Features
Einstein’s Smile: A Tale of Two Pictures
By DAVID TOPPER In my previous story in the Jewish Post & News, “Einstein & Johanna: A True Tale of Tragic Comedy,’’ I began by saying that I first heard the name “Einstein” when I was around the age of 10.
So let me begin this story when Albert himself was about that same age, and he had his class photo taken on the steps of his school. This picture is one of the earliest pictures we have of him – and it’s one of my favourites. It shows his all-boys class of 52 students lined-up in five rows. Einstein is in the front row, the third from the right, and clearly one of the smallest in the group.
The unique and utterly fascinating thing about this picture is this simple fact: all the other boys are looking grimly at the camera, while little Albert is the only one with a smile on his face. Look closely: all 51 others, with hands at their sides, appear stern, anxious, intimidated, sulky, or scared; Einstein, with hands behind his back, has a cute, little, slightly impish smirk on his face – unquestionably, a look that any parent would love. Just compare the detailed picture of him with the boys to his immediate sides : the contrast, indeed, is at once stunning and amusing.
Right here, in this astounding image (a mere class photo) is the visual manifestation of the laid-back contrarian that he would become throughout his life. In this one picture, knowing what I know about him, his whole life almost flashes forward before me. So, here, I wish to share a piece of this story with you.
As reported by those who knew him, Einstein was modest and unpretentious, without an iota of conceit or arrogance, treating all people in the same manner, independently of class or rank. He spoke the same way to a president as to a janitor. He also had a hearty laugh, with a child-like twinkle in his eye. OK, all this may be a bit of an exaggeration (sounding more like Santa Claus), but variations of these traits are persistently repeated among those who knew him and reminisce about his personality. He really was a down-to-earth guy. For example, he refused to travel first-class. Even when sent first-class tickets, he sat in third-class, driving the fastidious ticket-takers crazy.
I have a second picture to talk about. But before that, I want to see what else there is about his life that I can read into his class picture. What do we know about his early life that might help us? Best to begin at birth.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was born in a small town (Ulm) on the Danube River in south-western Germany to unobservant Jewish parents. Although the town today boasts of his birth, he was still an infant when the family moved to Munich, where he spent his formative years. His mother, Pauline, had a deep commitment to music, and she tried to instill that affection in her young son by forcing violin lessons on him. A love of music eventually sunk into his psyche around his transition to the teenage years, and Albert carried that commitment throughout his life. He exhibited his love of music by packing his violin on trips. Serious music, to him, was confined to the works of the “classical” period of what is called classical music, especially that of Mozart and Haydn, although he would happily dip back into the Baroque and J. S. Bach.
His father, Hermann, was a businessman who could have made a lot of money at the time because he was in the electrical business (motors and dynamos, for example), which was to the late-19th century what computer high-tech paraphernalia was to the late-20th century. But, just as the “dot.com” boom and bust resulted in some winners and many losers, most who made the effort in the electrical business did not achieve success. Hermann’s business went bust.
Albert’s sister, Marie (called Maja), was born when he was age two, and she was his only sibling. Maja, in a short memoir written in the early-1920s, is a crucial source of information about her brother’s childhood; this is important because there are many myths circulating through the media and beyond about Einstein’s youth. Today, many special interest groups wish to embrace Einstein as the poster boy for their various causes. Nonetheless, Einstein was not a slow learner, a vegetarian, left-handed, nor any of a range of idiosyncrasies that you will find in special-group websites on the Internet testifying that Einstein was one-of-them. Although his parents tutored him for his first year of school, he also was not “home schooled,” for he continued through the German school system until the age of 15, when he dropped out before graduating in his final year. Yes, Einstein was a high-school dropout, but I must confess that I have not yet come across a website of “High-School Dropouts” claiming Einstein as one-of-them.
Contrary to another myth, Maja reports that her brother was not a slow learner but was “a precocious young man” who had a “remarkable power of concentration,” such that he could “lose himself…completely in a problem.” Later, for Einstein the scientist, this youthful behavior was clearly repeated – like a leitmotif, throughout his scientific life.
It’s true that Albert detested the rigidity of the German way of teaching, but he still got good grades. Yet, he did not hide his feelings about the oppressive atmosphere of the classroom, so that one teacher went so far as to tell Albert’s parents that their son set a poor example for the other students by his overt hostility. This may cast some light on the special smile on his face in our photo, for it surely reveals the contrarian attitude on social mores that he displayed throughout his life. One obvious example: think of his lack of decorum in the grooming of his hair, which began in the 1930s.
An example of nonconformity of a different kind took place in his pre-teen years when he became extremely religious and admonished his anti-religious parents for not following the rules of Orthodox Judaism. This personal obsession lasted for a few years, to the consternation of Hermann and Pauline, only to disappear right before he would have been Bar Mitzvah. (It never happened.) In his very brief autobiography, written in 1947, he says that the reason for this quick change was his discovery of science and math, and for him the accompanying realization that the Bible was untrue. The result was an intellectual and emotional transformation. He viewed the religious outlook as subjective and solipsistic, whereas the scientific viewpoint was a route to objectivity and a liberation from what he called “the merely personal” – or subjectivity. He put it this way: “Beyond the self there is the vast world, which exists independently of human beings, and that stands before us like a great, eternal riddle, at least partially accessible to our inspection and thinking.” This statement acted as a maxim for his scientific endeavours to the end of his life.
But this is not the full story of his transformation: he added a socio-political element that is rather startling and remarkable for someone around age 12 or 13. He said he came to realize that “youth is intentionally being deceived by the state through lies” and that therefore a “mistrust of every kind of authority grew out of this experience.” These are profound and troubling views for someone at an age where most boys are more obsessed with sports and girls. Does this give us a hint at a deeper meaning of the smile in Photo 1? Maybe not, he was but 9 or 10 when the picture was taken. Nevertheless, it does give us a sense of continuity from here to the unconventional citizen we know later in life.
