a residential area at all.
Again, here’s how Megan described the situation: “In our contract it stated that I was allowed to have live music, barbecue, blah, blah, blah. The landowner who owns the land, who I don’t lease from, owns the hotel behind the parking where the tennis courts are. And she doesn’t like noise. She doesn’t like any noise. Yet, they have music and tennis tournaments and fairs and they have the food park and all that.
“So, during our live music, she would complain constantly, even though our music was only from 3 to 6 – that her guests, one guest in particular, couldn’t sleep – it was too loud. We always abided by the decibel restriction limit; it was never over the decibel limit.”
The story continued: “So she cut our electricity off once when we had the live music – but the second time she did it, I had a generator. She didn’t know that I had a generator going. So she had cut the electricity, but the music was still playing. So at that point she would call the ‘reglamentals’ – the bylaw officers, who would come check and she’d say, ‘There’s really loud music going on at Drop Shot.’ They would come, they would check, they’d check my permits, everything would be okay, they’d leave. That’s when I called the police on her. They’re my friends. They had a very long conversation with her… told her that it’s illegal to cut the electricity, she can’t do it.”
But, as you might expect, the landlady wasn’t about to back down. “It got to the point where she threatened the guy who I was subleasing from that if he didn’t get rid of me, she was going to get rid of everybody.
“She wouldn’t re sign the contract with him. So he’s had his tennis courts and pickleball courts there for over five years. And she said, ‘if I don’t leave, then everybody’s leaving.’ “
So, once again, Megan has had to abandon what had turned into a successful venture – but after dealing with Covid, a landlady who didn’t want to pay taxes, a hurricane, and a landlady who doesn’t like loud music, you’d have to wonder whether Megan is still willing to enter into yet another food venture?
Not surprisingly, she said she is. I asked her “How real is that? How feasible or viable?”
“Oh, it’s very viable,” she answered. “We’re just waiting on the contract to be signed.” Megan added that she has someone who she wouldn’t describe as a partner in her putative venture, but somebody “that’s going to help me.”
Throughout our conversation I had refrained from bringing up the subject that surely must be in the back of many a reader’s mind when it comes to thinking about doing business in Mexico: What about the cartels? Has Megan had any run-ins with the local cartel I wondered? (And when it comes to cartels, Puerto Vallarta is located in the state of Jalisco. Anyone who knows anything about Mexican cartels would know that the Jalisco cartel has a reputation for extreme violence.)
Megan answered though that “They’re not really that visible here… They keep it very under the table here.”
I said though that “the Jalisco cartel is notorious.”
But, Megan responded, “that’s more towards Sinaloa and Chihuahua.”
Still, given Mexico’s longstanding reputation for corruption at almost every level, I asked Megan, “Did you have to pay off people?”
She answered: No, never, never, never had to pay anybody off. You give back and then, you know, everybody takes care of each other.” She went on to describe the excellent rapport she has had with the local police, for whom she has catered a huge feast known as a “masada” every year, at which over 400 police have attended.
It’s hard to imagine someone coming down to Mexico and, within the space of only six years, opening restaurants (and closing them) in four different locations, yet still remaining optimistic that she’ll be able to open a fifth in short order.
If and when Megan does open another restaurant – I’d sure like to try the food. If the reviews she received on Tripadvisor for each of her locations are any indication, one thing Megan Kravetsky knows is how to prepare great food – and leave her customers with a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Features
Don’t Ignore antisemitism on the Right
By HENRY SREBRNIK Most of us know that currently most antisemitism, usually masked as “anti-Zionism,” can be found on the left of the political spectrum in Canada and the United States, thanks to the hatred of Israel. The Jewish state is being isolated internationally, and its Jewish supporters harassed and attacked domestically. And since the political left controls much, if not most, of academia, the media, the “human rights” organizations, and other essential components of society, its negative effects are profound.
On the right, we find far more support of Israel. But this doesn’t mean we should ignore an atavistic, somewhat “old-fashioned,” form of antisemitism on the far right, particularly in the U.S. These people support isolationism in foreign policy. The most explosive issue involves Jews. They see neoconservatives – mainly Jews — as imperialists and themselves as defenders of the republic, including even against President Donald Trump himself.
