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JNF Manitoba/Saskatchewan president Nola Lazar slated to be next president of Mercaz Canada

Nola Lazar

By MYRON LOVE
These are challenging times that we live in – but Nola Lazar, the current president of JNF Manitoba/Saskatchewan has proven over the years that she is up to the challenge. If the presidency of the local Jewish National Fund operation is not enough heavy lifting, she is also slated to be stepping into the same position on a national level with Mercaz Canada – the Zionist voice of Conservative Judaism in Canada – as soon as her term as JNF president here comes to a close.

Masorti Judaism – the Conservative Movement in Israel – is Israel’s fastest growing religious movement. Mercaz Canada is affiliated with Masorti/Conservative Judaism which, in Israel, offers a third choice between ultraOrthodoxy and a secular life. MERCAZ-Canada and the Canadian Foundation for Masorti Judaism work in cooperation to foster and strengthen Masorti/Conservative Judaism in Israel, based on the ideals of tradition and tolerance, study and spirituality, and social action and love of Israel. They promote and support Israel education and programs, and represent the interests of Masorti/Conservative Judaism in the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency for Israel.
Lazar has taken inspiration for her leadership roles in the community from her mother Rae. “My mother always seemed to be having meetings at our house,” recalls Lazar, who was the second youngest of eight children born to Rae and the late Cecil Shnier. “Because there were so many of us children, it seemed to be easier to hold meetings at our place”.
Her mother, Lazar recalls, served as president of Hadassah WIZO in Winnipeg as well as being involved in organizing the annual Angel’s Ball and volunteering at Hadassah’s Opportunity store and the Golden Age Club and many other organizations.
“Wherever she’d go as a volunteer, she would take some of us kids with her,” Lazar says. “She was always involved.”

While Nola is trained as an interior designer, she married at a relatively young age – to Matthew – and raised her own family of four (two of whom have made aliyah). Her own service to the community over these past 25 years has largely been through her synagogue involvement.
In the 1990s she was invited to become a board member of the Beth Israel Congregation, where she served two terms. In that role, she was involved in the merger of the Beth Israel with the Rosh Pina and Bnay Abraham Synagogues to form Congregation Etz Chayim. She subsequently served an additional two terms on the board of the new congregation and was involved with youth programming at the shul. In addition, she volunteered at the Gray Academy while her children were attending the school. “All of our children are graduates of Gray Academy,” she says with pride.
Lazar was invited to join the JNF Manitoba/Saskatchewan board five years ago. “Karla Berbrayer was president of the board at the time and was looking to expand the board membership with people who had connections with Israel,” Lazar says. “We had children living in Israel and had visited several times.”
As the current president, she was inaugurated at the Negev Gala in 2019, succeeding Jessica Cogan.
The local JNF received quite a surprise last fall when longtime executive director Ariel Karabelnicoff announced that he was leaving to take up a position in Toronto with the Israel Bonds organization. “It was a real shock,” says Lazar of Karabelincoff’s departure. “We miss him and wish him well.
“It has been a smooth transition though. David Greaves, our new executive director, knows the community well and has a lot of connections.”
She reports that, despite the limitations on fundraising imposed by the Covid situation, the JNF is doing well under Greaves’ leadership. “JNF has been keeping busy. While we weren’t able to conduct our annual High Holiday campaign in person this year,” she notes, “we are thankful to both the Shaarey Zedek and Etz Chayim for their help this year. They included our link on their webpages and the rabbis directed people to our link during their sermons. The community support for Israel has been amazing.
“Even with Covid, David and his staff have managed to maintain our fundraising numbers close to what we have done in the past. On November 15 we are holding a ‘Night of 100 Dinners’ with video entertainment by Yidlife Crisis. Our Negev Gala honouring Ted Lyons has been rescheduled to May 19 2020.”

