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A deep dive into the 2021 census produces some very surprising results:
The Jewish population of Winnipeg is – at a maximum: 14,270
By Bernie Bellan Elsewhere on this website you can read about some of my findings re the 2021 census as they relate to the Jewish community of Winnipeg. At the end of my report I wrote that I had sent an inquiry to statcan asking for more detailed information about how many individuals had reported “Jewish” as an ethnic origin and how many had reported “Jewish” as their religion.
No other group can be referred to both as a religious group and an ethnic group – which makes trying to parse the data from the census quite difficult when you’re trying to determine just how many Jews there are in Winnipeg.
And, to make it even more difficult to determine what figure to assign to the size of the Jewish population in Winnipeg, respondents to the 2021 census were able to give more than one answer to the question that asked about ethnic ancestry. Thus, when I tried to correlate respondents who said their religion was Jewish with their ethnic ancestry, it was impossible to do a direct correlation.
For instance, consider this: Of all Winnipeg respondents only 6,700 reported that both their ethnic origin and their religion was Jewish. Yet, 10,700 people in total reported that at least one of their ethnic origins was Jewish, while 11,170 reported their religion was Jewish.
So, if one were to subtract the number of people who said they were Jewish both according to ethnic ancestry and religion from the number who said they were Jewish by religion, you get a figure of 4,400. Add that figure to the number who said they were Jewish by religion and you get a figure of 15,570.
But, here’s where it gets really interesting. A very large number of individuals who said they had Jewish ethnic ancestry also said they belonged to different religions. Of the 10,700 individuals who gave Jewish as at least one of their ethnic origins, a full 1,245 said they were Christian by religion.
As well, there were 20 Muslims, 10 Bhuddists, and 35 others of different religions who also reported Jewish ancestry. So, if we subtract the total number of respondents to the census who reported religions other than Jewish (1350) from the figure of 15,570, the resulting figure is 14, 270. That is likely the number which give the best idea how many Jews there really are in Winnipeg.
Here’s something even more surprising: Of the 1350 individuals who gave “Israeli” as one of their ethnic origins, only 855 said their religion was Jewish. Of the remainder, 385 said they had no religion, while 105 said they were Christian.
Further, of the 10,770 individuals who said that at least one of their ethnic origins was Jewish, 2,775 said they had no religion.
When it came to looking at the ethnic backgrounds of individuals who said their religion was Jewish, there were also some surprising results. For instance, of the 11,170 individuals who reported their religion as Jewish, 180 gave at least one of their ethnic ancestries as North American Indigenous. (The census actually gave much more specific results for Indigenous respondents, breaking it down by group, e.g., Cree, Anishanabee, Saulteaux, etc.)
As far as what other ethnic origins were given by individuals who said their religion was Jewish, there was quite an extensive range, with the most common answer, after “Jewish”, being Russian, followed by Polish, British, Israeli, and Ukrainian.
In the next issue we’ll offer a more detailed analysis of what are the ethnic origins of all the respondents to the 2021 census who gave “Jewish” as their religion.
Does it really come as a surprise that Jewish identity would be so difficult to pin down in 2022? Following are some tables I’ve created from the data that was sent to me by statcan:
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Talented Winnipeg composer Sara Kreindler teams up with her mother Reena Kreindler to create new satirical show to premiere here in May
By BERNIE BELLAN It’s been many years since I’ve heard from Sara Kreindler. Sara’s name first appeared in The Jewish Post & News in 2002 when a satirical musical titled “A Touch of Class” was reviewed by the late Arnold Ross. That particular production featured songs from popular Broadway shows that touched upon themes such as “greed, poverty, oppression, and social unrest.”
When she appeared in that show, Ross noted, Kreindler had just recently returned to Winnipeg from England, where she had obtained a doctorate in Social Psychology from Oxford University.
While at Oxford, Kreindler found time to compose a satirical musical titled “Charity,” which played to rave reviews there, and was performed five times.
Continuing in the theme of writing satirical musicals, Sara has now teamed up with her mother, Reena, to write a new musical titled “A Perfect Man,” which is set to run at the Gargoyle Theatre from May 6-17.
According to a press release we received, “A Perfect Man” is “a satirical musical, set on a fictional analogue of ‘The Bachelor’.