They are obsessed with the idea of Israel as a uniquely evil force in world history and American Jews as a malignant fifth column. Was the recent striking of Iran’s nuclear program by Trump in America’s national interest, or a needless sacrifice for the Israel lobby, they asked?
Most prominent in this group is the talk show commentator Tucker Carlson. In the paranoid version of world events concocted by Carlson and his guests, it is the “neocons” who drive America to war in the Middle East, motivated by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insatiably expansionist ambitions.
The day after Israel commenced Operation Rising Lion against Iran, Carlson suggested the U.S. military was being controlled by Netanyahu. “Earlier this week, unnamed Washington sources expressed concern over Israel’s ability to fend off Iran’s retaliation, which would inevitably lead to Benjamin Netanyahu ordering the American military to step in and fight on his country’s behalf,” Carlson wrote in a newsletter. “We’re not going to imperil American national security, the American economy, or America itself on your behalf,” he continued.
At the conservative Turning Point USA (TPUSA) conference in July, Carlson also claimed that deceased convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was working for Israel’s Mossad. He said it is “extremely obvious” that Epstein “had direct connections to a foreign government.” Carlson went on: “Now, no one’s allowed to say that that foreign government is Israel, because we have been somehow cowed into thinking that that’s naughty.”
At a debate at TPUSA between comedian Dave Smith and conservative intellectual Josh Hammer about U.S. support for Israel, Smith asserted that “The level of Israeli control over our politics is frankly pretty undeniable.” He called Trump “a war criminal who should spend his life in prison.”
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, elected in 2020, initially made headlines for an antisemitic conspiracy theory she shared in 2018 suggesting that deadly California wildfires were caused by alleged Jewish space lasers controlled by the Rothschild family. She has gone on to further infamy. This past June she appeared to suggest in a post on X that former President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 over his opposition to Israel’s nuclear program.
“There was once a great President that the American people loved. He opposed Israel’s nuclear program. And then he was assassinated,” Greene posted as she also defended her dissatisfaction with Trump’s strike on Iran.
She and Carlson shocked viewers after praising New York mayoral candidate and socialist Zohran Mamadani for how he ran his campaign after he won the New York mayoralty Democratic Party primary. “That guy was the only person in the New York City mayor’s debate to say he wanted to focus on New York City,” Carlson said on the June 27 episode of “The Tucker Carlson Show,” with Greene as his guest.
While Greene and Carlson strongly disagreed with Mamdani’s vision for the city, they praised him for running a New York City-centered campaign, noting his answer during a Democratic debate where candidates were asked what foreign country they would visit.
“I think most said Israel,” Carlson stated. “And he said, ‘I wouldn’t go anywhere. I’d stay in New York and like, if I want to meet Jewish constituents, I go to their synagogues, their homes or whatever, but I’d be here in New York because that’s what I’m doing. I’m running New York. That’s my job.’” Responded Greene: “Well, he gave the right answer.”
Another prominent antisemite who has condemned Trump’s support of Israel in the “Twelve-Day War” with Iran is Candace Owens. “This was not Trump’s decision; it was Bibi Netanyahu’s decision,” Owens told TV host Piers Morgan. “And that is the reason that he did it. We’re very aware that Israel is dictating our foreign policy, and we’d now like that to stop.” Like Greene, Owens has suggested that AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, was responsible for President Kennedy’s assassination.
Owens worked for a time at the right-wing youth conservative movement Turning Point USA, where she began to gain a following, including Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who later appeared in public with her before he went on a string of antisemitic rants. She has made and endorsed numerous comments with roots in antisemitic stereotypes, including the blood libel, and her views have been praised by avowed white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
Given that the Democratic Party has basically begun to abandon Israel, should the antisemitic right gain control of the Republican Party MAGA movement, Jews in America, and Israel internationally, would be left in a perilous position similar to the 1939-1941 period. That was when the America First isolationists, many of them fascists, and the Communist Party fellow travellers joined hands in refusing to oppose Hitler, following the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop nonaggression pact (also known as the Hitler-Stalin Pact) between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, signed that August 23, 1939. As we know, it led to the Second World War and the Holocaust.