As we continue to pursue the question of the roots of his maverick ways, we find two episodes of interest at age 15 or 16. Both were triggered by the collapse of his father’s business, and the need for the family to move from Munich to the town of Pavia in northern Italy just south of Milan, where his father’s brother had a more successful business. Since Albert was in his last year of high school, he was placed in a boarding house in Munich while his parents and sister went on to Italy without him. Alone and feeling abandoned, he sank into a deep depression and had to leave school. But he had the wherewithal to obtain a letter from his math teacher saying that he completed that part of the curriculum. This was the first episode.
The other episode, however, might not have seemed very level-headed at the time. After crossing the German border, he applied to the government to renounce his German citizenship, making him a stateless person thereafter. Some scholars believe that in order to trigger such a desperate act, something almost elemental about German society had deeply troubled Einstein. We know he had major misgivings about the militaristic features of German society as expressed in the educational system. Or was it a reaction to his father’s loss of his livelihood, and the need to leave the country? His sister, Maja, however, had a simple answer: he was avoiding being drafted into the military.
Accordingly, as a high school dropout, Albert arrived at his parents’ residence in Italy, much to their surprise and surely their chagrin. We have no documentation about the inevitable confrontation between him and his parents, but we can be sure that there was a dispute around the question of what he was going to do with the rest of his life. We, of course, know the answer, in the long run. But even in the short run, there was some hope.
Let’s return to that letter in Albert’s pocket when he left Munich, and back up a few years to the non-Bar Mitzvah around age 12 or 13. The unperformed religious transformative rite was replaced by a different revelation – as mentioned, he developed a zeal for science and in particular the logical rigor of mathematical reasoning. Specifically, he was given a primer on geometry, and he devoured it – even trying to prove some theorems before he read the proofs in the book. The logical way that mathematical reasoning produced eternal proofs had a deep psychological impact on this young man, so much so that even when writing his autobiography around the age of 68, he referred to this early textbook as the “holy geometry book.” How revealing this metaphor is: especially when we realize that he was reading Euclid, instead of Torah, the original “holy” book. He went on to teach himself calculus and other higher mathematics, so that by the time he dropped out of school, he was well-grounded in the mathematics required for graduation and beyond. Hence, the letter in his pocket, mentioned above.
Albert’s father had plans for his son to be an engineer. This is no surprise, since he was in the electrical business, which he (correctly) believed was the wave of the future. In particular, he wanted his son to enroll in the Swiss Polytechnic Institute in Zürich, one of the best schools in Europe. As luck (fate?) would have it, a completed high school diploma was not necessarily required for enrollment in the Poly; instead, there were a series of rigorous exams administered by the Institute. It seems that the letter from the math teacher was a factor in placing him in the special category.
So, in the fall of 1895 he took the entrance exams – but flunked them. There was, however, a silver lining to this incident. He did so well on the science and math parts (no shock here) that the Institute’s director recommended that he spend a year doing some remedial studying. After all, he was applying to the Institute a year or two early for his age, since the regular age of admission was about 18 years old.
Einstein spent the next year at the Kanton Schule in the town of Aarau, just west of Zürich. The curriculum was based on the ideas of the great Swiss educator, J. H. Pestalozzi, who (among other things) emphasized using visual materials as well as written texts as educational tools, and especially stressed direct student-teacher interaction. For Einstein, it was a delightful and memorable year: he enjoyed learning in a formal setting for the first time in his life.
Indeed, it was sometime during that year of motivated learning that he came up with what would be his first great experiment in his head, what we call a “thought experiment.” This idea involved moving in space at the speed of light; essentially it was based on this question: What would the world look like if we rode on a beam of light? Perhaps the Pestalozzi emphasis on visualizing played a role here? Listen to the following remark about the school in Aarau that Einstein wrote 60 years later: “It made an unforgettable impression on me, thanks to its liberal spirit and the simple earnestness of the teachers who based themselves on no external authority.”
Ah ha, “no external authority”: such progressive and open-minded thinking was guaranteed to have an impact on Einstein who, as quoted, believed that “youth is intentionally being deceived by the state through lies” and that therefore a “mistrust of every kind of authority grew out of this experience.” This Swiss Kanton Schule was obviously nothing like the German schooling he had previously experienced. No wonder he graduated in the fall of 1896 with good grades.
The year at Aarau proved fruitful. Einstein’s admittance to the Swiss Polytechnic was based on his grades at Aarau, and although his father wanted him to study to become an engineer, he enrolled in physics and mathematics – and we know where it went from there.
One more thing about the Aarau year. There is a class photo of that small graduating class of 10 students. It’s not reproduced here, for no one is smiling. They all look relaxed, but serious too as they ponder their future. Einstein may be a bit more relaxed than the others, and he may be staring off into space much further than his fellow students – but I hesitate in reading anything more into it. Nonetheless, I do know this: once, when reminiscing about that key year in his life, he said that, while the other students at Aarau filled their spare-time by swigging copious quantities of beer, he drank from a different trough – diligently reading The Critique of Pure Reason, by Immanuel Kant. And that surely was nothing to smile about. (Incidentally, Einstein was a teetotaller all his life.)
My key argument here is essentially about the role of pictures and what we can (or cannot) read into them. And this brings me to Photo 2 from 1931, over four decades later. Here Einstein, now the celebrity, is at a reception in the German Chancellery in Berlin. From the left they are: Max Planck (the famous physicist), Ramsay MacDonald (British Prime Minister), Einstein, Hermann Schmitz (on Einstein’s immediate left), and Hermann Dietrich (German Finance Minister).
I have no idea why these five men were seated together or what they were talking about. There are several extant pictures of this table-talk scene, which were taken by the pioneering photojournalist, Erich Salomon. I have chosen this one because it captures an animated Einstein speaking to the British Prime Minister. Notice the gesture with his cupped right-hand. It is a captivating image clearly displaying Einstein’s alert and smiling face, all in stark contrast to the serious, stern, and solemn visages of the other four. “Come on, guys – lighten up!” – I want to say with Einstein. Or, put differently: what’s there not to like about this Einstein fellow trying to cheer-up a much too formal table? Is it not clear why I am juxtaposing this 1931 picture with the smiling boy in school? And so, it seems that a story that began with a smile appears to end with a smile.
But not so fast.
