Ottawa Jewish Bulletin

Transcription

Plant A Tree
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To Remember
• To Congratulate
• To Honour
• To Say “I Care”
•
Moe and Martin
page 17
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Ottawa Jewish Bulletin Publishing Co. Ltd. •
bulletin
volume 74, no. 8
february 8, 2010
21 Nadolny Sachs Private, Ottawa, Ontario K2A 1R9
•
Publisher: Mitchell Bellman
•
shevat 24, 5770
Editor: Michael Regenstreif $2.00
Irving Greenberg Family Cancer Centre
launched; first patients expected in April
By Benita Baker
It was standing room only, January 22, at the grand opening of the
Irving Greenberg Family Cancer
Centre at the Queensway Carleton
Hospital. Clearly, the opening of
the facility – which will reduce
wait times and serve 1,300 cancer
patients per year from Ottawa and
the Valley – was a highly anticipated event.
Although the centre will not
begin caring for patients until
early-April, the opening ceremony
celebrated the completion of construction and the official turning
over of the centre to the Ottawa
Hospital Regional Cancer Program.
On hand were numerous local
and provincial politicians, including Premier Dalton McGuinty,
whose government committed
$82.5 million to the centre, and Ot-
tawa West-Nepean MPP Jim Watson. Standing out among the crowd
of well wishers was the jubilant
husband and wife team of Barbara
Crook and Dan Greenberg.
“It’s almost mind-boggling to
be inside this building that bears
my father’s name,” said Greenberg, whose family reportedly donated $9 million to the building.
Irving Greenberg, founder of
Minto Developments Inc., died of
cancer 19 years ago. He was the
son of impoverished immigrant
parents who amassed a fortune in
real estate and generously shared it
with the arts, education, healthcare
and the Jewish community.
Greenberg described his dad as
“a caring husband, uncle, father,
employer and human being,” who
challenged those around him to
keep growing and developing.
“He cherished both family and
community,” said Greenberg to the
roar of applause.
The successful launch of the
Irving Greenberg Family Cancer
Centre also marks a milestone for
healthcare collaboration in Ontario.
“We can move mountains in
health care through simple collaboration and partnerships,” said Dr.
Jack Kitts, president and CEO of
the Ottawa Hospital, about the
unique partnership of the
Queensway Carleton Hospital and
the Ottawa Hospital.
“Transparency, openness, the
willing to adapt, the willingness to
cooperate – that’s why it was successful,” said Queensway Carleton
Hospital President and CEO Tom
Schonberg in his remarks. “Can
you believe that our collective
dream is today a reality?”
Dan Greenberg (left) is congratulated by Premier Dalton McGuinty
at the grand opening of the Irving Greenberg Family Cancer Centre.
(Photo: Trevor Lush)
(Continued on page 2)
Ian Sherman named Business Person of the Year
By Benita Baker
In recognition of his outstanding professional and volunteer accomplishments, the Ottawa
Chamber of Commerce named tax
accountant Ian Sherman its 2009
Business Person of the Year.
“I am delighted about this
award,” said Sherman. “I was especially proud as a member of the
accounting profession to be recognized by the Chamber of Commerce in this manner.”
The Ottawa Business Achievement Awards annually singles out
individuals who display the remarkable combination of business
acumen along with leadership in
the workplace and the community.
For the 51-year-old Sherman, a
tax partner at Ernst & Young since
1996, the award joins an impressive list of accolades that honour
his 25-year career as a chartered
accountant and community volunteer.
This past June, Sherman was a
finalist for Ernst & Young’s Chairman’s Values Award, a peer-voted
tribute that recognizes employees
who make a positive difference
the workplace. In September
2006, he was elected a Fellow of
the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, the highest designation the institute confers.
But the Business Person of the
Year Award is not only about business accomplishments. Community leadership is an integral criterion of the award and it is here that
Sherman also shines. From coaching hockey to fundraising to event
organizing, he has been an active
volunteer for many years.
He served on the executive
committee of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa and sat on several
committees. For the past nine
years, Sherman has been a member of the executive committee of
the Jewish Community Centers of
North America Association.
Sherman is the driving force
behind several fundraising events
that have become a vital source of
income for several local charities.
He originated the Ottawa Celebrity Sports Dinner, the Soloway
(Continued on page 2)
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Page 2 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 8, 2010
Greenberg cancer care centre ‘a great legacy’
(Continued from page 1)
Both executives highlighted the
unwavering support of the Ontario
government in the project and paid
tribute to Dr. Hartley Stern, now
executive director of the Jewish
General Hospital in Montreal,
who, as CEO of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre, had the idea
to create a west end facility.
“He truly has been a leader in
this region and the province for advancing cancer care,” said Schonberg. “It was his initial vision that
brought this all to bear.”
The Irving Greenberg Family
Cancer Centre will specialize in
breast, prostate and colorectal cancers by providing diagnosis, treatment, surgery and ambulatory support. It will house three radiation
treatment machines, two clinics
and 33 chemotherapy spaces.
With the state-of-the-art facility,
Ottawans, who once experienced
the worst cancer wait times in the
province, will now have access to
faster and improved care. Considering that aging increases the risk
and occurrence of cancer, and that
Ottawa is the fastest-aging region
of the province, the centre will be
seeing a growing number of patients.
Given the alarming cancer statistics – every week 3,300 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer; 40
per cent of females and 45 per cent
of males will contract cancer in
their lifetime – the Irving Greenberg Family Cancer Centre could
not have come at a better time.
“My father would have been
very proud of this partnership that
can bring cancer care much closer
to many residents,” said Greenberg.
“One of the very best things that
happened to Ottawa happened in
1913,” said McGuinty. “That’s
when Dan’s grandparents emigrated from Russia to Ottawa. They
came with nothing and this family
keeps giving us so very much.
“What a great legacy this centre
is and it is an honour to have it
carry the name of a wonderful man
devoted to his family.”
(Left to right) MPP Jim Watson, Queensway Carleton Hospital President and CEO Tom Schonberg, Dan
Greenberg and Premier Dalton McGuinty hold the “key” to the Irving Greenberg Family Cancer Centre.
(Photo: Trevor Lush)
Giving back to the community comes naturally
(Continued from page 1)
Jewish Community Centre’s
Annual Golf Tournament
and Send-a-Child-to-Camp
Campaign, as well as the
Ottawa Senators Founda-
tion Annual Gala.
These initiatives, which
helped to raise almost $3
million, are what brought
Sherman to the attention of
Bob Fisher, private banking
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manager at Scotiabank, who
nominated Sherman for the
Business Person of the Year
award.
“I was confident that he
would be an excellent candidate,” said Fisher, who is
responsible for nominating
the past four award winners.
“I was right. He is an outstanding guy.”
Giving back to the community comes naturally to
Sherman, an Ottawa native,
who grew up very close to
his mother Bea’s family, the
Shinders. His Uncle Sol, a
former president of the
Vaad Ha’Ir, was his role
model. What Sherman saw
in Sol was a successful
lawyer, a family man and a
community leader. Combine that with lively discussions about community at
Shabbat dinners hosted by
his grandparents Harry and
Sylvia Shinder, and it is
easy to understand why, at a
young age, Sherman decided he wanted to be just like
his uncle.
Sherman also cites Ottawa lawyer Ron Prehogan,
a former Federation chair,
as a mentor. It was Prehogan who encouraged
Sherman to get involved in
the Jewish Community
Centre (JCC). That began
an 11-year association with
the JCC that culminated in
Sherman serving as its
chair.
Working for the Jewish
community earned Sherman
an early hat trick of volunteer awards – the Young
Leadership Award (1999)
from the United Jewish
Communities of North
America; the Freiman Fam-
ily Young Leadership
Award (1999) from the Jewish Federation of Ottawa
and the Ben Karp Volunteer
Service Award (2002/2003)
from the Soloway JCC.
Sherman is quick to
point out that he could not
commit to his extensive volunteer work without the
support of his employer and
his family. He and wife
Randi (née Goldstein) met
at Camp B’nai Brith and
will be celebrating their
25th anniversary in June.
They have three sons –
Jonathan, 20, and Matthew,
18, both attend McGill University, while Adam, 16, is
in Grade 10 at Sir Robert
Borden High School.
“Randi is a huge part of
the modest success I have
achieved,” he said. “My
boys have also been encouraging. I try to use my community work as a role
model. I stress to my boys
to give back to the community.”
His family was by his
side at the awards gala
when his name was announced as Business Person
of the Year.
“Never in my wildest
dreams did I think I would
win,” said Sherman. “I was
incredibly humbled. It was
exhilarating. I was so
proud.”
Ottawans will not soon
forget Sherman’s accomplishment. On June 3, in an
official ceremony at the
World Exchange Plaza, a
step engraved with his name
will be unveiled announcing
to all who pass that Ian
Sherman was Ottawa’s
2009 Business Person of the
Year.
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Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 8, 2010 – Page 3
Questioning of Women of the Wall leader sparks protests
By Ben Harris
JERUSALEM (JTA) –
The Conservative synagogue
movement has launched a
campaign to protest the recent questioning and possible
prosecution of a leader of the
group Women of the Wall.
For more than two
decades, the group has been
organizing regular women’s
prayer services at the Western Wall and pressing for expanded worship rights at Judaism’s holiest pilgrimage
site. Last month its chair,
Anat Hoffman, was summoned to a Jerusalem police
station for questioning.
According to Hoffman,
also director of the Reform
movement’s Israel Religious
Action Center and a former
member of the Jerusalem
City Council, she was questioned by police about her
role in Women of the Wall,
fingerprinted and told that
her case was being referred
to the attorney general for
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prosecution.
“I think it was a meeting
of intimidation,” Hoffman
told JTA.
Micky Rosenfeld, a
spokesman for the Israel Police, confirmed the basics of
Hoffman’s account. But
Shmulik Ben-Ruby, a spokesman for the Jerusalem police,
denied that the matter has
been referred to prosecutors.
He said that Hoffman and her
group are suspected of having
acted to “hurt the feelings” of
worshippers at the wall.
“We are still checking and
will see what will be the end
in the investigation,” BenRuby added.
Hoffman’s questioning
threatens to further exacerbate tensions between North
American Jewish groups and
more conservative elements
within the Israel’s Orthodoxcontrolled religious establishment.
She told JTA that she
hopes to “wake the American
Jewish giant” in an effort to
prevent the attorney general
from moving ahead with
prosecution. If convicted,
Hoffman said, she faces
prison time or a fine of about
$3,000.
The United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism, the
movement’s congregational
Conservative Jewish women wear prayer shawls and carry Torah scrolls at the Western Wall on Dec. 18, 2009. The right of women to pray aloud at the holy site is one of
several issues exacerbating tensions between Israeli Orthodox authorities and non(Photo: Yossi Zamir/Flash 90/ JTA)
Orthodox Jews in the Diaspora.
arm, issued a statement declaring that Hoffman’s arrest
and fingerprinting, “opens a
new and ominous chapter in
intra-Jewish relations in Israel.”
The group urged members
to send a letter to Israel’s ambassadors in Washington and
Ottawa, Michael Oren and
Miriam Ziv, to inform them of
“the gravity of this issue” and
press their government to
“take immediate steps to end
the harassment of women
seeking to pray with dignity
at the Western Wall, Judaism’s most holy place.”
Hoffman’s questioning
comes nearly two months
after another Women of the
Wall member, Nofrat Frenkel,
was arrested after she and
other women began reading
from a Torah scroll in the
course of the group’s regular
prayer session at the wall,
timed to coincide with the
start of the new Hebrew
month.
Frenkel and Hoffman
were informed that they were
in violation of an Israeli
Supreme Court ruling that,
citing concerns about public
safety, denied women the
right to read from the Torah
in the regular women’s section of the wall. The ruling
resulted in the designation of
a nearby site, known as
Robinson’s Arch, as the place
for women to pray as a group
with a Torah scroll.
Hoffman scoffs at the solution, calling it “separate, but
it’s not equal.” A Torah scroll
the group uses was damaged
by rain at the site, which lacks
a covered space like the
men’s section at the wall.
“It is not a place of
prayer,” she said. “It is a place
where we are praying, and a
tour guide is walking with a
tour, showing them the different archaeological artifacts.
And most important, we can’t
read Torah there in safety because it rains on our head.”
Rabbi Avi Shafran, a
spokesman for the fervently
Orthodox group Agudath Israel of America, defended the
limitations on women’s
prayer groups.
“People of all faiths, after
all, are welcome at the Kotel
– as they should be,” he wrote
in an opinion essay distributed via e-mail. “Out of respect, though, for the Jewish
historical and spiritual connection to the place, public
services there should respect
a single standard of decorum.
And that standard should be,
as it has been, millennia-old
Jewish religious tradition.
Promoting a “particular
view of feminism,” Shafran
added, “should not compel
them to act in ways that they
know will offend others, to
seek to turn a holy place into
a political arena.”
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T.C. James in the 1940s holding his grandson John MacCraken.
Ottawa builder opened
his home to Jewish
refugees in 1940-41
By Joel Yan
In 1940, T.C. (Thomas Charles) James
knew of the terrible times being experienced
by the Jews of Poland and other European
countries. He heard that some Jews had managed to escape from Europe and were granted
refuge in Canada. When he found out that
some of the refugees would be coming to Ottawa, he made a personal decision to offer
refuge to these families in need.
James went down to Union Station on several occasions when he knew the train from
Halifax was arriving and would watch out for
Jewish immigrants getting off. Usually, they
would be met by someone from the Ottawa
Jewish community who would welcome them
and help them get settled. However, sometimes he noticed there were families who
were not met by anyone and he stepped forward.
“It was on at least three, possibly more
occasions, when families came home with
him,” said his grandson, John MacCraken.
“He had a large house on Monkland Avenue
and he and his wife had three daughters who
were still at home, as well as a maid, so they
had a capacity there to house, feed and look
after people. Some of these Jewish families spent a couple of weeks, some four or
five weeks, and at least one family stayed for
about three months.”
In offering refuge, James became a nonJewish victim of anti-Semitism. He had a
neighbour who didn’t approve of James opening his home to Jewish people and accused
James of running a boarding house. The
neighbour started a petition against what
James was doing, but was not successful in
stopping him.
In addition to the petition, James was also
shunned. People would walk out of their way
to avoid him on the sidewalk. MacCraken
said he personally observed such shunning in
the late-1940s when walking with his grandfather to shop in the Glebe.
MacCraken also remembers a funny scene
in the kitchen of the Monkland Avenue home
when he was a young boy in the 1940s. Three
of his aunts, his mother and grandmother
were all in hysterics trying to get a yarmulke
to stay on James’ bald head.
“They got it to stay on somehow. He and
my grandmother had been invited to a Bar
Mitzvah. They had a good time.”
MacCraken thinks the invitation might
have been from one of the families that stayed
at the James home.
That memory is what prompted MacCraken to ask me about the importance of wearing
a yarmulke, which then led to this story about
his grandfather helping Jewish families.
Who was T.C. James and what moved him
to be so generous?
We think that James was a good man and
a man of action. He was a prominent contractor in Ottawa who built several churches,
including Southminster United Church, as
well as the Sunnyside Fire Station, the Mayfair Theatre and several apartment buildings
along Bank Street near his home in the
Glebe.