Lazar’s introduction to Mercaz Canada also came about through her synagogue involvement. She points out that all Conservative synagogue members are also eligible to join Mercaz. The organization has long been centered in Toronto, she notes because, in Toronto, several Conservative synagogues make membership in Mercaz Canada an automatic part of membership, whereas in Winnipeg, membership is optional. Thus, there were fewer members in our community.
“Marion Mayman, the president at that time, felt that Mercaz Canada was too Torontocentric,” Lazar recalls. “She wanted a board that reflected more of our country, and was looking to recruit Western Canadians. Matthew and I had already joined Mercaz when Marion phoned me to ask me to join the board. However, I am not the kind of person who joins a board without participating, and because I got involved, I became vocal, and before long, I was moving up the ranks.”
Most of the meetings that she has been involved in have been over the phone. “I still haven’t met all of the board members in person,” Lazar says. “The nice thing about Zoom is I am getting to see board members from across the country.”
The organization’s vice-president since July of last year, she reports that the current president of Mercaz, Stan Greenspan, will stay in his position until her term with the JNF in Winnipeg is over.
She concedes that there will be some challenges leading the organization from Winnipeg, but, she says, “we will make it work.”
She adds that she has already learned a lot from Mercaz executive director Rabbi Jennifer Gorman and current president Stan Greenspan. “They are both very knowledgeable,” Lazar says. “I love learning from them.”
Coming up for Nola Lazar on the Mercaz menu are preparations for the World Zionist Congress scheduled for October 20-22 via Zoom from Israel. She is a voting delegate.
“At the Congress, we debate various topics of relevance to the Jewish world,” she notes. “I will be spending a lot of time over the next few days on the phone and on Zoom meeting with Mercaz Canada and Canadian Zionist Federation representatives. We will be having orientation meetings and strategy meetings. I find it all very fascinating”

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Features

I Speak “Jew”

Morrocan Jewish fish dish

By MARK E. PAULL I grew up in Montreal. Born in 1956. Anglo by birth, sure. But that never quite fit. I don’t speak “Anglo” the way they mean it. My real language is Jew.
And I don’t mean Hebrew or Yiddish. I mean the language of reading the room before you enter it. The code-switching, shame-dodging, laugh-first-so-they-don’t-pounce dialect we pick up early. It’s a language built on side-eyes and timing and ten generations of tension.
I speak French—enough to make myself understood. Enough to charm a dinner table, crack a joke, get someone’s uncle to nod. I’m not fluent, but I’m fast. Doesn’t matter. In Quebec, language isn’t grammar—it’s inheritance. It’s who your grandfather cursed out in a hardware store.
To the Francophones, I’ll never be one of them. My accent betrays me before I say a word. I’m just an Anglo. And not even that, really. Because when the lens tightens, when they look closely, I’m just un Juif. Just a Jew.
And to the Anglos? Same thing. I can wear the suit, speak the Queen’s English, order the wine properly—still a Jew. Even in rooms where I “pass,” I don’t belong. I’m not invited in to be myself. I’m invited in to behave. To be safe. To not say the thing that makes the air stiff.
We’re the only people still called by our religion. No one says “Orthodox” for a Greek. No one says “Vatican” for an Italian. No one calls a Black man “Baptist” before they see his face. But “Jew”? That sticks. That’s the label. Before passport. Before language. Before hello.
I’ve mostly made peace with that. But there’s still this ache—knowing you can live your whole life in a place and never really be from there.
Let me tell you a story.
We had this block party once—the folding-table, paper-plate kind. Kids zipping by on scooters. Music low. Everyone asked to bring something from “your culture.”
The Greek guy brought lemon potatoes and lamb—felt like it came with a side of Byzantine history. The Italians brought two lasagnas—meat and veggie—with basil placed like confetti. The Vietnamese couple brought shrimp rolls that vanished before they hit the table. Even the German guy—built like a fridge—brought bratwurst and a six-pack with gothic lettering.
And then us.
My partner made Moroccan fish. Her grandmother’s recipe. Red with tomatoes, garlic, cumin. Studded with olives and preserved lemon. I brought a bottle of white wine. Dry. Crisp. From the Golan Heights. Not Manischewitz. Not even close.
We laid it out. Someone leaned over: “Moroccan? But I thought you were Jewish.”
We smiled. “We are.”
Then: “So… where’s the brisket? Isn’t Jewish wine supposed to be sweet?”
That’s when it hits you. No matter how long you’ve lived here, how many snowstorms you’ve shoveled through, you’re still explaining yourself. Still translating your presence.
Because they don’t know. They don’t know Jews came from everywhere. That “Jewish” isn’t one dish—it’s a whole map. That we had Jews in Morocco before there was even a France. That some of us grew up on kreplach, some on kefta. That some of our mothers sang in Yiddish, others in Arabic, and some in both—depending on who was knocking.
They don’t know. And worse—they don’t ask.
And that’s the part that gets you. Not the slurs. Not the graffiti. Not even the occasional muttered cliché. It’s the blankness. The shrug. The image they already have of you that’s built out of dreidels and sitcoms.
“Jewish” as nostalgic. As novelty. Something they saw once on a bagel.
Sometimes, when those questions come, I float. One version of me walks out. Another turns into a mouse. One turns into a Frisbee. Just gone. Not mad. Just tired.
Because being a Jew isn’t cute. It’s not nostalgic.
It’s ancient.
Before Montreal.
Before France.
Before Poland. Before Spain.
Before pogroms.
Before ghettos.
Before Hitler.
Before even the word Europe.
We were there.
Go back to the 5th century. 2nd century.
Go back to Jesus—our kid, by the way.
Go further—Babylon. Persia.
Keep going—Temple. Exile. Wandering.
And still, after all that, I’m at a table in Quebec explaining why our fish has cumin in it.
It’s almost funny. If it didn’t wear you down a little.
I’m not looking for pity. This isn’t a complaint.
I’m proud. I know what I carry. I walk into any room with five thousand years behind me. I come from people who kept the lights on through every kind of darkness—and laughed through it, too.
But sometimes, I just wish I didn’t have to explain so much.
All I want is to put down my dish…
…and hear someone say:
“That smells amazing. Tell me the story.”