The second picture is from 1931, and two years later Hitler will control the country. Serious looking Hermann Schmitz was from I.G. Farben, the chemical company that would become notorious for its role in developing Zyklon B used in the gas chambers in the Extermination Camps, and for this Herr Schmitz spent time in prison after World War II for Nazi war crimes.
Planck’s son, Erwin – who was also present at this formal affair but is not in this picture – was later executed by the Nazis as part of the plot to assassinate Hitler on July 20, 1944.
And then there’s the photographer Erich Salomon (b.1886). He died in 1944 in Auschwitz, which was supplied with chemicals from I.G. Farben.
The result is that Photo 2 is deeply laden with painful meaning, and I can never again see this picture with that initial innocence I had the first time I smiled along with Einstein as he made a point to the British Prime Minister. Such is the nature of images and the interaction and interdependence of our eyes and minds. To use an analogy: pictures are as much read they are as seen. And so, knowing what we know about Photo 2, there is nothing
Features
The incredible story of how one Winnipegger’s delusional psychosis lured people from all over the world into his mad schemes
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted February 21, 2026) This is a story that I originally had no intention of writing.
It’s a story about an individual by the name of Bart (or Barton as he was first named) Faiman. I first me Bart several years ago when I was contacted by him out of the blue. I had no idea who he was. He asked me whether he could meet with me to discuss a story idea that he had for the newspaper that I owned at the time, The Jewish Post & News.
We arranged to meet on the patio of a local pizzeria. I remember that it was a warm summer day.
Since I hadn’t met him before, but since he had told me that he knew me from my photo in The Jewish Post & News, I figured that he would find me on that pizzeria’s patio.
However, when I saw a man wearing a trench coat and dark glasses approaching me, I thought to myself: “Is this guy for real? It’s hot out – what’s with the trench coat?”
As it turned out though, Bart was quite engaging. He was friendly and seemed quite relaxed. During the course of our fairly long conversation he told me that he was quite a successful businessman – the owner of a group of companies called the “Noble Group of Companies.”
He also showed me a photo album containing photos of him in various locations around the world where, he explained, he had traveled on business. Among the photos were ones of him standing in front of a very large jet passenger plane. I can’t recall for sure what kind it was, but I think it was a Boeing 737. Bart said he owned it.
He also mentioned that there had been an article written about him in the 90s in a magazine titled “Manitoba Business.” The gist of that article, Bart told me, was that he was viewed as one of Manitoba’s leading up and coming young entrepreneurs.
Oh yes, one more thing: Bart said that the late Izzy Asper had taken a liking to Bart and saw the potential in him when Bart was only in his twenties. According to Bart, Asper had “mentored” him for a time.
So, what was the purpose of our meeting? I wondered.
As the conversation continued, Bart said that his primary ambition in life was “Tikkun Olam,” which is Hebrew for “repairing the world.” To that end, he explained, he was involved in setting up charities worldwide.
And that’s what he wanted me to write about, he said.
Toward the end of our meeting Bart produced a business card with the Noble Group of Companies logo on it. I still have that card. What was particularly impressive about the card is that it gave the headquarters for the Noble Group as Luxembourg.
Wow! I thought. You really do operate in high places.
Now, if you continue to read this story you’re going to find instances repeated where Bart Faiman told stories of different sorts to different individuals over what turned out to be a very long span of time, but all the stories had some common ingredients: Bart was a man of immense wealth (a trillionaire, he told certain individuals); the Noble Group of Companies consisted of over 330 different companies worldwide; Bart was particularly interested in helping the State of Israel; and finally, his goal in life at this point (I figured him to be in his early fifties when I met him, although it was only when he took off his dark glasses that I came to that conclusion) was the aforementioned Tikkun Olam.
I didn’t dismiss Bart out of hand, although I did tell him that I would want to read more about this Noble Group of Companies before I’d even consider doing a story about him. I wondered how it was that I had never heard of him or the Noble Group. Bart read my skepticism and told me that if I wanted to reassure myself that the Noble Group was indeed legitimate he could contact its CEO – someone by the name of David Simkin.
I took that information back with me and proceeded to try to find anything I could about Bart Faiman, the Noble Group of Companies, and David Simkin. I even went so far as emailing David Simkin at the email address Bart’s card had as the email address for the Noble Group of Companies
But, I drew blanks on all accounts.
I should mention that I had a passing acquaintance with Bart’s parents, Carol and Chuck Faiman. Chuck was a well known endocrinologist, originally from Winnipeg, who had moved to Cleveland in 1992 where he became Chairman of the Department of Endocrinology at the Cleveland Clinic. (If you want to read more about Carol and Chuck Faiman, Gerry Posner wrote a terrific profile of the both of them that appears on our website at: “Chuck & Carol Faiman – a “Fien” team.”)
Gerry’s article mentions that Chuck and Carol had three sons, of whom Bart is the oldest.
My communication with the Faimans had been limited to phone calls from Cleveland to the Jewish Post & News office when Carol would either be arranging to have memoriams for her or Chuck’s parents published or paying for their subscription to the paper. The conversations were always pleasant.
But, after my meeting with Bart that summer day years ago I phoned Carol and told her that Bart had asked me to do a story about him. I told her that I found Bart’s story quite strange and that I hadn’t been able to verify anything he had told me about the Noble Group of Companies.
I remember well Carol’s reaction to what I had told her: “Please go easy on Bart. He’s not well.”
So, I left it at that. It’s not the first time I had been asked to do a story about someone who had embellished their accomplishments, although I can’t ever remember being asked to do a story about someone whose entire narrative seemed to be made up.
A few years ago I happened to run into Bart again. This time he was with his wife, Michele. (I was also with my wife, whose name also happens to be Meachelle.) We exchanged pleasantries but nothing more.
I would likely not have thought of Bart Faiman again util this past January 16, when I received a fascinating email from someone whom I had never heard of. (For the purposes of protecting the identities of everyone else in this story I will not reveal their names or where they live. I will give certain biographical information where needed so as to situate those individuals in the story I’m going to relate in an effort to explain how all those different individuals came into contact with Bart Faiman over the years.)
The subject line of that January 16 email was “The Winnipeg Con Man.”
