P7 Living off the grid in the Yukon • 6 Documentary brings up old memories • 7

From ‘in the dark’ to ‘in the know’ • 12 P12

P6 INSIDE

SIVAN 5781

Hamilton Jewish NThe voice ofe Jewishw Hamilton Junes 2021 The Mayor takes a stand on antisemitism

Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s abhorrence of discrimination of any kind finds expression in his adoption of a new definition of antisemitism

STORY BY WENDY SCHNEIDER THE HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS as antisemitic incidents have reached near historic levels in this city, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s March 31 announce- ment that his office would adopt a document that provides a comprehensive description of antisemitism was received enthu- siastically by local and national Jewish organizations. Drafted in 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) document provides examples of contemporary antisemitism, ranging from the use of age-old anti-Jewish tropes, to Holocaust denial, to certain expressions of animus toward the Jewish State of Israel that may at times cross the line into antisemitism. In adopting the IHRA working definition, the mayor joins a growing list of countries and government bodies around the world, includ- ing the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and sev- eral Canadian municipalities. Federation president Jacki Levin and Mayor Fred Eisenberger at the 2019 Yom HaShoah commemoration, which MAYOR TAKES A STAND CONTINUES ON P4 was held at City Hall

JHamilton expansion Federation announces plans to open new wellness centre at JHamilton location When you’re named after ABIGAIL CUKIER REPORTS: P5 someone, you’re a continuation of their Baking through the pandemic P10 ‘story.”‘ Investing in Hamilton P12 Ben Shragge on an unusual inheritance

LOCAL VOICES: P10

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JEWISHHAMILTON.ORG GUEST EDITORIAL

Despite the pandemic much was achieved

Gustavo Fowler and Associates Rymberg TD Wealth Private Investment Advice Complete Investment and Estate Planning CEO, HAMILTON JEWISH FEDERATION

When the world changed in has been adopted by many countries March 2020, members of Hamilton’s and cities around the world, provides Jewish community were forced to a comprehensive description of anti- adapt to a new reality. Along the way, semitism in its various forms, includ- as individuals and as a community, ing hatred and discrimination against we discovered what was essential. Jews, Holocaust denial and the way Despite all negative predictions, antisemitism relates to how criti- our community responded to the cism of Israel is expressed. Mayor crisis in an exemplary way. What Eisenberger’s gesture sent a clear followed were new emergency pro- message to hate-mongers in our city grams, new community partnerships, that there is no room for antisemitism new volunteers, new government in Hamilton. support and new grants; and we just The second event was seeing the wrapped up our Annual Community Israeli flag flying at Hamilton City Campaign, which surpassed all our Hall in commemoration of Yom expectations. Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut. We may not have been able to Again, the gesture was a very impor- meet in person, but we were never- tant statement that Hamilton sup- theless able to connect with each ports and recognizes the State of other through Zoom, fulfilling our Israel. sacred mission to protect the vulner­ The Hamilton Jewish Federation able; advocate for Jewish issues and will hold its Annual General Meeting for Israel; and educate, engage and on May 27, marking the end of our strengthen our Jewish community. fiscal year and the culmination of Over the last year, all our signature Jacki Levin’s four years as presi- programs went virtual. The second dent of our organization. It was a annual Marvin Caplan Jewish Book real privilege to share my first four Festival, Hamilton Jewish Film years as CEO with Jacki, whose pas- Festival, Teachers Seminar on the sion and love for the community was Holocaust, Holocaust Education always evident in her leadership de- Proudly serving the Week, Kristallnacht and Yom cisions. Jacki supported me during Greater Hamilton Area since 1957 Hashoah commemorations, and Yom difficult moments, and was always Ha’atzmaut celebration were all well there for me when I tried to think out- attended and deeply appreciated. side the box. I am very proud to say Most importantly, we kept our com- that, together, we accomplished all munity together and connected. We our goals. Working and learning with were physically apart but closer than Jacki over the last four years was a ever. real privilege. Thank you, Jacki, for I want to tell you about two making the Hamilton Jewish commu- recent events that filled me with nity a better place for all of us. emotion and pride. The first was I hope you’ll join us on Thursday, Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s adop- May 27 at 7 p.m. for our virtual AGM tion of the International Holocaust to recognize Jacki’s accomplishments Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) and to welcome Federation’s incom- working definition of antisemitism on ing president, Howard Eisenberg. March 31. The IHRA definition, which

A COMMUNITY MEMBER WRITES

PLEASE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE YOU Since COVID began, I can go many days without in- HAVE MADE teracting with others. Two gifts have kept me going — my Jewish faith and my Jewish community. Prior to Pesach I was taking my walk in a nearby park when I received a phone call Experience the trust, dependability and telling me a hamper had been left at my door. When I arrived home, I found a large dose of kindness in the form of a huge box that I could not get it in the accountability that the Richter Group stores house! I had to remove all the food attached on top and then push it into my have provided for over 50 years kitchen. Once the perishables were refrigerated, I made a cup of tea and sat down to investigate this bottomless well of goodies. Everything for a Seder and so much more. For weeks afterwards, both my heart and my belly were full. How can I thank so many and let them know how much their thoughts and hard work were embedded in every item? Please know the difference you have made, one individual at a time. This is not the first time I have benefitted from my Hamilton Jewish community. You are a special group of people who Hamilton Hyundai Eastgate Ford Bay King Chrysler CSN Collision Centres strengthen its members as we all continue to share kindness and care in these 324 Parkdale Ave N 350 Parkdale Ave N 55 Rymal Rd 230 Lansing Drive challenging times! A special thank you to the staff at Hamilton Jewish Family 905 545 5150 905 547 3211 905 383 7700 350 Parkdale Ave N Services for allowing me the space to hug you back. Shalom. hamiltonhyundai.ca eastgateford.com bayking.ca eastgateford.com Anonymous

The HJN welcomes letters to the editor. To submit a letter for publication, email [email protected].

