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Does Winnipeg even have an identifiable “Jewish” community any more?
By Bernie Bellan While there is no doubt that antisemitism is the issue of paramount concern to Jewish communities around the world, there is no shortage of news stories almost anywhere you look within Jewish media that are dealing with that subject.
And, while we have a number of stories in this issue that also deal with antisemitism in its myriad of forms, especially as it manifests itself online, once again the results of the 2021 census have so much to say about Winnipeg’s Jewish community that I decided to make it the lead story in this issue – following up my initial foray into that subject in our last issue.
There is still quite a bit to explore in data that was sent to me by statcan following a request I sent to that organization requesting detailed figures about the Jewish population here. (The kinds of data that I was looking for are not readily accessible without someone at statcan responding to a request for specific information.)
In response to my emailed request statcan produced a custom table. Here is how a representative from that organization described what was sent to me: “We’ve prepared a custom table from the census that should be able to answer the questions in your email, including the age breakdown of the Jewish population in the Winnipeg CMA. The table includes the following variables: Ethnic or cultural origin, Religion, Age, and Gender and includes data for Canada, all provinces and territories, and all Census Metropolitan Areas.”
Now, as much as our Jewish Federation invests quite a few resources in what it describes as “strategic planning,” and a press release that we’ve printed on page 4 of this issue refers to the latest steps the Federation is taking toward that purpose, as I’ve asked so many times in the past: “How can you plan for the future if you don’t even know how many individuals might be considered ‘Jewish’?”
For years I’ve been arguing that the Jewish community in Winnipeg is much smaller than what the Federation suggests it is. The last time I heard someone from the Federation refer publicly to the size of our community, the figure of 16,000 was tossed out, apparently quite arbitrarily.
But, as I show in my article on page 1, if you take into account the results of the 2021 census the Jewish community cannot be larger than 14,270 at a maximum. (I explain in some detail in the page 1 article how I arrived at that figure). But, in order to understand better how the census arrived at its results, it is important to recall how the question about ethnic origins was worded on the census.
Here is how the question about ethnic origin was worded on the 2021 census:
“What were the ethnic or cultural origins of this person’s ancestors?
“An ancestor is usually more distant than a grandparent.
“For example, Canadian, Chinese, English, East Indian, French, Italian, Filipino, German, Cree, Mi’kmaq, Salish, Métis, Inuit, Scottish, Irish, Dutch, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Polish, Korean, Iranian, Vietnamese, Jamaican, Pakistani, Lebanese, Colombian, Mexican, Somali, etc.
“This question collects information on the ancestral origins of the population and provides information about the composition of Canada’s diverse population.
“Specify as many origins as applicable” (emphasis mine)
Given that individuals who may have had some Jewish ancestry in a distant past could have written “Jewish” as one of the answers for ethnic origin, do the results for ethnic origin have any substantive value when it comes to determining how many Jews there are in Winnipeg?
As I note in my article on page 1, a great many individuals who gave their ethnic origin as Jewish also said their religion was “Christian.”
Now, I can accept that a great many individuals these days might say that they have Jewish ancestry, and they do not subscribe to any religion – but we might still think of them as Jewish, yet when 1,080 individuals (out of 10,700 in total) who said that their ethnic origin, at least in part, was Jewish, but their religion is Christian, well, what are we to make of that?
Equally surprising to me was the number of individuals – 180, who responded that their religion was Jewish but their ethnic origin (at least in part) was North American Indigenous. I find that result to be quite fascinating. I’m not quite sure what to make of that result, but I’m definitely intrigued by it.
For that matter, when I studied the table sent to me by statcan I was amazed at the very wide number of answers for ethnic origin that were listed for individuals who gave their religion as Jewish. I think that many readers would be equally fascinated if I were to list all the different ethnic origins for Winnipeggers who responded that their religion was Jewish. It would take well over a page in this paper to list them all.
