Features
The 1970 girls: the terrific ten
By GERRY POSNER I have always thought I was privileged to have grown up when and where I did, but I have learned that my children’s generation has also been imbued with this same feeling. In particular, I refer to 10 girls, now women, all born in 1970, who are all now just past 50, and who share this same sentiment. Their story almost makes one cry for a time gone by.
The ladies are: Jill (Margolis) Atnikov, Allison (Hyman) Axelrod, Davina ( Muchnik) Golden, Michelle Golfman, Jodi Hyman, Lisa (Golfman) Kroft, Marni (Fingold) Miller, Jackie (Rosen) Nash, Lisa (Hamburg) Weidman, and Samantha ( Zimberg) Adelman.
These are names known to many readers of the Jewish Post & News and beyond. They are women who have made a conscious effort to be connected ever since their earliest days together. There is what seems to be an unshakeable bond between all of them and their feelings of “ closeness” shine through and in all of them.
The reality of this deep friendship is best summed up in something Jill Margolis Atnikov wrote. Even though the girls were never at the same school together, “We have been friends for at least forty-nine years.” Organizations like Kadima, BB Camp, BBYO cemented the ten girls together in ways they could not have imagined. Whatever it was that tied these women together, it worked. Jackie Rosen Nash says, “We were all in close proximity to where we lived so we were able to be together. I could walk to everyone’s house. I can picture everyone’s house as they were.” That is a remarkable statement and I bet each of the group could describe all of their respective homes to one another.
Not all the women live in Winnipeg now. Out of the 10, there are five remaining in Winnipeg, with Michelle Golfman in Toronto, Marni Fingold Miller in San Diego, Jackie Rosen Nash and Lisa Hamburg Weidman in Vancouver, and Davina Muchnik Golden in Chicago. Included in this group are two sets of first cousins, as in Lisa Golfman Kroft and Michelle Golfman; and Jodi Hyman and Allison Hyman Axelrod. Between the 10 of them, they have added 14 more Winnipeg descendants (of a kind – since some of them are first Winnipeg removed). And, although they have gone on separate paths, what links them still is their desire to stay connected.
Davina Muchnik Golden works today as an educational assistant with two teenage daughters. Jodi Hyman is a Nurse Educator at Cancer Care Manitoba. Jackie Rosen Nash is a personal shopper (I sure could use someone like that). Marni Fingold Miller, mother of two children – both over 20, is an interior designer. Lisa Golfman, with two sons both over 20, is a small business owner in Winnipeg. Jill Margolis Atnikov is a Pharmaceutical Representative, a small business owner in Winnipeg and is mother to a 21- year-old daughter. Allison Hyman Axelrod, mother of two sons – both close to 20, also works in Winnipeg as a Senior Customer Success Manager in the Human Resource and Wellbeing Industry (you have to love that title). Michelle Golfman has another title I love, as she is a Director of Philanthropy. Lisa Hamburg Weidman works as an Education Intervention Specialist (I bet you never heard that term when you were growing up) and she has three kids – two over 20 and one just under 20. Samantha Zim-berg Adelman lives in Winnipeg and works as an Educational Assistant with two kids, also in the 20-year-old range.
Based on the ages of the children of these women, I suggest there is a further opportunity to tie some of them even more tightly together. Maybe it has already happened.
One theme that seemed to emerge after reading emails from several women was a really strong feeling for the Winnipeg Jets. As Lisa Golfman Kroft put it, “We used to stalk the hockey players from the Winnipeg Jets.”That thought was echoed by her cousin Michelle, who wrote that “ no matter where we are in the world the “ Winnipeg Jets” were and always will be our “ home team.” I think the group better plan a session together soon to help the Jets, who seem to be floundering right at this moment and need all the help they can get.
Lisa Hamburg Weidman reflected on the way the ten of them came together. She says “There were so many facets of community that connected us and brought us together. We were never all in the same school at the same time, but we were always connected. There were so many different circumstances that always brought us together.” Golfman Kroft adds, “We don’t see each other as often or speak to each other often but when we do, it’s like no time has passed.” Samantha Zimberg Adelman commented that “Sharing our love of music and concerts from when we were kids until now” was a common thread. Hyman Axelrod put a different slant on it when she wrote, “ I love how we have instilled in our kids the importance of these friendships. My kids always report back to me when they bump into one of the girls or their families. They know saying hello is important.” What was crucial to Muchnik Golden was “the time spent at the beach at Gimli for us to be together.” You would have thought that over the years, ten women (men too) would have had many disputes and arguments which might have affected their relationships, but Marni Fingold Miller’s take on it is “We recognize how unique this friendship is. We know each other’s shtick, but we continue to love each other.” I identified well with the comments of Jodi Hyman who suggested “There is something to be said for true friendship. We were bound together through growing up and participating in Jewish community youth programmes, to sharing many laughs as well as tears as we move through life’s joy and losses. Although we may be geographically spread out, we will always be united through our Winnipeg routes and true friendship.”
Now these lovely ladies have made the point of meeting together at reunions in different locations over the passing years. The accompanying photos give a glimpse of the genuine joy of the women as they met together on several occasions. Sadly, the plans in 2020 for the big 50th birthday reunion were shelved due to Covid. What they did instead was to initiate birthday Zoom calls as each woman hit the magic 50 and they did a catch up.