Unfortunately, MacCraken and James’
other living relatives do not know the names
of any of the families who were housed with
the James family in 1940-41. My hope is that
through this article, one or more readers will
step forward and share any information they
might have. It would be meaningful for the
descendants of T.C. James to meet any members of the families that took refuge at 25
Monkland Avenue.
I am grateful to John MacCraken for sharing this wonderful family story of human
generosity.
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We need to develop a new model for supplementary schools
For the past 18 months, the Jewish
Federation of Ottawa has been investing
time, money and expertise into our community day schools, the institutions that were
Hillel Academy and Yitzhak Rabin High
School.
Today, they are merged into one Ottawa
Jewish Community Day School, and continue their efforts to develop a centre of excellence. I have received only positive comments from parents who have told me they
love the school. Yasher Koach to Lisa
Miller and Sabina Wasserlauf, chairs of the
board, and to Donna Palmer-Dodds and her
team of administrators, teachers, volunteers
and parents.
The original plan for educational revitalization and system-wide change for the better in Ottawa’s Jewish schools came out of
the 2007 Symposium where it was resolved
that Jewish education should be a main priority for the Federation. Although we started with our community day schools, it was
always our intention to address challenges
in our Jewish supplementary schools as
well.
The challenges we face in supplementary
school Jewish education include a shrinking
demographic of students for a large number
and variety of supplemental schools and
Federation
Report
Donna
Dolansky
Chair
other after-school activities. As a result,
there is a need for increased funding, when,
in fact, there are fewer students. From an
allocations point of view, we are spending a
disproportionate amount of Federation
money on too many schools.
There is substantial value in an afternoon
school system. For many, it represents the
only academic option to learn Hebrew,
about Israel, Jewish rituals, history and culture, and in providing a connection to the
Jewish community.
Our schools strive to fulfil a tall order in
being able to prepare a child for Bar or Bat
Mitzvah and beyond, and impart a positive
Jewish identity and the knowledge and Jewish values and ethics that will serve him or
her well in adulthood. And all this in a very
short period of time, since most afternoon
schools consist of six hours per week or
less over the course of the academic year.
We need to examine the existing system
and develop a new model that helps nurture
the next generation of engaged Jews who
are unable to attend a day school, but who
still want a Jewish education and a connection to Jewish community, heritage and
culture.
The Jewish Outreach, Identity and Education (JOIE) committee of Federation,
chaired by Jacquie Levy, and staffed by our
planner, Jeff Bradshaw, have taken on the
task of informing themselves of the challenges and opportunities in supplemental
Jewish education, and have made a proposal
to the Federation Board.
Their idea has three parts: to perform an
environmental scan, by meeting with the
schools’ administrators, parents and teachers; to examine “best practices” in other
communities, especially across North America; and to prepare a report with recommendations to revitalize Jewish education in Ottawa, followed by an implementation plan.
The JOIE committee has already met
with the six afternoon schools – Ottawa Talmud Torah Afternoon School, Ottawa Modern Jewish School, Star of David Hebrew
School, Temple Israel Religious School,
Chabad Hebrew School and Torah High
Ottawa – and will follow with a survey of
all users of the schools. The purpose is to
gather information from the schools to
begin to build a picture of the current state
of Jewish supplemental education in Ottawa. They also plan to hold town hall
meetings with the community to gather information and feedback.
I will keep you posted on developments.
As always, if you would like to volunteer,
or give us your input, I can be reached at
jfochair@rogers.com.
Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund
One of the challenges of writing this column is that, by the time it is in print, some
topics will be old news.
As of this writing, the earthquake in
Haiti is very much in the news. Almost immediately after the disaster, the Jewish Federation mobilized and began soliciting donations on our website, earmarked for relief
for the people of Haiti. This is truly an example of Tikkun Olam.
The difficult situation for Haiti and its
people will continue for some time. We can
all help, even with just a small donation.
Visit jewishottawa.com or call 613-7984696, ext. 232, to make a donation to the
Federation’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.
Thank you.
The message of the first Bar Mitzvah ever
I’m writing as the festivities celebrating
my son’s Bar Mitzvah wind down. A Bar
Mitzvah is when a Jewish boy enters the
camp of Israel, accepting the yoke of
Torah and mitzvot, thereby assuming his
responsibility as a Jewish adult. During the
celebrations, I pondered on the message
that we ought to share to the next generation at this important juncture.
I turned to the Book of Genesis to read
about the first Bar Mitzvah ever, the Bar
Mitzvah that Abraham made for his son,
Isaac. “The child grew and was weaned.
Abraham made a great feast ...” The
Midrash explains that this great feast was
made in honour of Isaac’s Bar Mitzvah and
that Abraham invited all the great personalities of the time, including a giant named
‘Og.’
The Midrash continues: “They said to
Og, ‘Did you not say that Abraham was a
sterile mule and is incapable of having a
child?’ Og replied, ‘What’s his present? A
small and lowly being. I could lift my finger against him and crush him.’ To which
God intervened and said to Og: ‘Why are
you making fun of this gift? By your life,
you will live to see thousands and tens of
thousands of his descendants, and you will
eventually fall by his hand,’ as it states,
‘And God said to Moshe, do not fear him,
for I have delivered him into your hand.’”
Indeed, Og lived a long time and witnessed the growth and development of the
Jewish people and eventually died through
the hands of Moses.
From the
pulpit
Rabbi
Menachem Blum
OTC Chabad
My beloved teacher, the Lubavitcher
Rebbe, wrote some notes for a Bar Mitzvah he was attending in 1942. In it, he explains that, when Og claimed Abraham
could not rear a child, he was not so much
referring to the physical ability to rear children as to his ability to rear a generation
that would continue in his spiritual path.
While attending Isaac’s Bar Mitzvah, Og
was now challenged, for he had always
maintained that Abraham would never be
able to rear children in his faith. It was
clear to all now that Abraham had succeeded in rearing Isaac to follow in his spiritual
path.
Og was known for worshipping the
strength of the body while totally ignoring
the importance of spirituality. He was a
strong man. The Torah states that his bed
was made of iron. He believed that physical strength, without any regard for spirituality, should be the only priority when educating youth.
When challenged at Isaac’s Bar Mitzvah, Og responds: “This is a present,” that
is to say, the education of Isaac until this
age had been a present from Above. He ar-
gued that there is no way that Isaac would
continue growing in this path and that he
would never be established – for with his
little finger, he could destroy him.
So God intervenes and responds, “Are
you making fun of this present? You will
fall into the hands of the thousands of his
children.” Physical strength and health can
only stand on the firm foundation of faith
and spirituality.
This proved to be the case when, eventually, Og fell into the hands of the descendants of Isaac for their physical strength
rested on solid spiritual foundations. Physical strength and victory in battle are dependent on the health of the soul and that
has been the secret of Jewish survival.
In our challenging times, when disaffiliation is rampant and assimilation on the
rise, what better message can we pass on
to the next generation? The message of
Abraham to all of us, his children, that a
firm foundation and commitment to spiritual health should be the focus of our lives.
That is what will ensure our success and
survival as the Jewish people.
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Jewish community quick to respond to the people of Haiti
I don’t usually deal with the same
topic two issues in a row. Sometimes,
though, the topicality of the subject matter demands follow-up. Such is the case
of the crisis in Haiti following the massive earthquake that struck the impoverished Caribbean country on January 12.
Because of the Bulletin production
schedule, my January 25 column was
written on January 15, just three days
after the disaster wrought so much damage and took such a heavy human toll.
Much of the world had already begun responding to the emergency there – and
the Jewish world, in Israel and in the Diaspora, was in the vanguard of those responding to the emergency.
In that column, I noted that the Jewish
Federation of Ottawa had reacted quickly to the situation in Haiti and established a Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund so
that members of our community could
direct their donations to the emergency
relief efforts.
Ottawa’s Jewish community began responding immediately. In the first two
weeks – this column is being written on
January 28 – the fund received more
than $37,000 in donations, funds that
will be matched by the federal government and allocated to Canada’s relief efforts in Haiti.
Editor
Michael
Regenstreif
The emergency in Haiti will be ongoing for months, indeed years, to come as
that country – the poorest in the Western
Hemisphere before the earthquake – rebuilds from the devastation. Donations to
the Federation’s Haiti Earthquake Relief
Fund are still welcome and much needed. Visit jewishottawa.com or call 613798-4696, ext. 232 to make a donation.
The Federation’s fund, like similar
funds set up by other Jewish federations
in Canada, is being channelled through
United Israel Appeal Canada to IsraAid,
the highly regarded co-ordinating body
of Israeli and Jewish organizations active
in development and relief work around
the world. IsraAid has been at the forefront of relief efforts in Haiti over the
past several weeks.
Israel, as noted, was among the first
countries to respond to the dire situation
in Haiti after the earthquake. The Israeli
response included an Israel Defense
Forces (IDF) emergency field hospital
that, according to many media reports,
was the most impressive and effective
medical facility operating in Haiti in the
days after the earthquake.
Interviewed from Haiti on CNN, Dr.
Nancy Snyderman, a surgeon who is the
chief medical reporter for NBC, said that
the emergency treatment being provided
by the international aid teams was basic
and primitive.
It was only at Israel’s emergency field
hospital, she said, that advanced, sophisticated medicine was being practised,
and where the most difficult cases were
being brought.
For moving accounts of the work
done in Haiti by the Israelis, see the
story on page 10 that features an interview with Dr. Ofer Merin, the chief of
the IDF field hospital, and the journal
entries on page 16 written by Arele
Klein, a ZAKA paramedic dispatched
from Israel to Haiti.
I mentioned in my previous column
that one of the Jewish Community Campus employees feared for the life of her
sister who was in Haiti and couldn’t be
reached in the days after the earthquake.
I can report now that, days later, she
was finally able to reach her sister who
was safe.
Bulletin deadlines
I pointed out that my column for the
January 25 issue was written on January
15 and that this column was being written on January 28. Because of several
factors, our production schedule dictates
that the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin submission and ad deadlines are usually 19
days before the official publication
date.
Our official publication dates are always Mondays. The Bulletin actually
goes to print no later than noon on the
Monday a week before so that it can be
mailed in time to reach local subscribers
on or before the official date of the issue.
Often, for one reason or another, we
have to finish work on an issue by the
previous Friday – 10 days before the official publication date. We don’t have 19
days after the deadline to put out the
paper – we actually have about seven or
eight working days.
That’s why it’s important to get your
submissions and ad bookings in by deadline – before deadline is even better.
The deadline and publication schedule
for the next four issues or so can always
be found on our back page.
By the time you read this, work on
the February 22 issue of the Bulletin will
be well underway.
Hillel Academy: a good school then, a great school now
You may have noticed several advertisements and articles about Ottawa’s Jewish schools in the past couple of issues of
the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin. Now is a significant time for many parents who are
choosing where to send their children to
school. My husband and I are going
through this with our eldest who is trying
to decide where to go to high school.
It brings me back to a similar decision,
10 years ago, when we were trying to decide which elementary school to send her
to. That decision is brought to mind even
more frequently for me, as I have just
marked my first year as Hillel Academy’s
communications director. Part of my job
is to encourage parents such as my
younger self to choose Hillel.
Hillel Academy has changed incredibly
since my daughter first started. I thought
then that it was a good school. Now, I
think it is a great school, which is why I
wanted the job. It’s one I can believe in.
The changes – incredible technology, a
much stronger French program, enriched
Nicola Hamer
math – are all the sorts of things I try to
report to let people know that Hillel Academy is a vibrant, modern school. I am delighted that my younger daughter, only in
Grade 2, will get the full benefit of those
advances.
But that isn’t why I think the school is
great. I think it’s great because my eldest
daughter, who is cautious and quiet, blossomed in a school where everyone knew
her and supported her, joining clubs, becoming a lunch monitor and learning to
speak confidently in front of a crowd.
I think it is great because my son, who
was clearly struggling at the end of Grade
1, got a professional educational assess-
ment the moment we expressed concern to
the vice-principal. She made sure it happened before the school year’s end, and
promised us that the recommendations
would be implemented.
We worried that he wouldn’t be able to
handle the Judaic studies and Hebrew on
top of the Ontario curriculum, but he loved
the school so much we wanted him to stay.
He now gets daily support in Hebrew, uses
an AlphaSmart Neo supplied by the school
and is in enriched math. Despite his ADD
and learning disability, he is now a confident and thriving Grade 5 student.
I asked him if he minded my mentioning his problems publicly.
“No,” he said. “Tell them if your kid
has learning problems, the teachers totally
understand and do everything they can to
help you figure them out.”
I think it is a great school because I’ve
seen students knocking on the office door
of the principal or head of school asking
for help with another student, or with
some other concern, and seen them imme-
diately welcomed in as though they were
the most important thing in the world –
which they are.
I think it is great because I have students who pop into my office and ask me
to help them find their shoes, or open their
juice box, or help with a Band-Aid. They
have full confidence that, even though it
isn’t my job, I’ll help them. And I have
full confidence that, if the principal finds
me poking through lockers until I find the
shoes, she’ll understand that, even though
it isn’t exactly my job, it still is my job.
Ten years ago, when we made the
choice to give Hillel Academy a try, we
paid about $6,000 for one child to attend.
Now, we have three children at the school
and pay almost $10,000 each. I am not
saying it isn’t difficult. But it has been
worth it because Hillel really is a family. I
saw it as a parent and now I see it as a
staff member. At Hillel, they really love
their kids, and that is worth every penny.
Alan Echenberg will return in the
March 8 edtion of the Bulletin..
Letters welcome
Letters to the Editor are welcome if they are brief, signed, timely and of interest
to our readership. The Bulletin reserves the right to refuse, edit or condense letters.
The Mailbag column will be published as space permits.
Send your letters to Michael Regenstreif, Ottawa Jewish Bulletin, 21 Nadolny Sachs Private,
Ottawa, Ontario K2A 1R9; or by e-mail to bulletin@ottawajewishbulletin.com.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Administrative and Accounting Assistant
Hillel Lodge is a nationally accredited long-term care home whose
mission is to meet the needs of seniors who can no longer live
independently. The Long-Term Care Foundation is the fundraising arm
of the Lodge. The Administrative and Accounting Assistant will be
responsible for administering the Hillel Lodge Long-Term Care
Foundation Office as well as providing financial and bookkeeping
support to the Hillel Lodge Manager of Finance.
The successful candidate will have a post-secondary certificate in
accounting or bookkeeping or the equivalent, experience providing
financial and bookkeeping support, and be familiar with a variety of
software programs, including word processing, Excel and accounting
software. Good interpersonal skills, sound judgment, discretion, tact
and the ability to multi-task are essential. Experience working in health
care or a not-for-profit environment would be an asset.
To apply, please forward your résumé to Hillel Lodge, 10 Nadolny
Sachs Private, Ottawa, K2A 2G7 (attention Human Resources
Committee) or by e-mail to jnm@ggfl.ca by Friday, 26 February 2010.
A complete position description or further information may be obtained by e-mailing jnm@ggfl.ca.
