Ottawa jewish bulletin 2011 04 25(inaccessible)

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bulletin volume 75, no. 13

april 25, 2011

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openOttawa symposium participants urged to embrace being Jewish and participating in Jewish community

By Jacqueline Shabsove “I’m a Jew because I believe that being Jewish helps me be a better human being. It’s not about isolating ourselves from the world, it’s about together defining ourselves and celebrating all the opportunities that Judaism brings us to.”

That declaration by keynote speaker Shawn Landres was voiced early in the day to 60 of Ottawa’s young Jewish leaders – aged 22 to 35 – taking part in the openOttawa symposium, April 3, at the Minto Suites Hotel. Participants were challenged to embrace the importance and personal significance of being Jewish and participating in a Jewish community in the 21st century.

The symposium, presented by

the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, featured Landres and his Jumpstart co-founder Joshua Avedon, along with Scott McGrath, founder of 4Square Group, and discussed the needs and direction required to engage the emerging generation of young Jewish adults in Ottawa.

Jumpstart, a Los Angeles based organization, provides early stage Jewish non-profits with networking opportunities and the tools needed for success.

McGrath, a therapist in private practice and an active volunteer with the Annex Shul in Toronto, has recently been trained to prepare Jewish educators and leaders in ways to engage LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) youth (Continued on page 2 )

Keynote speaker Shawn Landres leads a discussion during the openOttawa symposium, April 3.

Rabbi Simes visits his students Students, teachers and staff at the Ottawa Jewish Community School had a special surprise, April 12, when Rabbi Yehuda Simes paid a prePassover visit to the school.

Rabbi Simes, a very popular Judaic Studies teacher at the school, was seriously injured in a highway accident on June 20 last year and has since been working hard at his recovery. His presence in the classroom has been sorely missed and everyone was delighted to finally get a chance to see him again.

During an assembly, Rabbi Simes spoke to the students about how the accident has affected his life and his faith. The experience was very moving for everyone. Afterward, students surrounded Rabbi Simes, all of them wanting to talk personally with him.

Rabbi Simes’ visit was recorded by reporters from CBC Radio’s The Current. The segment on Rabbi Simes was scheduled to air on April 21.

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Page 2 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

Symposium: an intense day of brainstorming and discussions (Continued from page 1)

and adults in the Jewish community.

The symposium, which was webcast live, lasted more than nine hours and was also attended by a number of senior lay leaders and Federation staff.

An overview of Ottawa’s Jewish demographics was provided at the beginning of the day. While the city’s Jewish population stood at 13,000 in 2001, it is projected to reach 19,000 by 2021. It is estimated that approximately 5,000 will fall under the Jewish young adult demographic. Thus, the symposium’s stated goals were to “connect, consult and collaborate” with young Jews in Ottawa to create a vibrant, inclusive Jewish community for the future.

The morning session included a series of three facilitated group discussions – “Engineering Serendipity,” “Values and Visions of the Emergent Community” and “Social Change: from ideas into action” – run individually by Landres, Avedon and McGrath.

Avedon, who led the “Values and Visions” session, emphasized how important it is for Jewish communities to draw in people based on authentic, joyful experiences, and that lowering the bar is not necessary, as people like to be challenged.

Success in bringing in young adults to a Jewish community “doesn’t require an intellectual or guilt-based reason,” said Avedon.

He also emphasized that identity in the 21st century is multifaceted, and that today’s young people don’t represent themselves in a monolithic manner.

A theme that many participants emphasized throughout the day was the challenge of balancing a Jewish religious community with a Jewish cultural community.

Some said they desired connection between the two, while others were looking to participate in a solely cultural Jewish community.

Another common theme was that community building revolves around creating relationships. According to Landres, this is what “energizes the community.”

One of the central activities of the day was the World Café, in which participants and community leaders sat in groups and discussed five topics: Young Adult Engagement; Developing Resources – Human, Physical and Financial; Spirituality and Cultural Community; Social Action and Activism; and Diversity and In-

clusion. These discussions were focused around generating a list of creative ideas for programs that collectively could transform the community.

Then, based on participants’ interests, they were divided into groups focusing solely on one of those five topics, with the goal of narrowing down the ideas from the group sessions and formulating plans for how these ideas could be put into action. Additionally, a subgroup on Jewish Education was formed, based on a strong interest by some individuals. (See article below for an overview of these ideas.)

In wrapping up an intense day

of brainstorming and discussions, Landres encouraged participants to think about their openOttawa experiences in terms of “intimacy, authenticity, discoverability and leadership.”

Following the symposium, openOttawa co-ordinator SaraLynne Levine and co-chairs Howie Fremeth and Naomi Hirshberg all told the Bulletin they were pleased with the day.

“Everyone there seemed to give their attention, focus and ideas 100 per cent,” said Levine.

“People were engaged, excited and willing to share and discuss different points of view.”

“I was impressed with the qual-

ity of the program ideas being raised, and by the passion of the participants in wanting to create a community where they feel their needs are being met,” said Hirshberg.

“This event was effective in providing a 21st century twist on the traditional town hall format,” said Fremeth. “By gathering voices from a wide spectrum of the young adult Jewish population and inviting them to attend, we were able to kick start a conversation that will hopefully continue into the future.”

Fremeth also emphasized some of the challenges in moving forward.

“The difficult task now is to start distilling the ideas from the symposium and to help foster a culture within Ottawa’s organized Jewish community that is open to these ideas,” he said.

“Staff and speakers are working on turning around a report and recommendations as quickly as possible so we can move forward with the next steps,” said Levine.

A follow-up openOttawa discussion will be held Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 pm, at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre. All are welcome. To attend, an RSVP is required by May 11 to sllevine@jewishottawa.com. For more details, visit openottawa.ca.

Symposium brings forth broad array of initiatives

By Jacqueline Shabsove Throughout the openOttawa symposium, small groups were formed to conduct breakout sessions where ideas and initiatives, both old and new, were brought forth and discussed.

In these sessions, the participating young Jewish adults were challenged to generate ideas in the areas of Young Adult Engagement; Developing Resources – Human, Physical and Financial; Spirituality and Cultural Community; Social Action and Activism; Diversity and Inclusion; and Education.

Some ideas were immediately embraced as being important. One was the creation of a central website for Jewish young adults in Ottawa, which would feature detailed descriptions of all organizations in Ottawa, and a complete listing of upcoming events.

It was proposed that the website be similar to geshercity.org, which connects young adults in their 20s and 30s to local Jewish communities in major U.S. cities. It was also mentioned that online discussion forums and a search engine feature would be useful.

Other ideas were acknowledged and kept for possible later development.

Mentoring was brought up often and included the possibility of having a mentor bank.

Other ideas floated included a job web forum, increased opportunities for networking and developing leaders, a volunteer co-ordinator, and finding opportunities for young adults to sit on Jewish community boards.

Donating time was mentioned by some participants as a way for them to contribute to the community, as opposed to giving financial resources to Jewish causes.

Overwhelmingly, an increase in social activities was suggested, ranging from film nights, cooking classes and community gar-

openOttawa symposium participants discuss some of the many ideas brought forth.

dens to bagel breakfasts, book clubs and travel groups.

Other small niche programs were encouraged that would focus on the quality engagement of individuals, as well as the quantity factor of bringing in hundreds of participants for larger events.

Many participants concluded that young Jewish adults need to be consistently approached in a direct and engaging way. Ideas for such outreach included having an ambassador from the community welcome new people and notify them of interesting opportunities and events and a passport that would provide young adults with free or reduced-price access to events and activities in the community.

Several participants mentioned ideas for spiritual events with a twist such as “Stump the Rabbis,” in which small groups would meet with two rabbis representing different denominations and challenge them with questions.

Multi-denominational or themed Shabbat dinners and Shabbat dinners at community members’ homes, along with different ways of get-

ting to know one’s Jewish neighbours, were also mentioned. Another idea presented was kosher sutras as a way of exploring Judaism with meditation on the week’s parsha, along with yoga.

It was also mentioned that there needs to be ways for diverse Jewish groups, including Israelis, Russians and LGBT groups, to be included in important roles in the community.

Social action initiatives, such as the creation of a Jewish Habitat for Humanity, were also called for by some participants.

As well, an accessible, central meeting space for a variety of events was also called for by several participants who suggested that a downtown location would attract more young Jewish adults.

This was just a small selection of the many ideas that participants generated at the openOttawa Symposium. Follow-up on these initiatives will be provided in future editions of the Bulletin.

For more on the openOttawa Symposium, see pages 6 and 12.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 3

Page 4 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

Christians and Jews celebrate Israel with four-city Canadian tour

By Ilana Belfer Christians and Jews, united in support of the Holy Land, celebrated Israel at the Peace Tower Church in Centretown, April 6.

Canada Celebrates Israel: The Land, The People was a four-city Canadian tour, April 4-7, in support of Israel organized by several Jewish, Christian and political organizations. In addition

to Ottawa, there were events in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto with Israel’s Ambassador to Canada Miriam Ziv and three members of the Knesset in attendance. “It’s so good to come together like this,� said Reverend John Tweedie, international chair of Christians for Israel, to let Israelis know “there are Christians in Canada who genuinely love

the people of Israel.�

Reverend Tweedie hosted the Ottawa event with Rabbi Reuven Bulka of Congregation Machzikei Hadas.

Outgoing Treasury Board President Stockwell Day was advertised as the keynote speaker, but did not attend.

Instead, a video clip of Day’s speech the night before in Montreal was shown.

Day discussed the Dead

Notice of Annual General Meeting The Jewish Federation of Ottawa will hold its 77th Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 7:00 pm in the Social Hall of the Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building.

The entire Jewish community of Ottawa is invited to attend.

Section 17.1B of the by-laws state that “ At least thirty (30) days before the annual general meeting, the board of directors shall send the Nominating Committee report to each Full Member and invite each Full Member to provide the President and Chief Executive Officer, at least fourteen (14) days before the annual meeting, the name of any additional candidates which he/she wishes to nominate, together with a letter of support from five (5) other Full Members of the Corporation and a statement by the candidate of interest and qualifications.�

At the June 2, 2010, Annual General meeting of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, the following individuals were elected to serve a term of two (2) years, ending June 2012, as members of the Board of Directors: Jennifer Kardash Jacquie Levy Bonnie Merovitz Phillip Stein The following individuals are nominated to serve a term of two (2) years as members of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, serving to June 2013: Debbie Weiss – Chair Steven Kimmel – Vice Chair

Linda Kerzner Lisa Rosenkrantz The Chair has indicated that she will appoint the following (2) individuals to serve as members at large of the Board of Directors: Stephen Bindman Mark Thaw Ex-officio members of the Board of Directors include: Donna Dolansky Immediate Past Chair Neil Zaret Chair of Jewish Community Campus Mitchell Bellman President and CEO The Full Members of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa include one representative of each funded agency; each of the Pulpit Rabbis; a representative of each community synagogue; a representative of every local Jewish community organization that is not a funded agency; and the Chair of the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation.

In addition, the Board of Directors will appoint fifteen (15) Full Members at Large within thirty days of the AGM. The Full Members are responsible for electing the Board of Directors and for approving the Strategic and Business Plans.

Please address any questions to Mitchell Bellman at 613-798-4696, ext 224 or at mbellman@jewishcottawa.com

Sea Scrolls in the video saying their discovery legitimizes the State of Israel. “Those texts alone give Israel the aboriginal right to exist,� he said.

MKs Robert Ilatov of the Yisrael Beiteinu party; Ayoob Kara of Likud, a Druze who is deputy minister of development for the Negev and Galilee; and Shai Hermesh of Kadima attended the rally and thanked Canadians for their support of Israel.

All three are members of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus.

Josh Reinstein, director of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, said he had dinner at the ambassador’s residence prior to the event with others from the Canada Celebrates Israel tour, including Chief Kenny Blacksmith and his wife, Louise Blacksmith, of Gathering Nations International, a First Nations organization dedicated to reconciliation between people, nations, churches and governments. “Everyone was so different,� said Reinstein, “and it felt like we were sitting at a family reunion.�

After the speeches, the celebration included klezmer music and Israeli folk dancing.

Among the attendees at the event was Nienke Toxopeus, a 43-year-old nurse.

Israeli Ambassador Miriam Ziv brings greetings from the State of Israel to the Canada Celebrates Israel event, April 6, at the Peace Tower Church.

(Photo: Ilana Belfer)

“I’ve been a longtime friend to Israel. I’m a Christian and I feel that I should support Israel,� she said. “In my church, we pray for Israel like it says in the Bible.�

Also there was Shira Brass, a Jewish 22-year-old working as a parliamentary assistant.

“Not only do we support Israel in a passive way, we are taking a stand,� she said, pointing out the strong bonds between Jews and Christians brought to light at the event.

At the end of the night, everyone was encouraged to sign a declaration pledging support to the State of Israel.

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Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 5

Jewish community is reminded that completing the National Household Survey of 2011 Census is of utmost importance

By Michael Regenstreif Jewish federations across Canada, including the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, are reminding members of the Jewish community that it is of utmost importance that they complete the 2011 Census of Canada, which will be undertaken in May. In particular, they are reminding people to respond to the National Household Survey should theirs be among the one-third of Canadian households that receive the National Household Survey.

Questions pertaining to religion and ethnicity are found on the National Household Survey, and Jewish federations – like many other organizations – rely on this data to properly serve their communities in planning for the future.

The methodology for the 2011 Census is different from in the past. Responding to the National House-

hold Survey – which used to be referred to as the Long Form – is now considered voluntary rather than mandatory.

While completing the National Household Survey is now voluntary, it is imChildren Healthcare Women

portant that people do so. At minimum, 80 per cent of Jewish households that receive the National Household Survey must respond in order to obtain statistically reliable data on Jewish ethnicity and religion. It

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must be remembered that it is only the census taken at the beginning of each decade in which the questions on both religion and ethnicity are posed, so, if accurate statistics are not obtained from this year’s census, it will be 2021 before there is another opportunity to obtain the data.

Census data is an important tool for Jewish community leaders and planners to use in understanding the demographic and socio-economic information of Jewish communities.

Strategic planning for long-term service provision and community advocacy is particularly reliant on the essential information about immigrants, the intermarried, vulnerable populations, cultural groups and the geographic distribution of Jewish populations that is found in census data.

Without such accurate data, Federation and social service planning departments cannot accurately make long-term plans. Planning that had been done using accurate statistics in the past would have to be done by guesswork.

In an era of strained resources, when every dollar counts, accurate data is also essential in making informed decisions on how federations and agencies allocate funding. Accurate data is also important for

donors and funding agencies to understand the needs of the community.

The 2011 Census period will begin during the week of May 2 to 9 when every household in Canada will receive a census kit that will include a link and access code to fill out the obligatory Short Form online and a number to call for those wishing to request a paper version of the Short Form, which can be returned by mail.

One-third of households will also be asked to complete the National Household Survey. For those fill-

ing out the Short Form online, the National Household Survey will automatically appear on screen if their household is among the one-third designated.

On June 7, a paper version of the National Household Survey will be mailed to the designated households that have not completed it online. On June 14, reminders will be mailed to households that have not yet completed the Short Form or National Household Survey.

Finally, non-respondents will be contacted via telephone and at the door between July 4 and August 15.

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Page 6 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

The openOttawa symposium was an awesome day “Awesome” isn’t a word I use very often. As my children will attest, my vocabulary is indicative of my generation. But, after spending a recent Sunday in the company of 70 young adults having a conversation about Jewish community, I can only say, “Awesome!”

Let me give you a little background.

In February 2007, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, under the chairmanship of Ron Prehogan, convened a leadership symposium with 100 Jewish Ottawans of all ages to discuss the future of the Ottawa Jewish community.

It was a very inspiring day, and many excellent initiatives resulted, including the establishment of our own Hillel House on the University of Ottawa campus, the Jewish Ottawa InfoCentre, and more.

One of the initiatives that came out of that symposium was the hope that we would be able to hold a similar discussion with the young people in our community so that we could examine what kind of Jewish community would engage them.

Community leaders knew there was a large number of individuals in this cohort

Federation Report Donna Dolansky Chair (ages 22 to 35), but it was difficult to find, much less engage, them.

In the past couple of years, there have been some events, mostly social, and we began to meet some of these young adults.

During my term as chair of the Federation, the Federation Board of Directors gave the JOIE Committee (Jewish Outreach, Identity and Education) the task of trying to plan a gathering to engage, to inspire and, more importantly, to listen to these young people.

It was not an easy job, but JOIE Chair Jacquie Levy formed a committee of some of the young leaders we knew, and, with the help of Jeff Bradshaw, Sarah Beutel and Sarah-Lynne Levine, they created openOttawa, the all-day discussion that took place recently. And it was awesome.

