The tension  within the Orthodox Jewish community in this city over Bill 18 – a bill that would require all schools in the province to allow for the establishment of a “gay-straight alliance” where students request it,  is but the latest example of the fissures that can open up between the state and organized religion.

My story about Canada’s ambassador to Cuba, which appears on the front page of this issue, is illustrative of the problems reporters have in gaining access to government officials these days.

The results of the recent Israeli election may have come as somewhat of a surprise to those among us (myself included) who were expecting a much more decisive victory by right-wing parties, but in the final days leading up to the vote some analysts were predicting that the undecided portion of the vote was going to swing the election results in a more moderate direction.

With various organizations holding year-end meetings in recent weeks, there has been a flurry of news emanating from those meetings – most of it quite encouraging.
For instance, both the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and the Rady JCC announced that their financial pictures, which were not bleak to begin with, improved considerably in 2012.