2 HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS • JUNE 2021 JUNE 2021

Sharon Enkin Student Award winners

Hamilton Jewish Federation staff member Elaine Levine with some of the multi-media items from the winning entries for the 2nd Annual Sharon Enkin Student Award on the Holocaust. Students from Grades 10 through 12 submitted videos, poems, artwork and essays in response to the question, “Why is it so important in 2021 for young people to learn the lessons of the Holocaust?” Winners from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board were Beth Hughes, Ivor Hathaway, Jappreet Gill and Naomi Martin; Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board winners were Andrew Scheer, Lyvia Carroll and Kaitlyn Fegan. A virtual awards ceremony took place earlier this month.

COVER STORY Hamilton’s mayor takes a stand 6 INSIDE THIS ISSUE FEATURE STORY agm21 add.qxp_Layout 1 2021-05-01 9:40 AM Page 1 A waiting room revolution 2 Editorial 4 Cover Story 8 6 Feature Stories FIRST PERSON 8 First Person Living off the grid in the Yukon 10 Local Voices 10 LOCAL VOICES FEDERATION NEWS: 7, 12 The joy of pandemic baking PHYSICALLY APART, NEXT ISSUE: SEPTEMBER 2021 CLOSER THAN EVER. DEADLINES Booking ads: July 19, 2021 Advertising copy: August 10, 2021 Publication date: August 25, 2021

HJN EDITOR ADVERTISING Wendy Schneider Wendy Schneider wschneider@ The Hamilton Jewish News jewishhamilton.org HAMILTON JEWISH is published six times a 905-628-0058 FEDERATION PRESIDENT year by the Hamilton Jewish Jacki Levin Federation ASSISTANT EDITOR Abigail Cukier CEO EDITORIAL POLICY Gustavo Rymberg The Hamilton Jewish News DIGITAL EDITOR invites members of the Ben Shragge BOARD MEMBERS community to contribute Janis Criger SAVE THE DATE! letters, articles or guest HJN CONTRIBUTORS Mike Dressler ANNUAL GENERAL ZOOM MEETING 2021 editorials. Steve Arnold, Steven Brock, Howard Eisenberg Written submissions Abigail Cukier, Ben Daniel Hershkowitz must be forwarded by the Shragge, Phyllis Shragge Alice Mendelson THURSDAY, MAY 27 | 7 PM deadline indicated in each Adam Norris issue. This newspaper HJN ADVISORY BOARD Arie Pekar reserves the right to edit, Aviva Boxer Josh Rauchwerger condense or reject any Wade Hemsworth Lowell Richter contribution for brevity or Celia Rothenberg Lorne Rochwerg legal purposes. Georgina Rosenberg CONSULTING ART DIRECTOR Peter Smurlick CIRCULATION John Bullock Jason Waxman For information and registration please contact 2,000 Laura Wolfson Hamilton JEWISH FEDERATION PUBLISHER [email protected] | 905.648.0605 x 303 Hamilton Jewish Federation

JUNE 2021 • HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS 3 COVER STORY

Mayor takes a stand

Taylor Leibow’s CONTINUED FROM P1

Suite of Services Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger decided harm and looking to do what we’ve all his office would take a lead in adopting done, which is to find a place of respect and

the new definition of antisemitism after opportunity and community for them and

Go Beyond a series of meetings between Hamilton their children,” he says. Jewish Federation CEO Gustavo Rymberg Bean Counting. “So the story continues in many differ- and the mayor’s advisor of community rela- ent ways. The good news is that, in my view, tions, Christopher Cutler. Rymberg lobbied that it’s still a minority of individuals that

for Hamilton to join a growing number of bear these racist, discriminatory tenden- Providing accounting, audit, tax, business valuations, insolvency Canadian provinces and municipalities in cies. But it’s certainly something that we and business advisory services for over 70 years. adopting the IHRC definition. need to continue to guard against because “Hamilton’s black and Jewish commu- that kind of division is the foundation of the nities share the dubious honour of having kind of atrocity that was the Holocaust.” the highest number of hate incidents and

crimes,” Eisenberger told the HJN. “That’s Jewish community responds Effort Square, 105 Main Street East, 7th Floor, Hamilton, ON L8N 1G6 • 905-523-0000 reason enough in my view to at least high- On the day of the mayor’s announcement, Taylor Leibow Building, 3410 South Service Road, Ste. 103, Burlington, ON L7N 3T2 • 905-637-9959 light, once again, those incidents and dem- Federation sent out a statement to the