In the final analysis answers to the question about religion give a much clearer idea just how many Jews there are in Winnipeg. The fact that 11,170 individuals gave “Jewish “ as the answer, is probably much more significant than the number who gave “Jewish” as one of their ethnic origins. (For comparison’s sake, the number in 2001 who answered “Jewish” to the question about religion was 12,045, while in 2011 it was 10,735.) Thus, while the figure for ethnic origin has declined from 2011 to 2021, it went up in 2021 from 2011, which probably indicates a slight increase in the size of our Jewish population, but not much.
So, what does this all mean in the end? Just this: Our “Jewish community,” if one can even refer to the collection of individuals who responded either that their religion was Jewish or one of their ethnic origins was Jewish is so disparate that it can hardly be referred to as a community any longer. No doubt, if one were to go back in time to say the 1961 census, when there was clearly an identifiable “Jewish community” that almost reached 20,000 in size, that community was far more homogenous than whatever our “community,” no matter how you define it, is today.
The other significant result of the 2021 census – and one which I’m sure would not come as any great surprise to anyone at all, is the increase in the number of individuals 65+ as a percentage of the individuals who gave their ethnic origin as Jewish.
In 2001, the figure was 21%; in 2011 – 19%; and in 2021 – 23%.
Further, when you take into account the percentage of individuals who said their ethnic origin was Jewish and who were from 45-64 years of age -26%, the total percentage of individuals 45+ who gave “Jewish” as one of their ethnic origins is now 49%. We’re definitely a community that skews older, which would probably come as a jolt to the people at the Federation who think Instagram is the best way to reach members of our community.
Is the Jewish Federation taking any of this into account when it says it’s embarking on a new strategic plan? (I haven’t bothered to go back into this paper’s archives to see just how many times our Federation has embarked upon yet another “strategic” planning process, but it seems to me that there’s always another plan underway.)
One of my other goals in analyzing the statcan data that was sent to me is to correlate answers about ethnic origin and religion with where people live in Winnipeg. That will require quite a bit more analysis, but it would certainly be interesting to know where individuals who gave either their religion or ethnic origin as Jewish, live. Again, it really shouldn’t have to be the editor of the Jewish newspaper doing this kind of analysis, it should be the Federation. If you’re going to be planning for the future, as much as it’s nice to conduct “surveys” and “interviews,” as the Federation says it will do in its press release, how about beginning with an analysis of census data, which is the most logical place to start?
Turning to something else that piqued my interest recently – and is somewhat related to the notion of what constitutes a Jewish “community,” there was a fascinating article in Haaretz about recent archaeological research that would purport to show that Judaism was not even an organized religion until the time of the Hasmoneans, which was in the second century BCE. That’s especially significant, coming up as we are to Chanukah, which celebrates the Hasmonean victory over the Seleucid dynasty (which had its origins in Alexander the Great’s empire).
According to this research, the ancestors of what we now think of as the “Jews” worshipped a number of different gods for much longer than has been thought the case. Further, while it is likely that the religious laws that define Jewish practices were codified around 600 BCE, according to this new research, the likelihood is that the vast majority of people whom we’ve thought of as Jews had no idea what those laws were. The findings are based on analysis of the foods people ate (including shellfish), also coins that were minted bearing the faces of different deities, in areas that were inhabited by people in what were Jewish areas of settlement in ancient Judea and Israel.
If there is one common denominator between this new theory and what I’ve been trying to get across in this piece it is that for thousands of years Jews have intermingled with neighbouring groups, often intermarrying, adopting new customs, shedding old ones, and redefining themselves.
The fact that Winnipeg’s Jewish “community” is now so disparate as to be beyond a simple description of who is “Jewish,” therefore, should come as no surprise. So, if the Federation is going to embark on yet another planning process, how about beginning by analyzing the results of the 2021 census, which show that defining who is “Jewish” is quite the challenge?