Henry Srebrnik is a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island.
Features
Two bookstores – two contrasting approaches when it comes to offering readers books by an avowed defender of Israel
By BERNIE BELLAN Recently we were contacted by a reader who asked us whether we would be interested in looking into why it is that McNally Robinson Booksellers does not offer any books written by Douglas Murray.
Who is Douglas Murray? you might ask. We have had several stories about Murray on this website over the years, most recently last November, in a story written originally for the Canadian Jewish News titled: “Douglas Murray: A Champion of Israel.”
To give you a better idea who Murray is, here is what Wikipedia has to say about him: “Douglas Murray (born 16 July 1979[)is a British neoconservative political commentator, cultural critic, author, and journalist. He is currently an associate editor of the conservative British political and cultural magazine The Spectator, and has been a regular contributor to The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, the Daily Mail, New York Post, National Review, The Free Press, and UnHerd.
“His books include Neoconservatism: Why We Need It (2006), The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam (2017), The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity (2019), The War on the West (2022), and On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel, Hamas and the Future of the West (2025).
“Murray was the associate director of the Henry Jackson Society, a neoconservative think tank, from 2011 to 2018.
“Murray is a critic of current immigration into Europe and of Islam. He became more well-known internationally due to his advocacy for Israel after the October 7 attacks in 2023.
“Murray has been praised by conservatives and criticized by others. Articles in the academic journals Ethnic and Racial Studies and National Identities associate his views with Islamophobia nd he has been described as promoting far-right ideas such as the Eurabia, Great Replacement, and Cultural Marxism conspiracy theories.”
Murray’s most recent book, as mentioned above, is On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel, Hamas and the Future of the West.
Here is the description of the book you can find on Amazon:
“In his travels through Israel and Gaza, #1 International Bestselling author Douglas Murray has seen the best and the worst humanity has to offer, and he has no trouble choosing a side.
“Murray is not Jewish and before October 7, he had never lived in Israel. However, he objects to being lied to, and Israel has been on the receiving end of the biggest, deepest, longest lies in history.
“Israel’s commitment to fundamental Western values—capitalism, individual rights, democracy, and reason—has made it a beacon of progress in a region dominated by authoritarianism and extremism. Israel’s principles vividly contrast with the ideology of Hamas, which openly proclaims its love of death over life. With incisive moral clarity, On Democracies and Death Cults exposes how the campus left and international establishment confuse this conflict by:
- “Calling on Israel for restraint and proportionality, while Hamas commits genocide.
- “Slandering Israelis as white colonialists, while only a third of Israelis are Jews of European ancestry.
- “Framing the conflict as oppressor vs. oppressed, when it is really between a thriving multi-ethnic democracy and a death cult bent on its annihilation.
“Drawing from intensive on-the-ground reporting in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon, Douglas Murray places the latest violence in its proper historical context. He takes readers on a harrowing journey through the aftermath of the October 7 massacre, piecing together the exclusive accounts from victims, survivors, and even the terrorists responsible for the atrocities. If left unchecked, misplaced sympathy could embolden forces that seek to undermine not only Israel, but all of Western civilization.”
Given that Douglas Murray is a staunch defender of Israel, what does it say about McNally Robinson Booksellers that they refuse to carry any of the five books that Murray has written to date?
We asked a spokesperson for McNally Robinson whether anyone wished to comment as to why it is that the store will not carry any of Murray’s books, but we were told that McNally Robinson has no comment to make.
As a result, we headed down to the store to take a look for ourselves at the selection of titles that McNally Robinson has on display about Israel and Palestine and that can be found under the heading “Middle East Issues.”
Here are the titles we were able to see in the store:
The Time Beneath the Concrete – Palestine between Camp and Colony; I Shall Not Hate; Jews Don’t Count; Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza (by Peter Beinart); Hope Without Hope; The Gardener of Lashkar Gah; States Without People; Hamas – From Resistance to Regime; The State of Israel vs. The Jews; Israel/Palestine; Banging on the Walls of the Tank; Perfect Victims; Genocide Bad; The Wall Between; The Palestine Laboratory; Road to October 7; Hamas; The World After Gaza; Palestine in a World on Fire; Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic; Loot – How Israel Stole Palestinian Property.