Friendship Circle receives
gift from YRHS students
By Diane Koven
for Friendship Circle
Students at Yitzhak Rabin
High School (YRHS) have
been busy raising money for
a variety of good causes. The
students are organized into a
system of four houses, each
of which is teamed with a
particular group or charity.
Throughout the school year,
the students raise funds on
behalf of their house’s partners.
On December 4, as a
Mitzvah Day activity, the
YRHS students organized a
volleyball-a-thon with the
Grade 7 and 8 students of
Hillel Academy.
“The students all gathered
at the SJCC and played volleyball. They were encouraged to get involved in the
spirit-side of the game,” said
YRHS Principal Cynthia
Bates.
They collected pledges totalling well over $2,000 that
day.
Kfir House, one of
YRHS’s four houses, supports the Friendship Circle,
which received one-quarter
of the funds raised at the volleyball-a-thon. Team captain
Shirley Argoetti, a Grade 11
student at YRHS, proudly
presented the cheque for
$588 to Devora Caytak, director of Friendship Circle.
“I did enjoy this event because we got to compete
against each other in a volleyball-a-thon and raise
Friendship Circle director Devora Caytak (left) receives
donation from YRHS student Shirley Argoetti, captain
of Kfir House.
money at the same time to
help children with special
needs,” said Argoetti. “Since
I am the captain of Kfir, I
worked hard on getting my
house members to get their
pledges in as soon as they
can.”
Although
Friendship
Circle has been Kfir
House’s designated charity
since September, Argoetti
herself has been a volunteer
with Friendship Circle for
about a year.
The Friendship Circle, a
program of the Jewish Youth
Library, matches volunteers
with special needs children
for social and recreational
outings.
The children benefit, and
so do the families who are
given an often much-needed
break and some time to focus
on the other family members.
The Ottawa Friendship
Circle has enriched the lives
of many Jewish children with
special needs. Sigal Baray,
co-ordinator of Friendship
Circle, has made it possible
for the volunteers and their
partners to enjoy a wide variety of activities together,
geared specifically to the
needs and capabilities of
each child.
Many of the young volunteers continue participating because they so enjoy
spending this special time
together.
“Kfir House is very proud
of the efforts of all its members to raise such a significant amount of money for
such a worthy cause,” said
Bates.
Call 613-729-7712 for
further information about the
Friendship Circle.
Na’amat Passover wine sale benefits
women and children in Israel
By Annette Paquin
Na’amat Canada Ottawa
Orders are now being taken for the Aviva
Chapter of Na’amat Canada Ottawa’s annual
kosher wine sale benefitting women and children in Israel.
A large selection of red, white and rosé
wines of varying sweetness – from such
countries as Israel, Australia and Chile – to
delight guests at any seder table is available.
There is also a variety of Kosher for Passover
liqueurs.
Na’amat Canada Ottawa supports a vast
network of social and educational services in
Israel including Na’amat’s 250 daycare centres serving more than 18,000 youngsters and
technical and agricultural high schools that
meet the needs of teens challenged by the
public school system. Women’s shelters, including the world renowned Na’amat Glickman Center in Tel Aviv, provide shelter and
counselling to women in crisis.
Locally, Na’amat participates in the School
Supplies for Kids project, which supplies
packages to children living with their mothers
in domestic violence shelters in Canada.
By supporting the Aviva Passover Wine
Sale, customers receive an excellent selection
of Kosher L’Pesach beverages at fair prices
and also support families and children in Israel. Orders must be placed by February 24.
Contact Deana Schildkraut at 613-7269595 or naamat.ottawa@sympatico.ca to receive a list of available products..
Advertorial
JEWISH
NATIONAL
FUND
More than trees
613.798.2411
Brian Pearl
president
The 2010 Manitoba-Israel Water Experts Symposium,
Water Protection and Conservation in the Face
of Crisis, hosted in Jerusalem by KKL-JNF
An extraordinary example of collaboration between
Canada and KKL-JNF took place this January in Jerusalem.
The Second Manitoba-Israel Water Symposium opened on
Sunday, January 10 with distinguished guests from Canada
and Israel meeting to discuss “Water Protection and
Conservation in the Face of Crisis.”
Among the Canadians were Christine Melnick, Manitoba’s
minister of water stewardship; Vic Toews, president of the
Treasury Board of Canada; and Jon Allen, Canada’s
ambassador to Israel. Among the Israelis were Uzi Landau,
Israel’s minister of national infrastructures; and Professor Uri
Shani, director-general of the Israel Water Authority. The
symposium was hosted by Efi Stenzler, KKL-JNF world
chairman; Avraham Duvdevani, KKL-JNF co-chairman; and
Yael Shaltiel, KKL-JNF director-general.
Vic Toews opened his remarks with his belief that there is
no better place than the State of Israel for a scientific
conference on the subject of water. He attributed great
importance to the expanding co-operation between Canada
and Israel regarding water and noted that Canada could learn
much from Israel about how to relate to our relative
abundance of water resources in a better way. The minister
concluded by stating that Israel and Canada have had close
and warm relations for more than 60 years and the symposium
is a fantastic opportunity to continue this partnership.
From Monday, January 11 until Thursday, January 15,
water scientists from Israel and Manitoba travelled together to
meet at professional symposium sessions in Northern Israel
and take water-related tours in the area. The sessions focussed
on opportunities for mutual research, exchange of knowledge
and promotion of joint research on water resources
management. So far, four successful projects, including the
first joint Canada-Israel Symposium in Manitoba in 2008,
have already been instituted and it is hoped that more will be
launched.
On behalf of Ottawa JNF, I want to thank our patrons,
sponsors and volunteers who took part in our annual Tu
Bi’Shevat Telethon, which took place on Sunday, January 31,
and to offer a special Todah Rabah to the Ottawa Jewish
community once again for their great response when we
called. A Yasher Koach to Steve Gordon and the Regional
Group for once again allowing us to use their premises and for
being such gracious hosts! For those who have yet to hear
from us, please respond generously when we call on behalf of
JNF in our Telethon wrap-up this month.
I also want to add a very quick reminder about our Negev
Dinner honouring Sara Vered at the Fairmont Château Laurier
on March 22. Since the Château Laurier has limited seating
capacity, and the room is filling up very quickly, please
reserve your tickets early. Tickets for this year’s Negev
Dinner are $318 per person, including a $118 tax receipt.
Sefer Bar Mitzvah Inscriptions
Jared Harrison Roth by his proud parents, Riva Levitan
and Richard Roth; and Isaac Eitan Sider-Echenberg by his
proud parents, Justine Sider and Alan Echenberg.
On a daily basis you can plant
trees for all occasions. An attractive card is sent to the recipient.
To order, call the JNF office
(613.798.2411).
Shalom Bayit Women’s Seder
dedicated to raising awareness
of domestic violence in community
By Sarah Caspi
Jewish Family Services
The Shalom Bayit Committee has
spent the last several years educating
our community on the issue of domestic abuse in the Jewish community.
Increasingly, we are taking our
message to younger women as we recognize that dating violence is a growing reality in young girls’ lives. Jewish
Women International of Canada (see
www.jwicanada.com) reports that 35
per cent of women surveyed indicated
they had experienced at least one
physical assault by a male dating
partner.
Our aim is to help women of all
ages to know the characteristics of a
healthy relationship, to recognize the
warning signs of abusive relationships
and to know where to go when they
need help.
The Shalom Bayit Women’s Seder
is one way we have used to help get
our message across.
Our first seder was held in 2005
with 16 women gathered around a dining room. Last year, we had more than
240 participants. This increase resonates with us and validates our message that domestic abuse is an important issue to our community.
An event that not only brings
women together, but also uses the
power of the Passover seder, serves as
a reminder that many women in our
own community are not free and do
not live a life of shalom bayit.
We have also seen a shift in the diversity of women who attend, includ-
ing women of various religious affiliations and income levels. Each year, an
increasingly diverse group of Jewish
women gathers to learn about how domestic abuse affects our community
and of the importance of talking about
this significant issue with the hopeful
goal of seeing an end to domestic violence one day soon.
With a goal of increasing the participation of the young people, we are
dedicating the 2010 Shalom Bayit
Seder to the young women in our community. We are now busy working on
ways to engage young women, from
those who are celebrating their Bat
Mitzvah to those who are young adults
and enrolled in post-secondary
schools. We are asking that mothers
bring their daughters, aunts bring their
nieces, mentors bring their students,
so all can learn about healthy relationships, the realities of abuse in our
community and, most importantly,
that our Jewish community is not
afraid to address this difficult topic.
And that, if they are ever in a relationship they need help with, there are
places to go for help.
Despite much greater awareness
about domestic abuse in the community over the past five years, the question – “Does abuse really happen in
the Jewish community?” – is still
asked.
Because of the work of the Shalom
Bayit Committee, and the availability
of Shalom Bayit services through Jewish Family Services (JFS), the question is asked less often. Our Ottawa
Grenfell Catering Delights
(formerly Jack Edelson Catering)
613-723-2215, 19 Grenfell Cres. #9
www.GrenfellCatering.com
Chef Cau Say Le
has for over 30 years
provided outstanding
party sandwich platters
for the Jewish Community
With loaves of:
- Sockeye Salmon
- Tuna
- Egg
- Lox & Cream Cheese
- Peanut Butter & Banana
- Meats
Great for any occasion
$35.95 per loaf
Shiva Funeral Meals
(typical menu, $29.95 per person)
- hardboiled eggs
- assort. bread rolls & bagels
- cream cheese & butter
- tuna & egg salad platters
- smoked salmon platters
- Israeli salad
- Caesar salad
- spinach mandarin salad
- fruit salad
- assort. cookies & squares
- soft drinks
- paper goods
- tea & coffee
- server optional
Also available
(please call to discuss):
Brunch Menus / Catered Dinners / Dairy Dinners / Deli Platters
and our famous egg rolls with a selection of
chicken, smoked meat & vegetable
Jewish community knows that Shalom
Bayit counselling is available and
women call. JFS workers are asked to
speak at various community events
and now, more than ever, our community is asking “What can we do to
help?” This is a big step that we, as a
community, can be proud of.
The primary goal of our Women’s
Seder is to bring awareness of the
issue of domestic violence, and that
there are women in our community
living in abusive relationships. The
message our seder promotes is echoed
in our Shalom Bayit Haggadah, which
has been specifically designed to bring
this awareness to all.
To honour our continued presence
in the community, the Shalom Bayit
Committee is working hard on a revised edition of the Haggadah. This
new and unique Haggadah is not just
for women. It is dedicated to bringing
awareness to the issue of abuse to all,
so that we all can have a part in ending
violence against women.
“It’s Not Your Fault, It’s Not Okay,
You Are Not Alone” is at the core of
all we do and is why this Shalom Bayit
Seder is so powerful.
The Fifth Annual Shalom Bayit
Seder takes place Wednesday, March
24, 6:00 pm. Visit jfsottawa.com for
more information. For tickets, call
613-722- 2225, ext. 406, or e-mail
shalombayitseder@jfsottawa.com.
If you or someone you know needs
help, call 613-722-2225, ext. 246, and
speak in confidence to a trained counsellor.
IDF field hospital in Haiti ‘overwhelmed’
By Rita Poliakov
Canadian Jewish News
Editor’s note: This interview with Dr. Ofer Merin,
chief of the IDF field hospital in Haiti, was conducted
while Merin and his team
were on the ground in Haiti.
When Dr. Ofer Merin
and his medical team arrived in Haiti, they were
met by hundreds of patients.
Some had chest injuries,
others had open wounds,
but one thing was clear.
“If they’re not treated,
they’ll die,” Merin, the
chief of the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF) field hospital
in Haiti, said in a phone interview from Port-auPrince, Haiti during the IDF
mission there.
Merin’s team left Israel
on January 15 and returned
from Haiti on January 28.
Merin was in charge of
some 120 IDF nurses,
physicians and medics, one
of the largest medical units
dispatched to Haiti following the January 12 earthquake. His unit arrived in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, three days after the
country was hit by the
strongest earthquake it has
experienced in 200 years.
Merin’s medical team
was joined by about 120
rescue workers on the 14hour flight to Haiti. They
landed in Port-au-Prince on
the afternoon of January 15,
but had to wait for a separate cargo plane packed
with medical equipment to
arrive before setting up the
field hospital.
“The cargo plane landed
at four in the morning, [and]
we started to build up the
hospital. By 10 am [January
16], we received the first
patients,” Merin said.
While flying to Haiti,
Merin and his team talked
logistics. Upon arrival, they
were shocked.
“There were hundreds
Mazal Tov!
Engaged!
Debbie Goldstein and Mark Goldstein are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Ilana Ann
Goldstein, to Jacen Maxwell Goldfarb, son of David and
Heather Goldfarb. A May 22, 2011 wedding is planned.
You
Have
?
Heard
An earthquake survivor in Port-au-Prince who gave birth to a son at the Israeli field
hospital on January 17 decided to name him ‘Israel’ as a token of appreciation for the
country that helped her.
(IDF photo)
and hundreds of wounded
people on the streets,” he
said, adding that patients
began to line up before the
hospital had been set up.
Merin’s days started
early, at about 5 am, and although they were supposed
to end at 12 am, it was hard
to turn down a patient.
“I’m just up all the time;
patients come in the day,
evening, night. They just
keep on coming,” Merin
said. “We are overwhelmed
with patients.”
The field hospital often
saw more than 100 people
every day and performed
around 50 surgeries per day.
Most patients had to wait up
to 10 hours for what could
be life-saving treatment.
Merin, a surgeon at
Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem who
worked in a Toronto hospital for several years, said
many of the injuries were
orthopedic, such as fractures and open wounds.
Those with more serious injuries probably died before
they could be treated, he
said.
When Merin landed in
Haiti, he found unique challenges.
“The hospital ... is a reserve hospital, which is
meant for ... soldiers. It
doesn’t have any people
treating any children, illnesses, women giving
birth,” he said, adding that
experts and equipment were
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brought in for the mission.
Apart from healing
wounds and binding broken
bones, the hospital helped
about 10 women give birth in
the first few days. Merin was
also seeing patients as a result of local violence. In the
first week, the hospital treated about seven or eight people with gunshot wounds.
During their time in Haiti,
the hospital, which has an
emergency room, a neonatal
unit for newborns, X-ray machines and blood-test labs,
began seeing some repeat patients, but didn’t have the resources to treat many in-patients, Merin said.
“We’re working in a very
different environment than
any of us are used to. We’re
getting patients that we
would keep for days [in regular hospitals]. We’re doing
our best to discharge them,”
he said.
“We cannot afford to
keep too many in-patients.
We can manage 40. We’re
getting 50 or 60. We can not
go beyond these numbers.”
After the first three or
four days, the field hospital
started to run out of equipment.
“No one thought we’d
[see] those numbers [of patients],” Merin said, adding
that staff was sent to the
city’s abandoned hospitals
to gather more supplies.
“There was no point of
time since we came here
that we didn’t ... treat people because of a shortage of
equipment,” he said.
After the initial earthquake, there were several
aftershocks, the largest of
which was a 6.1 magnitude
quake that hit about 56
kilometres from Port-auPrince. While Merin’s field
hospital wasn’t affected, he
did see several patients who
were.