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Emil Kalin wins Mendele Prize for Yiddish Literature 2026
דער תּּל-אָבֿיבֿער שטאָטראַט האָט די וואָך אַנאָנסירט, אַז דער ייִדישער שרײַבער עמיל קאַלין האָט זוכה געווען צו באַקומען דעם מענדעלע-פּּריז פֿאַר ייִדישער ליטעראַטור. דעם פּרײַז טיילט די שטאָט אויס יעדע פֿיר יאָר פֿאַר בעלעטריסטיק, ליטעראַטור־קריטיק אָדער אַנדערע בײַטראָגן צו דער ייִדיש־ליטעראַטור.
דעם פּריז האָט מען אים געגעבן אין שײַכות מיט זײַן לעצטן ראָמאַן, „צוזאַמענבראָך“ (2025), וועגן אַ געוועזענעם חרדישן ייִד פֿון ירושלים, וואָס פֿאַרלאָזט זײַן פֿרוי און קינד און לאָזט זיך גיין אויף אַ קאָמפּליצירטן גײַסטיקן דרך. דאָס בוך איז דערשינען אין פֿאַרלאַג ייִדיש-בראַנזשע און לייוויק-פֿאַרלאַג, מיט דער שטיצע פֿון דער „נאַציאָנאַלער אינסטאַנץ פֿאַר ייִדישער קולטור“. מע קאָן עס קויפן דורך leyvik.org.
נישט לאַנג נאָך דער פּובליקאַציע פֿונעם ראָמאַן האָט דער פֿאָרווערטס־רעצענזענט מיכאל קרוטיקאָוו געשריבן וועגן דעם בוך, און בפֿרט וועגן דעם הויפּט־פּערסאָנאַזש, הערש, אַזוי:
קאַלין שילדערט סײַ מענטשן און סײַ לאַנדשאַפֿטן אָן קײן שום באַפּוצונג. ער איז אַ מײַסטער פֿון מעטאַפֿאָרישן אימאַזש, װאָס שאַפֿט אַ געהעריקע שטימונג. די שטאָט תּל־אָבֿיבֿ איז אַ מין לעבעדיקע, פֿיבערדיקע חיה, װאָס כאַפּט הערשן פֿעסט אַרום „מיט בײדע שװיציקע הענט.“ די אױטאָבוסן זײַנען „אומגעלומפּערטע יבשה־שיפֿן, װאָס שנײַדן זיך קױם דורך אַ װעג אין דער ברױזנדיקער באַװעגונג.“ ער אַנטלױפֿט קײן ירושלים מיט אַ האָפֿענונג, „אַז ירושלים װעט מיך דערהײבן מיט זיך, אָבער דאָס פֿאַרקערטע איז געשען: ירושלים האָט מיך דערנידערט, אַראָפּגעשלעפּט מיט זיך אין בלאָטע.״
די דרײַ ריכטער פֿונעם פּריז־קאָמיטעט — דבֿ־בער קאָטלערמאַן, דניאל גלאַי און נירה תּובֿל — האָבן געזאָגט, אַז קאַלינס בוך איז נישט בלויז זייער גוט געשריבן, נאָר איז אויך איינער פֿון די גאָר ווייניק מאָדערנע ראָמאַנען אויף ייִדיש, וואָס באַהאַנדלען טעמעס פֿון דער הײַנטיקער ישׂראלדיקער געזעלשאַפֿט.
אַחוץ „צוזאַמענבראָך“ האָט קאַלין אַרויסגעגעבן צוויי אַנדערע ראָמאַנען, און הײַיאָר וועט דערשײַנען זײַן פֿערטער. די אויסטיילונג וועט פֿאָרקומען דעם 1טן דעצעמבער 2026 אין עינבֿ-זאַל, וווּ עס וועט אויך בײַזײַן דער תּל-אָבֿיבֿער בירגער-מײַסטער רון חולדאי.
עמיל קאַלין איז געבוירן געוואָרן אין 1982 אין בוקאַרעשט, און האָט מיט זײַן משפּחה עולה געווען קיין ישׂראל אין עלטער פֿון 7 יאָר.