Here is that email in its entirety:
“This report is being posted by a group of individuals who connected privately after discovering that we share strikingly similar experiences involving Barton Faiman, also known as Bart. Our experiences span anywhere from approximately two years to as long as five, ten, twenty, and in some cases thirty years.
“Across this group, many of us were in frequent communication with Barton Faiman, who consistently presented himself as an extraordinarily wealthy and powerful individual with vast global influence and resources. He represented himself as a business leader, investor, or partner and repeatedly assured people that significant funding, compensation, or major opportunities were imminent.
“Over extended periods of time, many of us were told repeatedly that money, contracts, payment, or formal agreements would happen next month or very soon. Despite these ongoing assurances, no verifiable proof of funds, legal documentation, contracts, or concrete follow through ever materialized. Expectations and conditions for moving forward were frequently changed, and individuals were encouraged to continue investing time, labor, trust, and emotional energy without any tangible results.
“As time went on, the claims being made became increasingly extreme and difficult to reconcile with reality. Among the statements reported by multiple individuals were claims that he was the world’s first trillionaire, that he owned thousands of companies, that some of those companies generated billions of dollars per hour, that he owned hundreds of hospitals, hundreds of airports, and thousands of aircraft, and that he controlled vast global infrastructure. He also claimed ownership of thousands of acres of land in both Winnipeg and Israel.
“Additional claims reported include involvement with intelligence agencies, building the Third Temple in Israel, statements that Osama bin Laden was still alive and being held for future rehabilitation, and claims of direct communication with God and receiving guidance from God. He also claimed personal relationships with world leaders and public figures and suggested that he would assume positions of power under certain circumstances. None of these claims were ever supported with evidence despite repeated requests for verification.”
“He also represented entities referred to as Noble Group of Companies Worldwide and Noble Foundation Worldwide as major global organizations under his control. Based on the experiences shared within this group, these entities appear to have no independently verifiable operations, assets, or legitimate structure. Multiple individuals report having worked for extended periods under these names without pay, believing compensation or success was imminent, only to later realize that no payment or formal organization existed.”
“Organizational Roles and Unpaid Labor”
“Members of this group report a consistent pattern involving individuals who were presented as part of an organizational structure surrounding Barton Faiman. These individuals were described as executives, managers, legal advisors, financial professionals, technical staff, or personal assistants connected to the entities he promoted.
“Several individuals report that his spouse was present during meetings and communications with prospective partners or workers, sitting alongside him while representations were made about business operations, funding, and future opportunities.
“Multiple people were introduced to individuals described as senior executives or operational managers who were said to oversee large numbers of companies or global activities. In some cases, individuals were told they were responsible for managing thousands of companies or acting as official representatives on his behalf. These roles were presented as legitimate and authoritative, yet compensation, contracts, or formal structure never materialized.
“Some individuals report being encouraged to create their own business cards, travel internationally, and attend meetings while representing him or the organizations he promoted. These activities were carried out under the belief that the companies were real and that long term compensation or equity was forthcoming. In at least one reported instance, individuals were aware of staged humanitarian activity that appeared to be conducted primarily for promotional imagery rather than meaningful aid.
“Other individuals report providing extensive professional services without pay, including legal work, financial and accounting services, website development, administrative support, and personal assistant duties. These services were reportedly performed over extended periods under the belief that formal employment, payment, or senior roles within a large organization were imminent. In some cases, individuals were asked to assist with sending legal notices or cease and desist communications aimed at discouraging others from speaking publicly.
“Across these experiences, it remains unclear whether certain individuals involved were themselves misled, enabling the behavior, or acting in some other capacity. What is clear to the group is that a wide range of unpaid labor and representation was sustained by repeated promises that never resulted in legitimate compensation, contracts, or verifiable business operations.
“Victim Experiences and Patterns of Harm”
“Members of this group report a wide range of deeply concerning victim experiences that illustrate how trust was established, exploited, and maintained over long periods of time.
“One individual reported first meeting Barton Faiman while both were present in a medical setting. During that time, Barton presented himself not as a patient, but as an extraordinarily powerful and wealthy figure, claiming ownership or control over the facility and suggesting he was operating undercover to evaluate staff. This individual was told repeatedly that he would be financially supported for life. Over time, Barton encouraged him to identify other people who could also be helped financially, creating a chain of introductions built on trust and false assurances.
“Several victims describe being drawn into prolonged, high intensity communication lasting months or years, including frequent phone calls that extended for hours at a time. During these interactions, victims were promised large sums of money, major investments, salaries, or company acquisitions. In some cases, victims were led to believe they would receive life changing financial support or that their businesses would be purchased for significant amounts. Each time deadlines approached, timelines were pushed back by months, with repeated explanations and new promises offered. This pattern continued over extended periods, with victims investing substantial time, planning, and emotional energy based on assurances that never materialized.
“Another individual reported being promised financial rescue after suffering significant losses in a separate situation. Barton allegedly assured this person that debts would be paid, a new business would be launched, and a substantial annual salary would be provided. This individual was reportedly instructed not to pay existing creditors and was warned that doing so would jeopardize the promised support. Relying on these assurances, the individual experienced cascading financial consequences, including loss of credit, housing, personal property, and severe disruption to family life. This experience is described as having resulted in total financial collapse and lasting personal harm.
“Multiple individuals outside North America reported being approached with promises of humanitarian support, development funding, or life changing financial assistance. In at least two reported cases, individuals were instructed to create promotional materials using company logos and to stage charitable activities in impoverished communities, including distributing small amounts of food while being photographed. These images were then allegedly used to promote an image of vast wealth and global humanitarian impact. Victims report being promised assistance for themselves and their communities for five years or more, receiving no financial support, and in some cases spending their own limited resources in the process.
“One individual involved in these humanitarian related representations stated that Barton told him he was in direct contact with senior leadership or directors at major international aid organizations, including USAID, World Vision, Save the Children, and the World Food Programme. These claims were presented as proof of legitimacy and influence, yet no evidence of such relationships was ever provided.
“Other victims describe being used as intermediaries or connectors, introduced to political figures, industry leaders, or international contacts under the belief that legitimate large scale deals were underway. These efforts often involved months of preparation, meetings, and negotiations involving proposed transactions in the millions of dollars. Victims report that these deals consistently collapsed at the final stages, after extensive time and effort had already been invested.