The participants were chosen based on a social/geographical mapping exercise, and approximately 70 young people, along with about 10 community leaders, spent a Sunday together having a conversation. The day was facilitated by Joshua Avedon and Shawn Landres of Los Angeles, co-founders of Jumpstart, and Scott McGrath, who is chair of the Annex Shul, an independent minyan in Toronto, and a faculty adviser with the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

The day began with an introduction by the chairs of openOttawa, Naomi Hirshberg and Howie Fremeth, who spoke about the demographic data relating to this generation, and told us that the purpose of the day was to start a conversation, to move from research to action, with the goal of a vibrant, inclusive Ottawa Jewish community.

There were several opportunities throughout the day to break up into smaller groups for discussion, with some of the themes being Social Action, Values and Visions of the Emerging Community, and – the first one I attended – Engineering Serendipity, which was a quirky way to solicit innovative ideas! The group’s ideas just kept

flowing. By lunchtime, there was a definite buzz to the room!

One exercise we did was something called World Café. There were five tables and five facilitators. The facilitators spent time with each group, and each group built on what the previous group had done. The topics here were Spirituality and Cultural Community, Social Action and Activism, Diversity and Inclusion, Young Adult Engagement and Developing Resources.

It was a very full day! Shawn Landres and Joshua Avedon summed up the day and then everyone shared dinner with friends they didn’t know that morning!

Of course, openOttawa doesn’t end there. A report on the ideas and innovations generated will be forthcoming, and the group will get together again in May as a follow-up. We have already had people coming forward to volunteer to bring some of those ideas to fruition.

It remains only for me to thank the entire organizing committee for a very successful job. Yasher koach! We look forward to hearing more about, and from, these young leaders.

Jewish education and technology: tool or goal?

The explosion of technological advances has created new opportunities in Jewish education. At the RAVSAK (the Jewish community school network) conference in Los Angeles in February, I was overwhelmed with the possibilities one can explore in promoting the learning of our heritage through using different apps, the Internet, etc. In essence, one walked away with the feeling that instruction is changing and learning is evolving.

Interestingly, the concept of frontal instruction has become a relic of the educational stone age. Students now have a mastery of technology that often surpasses that of the teacher. The teacher has become more of a facilitator whose fount of wisdom is not the only source of knowledge.

Learning now becomes a shared experience as students inform the class and the teacher of new areas of study that may or may not be known to the experienced educational professional.

Networks of student communication can reach beyond the walls of the classroom to other parts of the world in the area of shared knowledge as depicted in online study with consummate professionals who are accessible through the miracles of Skype and webinars.

In essence, it is the teacher who has to adjust to the new reality of educational instruction. The Solomonic adage of teaching a child according to his or her pathway is accentuated by the realization that our students are learning differently from previous generations. Professional development courses should be geared to the re-

From the pulpit Rabbi Howard Finkelstein Beit Tikvah education of educators who may be too shy or reticent about adopting new methods of instruction and adapting to a new educational reality.

However, it must always be emphasized that technology is simply a tool in Jewish education, never an end in itself. The technology has to suit the subject, rather than the reverse. Specifically, it must be recognized that, while it’s important to master and take advantage of technological innovation, technology itself is not a strong foundation of Jewish knowledge.

Specifically, while there are websites – such as Mikranet, Daat and others – from reliable Jewish sources that deal with the intricacies of biblical studies in Hebrew, we still lag behind in the development of sites in English as missionary and other non-Jewish sites have ruled the roost in this area. Unless our students have a strong background in both biblical and modern Hebrew, the Hebrew websites remain almost out of bounds for serious use.

A more vexing problem facing us is the reliance of our students on technology and all that it produces. While the need for technological knowledge is key to our students’ futures, both educationally and pro-

fessionally, the equally important need of critical, analytical thinking is somehow being shunted to the side of the classroom.

If we simply rely on the qualities of the computer and the Internet, we are, in a sense, depriving ourselves of using the most important computer ever devised, and God made: the human mind.

Sometimes, it is imperative to shut the laptop and allow the mind to work cerebrally. The most ancient computerized model of study, although not technologically, the Talmud, encouraged the positing of original thought and analysis to given concepts to be challenged and scrutinized.

Some schools may still emphasize the

use and the study of the sefer (book) in hand. For students of these schools and their teachers, there is no substitute for the actual book and learning from it.

Others seek ways to reach out to students who may not be comfortable with the traditional approach to study and use technology as a means to educate.

In our community, the latter approach is prevalent in Judaic and secular instruction in the Ottawa Jewish Community Day School, especially in the high school division.

It is a work in progress to be sure, but a wonderful opportunity for students to expand their Jewish educational horizons.

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Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 7

Commemorations and celebrations: A busy time of the Jewish year This is one of those particularly busy times of the Jewish year.

I’m writing this column just before we celebrate Passover. By the time you read it, the seder nights will have passed.

Although the issue is dated April 25 in keeping with our official Monday publication dates, we have timed the production of this issue so that we go to press before Passover and so that the newspaper will arrive – if Canada Post co-operates – in Ottawa subscribers’ homes on April 21, the first of the intermediate days.

Less than a week after the end of Passover, we’ll gather, Sunday, May 1, 7:00 pm, at the Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building, for Ottawa’s Yom HaShoah Commemoration featuring keynote speaker Ada Wynston, a child survivor of the Holocaust whose many years of dedication to Christian-Jewish dialogue, and for recognition of the Righteous Among the Nations, led Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to honour her with knighthood.

Although Ottawa’s Yom HaShoah event will take place as scheduled, the National Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony, which was to have taken place the next afternoon at the Canadian War Museum, has been postponed because May 2 is the date of the federal election.

Editor Michael Regenstreif It will now take place at the museum on Tuesday, June 14 at 3:30 pm.

On Sunday, May 8, 7:30 pm, Yom Hazikaron, the memorial day for Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, will be marked at the Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building.

The solemnity of Yom HaShoah and Yom Hazikaron give way to the celebrations of Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. Although Yom Ha’Atzmaut actually falls on May 9 this year, Ottawa’s major Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration will be at Lansdowne Park’s Aberdeen Pavilion on Tuesday, May 10, beginning at 5:00 pm and continuing through the evening with activities for all ages.

Goldstone and Dylan Speaking of Israel, a major conclusion of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, known as the Goldstone Report, that Israel committed

war crimes by targeting civilians during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009, has now been disavowed by none other than Richard Goldstone, the retired South African judge who chaired the UN fact-finding mission.

“If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document,” Goldstone wrote in a Washington Post op-ed on April 1.

Goldstone now says the evidence shows that Israel did not target civilians during the conflict.

The Goldstone Report has been a major factor in the delegitimization campaign against Israel since its release in September 2009. Goldstone, who is Jewish, became a hero to the anti-Zionist hard left.

No more. Anti-Zionist activists have turned on Goldstone as quickly as they embraced him.

Another current target of anti-Zionists is legendary folk-rock singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Dylan has announced that he’ll return to Israel on June 20 to perform a concert at Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv. This despite the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign applying heavy pressure on artists not to appear in Israel.

Actually, Dylan has been a target of anti-Zionists at least since releasing “Neighborhood Bully,” his 1983 allegori-

cal song about Israel and the Jewish people that left no doubt as to where he stood.

Federal election Last issue in this space, I mentioned that I would be reporting in this issue on the pre-election roundtable discussions that the Communications and Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa would be holding in advance of the May 2 federal election with Ottawa-area candidates from the Conservative, Liberal and New Democratic Parties on issues of concern to the Jewish community.

Unfortunately, due to Passover falling during the campaign, and the need to schedule the production of this issue so that it would go press before the holiday, there was a very small window of opportunity in which to schedule the roundtables. The tight scheduling with candidates from the three parties proved impossible for the committee to co-ordinate, so the discussions had to be cancelled.

As we will soon be going to the polls, I’ll take this opportunity to remind you of the importance for all of us to take the time to evaluate each of the parties, leaders and local candidates on whatever criteria and issues we choose and to vote accordingly on election day.

Canadian political parties didn’t always welcome ethnic candidates I’ve recently written in this corner that the outcome of the May 2 federal election could come down to the choices of voters in a couple of dozen ridings with large ethnic minority populations.

The political parties have devoted a disproportionate amount of their leaders’ time – and of their campaign resources – to wooing the so-called ethnic vote.

The Conservative Party in particular has spent a number of years trying to engage with immigrant and minority communities in an attempt to reverse the Liberal Party’s generations-long hold on their votes. Conservatives argue that their values most closely match those of members of these communities. Liberals disagree and accuse the Conservatives of pandering for votes.

In the end, the relative success of the parties in winning the support of such voters could very well be the critical factor that determines the shape of the next government.

If members of Canada’s political class today demonstrate common cause with minority communities, recruit minority candidates and make strong public pitches for the support of minority voters, it’s important to note that this wasn’t always the case in this country.

It wasn’t too many years ago – in the lifetimes of many Canadians – that overt

Alan Echenberg racism and anti-Semitism was not only part of the culture, but also a reality of political life.

An episode of a recent critically acclaimed documentary series by Ottawa journalist Holly Doan shines a spotlight on the discrimination faced by Canadian minority groups, particularly Jews, in the decade following the Second World War. Of particular note is the way that discrimination extended into the corridors of power.

Doan’s work, The Fifties, is a sweeping nine-part series covering many different stories about a decade that transformed Canada. The series debuted last month on CPAC – the Cable Public Access Channel – and is now viewable in its entirety at cpac.ca. (Full disclosure: I produce a program for CPAC, although I was not involved in any way with this documentary.)

In an episode called “One Canada,” Doan introduces us to such dubious char-

acters as Solon Low, the MP from Peace River Alberta, who led the Social Credit Party in the House of Commons from 1944 until 1958. Low believed Jews were not only behind communism, but they also funded Adolf Hitler. One Social Credit MP of the era spoke of world dictatorship and “Zionist control of the press and radio” in a Commons debate. The party was charged with using parliamentary mail to distribute anti-Semitic literature.

Although the Socreds were never a major force in national politics, the documentary shows how the attitudes of the era – a time when many properties and jobs were limited to white Christians – were reflected in the way governments operated.

A former journalist recalls how Jewish members of the Ontario legislature sat as independents because “parties didn’t want them.” On Parliament Hill, Jewish MPs had been elected to the House of Commons since 1871, but, eight decades later, no Canadian prime minister had ever appointed a Jew to cabinet or to the Senate.

Liberal prime minister Louis St-Laurent finally appointed longtime Toronto MP David Croll to be the first Jewish senator in 1955. But the documentary makes it clear the appointment only came about because St-Laurent – a man who publicly condemned bigotry – did not have the po-

litical courage to face down anti-Semites in his party and bring the talented and popular Croll into his cabinet. On top of his decade of experience as a backbench MP, Croll had also been a successful mayor in Windsor and a provincial cabinet minister.

It was only his Jewish heritage that kept him out of federal cabinet.

Canada wouldn’t have its first Jewish cabinet minister until 1969, when Pierre Trudeau made Herb Gray a minister without portfolio. Interviewed in the documentary, Gray puts his accomplishment into historical perspective: “I’m not saying there weren’t others, like Dave Croll, who were worthy of that, but it fell to me to have that distinction [as the first Jewish cabinet minister].”

The hero of the “One Canada” episode of The Fifties is John Diefenbaker, the longtime civil liberties advocate who became prime minister in 1957, and introduced the first Canadian Bill of Rights three years later. Historian Desmond Morton says Diefenbaker’s bill helped make “all those hatreds that this country had in its belly … unreal, meaningless, stupid, embarrassing.”

Only a few decades down the road, political barricades have turned into political welcome mats. It’s a history worth contemplating this election season.

Page 8 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

Mailbag Food Safety I always look forward to reading the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin. However, the recipe and directions in the latest Made with Love column (Macarons make a perfect Passover dessert, April 11) concerned me. So, I inquired about the advice to leave raw egg whites on the counter overnight.

According to Health Canada, “Eggs (whether raw or cooked) should not be kept at room temperature for more than two hours. Eggs that have been at room temperature for more than two hours should be thrown out.”

As you can see from the Health Canada guideline, I was right to be concerned.

Margie Moscoe Election As Canadians, it is not only our right, but our responsibility to participate in the democratic process and have our voices heard. Since our inception five years ago, the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC) has helped the Jewish community have impact beyond our numbers. Through the engagement of our thousands of community members across Canada within the multi-partisan political process, CJPAC has advanced prospects for a safe and secure environment for Israel and the Canadian Jewish community.

The Jewish community’s voting influence is restricted to 13 ridings across the country – yet there are 308 ridings at stake. Dozens of ridings are decided by the smallest margins. In the 2008 election, one candidate won by only two votes in a riding with a population over 49,000. Therefore, we must engage strategically and, most importantly, we must vote.

bulletin@ottawajewishbulletin.com

At stake in this election are issues of concern to all Canadians, in addition to issues of special concern to the Canadian Jewish and pro-Israel community, including the Canada-Israel relationship. In order to have your say on these issues, it is up to you to get involved.

It’s up to you to get informed. Learn more about where the candidates and parties stand on these issues. Visit itsup2you.ca to learn about your local candidates, the positions of their respective parties and to read the candidate’s responses to a questionnaire that we have designed.

It’s up to you to get involved. Volunteering for an election campaign is a great way to build relationships with members of Parliament and other decision-makers. These relationships are essential to ensuring our collective voice is heard. It’s also a great opportunity for networking, professional development and community involvement. Those who have volunteered in the past know how important and fun it can be. Fill out our volunteer form at itsup2you.ca and CJPAC will pair you with the campaign of your choice.

It’s up to you to support candidates. With election fundraising and spending limits it is easy to support friendly candidates in a significant way. Every dollar counts and

there are generous tax credits for political donations.

Through CJPAC, you can target your support to our community’s friends who need it the most. We are also able to ensure that every dollar donated is sent with the message, “Thank you on behalf of the Jewish community for your support of our issues.” Call Jonathan Ain at 1-866-9299552, ext. 238, for more information on how to make your political dollars count for the Jewish community.

Most of all, it’s up to you to vote. By exercising your right to vote, you have a say in charting Canada’s course on issues of importance to you and the community. Find out more about voting options at itsup2you.ca.

We can all help to strengthen our community’s voice by being an integral part of the political process, helping to elect candidates who support our community, and by building relationships with leaders and decision-makers who will have an impact on our issues.

Elections are won and lost on the basis of citizen participation. We are turning to you to make a difference for our community!

Joel Reitman Mark Waldman Chair, CJPAC Executive Director, CJPAC

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.

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Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 9

Veterans’ health centre fundraising director to retire

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JEWISH NATIONAL FUND More than trees 613.798.2411

Brian Pearl president

Sixth KKL-JNF Leadership Conference, marking our 110th anniversary, opens in Jerusalem The sixth KKL-JNF Leadership Conference was officially opened on Sunday, March 27 at a gala evening at the Botanical Gardens in Jerusalem. The opening event took place in the presence of Mayor Nir Barkat of Jerusalem, KKL-JNF World Chairman Efi Stenzler, KKL-JNF presidents from all over the world, and members of delegations from various countries.

The strong Canadian delegation was headed by National President Frank Wilson and included JNF Ottawa Vice-President Oliver Javanpour.

President Shimon Peres greeted conference participants in a short film that was shown at the event. ”What has made Israel great is not nature itself, but rather the nature of the people who live here. KKL-JNF has changed the colour of Israel’s land from brown, the colour of the desert, to green, the colour of gardens. You have changed the history of our people by planting trees, building water reservoirs, erecting new communities and various development initiatives. Each of you has a share in this enterprise of overcoming the call of desert and introducing the call of hope.

Your achievements are a gift for posterity. Continue on this path!” said the president of Israel.

“This conference is one of KKL-JNF’s most important events,” said KKL-JNF World Chairman Efi Stenzler. “There is no substitute for the unique feeling we have when our people from different countries meet here, in Jerusalem. Many difficult tasks await us, and the conference gives us an opportunity to think together and to join hands with each other and with officials of both the public and private sectors. Together we will be able to face future challenges.”

Mayor Barkat noted that Jerusalem is the natural choice for marking KKL-JNF’s 110th anniversary.

“People of all religions, all over the world, dream of visiting Jerusalem at least once in their lifetimes. You came here in order to help us build Israel and Jerusalem,” he said.

Barkat described his vision for city development, emphasizing three main goals: making the city more attractive for tourists, making it friendly for businessmen who are potential investors and encouraging young couples to make their homes here. Development programs include a belt of green parks that are to be erected around the city.

“We have a shared goal – we are all involved with building Jerusalem,” Barkat said. “If not for the partnership with KKL-JNF, many of the initiatives that we are presently promoting could not be realized.”

Roberto Munos, president of KKL-JNF Chile and co-chair of the conference, said that the representatives would learn from each other and get to know about the different countries’ projects during the conference.