onstrate to the community at large that Jewish community, in which Rymberg and taylorleibow.com we’re paying attention to that, and hopefully Federation president Jacki Levin wrote, summer camp add.qxp_Layout 1 2021-04-30 1:07 PM Page 1 the city staff and council will come together “We are pleased to have worked closely and adopt this broader definition.” with our partners at CIJA and in the may- or’s office to secure an endorsement of the Childhood experiences informed International Holocaust Remembrance mayor’s world view Alliance Definition of Antisemitism … Eisenberger told the HJN his views on anti- the Jewish community continues to be semitism are rooted in growing up during the most frequently targeted group for the Second World War in Amsterdam in hate crime, and … With this adoption, a family that was involved in the Dutch Mayor Eisenberger recognizes that need to underground. Eisenberger’s father was actively combat antisemitism in our city, arrested for his political activism and sent and leads the way as mayor of one of the to a labour camp in Germany where he wit- largest cities in Canada to endorse the IHRA We are hiring leaders completing grade 10 or older. nessed numerous atrocities. “Certainly that Definition.” history was related to us at an early age and The Hamiton Jewish Federation also SEND YOUR RESUME TO [email protected] beyond, so that connection resonates with organized a Zoom call on April 5, during me very, very strongly,” he said. which leaders took the opportunity to Even after his family immigrated to express their gratitude to the mayor Canada, Eisenberger remained sensitive to directly. “In a year when very few commem- Why work at camp? any form of discrimination, which, in those orations and celebrations were marked as post-war years, was often directed towards they normally would be, Mayor Fred made • Get valuable experience! Italian immigrants “who didn’t quite mesh sure that our city leaders took time last with the Anglo-Saxon, puritan ethic that week to commemorate and reflect on the • Fun, welcoming, safe, and supportive environment to be a part of was very prominent then,” he says. “A lot of meaning of Yom Hashoah,” said Tom Weisz, • Work outdoors - you have the rest of your life to spend your summer my friends were Italian and I remember wit- adding that, as a child of Holocaust survi- inside, enjoy the fresh air! nessing and being angry about how they vors, he had experienced antisemitism as a were being treated in school. They might child and in his business life. He called the • Develop leadership skills have been in Grade 6 and were put into mayor’s actions “an important step towards • Make tons of new friends Grade 1. That discrimination made me very recognizing and focusing on the recently angry then, still with me today.” • Looks great on a resume increasing vile rhetoric and propaganda Eisenberger pointed to “a lot of racist directed against our Jewish community • Camp is the ultimate paid summer internship hate comments” his office received after the which ... remains the most targeted minor- city welcomed more than 1,000 Syrian ref- ity group for hate crimes in Canada.” ugees in 2015, asking why the mayor wasn’t Weisz called the mayor’s actions mean- in favour of Canadians as opposed to “other ingful and comforting and praised him for We are now hiring! people.” his “leadership, support and understand- “I don’t see ‘other people.’ I see people ing of the issues and concerns of Hamilton’s • Camp counsellors who are running away from strife and Jewish community.” • Arts and crafts specialist SUMMER JOBS 2021 • Science and nature specialist • Sports specialist APPLY NOW! • Cooking/baking specialist • Dance/drama instructor WHY YOU NEED TO ADVERTISE IN • Social media marketer ... and so much more! HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS

Camp is where you belong if you ... • 5,000 engaged and loyal readers • love working with children • Hamilton’s Jewish market is among the city’s most educated, interested and active members • are spirited and energetic Most importantly, this market supports the advertisers • are self-motivated • in their community newspaper. • are creative, athletic, or both • want to work outdoors NEED TO KNOW HJN is direct-mailed to Jewish households and locations • want to have an amazing summer experience! • throughout the Greater Hamilton Area • Contact [email protected] to learn how your ads will work in our September issue FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT JENN [email protected] | 905.648.0605 X 300 • HJN is online: hamiltonjewishnews.com JHamilton | 1605 Main St. W. | Hamilton, ON | L8S 1E6

4 HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS • JUNE 2021 LOCAL NEWS

JHamilton opens new wellness centre

Expansion a response investment in, the wellness of our to increased demand community members. The expanded for mental health and space presents a unique opportu- nity for us to work hand-in-hand to wellness support in the strengthen and rebuild during and Jewish community after COVID,” she said. Beth Tikvah Foundation has been experiencing rapid growth over the BY ABIGAIL CUKIER last couple of years. Executive direc- HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS tor Chris Barone said he’s very excited Hamilton Jewish Federation/JCC that the new space can accommo- Beth Tikvah Foundation and Hamilton date his agency’s growing manage- Jewish Family Services (HJFS) are ment team. “We would also like to give partnering to open a new centre for a warm welcome to Hamilton Jewish wellness at the JHamilton location on Family Services who will be moving Main Street West. into the new space and become part Set to open in June, the centre, of the JHamilton community,” says which will take up an additional 3,600 Barone. square feet of office space, will serve Rymberg says the centre will focus as a hub for wellness, providing educa- on providing support in four key areas tion, programs and counselling to sup- of health—mental, physical, spiritual port community members’ spiritual, and social. “To help every age group social, mental and physical wellness. cope with these concerns, there needs “The experience of COVID-19 has to be holistic clinical and non-clin- shone a light on the need for a gath- ical supports. These supports need ering place that will offer social and The need for increased mental mental health since the pandemic Beth Tikvah to focus upon capacity-building and emotional support to people dealing health and wellness support was began. Even before that, a 2019 Foundation empowerment, while being accessible with mental health challenges asso- highlighted by a marked increase in Ontario Child Health Study found that executive director to all in need,” says Rymberg. ciated or exacerbated by the pan- demand for counselling at Hamilton one in every five children in Hamilton Chris Barone, Community is also extremely impor- Hamilton Jewish demic,” says Federation CEO Gustavo Jewish Family Services over the last has a mental health struggle, however, tant, says Rymberg. “A lack of con- Family Services Rymberg. “The centre will aim to year. In response, the organization only one-third of those struggling have executive director, nection to community increases reduce the social isolation and anxiety pioneered a mental health program, access to mental health support. Alexis Wenzowski feelings of loneliness and social iso- that so many people are experiencing, which started with a part-time social Hamilton Jewish Family Services and Federation lation, which can impact one’s health by offering a place for people to come worker. Due to community demand, will offer its mental health counsel- CEO Gustavo and well-being,” he says. “The Jewish together and connect.” the position shifted to full time in ling out of the new location, along with Rymberg pose in community of Hamilton needs to con- The Centre for Wellness will offer January 2021. On average, the pro- workshops and therapeutic groups. front of what will tinue to offer social programming be an entrance informal activities, groups and drop- gram is providing 110 mental health The agency will also work with Beth to its members, as has traditionally into JHamilton’s in programs, including public educa- counselling sessions per month. Tikvah and Federation to foster other new Centre for been done through both the JCC and tion on wellness topics, group support, The local experience is part of a areas of wellness, including physical Wellness. Hamilton Jewish Family Services. social and spiritual programs, and wider need for mental health services. health, social events, and inclusion “The new Centre for Wellness is individual counselling. The centre A policy paper written by the Centre opportunities. inspired and grounded in the Jewish will also serve as an entry and refer- for Addiction and Mental Health Alexis Wenzowski, executive values of social justice and repairing ral point for people who need more showed that COVID-19 has magnified director of Hamilton Jewish Family the world (tzedakah and tikkun olam). comprehensive support and offer edu- a mental health crisis that existed in Services, says the collaborative It will offer the Jewish and broader cational programs in collaboration Canada even before the pandemic and environment will promote partner- community a safe and comforta- with the mental health community in cited a survey that found that 50 per ship across the three agencies. “We ble place to stay healthy, physically, Hamilton. cent of Canadians reported worsening all believe in the promotion of, and socially and emotionally.”

