Jake Tapper reflects on his role as a CNN anchor and his search in vain for a connection to any Winnipeg Tappers
By BERNIE BELLAN Jake Tapper is a very well-known CNN anchor (and chief Washington correspondent) whose manner is totally opposite from the firebrands who populate Fox News.
Community leaders David Asper, Harvey and Sandra Secter among the honourees at recent University of Manitoba convocation
By MYRON LOVE Community leaders David Asper and Harvey Secter were among ten individuals who were recipients of honorary degrees at the University of Manitoba’s most recent convocation.
The mayor of Jerusalem visited Winnipeg - but I never got a chance to speak with him
By BERNIE BELLAN On Wednesday, June 15 I was expecting to have a chance to meet the mayor of Jerusalem, whose name I found out is Moshe Lion. What follows is an email I sent to Keith Levit, who was taking pictures of the mayor and his entourage that day, and who asked me whether I was going to use any of the pictures he took.
Ari Posner has found success as a composer after growing up in a musical family
By ORI BELMONT Born in Winnipeg in 1970, Ari Posner was exposed to music and performing at an early age.
Dr. Cara Katz receives grant to study autism from sibling point of view
By MYRON LOVE Autism can be a difficult diagnosis that can put a tremendous strain on a family. While the focus for parents, healthcare workers and other support services is rightly on helping the affected child to navigate life, the impact of a sibling with autism on other children in the family may be overlooked.
Bob Wiseman: He left Blue Rodeo and fashioned his own successful career.
By GERRY POSNER You don’t have to look far to get a handle on Bob Wiseman or, for that matter, his three brothers: Ron, Gordie and Howie. Mom and Dad -Elaine and the late Mannie Wiseman, set the table and the boys seem to have eaten from the plates that their parents set for them.
Two former Winnipeggers see short stories published
By BERNIE BELLAN It’s not easy for a writer to obtain recognition. How’s that for a cliché?
Can Esports Compete With Traditional Sports?
Esports is rapidly growing and gaining popularity faster than any other sports game ever before. It has the same definition as every other sport, a competitive game between two or more teams or players, depending on the game. But the real question is, can Esports compete with traditional sports?
Canadian premiere of play about the lives of Bella & Marc Chagall will leave you wanting to learn more
“The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” – a WJT production – on now at the Asper Campus
Reviewed by BERNIE BELLAN Most of us are familiar with the paintings of Marc Chagall – with his surrealistic imagery permeated with flying cows, roosters, fish, and the moon. But, what about the man himself? What was he like as a husband? And, what about the woman he married? What was she like?
Winnipeg teacher Kelly Hiebert receives Governor General’s History Award for Holocaust documentary
By MYRON LOVE In a sense, Kelly Hiebert could be designated as “righteous among the Nations”. The Westwood Collegiate history teacher is one of just a handful of teachers in Manitoba who make a point of incorporating Holocaust education in their teaching.
Mayor of Sderot pays a return visit to Winnipeg
By BERNIE BELLAN It was just three short years ago (in February 2019) that the mayor of Sderot, Alon Davidi, visited Winnipeg for the first time. I was invited to attend a briefing that Mayor Davidi gave in the boardroom of the Taylor McCaffrey law office back then. Here is part of what I wrote about that briefing:
Manitoba Legislature recognizes May as “Jewish Heritage Month”
By BERNIE BELLAN The Manitoba Legislature passed a motion unanimously on Tuesday, May 31 that recognizes May as “Jewish Heritage Month” in Manitoba.
In a press release describing the motion, it was noted that “Springfield-Richot MLA Ron Schuler was pleased to present Bill 240, The Jewish Heritage Month Act, which would make each year’s month of May Jewish Heritage Month.
Scenes from the Negev Gala
This year's Negev Gala honouring Michael Paterson and Gail Asper was, as was last year's, produced in advance, and broadcast over the internet, this year on June 2. Click on Read more to see a collage of photos from this year's gala.
Journalism student Gavin Axelrod welcoming opportunity to gain journalistic experience with home town Free Press
By MYRON LOVE Readers of the Winnipeg Free Press sports section may recently have noticed a new name appearing in print in the sports pages. That would be Toronto Metropolitan (formerly Ryerson) University journalism student Gavin Axelrod who is really excited for the opportunity to serve a summer internship in his home town with his hometown newspaper.
Former Massad staffer pursuing career in geological engineering
By MYRON LOVE It was a yen for new vistas that has led former Winnipegger Benji Saadia to choose to go to university at Queen’s College in Kingston and, come the fall, begin his career as a geological engineer in Italy.
Further to how many Israelis have come here under the Provincial Nomineee Program
By BERNIE BELLAN Elsewhere on this website (http://jewishpostandnews.ca/local/1132-increase-in-allocations-to-provincial-nominee-program-likely-to-lead-to-influx-of-israeli-immigrants-to-winnipeg) we have a story about the Provincial Nominee Program, which is the program through which a great many new Jewish immigrants from Israel and other countries have been able to move to Manitoba.
Following publication of that article, however, we received comments from an immigration consultant who suggested that, as a result of the tightening of requirements under the PNP, there are fewer individuals from Israel who will be applying to come to Manitoba.