“Chile, for example, is especially proud of a new project – the co-existence trail in the north, which goes from Dalton to Gush Halav. This is a new task that KKL-JNF has taken upon itself – to bring people closer for peace.”

Oliver will have more to tell us about the events of the conference next month in the JNF column.

Golden Book Inscriptions Edward and Judy Cohen, on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, by Ken Kavanat; Benjamin Hayes Shinder, on the occasion of his Bar Mitzvah, by his proud grandparents, Zelaine and Sol Shinder and Rhona and Leonard Cogan.

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).

By Brant Scott for Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre Foundation Paul Finn, the popular managing director of the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre Foundation, is retiring on May 12.

Finn has helped raise more than $15 million over the past 13 years to pay for new resident care equipment, furnishings, creative arts, grounds improvements, buses, education and a respite care home for dementia residents.

“Paul’s trademark approach is legendary in Ottawa’s fundraising community,” says Foundation Board Chair Ray Desjardins. “We have benefited so much from his leadership, enthusiasm and positive attitude.

“Paul has created great relationships between the Foundation, its donors and the community. He has done so much to improve the quality of life for residents at the Perley Rideau.”

Perley Rideau Executive Director and CEO Greg

Don’t forget!

Fougère says Finn has helped to change the face of the health centre.

“Paul has touched the lives of every resident we have welcomed to the Perley Rideau over the past 13 years,” explains Fougère.

“The health centre works successfully to provide the essential needs of our residents, and the Foundation enhances their experience with stimulating activities, artistic pursuits, entertainment and equipment.

“Paul’s legacy is evident everywhere in our halls, and we are all sorry to see him retire.”

Finn is an active participant in Ottawa’s Jewish community and enjoys discussions with the Perley Rideau’s small contingent of Jewish residents, who are mainly veterans.

Rabbi Arnold Fine, community chaplain for Jewish Family Services of Ottawa, comes to the Perley Rideau

Fundraiser Paul Finn will retire next month from the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre Foundation.

to celebrate Jewish holidays with the residents.

“When I assumed my duties as Jewish community chaplain, Paul introduced me to the intricacy and the blessings of this marvellous

health centre,” says Rabbi Fine. “His enthusiasm for his tasks and the new initiatives were always infectious.

“Additionally, he encouraged me to provide cultural and religious events for the Jewish residents, which had not existed before,” says Rabbi Fine. “It began a tradition, which is now a wonderful expectation of the Jewish residents at our holiday times.

“I have had the privilege of serving on boards and committees with Paul in our community,” adds Rabbi Fine. “His insights, sensitivities and energies have and will continue to be a blessing. I know that, with his retirement, he is planning to get involved in local and international efforts to aid people with a variety of needs.”

Finn and wife Sharon have three children – Joshua, Jordan and Davina.

77th Annual General Meeting The Chair and President of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa Invite you to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa Wednesday, June 1, 2011 7:00 pm

Monday, May 2 Every vote counts

Social Hall The Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building 21 Nadolny Sachs Private

Refreshments to follow

Community Awards Presentation Gilbert Greenberg Distinguished Service Award • Ian Sherman Freiman Family Young Leadership Award • Lisa Miller Shem Tov Community Volunteer Award • Morris Kimmel

Page 10 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

Inez Zelikovitz to be honoured at CHW Spring Tea

By Anna Bilsky Canadian Hadassah-WIZO Inez Zelikovitz will be honoured on Mother’s Day when the Amit, Mollie Betcherman and Ina McCarthy chapters of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) present their annual Spring Tea. A young 94, Inez is a renowned and much admired philanthropist.

She was born Inez Weiss, one of five daughters of Barney and Henrietta Weiss who ran the delicatessen at the Capitol Hotel at Rideau and Cumberland Streets in the 1930s and ‘40s. Along with smoked meat sandwiches, Barney gave help and guidance to newcomers.

For many years, Henrietta was president of the Lillian Freiman Chapter of Hadassah-WIZO. When she passed away in November 1967, the Hadassah Highlights newsletter noted, “She rendered loyal and devoted service to every facet of Jewish activity and was a tower of strength in all projects related to the work of Hadassah and our community … Her deeds will serve as a beacon to all our members.” In 1968, a new Hadassah chapter was named the Henrietta Weiss Chapter in her honour.

This was part of the wonderful legacy of “doing for and giving to others” that Inez inherited from her parents.

On September 22, 1940, she married Joseph Zelikovitz, who played football for the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1935 to 1938. Known as the “flying Hebrew,” Joe intercepted seven passes in a game against the Hamilton Tiger Cats in 1938, setting a Canadian Football League record. Because he had two brothers serving overseas during the Second World War, Joe took over the family leather business and the care of his parents.

Inez and Joe did not have any children, so they made a pledge to each other that the one who survived would donate all of their money to help the people who needed it most.

After Joe passed away in 1998, Inez set out to honour that pledge. In his memory, the Ottawa Hospital Foundation received $500,000 towards improvements at the Civic Campus. Inez has contributed to CHEO, United Way/Centraide Ottawa, the Food Bank, and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. In September 2000, the new Bess and Moe Greenberg Family Hillel Lodge in the Joseph and Inez Zelikovitz Long Term Care Centre opened as part of the new Jewish Community Campus.

At the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre Foundation, Inez created a Tree of Life that has been covered with leaves, costing $1,000 each, by more than 265 donors. She did the same at Congrega-

The CHW Tea honouring Inez Zelikovitz will benefit the new Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower opening next year at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

tion Beth Shalom Synagogue and at Hillel Lodge. This is only a partial list of her amazing philanthropy.

Now Inez Zelikovitz has created an amazing legacy of her own.

With her mother as a role model, Inez’s heart has always been with HadassahWIZO. The late Terry Schwarzfeld was like a daughter to her, and they shared their mutual support of the goals of Hadassah.

We in Hadassah are proud and delighted to honour Inez Zelikovitz, particularly on Mother’s Day. We all join Inez in honouring the memory of her beloved mother, Henrietta Weiss, and the memory of her beloved “honorary daughter” Terry Schwarzfeld.

Inez has chosen the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower at the Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, as the beneficiary of donations to the tea. This 19-storey complex will provide cutting-edge clinical care to everyone, regardless of religion or background, as well as training for medical professionals, and groundbreaking research and technological advances. The tower is slated to open in 2012.

The tea will be held at the home of Ingrid Levitz, 31 Chinook Crescent, Ottawa, on Sunday, May 8, 2011, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Everyone is welcome. For more information, call Candice Wilder at 613-8201878.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 11

Dear Community; For the past three years, I have been working with the Ottawa Humane Society to raise much needed funds for a new animal shelter in Ottawa. I hope that you will take a moment to read my story and perhaps gain a new understanding of the role and the value of the OHS in our community.

The current OHS facility is appalling. It was built in 1968 for a much smaller community, with far fewer animals. There is a shortage of space to house the number of animals that need us. There is little isolation space for sick and contagious animals. The air quality is poor. The building isn’t wheelchair accessible – I could go on and on. The wonderful staff, do an amazing job of “working around” the building, but at the end of the day, animals suffer.

The new facility will make such a difference for the over 11,000 abandoned, abused and injured animals in our care every year. It will be an inviting and welcoming place to visit. The air quality will be significantly improved with all the rooms in the holding area separately ventilated, cutting down on the spread of disease and allowing each room to potentially become an isolation room. The new clinic will more than double in size, with two operating tables, allowing for twice as many spays/neuters, enabling more animals to be placed in adoption faster.

What I didn’t appreciate three years ago when I started at the OHS, was the role of the OHS in the community beyond rescuing and caring for animals. The OHS visits 62 long-term care facilities, including Hillel Lodge, old age homes, women’s and homeless shelters, children’s treatment centres, etc. through our Brightening Lives Program. Our Humane Education program visits hundreds of schools every year to teach children and youth responsibility, compassion and respect for animals. Adult Pet Education aims to reduce neglect and irresponsible animal ownership.

The Leadership Education with Adolescents and Dogs (LEAD) program pairs troubled children and adolescents with shelter dogs that cannot be adopted. The young people learn to train and groom the dogs and help them become adoptable; and the dog’s unconditional love builds confidence, self-esteem and compassion in the children.

One of the most important elements of the new shelter will be a 100-seat, dividable education centre. This space will be used for new community programs, including pre-adoption classes, day camps, obedience classes, and more.

I’d like to invite you to meet with us, find out more about the new facility, and have a tour of the existing, overcrowded building. I think you’ll see as I did, that Ottawa’s animals are in urgent need of a new building.

It is a mitzvah to be working here everyday and helping the most vulnerable in our community, “baalei tzar chayim” guardian of all living things.

The move in date is early June. Our fundraising goal has almost been achieved, but we’re not there yet. Soon, there will be a new Ottawa Humane Society that the entire community can be proud of – one that will finally meet the needs of the animals.

If you would like to learn more about the OHS, please do not hesitate to call me 613-725-3166 ext. 279 or email me at annas@ottawahumane.ca Warmest regards, Anna Silverman

Page 12 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

Guest columns

openOttawa symposium was a great first step

By Howie Fremeth and Naomi Hirshberg openOttawa co-chairs As co-chairs of the openOttawa symposium on April 3, we are pleased that the day jumpstarted a conversation about ways to empower and engage Ottawa’s burgeoning young adult Jewish community.

The symposium brought together more than 50 young adults from different walks of life. It was the first time representatives of this generation of Ottawa’s Jewish community, aged 22 to 35, were brought together and

asked for our opinions. The ideas generated over the course of the day fit into themes of diversity, culture, education, social action, accessible funding, non-sectarianism, communication and welcoming newcomers.

Over the next few weeks, the openOttawa team will be in contact with the participants to determine which ideas can be implemented in the short-term. However, as co-chairs of this initiative, we want to stress that success must not be judged on the creation of more activities.

We could have achieved that

objective by simply meeting with people in small groups. openOttawa has a more profound and long-term objective: to strengthen our community.

The social mapping exercise that was used to identify participants led to an interesting conclusion. Contrary to the perception of some, Ottawa has a fairly large population of young Jewish adults who are engaged in a number of Jewish activities.

Although these activities might occur outside traditional, institutional spaces and agencies, they are no less meaningful. Young adults in the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) community go to each other’s homes for Shabbat. Grad students play pool at a local pub. Par-

liamentary interns play dodge ball at a community centre. Young women meet at a café for a book club. And friendly community leaders open up their homes to people who are new to Ottawa.

Despite having a vibrant network of young adults, our city lacks a connecting node.

There is no Yonge and Eglinton or Cavendish Mall and connections rarely happen by chance. We know that our schools, synagogues and the Soloway Jewish Community Centre are only meeting places for a small percentage of the young adult population.

This reality brings with it a sense of urgency.

With this in mind, we, as co-chairs of openOttawa, call on the Jewish Federation of

Ottawa to lead and encourage connections between young Jewish adults. The task at hand is for the Federation to more effectively utilize space (virtual and physical), the agencies that it funds, and its team of professional staff to foster the connections between the formal and informal networks.

The symposium was a great first step and the Federation recognizes that change is needed to engage the young adult community.

The challenge facing the Federation is to act on the ideas and feedback it received and to work in partnership with the established community and the lay-leaders that comprise the young adult population.

Luckily, the Federation

has a number of allies it can turn to.

The Young Women’s Leadership Council and jnet are two significant organizations, with direct and indirect connections to the Federation, which bring together young adults from different walks of life. Not only are they a resource for tapping into leadership, they can also act as intermediaries in mobilizing the diverse and decentralized young adult population. openOttawa will be a success if it leads to a conceptual shift in the Federation’s role as an organization that empowers young adults and works with grassroots groups to create an organized, inclusive and connected community.

Hillel Ottawa: The year in review

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By Ross Diamond Hillel Ottawa This past August, at the Hillel International Institute in St. Louis, I was challenged by Wayne Firestone, the CEO of Hillel International, to add depth and breadth to Hillel Ottawa.

What does it mean to add “depth and breadth” to Hillel? I knew what those words meant, but not in the context of adding it to Hillel Ottawa.

The school year passed in a flash and I found myself sitting in the Ottawa Bagel Shop with a mentor of mine.

“During this first year, much depth and breadth was added to Hillel Ottawa; and that has made it a successful year,” she said.

A smile crept on my face and I knew I had done something right during my

first year as executive director of Hillel Ottawa. The question was what. Why were these two very important people to Hillel Ottawa so focused on our depth and breadth?

This year, Hillel Ottawa expanded our services and engaged more students than ever before. Our Shabbat dinners served more than 800 meals. More than 60 students are going on Birthright. Casual get-togethers of Jewish students are occurring weekly. Students are volunteering regularly with the elderly and Tamir. Rabbi Dave Rotenberg, our on-campus rabbi, engaged students to think more deeply about their Jewish identity. The majority of our events included partnerships with other organizations. Jewish identity is only half of what we do,

and we did so much.

Israel activism on campus, conducted by the Israel Awareness Committee, was stronger than it has ever been. Advocacy training sessions were led by students and experts. A strategic campaign to spread information about Israel informed students on campus.

Members of Parliament John Baird, Marlene Jennings, Jeff Watson and Joe Volpe all spoke in support of Israel to students and community members. Social and cultural events to engage those who love Israel, regardless of politics, occurred frequently.

Most importantly, the majority of our Israel advocacy events involved partners from a variety of organizations in Ottawa and across Canada. The work that was done on campus in regard to Israel was phenomenal.

The heart of our success

in adding depth and breadth to Hillel Ottawa was the students.

The students made our events successful. The student leadership, who conceived these events, added the depth and breadth. They worked hard to make them happen, they built the on campus partnerships, and they brought out their peers to make Hillel Ottawa and our events so successful.

The secret to our success is that Hillel Ottawa is so fortunate to have a “depth and breadth” of students. It is the partnership between these leaders and the Hillel Ottawa staff that we were able to create an environment that is building a stronger Jewish student community.

Maintaining this positive environment for Jewish students in Ottawa is a continual process that continues to be built day by day, student by student.

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Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 13

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t en we found ou h w ay d s ew n nment’s GREAT e Ontario Gover Lodge: it was a l th le y il b H d r te n fo ra g ay 121 beds d n s e beds had bee ill be a total of n’t a good new ar w as C e w er m 0 th er 1 , 0 -T 2 ce g , n la 5 unity. o p October se beds are in s Jewish comm 21 additional L o f a’ th o aw ce al tt n v O O ro p ). in C ap re T r (MOHL g-term ca our request fo nal. ong-Term Care demand for lon L in d an se h ea lt cr ea e beds operatio in H t es f th an e ic if se n g to si s e Ministry o u ss th is anxio everelping us addre , the MOHLTC o long for the to ed d r ar fa s, aw th at the Lodge, h n n o ee b m ers. beds have odge is 18 ies and caregiv s for the extra ission to the L il ce m m n fa ad ce t r li u fo e -o e th ed m at ti ss en stre Now th age wait l as for their oft well. The aver el w as s as u io e, ction will be in x g se d an o L ew re e n th e We’ th to , n ts n la ce of rding to p ber of applica ; the convenien thing goes acco y y g er increasing num lo o ev n if ch , d te en, d an equipment an ain lobby, gard m in t later this year, e ar st th st te la to to e d ss th te ce e ec b ac p munity here will es; direct Work is ex months later. T sidents our com oms and loung e re ro r in u n ed o b t r u d o fo te ab e ra n o ic operatio and serv urfully dec of quality care d und floor; colo ar ro d g e an st th h n o ig h g n bei rse, the ne, op; and, of cou needs to be do at th rk o w n io café and gift sh ra construct proud of. ents will be ove funding for the ym al a it p p ct ca fa e is justifiably so e th h f T o . e ts t’s contribution en providing som of the paymen m e g b rn in l il m ve o ti w g e C o th T ri L e H ur bills, , the Onta well as th While the MO nding to pay o nd, even all in the amount as a fu , to t w d o en n te m la n ey n re er o v o es m g rely on d up front there are issu ort, we cannot sh e means we nee m In ti . f o ed d d ee io n er p lengthy t of what is t out 20 per cen b a ly n o ith this importan r w ve s u co p el h will to . y, communit ot in the future ttawa’s Jewish O f not now and n o s er b em ou, the m arkable are turning to y e w y h ers had the rem w ad is le at y it Th n u m m e ago, co r eventual h. Over a decad would allow fo tc at ra expansion. th sc g m in o w fr g ty n p facility, ti ing with an em isting 100-bed we are not star d il ex at u r b th u r o is u o g s f in o ew n n n n on and nstructio gained ru The good eeded to bring n pacity we have e the original co v ca se ro ti e p er iv ap p at tr ex to is t d h in g foresi wledge an d the adm soever, the kno ause of that, an at h ec w B . n n o o ti si es u an q p ex ut any ate, ossesses, witho ,250,000. To d ”.