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JUNE 2021 • HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS 5 FEATURE STORIES

From ‘in the dark’ to ‘in the know’ New podcast seeks to empower those facing serious illness

BY WENDY SCHNEIDER HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS Partners bring historic

“Why didn’t anyone ever tell me Hamilton buildings this before?” That anguished ques- tion, asked of her countless times over back to life years of working with terminally ill

patients, is why palliative care physi- PHOTO BY WANDA OLDFIELD calling the King John Building, cian Samantha Winemaker wanted to BY WENDY SCHNEIDER is of a mixed space commercial start a healthcare revolution. Waiting Room HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS complex that can accommodate That is exactly what the podcast, NEED TO KNOW Revolution offices, retail, a restaurant, and Waiting Room Revolution, intends to creators healthcare Patrick Bermingham likes weekly programs or events in its achieve. Created by Winemaker and researcher, Dr. to take credit for introducing light-filled atrium. • The Waiting Room Revolution can be Hsien Seow healthcare researcher Hsien Seow, Malcolm Silver to the Hamilton Despite the devastating effects downloaded wherever you get your and palliative the podcast’s 10 half-hour episodes real estate market and jokes that, the pandemic has had on down- podcasts. care physican, walk listeners through what its crea- Dr. Samantha “now, we can’t get rid of him,” town businesses, Bermingham and • The series’ third season, to be tors call the “keys to a better illness Winemaker, want but the friendship between these Silver are optimistic that a building experience.” released this fall, will get even deeper to empower business partners runs deep. boom, which has shown no signs From interviews with thousands into the heart of the matter through patients and Bermingham is a talented artist of slowing down over the last year, of patients and families who have interviews with physicans, medical families to and member of a prosper­ous stands to tranform the lower city. initiate difficult faced serious illness, Winemaker and students, residents, caregivers and Hamilton family with deep roots “The number of people living in conversations Seow have seen how some health- patients. about what to in the building/engineering indus- the downtown core is going up,” care providers withhold information • The Waiting Room Revolution expect in the try. Silver is a courtly, sil­ver-haired, said Bermingham, “and young pro- from patients out of a misguided con- podcast club is also available to progression of a orthodox Jew with an Irish lilt. fessionals will want to walk to a cern that knowing how much time listeners wanting to delve further into serious illness. The two met at a leadership forum restaurant and go here and there,” they have left will be detrimental to the issues. in Toronto in the early 2000s and said Bermingham, adding that he a patient’s well-being. In fact, says, soon discovered they shared a thinks people are “dying to go back • More information can be found at Winemaker, keeping patients in the passion for ethical business prac­ to offices.” waitingroomrevolution.com dark about the likely outcome of their tices and values-based investment. For his part, Silver said he disease is taking away their ability to Bermingham became an avid believes “fervently” that Hamilton use the time they have left in the most died by medical assistance in dying investor in Silver’s syndicate of stands to become Toronto’s equiv- meaningful way. (MAiD) who have not been offered all commerical properties in Toronto, alent of Brooklyn over the next few “I can’t begin to tell you how many the information they should’ve had and when that market dried up, years, a change he anticipates will times families have said to me, ‘I before they got to that point,” she told decided to partner with Silver in transform Hamilton into “a com- asked the doctor, but the doctor said, the HJN. purchasing buildings in Hamilton’s pletely different city.” I’m sorry we have no crystal ball,’” Transforming patients’ and families’ historic downtown core. Bermingham and Silver are Winemaker told the HJN. “But we do. time in waiting rooms from helpless The first building the part- hoping to find Hamilton-based We know the average timeline of every anticipation of negative test results ners purchased reminded Silver investors who share their dream of illness, and we can actually tell some- delivered by an all-powerful clini- of a New York brownstone when a revitalized downtown core. one where they’re at in the illness jour- cian into a time in which they can for- he first saw it. The former site of “Malcolm’s generated a 100 ney and, at some point, we can even mulate questions that will give them Chester’s Beers of the World at 62 per cent return for me on eve- tell them if they have months, weeks a roadmap for what lies ahead is the King S. E. had sat empty for three rything that we’ve done,” said or days left. That’s a crystal ball if you goal of the Waiting Room Revolution years. Their next purchase was the Bermingham. “We have confidence ask me.” podcast. building next door at 64 King E., in Hamilton. we’re digging in and In the podcast’s opening episode, Since its launch on March 1, the pod- followed by another elegant build- we’re digging in more. Spring will Winemaker tells the story of a 58-year- cast has garnered more than 10,000 ing at 103 King St. E., which they’ve come again.” old man with progressive lung disease listens and 2,000 followers on social since renovated and leased to a For more information about leas- who had been referred to her towards media, many of whom are healthcare global escape room conglomerate. ing space at the King John Building the end of his life. Three years earlier, providers. The concept Bermingham and or investment opportunities, visit he’d been told that he would die with- “I was very worried that we Silver eventually settled on for 62 msilver.ca. out a lung transplant, which became revealed too much of the dirty laun- and 64 King St. E. which they’re his singular focus while his symptoms dry,” said Winemaker. “But sur- worsened, and he became increas- prisingly, I’ve had more healthcare ingly terrified of the prospect of suf- workers contact me and say that they focating to death. When the bad news think that this should be mandatory came that he did not qualify for a lung listening for medical students and transplant, he felt he had no choice but nursing students.” to seek medical assistance in dying. It Statistics show that only 10 per cent was at that point that he was referred of deaths are sudden, which means to Winemaker. 90 per cent of us will be diagnosed When Winemaker told him that he with a progressive illness, like demen- would not suffocate to death with the tia, cancer or heart, lung or kidney proper care, he and his family were disease. shocked. “I can’t help but think how “People don’t normally just sit in profoundly disappointed he would be their chair, close their eyes and go to to know that there were many ways to bed. Some people will die like that, treat his breathlessness the whole way but most of us don’t die that way. Time along,” she said during the episode. is like currency, and if you know that “He knew nothing about treatment for you are perhaps in the last year of your his symptoms or other supports avail- life, you can use that time however you able to him and his family during his want, with no regrets.” journey. The focus was purely on get- Delivering palliative care in peo-