As well, McNally Robinson has a great many other books about Israel and Palestine that are available to order online, including (but not limited to):
The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine – A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance 1917-2017; Genocide Bad; A Genocide Foretold; The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine; Recognizing the Stranger (On Palestine and Narrative): The Question of Palestine; October 7th – Searching for the Humanitarian Middle
In contrast with McNally Robinson’s approach to the subject of Israel and Palestine, Indigo Books offers books that are more sympathetic to Israel. Given that Heather Reisman is the owner of Indigo Books and has demonstrated support for Israel, particularly through a foundation she and her husband, Gerald Schwartz, established, known as the HESEG Foundation, which provides scholarships for “lone soldiers” serving in the Israel Defence Forces, it should come as no surprise that Indigo Books offers books that contain a more pro-Israel perspective – in contrast with McNally Robinson.
As well, from time to time, Heather Reisman adds the title “Heather’s Pick” to a particular book, which means that book is “specifically recommended by her and comes with a money-back guarantee,” according to the article about her on Wikipedia.
Here are titles that were located on shelves under the heading “World History” that we saw on display at the Indigo Books location on Empress:
The Prime Ministers – An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership (a “Heather’s Pick”); Mossad; A Child in Palestine; Understanding Palestine; Enemies and Neighbors; Palestine 1936 – The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict; The Hundred Years War for Palestine; The Wall; Israel – Palestine; Orientalism (by Edward Said); The Question of Palestine; Ghosts of a Holy War; The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine; A Half Century of Occupation; Can We Talk About Israel?; Deluge; A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy; Israel (by Noa Tishby); The Lemon Tree; Thirteen Days in September: The Dramatic Story of the Struggle for Peace (story of Begin and Sadat at Camp David); Son of Hamas; Israel – A Concise History of a Nation Reborn (a “Heather’s Pick”); Israel and Civilization; Terror Tunnels (by Alan Dershowitz); Israel – A History (by Martin Gilbert); Impossible Takes Longer; Israel Alone; Ally (by Michael Oren); On Being Jewish Now; The Story of the Jews; Antisemitism in America; The World After Gaza; The War on the West (also by Douglas Murray).
As well, Indigo Book has a lengthy list of other titles that relate to the subjects of Israel and Palestine and that can be ordered online.
We might also note that the Douglas Murray book, On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel, Hamas and the Future of the West, was not only for sale at the Indigo Books location on Empress, it was showcased when we were there (July 24).
Readers should bear in mind though that both McNally Robinson Booksellers and Indigo Books are privately owned and it is the prerogative of the owners to choose which books they will sell.
Features
The Atlantic Jewish Council (AJC) has just elected a Winnipegger to the position of president: Naomi Levine
By BERNIE BELLAN From time to time we hear from former Winnipeggers about what they’ve been up to since they left Winnipeg. (And Gerry Posner does a very good job letting Winnipeg Jews know how many ex-Winnipeggers have really “made it” once they left Winnipeg – ouch!)
But recently we were on the receiving end of a phone call from someone who hasn’t actually left Winnipeg; she just makes her home somewhere else for a good part of the year – and no, it’s not Florida, California, or Mexico – it’s in Indian Harbour, Nova Scotia, near Peggy’s Cove – well-known as a tourist destination.
The person who called was Naomi Levine, a name very familiar to many Winnipeggers. Naomi told me she was calling from Nova Scotia, where she has been living for part of the year since she and her late husband, Judge Ian Dubienski, fell in love with the area many years ago.
Nova Scotia? you might wonder. Well, Atlantic Canada doesn’t have a very large Jewish population – only about 7,000. Halifax, which is a 45-minute drive from Peggy’s Cove) – although it doesn’t have a huge Jewish population (2,735 according to the 2021 census) has had significant growth in its Jewish population since the last time figures had been reported (in the 2011 National Household Survey). Of all Canadian cities, only Victoria has shown a more rapid growth relative to what had been reported in the NHS.