5 g $ e in is w t ra es to Hillel Lodge p “w is our goal to go. beds in our new to brass tacks, ave a long way n h l w o il d st g e operate 21 new n w ti t et u G B more. ood start. this story, much e are off to a g to w re o so , m 0 0 is ,0 e 0 er 0 But th ss of $1,8 help us addition. itments in exce m m co e h community to fund our new av is s h w u e Je p w s el h a’ to aw , tt re deour donors as we can in O collective futu le r p u o eo y p y sa We need you, an to m n geratio to reach as can. It’s no exag u nths, we hope o o y m as w s fe u t o er ex n be as gen Over the g goals. Please in is ra d n fu r u o reach pends on it. ommittee al Campaign C it ap C e , g ly d o re L ce l Sin of the Hille The Members Ingrid Levitz t Chair Maureen Molo Jeffrey Miller, hair n , Honourary C Jack Silverstei Norm Zagerman derman er Stephen Schnei Seymour Mend in Stephen Polow Eric Weiner

Page 14 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

Open house and reception celebrate 50th anniversary of Malca Pass Library

By Estelle Gunner Malca Pass Library The 50th anniversary of the Malca Pass Library at Agudath Israel Congregation was marked, April 5, with a special open house and reception. More than 125 people were on hand to commemorate this special occasion.

Library memorabilia and posters of the book covers from 22 years of Malca Pass Library Book Discussion Group activities were on display. A framed picture of Malca Pass, which now hangs in the library, was presented, and a new brochure providing information on the library was launched.

In my remarks as chair of the Malca Pass Library Committee, I noted the important contributions made by Malca and Henry Pass to the synagogue throughout their lives and thanked the Pass family for their continued support over the years. I also spoke

Display highlights 22 years of book reviews presented by the Malca Pass Library Book Discussion Group.

about the role of past members of the Malca Pass Library Committee and the former librarians – including Leah Schnitzer, Esther Kaiman and Ruth Poplove in the early years; Frieda Lauterman, who served for 28 years; and Donna

Guttman, who served for 13 years – in building the library’s collection.

Judith Pass Kronick, daughter of the late Malca Pass, spoke on behalf of the Pass family and expressed appreciation to the members of the Malca Pass Library

Committee and the synagogue for their ongoing efforts to maintain and foster the library.

It was also announced that the Malca Pass Library had just learned the Association of Jewish Libraries had renewed its Advanced Accreditation, a rare honour for synagogue libraries.

In the letter advising of this award, librarian Jack Schecter was congratulated for his outstanding efforts and Agudath Israel was commended for its ongoing support of the library.

The reception was followed by a Malca Pass Library Book Discussion Group

Judith Pass Kronick speaks at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Malca Pass Library, named in honour of her late mother.

review of The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, presented by veteran reviewer Alvina Ruprecht.

The final two Book Discussion Group sessions for this season will be held Tuesday, May 10, 7:30 pm, when Sophie Kohn Kaminsky will review 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, and Tuesday, June 14, 7:30 pm, when Ann Matyas will review The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

The upcoming season is certain to provide more challenging reads and excellent reviews. The books and reviewers for the 2011-2012 season will be announced in July. Members will be noti-

www.raymondjames.ca/brianaarenau

fied by e-mail and the schedule will also be available from the library. To be added to the e-mail list, please contact me at 613-829-2455 or esgunner@rogers.com.

During May and June, the Malca Pass Library will be open Thursdays from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm and Sundays from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.

During July, the library will be open on Thursdays only.

The library will be closed in August. Regular Thursday and Sunday hours will resume in September. For further information, contact librarian Jack Schecter at 613-728-3501, ext. 232, or library@agudathisrael.net.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 15

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 March 23 and April 5, 2011 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.

Bill and Leona Adler Memorial Fund In Memory of: Beloved sister of Cantor Daniel Benlolo by Marilyn Adler, Daniel and Neil Blacher Beloved sister of Elaine Slone by Marilyn Adler Susan Fisher by Marilyn Adler Auxiliary of Hillel Lodge Fund In Memory of: Susan Fisher by Sid and Carolyn Katz Elsie Baker Endowment Fund In Honour of: Malca Lebell In honour of Emma’s Bat Mitzvah by Polly and Jack Moran Boris and Dolly Blacher Family Fund In Memory of: Molly Phomin by the Blacher family Tania Firestone Family Fund In Memory of: Norman Epelbaum by Susie and Phil Firestone Friedberg and Dale Families Fund In Honour of: Rabbi Ely and Sheli Braun Best wishes on your wedding anniversary by Elaine Friedberg and Bob and Jonathan Dale Ruth and Dale Fyman Mazal tov on the birth of your grandson by Elaine Friedberg and Bob Dale Malcolm and Vera Glube Endowment Fund In Memory of: Helen Schwartz by Malcolm and Vera Glube

George Lesh by Malcolm and Vera Glube In Honour of: Rita Gerstein Love and best wishes on your special birthday by Vera and Malcolm Glube Nell Gluck Memorial Fund In Honour of: Ruth and Dale Fyman Mazal tov on the birth of your grandson by Henry and Maureen Molot Gittel and Arthur Sheffield Mazal tov on the birth of your grandson by Henry and Maureen Molot Rabbi Zischa and Lauren Shaps Mazal tov on Elisheva’s engagement by Henry and Maureen Molot Manny Gluck With thanks for the continued good health of our uncle by Julia Gluck Rabbi Yisroel and Abigail Rabinowitz Mazal tov on the birth of your grandson and a warm welcome to the Saba and Savta club by Henry and Maureen Molot Issie and Leah Scarowsky Mazal tov on the birth of a new granddaughter by Henry and Maureen Molot Issie and Leah Scarowsky Mazal tov on the birth of your second grandson by Henry and Maureen Molot In Memory of: Roslyn Barrett by Sheila McCook Doris Edelstein by Manny Gluck and Cheryle Hothersall; by Julia Gluck William Anderson by Julia Gluck R’fuah Shlema: Ken Witherspoon by Julia Gluck Evelyn and Irving GreenbergFund In Memory of: Doris Edelstein by Evelyn Greenberg Moe Greenberg and Elissa Greenberg Iny Fund In Memory of: Susan Fisher by Elissa and Avraham Iny David, Harvey, Victor Kardish Family Fund In Memory of: Susan Fisher by Sheryl, Harvey, Mallory and Ryan Kardish Dorothy and Maurie Karp Endowment Fund In Honour of: Betty Ballon A happy and healthy Passover with all my love Dorothy Karp Claire and Irving Bercovitch A happy and healthy Passover with all my love Dorothy Karp Vi and Irv Cutler and family A happy and healthy Passover with all my love Dorothy Karp Norma and Phil Lazear and family A happy and healthy Passover with all my love Dorothy Karp Isabel and Norman Lesh A happy and healthy Passover with all love by Dorothy Karp Phyllis and Laz Newman A happy and healthy Passover with all my love Dorothy Karp In Memory of: Susan Fisher by Dorothy Karp George Lesh by Dorothy Karp

Morris and Lillian Kimmel Family Fund In Honour of: Noreen Bosloy Mazal tov on your special birthday by the Kimmel, Kaiman and Levine families In Memory of: George Lesh by Morris Kimmel Sarah Lithwick Green and Murray Sidney Green Family Fund In Honour of: Mel Green Mazal tov on your 65th birthday by Taffy and Bill Cass and family and Aunt Muriel Max Lieff Endowment Fund In Memory of: Sol Kaiman by Dorothy Lieff Sue Fisher by Dorothy Lieff Molly Phomin by Dorothy Lieff Rita Miller by Dorothy Lieff Irma and Harold Sachs Family Fund In Memory of: Susan Fisher by Irma Sachs Rachel Gewurz by Irma Sachs In Honour of: Irma Sachs on your very special birthday. Our very best wishes for a happy and healthy year by Dee and Yale Gaffen; by Monna and Abby Malkinson; by Aviva Lightstone; and by Norman and Myrna Barwin Stephen and Debra Schneiderman Family Fund In Memory of: Sue Fisher by Stephen and Debra Schneiderman Ralph and Anne Sternberg Memorial Fund In Honour of: Ted Jacobsen Wishing you a very happy birthday by Lynn and Barry Shulman Harvey Slipacoff In appreciation of uber-mensch for your many acts of kindness and Tikkun Alom with love

by Laya and Ted Jacobsen R’fuah Shlema: Mark Podolak by Ted and Laya Jacobsen Chuck Rotenberg by Ted and Laya Jacobsen Sarah and Arnie Swedler Family Fund In Memory of: George Lesh by Arnie Swedler Eric Weiner and Arlene Godfrey Family Fund In Memory of: Susan Fisher by Arlene Godfrey, Eric, Melissa and Laura Weiner; by Carol and Larry Gradus; and by Miriam and Louis Weiner George Lesh by Arlene Godrey, Eric, Melissa and Laura Weiner Carole and Norman Zagerman Family Fund In Memory of: Susan Fisher by Carole and Norman Zagerman and Andrea Arron George Lesh by Carole and Norman Zagerman and Andrea Arron In Honour of: Malca and Chuck Polowin Mazal tov on your 50th anniversary by Carole and Norman Zagerman and Andrea Arron Sally and Elliott Levitan Mazal tov on your 60th anniversary by Carole and Norman Zagerman

R’fuah Shlema: Sheila and Larry Hartman by Carole and Norman Zagerman Ritual Fund In Honour of: Mr. and Mrs. Issie Scarowsky Mazal tov on the birth of your new granddaughter by Morris and Shelley Schachnow Therapeutic Fund In Memory of: Doris Edelstein by Norm Leckie and Robin Chernick ********** IN HONOUR OF: Matthew Silverman In honour of your Bar Mitzvah

by Janet and Norman Ironstone Dr. Mort Korn In honour of your special birthday by Janet and Norman Ironstone Dr. Warren Grossman In honour of your special birthday by Auntie Janet and Uncle Norm Ironstone Harry Weitz Wishing you a very happy and healthy birthday by Nancy Pleet Paul and Eleanor Weiner Thank you for your gracious invitation at Passover by Phyllis and Max Sternthal Maureen Molot Mazal tov on receiving the Shalom Perel Award by Ingrid Levitz Michael and Sylvia Caplan Mazal tov on receiving the Thelma Steinman Direct Service Award by Ingrid Levitz Rabbi Yisroel and Rochel Goldbaum Mazal tov on the marriage of your daughter Bracha to Nossen by Roslyn Wollock IN MEMORY OF: Doris Edelstein by Sue and Charlie Zaltz; by Sandra Goldberg, John Jussup and family; by George Edelstein;

by Graham and Enid Berg; by Merle Burston; by Bella, Elliott, David and Julie Edelstein; by Andria and Neil Siegler; by Judith Cole; Fred, Sugie and family; and by Wayne, Ava, David and Daniel Arron Susan Fisher by Debi and David Shore; Andrea, Mark, Jordan and Zachary Shore; Rhonda and Danny Levine; by Arlene and Al Israel; by Ingrid Levitz; and by Bev and Bryan Glube Molly Phomin by Sylvia Monson; by Marsha and Art Saper; by Evelyn and Joseph Lieff Norman Epelbaum by Rhonda and Danny Levine Father of Dr. Ken Wolch by Janet and Norman Ironstone Beloved mother of Perry Schwartz by Arlene and Norm Glube Beloved sister of Elaine Slone by the Residents, Board and Staff of Hillel Lodge Edith Appotive by Evelyn and Joseph Lieff George Lesh by Ingrid Levitz Rachel Gewurz by the Residents, Board and Staff of Hillel Lodge Louis Magil by Bev, Bryan, Alison and Rob Glube Bessie Katz by Bev, Bryan, Alison and Rob Glube In remembrance of my dear wife Rita by Morris Ryant R’FUAH SHLEMA: Dr. Jerome Lyons by Graham and Enid Berg Bruce Weiner by Phyllis and Max Sternthal IN OBSERVANCE OF THE YAHRZEIT OF: Gordon Viner by Idelle Viner

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 Bev at 613-728-3900, extension 111, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Thursday, 8:30 am to 3:30 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.

Page 16 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

Participants in Tamir’s 2011 bar and bat mitzvah class including students, teachers, peer helper/mentors and family members: (front row, left to right) Samantha Molot (inset), Daniel Grinfeld, Meredith Caplan, Colin Dow, Marilyn Dow, Ashley Hagerman, Carly Bright, Shirley Harris, Trent Thompson; (back row) Marcello Grinfeld, Debby Applebaum, Adele Horwitz, Debbie Waserman, Adam Moscoe, Rick Brandt, Jason Kershman, Merle Hagerman, Susan Bright, Cantor Daniel Benlolo, Coral Thompson, Bob Thompson, Kendra Thompson.

Tamir’s bar and bat mitzvah miracle

Six Tamir participants to celebrate their bar and bat mitzvahs, June 12

By Marilyn Dow for Tamir Can you have a bar or bat mitzvah if you can’t read? Can you have a bar or bat mitzvah if you can’t speak?

Of course you can, all you need is a little ‘Tamir.’

My son, Colin, is 24 years old.

He has cerebral palsy and is a totalcare person. While he can speak, it is not often in a meaningful way. He does, however, love to speak in song lyrics. This can be quite hysterical at times.

While I was raised in a very religious environment, as with many of

my generation, tradition slipped over the years. Colin’s father is not Jewish. When the time came for Colin to leave home at age 20, Tamir entered our lives in the best possible way.

It was incredibly difficult for me as a mom to hand over my 20 year old baby. I worried so much about his care. Well, it has been four years now and I can tell you that Colin considers his Tamir home on Broadview Avenue as home. The family home has been relegated to being “mom’s house.”

So, when Tamir suggested a bar mitzvah program, my religion

Sinai Scholars graduation University of Ottawa law student Stephanie Reuveni was one of several Ottawa-area students who recently graduated from the Chabad Student Network’s Sinai Scholar program with Rabbi Chaim Boyarsky, seen here presenting Reuveni with her certificate. Students receive a stipend after completing the eightweek course on the Ten Commandments and writing a paper.

flooded back to me in a wave of emotion. Could Colin become a full-fledged member of the Jewish community? What miracle would it take to accomplish this?

For several months now, Colin and I have been going to bar mitzvah lessons every Thursday evening with Cantor Daniel Benlolo, Adele Horwitz and Adam Moscoe.

The lessons are like nothing you could ever imagine. There are six Tamir participants in the program: three men and three women. All of the participants have developmental disabilities. Colin is also in a wheelchair. While the lessons are seemingly chaotic, the cantor appears to have complete control over this motley crew. He has the enviable ability of being able to reach everyone at their own level – which varies considerably among the participants – while addressing them collectively. I don’t know how he does this, but it would have been a good quality to have while raising children.

A few very unique and interesting developments have come about as a direct result of the bar and bat mitzvah process. As Tamir has previously worked with other participants in earlier editions of the bar and bat mitzvah program, there are five ‘alumni” who attend each Thursday and have been paired up with the newcomers to become peer helper/mentors in the class. Shirley Harris, Debby Applebaum, Meredith Caplan, Jason Kershman and Debbie Waserman are all old hands at the “Shema” as well as the Tamir

protocol. I have developed an enormous respect and friendship for them as they selflessly volunteer to help my son and the others. Oh yes, they are also giving insightful input into caterer selection!

This, to me, is what Tamir does best: empowering some to help others – from within their own community.

A tallis is an important part of the bar mitzvah ceremony. I did not have one and discovered they can be quite expensive. My cousin Marla has offered to lend Colin the tallis that belonged to her late father. That my extended family is acknowledging and wanting to be a part of this important occasion in Colin’s life is also a blessing.

I believe, though, that the biggest outcome from the bar mitzvah program for me has already been realized – even before the actual event has taken place.

For 20 years, I was a caregiver first, a mom second, to Colin. His needs were so all-consuming that I was not able to separate the two roles. There was very little mother/son time that did not involve either actual physical care, or the administration required to maintain that physical care. Then there were the endless doctor/therapy/school/ equipment/social worker appointments, as well as hospitalizations for surgery after surgery.

There were also two younger brothers. Morgan and Simon deserved to have as normal a life as possible. That meant hockey games and soccer games, friends and

sleepovers. It was a constant juggling act. For years, my life was booked to the minute – I had to get only green lights for my day to go as planned. For 20 years, I would collapse at the end of the day from the physical and emotional exhaustion that was my life with a disabled child.

When Colin moved to Tamir’s Broadview Avenue home, the daily stress lessened greatly. For a long time, however, I was too worn out to even notice. Between health issues and family issues, it seemed to take forever for me to regain my sense of self. Even then, it was difficult for me to objectively analyze my relationship with Colin – or begin to see how it could be better.

It was, ironically, the bar mitzvah program that has brought us together in a way I never could have imagined. I pick Colin up every Thursday evening and we walk to the Tamir building for the lesson.