That’s all.


Mark E. Paull, C.A.C. is a Certified ADHD Coach – IPHM, CMA, IIC&M, CPD Certified
Writer | Lived-Experience Advocate | Type 1 Diabetic since 1967

He has been published in:
The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, Folklife Magazine, Times of Israel, CHADD’s Attention Magazine, The Good Men Project

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Features

At 104, Besse Gurevich last original resident of Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence

By MYRON LOVE At 104, Besse Gurevich is the last of the original residents of Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence. She may also be the oldest member of our Jewish community.
Although her vision and her hearing have diminished considerably, her mind and memory are still intact.  A few weeks back, this writer sat down with her in her suite as she recalled a life filled with highs and lows and her many  contributions to her community, both in Winnipeg and Fort William before that.
The daughter of Jack and Rebecca Avit, her life’s journey began in 1921 in a home on Carlton Street near Ellice Avenue, near her father’s furniture store.  He later operated a cap factory.
When she was ten, the family – she had two brothers and a sister – moved to Manitoba Avenue in the old North End. “My father had put a deposit down on a house on Scotia,” she recalls.  “But my parents didn’t feel that the neighbourhood was Jewish enough.”
Her schooling included Peretz School and, like so many of her generation, St. John’s Tech (as it was known back then.)  “I was actually supposed to be going to Isaac Newton for high school,” she says.  We were living on the wrong side of the tracks for St. John’s.  After one day at Isaac Newton, I found a way to transfer to St. John’s.”
In 1940, 19-year-old Bessie Avit married Jack Gurevich, a young man from Fort William.  The wedding was marred though, by the sudden, untimely passing of her father.
Following the wedding, Besse moved with her new husband to Fort William where Jack Gurevich worked in retail clothing sales.  “We lived in Fort William for 20 years,” she says.  “Our three children (Judy, Richard and Howard) were born there.”
She recalls that there were about 200 Jewish families – including her sister and one of her brothers for some years – in town, during the time she lived there. “We were very well known in the community,” she recalls. “I was involved in everything.”
Her community activism continued after the family’s return to her home town. While Jack went to work as a salesman for Western Glove Works, Besse became an indefatigable community volunteer. At one time or another, she served as vice-president of ORT, Hadassah and National Council of Jewish Women in Winnipeg. She was also a long time B’nai Brith member.
In the business world, the highlight of her career was the building of Linden Woods.  “I became involved in real estate development for a time,” she recalls. “I was hired by Genstar to develop Linden Woods.  The company estimated that it would take about 20 years to complete.  I got it done in two.”
She also taught hair dressing for a while. “I worked with many young Jewish brides,” she says.
Recent years have not been kind to Besse Gurevich. Her beloved husband, Jack, died in 2016 – after almost 65 years of marriage.  Older son, Richard, passed away in Vancouver in 2018 and, most recently –six months ago – younger son, Howard, followed.  She notes that there were 200 mourners at Howard’s funeral.
(Howard Gurevich was in marketing for many years before turning his talents to the art world. In recent years, he was best known for Gurevich Fine Art in the Exchange District and his support of local artists.)
Besse Gurevich celebrated her 100th birthday – which took place at the height of the Covid shutdown – quietly. 
While she used to enjoy reading. she is unable to do so any more. She can still listen to television.
And while she has few family members to visit her any more, she does have a group of friends interesting enough from the local theatre scene.  For many years, she was a close friend of the late Doreen Brownstone, one of the leading figures in theatre in Winnipeg for more than half a century.  Besse became part of the group that would visit Doreen every week and, since Doreen passed on three years ago, the members of the group have continued to visit Besse on a weekly basis.  