During that initial phone call from Naomi, in which she informed me that she had recently been elected president of the Atlantic Jewish Council, I asked her to email me some information about how she came to find herself in that role. During subsequent emails that went back and forth I asked Naomi to flesh out more about her life, her career, and her marriages to two very well known Winnipeggers: (Judge) Ian Dubienski and Arthur Mauro (both of whom have passed on).
What followed was a fascinating series of emails, each one leading me to ask even more questions about Naomi’s very interesting life. What follows is a detailed account largely taken from her own emails, in which she writes about her new role as president of the Atlantic Jewish Council and how she came to find herself in that role. We’ve rearranged her emails first to give some background about Naomi’s life prior to her becoming president of the Atlantic Jewish Council, but in between we’ve also included some information she sent about her involvement as a volunteer, not only with the Winnipeg Jewish community, but with a plethora of organizations outside the Jewish community:
By the way, before you read Naomi’s very interesting life story, here is some information about the Atllantic Jewish Council, taken from its website: “The Atlantic Jewish Council (AJC) has been the cornerstone of Jewish life in the Atlantic Canadian provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, and Newfoundland & Labrador) since 1975, acting as the organized Jewish community’s representative and program/service provider for non-religious matters. With only a small staff complement and a modest budget, the AJC relies on the support of over 100 volunteers across Atlantic Canada to move the needle on (its) strategic priorities.”
Here, then, is Naomi’s story:
“My parents were Lou and Sophie Levine. My dad’s parents came from Propoysk, in Belarus. His mother’s maiden name was Duboff.
“My dad owned LONG’s HAT’S MENSWEAR, on Portage Avenue – with Harry Stuart, but around 1958 he became a commercial and estate appraiser, working out of Aronovich and Leipsic. After retirement, he sat on the City of Winnipeg’s tax review board and was instrumental in developing an accredited real estate program. He had been very involved with B’nai Brith and was Chair of Hillel. It was my dad who brought Reb Zalman Schachter to Winnipeg to be the rabbi for Hillel.
“My mother’s maiden name was Bookhalter. Her mother’s maiden name was Lockshin. My mom’s family was from Novozybkov, near Chernobyl. Her grandfather was the pivotal founder of the Lubavitcher Synagogue. Her dad, Pinyeh Bookhalter, owned a garment factory – Ontario Garment, on Princess Street. My mom did her B.A. at the University of Manitoba and worked for her dad before marrying. She was supposed to have gone to medical school but, she said, my dad cried for two weeks, so she married him.
“I have one younger brother, Martin Levine, who was with the Canadian Foreign Service, and who specialized in immigration policy. He lives in Ottawa and continues to present lectures to Canadian immigration lawyers.
“I went to Talmud Torah until Grade 10 and then had to switch to Grant Park High School because we moved to the south end. The difference (in my view) was enormous. At Talmud Torah, we learned to love study, reading, learning. At Grant Park, we learned to date.
“After my B.A., (1968), I did a Master’s Degree in Irish Theatre – not a very marketable commodity. I went into Law at the U of M and graduated with an LL.B. In 1976. I articled with the Manitoba Department of Prosecutions and was called to the Bar in 1977. I then moved to Ottawa for three years (with my husband, Ian (Judge) Dubienski, and worked in the policy wing of the Department of Justice. When we came back to Winnipeg, I developed my own practice – primarily in criminal law, also in human and civil rights law.
“In 1991, I changed from being a ‘courtroom’ lawyer to delve into the world of harassment – sexual, emotional and criminal; conflict of interest; and abuse of power. I had two offices – at the University of Winnipeg and at Red River College, and conducted inquiries for them and for other clients, such as governments, hospitals, universities, public schools, arts organizations, sports organizations, churches and others. I joined an American association called the National Association of College and University Attorneys and presented on matters related to freedom of speech and expression, comparing the differences in interpretation between Canada and the States.
“My late husband, Ian Dubienski, had been Chief Judge of Manitoba’s Provincial Court and was seconded by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to look at sentencing principles across Canada. I travelled with him and have been to all the provinces and territories.
“In 1979, Ian and I decided we wanted, eventually, to have a home in Nova Scotia. We had been visiting three times a year, fell in love with the area, and bought a house in July 1997. Later, in 2003, I bought a house in Indian Harbour, on the Aspotogan peninsula – which is where I live now – when I’m in Nova Scotia. Indian Harbour is a few miles from Peggy’s Cove and about 1/2 hour from Halifax.