ער האָט פֿאַרענדיקט זײַנע הויכע לימודים אינעם העברעיִשן אוניווערסיטעט אין ירושלים, און האָט לאַנגע יאָרן געאַרבעט אין הײַטעק. הײַנט לערנט ער פּסיכאָלאָגיע אינעם תּל-אָבֿיבֿער אוניווערסיטעט.
קאַלין האָט אויך איבערגעזעצט אויף ייִדיש דאָס דײַטשישע בוך „דער גאַנג פֿון די הינט“, וואָס איז אַרויס דורכן פֿאַרלאַג „אָלניאַנסקי טעקסט“. זײַנע אַנדערע ביכער זײַנען אַרויס דורך די פֿאַרלאַגן „ייִדיש בראַנזשע“ און „ה. לייוויק“.
זײַנע קירצערע ווערק קען מען לייענען אינעם דיגיטאַלישן זשורנאַל „ייִדיש בראַנזשע“, רעדאַקטירט פֿון באָריס סאַנדלער.
אין יאָר 2025 איז ער פֿאַרבעטן געוואָרן אויף אַ טור אין אַכט שטעט אין דײַטשלאַנד, כּדי פֿאָרצושטעלן דאָס בוך „צוזאַמענברוך“.
ער וווינט אין תּל־אָבֿיבֿ מיט זײַן פֿרוי שבֿע כּהן און זייערע דרײַ קינדער.
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Brussels Airlines workers threaten strike over flights to Israel, citing ethical objections
(JTA) — A Belgian union has threatened to strike against Brussels Airlines for compelling staff to work on flights to Israel, saying that anyone with “safety or conscientious objections” should be able to refuse.
ACV Puls, Belgium’s largest trade union, said on Tuesday that the company was breaking previous agreements to rely on volunteers for flights to Tel Aviv. The airline resumed flights to Tel Aviv on August 3, following a five-month pause because of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, and its first flights were operated with volunteers.
“Serious concerns exist among the staff regarding both physical safety and the mental and ethical impact of these flights,” ACV Puls spokesperson Jolinde Defieuw said in a statement. She added that making staffing mandatory was “particularly serious in the context of the ongoing war and the genocide in Gaza.”
ACV Puls, which represents aviation employees including pilots, cabin crews and ground staff in Belgium, said that a strike could follow if Brussels Airlines does not reverse its decision to resume regular staffing. The union argued that flying to Israel could not be deemed sufficiently safe, citing Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which advises against “all non-essential travel to Israel and Jerusalem.”
They also said that workers should be able to decline the flights for ethical reasons. Those who have “safety or conscientious objections must be able to refuse these flights without financial, professional, or disciplinary consequences,” said the union.
Nico Cardone, a spokesperson for Brussels Airlines, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that safety was the company’s “highest priority, whether we operate with volunteers or not.” He added that the airline was “not a political party” and made decisions about flight operations based on safety and demand.
“We do not engage in political discussions about the governments of certain destinations, and we ask our staff to uphold this same professional standard,” said Cardone.
ACV Puls said the airline was compelling crews to work because it had not found enough volunteers. Cardone disputed that, saying the airline always aimed to return to regular crew scheduling over time.
Along with threatening a strike, the union called on the Belgian government to weigh in. ACV Puls said the government should take a stance on the availability of commercial flights to Israel “despite the ongoing war, the massive civilian casualties, and the serious accusations of war crimes and human rights violations against the Palestinian population.”
Belgium has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and Israeli settlements in the West Bank since 2023. Earlier this year, Belgium banned aircraft carrying military equipment bound for Israel from crossing its airspace. The government in July approved a ban on goods imported from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
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Haiti saved Jewish lives then. Our silence is not an option now.
In the late 1930s, as Nazi Germany intensified its persecution of Jewish people and the warning signs of a far darker future became increasingly clear, Jewish families searched desperately for countries willing to receive them. While many nations turned their backs, Haiti did not. It issued life-saving visas and offered them safe haven.
Nearly 90 years later, history has come full circle.