ting a transplant.” ple’s homes for all these years has PHOTO BY GRAHAM POWELL Winemaker’s encounter with that made Winemaker realize she’d prefer Toronto real estate investor Malcolm Silver and Hamilton’s Patrick patient was a galvanizing incident not to die a sudden death. “I have seen Bermingham at the construction site of 62 and 64 King St. E. in transforming her despair about amazing, incredible, beautiful loving, what she sees as a broken healthcare tender, important moments for those system into action. “It is sickening people who are in the know. They to me that thousands of people have wouldn’t change it for the world.”

6 HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS • JUNE 2021 FEDERATION NEWS

YOUR PRESENT IS OUR FUTURE AND NOW IS THE TIME.

WHAT IS AN ENDOWMENT? A gift that you make to the Federation that is invested to provide a reliable source of income to support the Annual Campaign, a Jewish agency, Jewish scholarships for schools and camps, or a field of interest in perpetuity.

PERHAPS YOU THOUGHT... • Endowments are only for people with a lot of money • Endowments are only for people much older than I am • Endowments are for people who aren’t paying day school or college tuition.

HOW CAN I ENDOW? • No need to tap current income streams • Leave a gift in your will • Give your life insurance policy to the Federation or name the Federation as a beneficiary • There are many other ways to create an endowment.

WHAT CAN I DO NOW? • Speak with a Federation professional and consult your professional advisor • Sign a Letter of Commitment • Document your gift and become a member of our Book of Life • Use your gift as an opportunity to involve your family in a conversation about what’s important to you

NOW IS THE TIME FOR LEADERSHIP • Be a Federation ambassador and invite your peers to do as you have done • Offer to connect them with a Federation endowment professional • Give them the opportunity to protect and plan for future generations as you have done, to ensure Jewish community can remain alive and well in every corner of the world

To learn more about ways to leave a charitable legacy “I found a fruitful world, because my ancestors planted it through the Hamilton Jewish Federation, please contact for me. Likewise I am planting for my children.” Gustavo Rymberg at [email protected] 905.648.0605 x 305 — Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 23a

JUNE 2021 • HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS 7 FIRST PERSON