We sing or talk together. We laugh a lot. For the first time in 24 years, Colin and I are doing a mother/son thing together. It’s something that’s ours alone. It has substance and meaning – different for each of us, but equally important.

Tamir has done a wonderful thing in giving me this opportunity to become Colin’s mom again. The bar mitzvah takes place on Sunday, June 12. On that day, my baby will become a man.

For more information about the upcoming bar and bat mitzvah, or about Tamir in general, contact the office at 613-725-3519.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 17

Hillel Academy wins Green Apple grant for environmental program

By Nicola Hamer for Ottawa Jewish Community School For a second year in a row, a Hillel Academy teacher has won a Green Apple grant for the Ottawa Jewish Community School.

The Green Apple School Program awards grants to schools in Ontario and Quebec to help encourage environmental projects. Deanna Coghlin, who just started teaching at Hillel Academy last school year, is very enthusiastic about environmental causes and has brought her excitement to the rest of the school. She is delighted to be receiving funding once again to support the cause.

Last year, Coghlin and her environmental club, The Green Team, used the funds provided by the grant to raise awareness among students about composting. They bought resources for the library and had an expert in to teach the students about worms and their importance in composting. They also planted three new trees in the school field.

Their efforts did not stop there.

The Green Team introduced a recycling program and litterless lunches to the school and ran a program encouraging students to reduce and reuse garbage. This year, in addition to continuing those efforts, they ran a Green Purim, observed Earth Hour in school, and presented Science Fair topics on environmental issues.

Teacher Deanna Coghlin and members of her Green Team plant a tree last year on (Photo: Nicola Hamer) the Ottawa Jewish Community School grounds.

Funds from the Green Apple grant have been used to purchase aluminum water bottles with the Hillel Academy logo, which teachers will give to students they notice

doing something positive for the environment.

“It doesn’t have to be anything huge,” said Coghlin. “We want to encourage our

students to consider the environment in their day-to-day activities.”

Grant money will also go towards the community garden in the school’s playground. Last fall, participants in the Jewish Federation of Ottawa’s Social Action Mission built the structure for the raised garden and fenced it in. This spring, under Coghlin’s supervision, Hillel Academy students will participate in painting and decorating the fence and planting a variety of flowers and vegetables. Coghlin hopes to create an ‘outdoor classroom’ to allow for more hands-on learning for all grades.

Coghlin is certain programs such as Green Apple can really have an impact. Beyond supporting increased awareness of environmentalism, she hopes her students will learn they can each make a difference. It is a lesson Donna Palmer-Dodds, the head of schools, is sure the students have already learned by watching their teacher.

“There has been talk at Hillel Academy in the past of ideas such as a garden, or a recycling program in the school, but nothing came of it until Ms. Coghlin came along,” said Palmer-Dodds. “Then she arrived last year and not only is she a great teacher, but she has all these ideas about how to improve our school’s environmental impact. It just never occurred to her that it wasn’t all possible. And the students follow her lead.

We are incredibly proud of the achievement of Ms. Coghlin and Green Team.”

The Canadian Society for Yad Vashem in affiliation with the Zachor (Remembrance) Coalition

cordially invites the community to The 2011 National Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - 3:30 pm CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM - 1 VIMY PLACE, OTTAWA, ON

Bus transportation sponsored by The Canadian Society for Yad Vashem & with the support of the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Center RSVP for ceremony attendance & bus seat reservations required by Monday, May 23, 2011 416.785.1333 or rudy@yadvashem.ca | LIMITED SEATING AVAILABLE

About Yad Vashem Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Remembrance and Education Centre in Jerusalem, is the universal guardian and imparter of the Shoah’s (Holocaust’s) legacy and the protector of human values. Visited by over 1 million people annually, Yad Vashem is internationally recognized as being at the forefront of Holocaust commemoration, education, documentation, and research.

About The Canadian Society for Yad Vashem 2010 NATIONAL CEREMONY LEFT TO RIGHT: Linda Rechtsman MC, Victoria Levai MC, Vice Chair of the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem, Joe Gottdenker, MC,

H.E. Israel’s Ambassador to Canada Miriam Ziv, The Honourable Stockwell Day, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe, National Chair of the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem, Fran Sonshine, The Honourable Peter Kent, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, NDP Leader Jack Layton, The Honourable John Baird, The Honourable Lisa Raitt, The Honourable Lynne Yelich, Rabbi Bulka AT THE PODIUM: Cantor Moshe Kraus

THE ZACHOR COALITION: Azrieli Foundation, Baycrest, Beit Halochem Canada Aid to Disabled Veterans of Israel, B’nai Brith Canada, Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy, Canada-Israel Committee, Canadian Centre for Diversity, Canadian Friends of Boys Town Jerusalem, Canadian Hadassah-WIZO, Canadian Jewish Congress, Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, Chenstochover Aid Society, Embassy of Israel, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem- Canada, Jewish War Veterans of Canada, Lodzer Centre Congregation, Maramoresher Society, Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre, Na’amat Canada, Nishma, ORT Toronto, Ottawa Jewish Federation, Pultusker Landsmanshaft, The Royal Canadian Legion General Wingate Branch 256, Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre, Shedlover Young Men Society, Shoah (Holocaust ) Committee of Ottawa, State of Israel Bonds Canada, Transnistria Survivors Association, Toronto.

The Canadian Society for Yad Vashem is one of Yad Vashem’s largest and most prominent of its 28 representative bodies worldwide. The Society supports Yad Vashem’s initiatives and its important vision across Canada. Through its educational and commemorative activities, the Society carries out Yad Vashem’s mission of ensuring that the Holocaust and its lessons are forever engraved in the memory of humankind.

Page 18 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

Register May 3 for AJA 50+ summer programs

By Dena Speevak for AJA 50+ If you are part of the growing 50-plus community, attend the AJA 50+ (Active Jewish Adults) Summer 2011 Program Registration Day on Tuesday, May 3 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre (SJCC).

Learn about summer programs, meet other members and chat with AJA 50+ chess expert Ted Bonder.

Following registration, Ricarda Smith will deliver A Roman Holi-

day, another of her popular talk and slide shows, at 1:00 pm.

The AJA 50+ Program Committee has arranged for an impressive variety of activities to take place from May through August. Included are such original programs as The Downsizing Dilemma, a new AJA 50+ chess group, a Vintage Wings of Canada Hangar tour, and an Ismaili Centre tour.

If you enjoy arts or crafts, there is an Ottawa Art Gallery tour and a hands-on jewelry workshop. For

walkers, there will be several themed walking tours around Ottawa, the Gatineau Hills and Mer Bleue. If games are your thing, attend bridge lessons with Liz Schwartz, play weekly chess or learn mah-jong. Those who enjoy thought-provoking lectures can attend a talk on The Economics of Health Care or attend an important joint program with Weizmann Canada and the SJCC, called Demystifying Autism.

To receive our Spring-Summer

Op-ed reading and writing workshop

By Roslyn Wollock Soloway JCC Do you like to read, think, reflect and converse?

This summer, the Soloway Jewish Community Centre (JCC) will offer a new workshop on the op-ed form. The five-week course will survey an array of popular columnists writing for various news outlets. Participants will get a chance to analyze how a 750-word opinion column is constructed by examining topics and ideas that are being debated in the world of contemporary opinion writing.

Instructor Mira Sucharov is an associate professor of political sci-

ence at Carleton University and is well known to readers of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin for her Values, Ethics, Community column and for her frequent book reviews. She also contributes to other publications and blogs at the Huffington Post.

“The op-ed form is one of the most exciting and dynamic platforms for thinking and talking about a range of important topics,” Sucharov says. “By looking at how a writer can find something fresh to say about an existing topic, readers are encouraged to look at everyday life in new ways. Reading helps one reflect on one’s values and opinions. Good writing can inspire

healthy conversations. And writing can help clarify what one really thinks.

“Sometimes the act of writing sparks ideas that one never knew were there,” Sucharov adds.

Through instructor-led constructive critique, workshop participants will be given the opportunity to write a column on a topic they are passionate about.

The course will run on Tuesdays, 1:00 to 2:30 pm, from June 28 through July 26, at the Soloway JCC. Contact me at 613-798-9818, ext. 254, for more information.

Bring your eyes, ears, a pen and an opinion (or two).

Program Guide, email Annette Paquin at aja50plus@sympatico.ca.

For information about membership in AJA 50+, contact Dan Sigler at ajamembership@gmail.com or 613-224-6110.

The entire community is also invited to attend the AJA 50+ Tenth Anniversary Gala to be held at Congregation Beth Shalom on Wednes-

day, May 25 at 5:00 pm. The gala will include cocktails, dinner, silent auction and entertainment. The event will raise funds for AJA 50+ as well as to establish an AJA 50+ Scholarship Fund for the Ottawa Jewish Community School. For reservations or more information, contact Debbie Goldstein at 613226-5434 or ajatickets@yahoo.ca.

The Sutzkovas return in new Die Folkshpieler production, June 5

By David Michaelson Die Folkshpieler Remember the Sutzkovas, those colourful characters created by Die Folkshpieler, the Soloway Jewish Community Centre’s Yiddish players?

Yes, you met this family before, in our 2008 production, Mishpocha Mishugas. Well, they’ll be back again in our new show, Die Sutzkova Saga: Further Family Foibles.

The title should give you an idea of what gelechter un gezang is in store for you in this production: The same kind of hilarity and music that have been trademarks of our Die

Folkshpieler performances since 2001.

It won’t be exactly the same gelechter un gezang. Those addicted to tear-jerkers may find a line or two that has them reaching for a dry hanky as writer and director Shirley Steinberg has made an extra special effort to please all tastes of our Yiddish theatre-goers.

Die Sutzkova Saga: Further Family Foibles will be presented on Sunday, June 5, 2:00 pm, at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre. For information, contact Roslyn Brozovsky Wollock at 613-7989818, ext. 254.

56th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING THE BESS AND MOE GREENBERG FAMILY HILLEL LODGE / OTTAWA JEWISH HOME FOR THE AGED THE JOSEPH AND INEZ ZELIKOVITZ LONG TERM CARE CENTRE, 10 NADOLNY SACHS PRIVATE

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011 - 7:00 pm Members of the Lodge and Community, Residents, Families, Staff and Volunteers are welcome to attend

BUSINESS AGENDA Annual General Meeting • Adoption of Annual General Meeting minutes – May 26, 2010 • Business Arising – from previous AGM, May 26, 2010 • Greetings from the Jewish Federation of Ottawa • Approval of actions taken by the 2010/2011 Board • Treasurer’s Report – A. Freed

• • • •

Appointment of the Auditors 2011 Appointment of the Signatories 2011/2012 Report of the Nominating Committee – J. Miller Election of incoming Board 2011/2012

• • • • • •

Program – Award Winners 2010/2011 – J. Miller Thank you to Long Service Staff – S. Schneiderman Yahrtzeit Board Dedication – I. Levitz Medical Director’s Report – Dr. D. Levine Report of the President – S. Mender Executive Director’s Report – S. Schneiderman

BOARD OF DIRECTORS - 2011/2012 NOMINATIONS Adina Libin Carl Raskin David Spring

(2) (2) (2)

COMPLETING TERM Estelle Gunner (1) Susan Heisel (1) Russell Kronick (1) Esther Kwavnick (1) Michel Lipski (1)

Seymour Mender Jeff Miller Stephen Saslove Issie Scarowsky Ozzie Silverman

(1) (1) (1) (1) (1)

COMMENCING NEW TERM Bob Dale (2) Alan Freed (2) Jason Moscovitz (2)

BOARD APPOINTEES: Auxiliary Representative - Sharon Finn • Hillel Lodge Long-Term Care Foundation Representative • Ingrid Levitz

EXECUTIVE Past President - Jeff Miller President - Seymour Mender

1st Vice-President - Russell Kronick 2nd Vice-President - Jason Moscovitz

Treasurer - Alan Freed Secretary - Issie Scarowsky Member-at-Large - Bob Dale

PAST PRESIDENTS Jeff Miller Ingrid Levitz Anna Telner Wex Morris Kimmel Eric Weiner Melane Hotz Shlomo Mayman Irving Greenberg z”l Noreen Bosloy Dr. Irwin Pencer Lillian Kimmel z”l

Dennis Newton z”l Sylvia Goldblatt z”l, M. Sidney Green z”l Theodore Metrick z”l Dan Doctor Dr. M. Ralph Berke z”l Ben Levin z”l Dr. Joseph Greenblatt z”l Samuel Berger z”l Judge J.C. Horwitz z”l Dora Lithwick z”l

FURTHER NOMINATIONS: Additional nominations may be made by any member in good standing of the Corporation. Such nominations may be made at any time up to fifteen (15) days prior to the date fixed for the Annual General Meeting, by mailing the same to the above address, attention: Jeff Miller. All such nominations must be in writing and signed by the nominee and by at least twenty (20) members in good standing of the Corporation.

2010/2011 AWARD WINNERS: Thelma Steinman Direct Service Award – Sylvia and Michael Caplan • Shalom Perel President’s Award of Merit – Dr. Maureen Molot

Refreshments to Follow

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 19

Kashering for Passover

Rabbi Levy Teitlebaum, director of the Ottawa Vaad HaKashrut, kashers a pot for use during Passover. The Ottawa Vaad HaKashrut offered a free kashering for Passover service for metal pots and cutlery, April 13, behind the Soloway Jewish (Photo: Michael Regenstreif) Community Centre.

Helping Japan: IDF dispatches doctors and field hospital An Israeli officer performs an ultrasound on a Japanese woman using a portable ultrasound device at an Israeli army field hospital in Minami-Sanriko, where half of the town’s 17,000 residents were killed by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11. The IDF flew in an aid delegation of 50 officers and soldiers, including medical personnel, civilian aid workers and logistics experts. They immediately got to work helping victims in this hard-hit area.

The team returned to Israel April 12, leaving behind medical equipment for local doctors to use.

Jewish Federations in North America, including the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, raised nearly $1 million for emergency relief in the weeks following the (Photo: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) earthquake.

Page 20 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 21

Page 22 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 23

Hopes for my return visit to Israel a decade later I’m not sure what will await me when I land at Ben Gurion International Airport next month for a long-awaited return visit to Israel.

Like writer Jay Michaelson (The Forward, September 25, 2009), I, too, have struggled with an on-again, offagain passionate love affair with the Jewish state. I, too, am painfully aware that, 44 years into the occupation, “The ‘fantasy Israel,’ the one many [North] Americans seem largely to inhabit, doesn’t compensate for the erosion of the real one.”

But still, over a decade since I was last there, after having lived there for three separate years in my 20s, there are many things I hope for.

I hope that my kids turn their heads hungrily toward the sound and sight of Hebrew. My kids will soon realize that their mom isn’t the only mom they know who speaks only Hebrew to her kids.

“Mom, you’re addicted to Hebrew!” my four-year-old son likes to exclaim in exasperation.

I hope I can keep up with the slang, which changes quickly in Israel. I can picture myself using outmoded expressions, the equivalent of “hot diggity!” That won’t get me very far in finding the new hip spots in Tel Aviv. When I lived there, my friends and I hung out on Sheinkin Street, chasing a bit of Mediterranean bohemian. But I hear that Sheinkin is now yesterday’s news.

I hope that Abulafia Bakery in Jaffa still cracks an egg in the middle of its pita, its sunny yoke belying the violence and poverty of the adjacent Ajami neighbourhood.

I hope the bus stations still sell slim packages of Mentos candy. I used to chew on the mints after a sleepy morning bus commute from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, when I worked as a Knesset intern.

Values, Ethics, Community Mira Sucharov I hope that the tiny fish in Sachne, the dreamy, aquiferfed Galilee oasis, still want to nibble on my toes. And I hope they might enjoy meeting my kids’ toes, too.

I hope the wheels of my favourite Jerusalem potters are still spinning, and that I am able to make up my mind over which beautiful piece of ceramic art to bring back to the home-with-a-mortgage I didn’t own the last time I was there.

I hope I am able to come to terms with the end of the kibbutz movement that I once poured my heart into. My kibbutz family and friends have since left their kibbutzim.

Maybe visiting one that is a shell of its past will provide a way to come to terms with the waning of that collective dream, a dream I thought I might one day come back to share in. Maybe I can shoot some hoops with my kids, like I did with the kibbutz children when I was 10 and stayed with my aunt and uncle on Beit Hashita.

But I know what I most long for.

After I’ve ordered a falafel at my favourite joint on Ben Yehuda (the balls are smaller, rounder and fluffier than most), I hope to hear Israelis talking.

I hope they talk of the new peace plan – the Israeli Peace Initiative – that was recently released by a team of

Israeli political and defence elites. I hope Israel’s current hardline government listens, and is able to stretch its imagination to envision an Israel living alongside a Palestinian state.