“International Scope of the Conduct”
“Members of this group also report that the conduct described above was not limited to a single location or jurisdiction. Individuals involved are located across multiple regions, including the United States and Canada, and in some cases were connected to activities, communications, or meetings abroad. Victims report involvement spanning locations such as Florida, California, Nevada, Manitoba, Ontario, Israel, and multiple countries in Africa.
“Several individuals report being encouraged to participate in or support proposed international business, humanitarian, aviation, or political initiatives, including travel, meetings, and coordination across borders. In some cases, individuals traveled internationally or were asked to act as intermediaries or representatives in foreign countries based on representations that large scale transactions, funding, or humanitarian efforts were underway.
“As a result, the time invested, financial loss, and emotional harm described by victims occurred across multiple legal jurisdictions, complicating efforts to seek accountability and increasing the number of individuals potentially affected. Victims report that the same patterns of representation, delay, and nonperformance were repeated consistently regardless of location, suggesting a widespread and sustained pattern rather than isolated incidents.
“Attempts at Family Intervention”
“Members of this group also report that concerns were raised directly with his family members in an effort to prevent further harm and encourage intervention. According to individuals involved, family members acknowledged long standing issues and expressed a desire to keep matters quiet in order to avoid upsetting Barton.
“Despite being alerted to the concerns raised by multiple individuals, the response described by victims focused on minimizing confrontation rather than addressing the underlying behavior. Victims report that Barton continued to receive financial support for daily living and social activities, allowing him to maintain the appearance of legitimacy while continuing to hold meetings, conduct outreach, and make representations to others.
“As a result, many victims believe that the lack of intervention contributed to the continuation of the behavior described above, increasing the number of individuals affected over time.
“Taken together, these accounts describe a pattern in which extraordinary promises, constant engagement, emotional manipulation, and shifting timelines were used to sustain belief and participation, resulting in severe emotional, financial, and psychological harm to numerous individuals over many years.
“Members of this group report a wide range of impacts. Some individuals describe being encouraged to work for months or years without pay under the belief that compensation or equity was imminent, which never occurred. Others report significant financial strain after rearranging their lives, careers, or commitments based on repeated assurances that funding or payment was coming. Several individuals describe being threatened with legal action or intimidation when they attempted to question claims or speak publicly about their experiences. Others report emotional distress and long term psychological impact after years of being strung along by false promises and grand representations.
“Many individuals also report being asked for access to personal or professional contact networks, raising concerns that trust and reputations were being leveraged to gain credibility with others.
“As a result of connecting and comparing experiences, members of this group have taken steps to protect others. Some have contacted the Winnipeg Police Service and crime and fraud units within multiple Canadian agencies to request investigation. Some individuals are pursuing civil legal action. Others are warning their friends, families, and professional networks after believing they may have been targeted or approached in similar ways.
“This report is not being posted out of anger or malice. It is being posted because the consistency, duration, and severity of the experiences reported by many individuals raise serious concerns. We believe others deserve to be warned so they can protect themselves and insist on independent verification before engaging in any personal, professional, or financial relationship.
“If you have had a similar or concerning experience involving Barton Faiman, we encourage you to share your experience so others can be informed.
“This report reflects the collective experiences and observations of multiple individuals. All readers are strongly encouraged to independently verify any claims before proceeding.”
Wow! What an incredible pattern of alleged behaviour on Bart Faiman’s part. How could he have got away with it all these years? I asked myself.
But why did I receive this particular email? I also wondered. I hadn’t written about Bart, nor had anyone else writing for The Jewish Post & News in all my years of association with the paper (40 years altogether, from 1984-2024), other than a brief mention of Bart in the aforementioned story about his parents. I should also explain that I am still associated with the new publisher of the paper, which is the not-for-profit Gwen Secter Centre, although my website operates totally independently of the newspaper.
I responded to that January 16 email:
“Hi,
“Interesting that you got my name. I wonder where that came from?
“I’ve met Bart a couple of times over the years and knew immediately that he wasn’t right, but I humoured him and made him think that I believed the nonsense he was feeding me.
“It didn’t take me very long to establish that nothing he was saying was true – except for the part about Izzy Asper having thought that he had great potential. Bart had great ability at one time – but apparently something happened somewhere along the line that led to his delusional behaviour.
“I contacted Bart’s mother (whom I hold in very high regard) at one point and asked her how she thought I should respond to Bart’s request that I do a story about him – and Carol’s response was to treat him gently – which I did by not calling him out to his face.
“What I don’t understand is how he suckered so many people into believing the crap he was feeding them. “How long would it have taken to verify that his ‘Noble’ group of companies didn’t exist?
“Regards,
“Bernie Bellan
“Former publisher,
“The Jewish Post & News
“and current publisher,
“jewishpostandnews.ca”
I didn’t hear back from the person who had sent the email, but I did receive a text from someone else, whom I also didn’t know.
Again – I won’t reveal that individual’s name but, as it turned out, he became a regular contact for me in helping to write this story. He had been badly burned by Bart in one of the supposed business deals that Bart had indicated he wanted to back. When I say “burned” though, as the author of the January 16 email explains in such a detailed manner, it wasn’t by having anyone invest actual dollars in any sort of venture, it was being “burned” by investing so much of their time and energy in anticipation of a venture coming to fruition.
At this point, I want to step back and take a look at what Bart Faiman’s early career was like – and speculate some as to how an apparently very bright individual, seemingly with great potential to carve out a very successful business career, went to badly off the rails.
As noted previously, there had been one article in “Manitoba Business” in 1990 that offered a glimpse of Bart Faiman’s business acumen when Bart was still a very young man.
Coming next: “Bart Faiman seems to have huge potential as a developer when he’s only in his early twenties”
Part 2 of the Bart Faiman story: “Was Bart Faiman a successful real estate developer by the age 23 – as he claimed?”
There isn’t a whole lot of information available online about Bart Faiman. Although he supposedly has a Linkedin profile, I wasn’t able to find him on Linkedin.
