Regards from Israel – a regular blog from Israel
Blog # 29 (Posted Jan. 18, 2022) And Now for Something Completely Different
Here’s one for the Monty Python gang: Remember those blue & white tin boxes - from the Jewish National Fund - the ones passed around the classroom or placed on some hard-to-get upper kitchen shelf - for collecting pennies and nickels for tree planting in Israel? Our collective efforts paid off. Over 250 million trees were planted during the 20th century - with Israel being the only country ending the century with more trees then when it started, and…we had a 50 year handicap.
31 staff members, 20 Residents at Simkin Centre test positive for Covid
Updated Jan. 17 A total of 20 Residents have tested positive for Covid. Of those 20, 15 have recovered. The remainder are in the Covid isolation unit. In addition, two more staff have tested positive, bringing the total number of staff who have tested positive to 31. Twenty-six of the staff have returned to work.
Gray Academy pivots once again to “Gray Away” during provincially mandated week of remote learning
By BERNIE BELLAN With the decision by the provincial government to require online learning in all classrooms for students from K-12 from January 10-14, Gray Academy was well positioned to implement what it began to refer to as “Gray Away” when it was first introduced in May 2020. As well, the school has also taken steps to provide all parents of students in JK-6 with test kits that the parents are being asked to administer every three days beginning January 16.
Jewish synagogues react to rapid spread of Omicron variant – most put temporary end to in-person services
By BERNIE BELLAN With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant it comes as no surprise that many local synagogues have taken a proactive approach to dealing with the pandemic. For the time being, however, the Rady JCC is maintaining its existing schedule, although that may change quickly depending on possible new restrictions that may be issued by the provincial government.
Harvey Secter, Robert Silver appointed to Order of Canada
Two well-known members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community were among 135 Canadians to be appointed to the Order of Canada last week.
Pembina Valley golf tournament raises money for bomb shelter in Israel
By BERNIE BELLAN Taylor Polstra is a young woman now living in southern Manitoba who originally comes from the southern US.
In 2010 Taylor was working for an organization known as the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.
“Operation Lifeshield” (known as “Project Life Initiatives” in Canada) builds bomb shelters in Israel in areas not within seven kilometres of either the Gaza or Lebanon borders
By BERNIE BELLAN As noted in our article about the Covenant Cup golf tournament elsewhere on this website, money raised by a group in southern Manitoba was used to build a bomb shelter in a community in Israel. The name of the community is Maalot-Tarshiha, situated in the northern Galil, only 15 kilometres from the Lebanese border.
Progressive Movements, Israel, and Anti-Semitism
By Dr. PHILIP BERGER Special to The Jewish Post & News Some organizations and persons holding themselves out to be progressive have grown increasingly hostile to Zionism and to Israel ever since the 1967 Arab Israeli war. Their claims that Israel is a colonialist and racist state sometimes equate with the denial of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. They have thrown virtually every imaginable slander at Israel, with the intent of delegitimizing and eliminating the only Jewish state.
How Harvey Cogan became acquainted with members of his old family... and relatives he had never met - at the same time
By GERRY POSNER Picture this. It is 1950 and you are about to have your Bar Mitzvah at the shul in Fort William, Ontario ( as it was then known. With the twin city then, Port Arthur, it is now known as Thunder Bay).
15-year-old Mitchell Brown’s Holocaust poem
Introduction: We received a call from subscriber Joe Brown in Toronto, who was very proud of his 15-year-old grandson Mitchell, for having composed a Holocaust-themed poem. Joe sent us the poem and, although I said to him that I wasn’t sure we had enough space to print it in its entirety in the newspaper, I assured Joe we would post it to our website.
But, I told Joe I wanted to know more about Mitchell, so he contacted Mitchell and asked him to get in touch with me.
For Adam Rubin, success was secondary to maintaining roots in Canada - and reconnecting with old friends during Covid
By GERRY POSNER Could you predict an Adam Rubin? Not likely. If you asked him, he would have said not at all. But Adam, the youngest child of Chuck and Naida Rubin (neither of whom is exactly unknown to many readers of the JP&N) has carved out a path which is truly remarkable in many ways.
Harriet Zaidman’s latest book focuses on a bygone era that also incorporates some well-known Winnipeggers in the story
By MARTIN ZEILIG In her latest novel for young adults, Winnipeg author Harriet Zaidman reinforces the role of ice hockey as being, in her words, “synonymous with Canada.”
No doubt about it: Hockey is, indeed, a defining cultural entity within our country.
Winnipeg Jewish hockey players of yesteryear
The following article is taken from the February 13, 1986 issue of The Jewish Post and was written by the late Leible Hershfield, the Jewish Athlete of the Half Century. In our Dec. 22 issue we ran two memoriams for Labovitch brothers, Irvin and Max. The Labovitch brothers, of whom there were four, were all terrific athletes. Leible’s article mentions two of them: Max and Lou.
Letters from readers responding to the list of Manitoba synagogues
By BERNIE BELLAN Elsewhere on this website (http://jewishpostandnews.ca/8-features/987-a-list-of-all-winnipeg-synagogues-that-ever-existed) you can see the list of synagogues that may have existed at one time or another in Manitoba. That article led to quite a few responses from readers, some of whom offered recollections of their own of synagogues from a bygone era. In addition, we were made aware of one synagogue, known as the "Pavlitcher" synagogue, located at the corner of Dufferin & Aikins, that was not included in the list of synagogues. Click on "Read more" to see the letters we received, also a story about a building that still stands on Pritchard, known as the Hebrew Friends Temple, about which we knew nothing.
JCFS works to meet the needs of Holocaust survivors
By BERNIE BELLAN In 1933 the Jewish population of Europe was 9.5 million. Following the war it was 3.5 million. Two thirds of European Jewry perished in the Holocaust. Prior to the war Poland had the largest Jewish population in Europe: over 3 million. Following the war, it was reduced to about 45,000.