Hundreds of thousands of Haitians who have lived and worked lawfully in the United States under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) now face forcible deportation to a country engulfed in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
This moment is deeply personal.
My mother survived a Nazi forced-labor camp, where she was forced to manufacture explosives. My father and three of his nephews survived Auschwitz. The rest of my family perished. I grew up with that history and with a profound awareness of what it means to be uprooted, persecuted and abandoned by the world.
That history shaped not only who I am, but the course of my life. I began my career as an art historian, but eventually felt called toward a different path: working alongside communities confronting abject poverty, famine, conflict and disaster.
My humanitarian career began in 1988 at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), under the mentorship of Aryeh Cooperstock, who in the spirit of Tikkun Olam – repairing the world – led JDC’s international development work with non-Jewish communities around the globe. Aryeh fundamentally influenced my professional practice by instilling the conviction that true development starts with humility and listening to local partners who know their own challenges best.
While at JDC, its archive revealed a truth I never forgot. In the late 1930s, Haiti said yes to desperate Jewish refugees while bigger nations said no. My family wasn’t among those saved, but the grace of that gesture stayed with me forever.
Thus, in 2009, after working extensively across 24 countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and South America, I founded EcoWorks International to work in Haiti, as an enduring expression of profound gratitude.
For the past 17 years, we have worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Haitian professionals and communities in a broad range of sectors. Following the devastating 2010 earthquake, and with a generous grant from JDC, we built and equipped a physical rehabilitation center at Bernard Mevs Hospital, Haiti’s leading trauma center, restoring mobility and hope to thousands of victims.
Near the capital of Port-Au-Prince, we helped local farmers establish the first regional agricultural cooperatives that they own and manage.
After the 2021 earthquake, we worked with coastal fishing communities to rebuild the underwater systems that their livelihoods depend on. Today, in Haiti’s northern region, we work with 2,500 rice farmers to adopt a sustainable farming method that uses significantly less water, relies on organic fertilizer, and can nearly double yields.
Yet, in nearly two decades of standing with Haiti through natural disasters and socio-political upheaval, I have never witnessed such a level of unchecked violence, widespread displacement, and profound despair as now.
Armed gangs control almost all of Port-au-Prince, key regions, and major transit routes. Murder, kidnapping, rape, extortion and arson are daily instruments of terror. More than 1.5 million people are displaced and 5.7 million face severe hunger. Hospitals and clinics have been attacked, burned or forced to close.
Recently, Bernard Mevs Hospital, where we worked following the earthquake, was attacked and burned. In Ganthier, where our organization worked for years, the 400 Mawozo gang drove some 20,000 people from their homes. Their victims now live homeless and in hiding and our friends, partners and colleagues are still unable to return.
Today, Haiti has not one elected official. Basic institutions and services have collapsed. Parents struggle to feed their children. Pregnant women may have nowhere to give birth safely. Simply traveling to work, school, a market, or a hospital puts people at risk of kidnapping, rape or death.
This is the abyss to which some 350,000 Haitians in the United States now face forcible deportation, a process that has already begun.
The Haitians who lost their TPS are our neighbors, coworkers, healthcare professionals, teachers, business owners, taxpayers and friends. They built dignified lives and raised families here under a legal humanitarian program created to protect people from precisely the nightmare Haiti is experiencing today.
As we approach the High Holidays, a sacred season of Cheshbon HaNefesh, a call to reflection and duty, moral fortitude and a choice of who we choose to be, we are commanded not to stand idly by while our neighbors suffer.
In the past Haiti chose compassion over indifference toward the Jewish people. Today, the moral choice is ours. Write to your senators and representatives demanding the extension of TPS for Haitian people. Ask your rabbi, synagogue, Jewish Federation, and community leaders to issue public statements and take action. Share Haiti’s historical connection to our people.
Yesterday, Haiti opened its doors to save Jewish lives. Today, Haitians desperately need our voices. May history remember that when they needed us most, we did not remain silent.
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