What little information I was able to find about his early career came from the source to whom I referred earlier – the individual who has served as my main contact in writing this story.
That individual sent me screenshots of two stories about a young Bart Faiman. Those stories had been sent to the individual by Bart himself.
One was from a magazine called “Manitoba Business.” The story, apparently published in 1990, refers to Bart as being 24 at the time, which would place his birth year as 1966.
Unfortunately, there is no author given for the article, which has the title “Noble Commitments.”
The article is quite laudatory. It begins by saying that “At just 24, Bart Faiman has already carved out an impressive niche for himself and his company, Noble Investment Corporation, in the fiercely competitive property development field. And, there are more projects on the way.”
“When you first meet Bart Faiman,” the article goes on to say, “you are immediately impressed both by his youth and his sincerity in what he is doing with his life. At 24 years of age, he has already spent several years in the business trenches, having been the president of his own company since 1986.
“As careful with his words as he is with his investments, he has been programming himself towards success since his initial reach into the speculative market of real estate. With his first acquisition of small property in Winnipeg, he formed Noble Investment Enterprises. While buying and selling properties yielded significant financial reward, making a fast buck was far from this young entrepreneur’s dream.
” ‘ The property market is not one which facilitates speculative investment and overnight profit,’ he says. ‘Rewards are gained through the acquisition and development of real assets, which, only under proper care, over time, can reach their true potential.’
“Though Faiman continues his career in the real estate industry, he decided to return to University to complete his degree in Economics, and target his newly expanded company, Noble Investment Corporation, in 1987.
“Combining business with his classes has kept this self admitted workaholic on a six-and-a-half day killer schedule. From seven in the morning to midnight, his days are divided into six hours for classes and related study and six hours are devoted to his business ventures.
“Intending to enter the Master of Business Administration program in the fall of 1990, he has found that the practical experience gained through his real estate developments has complemented his classroom theory.
“With developing and managing real estate projects as his company’s mandate, Faiman has concentrated on the Osborne Village area. He finds the area to be ideal for his projects, with its trendy restaurants and shops, while being in proximity to the amenities of downtown. To this end, he recently developed Cauchon Place, a luxury condominium project, in conjunction with Tri-Star Development, an Ontario-based company of which he is Chief Executive Officer. The first phase of the project, located at 99 Cauchon Place, has been completed, and all units, valued at $130,00 and up, have been sold.
“Within two to three years Noble Investment Corporation expects to have five more units ready for mixed commercial and office space. The expansion of his company has allowed Faiman to take on new investors, secure a larger line of credit and utilize various tax advantages.
“Foregoing much of the immediate gratification of someone who has achieved financial success, Faiman still lives at home with the two people he refers to as his best friends, his mother and father – Dr. Charles Faiman, head of the section of Endocrinology at the University of Manitoba, and Carol, who places disabled individuals in career opportunities.
” ‘I’m a fairly family oriented person and they support me unconditionally in whatever I attempt, even though I don’t always take their advice,’ he says with a smile. Of his two brothers, one is presently attending the University of Manitoba and the other is preparing to enter into medicine, also at the U of M.
“Always looking for new projects to develop, either independently or with a small group of investors, Faiman is now acquiring two apartment complexes that have been converted into commercial space, again in the Osborne Village area. He also has his eye on another type of development: ‘A senior citizens’ complex,’ he says, ‘where the environment is designed to suit the tenant’s specific ethnic and social needs, rather than the needs of the developer,’ is ‘high on his priority list.’
“Another project on the drawing boards, with long-time friend Martin Simms, M.D., is a medical office, with a group of interdisciplinarian specialists who would have direct ownership in the building.
” ‘I’m not a fan of strip malls,’ says Faiman. (note: At this point the article did not have the next part in quotation marks, so it’s not clear whether what follows were Bart’s words or the author’s, although it seems evident they were Bart’s.) They become indistinguishable from one another and attract an eclectic assortment of tenants. What medical office wants to be next door to a video store selling adult films? You want some control over your working environment.
” ‘ We need to stop trying to copy other cities. Just because something works for Toronto or Vancouver does not make it automatically right for Winnipeg.’ Faiman adds that ‘a city has to grow to justify developments like The Forks, The Exchange District and Portage Place, with the buildings following a logical and consistent plan.’ He foresees a trend in multiple use space, combining commercial, retail and living areas in one well designed building.
“Bart Faiman was born in Chicago and he has retained his dual citizenship. While he is exploring business relationships and opportunities south of the border, he would prefer to remain in Winnipeg and concentrate on projects here.
” ‘I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I feel I have a destiny to do something of great value with my life,’ he says. ‘I want the world to know I was here.’
” ‘A building, for example, should be more than just a structure; it should improve the quality of life for the people who work and live there. That’s what I want to achieve.’
“When you consider that this young man started off in 1986 with an investment of $3,000 and is now 50 percent owner in a million dollar investment company, maybe we should listen.”
Now, while there’s a lot to digest in the preceding story, including wondering how much of it was actually true, three names jumped off the page for me: Tri-Star Development, 99 Cauchon Place…and Dr. Martin Simms.
I did a search for Tri-Star Development, but could find no reference to a company by that name – although it’s possible that one may have existed in 1990. As for “99 Cauchon Place” all that turned up was a nice looking two-unit town home on 99 Cauchon Street – but no luxury condominium project called 99 Cauchon Place.
Finally, Dr. Martin Simms is someone I know. He’s a former Winnipegger who graduated from the University of Manitoba medical school in 1989 and went on to enter into a residency in radiology in Halifax, eventually moving to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and who now practises radiology in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
I contacted Dr. Simms to ask him whether he is still friends with Bart Faiman and whether he had ever entered into a business relationship with Bart to build a medical office. Dr. Simms said that he hasn’t had much connection to Winnipeg since leaving in 1989 – other than to visit his mother occasionally, who still lives in Winnipeg.
Whether Bart Faiman was ever “50 percent owner in a million dollar investment company” is difficult to ascertain. But, if he was as successful as he claimed in the preceding article, why did the author of the article not verify that what Bart was saying was true?
Fast forward now to 1999 and Bart Faiman seems to have switched gears completely: He’s now the executive director of the Winnipeg Airport Business Authority.