At the time of the interview, Merin didn’t yet know
how much longer his unit
would be in Haiti, but
he knew why they were
there.
“To help people in
need,” he said.
Congregation Beit Tikvah of Ottawa
RAFFLE WINNERS
1. Eva Eichler: two airline tickets to Israel
2. Marcia Cantor: dinner for 10
courtesy Creative Kosher Catering
3. David Slipacoff: original oil painting
by Israeli artist Yehuda Rodan
4. Joanna and Ira Abrams: weekend
in a 2-bedroom condo at Mont Tremblant
5. Barbara and Alan Goldrosen:
one night at the Westin Hotel
6. Shalom Katz: two tickets
to a Sens hockey game
7. Anna Rabinovitch: two pairs of tickets
to the NAC English Theatre
8. Anna Lee Chiprout: a Sonicare toothbrush
9. Alana Azaria: gift certificate
to the Electrical and Plumbing Store
Historic conference brings together Jewish educators
from community schools and all denominations
By Rabbi Howard Finkelstein
Yitzhak Rabin High School
For the first time in North
American Jewish history, the educational arms of the day school
movement representing the community school network, and the
modern Orthodox, Conservative
and Reform movements, convened
from January 17 to 19 in Teaneck,
New Jersey to confront educational issues and problems at the North
American Jewish Day School
Leadership Conference.
Meeting together in friendship,
camaraderie and professional concern to demonstrate conclusively
and convincingly that the future of
Jewish life in North America lies in
the hands of their representative
schools were RAVSAK, the Jewish
Community Day School Network;
the Institute for University-School
Partnership of Yeshiva University;
the Solomon Schechter Day
School Movement; the Progressive
Association of Reform Day
Schools. The conference was sponsored by the Kohelet Foundation,
PEJE (Partnership for Excellence
in Jewish Education) and the
Covenant Foundation.
In sum, one reform educator
from Miami indicated to me that
all Jewish schools are engaged in
holy work emboldened and humbled at the same time with the task
of ensuring our children’s Jewish
future.
It should be stated emphatically
that theological differences among
the various movements in Jewish
denominational life were not on
the agenda of this conference, but
the exploration of ways to improve
the transmission of Jewish values
and the concept of kedusha (holiness) was. The barriers of theological discord among the movements
was set aside by the commonality
of approaches suggested and recommended to solve issues regarding student recruitment, student retention, student ennui in Judaic
studies, and the need to revitalize
Jewish educational programs to
make them relevant and meaning-
ful to students in order to encourage and foster true Jewish continuity in the next and subsequent generations.
Various sessions at the conference focussed on curriculum design and execution, the use of technology in teaching Judaic texts, the
role of prayer in our schools, administrative development, as well
as pluralism. The conference was
attended by educators from all
walks of life who discussed with
each other various approaches they
have taken to deliver educational
product to their students.
Top speakers from across the
denominational spectrum addressed issues of importance to
teachers, parents, students and administrators. But, most importantly, it was the interface and interaction of educators from different
walks of life and observance that
was most impressive.
The future of North American
Jewry bodes well with the establishment of such conferences in
which Klal Yisrael is enhanced by
Jewish educators working together
in common purpose to ensure that
our Jewish students will pass the
transmission of the values of our
faith to future generations.
As the Psalmist writes, “How
good and pleasant it is for our
brothers and sisters to sit together.”
(Psalms 137)
Shalom TV now available on demand from Rogers
Shalom TV, North America’s first Jewish
cable television network, is now available to
Rogers digital cable subscribers in Ontario.
Programs are offered free on the multicultural on-demand service (Channel 800).
“We are thrilled to bring Shalom TV to
Canada’s largest Jewish population,” said
Rabbi Mark S. Golub, president and executive producer of Shalom TV. “Canadians can
watch Shalom TV’s unique spectrum of programming – everything from our Jewish
Film Festival, Israel and interviews with the
leading figures on the world Jewish scene to
Shabbat TV Kids and Jewish Studies.”
Shalom TV, a mainstream, non-profit
Jewish network, features a wide array of
Jewish programs including a weekly Jewish
Film Festival; exclusive presentations of
programs from the 92nd Street Y in New
York; news from and about Israel; a weekly
Israel mini-tour and other features about the
State of Israel; Jewish cooking; arts and culture; comedy and music; and meetings with
leading figures from every sector of the Jewish community who are helping to shape
modern Jewish life.
Shalom TV also features Jewish pro-
grams for children and for those interested in
Jewish learning.
Visit shalomtv.org for further information
about the Shalom TV network and for program descriptions and schedules.
Editor’s note: The Shalom TV network
should not be confused with Shalom Ottawa,
the local Jewish community program seen
monthly on Rogers Channel 22.
Analysis: Can West Bank improvements hold in 2010?
By Leslie Susser
JERUSALEM (JTA) – In
Israel and the West Bank,
2009 was the year that ended
without a bang – and people
were grateful for it.
For the first time in a
decade, Israel experienced a
year without a suicide bombing. According to official Israeli figures, five Israelis
were killed in incidents in or
with attackers originating
from the West Bank. By
comparison, 17 Israelis were
killed by West Bank terrorism in 2008 and 429 in 2002,
at the height of the second
Palestinian intifada.
Shooting attacks were
down to 22 in 2009 from 83
the previous year, while the
use of explosive devices fell
to 13 from 54. Of the 633
recorded terrorist incidents in
2009, more than 90 per cent
were considered minor – including the throwing of
stones or Molotov cocktails.
The decline is owed to
both Israeli and Palestinian
practices.
The security fence Israel
erected in the West Bank is
proving to be a highly effective barrier against terror
spilling over from the West
Bank into Israel proper.
Inside the West Bank, besides the deployment of
roadblocks and checkpoints,
Israeli troops have honed a
successful modus operandi
around Palestinian cities:
During the day, they usually
stay out of sight and, at night,
acting on real-time intelligence, they move in on
would-be terrorist cells.
More important than enhanced Israeli anti-terror capabilities, however, is the
sharp decline in Palestinian
efforts to wage terrorist attacks.
Palestinian
Authority
(PA) President Mahmoud
Abbas, in power since 2005,
has consistently opposed the
use of violence as a means of
attaining Palestinian goals.
He argues it is ineffectual
and ultimately self-defeating
when pitted against Israel’s
military superiority.
Terrorism also does not sit
well with PA Prime Minister
Salam Fayyad’s two-year
state-building project, which
requires a modicum of stability and a great deal of international support.
The West Bank also is in
the midst of a major economic boom, which a new round
of terrorist attacks would undermine.
Underpinning the newfound calm is the successful
training and deployment of
local Palestinian forces, responsible for law and order
in major West Bank cities.
Since 2006, U.S. Lt.-Gen.
Keith Dayton has been building a Western-style gendarmerie intended to provide
the security foundation for
the would-be Palestinian
state. The carefully vetted recruits are sent on intensive
four-month training courses
An architectural image of Rawabi, the first planned Palestinian town, which developers hope to start building soon.
(JTA Photo: Bayti Real Estate Investment Company)
at a base near Amman, Jordan, run by U.S., Canadian,
British and Turkish instructors, and return to the West
Bank imbued with new Western standards of policing.
The results on the streets
have been dramatic: Armed
gangs have disappeared and
crime rates are down, and
there is a new can-do social
and economic atmosphere
fueled at least partly by the
new sense of law and order.
In the context of local
Palestinian politics, the National Security Force, known
derogatively as “Dayton’s
Army” by its detractors, is
very much an arm of Abbas’
Fatah Party. As such, it is
helping to keep a lid on violence by its more radical
Hamas rivals. This also helps
explain the decline in terrorist
acts against Israelis in 2009.
The establishment of the
new security force is an integral part of Fayyad’s statebuilding plan. Not only are
Dayton’s men set to provide
the security nucleus of the
emerging Palestinian state,
their uniformed presence on
the streets is perhaps the
most overt sign for Palestinians that their state indeed
may be on the way, again reducing the incentive for
Palestinian violence.
The law and order imposed by the combined efforts of the Israel Defense
Forces and the Palestinian
security force has enabled Israel to eliminate dozens of
roadblocks and checkpoints,
allowing more freedom of
movement. This has helped
accelerate the economic
boom in the West Bank, itself
one of the strongest brakes
on Palestinian terrorism.
By any standards, the
boom in 2009 has been impressive. Economic growth
in the West Bank reached
seven per cent – far higher
than in Israel or the West.
Tourism to Bethlehem,
which doubled to one million
in 2008, was up to nearly 1.5
million in 2009. New car imports increased by 44 per
cent. Gleaming new shopping malls opened in Jenin
and Nablus. Palestinian developers are planning to
build the first modern Palestinian city, Rawabi.
Law and order, the boom
and the state building all
What’s happening at
Congregation Beth Shalom
Friday, February 12
Shabbat Dinner
(with speaker Dr. Isra Levy)
Saturday, February 27 Youth Shabbat
Purim Festival/coffee house
Battle of the guitar heros!
Sunday, February 28
Purim Celebration for Russian Seniors
Wednesday, March 17 Meet Jim Watson
(joint program at Agudath Israel)
Watch for more upcoming events
Everyone is Welcome!
For more information, please contact the synagogue
at 613-789-3501 or info@bethshalom.ca
www.bethshalom.ca
augur well for peacemaking
over violence.
“One of the things holding back progress towards a
permanent settlement is an
Israeli concern that there is
no one on the other side capable of cutting a lasting
deal,” Shlomo Brom, director of the program on IsraelPalestinian relations at the
Tel Aviv-based Institute for
National Strategic Studies,
told JTA. “But the more you
go forward on the statebuilding project, the more
you will be able to overcome
that lack of confidence.”
Yet, as encouraging as
today’s trends are, it all could
unravel very quickly.
With Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks deadlocked for
more than a year, Palestinian
leaders have begun showing
a degree of ambivalence toward terrorism. In late-December, Abbas commemorated the 50th anniversary of the
birth of female terrorist Dalal
Mughrabi, and the governor
of Ramallah named a square
in her honour. Mughrabi was
one of the leaders of a 1978
bus hijacking in which 38 Israelis, including 13 children,
were killed.
Also in late-December,
Abbas dubbed as “holy martyrs” three terrorists shot
dead by IDF forces after
killing a Jewish settler in a
roadside shooting.
Security experts estimate
that potential Palestinian militants have about 120,000
weapons hidden underground in the West Bank, all
of which could come out
should the situation deteriorate. That’s aside from the
possibility that in a crisis,
Palestinian security forces
could turn their guns on Israel; that happened when the
second intifada broke out in
2000.
Past experience shows
that economic prosperity
alone is no guarantee of
peace and quiet. Both previous Palestinian intifadas, in
1987 and 2000, erupted at a
time of economic growth.
Whether the West Bank
terrorism statistics rise or fall
in 2010 could depend on
whether or not serious peace
talks between Israel and the
Palestinians get off the
ground.
Bronwyn Steinberg
directs Purim Shpiel,
Megillah on the Roof
By Pamela Rosenberg
for Soloway JCC
Bronwyn
Steinberg
makes her Soloway Jewish
Community Centre (JCC) directorial debut with Megillah
on the Roof, the Soloway
JCC’s third annual Purim Shpiel.
In her final year of the
master of fine arts program
specializing in directing for
the theatre at the University
of Ottawa, Steinberg became
involved with the Purim Shpiel through her friend, and
past Shpiel director, Emily
Pearlman.
It’s a much different
process than anything else
she has worked on, she says,
but, “it’s been a lot of fun.”
Megillah on the Roof recounts
the
story
of
Mordechai, Queen Esther,
King Achashverosh, Vashti
and Haman through the familiar tunes of Fiddler on the
Roof, the famous Broadway
musical and blockbuster
film.
“The music is challenging
in this one. Although the
tunes are familiar, the songs
are not necessarily easy to
sing,” Steinberg says. “Aviva
Lightstone [musical accompanist] is doing a great job on
that.”
The cast is made up of
community members. While
some are veteran Shpielers,
some are taking to the stage
for the first time, so Steinberg makes the process relaxed, without professional
pressure.
“Directing a Shpiel is different,” she says. “It’s not a
classical text with strict timing. It’s more free form and
everyone brings their own
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Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.
energy to their part. We get to
play with it. Directing community theatre reminds me
what it’s all about.”
In an effort to add her own
directorial signature to the
show, Steinberg has been
working to create a unified
vision of the story in which
the people of Anatevka have
actually got together to tell
the Purim tale themselves.
The audience feels like they
are in the Russian village
with Tevya and his friends.
“I have tried to justify the
combining of the two stories
as being a bit more than just
telling a Purim story,” explains the director.
“The Purim story is not
that different from the Fiddler story and the pogroms
are not all that different from
what Haman was doing. I
wanted to use the parallels
and make it part of the storytelling.”
The cast of 13 includes
Golda Feig Steinman as
Queen Esther and John Kershman as Achashverosh.
Evan Weiner joins the cast
this year as Mordechai, Joel
Yan plays Haman and Donna
Strauss returns as Vashti.
Narrators Sylvia Kershman, Dayna Strauss and
David Michaelson will do
The cast and crew of Megillah on the Roof (front row from left to right): Bronwyn
Steinberg, Golda Feig Steinman, David Michaelson, Debi Shore, John Kershman,
Sylvia Kershman, Roslyn Brozovsky Wollock Aviva Lightstone; (back row) Tova
Lynch, Evan Wiener, Jan Jones, Dana Strauss; Marsha Kaiserman; (missing from
photo) Donna Strauss and Joel Yan.
double duty as choristers.
Chorus members are Jan
Jones, Tova Lynch, Marsha
Kaiserman and Debi Shore.
Returning for a third year is
Producer Roslyn Brozovsky
Wollock.
In addition to school and
the Purim Shpiel, Steinberg
is currently finishing an internship at the National Arts
Centre as directing intern
with Peter Hinton and has recently worked on productions of A Christmas Carol
and Mother Courage. She is
also beginning rehearsals for
the uOttawa production of
Blood Relations, a Governor
General Award-winning play
by Sharon Pollock that she
will direct.
The Purim parody comes
to life on the stage in the
Soloway JCC social hall on
Sunday, February 21, 7:00
pm. Tickets are available at
the Soloway JCC front desk
at $10 (Soloway JCC mem-
R ESPECT. T RADITION.
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MARK S. BORTS
Insurance & Financial Services
Mark S. Borts, B. Comm., CFP, CLU, CH.F.C, RHU
Telephone: 613 565 6275
Facsimile: 1 866 267 5635
Cell: 613 851 1198
mark@bortsfinancial.com
Suite 950-130 Slater Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6E2
Sinai Scholars
Hlya Zeifman, one of 20 uOttawa and Carleton students who
completed the fall semester Sinai Scholars Society course on
the Ten Commandments, receives her certificate from Rabbi
Chaim Boyarsky of the Chabad Student Network. Twenty other
students are enrolled in the Sinai Scholars program this semester.
Hillel Academy class raises money
for Haiti earthquake relief
On their own initiative, the Grade 3 class at Hillel Academy visited other classes at the school and
raised more than $500 from fellow students for Haiti earthquake relief.