“Ian and I had two dogs (a malamute and a bouvier). Our bouvier, Teuchter (Gaelic for ‘farmer’; not Jewish for ‘daughter’) died two weeks before Ian.
“Ian died of cancer in January 1998. For 10 years I drove my malamute, ‘Fleurie,’ back and forth between Winnipeg and Nova Scotia. Fleurie was with me for five years in the house in Indian Harbour before she too, died.
“Five years after Ian’s death, I met Arthur (Mauro). I had been associated with an international organization that negotiated for peace in war-torn countries and, when I read about Arthur’s founding the Institute for Peace and Justice at the U of M, I decided to meet him, in October 2001. It led to marriage in January of 2003. (Arthur Mauro died two years ago – in 2023.)
“I still sit on the Board of the Mauro Institute for Peace and Justice.”
“In 2000, the Canadian government amended the National Defence Act, to form the Canadian Forces Grievance Board, as an arms-length tribunal to sit, quasi judicially on all matters concerning the Canadian Armed Forces. I was one of the four judges who were appointed to that board. While I lived in and practiced law in Winnipeg, I had an office in Ottawa and sat on cases across the country. I was taken to every base in Canada and was impressed with the dedication and commitment of Canada’s Army, Air Force and Navy. I served in that position for seven years.
“I also became a journalist. I had started my involvement with Peter.Gzowski on his morning show, appearing somewhat regularly to talk about anything from cod fishing off Newfoundland, to food service on Air Canada. Then, CBC Manitoba asked me to do a weekly piece called ‘Levine’s Law.’ Terry McLeod was then the host and every Tuesday morning, he and I would talk about issues of international, national and local concern. I would analyze those issues from legal and ethical standpoints. I loved working with Terry. He was and is a mensch and an excellent interviewer.”
Now retired, in another email Naomi wrote some more about her career:
“After I retired from practice the then dean of the Asper School of Business, Goen Feltham, asked me to develop the Executive MBA program. I also became the Director of the Centre for Higher Education, Research and Development, situated at the University of Manitoba, which trains all presidents, vice-presidents and deans of Canadian colleges and universities.
“I finally retired completely when Arthur decided he wanted to spend four months a year in Palm Desert. I had done some painting, and found a wonderful art studio that I go to four days a week in Palm Desert. And I became a volunteer for the Palm Springs Jewish Film Festival.
“I’ve been fortunate in being able to have a wonderful group of friends in Winnipeg, Nova Scotia and Palm Desert. Arthur had been declining over a period of three years and died, at 96 years, in August 2023. Those three years were very difficult. My life was consumed with trying to keep Arthur alive and engaged. I had no time for anything, or anyone else. My ‘respite’ was my weekly modern Hebrew tutorial through the Rosen School of Hebrew, and occasional trips to Nova Scotia.
(Ed. note: I had asked Naomi to describe in some detail her career, but I was floored when she sent me a list of the boards and committees on which she served while she was in Winnipeg. You can read Naomi’s full resumé at the end of this article.)
But, here’s one paragraph that describes some of Naomi’s eclectic interests – outside of law and volunteering on a host of committees:
“I received an Homorary Doctorate of Laws (LL.D.) from the University of Manitoba in 2019. I was Chair of the Board of the Winnipeg Art Gallery for a number of years. When I’m in Palm Desert I paint and one of my pieces, a portrait of Ariel Sharon, was in the recent Jewish artists show at the Rady JCC. I’m painting a series of Israeli prime ministers.”
“For seven years I represented Manitoba in the National Board of the Confederation Centre for the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.”
As previously noted, Naomi went to Talmud Torah for 10 years, and later she went to Israel during the Six Dar War. She writes that she remains “an avid Zionist. I take a weekly Modern Hebrew tutorial with my tutor from the Rosen School of Hebrew, accredited by the Hebrew University.”