“The story follows an anthropologist who arrives to research TV’s hottest reality-dating show — only to discover she’s been made a contestant, and the bachelor is her high school crush. Past and present collide against an exuberant pastiche score that uses vintage musical styles to highlight modern absurdities.”
“Praised as ‘a musician [who] can make biofuels funny’ (CBC), Sara is known for whip-smart satire on a panoply of topics. Her digital musical, ‘Larry Saves the Canadian Healthcare System, created during her former life as an academic, has garnered over 84,000 YouTube views. Naturally, she had a field day with the subject of reality dating.
“The topic just begs for campy zaniness, which I think we all need in these times — but also for a more cerebral critique of what these shows say about the culture that spawned them,” says Kreindler. And thanks to the romance context, the satire is woven into a deeper, more personal story. “It’s satire with a heart.”
Here is some more information about Sara Kreindler, taken from a 2009 article I wrote about her:
“Born in Israel, Sara’s precocious talent was nurtured by her mother, Reena, whose own particular talent is literary, not musical. According to Reena, however, Sara was singing from the time she was a baby, and she began to study piano at the age of four.
“As a young girl, Sara began writing her own songs and poems, along with the “occasional musical”, notes Reena. Yet, Sara’s rare talent put her at odds with the typical interests of other children her own age, on top of which she attended a school to which she was exposed to a fair degree of antisemtism.
“As a result, Sara says, being bullied was a common aspect of her childhood. On one occasion, when she was nine, she notes, Sara fought back against one particular bully by reciting the following little ditty:
“I write so many epigrams to you that all the people laugh.
I’m tired of writing epigrams.
I want to write your epitaph!”
“Sara went on to compose a musical titled ‘Flutesong’ while she was a student at Vincent Massey Collegiate, she says. After doing her undergraduate work at the University of Manitoba, majoring in Psychology, Sara won a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University.
“Sara eventually earned a doctorate in Social Psychology and returned to Winnipeg, where she began teaching at the University of Manitoba, but she said she didn’t enjoy the “mass production” style of teaching upwards of 300 students at a time, so she switched careers and began doing health research for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.”
All the while Sara has been continuing to compose and perform her own songs, often teaming up with her mother, as she has for “A Perfect Man.”
Showtimes and ticket information for The Perfect Man are available at:
http://www.thegargoyletheatre.com/upcoming-events/the-perfect-man
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Rabbi Kliel Rose to leave Congregation Etz Chayim for new post in Ottawa
The following email from Congregation Etz Chayim Executive Director Morissa Granove was sent to members of the congregation on Friday, April 10:
“Dear Members and Friends,
“As we know, Rabbi Kliel recently spent a weekend with Kehilllat Beth Israel where he has since been offered a position. After much thought and consideration, he has made the decision to sign a contract in Ottawa. He will continue to lead our congregation through Yom Kippur.
“This news marks a significant ending for our Etz Chayim community, and at the same time with change comes opportunity. Congregation Etz Chayim will soon embark on our own Rabbinical search with excitement as we look for our perfect candidates and explore the new possibilities that will help us to continue to shape a strong future for our synagogue and members.”
Kliel Rose took up the position of rabbi at Etz Chayim in August, 2018.
In an article announcing his appointment to the position in the June 6, 2018 issue of The Jewish Post & News, Myron Love wrote:
The congregation has been without a permanent rabbi since last summer when Rabbi Larry Lander chose to retire – after ten years here – and relocate to Toronto.
Kliel Rose is already a well-seasoned rabbi. He was ordained in 2004 by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
He previously served as spiritual leader at the West End Synagogue in Nashville and Temple Enamu-El in Miami Beach. His current posting is Beth Shalom Synagogue in Edmonton.
Following the example of his parents, Kliel Rose has been active in interfaith dialogue and human rights work for which he was honoured in 2014 with the Human Rights Hero Award by Truah: The Rabbibic Call for Human Rights.
He has also participated in the Kellogg Management Education for Jewish Leaders program at Northwestern University and was most recently chosen to be among 20 rabbis from different denominations chosen to train in the Clergy leadership Incubator – a two-year program, under the leadership of Ranni Sidney Schwarz, intended to educate younger rabbis in innovative thinking, change management and institutional transformation.
In Edmonton, Rose also served as Jewish chaplain at the University of Alberta and took the lead on a program called “Faith and Inclusion”, whose mandate was to support individuals with cognitive and physical learning challenges to feel more welcome within various faith communities.