(Front row from left to right): Stefanie Ages, Sammy Tanner, Jessica Huniu; (middle row) Justin Siegman, Yoav Cohen, Isaac Glassman, Oren Baray, Benjamin Dodek, Jonathan Miller; (back row) Tommy
Sachs, Alex Puzakov, Adam Freedman, Harel Bayaz, Noah Luden; and (missing) Dalia Miller.
Temple Israel Religious School students
perform community service
Chabad Student Network
helps out at Ottawa Mission
The Chabad Student Network of Ottawa participated in Mitzvah
Day in December by preparing meals at the Ottawa Mission. The
students also held a clothing drive to benefit the needy.
JET on Campus visits New York
Grade 7 students at Temple Israel Religious School enjoy a break after helping serve 120 hot meals
at Parkdale United Church’s In from the Cold program on January 16. Working at In from the
Cold is a part of the Grade 7 program at Temple Israel.
Rabbi Avraham and Ayala Gross led a group Ottawa students on a
week-long learning and touring trip to New York City organized by
JET on Campus during winter break.
(Front row left to right): Shima Vigodda, Rabbi Gross, Fabien
Malouin, Dina Agulnik, Yael Gang, Sam Levine and Amanda Horwitz; (back row) Mitch Goldenberg, Lawrence Brass and Daniel
Levin.
TIC KETS NOW ON SALE
Please contact 613-580-2700 or visit www.centrepointetheatre.com.
For more information, contact 613-725-3519, ext. 111.
TA M I R P R E S E N T S
Hillel Academy recycles
The Hillel Academy Environmental Club will be receiving two grants of $1,000 each
from the Metro Green Apple Program. The grant program encourages greener living
in schools. The Environmental Club already instituted a recycling program in the
school and will take the lead on two new projects: developing a composting program
and a bird nesting project.
Grade 4 teacher Deanna Coghlin is pictured with Environmental Club members
(left to right) Shoshana Hussen, Benjamin Kofsky, Ethan Geist and Michael Melamed.
Merivale High School presents
multicultural show
Jaimie Fine, president of the Jewish Culture Club at Merivale High School,
carries the Israeli flag during the annual Multicultural Show at the school in
December. The show celebrates Merivale High School’s cultural mosaic and involves hundreds of students in a display of heritage music, dance and fashion.
(Photo: Irv Osterer)
CENTREPOINTE THEATRE
THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2010
7:00 PM
www.tamir.ca
613-725-3519
First Person
Journal from Haiti: Doing disaster relief
By Arele Klein
ZAKA
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (JTA) – Arele
Klein, a volunteer for the ZAKA disaster relief organization in Israel, shares his experiences and thoughts in the following journal
from the earthquake zone in Haiti.
Thursday, January 14, 10 am
Two days after the quake, the phone call
comes in from ZAKA Operations Commander Haim Weingarten: “You’ve been selected
as a member of ZAKA’s delegation to the
earthquake disaster in Haiti. We’re talking
about a very difficult incident on the scale of
the tsunami. Volunteers should be physically
fit, mentally prepared and with experience.
Please give your permission and ask for your
wife’s approval.”
As a ZAKA volunteer of long standing, I
have no hesitation. I give a positive answer on
the spot, on the condition that my wife agrees.
I go home, tell my wife about the mission and
ask for her approval.
“My head says no, my heart says yes,” she
says.
With that, I receive her blessing.
12 pm
All members of the delegation arrive at the
Home Front Command base for briefings,
vaccines and medications against all kinds of
diseases that might break out in the disaster
area. Only then do I begin to understand what
I am about to do. Fear of the unknown begins
to creep into my thoughts.
Overnight, aboard the 14-hour flight
from Israel to Haiti
It’s a good opportunity to meet new
friends from the Israeli delegation, the
Home Front Command, rescue specialists,
medical professionals, members of the Israel Police Forensic Unit and others. There
are a lot of good people with the volunteer-
human beings, people just like me, in such a
state of sheer helplessness and horror.
ZAKA volunteer Arele Klein, right, at the Israeli field hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
days after the January 12 earthquake.
(ZAKA photo)
ing spirit who want to help, assist and rescue.
Friday, January 15, Erev Shabbat
We land at the destroyed Port-au-Prince
airport, and I immediately begin to understand what this is about. Planes carrying aid
from around the world land one after the
other. I see the collapsed buildings and inhale
the acrid smell of decomposing bodies. It’s a
smell that is too familiar to us as ZAKA volunteers, but I’ve never encountered it so overwhelmingly.
Kabbalat Shabbat
I find myself, together with the members
of the Israeli delegation, on a soccer field –
our makeshift base. Amid the turmoil and
commotion, a minyan for Shabbat prayers
forms. The head of the IDF delegation, Brig.
Gen. Shalom Ben Aryeh, joins Rabbi Shaul
Ofen and others in prayer. The words of the
prayers take on an even deeper significance
and meaning: “O King who causes death and
restores life.”
We still haven’t managed to unpack the
containers, so all that we brought for Shabbat
remains packed away. We receive an assignment of two challahs and can only dream of
the fish and meat we normally eat on Shabbat.
At least our situation is better than that of the
other ZAKA delegation that arrived directly
from Mexico; they only have canned goods.
Saturday, January 16
The sophisticated field hospital is built
overnight, under incredibly difficult conditions. We are ready to begin work.
The ZAKA delegation is assigned to work
in the field hospital as paramedics. We are
also given responsibility for the deceased. I
still haven’t had time to breathe, but word already has spread and a long line of Haitians
awaits treatment.
Words cannot describe the pain and sorrow that confront us – such difficult images,
so hard to bear. Men, women and children are
in various states of injury, from light to critical, many with severed or dangling limbs, all
waiting in line quietly. The calm is chilling.
There are no cries or screams, just a line of
Haitians waiting.
The ZAKA volunteers receive severed
limbs for burial – hands, feet and other body
parts – in numbers that are impossible to
count. I feel a strong need to put my feelings
on hold, to try to work like a robot. But the
strategy doesn’t work for long. When no one
notices, I move away from the tent and break
down, crying for the sorrow and grief that has
descended on the people of Haiti. Here are
Sunday, January 17, 12 pm
A Haitian child, who appears to be around
10, the same age as my own son, arrives at the
hospital after being rescued from one of the
collapsed buildings, hovering between life
and death. His mother muttered words and
phrases in a language I can’t understand. But
her eyes, streaming with tears, express everything. After 30 minutes spent attempting to
save his life, I inform her that her son died.
The intensity of her cries pierces the air with
pain.
Like all ZAKA volunteers, we are used to
receiving expressions of gratitude from both
religious and secular people with phrases
such as “Good for you” or “You’re doing holy
work.” But there can be no comparison to the
extent of the Kiddush Hashem (sanctification
of God’s name) that the ZAKA delegation is
doing here in Haiti.
The public address system in the field hospital never seems to stop in its calls for our
presence: “Arele from ZAKA, please report.
Sami from ZAKA, please report.” From the
commander on down to the individual soldiers, everyone understands the importance
of, and praises, the work of the ZAKA volunteers.
We have made such warm and friendly
personal connections here. I think to myself,
why do we need to fly so far to realize how
special the people are in Israel?
Monday, January 18, 4 am
As we attend to a woman in labour with
twins, the first baby is still-born. Trying to
figure out how to deliver the terrible news to
the mother, I am surprised when the monitor
jumps to life, showing that the second child is
alive.
We cannot count the number of bodies
we’re transferring for burial in a mass grave.
The human brain cannot absorb the quantity
of bodies we’ve seen in these first few days in
Haiti. I discover a strange sight at one of the
mass graves: Families have a special tune that
they sing at the graveside, a song that moves
back and forth from song to tears, singing and
crying. Who can understand it?
I receive a four-year-old boy for treatment
accompanied by his 16-year-old brother, the
only survivors of a family still buried beneath
the rubble of their home. Again the scene repeats itself: There was nothing to do but pronounce the four-year-old child dead. When I
announce the painful news, his brother cries
out in anguish and, in total despair, begins
running toward the mountains. He does not
want to receive his brother’s body.
We continue to receive the injured; they
wait patiently in line for treatment. We work
like machines, but the line only seems to get
longer. But who can stop at the sight of people so desperate for help?
Arele Klein, 39, a married father of two,
has volunteered with ZAKA for 16 years.
Haiti is his first international assignment.
The ‘unlikely friendship’ of Moe and Martin
By Stephen Bindman
Editor’s note: A version of this article
originally appeared in the Beth Shalom Bulletin.
The remarkable, yet unlikely friendship
between a 30-something Quebecker from
Gatineau and a retired Orthodox Jewish furrier in his late-80s began in the summer of
2007 with a trip to Loblaws for kosher meat.
Martin Vaillancourt was in the process of
converting from Catholicism to Judaism and
was looking for a mitzvah to perform. He had
a car and offered to drive people to appointments or do errands for them.
Rabbi Gary Kessler referred him to Moses
(Moe) Cardash, a long-time Beth Shalom
member and regular Minyaner.
The rest, as they, say, is history.
“I had his number for about two weeks
when I looked in the fridge and saw I needed
meat,” recalls Moe.
“So, I phoned him. ‘I hate to bother you,’
I said, ‘but I need some meat. Can you be so
kind as to take me to the butcher shop at
Loblaws?’”
Half an hour later, Martin picked up Moe
at his apartment.
“He put me in his car and drove me there.
I went in and bought what I needed. I wanted
to give him a barbecued chicken for his efforts, but he wouldn’t accept. To this day, he
hasn’t accepted anything. He does it as a mitzvah and I’m telling you it’s some mitzvah!”
Since then, the two have become virtually
inseparable. They finish each other’s stories
and laugh hysterically at each other’s jokes.
“He’s my right-hand man. Without him,
I’m lost,” says Moe who came to Canada
from Romania when he was a baby.
“I have to say he’s my best friend,” says
Martin, who recently completed a certificate
in business management from the University
of Ottawa, but chooses to drive a cab to help
pay for his return to university to continue
with business studies.
“He’s a great man. I have learned a lot
from Moe – in terms of modesty, in terms of
giving to charity. He’s a very, very good man.
I know that, if I need to talk to someone, or I
need a comment or anything, I know I can
call Moe or I can see Moe.
“I know that, when I see him, he really
truly appreciates it when I am with him and it
is the same for me. You cannot ask for more
from a friend. I just really appreciate when I
am with him. For me, the age difference is
nothing,” adds Martin.
“He’s a mensch!” says Moe of Martin.
Moe maintains close relationships with his
two sisters, Betsie and Lillian, who live in
Washington, D.C. During recent hospitalization and recuperation periods, Moe’s sisters
were at his side in Ottawa to cook and care
for him.
But, they do live in Washington D.C. and,
in their absence, it is Martin who is there for
Moe. Martin, who keeps in frequent touch
with Moe’s sisters, has become part of the
family.
Shabbat regulars at Beth Shalom know
that, come Shabbat, Moe and Martin will be
The close friendship of Moe Cardash (left) and Martin Vaillancourt began when
Cardash needed a ride to Loblaws to buy kosher meat.
(Photo: John Fink)
there – Moe tucked in an alcove in his electric
wheelchair and Martin, wrapped in his new
tallit, in the aisle seat closest to him.
On Shabbat mornings, Martin shows up at
the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre at 7:30 am and helps Moe get ready. They
have breakfast, then wait for the Para Transpo
bus to take them to their sanctuary, literally.
When Moe gets an aliyah, he steers his
wheelchair to the bimah and Martin goes up
to the Torah and stands in his place while
Moe recites the brachot.
“I can’t imagine myself to be at shul without Moe. Something would be missing. After
his challenges with his health, he wanted to
go back to shul almost immediately. We had
to tell him, ‘OK, you have to relax.’ Shul for
Moe is very important. For me, it is too, to go
to shul with him,” says Martin.
During the week, Martin visits Moe several times, helping with his mail and with the
bills. Sometimes, they go out for a meal – to
Red Lobster for fish or East Side Mario’s for
vegetarian pizza.
When Moe was honoured on Remembrance Day by Governor General Michaëlle
Jean for his service during the Second World
War, it was a proud Martin who helped him
don his uniform and make it to the War
Memorial.
Moe has had a rough patch of health. He
suffered a heart attack in 2008 and had both
legs amputated last year. Through it all, Martin has been by his side.
He arrived at Moe’s apartment from his
Gatineau home at the same time as the ambulance on March 24, 2008 when Moe took ill
and has been with him at the hospital, the rehabilitation centre, and now the Perley.
“Moe is an incredible man. I’m very proud
of him. All the therapists saw his medical files
and said, ‘Wow, that’s quite a challenge.’
Everybody was surprised at all the effort and
the progress he has made.
“He’s a true inspiration of courage – how
he took that major event in his life [the amputation of his legs]. He was so serene. It is
amazing. He’s quite something.”
Jason Moscovitz, another regular visitor at
the Perley, has marvelled at both the friend-
ship between the men and Moe’s incredible
inner-strength and resolve during his illness.
“It is easy to see how Moe has helped
Martin,” says Moscovitz.
“Being with Moe is learning the greatest
life lessons about courage, modesty and humility. Moe never complains.
“Ask Moe how he is and he says, ‘Thank
God.’
“To spend time with Moe at the Perley is
to see a man treat caregivers and fellow residents with the greatest respect and dignity. I
can understand why Martin would say Moe is
his best friend. Martin is a lucky guy to have
a friend like Moe.”
When his conversion was completed, Martin chose the Hebrew name Moshe – after
Moshe Rabbeinu, and his buddy Moe.
Says Moe: “When he was converted, they
put the tallit over his head and I said, ‘You
know Martin, I‘ll have to learn from you a
few things [about Judaism] that I never knew
before.”
A few months after they met, Moe asked
Martin about his reasons for converting to Judaism.
“I cannot explain it. It is just inside of me,”
says Martin, who has never visited Israel, but
plans to as soon as he can.
“When I was in my late teens, I was very
curious about the Jewish people and Israel.
With time, I just realized that it was inside of
me and that I had to make the move. I just
knew that I had to be buried in a Jewish
cemetery.
“When we say in the Shema, that God is
one, I really believe that with all my heart.”
These two great friends have another thing
in common – they are both bachelors.
“I’m looking for a good Jewish woman,”
says Martin, who returned to university in
January to complete a second business certificate.
“You’ve got to go to Toronto and Montreal where there are a lot of Jewish woman,”
advises Moe.
See, Moe is always full of useful advice!
In support
of the Bess and Moe
Greenberg Family
Hillel Lodge
In the Joseph
and Inez Zelikovitz
Long Term Care Centre
Card Donations
Card donations go a long way to improving the
quality of life for our residents. Thank you for considering their needs and contributing to their wellbeing.
On behalf of the residents and their families, we
extend sincere appreciation to the following individuals and families who made card donations to the Hillel Lodge Long-Term Care Foundation between
January 6 and 20, 2010 inclusive.
HONOUR FUNDS
Unlike a bequest or gift of life insurance, which
are realized some time in the future, a named Honour
Fund (i.e., endowment fund) is established during
your lifetime.
