April 21, 2022 | 20 Nissan 5782
This message has about 819 words and will take less than 3.5 minute to read.
On Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. at the JCC, our community will mark Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, presented by our partner, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC). This year’s commemoration marks the 79th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Amalia Boe-Fishman will deliver the survivor keynote address and second-generation Holocaust descendant, Marsha Lederman, will deliver a special address based on her upcoming memoir Kiss the Red Stairs. There will also be songs of remembrance, prayers, and a candle lighting ceremony for survivors.
The next day, we and our advocacy agent, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, invite you to join for an online Yom HaShoah Commemoration with the Honourable John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia. At a time when solidarity and community are more important than ever, we hope you will join us online in commemorating this important day at 12:00 p.m. on April 28th. Registration is not required.
Now I would like to turn it over to our guest writer, Michelle Pollock, chair of our Israel and Global Engagement Committee.
Shabbat Shalom! I am delighted to be sharing this space with you today on behalf of the Israel and Global Engagement Committee (IGEC). The IGEC is dedicated to improving the lives of Jews in Israel and worldwide and building Israel related connections within our local community in Vancouver. We work with Jewish Federation’s partner agencies to identify how best to support struggling regions, facilitate volunteer opportunities, and strengthen the Canada-Israel relationship.
The committee recently began a strategic planning process to determine how we can best support and catalyze Jewish Federation’s investments in our partnership region of the Galilee Panhandle (Etzba HaGalil). We had our first allocations priorities workshop this month, funding which is made possible by the Federation Annual Campaign, and we will diligently continue the process to ensure our allocations are strategically aligned to current needs for the 2022-2025 cycle.
Etzba HaGalil faces unique economic and security challenges as it is located on the Lebanese border as well as being politically isolated from the country’s centre. Based on the committee’s recommendations, Jewish Federation strategically invests funds to strengthen the region through education, leadership development, community building, and wellness services.
The committee addresses needs in a multitude of circumstances and locations. Here are just a few examples:
We are particularly excited that Israel experience trips are back on. We’re excited to support 50 local young adults who have already registered for Birthright Israel and two classes from King David High School who will travel to Israel and spend time with students and teachers from their sister school in Etzba HaGalil.
Being part of making an impact of such depth and breadth is very meaningful for me on a personal level, because having volunteered with myriad organizations, including Federation the JCC and CIJA, over the past 20 years I have learned a great deal about the needs in our community and across the Jewish world.
The volunteers on the IGEC and the Jewish Federation staff who support us in our work are passionate and dedicated people who share an intense love of Israel and desire to aid world Jewry effectively. I want to thank our committee members for their wisdom and commitment.
We are all bonded by the same inner drive to lend a hand, and as we approach the seders we take comfort in knowing that Jews around the world are also bonded by custom and ritual.
I wish you all a chag sameach!
I hope to see you in person celebrating Israel at the Yom Ha’atzmaut community celebration for Israel’s 74th Independence Day on May 4th at The Vogue Theatre, and for the Yom HaZikaron ceremony the evening before.
גוט יום־טובֿ
Michelle
Chair, Israel & Global Engagement Committee
Shabbat shalom and chag Pesach sameach.
Ezra S. Shanken
Chief Executive Officer