It is not an easy thing to do, that is, to retain life-long friendships. Life sends one off in different reactions and yet these women remain attached to this date. Was it the Winnipeg weather, the close knit community, the lack of cell phones and internet access, the fact that the parents knew each other? Who knows for sure? What is known is this: These women savour the memories. Not that long ago, at a reunion in Scottsdale, Arizona, they played a game called the “Voting Game”. This game tries to uncover the truth about your friendships. The players in the game vote anonymously for the particular player who is described by a particular question. As Jill Margolis Atnikov wrote, “ No doubt there were screams of laughter as we were taken back to our childhoods. One question in particular brought out the laughter as in ‘Who had the worst high school photo?’ On this question, there was unanimity though they never told me who that was, nor did they send me the photo.”
I think most of us would agree there is great merit in sharing memories of what each did for their childhood birthday parties, what they wore to Sweet 16 parties, who their first crush wa,s and on and on. What one forgets, another remembers.
I get it. While you do not have to be from Winnipeg to feel this way, it is likely that most of us who were privileged to have grown up at the time when we did and where we did, have experienced in some small or larger way, these same feelings. I am doubtful whether my grandchildren and the children of the group of ten will have these same kinds of relationships and memories. But that is another story.
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.
Features
Winnipeg author’s first novel gripping tale of romance, action and intrigue, set in 15th century Spain and Morocco
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.
Features
Did the Jewish Federation’s stepping in to force the firing of BB Camp co-executive director Jacob Brodovsky lead to the further alienating of many young Jews from the community?
(June 8, 2024) Introduction: We received the following email from a young Jewish Winnipegger re the BB Camp controversy, which we’ve reported on extensively on this website. We thought it important to post the email as a separate piece rather than as an add-on to an article in which we printed other emails from readers expressing their disappointment at what happened to Jacob Brodovsky, the former co-executive director of BB Camp:
Dear Mr. Bellan,
Thank you for once again cutting through the noise with your April 23rd column, “What the sordid BB Camp affair says about our community.” Your clarity and courage in calling out our rush to judgment and our narrowing definition of “Jewish identity” are deeply appreciated, especially by those of us who feel increasingly alienated in Winnipeg.
I also want to share a troubling observation about one of the loudest voices attacking Jacob Brodovsky: theJ.ca. Their articles—bylines like “Ron East” or “TheJ.ca Staff”—are, in fact, almost entirely generated by artificial intelligence. They contain no verifiable sourcing, frequently hallucinate details, and appear to be little more than a far-right newsletter running smear campaigns under the guise of “journalism.” The entire BB Camp series reads like an AI trained on extremist talking points, regurgitated daily to bully our community into silence.
As a young Jew in Winnipeg, I—and many of my peers—are horrified by the transformation we’re witnessing. What was once a warm, progressive community is now dominated by:
Bigots and Bullies: Parents threatening to pull their kids unless the camp bows to extremist demands.
Florida-style Republican Judaism: A narrow, intolerant ideology portrayed as the only “true” Jewishness.
Collapsing Leadership: Our Jewish Federation leaders, including Jeff Lieberman, have shown they lack the vision or backbone to navigate this crisis.
We stand at a dangerous inflection point. Our community is on the verge of a total and irreversible fascist takeover—an outcome no amount of regret or retrospective apologies can undo.
Please consider reading firsthand accounts from community members who have bravely spoken out:
I know this letter is anonymous and won’t be published, but I hope you see it as proof that many of us are desperate for ethical, forward-looking leadership. Thank you again for using your platform to remind us what Jewish community should mean: diversity of thought, compassion for all people, and the moral courage to call out extremism—no matter where it comes from.
This was NEVER a community of far-right Israelis. This is a shame beyond words.
With gratitude and urgency,
A Concerned Young Jew in Winnipeg
Post script: We had heard from many different sources (who all asked to remain anonymous) that the Jewish Federation’s decision to force the BB Camp board to fire Jacob Brodovsky came as a result of pressure from one or more big donors to the Combined Jewish Appeal. We sent an email to Jeff Lieberman, asking Jeff whether the Jewish Federation’s decision to force the resignation of Jacob Brodovsky as co-executive director of BB Camp came as a result of a donor (or donors) to the Combined Jewish Appeal threatening to withdraw their donation(s) this year unless Jacob were fired. I don’t think anyone would be surprised to learn that Jeff did not bother responding to my request for information.
The Jewish Federation used to advertise elections to its board in The Jewish Post & News for many years, but no longer does so (in the Jewish Post). Instead, it submits a slate of new appointees to its board to members of the current board to be rubber stamped. Is it any surprise that the donors who contribute the most money call the shots for the Federation (which is as its always been. The only difference is the Jewish Federation and the Winnipeg Jewish Community Council before it used to operate with a patina of democracy. Sadly, that is no longer the case.)
We would urge anyone on the Federation board who could give information about what led the board to force the resignation of Jacob Brodovsky to contact us. We would give full anonymity, as we have to the writer of the above letter.
-Bernie Bellan
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