In the article sent to me by the same individual who also sent me the profile of Bart Faiman in “Manitoba Business,” it says that “The Airport Area Business Improvement Zone (Airport Area Biz) is set to chart a new course, says recently appointed Executive Director Bart Faiman.”
The article goes on to describe Bart’s plans for the Airport Area Biz, but really says nothing about his background or what led to his becoming executive director of the Airport Area Biz. However, involvement with aircraft later proved to play a key role in what became part of Bart Faiman’s grand delusion.
Coming next: “What is a delusion psychosis and when did Bart Faiman begin to demonstrate delusional behaviour?”
Features
A Thousand Miracles: From Surviving the Holocaust to Judging Genocide
By MARTIN ZEILIG Theodor Meron’s A Thousand Miracles (Hurst & Company, London, 221 pg., $34.00 USD) is an uncommon memoir—one that links the terror of the Holocaust with the painstaking creation of the legal institutions meant to prevent future atrocities.
It is both intimate and historically expansive, tracing Meron’s path from a child in hiding to one of the most influential jurists in modern international law.
The early chapters recount Meron’s survival in Nazi occupied Poland through a series of improbable escapes and acts of kindness—the “miracles” of the title. Rendered with restraint rather than dramatization, these memories form the ethical foundation of his later work.
That moral clarity is evident decades later when, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, he addressed the UN General Assembly and reminded the world that “the German killing machine did not target Jews only but also the Roma, Poles, Russians and others,” while honoring “the Just—who risked their lives to save Jews.” It is a moment that encapsulates his lifelong insistence on historical accuracy and universal human dignity.
What sets this memoir apart is its second half, which follows Meron’s transformation into a central architect of international humanitarian law. Before entering academia full time, he served in Israel’s diplomatic corps, including a formative posting as ambassador to Canada in the early 1970s. Ottawa under Pierre Trudeau was, as he recalls, “an exciting, vibrant place,” and Meron’s responsibilities extended far beyond traditional diplomacy: representing Israel to the Canadian Jewish community, travelling frequently to Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, and even helping to promote sales of Israeli government bonds. His affection for Canada’s cultural life—Montreal’s theatre, Vancouver’s “stunning vistas”—is matched by his candor about the political pressures of the job.
One episode proved decisive.
He was instructed to urge Canadian Jewish leaders to pressure their government to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem—a request he found ethically questionable. His refusal provoked an attempt to recall him, a move that reached the Israeli cabinet. Only the intervention of Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir, who valued Meron’s work, prevented his dismissal. The incident, he writes, left “a fairly bitter taste” and intensified his desire for an academic life—an early sign of the independence that would define his legal career.
That independence is nowhere more evident than in one of the most contentious issues he faced as legal adviser to the Israeli Foreign Ministry: the legal status of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Meron recounts being asked to provide an opinion on the legality of establishing civilian settlements in territory captured in 1967.
His conclusion was unequivocal: such settlements violated the Fourth Geneva Convention as well as the private property rights of the Arab inhabitants. The government chose a different path, and a wave of settlements followed, complicating prospects for a political solution. Years later, traveling through the West Bank, he was deeply troubled by the sight of Jewish settlers obstructing Palestinian farmers, making it difficult—and at times dangerous—for them to reach their olive groves, even uprooting trees that take decades to grow.
“How could they impose on Arab inhabitants a myriad of restrictions that did not apply to the Jewish settlers?” he asks. “How could Jews, who had suffered extreme persecution through the centuries, show so little compassion for the Arab inhabitants?”
Although he knew his opinion was not the one the government wanted, he believed firmly that legal advisers must “call the law as they see it.” To the government’s credit, he notes, there were no repercussions for his unpopular stance. The opinion, grounded in human rights and humanitarian law, has since become one of his most cited and influential.
Meron’s academic trajectory, detailed in the memoir, is remarkable in its breadth.
His year at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg (1984–85) produced Human Rights Law–Making in the United Nations, which won the American Society of International Law’s annual best book prize. He held visiting positions at Harvard Law School, Berkeley, and twice at All Souls College, Oxford.
He was elected to the Council on Foreign Relations in 1992 and, in 1997, to the prestigious Institute of International Law in Strasbourg. In 2003 he delivered the general course at the Hague Academy of International Law, and the following year received the International Bar Association’s Rule of Law Award. These milestones are presented not as selfpromotion but as steps in a lifelong effort to strengthen the legal protections he once lacked as a child.
His reflections on building the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)—balancing legal rigor with political constraints, and confronting crimes that echoed his own childhood trauma—are among the book’s most compelling passages. He writes with unusual candor about the emotional weight of judging atrocities that, in many ways, mirrored the violence he narrowly escaped as a boy.
Meron’s influence, however, extends far beyond the Balkans.
The memoir revisits his confidential 1967 legal opinion for the U.S. State Department, in which he concluded that Israeli settlements in the territories occupied after the Six Day War violated international humanitarian law—a view consistent with the opinion he delivered to the Israeli government itself. His distress at witnessing settlers obstruct Palestinian farmers and uproot olive trees underscores a recurring theme: the obligation of legal advisers to uphold the law even when politically inconvenient.
The book also highlights his role in shaping the International Criminal Court (ICC). Meron recalls being “happy and excited to be able to help in the construction of the first ever permanent international criminal court” at the 1998 Rome Conference.
His discussion of the ICC’s current work is characteristically balanced: while “most crimes appear to have been committed by the Russians” in Ukraine, he notes that “some crimes may have been committed by the Ukrainians as well,” underscoring the prosecutor’s obligation to investigate all sides.
He also points to the ICC’s arrest warrants for President Putin, for Hamas leaders for crimes committed on October 7, 2023, and for two Israeli cabinet members for crimes in Gaza—examples of the Court’s mandate to pursue accountability impartially, even when doing so is politically fraught.
Throughout, Meron acknowledges the limitations of international justice—the slow pace, the uneven enforcement, the geopolitical pressures—but insists on its necessity. For him, law is not a cureall but a fragile bulwark against the collapse of humanity he witnessed as a child. His reflections remind the reader that international law, however imperfect, remains one of the few tools available to restrain the powerful and protect the vulnerable.