I hope to see Israelis craning to hear across the Green Line. The sheket (quiet) Israelis so badly and understandably crave will only come from a serious political rearrangement of the territory that two peoples are awkwardly and painfully trying to share.

Really listening to the Palestinian experience will be necessary for Israelis to contemplate a meaningful retreat from territory that Israel never even annexed. Not a retreat from the Zionist dream – a retreat from the folly of territorial maximalism.

Peace Now in Israel knows about the urgency of reaching a resolution. They have released a short animated video concisely describing what observant lovers of Zion have known for years. Of the three things that Israel seems to be chasing – democracy, Jewish state, and Greater Israel – only two can be theirs. Israel needs to decide whether it wants to be a Jewish democracy, a non-Jewish democracy, or a Jewish apartheid state. Israelis know they can’t remain in this suspended reality forever. And, if not now, when?

I hope I hear some of my favourite Israeli songs. I like listening to David Broza’s “Yihyeh Tov” (“It’ll Be All Right”) on my iPod while working out. But it will be even sweeter to catch it on the radio at one of my old café hangouts in the German Colony in Jerusalem, hearing Broza’s honey voice calling for a reconsidered future.

Mira Sucharov, an associate professor of political science at Carleton University, blogs at the Huffington Post.

Page 24 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

University of Ottawa professor examines bygone era of Montreal’s Yiddish milieu Jewish Roots, Canadian Soil: Yiddish Culture in Montreal 1905-1945

By Rebecca Margolis McGill-Queen’s University Press 293 pages In Jewish Roots, Canadian Soil: Yiddish Culture in Montreal 1905-1945, author Rebecca Margolis, a professor in the Vered Jewish Canadian Studies Program at the University of Ottawa, presents a detailed study of Yiddish-language culture in Montreal, then Canada’s largest Jewish community, in the early decades of the last century, an era marked early on by a large influx of Yiddish-speaking immigrants from Eastern Europe (and, later, by Jewish immigration to Canada largely being blocked by Canadian authorities in the period leading up to and including the Holocaust).

It was a time, Margolis notes, in which Yiddish served as a “Jewish lingua franca” in Montreal, and when Yiddish, after French and English, was the third most widely spoken language in the province of Quebec. The Jewish community “had created a comprehensive and cohesive Yiddish milieu, with an infrastructure that included newspapers, schools, libraries, literary life, and theatre spanning an ideological spectrum ranging from the secular left wing through the

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Book Review Michael Regenstreif most religiously observant ...This was a time when Yiddish culture functioned as a chain between Jewish past and present and a means to forge a revitalized collective future for Jews in the modern world.”

In a series of thoroughly researched chapters – there are extensive notes and a long bibliography at the end of the book – Margolis examines, in turn, Montreal’s Yiddish press, the Yiddish literary scene, the secular Yiddish-based schools and the Yiddish theatre scene. A concluding chapter observes developments in Montreal’s Yiddish scene from 1945 to the present.

As a journalist working in the Canadian Jewish media, the chapter on the Yiddish press was the most interesting for me, particularly the extensive discussion on the Adler, Canada’s first and longest-lasting Yiddish newspaper. Founded in 1907, the Adler existed for eight decades, including a halfcentury as a daily newspaper. In its heyday, it was the most widely read Jewish newspaper in Canada. Margolis introduces readers to the Adler’s series of editors, to some of its most notable contributors and to its legendary founder and long-time publisher Hirsch Wolofsky, who also published an English-language sister publication, the Canadian Jewish Chronicle.

Another section I found particularly interesting details the founding, in 1914, of Montreal’s Jewish Public Library, and its early development, originally as a primarily Yiddish-language institution. It continues to thrive to this day.

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Also, having attended any number of modern-day Yiddish theatre productions at Montreal’s Saidye Bronfman Centre – now the Segal Centre for Performing Arts – it was interesting to read about the long and rich history of Yiddish theatre, particularly during the era when so much of Montreal’s Jewish culture took place in Yiddish.

To be sure, Jewish Roots, Canadian Soil: Yiddish Culture in Montreal 1905-1945 is not a book for the casual reader seeking a quick, entertaining read. It’s a highly detailed academic study that advances the scholarship on an important period, location and cultural milieu in Canadian Jewish history.

Jewish Roots, Canadian Soil: Yiddish Culture in Montreal 1905-1945 will be launched in Ottawa on Sunday, May 1, 2:00 pm, at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre. Author Rebecca Margolis will discuss Yiddish culture in Montreal during the first half of the 20th century. All are welcome, refreshments will be served.

For information, contact Roslyn Brozovsky Wollock at 613-798-9818, ext. 254, or rwollock@jccottawa.com.

Readers and advertisers are advised the next edition of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin will be published on Monday, May 16, 2011.

Deadline: Wednesday, April 27, 2011.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 25

Newspaper archives are a great source for family information Searching newspaper archives has been one of the most effective methods I have used to find information about my relatives. Traditionally, one had to go to a public library, or, perhaps, to Library and Archives Canada, and go through microfilms to perform this task. You had to begin with the reel covering the time period you suspected might hold some tidbit of information, and then tediously advance one page at a time, hoping to find something of relevance.

Things have changed dramatically, particularly over the past decade. Many historical newspapers, including the New York Times and many issues of the Ottawa Citizen, have been scanned and digitized. This allows you to go to a website and enter a particular name.

A list of all the pages of those papers that contain that name is produced almost instantly. You are then able to look at the actual image of the page on your computer screen, and can save a copy to your computer’s hard drive. Sometimes, depending on the source, you have to pay a fee for this service, but not always.

It wasn’t just the large daily papers that underwent this process. Multicultural Canada undertook a project that involved digitizing many issues of about 60 different ethnic papers, including the Canadian Jewish Review, Canadian Jewish News, and the Jewish Western Bulletin. Since my mother’s family was based in Montreal, the first two of those papers were very important to my research, resulting in my downloading several hundred pages relevant to my family tree.

All of this data is available at multiculturalcanada.ca and is free of charge. At the top left, there is a box marked “Search the Collections.” Enter the name you are interested in and the list of hits will pop up. For my mother’s immediate family, en-

Connecting the branches John Diener tering the two spellings of her maiden name, I came up with 164 different pages where the name occurred. You can then look at the images and save those that are important to you. If you find that this is too much information, and you are specifically looking for an account of a marriage, enter the two surnames and only pages that contain both of those names will appear.

As you’d expect, you will find the usual birth, death, bar and bat mitzvah, marriage and engagement announcements, which are very important in helping you fill in the blanks on your family tree. My birth, and those of my siblings, were all reported in the Canadian Jewish News. As well, there are announcements of visitors coming to town from near and far, and even detailed reporting of family simchas.

I found my grandparents’ 1929 wedding covered in great detail, describing the clothing worn by the wedding party, and also located an account of my parents’ engagement party in 1952 that not only told me who was in attendance, but also that there were red and white pom-poms on the tables. While not exactly vital to my family research, these details are interesting and fun to share with family.

It is important to note that not all of the historical issues of these papers were digitized by Multicultural Canada, but Google, as part of its news archives, has scanned many issues of the papers not found on Multicultural Canada’s website.

To access the data, go to news.google.com/archivesearch.

Because Google has scanned millions of pages of material from many sources, you will probably want to narrow your search by selecting the “Advanced Archive Search” option to the right of the “Search Archives” box.

You can then enter the surname you are interested in, and in the “Source” box, enter Canadian, which will get you results from the Canadian Jewish News and Canadian Jewish Review, or enter Montreal, or Ottawa, which will retrieve hits from those issues of the Gazette or Citizen that Google has scanned. While Google has made all of these sources free of charge, you may be required to pay a small fee for some of the American papers in its database.

There are many other searchable newspaper archives.

So, depending on where your relatives lived, you may want to check out some of those sources as well. Various Jewish papers printed in different cities are searchable, and there are websites such as newspaperarchive.com that have digitized hundreds of newspapers from all over the United States and Canada, which are usually searchable for a fee.

For those who would like assistance using these online newspaper resources, or for anything related to Jewish genealogy, we encourage you to attend a meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Ottawa.

For further information, or to be put on our mailing list, contact Hymie Reichstein at reichstein@magma.ca or me at johndiener@ymail.com.

Election day, May 2, 2011. Don’t forget to VOTE!

Page 26 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

FOUNDATION DONATIONS

Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation Grants to Organizations ✡ December 31, 2010 ORGANIZATION

2010 Dollars

Ottawa Jewish Community Agencies Agudath Israel Synagogue 601 Bess and Moe Greenberg Family Hillel Lodge 109,223 Bess and Moe Greenberg Family Hillel Lodge Auxiliary 245 Beth Shalom Congregation 6,549 Beit Tikvah of Ottawa Congregation 160 Camp B’nai Brith 14,050 Camp Gesher 144 Canada Israel Cultural Foundation 359 Canadian Friends of Torah Academy 3,549 Cheder Rambam School 25,400 Gilbert Greenberg Education Fund 62,000 George Joseph Cooper Scholarship Award 13,029 Hillel Ottawa 4,781 Jewish Community Campus of Ottawa Inc. 27,469 Jewish Community of Ottawa Development Foundation* 113,084 Jewish Education through Torah 19,020 Jewish Family Services 78,822 Jewish Federation of Ottawa 12,268 Jewish Federation of Ottawa Annual Campaign 279,448 Jewish Memorial Gardens 58,058 Jewish National Fund 72 Jewish Youth Library 6,169 Kosher Food Bank c/o Agudath Israel Synagogue 7,021 Machzikei Hadas Congregation 9,002 Na’Amat Ottawa 385 Ottawa Chevra Kadisha 565 Ottawa Hadassah-WIZO 1,783 Ottawa Hebrew Free Loan 337 Ottawa Jewish Archives 3,890 Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation (PACE Subsidies) 14,442 Ottawa Jewish Community School (Hillel Academy and YRHS) 94,217 Ottawa Jewish Historical Society 6,420 Ottawa Modern Jewish School 2,704 Ottawa Post Jewish War Veterans of Canada 924 Ottawa Torah Center Chabad 10,669 Ottawa Torah Institute/Machon Sarah High School 15,007 Ottawa Vaad Hakashrut 278 Shoah (Holocaust) Committee of Ottawa 5,514 Soloway Jewish Community Centre 98,890 Soloway Jewish Community Centre (AJA 50+) 9,703 Star of David Hebrew School 1,908 Talmud Torah Afternoon School 8,307 Tamir Foundation 64,343 Temple Israel Congregation 1,343 Temple Israel Ottawa Foundation 2,186 Temple Israel Religious School 4,090 Torah Academy of Ottawa 20,004 Vered Israel Cultural Centre 12,492

Total

1,230,924

Jewish Agencies in North America Bnei Akiva Schools

413

Conservatory for Judaic Performing Arts Emunah Women of Canada – (Rachel Kizell Chapter) Imre Noam Congregation JACS Toronto London Community Hebrew Day School Machon Tzvi Hersh Mazon Canada Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation - Montreal Nishma Societal Endeavour in Understanding Torah Oir Hachaim D’Tash Bois Briand ORT Canada Reena Foundation Ruchama Fraidel Relief Organization Society for the Education of Russian Jews – SERJ Toronto Jewish Free Loan

1,276 559 500 165 100 789 37 60 35 431 652 50 165 204 82

Total

5,518

Jewish Agencies in Israel, Ottawa and North America Netzach and Tiferet Funds – Grants and Allocation (anonymous) Tzedek Fund - Grants and Allocations (anonymous)

Total

600,831 10,000

610,831

Israeli Institutions Beit Halochem Canada/Aid to Disabled Veterans of Israel (Canada) 85 Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev 1,049 Canadian Friends of Alyn 80 Canadian Friends of Bar Ilan University 2,506 Canadian Friends of Hebrew University 3,537 Canadian Friends of Jerusalem Blind Institute 420 Canadian Friends of Laniado Hospital 779 Canadian Friends of Ramat Shapira Israel 343 Canadian Friends of Shaare Tzedek Hospital Foundation 188 Canadian Friends of Simon Weisenthal Foundation 23 Canadian Friends of Weizmann Institute of Science 2,517 Canadian Foundation for Masorti Judaism re: Kehilat Netzach Yisrael in Ashkelon for needy children 361 Canadian Magen David Adom in Israel 1,529 Canadian Technion Society 2,446 Israel Cancer Research Fund 235 Mizrachi Organization of Canada for Yeshiva Haye Olam 425 United Israel Appeal Federations Canada 11,992

Total

28,515

Canadian Red Cross Society - Ottawa-Carleton Branch Canadian Tribute to Human Rights Carleton University Children at Risk Ottawa Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Children’s Wish Foundation Community Foundation of Ottawa – Carleton Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada Elizabeth Bruyere Research Institute/Foundation Foundation for Fighting Blindness Girls & Boys Club of Ottawa-Carleton Heart and Stroke Foundation Kemptville District Hospital Kidney Foundation of Canada Kiwanis Club of Ottawa Medical Foundation Lisgar Alumni Association Nepean High School North York General Hospital Sheila Cohen Fund for Women’s Health Ottawa Hospital Foundation Ottawa Humane Society Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre Foundation Parkinson’s Society Ottawa - Carleton Parkway House Perley and Rideau Veterans Health Centre Foundation Pinchas Zukerman Music Education Fund Queen’s University Queensway Carleton Hospital Foundation REACH The Salvation Army United Way of Ottawa-Carleton University of Ottawa University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation Water-Can

283 88 3,276 104 2,620 156 343 530 13,000 362 195 331 431 128 155 432 60

Total Allocated but not distributed

49,991 375

Total to Jewish Causes To Other Organizations

Total Grants to Organizations

338 2,345 37 395 13 373 1,000 4,070 431 2,181 90 431 436 1,488 11,290 262

1,875,623 50,156

1,926,154

*Grants from the Jewish Community of Ottawa Development Foundation was allocated as follows:

Other Organizations Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County Andrew Fleck Integration Service Arthritis Society Canadian Association for HIV Research Canadian Cancer Society Canadian Diabetes Association Canadian National Institute for the Blind Canadian Orthopedic Foundation

165 204 184 13 729 158 432 432

Jewish Family Services Vered Israel Cultural Centre Hillel Lodge Ottawa Jewish Community School (Hillel Academy and YRHS) Soloway JCC Jewish Federation of Ottawa

Thank you to our donors.

With your support, we were able to distribute more than $1.9 million to worthy charitable organizations.

6,375 7,936 50,931 23,297 23,297 1,248

113,084

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 27

FOUNDATION DONATIONS Our future is in your hands

Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation

APPOTIVE FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Edith Appotive by Jason, Elaine and Jacob Bronsther.

Sol Kaiman by Fruma Appotive and family.

To make a donation and/or send a tribute card, call Erin Bolling (613-798-4696 ext. 232) e-mail: donation@ojcf.ca • website: www.OJCF.ca

Join us in building our community by supporting these local agencies SHIRLEY AND SHIER BERMAN FUND FOR OTTAWA JEWISH ARCHIVES In memory of: Susan Fisher by Shirley and Shier Berman.

OTTAWA JEWISH CEMETERIES ZICHARON FUND

HILLEL ACADEMY ENDOWMENT FUND In appreciation to: Brian Lamb for his dedication to the Science program by Michelle and Richard Sachs.

OTTAWA JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY FUND

AJA 50+ ENDOWMENT FUND AJA 50+ SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR THE OTTAWA JEWISH COMMUNITY SCHOOL AKIVA EVENING HIGH SCHOOL ENDOWMENT FUND ADINA BEN PORAT MACHON SARAH TORAH EDUCATION FUND DORIS BRONSTEIN TALMUD TORAH AFTERNOON SCHOOL FUND BARRY FISHMAN OTTAWA JEWISH BULLETIN SCHOLARSHIP FUND MARTIN GLATT PARLIAMENT LODGE B’NAI BRITH PAST PRESIDENTS’ FUND MENDEL AND VALERIE GOOD HOLOCAUST CONTINUING EDUCATION FUND GREENBERG FAMILIES LIBRARY FUND HILLEL ACADEMY CHILDREN OF THE BOOK AWARD FUND HILLEL LODGE LEGACY FUND JEWISH COMMUNITY CEMETERY HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FUND JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES AGENCY FUND JEWISH MEN’S SOFTBALL LEAGUE FUND JEWISH STUDENTS ASSOCIATION HILLEL FUND JEWISH YOUTH LIBRARY OF OTTAWA ENDOWMENT FUND DAVID “THE BEAR” KARDASH CAMP B’NAI BRITH MEMORIAL FUND

The Board of Directors of the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation acknowledges with thanks contributions to the following funds as of April 5, 2011.