By making a contribution of $1,000 or more, you
can create a permanent remembrance for a loved one,
honour a family member, declare what the Lodge has
meant to you and/or support a cause that you believe
in.
A Hillel Lodge Honour Fund is a permanent pool
of capital that earns interest or income each year. This
income then supports the priorities designated by you,
the donor.
Ruth and Irving Aaron Family Fund
In Honour of:
Anna-Lee Chiprout Mazal tov on receiving
your prestigious award from State of Israel Bonds by
Ruth and Irving Aaron
R’fuah Shlema:
Leah Melamed Wishing you a complete and
speedy recovery by Ruth and Irving Aaron
Bill and Leona Adler Memorial Fund
In Honour of:
Esther Matin Mazal tov on becoming a great
bubby again by Elayne Adler, Farley, Jordan and
Benjamin Stenzler
Sylvia Kaiman Mazal tov on your special birthday
by Elayne Adler, Farley, Jordan and Benjamin Stenzler
Samuel and Jean Akerman Memorial Fund
R’fuah Shlema:
Arnell Goldberg by Sheila and Larry Hartman
Rickie Saslove by Sheila and Larry Hartman
Elsie Baker Endowment Fund
In Honour of:
Mel Baker Mazal tov “Bro” on your new home
by Polly, Jack and Sammy Moran
engagement to Sarah Rabinowitz by Elaine Friedberg
and Bob Dale
Abby and Issie Rabinowitz Mazal tov on
Sarah’s engagement to Alex Gordon by Elaine
Friedberg and Bob Dale
Malcolm and Vera Glube Endowment Fund
In Memory of:
David Appotive by Vera and Malcolm Glube
Lily Kramer by Vera and Malcolm Glube
Sonny Segal by Vera and Malcolm Glube
Levine families
R’fuah Shlema:
Morris Kimmel by Claire and Irving Bercovitch;
Diana and Alvin Malomet and Jeff Greenberg and
family
Bill and Phyllis Leith Family
Endowment Fund
In Memory of:
Lilly Kramer by Arlene and Seymour Isenberg
and Lisa, David, Sydney and Zachary Leith
Rosenthal/McCormick Family Fund
In Memory of:
Lillian Kahan by Helen Rosenthal
Irma and Harold Sachs Family Fund
In Honour of:
Myrna and Norman Barwin With grateful
appreciation by Irma Sachs
R’fuah Shlema:
Rickie Saslove by Irma Sachs
Nell Gluck Memorial Fund
In Honour of:
Mr. and Mrs. Mordechai Bendat Mazal tov on
your special anniversary, wishing you many happy
years together by Julia Gluck, Ted and Jess Overton
Ruth and Dale Fyman Mazal tov on the birth of
your granddaughter Adina Schwartzberg. We wish
you much nachas from your growing family by
Maureen and Henry Molot
Murray Major Mazal tov on your recent birthday “Bis hundert zwanzig” by Julia Gluck, Ted and
Jess Overton
Mr. and Mrs. Murray Major Mazal tov on the
engagement of your son David to Jody by Julia
Gluck, Ted and Jess Overton
Miriam and Victor Rabinovitch Mazal tov on
the birth of your grandson Jacob Harry Blecker. We
wish you much nachas from your growing family by
Maureen and Henry Molot
Odile Shiroky Best wishes for a full recovery by
Julia Gluck, Ted and Jess Overton
Schachter/Ingber Family Fund
In Memory of:
The beloved grandmother of Marnie and
Marc Welikovitch by Rachel, Howard, Davida and
Josh Schachter
In Honour of:
Laurie Edelman There is a fountain of youth: it
is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to
your life and the lives of the people you love. You
have truly learned to tap this source and you have
truly defeated age. Happy 60th birthday to our chosen and special cousin by Rachel, Howard, Davida
and Josh Schachter
Rachel and Howard Schachter Thank you for
everything by Maggie and Bob Lederman
Moe Greenberg and Elissa Greenberg Iny
Family Fund
In Memory of:
Sonny Segal by Elissa and Avraham Iny
In Honour of:
Roz and Arnie Kimmel Mazal tov on the birth of
your grandson by Elissa and Avraham Iny
Skulsky Family Memorial Fund
A generous donation to this fund was made by
Elaine and Stephen Wiseman
Frank and Lily Hoffenberg Family Fund
In Memory of:
Everett King by Dr R Hoffenberg
David, Harvey and Victor Kardish
Family Fund
In Memory of:
Joy Ostrega by Gale, Victor and Sydney Kardish
Jack and Betty Ballon Family Fund
In Honour of:
Betty Ballon Best wishes for a very happy 102nd
birthday by Anna and Rudy Fliegl
Dorothy and Maurie Karp Endowment Fund
In Honour of:
Betty Ballon Mazal tov on your 102nd birthday,
all my love and best wishes by Dorothy Karp
R’fuah Shlema:
Pearl Moskovic by Dorothy Karp
Friedberg and Dale Families Fund
In Honour of:
Laurie and Steve Gordon Mazal tov on Alex’s
Morris and Lillian Kimmel Family Fund
In Observance of the Yahrzeit of:
Eileen Baron by the Kimmel, Kaiman and
Label and Leona Silver Family Fund
In Memory of:
David Appotive by Leona and Label Silver
R’fuah Shlema:
Marvin Avery by Leona and Label Silver
Ralph and Anne Sternberg Memorial Fund
In Memory of:
Alla Livshitz by Laya and Ted Jacobsen
Samuel (Sonny) Segal by Laya and Ted
Jacobsen
In Honour of:
Stephanie Dancey Mazal tov to you, Wayne and
Cory on the purchase of your dream home with
waterfront on Chemong Lake. May you enjoy many
healthy and happy years in your new abode, love
Mommy Laya and Daddy Ted
Marjorie and Michael Feldman Mazal tov on
the birth of your grandchild. Also, in appreciation for
a perfect brunch, a sublime combination of delicious
food, interesting people and comfortable places on
which to sit, warmest wishes by Laya and Ted
Jacobsen
Annie and David Garmaise Mazal tov on the
birth of your granddaughter Adele warmest wishes
by Laya and Ted Jacobsen
Francine Shier Mazal tov on your (censored/deleted) birthday warmest wishes by Laya and
Ted Jacobson
Harvey Slipacoff In appreciation for being such
a mensch by Laya and Ted Jacobsen
R’fuah Shlema:
Sam Schrier May you return to excellent health
as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as ever by Laya and
Ted Jacobsen
Eric Weiner and Arlene Godfrey
Family Fund
In Memory of:
David Appotive by Arlene Godfrey, Eric,
Melissa and Laura Weiner
Anna and Samuel Wex
Family Fund
In Memory of:
Lily Kramer by Laila and Richard Wex and
family
Toby and Joel Yan Family Fund
In Honour of:
Etta Kaner and David Nitkin In appreciation
for your generous hospitality by Toby and Joel Yan
Ayala and Dan Sher Mazal tov on the recent
marriage of your children by Toby and Joel Yan
Andria Spindel In appreciation for your generous hospitality by Toby and Joel Yan
Fahimeh and Mark Yan In appreciation for your
generous hospitality by Toby and Joel Yan
Feeding Program
In Memory of:
Mozes Brajtman by Mara and Isaac Muzikansky
Music Therapy Program
In Honour of:
Eric Elkin Wishing you a happy and health birthday and many more by Judy and Gerry
Goldstein
***********
IN MEMORY OF:
Herb Goldenberg by Annette and Jack Edelson
Lily Kramer by Arlene and Norman Glube; Bev,
Bryan, Alison and Rob Glube and Shirley and
Norman Levitt
Joy Ostrega by Bev and Bryan Glube and Simi
and Stephen Silver
Sonny Segal by Arlene and Norman Glube
Fuzzy Teitelbaum by Ruth and Myron Poplove
IN HONOUR OF:
Bev and Dan Cantor and family Mazal tov on
the opening of the new Butchery by Andrea and
Allan Solman
Eric Elkin Happy Birthday by Rhoda and Mike
Aronson
Evelyn Hoffman Mazal tov and best wishes on
your 80th birthday by Betty and Sid Finkelman
Shirley and Paul Seiler Mazal tov and best
wishes on your special anniversary by Betty and Sid
Finkelman
R’FUAH SHLEMA:
Morris Kimmel by Ruth and Myron Poplove
Rickie Saslove by Zelda and Leoan Zelikovitz
The Foundation thanks Dorothy and David
Torontow and family for dedicating a leaf on the
Tree of Life in loving memory of Harry and Sarah
(Gottdank) Torontow
THE LODGE EXPRESSES ITS SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR YOUR KIND SUPPORT
AND APOLOGIZES FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS. DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, THE WORDING APPEARING
IN THE BULLETIN IS NOT NECESSARILY THE WORDING WHICH APPEARED ON THE CARD.
GIVING IS RECEIVING – ATTRACTIVE CARDS AVAILABLE FOR ALL OCCASIONS
Here’s a good opportunity to recognize an event or convey the appropriate sentiment to someone important to you and at the same time support the Lodge. Card orders may
be given to Debra or Rhonda at 613-728-3900, extension 111, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm Monday to Thursday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Friday. You may also e-mail your orders to
donations@hillel-ltc.com. E-mail orders must include name, address, postal code, and any message to person receiving the card; and, amount of donation, name, address and
postal code of the person making the donation. Cards may be paid for by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Cheque or Cash. Contributions are tax deductible.
Members of Ottawa’s Group of 35, circa 1974. Please contact the Ottawa Jewish Archives if you have memories or stories about the group or are able to help identify
people in the photo.
(Photo courtesy of Ottawa Jewish Archives)
From the Archives
Group of 35 led protests and actions
on behalf of Soviet Jewry during 1970s
By Susan Landau-Chark
for Ottawa Jewish Archives
In May 1971, a group of blackclad Jewish housewives from
London, England’s northwest suburbs stood outside the Soviet Embassy and attempted to deliver a
petition on behalf of Raisa Palatnick to the wife of the Soviet ambassador.
In three short years, this small
group of dedicated Jewish
women, known as the Group of
35, had become an international
organization with active groups in
England, France, the United States
and Canada.
In July 1974, a group of Ottawa
women met in the home of Edie
Koranyi to form a 35-ers group.
The first chair of this group was
Simone Goldberg.
“When we meet on the 30th,
I’ll probably be screaming like a
maniac and biting my fingernails
off at the shoulder blades,” wrote
Goldberg in a memo reminding
the 35-ers about an upcoming
demonstration.
By October 1976, more than
100 women were listed as participants in Ottawa’s Group of 35.
The women dressed in plain black
only: sweaters, slacks, hose, shoes
and headscarves, and engaged in a
variety of actions to draw attention to the plight of Jews in the
Soviet Union. On one occasion, to
protest the sentence imposed on
Dr. Mikhail Shtern, who had been
charged with taking bribes from
patients, Ruth Berger noted that
the Group of 35 delivered “baskets filled with eggs and dead
chickens to the [Soviet] embassy
gates, to mock the charges.”
Besides the very visible
demonstrations, the Group of 35
sent books and records to the
U.S.S.R.; made phone calls to specific refuseniks in the Soviet
Union, and to their families, providing invaluable moral support;
helped with the secretarial work
required to maintain visibility
both in the media and to those in
the Soviet Union; and engaged in
letter-writing campaigns to members of Parliament, to the Soviet
Union and to the media.
What was taking place in the
Soviet Union that Jewish housewives in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and abroad felt compelled to
stand outside a Soviet embassy or
consulate on cold days, and hot,
demonstrating and delivering petitions?
After Stalin’s death in 1953,
Soviet Jews held to the hope that
the Communist promise of equality, freedom and an end to discrimination would also apply to them.
This was not to be.
Blame was placed on the Jews
for the economic problems of the
Soviet Union. Most synagogues
were closed; communications
with Jewish communities outside
the Soviet Union and with Israel
were monitored; Jewish activists
and leaders were imprisoned; it
was illegal to study Hebrew or
possess books and papers relating
to Judaism; and emigration was
forbidden.
Applying for an exit visa meant
dismissal from one’s position. As
it was illegal to be unemployed in
the Soviet Union, those unable to
find work were charged with “parasitism,” which led to imprisonment. Soviet Jewry was at risk of
disappearing.
When refusenik Natan Sharansky was finally released, he recalled being interrogated by KGB
(Soviet secret police) Colonel
Volodin who said, “What do you
think? That your fate is in the
hands of these people and not
ours? They’re nothing more than
students and housewives.”
“I remind people,” Sharansky
said, “that in the end, the army of
students and housewives turned
out to be mightier than the army of
the KGB.”
These events took place more
than 35 years ago, and the Ottawa
Jewish Archives is planning an
early summer display about Ottawa’s Group of 35. In preparation, we would like to hear your
memories and stories about the
group.
Please contact the Ottawa Jewish Archives at 613-798-4696, ext.
260.
BrazeauSeller LLP becomes
corporate sponsor
of Federation Campaign
The Jewish Federation of Ottawa has announced that Ottawa
law firm BrazeauSeller LLP has
become a corporate sponsor of the
Federation’s Annual Campaign.
“Our firm is extremely proud
of its long-standing contributions
to the Ottawa Jewish community,
including chair positions on the
boards of various organizations,
including the Federation itself,”
says firm partner Ron Prehogan.
“Becoming a corporate sponsor enables us to further assist the
good work of the Federation and
its beneficiary agencies.”
The Jewish Federation of Ottawa Annual Campaign launched
in September 2009 with a goal of
raising $5 million. Funds raised
by the Campaign support 24 Jewish agencies in Ottawa.
Birthright Israel information session
Birthright Israel sends thousands of young Jewish adults,
aged 18 to 26, from all over the
world on first-time trips to Israel
for 10 days as a gift in order to
strengthen the sense of solidarity
among world Jewry; and to
strengthen participants’ personal
Jewish identity and connection to
the Jewish people. Registration for
Birthright Israel begins on February 17.
An information session on
Birthright Israel and the applica-
tion process will be held Wednesday, February 10, 7:00 pm at the
Joseph and Rose Ages Family
Building, Social Hall A, 21 Nadolny Sachs Private.
RSVP for information session:
fgreenspoon@jewishottawa.com.
Biography of Mordecai Richler
by acclaimed novelist M.G. Vassanji
Mordecai Richler
By M.G. Vassanji
Penguin Canada
236 pages
One of the reasons the death of a great writer hits the
consciousness of the nation so profoundly is that one
knows that his last novel will forever be the final one. So,
when a new biography emerges, there is a part of us that,
perhaps, secretly hopes it will contain a hidden offering
from the artist himself.
Mordecai Richler died in 2001, four years after his final
novel, Barney’s Version, one of his finest, won the Giller
Prize. And, while this is not the first biography of Richler
– The Last Honest Man, Michael Posner’s 2004 oral biography is excellent – this latest offering carries the imprimatur of Penguin’s Extraordinary Canadians series, and
is written by Canadian novelist and two-time Giller Prize
winner M.G. Vassanji.
There is not much that is new here, but Vassanji brings
concise prose and sober sympathy to his subject. From the
start, Vassanji, who was raised in Tanzania, lays claim to a
similarity of place: “We both grew up in an urban colonial
setting, in closed, religiously observant, jealous communities.”