“I have only one cousin in Winnipeg – Sheryl Levine, but she is much younger than I am and we hadn’t been close. That has changed and now we are. But, as Arthur was dying, I found two new friends who are now my ‘family’: Lorne and Paulette Weiss (and their children, Richard and Alison). I have no idea how I would have managed without their kindness, generosity, love and their two border terriers. I have always adored dogs but had none after my malamute died, so ‘Maizie’ and ‘Lucie’ are my joy. Paulette and I met through a MahJong class at the Rady, but I had known Lorne years ago. He and I were two of six young people who volunteered and were sent to Israel to help in 1967, during the Six Day War. He was then a lovely young man and he has become a lovely older man. And Paulette is pure heart.
“I now divide my time between Winnipeg, Nova Scotia and Palm Desert. My new position, as president of the Atlantic Jewish Council, is a wonderful opportunity to give back to Atlantic Canada, a place that has been so good to me. And, to be able to get involved not only in its Jewish life but in the Canadian Jewish community at large. I suspect that few people of my age have the good fortune to be starting a new and exciting adventure.
“It is my view that many Canadians, particularly Westerners, have no or little familiarity with Atlantic Canada and its Jewish communities.
“The first Canadian city that most Jewish settlers saw was Halifax, when they entered Canada through Pier 21, which operated from 1895-1915. Now, Pier 21 is the repository for all the records of the immigrants who came to Canada, and many Jewish people can track their ancestors’ arrivals through the research room of The Canadian Museum for Immigration in Pier 21, on the Halifax waterfront. Their records go back to around 1865.
“My responsibilities as president of the Atlantic Jewish Council will be to act as the voice of the Atlantic Jewish community, to support and connect them to Israel; to engage Jewish youth through Hillel and its camp (Camp Kadimah); to educate about the Holocaust and human rights; to foster relations with governments and non Jewish organizations; and to support Israel.
“While the Jewish population of Atlantic Canada is small, it is growing. Jewish immigrants, mainly from Israel and Russia are settling there and others are being encouraged to come. The Jewish communities are extremely active and involved in Yidishkeit, the celebration of Jewish life and support of Israel. The synagogues are Orthodox and Reform. As well, Chabad has a large presence, as does Hillel.
“When I was asked to take this position, I was excited about the possibility of making connections between the Atlantic Jewish community and the rest of Canada. My first phone call was to Jeff Lieberman (CEO of the Jewish Federation of Manitoba), and we were both excited about the possibility of joint initiatives.
“I will not be leaving Winnipeg, even as I spend a great deal of time in Atlantic Canada. I am still very involved in organizations in Winnipeg. I remain Chair of the Investments Committee of the Shaarey Zedek, and am a committee member of the Women’s’ Endowment Fund of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.
“I remain a passionate Zionist. I feel that, with ever-increasing antisemitism, it is important for Canadian communities to connect with each other and to support each other. “
Naomi encourages Manitobans who have an interest in Jewish Atlantic Canada to contact her. She can be reached at: Nzlevine@icloud.com.
Naomi Levine resumé:
Committee and Discipline Committee
Canada Summit of the Arts, Advocacy Committee
• ⁃ Folk Art Council of Winnipeg, representing the Irish Association of Winnipeg)
Strategy Group Canada (strategic planning in international peace building, conflict prevention and human capital development). Board Member Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties, Board Member Prairie Public Broadcasting ( North Dakota), Board Member
• ⁃ Winnipeg Humane Society, Board Member
Arbitration and Mediation Institute of Manitoba, Board Member Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Board Member
Sport Manitoba,
Consultant
Sport Nova Scotia. Consultant
Denturist Association of Manitoba, Complaints Committee Scouts Canada, Manitoba Council, Honourary Scout
National Association of College and University Attorneys (USA)
• ⁃ Manitoba Arts Council, Board Member
Lawyers and Jurists for Soviet Jewry, Chair, Manitoba Region Irish Association of Manitoba, Member of the Board and Lawyer Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties Legal Aid Manitoba, Vice Chair
Manitoba Trial Lawyers Association
Manitoba Society of Criminology, Board Member Prairie Theatre Exchange, Board Member Rainbow Stage, Board Member
• ⁃ Winnipeg Jewish Theatre Association, Board Member
Winnipeg Jewish Community Council, Vice President