Remembering the past and planning for the future

With Remembrance Day falling on Friday, we wanted to make sure you received this week’s Shabbat message before our office closed in observance of the holiday. 

Today, we are wrapping up the Coast-to-Coast partnership meetings in Israel. Our investments in the future of our partnership region are made through multiple streams including the Coast-to-Coast partnership. This partnership includes our community, and the Jewish communities of Atlantic Canada, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Winnipeg. 

These meetings took place on the heels of our Israel and Global Engagement Committee meetings, which in turn were immediately after the Jewish Agency For Israel’s Board of Governors meetings. Suffice it to say, it has been an exciting and very busy trip. 

We have met with and visited many of the projects we are supporting, and we have been joined by a number of our volunteer leaders and donors. I want to thank Michelle and Neil Pollock, Candace and Alan Kwinter, David Fox and Deborah Folka, Anita and Arnold Silber, Lisa and Brent Pullan, Hodie Kahn, and Irv Laskin and Naomi Kronitz for their involvement and support, and for making the journey here with us. There is nothing like seeing the work in person, and having them here with us has strengthened all of our connections to the region, the work, and our collective goals on behalf of the community. 

I also want to commend our board chair, Candace Kwinter, and our past board chair, Karen James, for their ongoing service with the Jewish Agency. Having volunteer leaders from our community participate on the international level puts our community at the table and gives our leaders the opportunity to make an impact that resonates with Jewish communities around the world. We are very grateful for the incredible commitment they have made and continue to make.   

If you have ever visited our partnership region of the Galilee Panhandle, you know how beautiful it is. Everywhere you look there are mountains, fields, orchards, and even vineyards. That brings me to our next topic. 

It’s time to BUYcott Israeli wine. 

I hope you will show your support for Israel by purchasing Israeli wine ahead of a boycott that anti-Israel groups have planned for November 26th. Wine and cheese are as traditional for Hanukkah as latkes, so stock up on your holiday wines now. Let’s clear those shelves—l'chaim! 

Here at home, there were two important events of remembrance.

The first marked the anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin z"l. The event, led by Camp Miriam and the JCC, included a screening of the film Incitement and a Zoom conversation with Yaron Dekel, a prominent Israeli journalist at the time of the assassination and now the Canadian regional director for the Jewish Agency for Israel.  

Yaron was at the square that night and “decided to use some journalistic Israeli chutzpah” to get what turned out to be Prime Minister Rabin’s z”l last interview. When Yaron heard that the assassin was an Israeli Jew, he recalled understanding—as many of us did when we heard the news—“that Israel would never again be the same.” 

The second marked Kristallnacht.

This year’s annual commemorative program honoured Chris Friedrichs, professor emeritus of History at UBC. The Honourable Irwin Cotler, special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism joined the event virtually, and Liliane Pari Umuhoza, founder of Women Genocide Survivors Retreat Rwanda, provided the keynote.  

I am delighted to see that community members were joined by Vancouver Granville MP Taleeb Noormohamed, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, Vancouver City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, and many others. 

We want to thank the VHEC, the survivors, and all who were involved in this annual commemorative event. We are so proud to support their work through the Annual Campaign. 

It is only natural to turn from remembering the past to planning for the future. 

If you have made a gift to the 2022 Annual Campaign, I want to thank you. I also want to ask if you have thought about supporting our community’s annual needs in perpetuity. Endowing your campaign gift ensures our community will be supported for generations to come.  

It’s easier to set up your campaign endowment than you might think. The Jewish Community Foundation has already helped many donors do this, and they would be very happy to work with you, too.

The Foundation takes a very personalized approach and will work closely with you to understand your unique needs and objectives, so you can create a legacy and support our community in perpetuity. 

Our Annual Campaign chair, Lana Marks Pulver, knows the importance of this and we created a short video about it, which you can watch here. You can also learn more about endowing your gift at jewishcommunityfoundation.com 

On a final note, if you are a parent or caregiver for a child under the age of 18 living with a disability, our partner, Jewish Family Services, invites you to spend 10-15 minutes to complete this survey and pass it along to others.  

Shabbat shalom and I hope you have a meaningful Remembrance Day tomorrow. Here is a guide to ceremonies across Metro Vancouver.