The rewards of living off the grid in the Yukon Dundas native Emily Schneider on a lifestyle mid-expedition gear drops, I got to know the vastness and majesty in which resourcefulness of the Yukon. The NOLS job also is rewarded and rigidity introduced me to the community of Whitehorse, the people who and laziness are not have chosen to call it home, and the territory’s summer music fes- BY EMILY SCHNEIDER tivals. In fact, it was at a music fes- SPECIAL TO THE HJN tival in Dawson City, home of the When the COVID-19 pandemic Klondike Gold Rush, where I met hit the globe last spring, it was a my partner Luc, the engineering big moment of change for most brain behind our off-grid cabin. people around the world. They Our cabin is located in a spe- were suddenly no longer able to go cial corner of the territory on the to the movies or attend big gath- shores of Kluane Lake. Adjacent erings. Weddings were cancelled to a national park with the same and funerals were held on Zoom. name, Kluane is home to some of To most, the isolation was shock- North America’s highest moun- ing, heart-breaking and anxi- tain peaks and the world’s largest ety inducing. The support system non-polar icefield. Next to the lake that people held on to was no and a short bike ride away from longer there. For me, however, I our doorstep, is an airstrip ser- was already living in an isolated viced by a company called Icefield corner of the world, in a little off- Discovery that leads sightseeing grid cabin in the Yukon Territory. tours that follow the Kaskuwalsh I would make the same decision Emily Schneider and her rescued Alaskan husky, Decha, enjoy a quiet moment on the banks of Silver Creek with Outpost Glacier all the way until you reach Mountain in the distance behind. again, pandemic or not, in a heart- Mount Logan, Canada’s tallest beat. There’s nothing quite like flexibility is rewarded and rigid- was built as a way to connect the and lack of instant hot running mountain. waking up to the silence of -40ºC ity and laziness are not. Instead “lower 48” states of the United water seem not so bad. While the In a summer full of tourists, we and knowing the only thing that of a shower and a toilet, we have a States all the way up to Alaska as darkness of the winter allows us can hear their plane taking off up will keep you warm is getting the wood-stove-heated sauna and an a way to transport military per- to curl up beside the wood stove, to six times per day. These days, wood yourself in the forest to heat outhouse. Gardening means keep- sonnel and equipment. Today, it is catch up on some reading and the buzzing of the airplane over- up the cabin. It’s hard to put into ing all your seedlings and plants not unheard of to see motorcycle enjoy the majesty of the aurora head isn’t seen or heard as much words the joy I get from this life- inside and then putting them in a and RV convoys making their way borealis, in the summer, the oppo- but luckily they don’t only rely style. I like that nothing is easy, greenhouse all the way into June all the way from the southern tip site happens. The constant light on tourism but also assist moun- that you can’t just press a few but- just to avoid the frost that accu- of South America way up to as far is an invitation to work hard and taineers and scientists to reach tons to get your heat, electricity mulates late into the spring and north as they can go. play hard. An outdoor enthusiast’s destinations on the glaciers only and entertainment. There’s some- summer. Staying in touch with The Arctic and the North bring dream, there are endless moun- accessible via ski-plane. I will be thing humbling about working people involves driving up the thoughts of cold and constant tains to climb, rivers and lakes to employed there this summer, help- hard for your basic necessities and Alaska Highway far enough to darkness, but although there are a paddle, and native and migratory ing out at their base camp located hauling water around in blue jugs. reach a point where you can find few weeks during the winter when wildlife to follow. in the shadow of Mount Logan. It may not be for everyone, but I’ve cellular service. This resourceful- the sun’s presence is completely As an outdoor enthusiast and To help keep the territory, with heard the call of the Yukon wild, ness creates a unique and wonder- absent, the complete opposite is someone who works as a wilder- its few medical resources and sup- and this socially isolated life is the ful community of people known as true in the summer. You don’t have ness guide, this is my little slice of plies, safe during the pandemic, life for me. “Yukoners,” who know it takes a to wait until June 21 to have end- paradise. It was a job offer from a mandatory 14-day quarantine To the people living south of lat- kind heart and open arms to make less hours of sunlight. Even as I a company that leads multi-week is in place to all those who enter itude 60ºN, my family included, my it through the harshest of winters. write this at the beginning of May, expeditions in remote places all the Yukon. It has meant low case life choices seem odd. The ques- Although, in this little corner of the sun is up at around 6 am and over the world that brought me to numbers and almost zero tour- tion I am most asked by those not the world, there is usually a time the light in the horizon can be seen the Yukon for the first time in 2016. ism. But if I have piqued the inter- living in the North is how I use the of year when things aren’t so iso- well into the night, disappearing The National Outdoor Leadership est of any readers and sparked a toilet when it’s -30ºC outside— a lated. In a normal non-COVID these days at around 11 pm. Come School (NOLS) has a reputation desire to visit this far off corner of temperature that can be felt from summer, the highway that runs summer solstice, it will never get for offering the ultimate outdoor Canada, once COVID-19 has been November all the way into April. to our community is packed. completely dark, even in the wee educational experience and I was controlled, flights are available Our little off-grid cabin has no The Alaska Highway is usually hours of the morning. thrilled to accept the position of via Vancouver and Edmonton to running water and electricity home to thousands of adventur- Watching the sun do a complete equipment coordinator for their Whitehorse with Air Canada and comes from four big car batter- ers making their way to Alaska circle around you in the height of wilderness trips. Air North. From there, adventure ies that get charged by the sun via and the only way to get there is summer is a sight that still blows During two summers of driv- awaits. solar panel. It is an environment via the Yukon. Finished in 1945 by my mind. It’s a magical experience ing big vans with 13 canoes in tow in which resourcefulness and the US Army, the Alaska Highway that makes the biting mosquitoes and hopping on float planes to do In just a few weeks your dog becomes a well-behaved and PARTNER S LLP family member! Chartered Professional Accountants

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8 HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS • JUNE 2021 FIRST PERSON

Documentary awakens long buried memory Life imitates art in this story of how a photograph in a film triggers a flood of Holocaust-related memories

