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JNF Manitoba/Saskatchewan president Nola Lazar slated to be next president of Mercaz Canada
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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Musings from Dizengoff Street – by Bruce Brown
(August 8, 2026)
Outside Basimta Café in Central Jerusalem. Love the red shirt against a tiny sea of black. Not sure I am shrugging because of the ultra-orthodox uproar over a Jerusalem café operating on Shabbat or the lack of an ultra-orthodox uproar over a Jerusalem café operating on Shabbat. For the last six weeks Israeli headlines shouted about the cafe chaos. With the ultra-religious blocking entrances and storming the café. While shouting ‘Shabbos! Shabbos!’ Upsetting the secular amongst us just wanting to enjoy our Saturday iced matchas. So the wife and I thought we would check it out. And. Yes. Buy something to support the business. Uproar. Not. Blocked entrances. Not. Storming the café. Not. Albeit there were police barriers separating the devout protesters from the coffee drinkers. The protesters being just a few dozen black clad, pious Jews. Mostly teenagers. And yes. Shouting ‘Shabbos! Shabbos!’ Certainly underwhelming in its reported mayhem. Reminds me of the famous saying misattributed to Mark Twain – “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you do, you’re misinformed.” But I did enjoy my iced matcha.
(August 6, 2026)
Here we go again. Another round of forever negotiations. As someone who negotiates for a living. The way things are going in the straits. If I had to recommend a book on the subject to a new hire. Between The Art of the Deal, A Presidential Edition by Donald J. Trump or The Real Art of the Deal by the Mullahs of Iran with a special forward by the IRGC. Well. I would choose the latter.
(August 3)
Bravo Yoav Segalovitz, Liberal Yesh Atid MK and Monsour Abbas, United Arab Ra’am MK and party head. For breaking a glass ceiling where a Jewish lawmaker joins an Arab political party. No less a political earthquake in my little shtetl. Which can significantly impact coalition block arithmetic and posturing and strategy in the upcoming elections. Now Ra’am can be considered a legitimate ‘Zionist’ partner when forming coalition blocks and potentially pushing the ‘center left/right’ party over the 60 seat majority threshold. In our crazy parliamentary democracy defined by a multi-party (about fourteen!!), proportional representation system. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Israel’s proportional representation model of governance is the best parliamentary democracy system except for all other forms of working democracies. Stay tuned for more amateurish political musings as we move towards Israel’s 26th national election – five of them held since 2019.
(August 1)
Although both sides say they are open to diplomacy. Neither really trusts the other. And American military action, or its threat, continues. I read headlines in the middle of the night -it’s a nervous habit lately– that the Dynamic Duo of Trump and Netanyahu may again strike in unison. Possibly this weekend. Yikes! Prompting me, at 2:30 AM, to dash around the house stocking my safe room. Bottled water. Canned food. Medicines. Documents. The beat goes on….
If it’s crazy here. It’s insane in Italy. With a recent online ‘Jew Hunt’ in the Milan area. Before being removed, the digital forms urged reportings of Israelis and Italian Jews staying in local hotels. The infamous Global Sumud Movement -yes, the one coordinating ‘peace and humanitarian’ flotillas to Gaza- was somehow connected. Although they deny involvement?! This deranged decree was looking to identify Zionist tourism and Zionist neo-colonization in Italy. I’ll stick with stocking the saferoom.
Then there’s New York Mayor Mamdani, a Global Sumud Movement supporter, threatening to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu if he comes to New York. But since discovered he has no legal right for such a grandstanding, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-democratic antic. Maybe Mandami should be arrested! Or at least impeached. For being a grandstanding, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-democratic mayor.
Here’s a post Bruce sent us Friday, July 31:
WARTIME MUSINGS
Should credible threats against FLOTUS and ‘FSOTUS’ (first son..) not be justification to attack first.
As for yesterday’s summit. Netanyahu really can’t win. Explainer. If Trump now attacks without victory its ’cause of Netanyahu. If Trump now attacks with victory its ’cause of Trump. And, in Israel, if Trump doesn’t attack -victory or not- Netanyahu failed in his eighth meeting with Trump. And if Trump does attack -victory or not- half the country will vilify Bibi anyway. Missing a permutation?
Ya. I know. Kinda’ need a definition of victory for that musing to work.
And here in my little shtetle. We go to sleep unsure if there will be a code red in the middle of the night. And if not. We wake up thinking it will be tonight. How do you define stress?
Seemed like an appropriate way to end this musing.
Bruce Brown is a former Winnipegger who made aliyah to Israel over 35 years ago. Bruce first began writing for us – in his own inimitable style, in 2012, during what was known as “Operation Pillar of Defense.” His occasional musings on aspects of life in Israel that were far from what you’d typically read in other reports from Israel were hugely popular – both in the print Jewish Post & News and on this website.
We’re now glad to report that Bruce is back writing for us – this time on a regular basis. We will post Bruce’s reports as they arrive – with the date of each post at the beginning of that post.
Here’s some information about Bruce – and awards he’s received for his writing:
Bruce Brown. Canadian born. Now living in Israel (for a long time). Bruce works in Israel’s hi-tech sector by day and, in spurts, is a somewhat inspired writer by night. He received the American Jewish Press Association’s award for writing excellence in 2019 and 2025. And wrote the 1998 satire, “An Israeli is….” Bruce’s musings are political, social, economic and personal. With lots of biting, contrarian, sardonic and irreverent insight.
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