Local News
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:
Local News
Winnipeg Beach Synagogue about to celebrate 75th anniversary
By BERNIE BELLAN (July 13) In 1950 a group of cottage owners at Winnipeg Beach took it upon themselves to relocate a one-room schoolhouse that was in the Beausejour area to Winnipeg Beach where it became the beach synagogue at the corner of Hazel and Grove.
There it stayed until 1998 when it was moved to its current location at Camp Massad.
On August 2nd members of the synagogue will be holding a 75th anniversary celebration.
As part of the celebration anyone who is a descendant or relative of any of the original members of the first executive committee (as seen in the photo here) is invited to attend the synagogue that morning.
If you are a relative please contact Abe Borzykowski at wpgbeachshule@shaw.ca or aborzykowski@shaw.ca to let Abe know you might be attending or for more information about the 75th anniversary celebration.
We will soon be publishing a story about the history of the beach synagogue, which is something I’ve been writing about for over 25 years.
Local News
Vickar Family cuts ribbon on new Tova Vickar and Family Childcare Centre
By MYRON LOVE In the words of Larry Vickar, the Shaarey Zedek’s successful Dor V’ Dor Campaign “is not only a renewal of the synagogue but truly a renewal movement of Jewish life in our community.”An integral part of that renewal movement was the creation of a daycare centre within the expanded synagogue. On Monday, June 23, Larry and Tova Vickar cut the ribbon, thereby officially opening the Tova Vickar and Family Childcare Centre in the presence of 100 of their family members, friends and other supporters of the project.
The short program preceding the morning ribbon-cutting began with a continental breakfast followed by a welcome by both Fanny Levy, Shaarey Zedek’s Board President, and Executive Director Dr. Rena Secter Elbaze. In Elbaze’s remarks, she noted that Larry and Tova wanted their family (including son Stephen and family, who flew in from Florida) and friends at the event to celebrate the opening of the Tova Vickar and Family Childcare Centre, “not because of the accolades, but because, as Larry put it, he hopes that their investment in the congregation will inspire others to do the same.”
“When Larry and I spoke about what this gift meant to him and the message he wanted people to take away,” she continued, “I couldn’t help but connect it to the teachings of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi whose book – Age-ing to Sage-ing – changes the whole way we look at the concept of ageing and basing it on our ancestral teachings.”
She explained that his concept of “Sage-ing” is based on three key ideas – Discover your meaning and purpose; accept our mortality and think about the legacy you want to leave.
“Larry spoke about these exact concepts when we met,” she said.
Elbaze also noted the presence of Shaarey Zedek’s newly-arrived senior Rabbi Carnie Rose, former Rabbi Alan Green, and area MLAs Mike Moroz and Carla Compton.
Larry Vickar expressed his great appreciation for all those in attendance. “Tova and I are deeply moved to stand here with you today for this important milestone in our community”, he said. “We are grateful to be surrounded by all of you, the people we care about, our family and friends… you who have touched our lives and played some part in our journey.”
Local News
New Israeli restaurant opens in River Heights
By BERNIE BELLAN (July 6, 2025) It’s been a long time since our community has been able to welcome the opening of a restaurant that specializes in Israeli food.
That void is now filled with the opening of The Green Falafel, at 1833 Grant (corner of Centennial – next to the Subway), which opened its doors (to huge crowds) on Monday, July 7.
(owners Ariel & Elena Maudi second and third from left)
The restaurant is the fulfillment of a dream long held by the husband and wife team of Ariel and Eden Maudi, who have been living in Winnipeg the past 11 years.
Ariel, who was born in Israel and grew up in Beer Sheva, says that he worked in telecommunications in Ramat Gan for several years. He adds though that he had always dreamed of owning his own falafel stand in Israel, but life was difficult there and he decided to come to Canada as a tourist to see whether there were any opportunities here for him, Eden and their two young children.
Eden, who was born in Russia and moved to Israel with her family in 1996, stayed behind with the two kids, who were both pre-schoolers, while Ariel tested the waters in Canada first.
Ariel says he came to Canada as a tourist in 2013. His first stop was in Toronto, where he acquired his 1st class driver’s license. At the end of 2013 he moved to Winnipeg where he began working as a truck driver. Soon he found himself employed as a successful sales person at Vickar Nissan where, he says, he once achieved the status as the top car sales person in Canada. After working at Vickar Nissan for a number of years, Ariel began working as an installer for Bell MTS.
Meanwhile, Eden began working at a Walmart, later at the Costco on Regent.
But, when the opportunity to move into a space that had been previously occupied by another restaurant, but which had closed, became available, Ariel and Eden decided to open their own Israeli restaurant in an area that hadn’t seen Israeli food served since the controversial closure of Bermax Café in 2019.
The Maudis say that they will be serving a variety of Israeli dishes – all vegetarian, and that they will be fully kosher.
The “green” in Green Falafel, by the way, Ariel Maudi explains, comes from the cilantro and parsley that are added to the chickpeas. In addition, their pitas will be coming from Israel and will be baked fresh daily.
The Green Falafel is open from 10-8 Sunday – Thursday and 10-4 on Friday. (Closed Saturday).Delivery will be available through Uber Eats and DoorDash.
Call 204-557-7837 for information.