RSS
Obituary: Dianne Kipnes, 81, a philanthropist who transformed Edmonton’s hospitals, arts and Jewish community
A passion for helping people and her empathy for those who were suffering propelled Dianne Kipnes into becoming one of Edmonton’s most significant philanthropists supporting scores of charities locally, nationally and internationally with her husband Irv.
She died in Edmonton on Dec. 26. She was 81.
Dianne and Irv Kipnes donated millions of dollars through their family foundation to numerous charities.
“One thing that comes through for all of us who had a chance to work with Irv and Dianne on anything was Dianne’s interest in making sure that what was done was done right,” friend Howard Sniderman said. “She was a very elegant and graceful woman and everything she did had a touch of elegance and grace.”
The couple embraced charities in healthcare, the arts, and education both locally and nationally and were recognized as transformative leaders in Edmonton’s Jewish community of approximately 5,000.
They were major benefactors of Edmonton’s University Hospital Foundation, the Dianne and Irving Kipnes Urology Centre, and created chairs in Radiopharmaceuticals, Lymphatic Disorders and Finance and Development at the University of Alberta. They also helped fund programs in music, engineering and Jewish studies.
In the early 2000s Dianne developed lymphedema in her legs after treatment for cancer. At the time there were very few options available, and she established the Dianne and Irving Kipnes Chair in Lymphatic Disorders—the first position of its kind in Canada—with an $5-million donation. When the announcement was made, Kipnes described lymphedema as an ‘underdog disorder,’ which was originally misdiagnosed when she was in Europe as “either an allergy, an insect bite or a psychological reaction to the horrors of visiting Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The despair was worse than the illness,” she said. “But the antidote to despair is action.”
Kipnes met her husband in 1977 when he stopped in Montreal for dinner with his first wife on a return trip to Edmonton from Israel. Dianne and her first husband joined them with mutual friends. Several years later Dianne had relocated to Edmonton with her husband—and when her marriage ended, she reconnected with Irv, who was also single again.
“Theirs was a true partnership,” said Sniderman. They did it hand in hand together.”
Fielding Graduate University mourns the passing of Dr. Dianne Kipnes (PSY’98), a distinguished alumna and former trustee whose profound contributions left an enduring legacy within our community: https://t.co/C1NXrrsBMj
— Fielding Graduate University (@FieldingGradU) January 2, 2025
Kipnes was a psychologist by profession. She had a master’s degree in social work from McGill and a PhD in clinical psychology from the Fielding Graduate University. She worked at the University of Alberta’s psychiatric walk-in clinic from 1984-1994.
“In her practice she was healing people in difficult straits. And she wasn’t prepared to let this go,” Sniderman said. “She took significant steps to help people. For example, she wanted to see a place where veterans, and later first responders, could get treatment, but in a respectful place, not an institutional setting. She was very concerned that they be treated with dignity. So, she and Irv established the CapitalCare Kipnes Centre for Veterans. It’s no surprise to see that someone who is a healer by profession can reach out in the rest of her life and find other ways to heal people.”
In 2022, Irv and Dianne were honoured by Jewish Federation of Edmonton “as among the most influential and largest lifetime donors in the history of Edmonton UJA.”
They supported a variety of Jewish initiatives including a Holocaust symposium for Edmonton high school students, provided bursaries for teens to go on March of the Living and funded a classroom in Israel at Bar-Ilan’s Azrieli medical facility in Safed. When Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kipnes’ provided a leadership gift to the federation’s fund for food and medical care for Jews in the Ukraine.
Stephen Mandel, a former mayor of Edmonton, said that Kipnes was always looking for ways to give back to the community, and helped transform the city into a hub for the arts.
“Dianne was very quiet and reserved but knew how to get things done in a remarkable way. She set a standard in Edmonton for things our city would never, ever have seen. She was the creator of the Edmonton Opera Gala, a fundraiser which became one of the key events of the year in Edmonton. It was Dianne’s vision to create something special. Ballet Edmonton only exists today because of Dianne and Irv. It was ‘typical Dianne’ to come up with a way they could really give back to the community. She had an uncanny ability to see what was needed to get it done. It was Dianne’s way. It’s no different when you look at the National Arts Centre’s Kipnes Wall in Ottawa. They came up with that idea.”
The five-storey Kipnes Lantern rises above the National Arts Centre’s front entrance and incorporates transparent LED screens to display images of Canada’s leading artists and productions. It is North America’s largest transparent LED wall and was illuminated with Dianne’s image when she died.
In a statement the National Arts Centre said, “The Dianne and Irving Kipnes Foundation has done immeasurable good in the world, supporting various causes including cancer research, veterans, education and the arts. The NAC’s five-story architectural glass tower is named the Kipnes Lantern in recognition of their extraordinary philanthropic support. Today, it honours her lifetime of work effecting change.”
“The community is going to miss her,” said Mandel. “We are a small community, and you need real leaders and it’s hard to find them. Dianne was one of them.”
She was the recipient of the Alberta Centennial Medal, the Peter Lougheed Award for Community Service and the Order of Canada.
She leaves her husband of 35 years, Irving, her sister Brenda and daughter Kendra as well as her stepchildren, Harry, Rozanne and Ronee, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The post Obituary: Dianne Kipnes, 81, a philanthropist who transformed Edmonton’s hospitals, arts and Jewish community appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.