The memoir is also a quiet love story.
Meron’s devotion to his late wife, Monique Jonquet Meron, adds warmth and grounding to a life spent confronting humanity’s darkest chapters. Their partnership provides a counterpoint to the grim subject matter of his professional work and reveals the personal resilience that sustained him.
Written with precision and modesty, A Thousand Miracles avoids selfaggrandizement even as it recounts a career that helped shape the modern architecture of international justice.
The result is a powerful testament to resilience and moral purpose—a reminder that survivors of atrocity can become builders of a more just world.
Martin Zeilig’s Interview with Judge Theodore Meron: Memory, Justice, and the Life He Never Expected
In an email interview with jewishpostandnews.ca , the 95 year-old jurist reflects on survival, legacy, and the moral demands of international law.
Few figures in modern international law have lived a life as improbable—or as influential—as Judge Theodore Meron. Holocaust survivor, scholar, adviser to governments, president of multiple UN war crimes tribunals, Oxford professor, and now a published poet at 95, Meron has spent decades shaping the global pursuit of justice. His new memoir, A Thousand Miracles, captures that extraordinary journey.
He discussed the emotional challenges of writing the book, the principles that guided his career, and the woman whose influence shaped his life.
Meron says the memoir began as an act of love and remembrance, a way to honor the person who anchored his life.
“The critical drive to write A Thousand Miracles was my desire to create a legacy for my wife, Monique, who played such a great role in my life.”
Her presence, he explains, was not only personal but moral—“a compass for living an honorable life… having law and justice as my lodestar, and never cutting corners.”
Reflecting on the past meant confronting memories he had long held at a distance. Writing forced him back into the emotional terrain of childhood loss and wartime survival.
“I found it difficult to write and to think of the loss of my Mother and Brother… my loss of childhood and school… my narrow escapes.”
He describes the “healing power of daydreaming in existential situations,” a coping mechanism that helped him endure the unimaginable. Even so, he approached the writing with restraint, striving “to be cool and unemotional,” despite the weight of the memories.
As he recounts his life, Meron’s story becomes one of continual reinvention—each chapter more improbable than the last.
“A person who did not go to school between the age of 9 and 15… who started an academic career at 48… became a UN war crimes judge at 71… and became a published poet at the age of 95. Are these not miracles?”
The title of his memoir feels almost understated.
His professional life has been driven by a single, urgent mission: preventing future atrocities and protecting the vulnerable.
“I tried to choose to work so that Holocausts and Genocides will not be repeated… that children would not lose their childhoods and education and autonomy.”
Yet he is cleareyed about the limits of the institutions he served. Courts, he says, can only do so much.
“The promise of never again is mainly a duty of States and the international community, not just courts.”
Much of Meron’s legacy lies in shaping the legal frameworks that define modern international criminal law. He helped transform the skeletal principles left by Nuremberg into robust doctrines capable of prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, and wartime sexual violence.
“Fleshing out principles… especially on genocide, crimes against humanity and especially rape.”
His work helped ensure that atrocities once dismissed as collateral damage are now recognized as prosecutable crimes.
Even with these advances, Meron remains realistic about the limits of legal institutions.
“Courts tried to do their best, but this is largely the duty of States and their leaders.”
Justice, he suggests, is not only a legal project but a political and moral one—requiring courage from governments, not just judges.
Despite witnessing humanity at its worst, Meron refuses to surrender to despair. His outlook is grounded in history, tempered by experience, and sustained by a stubborn belief in progress.
“Reforms in the law and in human rights have often followed atrocities.”
He acknowledges that progress is uneven—“not linear,” as he puts it—but insists that hope is essential.
“We have ups and downs and a better day will come. We should work for it. Despair will not help.”
Judge Theodore Meron’s life is a testament to resilience, intellect, and moral clarity.
A Thousand Miracles is not simply a memoir of survival—it is a record of a life spent shaping the world’s understanding of justice, guided always by memory, principle, and the belief that even in humanity’s darkest hours, a better future remains possible.
Features
Gamification in Online Casinos: What Do Casino Online DudeSpin Experts Say
Gamification is one of the trends in modern game development. The technology allows players to interact with in-game elements and complete various tasks to earn additional rewards. Sites like casino online DudeSpin are eager to explore new technologies. Canadian players are particularly drawn to gamification for the opportunity to test their skills and have fun. Various development approaches allow for the implementation of much of this functionality already at this stage of development.
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Gamification is a technology that implements various elements to increase player attention. This mechanic not only attracts new users but also increases the time spent playing. This method rewards the most active players and also uses interactive elements that evoke certain associations and habitual actions.
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Sites like casino online DudeSpin utilize all these components to make players feel part of a unified, evolving system.
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The key to gamification’s success is that every player wants to feel special and appreciated. A reward system stimulates dopamine, which creates additional rewarding gameplay experiences. This is how sites like casino online DudeSpin retain a loyal audience and build a strong community.
Stable player progress serves as a motivation to continue betting and unlocking new achievements. Furthermore, a certain level on the leaderboard provides an opportunity to showcase your skills and connect with others at your level. Personalized offers enhance the effect of this uniqueness, encouraging more active betting in games. Structured goals and achievements help players manage their time spent active, focusing only on activities that truly benefit them.
Canadian Perspective on Gamified Casino Experiences
Canadian casinos are using gamification techniques for a reason. They’re developing a legal and modern market that appeals to local audiences. Furthermore, operators like casino online DudeSpin operate in compliance with local laws, which fosters trust.
Another reason for gamification’s popularity is the localization of content. All games, prizes, and tournaments are tailored to the local market. A loyal community communicates in a clear language and interacts according to audience preferences.
Many casinos also integrate responsible options to help players manage their deposits and avoid overspending. This structure makes gamification attractive.
Finally, gamification is already a traditional element of gameplay in Canadian casinos, attracting new audiences and increasing loyalty among existing ones.
Technology evolves alongside new opportunities, and operators strive to offer the best benefits to their most active players. This interaction makes gamification a viable solution for gamblers. Leaderboards, achievements, and adaptive features are particularly popular with Canadian users due to their personalization.