As Vassanji shows us, Richler is the consummate Jewish Canadian author, using the tiny universe of Montreal’s
St. Urbain Street as the foreground for much of his fiction,
though his ethnic identity never obscures his national
voice. Indeed, toward the latter part of his career, Richler
took on such weighty issues as Quebec nationalism in his
non-fiction writing. Around this time, he also wrote about
Israel, reflecting on his Habonim background in light of
contemporary Israeli-Palestinian politics.
While Vassanji notes that Richler’s wry commentary on
Canadian politics made him a darling of the Canadian
right, his musings on Israel in This Year in Jerusalem
(1992) are more measured. Vassanji furnishes a lengthy
quote from that book: “I was grateful that, for once in our
history, we were the ones with the guns and they were the
ones with the stones. But … I also found myself hoping
that if Jerry, Hershey, Myer, and I had been born and bred
in the squalor of Dheisheh [refugee camp] rather than the
warmth of St. Urbain, we would have had the courage to
be among the stone-throwers.”
The volume takes us through Richler’s life, segments
of which are smartly interwoven with analyses of Richler’s writing. Vassanji describes how the characters often
related quite directly to Richler’s own life, while also tracing the novels’ critical and popular reception. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz brought him fame. Some
deemed Son of a Smaller Hero to be anti-Semitic; accusations Vassanji says “seem gross overstatements by today’s
standards.” Joshua Then and Now represents the pull between “the weight of his Jewish heritage” and a yearning
for “an inheritance … weightier than the construction of a
transcontinental railway, a reputation for honest trading,
good skiing conditions.” (Quotes from Joshua Then and
Now cited by Vassanji.)
Vassanji does not spare us details of Richler’s often
painful childhood. His paternal grandfather had written in
his will that the 14-year-old Mordecai should not be allowed to touch his coffin. He witnessed his mother engaging in an extra-marital affair, the bitterness of which carried through his adulthood spiralling to a bitter falling out
between mother and son that never healed. His first marriage ended in divorce.
Book Review
Mira
Sucharov
Against this difficult background, Richler managed to
find true love with his second wife. His marriage to Florence was, by all accounts, a fulfilling one and is loosely
documented in Barney’s Version. Fans of Richler’s Jacob
Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang might feel slightly
privy to his family life, with each of the five children
being characters. And, while Florence had converted to Judaism prior to marrying her first husband, the issue of her
non-Jewish background never seemed far from the surface.
Engaging the universal thirst for underdog stories, Vassanji describes the difficult path on which Richler tread toward his success. Early letters to his father from London
and Paris, where Richler spent 20 years, included regular
appeals for funds.
As a writer, Richler maintained a disciplined work routine, only enjoying his famed scotch at the end of his work
day. Which brings us to Richler’s practised decadence.
The Richler-tribute font commissioned by the Giller Prize
and Random House soon after his death featured a glass of
scotch and a cigar, along with a tomato and his trademark
reading glasses as dingbats.
Was it the drinking and smoking that made us lose out
on another couple of novels? Perhaps. But, at least, we can
still visit Noah Adler, Jake Hersh, Joshua Shapiro, Duddy
Kravitz, Barney Panofsky and Jacob Two-Two, who, like
the best old friends, can satisfy our longings at least until
the next biography of one extraordinary Canadian
Los Angeles comedian Avi Liberman
to perform at Purim-à-Paris party
By Ferris Hamilton
for Ottawa Torah Centre Chabad
“It will be a perfect party that will blend entertainment
for both adults and children this year” explains Rabbi Menachem M. Blum, executive director of Ottawa Torah Centre
Chabad (OTC), when describing the Purim party planned
this year by OTC and the Soloway Jewish Community Centre (JCC).
For more than 10 years, OTC has organized a family
party for Purim with a different theme each year. From the
Hawaiian Luau to a Purim Fiesta, Purim Around the World
has drawn hundreds of participants.
“These events bring families together in an exciting celebration of fun for all ages,” says Rabbi Blum. “Our holidays have to come to life and have to leave a lasting impact”.
France is this year’s destination as we celebrate Purimà-Paris at the Soloway JCC.
The program will begin with the traditional reading of
the Megillah of Esther along with a simultaneous slide
show. The Soloway JCC social hall will be decorated in
French style and participants will be treated to hors d’oeuvres, French pastries, wine tasting and an all-you-can-eat
crèpe station.
The special guest entertainer for children and adults will
be Israeli-born, Los Angeles-based comedian Avi Liberman. Visit aviliberman.net for a biography of the comedian.
It all takes place on Saturday, February 27, 7:30 pm, at
the Soloway JCC, 21 Nadolny Sachs Private. Admission is
$18 for adults, $10 for children.
For more information or reservations, call OTC at 613823-0866 or visit ottawatorahcentre.org.
Comedian Avi Liberman will perform at Purim-à-Paris,
the OTC-SJCC Purim party, February 27.
Why should Jewish literacy matter?
This is a revealing period in the calendar for gauging
Jewish practice and identity. These four weeks are bookended by two holidays, Tu B’Shevat and Purim. With its
certificates to the Jewish National Fund, and its melodious
paeans to the trees, Tu B’Shevat tends to hang out in the
wings. But Purim, with its costumes and carnivals, treats
for the kids, and alcohol for the adults, and its poppy seed,
prune and short crust pastry for everyone, takes centre
stage.
Most cities hold community-wide Purim carnivals
which help bring together the religious, secular, affiliated,
and not. But, I would wager that whether or not your kids
celebrated Tu B’Shevat last week depends only on whether
or not they attend some form of Jewish school (day or supplementary).
Why does it matter whether our kids celebrate – or even
know about – Tu B’Shevat? Playwright and author David
Mamet has written angrily about Jews “who are humble in
their desire to learn about Kwanzaa and proud of their ignorance of Tu B’Shevat.” Without adopting Mamet’s judgmental approach to the issue, we can still ask: why should
Jewish literacy matter?
Some say that Jewish knowledge is simply a divine imperative. It is a mitzvah to study Torah and observe Jewish
ritual. That’s fine as far as it goes, but if you don’t already
adopt a theocentric view, which can easily descend into circular reasoning (do it because it says so), that logic quickly
wears thin. Without discounting a divine-based perspective,
here is my own secular-humanist and rational-strategic take
on the value of Jewish literacy.
“The seasons, they go round and round.” Observing
ritual helps mark time, and provides a sense of celebration
(or sacredness) to temper the ordinariness of the everyday.
Lighting Shabbat candles and reciting the Kiddush before
passing challah around the table helps mark the end of the
workweek. Lighting Chanukah candles punctures the darkness of winter and dipping eggs in saltwater ushers in
spring. Jewish education teaches kids the how-to, and amplifies whatever is being done in the home. In celebrating in
a school context, kids are reminded that Jewish identity is
most meaningful when it spans the private and public
realms.
Anyone here speak Jewish? Jewish literacy is a language, just like any other. Some of Jewish life is experienced through formal language (Hebrew and Yiddish), but
the rhythms of Judaism provide a set of conceptual lenses
through which to experience life. Just as knowing more
than one language can improve certain verbal and conceptual understandings, being conversant in one’s religious and
cultural heritage simply adds to the texture of existence.
Being part of the conversation. Unlike some who tout
intermarriage as a grave threat to Jewish continuity, I follow Edgar Bronfman in believing that intermarriage has the
potential to result in a net increase of Jewish kids (the math
is counterintuitive, but it works) – if we apply a big-tent Judaism approach. Assuming, then, that Jewishness will selfperpetuate if we worry more about Jewish life than about
Jewish love, let’s give our kids the tools to be part of the dialogue. It’s an exciting one, with no dearth of issues to
delve into: same-sex marriage under the chuppah, medical
ethics, gender roles, Diaspora Jewish identity, conversion
politics, ethical kashrut, and Israel’s political and cultural
life, to name a few. Without Jewish literacy, it’s hard to
break into the conversation.
Turning a Jewish 13. This final reason is the most practical. Some synagogues simply won’t grant a child a Bar or
Bat Mitzvah without the completion of some Jewish
schooling. In Ottawa, these rules have become a grapevine
Values, Ethics,
Community
Mira Sucharov
that badly needs to be untangled.
Temple Israel requires prospective Bar and Bat Mitzvahs
to have completed at least four years of three-and-a-half
hours per week of Jewish school. For a Shabbat Bar or Bat
mitzvah, Agudath Israel requires five years of four hours
per week. Or Haneshamah (formerly the Ottawa Reconstructionist Havurah) requires two years of two hours per
week. Ottawa Torah Centre Chabad requests that prospective Bar and Bat Mitzvahs partake of a one-year program of
study through the centre while Beth Shalom recommends
five years of four hours per week. Beit Tikvah leaves it to
the rabbi’s discretion, while Machzikei Hadas, Young Israel
and Adath Shalom have no restrictions in place.
Based on 2001 census data and current Federation figures,
I estimate that two-thirds of the Jewish kids in Ottawa are not
receiving any form of Jewish education. Is Jewish literacy
simply not a value for their families? Or are we not delivering
education as effectively and attractively as we could?
I suggest that we begin further community conversations
on contemporary approaches to pedagogy, more synagogue
involvement to create cross-cutting affiliations, and potential amalgamation. In the meantime, mark your calendars
for Sunday, March 14, at the Soloway Jewish Community
Centre, when Jewish Education Rocks will showcase Jewish educational options.
And, if you missed Tu B’Shevat, there’s always next
year.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp increases its influence
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) further
tightened its reign of power during the recent election exercise
in Iran. The show of force on the streets by the Basij militia,
on orders of the IRGC, was a clear signal that the IRGC has
acquired a position in the machinery and governance structure
of the country. Unlike the Iranian regular forces, the IRGC has
significant and audacious confidence in itself and control over
the machinery of government.
The IRGC has come a long way since 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini created it to keep the regular armed forces at
bay. Khomeini did not trust the armed forces and needed insurance against military coups. While much smaller (125,000)
than the Iranian armed forces (900,000), the IRGC enjoys a
unique subsidiary in the Basij militia, whose numbers are said
to be in the millions across the country. Today, the IRGC is not
only a sophisticated military and political force, but also the
owner of a vast and complex network of companies and corporations, especially in the field of nuclear planning and development. It is better equipped than the Iranian armed forces,
not only due to large appropriations by the government, but
also through its access to the billions of dollars its global commercial interests generate. It was even able to hastily arrange
a joint Iranian-Russian military exercise in the Caspian Sea
with a large number of ships from both sides in July 2009.
This event could be interpreted as the tit-for-tat response to Israel’s sending its subs through the Suez Canal in June 2009.
The IRGC, highly suspicious of ordinary people and intellectuals, does not seem to enjoy the confidence of the middle
and upper classes in Iran, nor does it enjoy the full confidence
of the ranks of the armed forces. Its relationships with Qum
and some influential clerics have been eroded to the point of
animosity. However, as long as it enjoys the confidence of the
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Guardian Council, it can han-
World
Affairs
Oliver Javanpour
dle the lack of support in other quarters.
The IRGC has been increasing its influence and presence
in all aspects of the Iranian administration. Federally, it has secured its supporters appointments to various high-ranking positions or election to parliament. A great number of governors
appointed in provinces and those appointed to the helms of
high profile crown corporations are former IRGC members
and sympathizers. Today, the IRGC and its subsidiaries are involved in significant decision-making processes for the country – from economic, to aerospace and high-technology research and development, to defence, to countering internal uprisings, and management of public and foreign relations.
It would be misleading to present the IRGC’s assistance in
installing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his second term as president as a military coup. This had been percolating for some
time. In fact, it should have been rather clear that the IRGC,
as a major driver of Iranian militarization, could not afford to
have any of the theocrats, reformers or moderates at the helm
of the country. With Iran, by most accounts, being six months
to a couple of years away from becoming a nuclear nation, it
could not tolerate the signals that reformers and mullahs at the
helm would have bent to international pressures and made
some concessions. Ahmadinejad was the only candidate the
IRGC brass could trust. So it was natural, since Ahmadinejad
was himself a member of the force, for the IRGC to support
his installation. While consolidating its power base, the IRGC
ensured it had a man in office who could withstand international pressure on the nuclear and military fronts.
Through the show trials of the reformists, and foreign and
dual-citizenship Iranians, the IRGC and the Iranian government are signalling to the rest of the world, especially the
United States, that it is not interested in dialogue or engagement, at least not for now. The country has every intention of
setting its own agenda, ignoring the ineffective responses
from the West.
As Iran’s sphere of interest and influence grows, so does
the IRGC’s. With contacts and contracts in Central Asia, Persian Gulf countries, Africa and Central and South America, it
is investing heavily in development projects or multi-billion
dollar mega projects. These unique involvements, in partnerships through Iranian government machinery and the control
of mega-multinational corporations, make the IRGC a significant player in Iranian and international commerce and in foreign relations. The IRGC spends a great deal of its resources
in the management and health of its assets, domestically and
around the world. Threats to its power are also interpreted as
threats to its financial holdings.
Notwithstanding the current supreme leader’s age and potential replacement process, perhaps the next significant play
for the IRGC may come when Iran completes the building of
its first bomb. The transformation, which began a decade ago
with clerics using the IRGC to remain in control, has now
come full circle with the IRGC using the clerics to achieve the
same ends.
All this leaves the Iranian government with very little interest and energy for being engaged externally.
Our Grizzly New York adventure – part one
In mid-January, Roger and I headed off to New York City
for a weekend with our friends, the Grizzlys. We decided to
go together to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and
their 20th.
Their real name, of course, is not Grizzly. That is my pet
nickname for them as they share many of the same personality traits as grizzly bears.
As you may know, grizzly bears hibernate for the winter.
In preparation, they must eat heavily for several weeks prior
to the hibernation period as they will be living off their
stored fat for several months. Apparently, this was the weekend Mr. Grizzly intended to pack on his necessary pounds
(and he took us along as hostages). I’ll be sharing our adventure with you over two columns because there was too
much good eating to pack into just one column.
We started planning in the fall. I chose the hotel, but Mr.
Grizzly asked if he could plan all our meals and entertainment. Since I’m usually the one to book all the restaurants
and activities when my family goes on holiday, I was thrilled
to take a backseat and let someone else do the planning.
We arrived in New York in late-morning and went straight
to the hotel to meet friends. We stayed at the London Hotel
in midtown Manhattan on West 54th Street, between Sixth
and Seventh Avenues. When we arrived, we found Mr. Grizzly at the check-in desk, requesting a higher floor, as grizzly
bears prefer to locate their dens up high, in areas of deep
snowfall. As there was no snow at all in NYC that weekend,
Mr. Grizzly settled on a suite on the 43rd floor.
As January is off-season in New York, we were able to get
an amazing (for New York City) rate of $249 a night. All the
rooms are suites consisting of a bedroom and small living
room. The bathrooms were marble and mosaic tile. The
sheets were the softest Italian cotton and the closets were
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After check-in, we were off to lunch. Mr. Grizzly chose Il
Gattopardo (it means ‘the leopard’ in Italian). Located just a
few short blocks from our hotel at 33 W. 54th Street, it was
a charming Southern Italian restaurant.