BY ANITA BERNSTEIN SPECIAL TO THE HJN Have you ever experienced the flood of memories brought on by a single photograph? That is exactly what happened to my mother, Sonia Ger, during the Hamilton Jewish Federation’s virtual screening of the doc- umentary “Still Life in Lodz” on Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day.) Still Life in Lodz centres on us with Elbaum, who had access a Jewish woman’s emotional to detailed information about pre- return to Poland 48 years after Top left, the Lodz apartment and post war tenants of the build- her family was expelled from the complex featured in the ing featured in the film, and was country during a wave of anti- documentary Still Life in Lodz, where happy to explore whether this semitic reprisals following the many Jewish families lived on the eve was, indeed, the same place my of the Second World War. Six-Day War. Back in Lodz, his- mother’s family had lived. toric researcher Lila Elbaum Top right, a photograph of Sonia Ger We provided Elbaum with comes face to face with a still-life as a teenager. the names of my mother’s par- painting that hung in her fami- ents, Yisrael and Chavah Kuper, ly’s apartment from 1945 to 1968. Left, Anita Bernstein with her and Sofia, their housekeeper, What follows is a deeply personal mother, daughter Naomi Bernstein, but she could not find any infor- detective story and an ode to the and her grandson Asher, at mation relating to my family, the lost generations of Jewish Lodz. JHamilton in 2019 during an high school my mother attended evening of personal testimony from Ironically, my mother experi- or the location of my grandfa- Holocaust survivors. enced a similar flood of memories ther’s bakery, nor any documenta- from her past when a photograph tion that confirmed my mother’s

of four apartment buildings sur- PHOTO BY WENDY SCHNEIDER, HJN family had lived in the building. rounding a central courtyard opened a bakery. After a year, the In those years, there were many appeared on the screen. when she was 13 years old. She, Jews left alive. My grandfather family relocated to a Displaced buildings of similar structure and “I lived in that building,” my her parents, and a cousin survived moved his wife and daughter to Persons camp in Germany and appearance in Lodz. Although 91-year old mother told us, and the war, due to the kindness of Lodz, where they lived for a year. Sofia remained in Lodz. My grand- we did not find any additional soon, she was sharing details of their Christian housekeeper, Sofia They were so grateful to their parents stayed in contact with details about my mother’s family, her life during and immediately Fiodorchenko, who hid them in housekeeper that they brought her Sofia and sent her packages of the film stimulated many mem- after the war that we had never her cellar for nearly two years. with them and set her up in her products to sell so that she could ories and allowed our family to heard before. My mother’s care- When Pinsk was liberated by own apartment in the same build- support herself. This went on for learn more about my mother’s life free childhood in the town of the Red Army in 1944, they came ing where they lived. My mother many years until she passed away. in her youth and our family’s resil- Pinsk was harshly interrupted by out of hiding, to find the town went to high school in Lodz and After the screening, Federation ience through the horrors of the the German invasion of Poland destroyed and only a handful of my grandfather, who was a baker, CEO Gustavo Rymberg connected Holocaust.

JUNE 2021 • HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS 9 LOCAL VOICES

