Rady JCC says good bye to Assistant Executive Director Tamar Barr

By BERNIE BELLAN In a message emailed to Rady JCC members on July 16, recipients of the email were informed that long time Rady JCC Program Director and, more recently, Assistant Executive Director Tamar Barr had left the Rady JCC.
Tamar’s departure actually occurred in October 2020 when she was laid off from her position as a result of financial pressures imposed upon the centre by Covid and the drastic scaling back of programs.

Eliminate one position and replace it with two positions - that's what the Rady JCC did

By BERNIE BELLAN Every few years within the past few years it seems, a Jewish organization in Winnipeg terminates the employment of some senior executive within that organization – always without explanation.
In 2015, it was the dismissal of the CEO of the Jewish Federation after less than a year on the job that caused a bit of a stir within our community – although to be honest, not much of one. Then, in 2018 it was the dismissal of the newly hired CEO of the Jewish Foundation that occurred - again, without any explanation.

Winnipeg South MP Jim Carr answers questions about his positions on Israel and antisemitism

By BERNIE BELLAN On July 23 I spoke with Jim Carr, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South Centre and Minister without Portfolio in the Federal Cabinet (also special representative to the prairies). I began our conversation with an explanation why I was asking to speak with Minister Carr at this particular moment:
“There are two different angles to me wanting to interview you, Jim. One is Canada’s position re Israel and the Palestinians. The other is the summit on anti-Semitism.

Golf tournament in Winkler Aug. 28 aiming to help build bomb shelters in Israel

Taylor Polstra is a young woman who spent a couple of years in Israel working for an organization known as International Christiam Embassy Jerusalem. While there, Taylor witnessed firsthand the duress under which Israelis live, never knowing when they might be under siege from rockets fired from Gaza – or, as has been the case in recent days, Lebanon.

Gwen Secter Centre plays host to Canadian/Israeli singer/songwriter of considerable renown who was stranded in Winnipeg for over a year and a half

By BERNIE BELLAN After going a year and a half in Winnipeg without any live entertainment to speak of - beyond the occasional street concerts that seemed to spring up impromptu from time to time, it was welcome news to read that the Gwen Secter Centre was going to be playing host to a series of weekly concerts every Wednesday through August 25th.

Banner year for ‘the Beach’ day camp

By SIMONE COHEN SCOTT Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba August 2nd, 2021 Winnipeg Beach Day Camp has come a long way. Around 1953 I was a counselor there, and if memory serves me, it had been founded only a year or two earlier.

These 3 hockey-playing Jewish brothers just made NHL history

By EVELYN FRICK July 26, 2021 (JTA) — Talk about goals: Luke Hughes has become the third brother in his hockey-playing Jewish family to be drafted in the first round of the NHL Draft. The New Jersey Devils picked the 17-year-old defenseman fourth overall in Friday’s selections, making the Hughes brothers of Orlando, Florida, the first American family to have three siblings drafted in the National Hockey League’s first round.

These Jewish athletes have won medals at the Tokyo Olympics

Among the Jewish athletes to win medals in Tokyo are, left to right, Avishag Semberg (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty), Jessica Fox and Lilia Akhaimova. (Semberg photo: Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty; Fox photo: Patrick Smith/Getty; Akhaimova photo: Jamie Squire/Getty)

By EMILY BURACK July 29, 2021 (JTA) — The Jewish highlights of the Tokyo Olympics kicked off with Jewish basketball superstar Sue Bird serving as one of Team USA’s two flag bearers at the opening ceremony, a huge honor.

14th annual Cancercare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life returning on August 5

By MYRON LOVE The 14th annual Cancercare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life 20KM walk (or 200-minute workout) is back again at its new time – as a result of Covid 19 – with several members of our Jewish community once more playing an active role.
As with last year, participants this year are walking in small groups covering the same distance over two weeks from August 5-17.

Proposal by College of Physicians and Surgeons to have all circumcisions performed in medical clinics “cut off” before it could go anywhere

By BERNIE BELLAN It began with an emailed message sent out by Jewish Federation CEO Elaine Goldstine to members of the community on July 13.
In her message, Goldstine informed recipients that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba had issued a draft proposal that, if accepted, would prevent any circumcisions from being performed anywhere other than in a “medical clinic”.

Shindico launches second major apartment complex on Taylor

By BERNIE BELLAN In 2020 Shindico broke ground on the first major apartment complex that company has undertaken in Winnipeg: Taylor Claire (named for Sandy and Robert Shindleman’s late mother), at 1120 Taylor Avenue.
With construction slated to be complete by the summer of 2022, leasing has been moving ahead at a steady pace with over 50 units already reserved.

Canadian Associates of Ben Gurion University hold online gala event featuring Shira Haas of “Shtisel” and “Unorthodox” fame

By BERNIE BELLAN Shira Haas may be only 26 years old, but she has already become one of Israel’s best known actors, having starred as an Orthodox Jew in both “Shtisel” and “Unorthodox”. (In real life Shira is not Orthodox, by the way.)
On Wednesday, July 7th, Canadian Associates of Ben Gurion University presented a cross-Canada online event promoting brain research at Ben Gurion University, during which Senator Linda Frum, who was in Toronto, took a leaf from her late mother, Barbara Frum’s playbook, and interviewed Shira Haas, who was in Tel Aviv, in what turned out to be an enjoyable and quite interesting 40 minutes back and forth.

Haskel Greenfield peers into the mouths of donkeys (and other critters) for new information concerning Bronze Age civilization in Middle East

By MYRON LOVE There is a Biblical story doubtless known to regular shul goers in which an ass talks. For those readers who are not familiar with it, the story can be found in Numbers 23-35 in the Torah.

Anita Jacobson: The return of the native (sort of)

By GERRY POSNER Flexibility is an important quality as chiropractor Martin Gurvey (about whom you can read at http://www.jewishpostandnews.ca/8-features/836-martin-gurvey-a-very-flexible-guy) has demonstrated, but then in another related way, so has Anita Jacobson. You might say that Anita is to Occupational Therapy as Martin is to Chiropractry.

For popular dance teacher Rheesa Schachter, Kids Etc. is a family affair

By MYRON LOVE In more ways than one, for Rheesa Schachter, Kids Etc. Youth Movement Company is a family affair. Her daughters, Taylor and Jessica Smith, whom she describes as her two best friends, have been an integral part of Kids Etc. since they were teenagers - both as students and, later, as teachers – and, since 2017, have been her partners in the business.