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Features

Winnipeg author’s first novel gripping tale of romance, action and intrigue, set in 15th century Spain and Morocco

“The Chronos of Andalucia” author Merom Toledano

By MYRON LOVE “The Chronos of Andalucia”, a novel just released by first-time author Merom Toledano, is a historical romance set in late 15th century Spain and Morocco, filled with passion, action, intrigue, unexpected twists and turns – and, of course, with the requirement of any medieval story – a quest.
The easy-to-read, 190 page book follows the adventures of Catalina, a young woman living by her wits on the streets of Granada in the year 1487, (just after the Christian armies of Ferdinand and Isabella had recaptured all of Spain from the Moors) – while trying to evade the agents of the Inquisition, who had murdered her Jewish mother and Christian father 10 years earlier.  She was left with an insatiable desire to learn about astronomy, along with a mysterious map and an astrolabe (an instrument formerly used to make astronomical measurements) – the importance of which will only be unveiled if she can get to the city of Tangier in Morocco.
Early on, there is a reference to Abraham Zacuto, a prominent Spanish rabbi famed for his knowledge of astronomy and astrology.
The action begins when she has a casual interaction with a former Spanish soldier, Diego.  When the forces of the Inquisition approach, she flees with the soldier – who is also her love interest – and who helps her to escape.  They turn for help to a childhood friend of Catalina’s – Roberta, a nun, who helps them on their perilous  journey to Tangier – a journey that includes being captured by pirates, surviving a shipwreck, being separated for a long period of time and, of course, finding each other again and realizing the success of their joint quest.
In his writing, the author paints vivid word pictures of the different characters and beautifully invokes the colour, sights, sounds and scents of the time and the places. 
What I found truly remarkable about the writing of “The Chronos of Andalucia” is that English is not Merom  Toledano’s first language.  The Israeli-born author – he grew up near Haifa – came to Winnipeg with his young family just eight years ago.
“I have had this book in mind for several years now,” says the satellite engineer whose working career takes him to many different parts of the world. 
He notes that he has always felt a connection to Spain, Spanish music and literature – a reflection of his family’s modern origins in that country.  His great-grandparents, he relates, lived in Toledo – hence the family name, Toledano.  His parents lived in Meknes in Morocco while his father attended university in Tangier before making aliyah.
Toledano just published “The Chronos of Andalucia” in April on Amazon. He reports that the book – which is available here at McNally Robinson – has been selling well –close to 100 copies – with orders coming from a bookstore chain in England, a bookstore in Denmark, and one in Italy.
“I have had between 30 and 40 positive reviews so far,” he reports.
Toledano adds that he envisages “The Chronos of Andalucia” to be the first in a series – a la the writer Danielle Steele.  He is already working on a sequel – which is hinted at the end of “The Chronos” and, he reports, he is establishing his own independent publishing operation.        

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