Méira Cook’s latest novel is arguably her most “Jewish” one yet
Review by BERNIE BELLAN I’ve been following the career of poet and novelist Méira Cook ever since her name was first mentioned in this paper in an article written by my niece, Suzy Waldman, in 1995. At that time Méira (who is named for her late grandfather, Meir) noted that she had been sticking with poetry to that point, but was now considering switching to prose.
Winnipeg Jewish Theatre to present Canadian premiere of “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk”
By BERNIE BELLAN Following upon the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre’s resounding success with its 2021 summertime production of “Dear Jack Dear Louise,” the WJT is once again about to present a play outdoors, beginning June 11, with the Canadian premiere of “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk”.
All you need to know about Professional Betting Tipsters
Sports betting has exploded over the past few years across the United States and Europe, and for a good reason. People love betting on their favorite sports, and online sportsbooks have taken advantage of that love. Sports betting is a huge business, with billions of dollars being wagered on sporting events every year.
Michael Paterson and Gail Asper talk about their lives and why they’ve given their support to this year’s JNF Negev Gala
By BERNIE BELLAN On June 2 the Jewish National Fund will be honouring Gail Asper and Dr. Michael Paterson, a couple that has long been associated with many aspects of the Jewish community, whether it’s been Gail’s storied philanthropic endeavours or Michael’s years of service on the board of Jewish Child & Family Service.
Increase in allocations to Provincial Nominee Program likely to lead to influx of Israeli immigrants to Winnipeg
By BERNIE BELLAN From time to time we’ve had articles on this website that refer to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). If you’re not familiar with that program, here’s a summary of how it works:
Although the Federal government is ostensibly responsible for immigration to Canada, beginning in 1998, the Federal government (when the Minister of Immigration at that time was our own Lloyd Axworthy), allowed Manitoba to “nominate” a small number of individuals to immigrate to Manitoba, to fill labour needs in the province at that time.
Nathaniel Lisak is the complete package: brawn and brain
By BERNIE BELLAN Recently we published a story about nominees for Jewish Athlete of the Year. One of those nominees is Nathaniel Lisak, an outstanding football player from Grant Park High School. The picture we ran of Nathaniel, however, was not Nathaniel. We apologize for that error. A correct picture of Nathaniel appears with this story.
The Pollock progeny: three generations of lawyers
By GERRY POSNER There are a number of businesses and professions where you see a son and a father together or a mother and a daughter or any other combination. In professional hockey, the Howes and Hulls come to mind immediately. In medicine, and law for example, there are several families in the Jewish community of Winnipeg where this two generational link has occurred.
Killing of Al-Jazeera journalist Abu Akleh leads to the usual excuses from Israeli authorities
By ZEV COHEN The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran, well-known and popular journalist working for Al-Jazeera while covering an IDF operation in Jenin on the West Bank, ignited a firestorm of mutual accusations, claims, and counterclaims. Palestinians and their supporters, as well as Abu Akleh’s employer, see it as a given that she was deliberately targeted and murdered by the Israeli forces.
Gabriel Emmanuel (a.k.a. Gordie Wiseman) receives Prime Minister’s Prize
Just within the past week and a half we were made aware of prestigious awards received by two former Winnipeggers who left Winnipeg for Israel years ago, and who have established themseleves there very successfully in their respective artistic endeavours.
Gabriel Emmanuel (who was known as Gordie Wiseman in his Winnipeg days) was recently awarded the (Israeli) Prime Minister’s Prize for 2022.
Former Winnipegger Aharon Harlap one of three winners of $200,000 prize to be awarded by Azrieli Foundation in October
The Azrieli Foundation recently announced the three laureates of their 2022 Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) – the Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, which will be given in a ceremony to be held in Montreal this coming October.
Four Winnipeggers attending this summer’s Maccabiah Games in coaching/managing roles
By MYRON LOVE Four Winnipeggers will be attending this summer's upcoming Maccabiah Games as either coaches or managers: Naomi Kirshenblatt - swimming team manager; David Nepon - coach, under 16 basketball team; Alan Greenberg - manager, men's open hockey team; and Zachary Baron - tennis team coach.
Science background an asset for Winnipeg’s only Jewish home inspection specialist
By MYRON LOVE Readers of the Free Press may recognize the name, Ari Marantz. For the past 20-plus years, Winnipeg’s only Jewish home inspection specialist has been writing a regular weekly column, “Ask the Inspector”, on the subject he knows best.
The awards keep coming in for Professor Michael Eskin, the longest serving member of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences
By MYRON LOVE “My mother-in-law, the late Rose Kessler, always used to say that you should never retire and she was right,” comments Michael Eskin. “If I had retired at 65, I am not sure if I would have accomplished all that I have.”
Eskin (who is originally from Birmingham, England) is now in his 54th year of teaching in the University of Manitoba Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences.
Western Scrap wins division in Adult Senior Hockey League
We received a note from Joel Shuster, informing us that an all-Jewish team won its division in the Adult Senior Hockey League.
Joel explained that there were nine other teams in their division, and this was the first year that he and his teammates were able to finish on top of their division.
He added that the league had over 70 teams in it, “spread through numerous divisions.”