OTTAWA JEWISH COMMUNITY ENDOWMENT FUND

OTTAWA LODGE B’NAI BRITH #885 PAST PRESIDENTS FUND OTTAWA LODGE B’NAI BRITH #885 PRESIDENTS SCHOLARSHIP FUND OTTAWA MODERN JEWISH SCHOOL FUND OTTAWA POST JEWISH WAR VETERANS FUND OTTAWA TORAH INSTITUTE TORAH EDUCATION FUND PINCHAS ZUKERMAN MUSIC EDUCATION FUND RAMBAM MAIMONIDES JEWISH CONTINUITY FUND SOLOWAY JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION FUND SOLOWAY JEWISH COMMUNITY SUMMER CAMP SCHOLARSHIP FUND SOLOWAY JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE ENDOWMENT FUND SOLOWAY JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE YOUTH SERVICES FUND TORAH ACADEMY OF OTTAWA TORAH EDUCATION FUND SARA AND ZEEV VERED ISRAEL CULTURAL PROGRAM FUND YITZHAK RABIN HIGH SCHOOL FUND IN MEMORY OF EVA WINTHROP

ANNE AND LOUIS ARRON MEMORIAL FUND Birthday wishes to: Evelyn Lieff by Daphne and Stanley Arron.

Anniversary wishes to: Sally and Elliott Levitan by Daphne and Stanley Arron.

NORMAN AND MYRNA BARWIN FOUNDATION OF THE PINCHAS ZUKERMAN MUSICAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Norman and Myrna Barwin.

CAYLA AND MICHAEL BAYLIN ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Cayla and Michael Baylin.

ISAAC AND HELEN BEILES ENDOWMENT FUND In observance of the Yahrzeit of: Helen Beiles, a beloved Aunt by Rachel and Jerry Schneiderman.

IRVING AND ESTHER BELLMAN MEMORIAL FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Seymour and Joyce Bellman; and by Mitchell Bellman and Nicola Hamer.

George Lesh by Mitchell Bellman and Nicola Hamer.

Mazal Tov to: Rabbi and Mrs. David and Chana Hayes on the marriage of Mushky and Saadya by Mitchell Bellman and Nicola Hamer.

HOWARD, JEFFREY, ANDREW, MICHAEL, GREGORY AND ZACHARY COGAN FUND Mazal Tov to: Simmy Gardner on the arrival of her grandson by Fred and Lisa Cogan.

Sol and Zelaine Shinder on the Bar Mitzvah of their grandson by Ben Fred and Lisa Cogan.

Speedy recovery to: Kaysa Friedman by Fred and Lisa Cogan.

Arnell Goldberg by Fred and Lisa Cogan.

CYNTHIA AND ABE ENGEL ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Cynthia Engel.

MARJORIE AND MICHAEL FELDMAN FAMILY FUND Anniversary wishes to: Marjorie and Michael Feldman by Jack and Sherri Torjman.

SHARON AND PAUL FINN ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Rick and Helen Zipes; and

by Merle and Richard Moses and family.

SAM AND SUSAN FIRESTONE ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Norman Epelbaum by Sam and Susan Firestone.

FLORENCE FAMILY MEMORIAL FUND In observance of the Yahrzeit of: Frank Florence, a dear uncle by A.L., Ann and Leanne Smith.

STEVEN AND ROZ FREMETH FAMILY FUND Mazal Tov to: Steven and Roz Fremeth on the engagement of their son Howard to Melanie by Sheldon and Corinne Taylor and family; and by Jack and Sherri Torjman and family.

Howard Fremeth on attaining his Ph.D. in Communications by Sheldon and Corinne Taylor and family.

AL AND LISA GARMAN FAMILY FUND Birthday wishes to: Al and Lisa Garman by Roger and Elena Keen.

ROBERT AND LEAH GENCHER FAMILY FUND Birthday wishes to: Robert Gencher by Rachel and Jerry Schneiderman.

FRAN AND SID GERSHBERG FAMILY FUND Mazal Tov to: Phil Seal on his second Bar Mitzvah by Fran and Sid Gershberg.

HERB AND DENA GOSEWICH ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Phillip Gosewitz by Herb and Dena Gosewich.

Susan Fisher by Herb and Dena Gosewich.

FRITZI AND MAX (CHIEF) GREENBERG MEMORIAL FUND In memory of: John Holzman by Murray and Linda Greenberg.

Ed Landis by Murray and Linda Greenberg.

Norman Epelbaum by Murray and Linda Greenberg.

Esther Phomin by Murray and Linda Greenberg.

DOROTHY AND HY HYMES ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Akiva Kriger by Dorothy and Hy Hymes.

Anniversary wishes to: Sally and Elliott Levitan by Dorothy and Hy Hymes.

AVRAHAM AND ELISSA INY FAMILY FUND Mazal Tov to: Avraham and Elissa Iny on the birth of their grandson by William and Marilyn Newman.

SAMUEL AND TILLIE KARDISH MEMORIAL FUND Anniversary wishes to: Norman and Evelyn Potechin by David and Joy Kardish.

Continued on page 28

Page 28 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

FOUNDATION DONATIONS Birthday wishes to: Evelyn Potechin Kardish.

by

David

and

Joy

ARTHUR AND SARAH KIMMEL MEMORIAL FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Daniel and Marilyn Kimmel; and by Arnold and Roslyn Kimmel.

Martin Cohen by Daniel and Marilyn Kimmel; and by Arnold and Roslyn Kimmel.

Norman Epelbaum by Arnold and Roslyn Kimmel.

PHILLIP AND ETTIE KIMMEL MEMORIAL FUND In memory of: George Lesh by Stan Kimmel.

JACOB AND ESTHER KIZELL MEMORIAL FUND In observance of the Yahrzeit of: Sonia Kizell by Herb and Pam Beiles and family.

KRANTZBERG KRANE FAMILY FUND In memory of: Norman Epelbaum by Myra and Sam, Joshua and Jaclyn, and Justin Krane.

Marguerite Cleinge-Green by Myra and Sam, Joshua and Jaclyn, and Justin Krane.

Sarah Green by Myra and Sam, Joshua and Jaclyn, and Justin Krane.

In appreciation to: Tom Agius by Myra and Sam, Joshua and Jaclyn, and Justin Krane.

Nicolette Fellegi by Myra and Sam, Joshua and Jaclyn, and Justin Krane.

ANNICE AND SYDNEY KRONICK FAMILY FUND Happy Passover to: Seryl and Charlie Kushner by Richard and Alice Kronick.

Sally and Elliott Levitan by Richard and Alice Kronick.

ISSIE AND EDITH LANDAU ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Edie Landau.

Congratulations to: Robyn Rozen on completing her Masters and progressing to her PhD by Edie Landau.

BERNIE AND IDA LESH ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Allen and Sandy Quallenberg and family; by Ida Lesh; and by Charlotte Felsky and Morty Hendler.

GEORGE LESH MIRACLE FUND In memory of: George Lesh by Scott and Janice Felman; by Michael, Jana and Adam Levitan; by Jacie and Sandra Levinson; by David and Ellen Fisher; by Phyllis and Bill Cleiman; by Joseph and Ruth Viner; and by Marion Silver and Alan Brass and family.

Susan Fisher by Michael, Jana and Adam Levitan.

HILDY AND STEVEN LESH ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Norman Epelbaum by Hildy and Steven Lesh.

NORMAN AND ISABEL LESH ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: George Lesh by Edie Landau.

SANDRA AND JACIE LEVINSON ENDOWMENT FUND R’fuah Sh’lemah to: Bill Goldstein by Sandra and Jacie Levinson.

Larry Hartman by Sandra and Jacie Levinson.

RON AND RUTH LEVITAN ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Ron and Ruth Levitan.

JOSEPH AND EVELYN LIEFF ENDOWMENT FUND R’fuah Sh’lemah to: Debi Zaret by Joseph and Evelyn Lieff.

Birthday wishes to: Evelyn Lieff by Bert and Rhoda Blevis.

LOBEL FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND In observance of the Yahrzeit of: Jack Lobel a beloved husband by Goldie Lobel.

Remembering: Sadie Waserman a dear sister by Goldie Lobel.

Birthday wishes to: Evelyn Potechin by Goldie Lobel and family.

Louis Weiner by Goldie Lobel and family.

ANNE (BLAIR) AND HYMAN MAYBERGER ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Anne Blair and Ruth Eliesen.

SEYMOUR AND JOY MENDER FAMILY FUND In memory of: Norman Epelbaum by Seymour, Joy, Jess, David and Jared Mender.

TANYA AND SAMUEL MOSES MORIN MEMORIAL FUND Speedy recovery to: Sheela Morin by Harvey Morin.

NANCY AND LARRY PLEET ENDOWMENT FUND Birthday wishes to: Evan Pleet by Sylvia and Morton Pleet.

SAMUEL AND RUTH ROTHMAN MEMORIAL FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Sheldon and Corinne Taylor and family.

Mazal Tov to: Paul Gardiner and Wendy Ciperaw on the birth of their son by Sheldon and Corinne Taylor and family.

SHELLEY AND SID ROTHMAN FAMILY FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Shelley Rothman.

Jack Leiner by Shelley Rothman.

ELAYNE AND WESLEY SCHACTER ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Norman Epelbaum by Elayne and Wesley Schacter and family.

HERMINA SCHACHNOW MEMORIAL FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Shelley and Morris Schachnow.

HAROLD SHAFFER MEMORIAL FUND In observance of the Yahrzeit of: Irving Shaffer by Sheldon and Sonia Shaffer.

LORNE AND LAURIE SHUSTERMAN FAMILY FUND R’fuah Sh’lemah to: Martin Broady by Lorne and Laurie Shusterman.

Mazal Tov to: Lisa Rosenkrantz and Michael Walsh on the arrival of their granddaughter, Rebecca Alicia Louise Walsh by Lorne and Laurie Shusterman.

JACK AND SARAH SILVERSTEIN FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Sara Shorenzon by Jack, Sarah, David and Lev Silverstein.

In appreciation to: Jack Silverstein by Harold and Rosalie Schwartz.

Harvey and Judy Slipacoff by Jack and Sarah Silverstein.

EVELYN AND NORMAN POTECHIN ENDOWMENT FUND Anniversary wishes to: Evelyn and Norman Potechin by Judith Wolfe; and by Laura and Gord Spergel.

Birthday wishes to: Evelyn Potechin by Judith Wolfe; and by Laura and Gord Spergel.

MOE AND CHARLOTTE SLACK MEMORIAL FUND In observance of the Yahrzeit of: Charlotte Slack, a dear mother and grandmother by Enid Slack and Ron Kanter and family; by Sandra Palef and Nissim Avraham; and by Marlene Levine and Andrew Siman.

Moe Slack, a dear father and grandfather by Enid Slack and Ron Kanter and family; by Sandra Palef and Nissim Avraham; and by Marlene Levine and Andrew Siman.

PHYLLIS AND ALAN RACKOW ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Phyllis and Alan Rackow.

Ed Landis by Phyllis and Alan Rackow.

DORIS AND RICHARD STERN FAMILY FUND Mazal Tov to: Dr. and Mrs. Richard Shatz on their upcoming Bat Mitzvah by Doris and Richard Stern.

FLORENCE AND GDALYAH ROSENFELD ENDOWMENT FUND Mazal Tov to: Norman and Evelyn Potechin on their 65th wedding anniversary and Evelyn’s special birthday by Florence and Gdalyah Rosenfeld; by Anita Rosenfeld; and by Jocelyn and Jeff Slatt and family.

SALLY AND MAX TALLER FAMILY FUND Birthday wishes to: Sally Taller by Tobin Kardish and Holly Kemp.

Evelyn Potechin by Sally Taller.

Continued on page 29

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 29

FOUNDATION DONATIONS CHARLES AND RAE TAVEL MEMORIAL FUND In memory of: Molly Phomin by Lilyan Philipp.

Marvin Jason by Lilyan Philipp.

Akiva Kriger by Lilyan Philipp.

LISE AND MARK THAW FAMILY FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Lise and Mark Thaw.

Norman Epelbaum by Lise and Mark Thaw.

George Lesh by Lise and Mark Thaw.

MIRIAM AND LOUIS WEINER ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: George Lesh by Miriam and Louis Weiner.

MILDRED AND PERCY WEINSTEIN ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Millie Weinstein.

WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE ENDOWMENT FUND Congratulations to: Sharon Hapton on her Woman of Vision Award by Lynne, Bobby, Taryn, Eleni and Hart Wener, and by Zoe Oreck.

SAM AND HELENE ZARET MEMORIAL FUND Birthday wishes to: Sue Slack by Neil and Debi Zaret.

ZIPES KARANOFSKY FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of: Roseda (Sadie) Schwerdfeger by Rick and Helen Zipes.

Mazal Tov to: Steven and Elizabeth Rubin on the ushering of their grandson Netanel by Rick and Helen Zipes.

THE SAUL AND EDNA GOLDFARB B’NAI MITZVAH PROGRAM RYAN JEREMY BAKER B’NAI MITZVAH FUND In memory of: Susan Fisher by Benita, Steven, Alexander and Ryan Baker.

George Lesh by Benita and Steven Baker.

ELIZABETH GREENBERG MITZVAH FUND Mazal Tov to: Elizabeth Greenberg on her Bat Mitzvah by Steven Lazarovitz and Shauna Solomon.

HANNAH SACHS B’NAI MITZVAH FUND In memory of: Norman Epelbaum by Michelle and Richard Sachs and family.

Birthday wishes to: Irma Sachs by Michelle and Richard Sachs and family.

Condolences to: Pam Allen and family on the loss of a dear father by Michelle and Richard Sachs and family.

DAHLIA AND ZACHARY SHABSOVE B’NAI MITZVAH FUND In memory of: Ruth Harrouch by the Shabsove family.

Mazal Tov to: Dahlia Shabsove on her Bat Mitzvah by Cynthia, Stephanie and Josh Engel.

Zachary Shabsove on his Bar Mitzvah by Cynthia, Stephanie and Josh Engel.

Adrienne and Charles Shabsove on the Bat and Bar Mitzvahs of Dahlia and Zachary by Ingrid Levitz.

Contributions may be made online at www.OJCF.ca or by contacting Erin Bolling at 613-798-4696 extension 232, Monday to Friday or by email at donation@ojcf.ca. Attractive cards are sent to convey the appropriate sentiments. All donations are acknowledged with a charitable receipt. We accept Visa, MasterCard and Amex.

Google Exodus tells the Passover tale via tweets, Facebook

By Sue Fishkoff (JTA) – What would the Exodus have looked like online?

That’s the premise behind Google Exodus, a two-minute video that tells the Passover story using social media.

In the video, which has gone viral with more than 1.2 million page views since being uploaded March 31 onto YouTube, God Skypes Moses, Moses finds Pharaoh’s palace using Google maps, and he and Pharaoh engage in a heated e-mail exchange about letting the Jewish people go. Moses orders live frogs and other plagues on Amazon.com, and he tweets his success to the Israelites via Twitter.

To see the video, search “Google Exodus� at YouTube.com. “We view this film as a natural extension of what we do, which is to reach out to Jews of every background using modern tools,� said Nechemia Coopersmith, the Jerusalembased chief editor of Aish.com, part of the three-man team that produced the video. “We wanted to take all the social media tools – Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo.answers, Google street view, Skype – and weave them into the story of the Exodus.�

Aish.com is the website of Aish HaTorah, a Jerusalem-based Jewish educational and outreach organization with branches around the world.

The video opens with a CNN news alert: “Pharaoh Enslaves Jews.� As Pharaoh and Moses trade messages via Gmail and iPhones – Moses’ “Let my people go!� is met with Pharaoh’s “No way!� – in the leadup to the plagues. “My staff just turned into a snake! Cool,� writes Moses, updating his status on Face-

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book. Later, a YouTube video shows a plague of locusts descending on a field.

When the Jews leave Egypt and reach the Red Sea, viewers get up close and personal as the waves part when Google maps zooms in for a “street view.� The scene is of Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments. “This film is a fun way to reach people who might otherwise not be interested,�

Shraga Simmons, senior editor of Aish.com and a member of the production team, told JTA. “Google Exodus enables us to communicate Jewish values in a language that everyone can understand. And the cool thing is that it is spreading via the same web tools featured in the video.�

If Christianity evolved out of Judaism, this Exodus video was inspired by the birth of Jesus – specifically a Christian video released last December called Digital Story of the Nativity, which narrates the baby-in-themanger tale using the same social media tools employed by the Aish.com team.

The big difference?

Google Exodus uses a jazzy orchestral version of the Passover seder song “Dayenu,� while Digital Jesus rocks along to “Jingle Bells.�

Coopersmith says the Nativity video was itself inspired by a popular Google ad that aired during the 2010 Super Bowl telling the story of a Parisian-American love affair conducted via Google tools.

That ad only used Google, Coopersmith said, whereas “we wanted to expand and use every social media tool possible.�

The Aish team is now busy on its next project: a social media-rich video for Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. It should be up on Aish.com next week, Aish officials said.