We started off with a bottle of Gavi, a delicate, fresh Italian white wine – perfect for lunch. Then the waiter brought
rosemary olive oil bread accompanied by butter with sea salt.
As we consulted our menus, he brought an amuse bouche (a
little food gift from the chef) of deep-fried arborio rice balls
stuffed with smoked mozzarella. Everything was wonderful
and fresh and we all shared our food so we got to taste a large
variety of items from the menu. I think our favourite was the
Eggplant and Buffalo Milk Ricotta Cakes with spicy tomato
sauce.
After lunch, it was time for shopping. There are some big
sales in New York City in January. Mrs. Grizzly and I went
with the boys to help them choose some appropriate attire
for the winter hibernation season. Then we managed to
shake the boys and go off on our own for some real shopping.
Dinner that night was at Gordon Ramsay at the London,
the restaurant at our hotel.
Riding the elevator down to dinner, Roger asked me what
the restaurant’s specialty was.
“A cussing chef,” I replied.
The restaurant is presided over by celebrity chef Gordon
Ramsay. He is best known for berating his staff on the Food
Network show, The F Word. The one time I watched it, he
scared me. However, he has a reputation for preparing wonderful food. We were not disappointed. Mr. Grizzly chose the
seven-course tasting menu. The rest of us decided on just
three courses.
The dining room was hushed and kind of grown up. Mr.
Grizzly is neither of those things, so our dinner was lively
and lots of fun. Our waiter was fantastic, knowledgeable
without being stuffy.
For me, the highlight of the dinner was when the waiter
came over to the table and put down a small bowl and an-
Amuse bouche of deep-fried arborio rice balls stuffed
with smoked mozzarella at Il Gattopardo.
nounced that this was the “pre-dessert.” What a concept! It
was a soft white chocolate ganache with white rum gelée, coconut foam and mango and lime sorbet. It was an unbelievable taste combination.
For dessert, Mrs. Grizzly and I had a sampling of three
cheeses and Roger and Mr. Grizzly shared an apple tarte tatin
with vanilla bean ice cream. And then, they rolled over the
Bon Bon trolley. It sat in the corner of the dining room and I
had been watching it all evening. Although we were full, we
managed to find room for cotton candy, home made marshmallows, salted caramels and an assortment of chocolates.
Mr. Grizzly asked for a few salted caramels to take back to
his room, in case he was hungry during the night.
A word of warning: The toilets in the bathroom beep repeatedly when you sit down on them. I never did find out
why. After dinner, our waiter rolled us out of the restaurant
and into the short elevator ride up to our Italian cotton covered pillows. A good night’s sleep was needed to get ready
for day two of our adventure.
To be continued next issue.
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ENDOWMENT FUND
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MEMORIAL FUND
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BUZELAN AARON FAMILY FUND
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SANDI AND EDDY COOK
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Thinking of you:
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ALFRED AND KAYSA FRIEDMAN
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ZELDA AND JOHN GREENBERG
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Continued on page 24
FOUNDATION DONATIONS
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Irving Taylor
Jewish fraternity is committed to community service
National Lampoon’s Animal House, the 1978 hit film,
and many other movies, have depicted university fraternity
life as consisting of excessive boozing and womanizing.
These films often portray academic life as a farce and academia as an oppressive regime.
The reality of fraternity life, at least for Alpha Epsilon Pi
(AEPi) – the Jewish fraternity founded in 1913 at New York
University and which now has 140 chapters in the United
States, Canada and Israel – is very different. The Ottawa
chapter of AEPi has a strong history of providing community service on campus through various events.
AEPi worked on the University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Telethon in 2009 and will do so again this year.
“We brought 10 people last year and it looks like our
numbers will be even higher this year,” said Zach Cantor,
Ottawa’s AEPi vice-president. “Knowing how important
two hours of our personal time can be to help those who
need, I don’t see how anyone could say no to donating their
time.”
The brothers have a couple of tasks for this event. They
spend an hour on-air handling the phones, a job that entails
taking down donations from callers. They also contribute in
less glorified ways, helping to put up and strike down the
telethon’s set.
Last year’s University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Telethon raised more than $5 million and expectations for
the 2010 edition, Sunday, March 28, from 9:00 am to 6:50
pm on CTV, are even higher.
For Cantor, helping out with the telethon is a no-brainer.
“We have all been affected, either personally or by
knowing someone who has been affected by cardiovascular
problems, and this is a great way to give back to an organization that does so much good in preventing and treating
these issues. It’s an easy thing to do to help them do what
they do best, and to save lives,” he explained.
Cantor began volunteering for the Heart Institute
Telethon even before joining AEPi. Now he’s made the
event a staple for AEPi members who share similar philanthropic ideals.
This is just one of the great causes AEPi is involved
Campus
Life
Justin Dahan
with. With the tragedy in Haiti still fresh, AEPi plans to
team up with Hillel Ottawa on campus to raise money for
rescue and rebuilding operations after the earthquake
there.
The actual event has yet to be planned, but Hillel and
AEPi are sure to come up with innovative ideas to raise
money. The two Jewish student organizations have always
had a good relationship and such a worthy cause is another
opportunity to continue working together to help those in
need.?
The things I can’t shut out of my brain
My mind has been preoccupied with
minutiae over the past month. It is getting to
be crunch time in deciding how my program,
which deals with ways to deal with prejudice, will spend money.
There are so many things to consider. My
brain gets more active than usual and I cannot seem to shut it off. Which is why I tend
to be hyper-alert and notice things that I
would not always pay attention to.
A friend sent me an article about a school
in Colorado that has been celebrating Martin
Luther King Day every Friday before the
holiday for five years by serving southern
fried chicken and how that has caused a huge
controversy. Some people wrote in calling
the practice insensitive, while some others,
including some African Americans, said the
controversy was overblown since there was
apparently evidence that King actually did
like southern fried chicken. So, eat whatever
you like, but be careful in explaining its
symbolic significance.
For Jews, this is an old story. We eat dairy
on Shavuot, matzah on Passover, honey during the High Holidays, pomegranates during
Sukkot, latkes during Chanukah and haman-
Humour me,
please
Rubin
Friedman
taschen for Purim.
Eating hamantaschen is something I’ve
never understood. After all, why would we
remember Haman on Purim by eating his
pockets?
Some recent articles have talked about
the movie Avatar as being typically racist
because some white man becomes the messiah for the Navi, the indigenous people of a
far-off planet. I have seen the movie and
don’t think that analysis quite fits the facts.
The white man, who is the hero, actually has
to become one of the Navi. Far from being
some macho white hero, he is actually a
paraplegic without the use of his legs. He is
accepted among the Navi only because the
life force of the planet has an affinity for
him, and he for it. In fact, he is transformed
into one of them and plays the role of saviour
in a Navi body, as a slender creature with
blue skin and a tail, about 10 or 12 foot tall.
He doesn’t look anything like either Jesus or
Mel Gibson.
Another friend wanted to know what the
plural of mouse is when referring to the device attached to a computer. I think it’s probably mouses, as mice would refer to whole
passel of little furry animals with tails,
pointy noses with whiskers and two large
sharp upper front teeth – something more
likely to chew through your cable than help
you surf the net.
Mouse, the animal, functions in English
like louse, the beastie, and not like louse, the
slob. So if you find a small insect in your
hair, it is likely a louse that lays eggs and
gives you cooties – or lice. If you find a
louse in your blouse, you ask him to change
into something more appropriate and kick
him out of the house – and you never worry
about lice in your blice and kicking them out
of your hice.
This is the kind of month it has been. And
now I have to get back to my budget. Where
is that lousy mouse?
MOVING?
Don’t miss one issue!
Call in your change of address TODAY!
613-798-4696, ext. 256
CARLSON WAGONLIT TRAVEL
SPECIAL 2010 GROUP DEPARTURES
June 1-4, 2010 ANNUAL CANYON RANCH SPA IN THE BERKSHIRES
ESCORTED BY SANDRA GRANATSTEIN
September 30, 2010 GREEK ISLANDS & TURKISH DELIGHTS
2 nights Istanbul, 7-night cruise on the Wind Spirit, 1 night Athens
ESCORTED BY CLAUDIA VIANI
OCEANIA CRUISES BRAND NEW SHIP “MARINA”
INAUGURAL SAILINGS NOW AVAILABLE
Call us for special 2 for one plus free air promotions
Sandra Granatstein
Ottawa@carlsonwagonlit.com
130 Albert St. Suite 714,
Ottawa, ON, K1P 5G4
613-238-4040
&##
!
"
#$%
!"#$%&'(#)$% '%*+!#",-$% Page 26 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 8, 2010
WHAT’S GOING ON
February 8 to 21, 2010
SUNDAYS
Mazeltots, sponsored by Westboro Jewish Montessori School, for
ages 4 and under; 192 Switzer Avenue, 10:00 am. Info: 613-729-7712.
MONDAYS & THURSDAYS
Motorin’ Munchkins gym dropin for children aged 1-5 years with
parent or caregiver accompaniment,
sponsored by SJCC Ganon PreSchool, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Info:
613-798-9818, ext. 280.
TUESDAYS
Israeli Folkdancing, learn
dances, have fun, no experience or
partner necessary; Hillel Academy,
31 Nadolny Sachs Private, 7:00 pm.
Info: 613-722-9323.
WEDNESDAYS
Coffee Club for parents of children aged 0 to 3. Children get to
play, parents enjoy coffee and con-
CANDLELIGHTING
BEFORE
Feb 12 ✡
Feb 19 ✡
5:07 pm
5:17 pm
versation, sponsored by SJCC
Ganon Pre-School, 9:00 to 11:30
am. Info: 613-798-9818, ext. 280.
Chill and Grill with Chabad Student Network, 29 Gilmour Street,
6:00 pm. Info: 613-601-7701.
FRIDAYS
Shabbat Shalom with SJCC
Ganon Pre-School, for ages 0 to 5
years with parent or caregiver accompaniment, 9:30 am. Info: 613798-9818, ext. 280.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8
Monday Matinée for Seniors
featuring “Mama Mia,” sponsored by
Jewish Family Services. All welcome, Valley Stream Manor, 2 Valley
Stream Drive, 1:30 pm. Info: 613722-2225, ext. 325.
Adina Ben-Porat Annual
Memorial Lecture, sponsored by
Ottawa Torah Institute and Machon
Sarah High School. Topic: “The
Morality of War: A Jewish Ethical
Perspective” with speakers Rabbi
Eliezer Ben-Porat and Aaron J.
Sarna, former government trade negotiator. Info: 613-737-5006.
Young Couples Class, sponsored by Jewish Education through
Torah, part of Jewish Unity Live.
Learn the 18 Effective Tools to Highly Effective Living, Aptowitzer residence, 564 Highcroft Avenue, 8:00
pm. Info: 613-798-9818, ext. 247.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10
Talk by Survivor Alex Levin, author of Under the Yellow and Red
Stars, sponsored by the Vered Jewish Canadian Studies Program and
the Azrieli Foundation. Attendees will
receive a set of Series 2 of the Azrieli
Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, University of Ottawa, Lamoureux Hall
220, 145 Jean-Jacques Lussier, 6:00
pm. Reservations required. Info:
613-562-5800, ext. 2955.
Birthright Israel Information
Evening, an opportunity to find out
more about this free trip to Israel for
young adults aged 18 to 26, 7:00
pm. Registration for trip begins February 17. Info: 613-798-4696, ext.
255.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Hillel Academy Kindergarten
Open House for the 2010-2011
school year, 31 Nadolny Sachs Private, 9:00 am and 7:30 pm. Info:
613-722-0020.
For more community listings,
visit ottawa.planitjewish.com
Lomir Reydn Yiddish, a Yiddish-speaking group for seniors,
sponsored by Jewish Family Services, 2255 Carling Avenue, Suite
300, 10:00 am. Info: 613-722-2225,
ext. 325.
Gymboree at the SJCC for
mothers and babies, sponsored by
Shalom Baby, 10:30 am. Info: 613798-9818, ext. 243.
Guys’ Night Out, sponsored by
Jewish Federation of Ottawa. Enjoy
laughs, drinks and gambling, The
Velvet Room, 62 York Street, 8:00
pm. Info: 613-798-4696, ext. 241.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12
Shabbat Dinner at Congregation Beth Shalom. All welcome.
Guest: Dr. Isra Levy, medical officer
of health, City of Ottawa, 151 Chapel
Street, 5:45 pm. Info: 613-789-3501.
Student Shabbat Experience,
sponsored by JET on Campus,
home of the Gross Family, 15 Sandcliffe
Terrace.
Info:
campus@jetottawa.com.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14
1st Annual Beit Tikvah Cholent
Cook-Off. Register a team or be a
judge for the “People’s Choice
Cholent,” 15 Chartwell Avenue,
12:00 pm. Info: 613-723-1800.
An Afternoon of Jewish Song,
choral music presented by Ottawa’s
Musica Ebraica Chamber Choir,
Temple Israel, 1301 Prince of Wales
Drive, 2:00 pm. Info: 613-224-7073.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17
Let’s Do Lunch with programming for seniors, sponsored by Agu-
dath Israel Congregation and Jewish Family Services. Topic: Riding
tips from OC Transpo, Agudath Israel Congregation, 1400 Coldrey Avenue, 12:00 pm. Info: 613-7283501.
Jewish Student Career Clinic,
sponsored by Jewish Family Services. Topic: Cover letter preparation, Hillel House, 284 Laurier Avenue E., 5:00 pm. Info: 613-7222225, ext. 500.
COMING SOON
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Malca Pass Discussion Club. After River by Donna Milner
will be reviewed by Jack Schecter,
Agudath Israel Congregation, 1400 Coldrey Avenue, 7:30 pm.
Info: 613-829-2455.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25
Hillel Academy School-Wide Open House,
31 Nadolny Sachs Private, 8:30 am.
Info: 613-722-0020.
Soloway Jewish Community Centre
Annual General Meeting, 7:00 pm.
Info: 613-798-9818, ext. 221.
Unless otherwise noted, activities take place at The Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building, 21 Nadolny Sachs Private.
This information is taken from the community calendar maintained by the Jewish Ottawa InfoCentre. Organizations which would like their events to be listed, no matter where they are to be held, should send the information to InfoCentre coordinator Benita Siemiatycki via e-mail at bsiemiatycki@jewishottawa.com or fax at 613-798-4695. She can also be reached by telephone at 613-798-4644. Accurate details must be provided and all events must be open to the Jewish public.
Condolences
Condolences are extended to the families of:
Moshe Krieger
Pearl Moskovic
Colleen Snipper
May their memory be a blessing always.
The CONDOLENCE COLUMN is offered as a public service to the community.
There is no charge.
For a listing in this column, please call Carolene Preap,
613-798-4696, ext. 232.
Voice mail is available.
BULLETIN DEADLINES
FEBRUARY 17 FOR MARCH 8
MARCH 3 FOR MARCH 22
MARCH 17 FOR APRIL 5
APRIL 7 FOR APRIL 26
APRIL 21 FOR MAY 10
MAY 5 FOR MAY 24
MAY 26 FOR JUNE 14

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin

Transcription

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