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Page 30 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

The quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie A few months ago, I was surfing various food blogs and came across the following statement: “I have found the last chocolate chip cookie recipe I will ever need.”

“Wow,” I thought, that is a very bold statement, and one not to be uttered lightly. However, being a food blogger myself, I know how we, as a group, are prone to exaggeration.

So, I printed the recipe and filed it away for when I had time someday.

When it comes to chocolate chip cookies, people are very particular. Some like them thin and crispy, while others love them thick and chewy. There are those who love them all warm and gooey from the oven. Then, there are those who prefer them to have totally cooled, and the chocolate has a snap when you bite into it. Finally, there are those who love them best straight from the freezer once they have cured for a few days. Granted, that camp is quite small – by the way, I am firmly in this camp – but it has its followers.

Over the years, I have had many different favourite chocolate chip cookie recipes. I was hooked on Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Chip Cookies for a while, but they were just too much trouble. Apparently, what makes them so special are the Valrhona feves (giant oval shaped chocolate discs).

But, seriously, we live in Ottawa, and sourcing them was a pain! They also required 24 to 72 hours of chilling time for the dough before baking. When you have a craving for chocolate chip cookies, you don’t want to wait three days!

Before Jacques Torres’, I was into Marcy Goldman’s BetterBaking.com Chocolate Chip Cookies (she nicknamed them ‘Big League Chocolate Chip Cookies’). But they required you to melt half the butter and then cool it, and she also recommended chilling the dough for 24 hours. Problem was, everyone ended up sneaking little bits of cookie dough from the fridge and, by the time we got around to baking them, there was hardly any dough left. Also, for some reason, I always got inconsistent results with this recipe.

Lately, I have been worshipping at the altar of Michael Smith’s Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. He adds a touch of corn syrup to the dough to make them extra chewy.

Monday, May 2, 2011

It had been quite a while since I last baked cookies and, to be perfectly honest, I get a little bit cranky if too much time has passed without baking. I pulled out my “to try” file and found “The last chocolate chip cookie recipe I will ever need” recipe.

As I read through this recipe, I became intrigued. All of the recipes I have made over the years use both white and brown sugar. The white sugar makes the cookies crisp and the brown sugar, because of its hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air) properties, makes the cookies chewy. This is the first recipe I have ever seen that uses a third sugar – Turbinado sugar. Turbinado sugar, a golden-coloured natural brown sugar, is produced by extracting the juice from sugar cane, heating it to evaporate water and crystallize the sugar, then spinning in a centrifuge to remove some impurities and further dry the sugar.

I found Turbinado sugar at Bulk Barn and went to work.

I cannot emphasize too strongly, do not use chocolate chips for these cookies. Chocolate chips contain an emulsifier in them to help them hold their shape during baking. You want the chocolate to completely melt in baking and then

Made with Love Cindy Feingold harden once again after cooling. There is some kind of physical change that takes place during the melting and cooling, that gives chocolate chunk cookies a special snap or bite to them that you just do not get with chocolate chips. Buy a few bars of good quality chocolate (at least 60-70% cocoa content). I love Callebaut chocolate, which you can find at Farm Boy. After baking, I patiently waited for them to cool. As I took a bite, I encountered a bit of crunch on the edges, which then gave way to a chewy, gooey interior. I am not a food scientist, so I can’t tell you what affect the Turbinado sugar had on these cookies, but I will tell you they were damn good.

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie This recipe first appeared on notwithoutsalt.com, food blogger Ashley’s site. Then, Dana of danatreat.com elaborated upon it. Both Dana and Ashley swear it will be the last chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need. I thought they were excellent, but, given my curious nature and love of baking, I doubt I am done trying chocolate chip cookie recipes.

This recipe makes about 32 cookies, using an ice cream scoop measuring 2 inches across. If you do not have an ice cream scoop, make the cookies about 2 1/2 tablespoons in size.

2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup Turbinado sugar 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 11/2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 12 ounces chocolate (Use the best quality chocolate you can afford. With a serrated knife, cut chocolate into roughly 1/2-inch chunks.)

Sea salt (optional)

Preheat the oven to 360 F. Set rack in the middle of the oven.

Cream the butter and the sugars on medium-high speed until light, 4-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times during this process. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at a time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. Mix with a whisk. With the machine on low, slowly add almost all the flour. Reserve just a bit of the mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the last bit of flour along with the chocolate. Stir with a spatula until just combined.

Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop out mounds of dough making sure there is about 2 inches between each cookie. Do not crowd them and there is no need to press the dough down. Sprinkle each mound with a bit of sea salt.

Bake sheets, one at time, until the cookies are lightly golden on the edges and a bit gooey in the centre, about 11 minutes. Do not over-bake! Remove sheet from oven and allow cookies to sit undisturbed for two minutes. Then carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining sheets.

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Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011 – Page 31

Eighteen things you may not know about Elissa Haimovitz Elissa Haimovitz is a Montreal import, a social worker, and the fiancée of Byron Pascoe, half of the Have a Knish team. She has a contagious laugh and a very difficult job.

While the wedding is in June, Elissa will have to wait eight more months for Byron to finish law school before they can live together in the same city!

Elissa was surprised when I asked to profile her instead of Byron, and I easily proved her wrong when she told me that she was “not interesting.”

Here are 18 things you may not know about Elissa Haimovitz ...

1. I never expected to leave Montreal, but I moved to Ottawa in 2003 for a job. I really like Ottawa and especially love the ByWard Market and Bluesfest.

2. My nicknames are Lis and E. 3. I was terrified of dogs as a child. When I turned nine, my parents bought a dog, which forced me to conquer my fear. They now do dog rescue work and have had as many as four dogs living with them at a time. I do not own a dog and probably never will.

4. I cook a delicious Dijon mustard salmon dish.

5. I met my fiancé, Byron, through friends. He liked me even though I do not have a British accent. (He liked girls with a British accent.)

6. My brother, Mike, recently moved to Ottawa and, later this spring, will be opening the first Dagwoods restaurant outside Quebec. I am expecting a family “free” rate!

7. I love to scrapbook. You can often find me putting together pages on family and friends.

8. I celebrated my 22nd birthday on a Birthright Israel

18 things ...

Sarah Silverstein trip. During that first trip to Israel, I bought my first pair of Shabbos candlesticks in Jerusalem.

9. My favourite food is vanilla birthday cake from Loblaws.

10. I used to be an anti-BlackBerry person as I needed to share Byron with his BlackBerry. I purchased my own and have developed a new appreciation for the BlackBerry.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

11. I can tell you the lyrics to almost any song.

12. My friends would describe me as quirky, playful, caring and grumpy when hungry.

13. I attended Hebrew Day School in Montreal from nursery to Grade 6. My Hebrew name is “Esther.”

14. I am a child protection worker with the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa. During an investigation, I had to hide in a bathroom with a colleague while holding a baby because two dogs were fighting outside the door. One of the dogs later urinated on me. Thankfully, that was not a typical day in my line of work!

15. To relax, I love to watch television – Glee is my cur-

Different language usages will drive you crazy or turn you into a linguist I remember how English sounded when I didn’t speak it. It sounded like people trying to talk with pebbles in the back of their mouths without moving their lips.

The first time I met kids who spoke English, I was chased away because I didn’t. That was my incentive to learn to speak English. Within a year, I was playing with them and trying to learn how to read from my brother’s Dick and Jane reader. “See Spot run.” See Rubin run.

But, it didn’t really dawn on me that English and Yiddish were completely different languages until I started to speak Yiddish to my mother in front of the customers in our store. That was when she made sure I understood that I was to speak Yiddish only in the back, or upstairs where we lived, and English everywhere else. I’m not sure I even knew the labels or understood them until she used them in that context. Until then, they were just two different ways of talking.

From that point on, I became more attentive to how my parents sounded, and to how other adults talked. It became clear that they spoke differently, even when they were supposedly speaking English.

I also started to notice that the way my teachers spoke English was completely different from the way we kids spoke it in the schoolyard to each other.

Then I noticed that other Yiddish speakers said some words differently from the way my parents said them. This can either drive you crazy or turn you into a linguist. I was lucky and got the best of both worlds.

For example, my parents used the word ‘what’ when they spoke English when others would use the word ‘that.’

“Dis is de suit what de kustomeh like it.”

This is because, in Yiddish, you use the word for ‘what’ (voss) when English-speakers use ‘that.’ They used ‘e’ as in ‘bet’ in words that English-speakers said ‘a’ as in ‘bat.’ And they used a ‘d’ or ‘t’ sound for ‘th.’ So, a ‘bet’ was something I took every Friday before Shabbos and it had to with a tub and not a horse race.

When you start down this path of looking at language, you can’t stop. I started to notice how some things in English were completely arbitrary, so no wonder it was hard for my parents to learn them.

Let’s take something simple.

“I found a place to park the car.” Sounds OK? How about, “I found a garage to park the car”?

What’s the difference?

Compare “I found a place to live” with “I found a house to live.”

As we ask on Passover, “Ma neshtana?”

Recently, a friend said he couldn’t stand it when people said ‘off of,’ instead of just ‘off,’ as it was redundant, as in “Get off of the table” versus “Get off the table.”

Yet, the parallel structure using ‘out’ seems to require the ‘of’ as in “Get out of the water” versus “Get out the water.”

It turns out that both ‘off’ and ‘out’ had dialect forms – ‘offn’ and ‘outn’ – which were used exactly the same way as in “Get offn the table” versus “Get outn the water.”

Why have these usages diverged?

I guess it has something to do with the modern use of ‘get out,’ which can take an object, so you have to say “Get out of the car” to make sure its ‘out’ is not confused with “Get out the car,” which means to take it out of the

Elissa Haimovitz covered in bows at her bridal shower.

rent favourite – and organize closets and cupboards.

16. I enjoy all of the Jewish holidays because, to me, they mean family being together.

17. My car radio is currently tuned to Hot 89.9.

18. I do not enjoy reading for pleasure. I feel I read enough psychology and social work textbooks during my three university degrees to last me a lifetime!

Humour me, please Rubin Friedman garage. But you would have to have a twisted and perverted imagination to think of a context in which “Get off the table” was transitive.

In the end, you have to rely on what sounds right to you. And if you tell me to “Hie me hence,” it will somehow sound more genteel than telling me to “Get out of here.”

Mazal Tov Getting married, celebrating a special birthday or anniversary, just had a Bar or Bat Mitzvah?

Send us your good news (photo too)! $50 + hst Mail to: Ottawa Jewish Bulletin 21 Nadolny Sachs Private Ottawa, Ontario K2A 2R9 Fax: 613-798-4730 Email: bulletin@ottawajewishbulletin.com For more information call Rhoda Saslove-Miller 613-798-4696, ext. 256

Page 32 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – April 25, 2011

WHAT’S GOING ON April 25 to May 15, 2011 SUNDAY, APRIL 24 Shalom Ottawa, community TV show on Rogers 22, 12:00 pm. (repeats Thursday, April 28 at 4:30 pm and Saturday, April 30 at noon).

THURSDAY, APRIL 28 Beyond Time and Place, sponsored by Jewish Family Services, Rabbi Braun will speak on The Golden Land 1654-1930s, Embassy West Senior Living, 1400 Carling Ave, 2:00 pm. Info: 613-722-2225, ext. 411.

CANDLELIGHTING EVE OF THE SEVENTH DAY OF PASSOVER Apr 24 ✡ 7:41 pm EVE OF EIGHTH DAY OF PASSOVER Apr 25 ✡ AFTER 8:49 pm Apr 29 ✡ 7:48 pm May 6 ✡ 7:57 pm May 13 ✡ 8:05 pm

SUNDAY, MAY 1 Book launch: Jewish Roots, Canadian Soil: Yiddish Culture in Montreal 1905-1945. Author Rebecca Margolis of the University of Ottawa’s Vered Jewish Canadian Studies Program will speak about Montreal’s vibrant Yiddish cultural life in its formative years, 2:00 pm.

Info: 613-798-9818, ext. 254.

Multifaith Housing Initiative Tulipathon: Walk with people of all faiths to provide affordable housing for low-income households in Ottawa, Commissioner’s Park, Dow’s Lake, 2:00 pm. Registration begins at 1:00 pm. Info: 613-6861825.

2011 Community Yom HaShoah Commemoration: Keynote speaker Ada Wynston will describe her personal experiences during the Holocaust. Born in Amsterdam in 1936, Ada, along with 231 other Jewish children, was rescued from a Jewish day care centre by the Dutch underground. At six, she went into hiding with Dutch-Reform

Christian families until 1945. She emigrated to Canada in 1957, 7:00 pm. Info: 613-798-4696, ext. 253.

MONDAY, MAY 2 Monday Matinée, sponsored by Jewish Family Services, featuring A Tickle in the Heart, the Westwood, 2370 Carling Avenue. 2:00 pm. Info: 613-722-2225, ext. 411.

TUESDAY, MAY 3 Celebrating Partnerships on Parliament Hill: Canadian Friends of Hebrew University event to highlight partnerships between Canadian institutions and Hebrew University, Booth Building, Parliament Hill, 5:00 pm. Info: 613-829-3150.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4 Books and Bagels Brunch, sponsored by Jewish Family Services, will feature Girl Unwrapped, written and presented by author Gabriella Goliger, 2255 Carling Avenue, Suite 300, 10:30 am. Info: 613722-2225, ext. 411.

For more community listings, visit ottawa.jewishottawa.com Select Calendar/Upcoming Events and Click to See More

SUNDAY, MAY 8 Canadian Hadassah-WIZO Annual Tea honours Inez Zelikovitz, hosted by the Amit, Mollie Betcherman and Ina McCarthy Chapters, home of Ingrid Levitz, 31 Chinook Cres, 2:00 pm. Info: 613-820-1878.

Yom Hazikaron ceremony to honour Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, 7:30 pm. Info: 613-798-9818, ext. 243.

TUESDAY, MAY 10 Israel Flag-Raising Ceremony for Yom Ha’Atzmaut, 11:00 am.

Info: 613-798-9818, ext. 243.

Yom Ha’Atzmaut 2011: Celebrate Israel’s 63rd Year of Independence with lots of kids’ activities, great food, entertainment. Fun for the whole family, Aberdeen Pavillion, Lansdowne Park, 5:00 pm. Info: 613798-9818, ext. 243.

Malca Pass Book Discussion Group focuses on 36 Arguments for the Existence of God by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, reviewed by Sophie Kohn Kaminsky, 1400 Coldrey

Avenue, 7:30 pm. Info: 613-829-2455.

THURSDAY, MAY 12 Beyond Time and Place, sponsored by Jewish Family Services: Rabbi Braun will speak on Into the Future: 1880s-1990s, Embassy West Senior Living, 1400 Carling Ave, 2:00 pm. Info: 613-722-2225, ext. 411.

SUNDAY, MAY 15 Temple Israel’s Annual Spring Event with sales of plants, crafts and collections. Browse inside and out to find perennials, unique artistic gifts, and enjoy tea or coffee with a little nosh, 1301 Prince of Wales Drive, 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. Info: music@templeisraelottawa.ca.

COMING SOON TUESDAY, MAY 17 March of the Living 2012 Information Session about this life-changing experience for teens in grades 10-12.

Trip to take place in April 2012. 7:00 pm.

Info: 613-798-4644.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 AJA 50+ Anniversary Gala: Bridging the Generations celebrates 10 years by raising funds for AJA 50+ and to establish a scholarship fund for Ottawa’s Jewish community schools.

Congregation Beth Shalom, 151 Chapel Street, 5:00 pm.

Info: 613-226-5435.

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: Heather Braverman, formerly of Ottawa Rachel Gewurz George Lesh

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 613-798-4696, ext. 232.

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BULLETIN DEADLINES APRIL 27 FOR MAY 16 MAY 11 FOR MAY 30 MAY 25 FOR JUNE 13 JUNE 29 FOR JULY 18 JULY 27 FOR AUGUST 15 AUGUST 17 FOR SEPTEMBER 5 AUGUST 24 FOR SEPTEMBER 19* * Community-wide Issue (all dates subject to change)

I feel fortunate to follow in my father’s footsteps.

My father grew up in a world of uncertainty and volatility. He came to Canada, worked hard to build a successful business and a stable life for his family. Part of that stability is the Romspen Mortgage Fund which has delivered a reliable fixed income to both of us each and every month. It’s important that my father has an investment he trusts.

Knowing that he doesn’t have to worry is very comforting to me.

Leon Katz (with father Eugene)

You’ve heard of the Romspen Mortgage Investment Fund. Isn’t it time you found out more? Call us to receive an information package or visit www.romspen.com.

162 Cumberland Street, Suite 300 Toronto, Ontario M5R 3N5 416.966.1100 1.800.494.0389 www.romspen.com