The man who wasn’t Boris 1981: “Bruce Mack died Aug. 28 at Jewish Hospital, following a brief illness. He and his wife operated Barucci Originals in “The Bullfighter” by Olivette for 22 years. Mack was known for Ben Shragge’s uncle, his framing of pictures and restoration, as Ben Boris Macrovitch. well as his artistic ability.” Shragge It now seems oddly fitting that I was named after Boris even though my name When I was growing up, a matador fight- isn’t Boris. After all, Boris wasn’t entirely ing a bull loomed large over the dining table. named Boris either. He was Baruch He taunted the black bovine with a swirling in Hebrew, Boris in Russian, Bruce in red cape, while hiding a dagger behind his American, and Barucci in art. Like Walt back. I’m now an adult, with a home of my Whitman, who I imagine he read on the road own, but that same scene has stayed with to America, Boris was large, he contained me: it now hangs over my couch. multitudes. “The Bullfighter,” as I’ll call the painting, I’m glad I’m connected to him, even is signed Barucci. Who was this Barucci? though we never met. When you’re named A witness to Spain’s national fiesta, judg- after someone, in some strange way, you’re ing by the subject matter; Italian by ances- a continuation of their story. It may take try, judging by the name. But no, the story of decades, even a global pandemic, for you to “The Bullfighter” is not a story of Southern try to pick up where that story left off. But Europe. it’s always there waiting, with some mean- In fact, Barucci was Boris Macrovitch, of whom have now passed away. Insofar as mostly came to dead ends. He was an artist, ing to convey that it’s up to you to interpret. my great uncle. He was born in Odessa, a Boris lives on in this world, it is through his I knew that; now I wanted to find evidence I admire the fortitude it must have taken bustling port city in the Russian Empire, art and through my name. of his artist’s soul. Finally, in a roundabout to start a business and achieve success as in 1907. In 1909, he moved with his family I brought “The Bullfighter,” which I can way, I stumbled upon a clue: an obituary an artist in another country. But although to the decidedly less bustling, but cer- only assume was Boris’s masterpiece, with of my great aunt mentioned a brother, “Mr. I can speculate, a number of questions tainly more free, frontier city of Winnipeg, me from Canada when I moved to the US. Bruce Mack of St. Louis, Missouri.” remain unanswered, probably forever: Manitoba. For reasons unknown, he later It’s my reminder of a home full of memories Was my great uncle Boris Macrovitch, Why the new name? Why the move? Why settled in St. Louis, Missouri, where he that’s been sold; of holiday dinners under its also known as Barucci, also also known as Barucci? Why St. Louis? I’m not sure I’ll ever owned an art shop. He had no Italian ances- presence amid heirlooms now scattered. It’s Bruce Mack? Yes, it turns out, he was. This unravel the mystery of Great Uncle Boris, try and had never, as far as the record also a reminder of Boris himself, my enig- master of reinvention, upon moving to the the Italian master from Odessa. But I’ll do shows, been to Spain. He died in 1981, four matic namesake, who also made the jour- US, apparently threw off his Russian bear- my best to honour his name and keep his years before I was born. ney to a new country. skin and took on the most all-American artwork in a place of pride. I was named after Boris; though my par- But who was Boris, really? As the world name he could think of, while still remain- ents, thankfully, decided Benjamin was went into COVID-19 lockdown, the loneli- ing true to his initials. Ben Shragge is the digital editor of the Hamilton Jewish close enough to Boris to count. Boris had ness of quarantine, plus the lack of other With the name “Bruce Mack” at my fin- News. He currently resides in Boston. no known children. He was survived by a things to do, increased my urgency to find gertips, I was able to find his obituary. wife, two nieces, and a nephew (my dad), all out. I scoured the internet for records but From the St. Louis Jewish Light, Sept. 9, Baking through the pandemic anticipation of a shared meal with loved for heating organic hotdogs (carb-free!) any estimation, but one that my program ones I might even enjoy it, but it is still first thing in the morning, were the fre- did not allow. In my hesitation to eat them, work — increasingly so now that all of our quent compliments I received for my efforts. I finally saw the hole I was in and began the Abiella meals are cooked at home with an adorable “You’re so good,” they would say when I slow climb out. It took years to stop feel- King 11-month-old underfoot. Obligatory birth- declined the baked goods brought in by gen- ing guilty for eating dessert on a Wednesday day cakes aside, baking is not something erous colleagues, as if my eating habits or pasta on a Monday. Believe me, this sen­ The pandemic baking boon has been I need to do, and that, I think, is part of its were a reflection of my character. “You tence is as ridiculous for me to write as it is well documented. Ovens worked over- appeal. Over a year into the pandemic, and a look amazing,” they would say, and I would to read. But it’s also the truth, and my way time, banana bread was trending again, few weeks into another stay at home order, I wonder what that meant for the body I of explaining what baking means to me. It is and countless homemade sourdough start- choose to bake often, because I want to, and inhabited before bread was a cheat food and not just a temporary pandemic escape; it is ers were tended — a good thing too given because I can. exercise was penance for a big meal. also a small act of rebellion, a dismissal of the coming yeast shortages. An avid baker Let me explain. I am a recovered (recov- I justified my behaviour as a pursuit of rules that never served me, and the best way before COVID left many of us scouring the ering?) dieter. It started innocently enough, health, an easy lie given our cultural obses- I know to take care of myself. shelves for leaveners, I immediately under- with a 30-day sugar-free challenge with col- sion with wellness and the idea of food Baking is not a requirement of daily stood the impulse. leagues (fun fact: nachos and wine were as medicine. I wasn’t partaking in much living, but my life is richer for it. On most I crave the precision baking requires, the deemed sugar free; apples not so much), refined sugar, but I was binging on podcasts nights, you’ll find my husband and I indulg- way a new recipe demands my full atten- progressed to much a more serious Whole30 and articles about the virtues of eating like ing in a slice of something I’ve baked. tion. Baking is my version of meditation; a (fun fact: daily consumption of steamed our ancestors did. I don’t want to dismiss Tonight, it was dark chocolate oat bars with practice to slow the churning of an anxious cauliflower and broccoli may result in the real benefits of diet and exercise; I only a shortbread crust. Tomorrow, I’ll make my mind. I forget everything else long enough gastrointestinal distress), and ended in want to say that this way of living was, for favourite chocolate chip cookies to carry to measure carefully, roll and fold the dough a wholehearted embrace of a “low-carb me, deeply unhealthy. us to next week. The baby is asleep, and we just so, and it is the sweetest, most delicious paleo” lifestyle (nothing fun to report here). I am incredibly lucky. I was on the preci- are finding happiness on a plate. I know we escape. There is nothing quite like the first I devised a simple system that allowed me pice of serious disorder and have often won- aren’t the only ones baking through it. Bon bite of a flaky biscuit that sings of butter, or to indulge in the food I was missing with dered what would have happened had I not appetit! the satisfaction that comes from creating increasing intensity. From Friday evening met my now husband when I did. I remem- something wonderful with humble ingredi- to Sunday night, I ate whatever I wanted, ber the day he handed me a jar of overnight Abiella King is a senior manager who recently moved ents and our own hands. and on Monday I resumed the program. oats to pack for work. It was a lovely ges- back to her childhood home of London, Ontario with her husband and son. I don’t mind cooking, and when done in Worse than the teasing I endured at work ture and a perfectly healthy breakfast by

This year, we will continue to reach out to those in need, nd innovative ways to engage with our community and make sure good grows at home, in Israel and around the world. Just as we have in the past. Just as we will in the future.

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10 HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS • JUNE 2021 LOCAL VOICES

We must all become the voice A serious question regarding for Sarah Halimi bagels, lox and cream cheese

constitutes a widespread media failure 5. The filling tends to squish out of a to take antisemitism seriously and will closed sandwich. Doris embolden those who seek to attack Jews. Bill 6. It is not uncommon to get cream cheese Strub Epstein But Jews are no longer silent.as they Shugar on your nose when diving into an open were in the past. Thousands around the faced BL&CC. A definite turnoff. Sarah Halimi, 65, a retired Jewish doctor, world marched, demonstrated, protested, There’s an old adage that says, “two 7. Eating four halves is not as fattening as teacher and mother of three, was brutally inflamed by the court decision. Rallies in Jews, three opinions.” It’s a critical way eating two wholes. A belief by some nutri- murdered. Her killer, 27-year-old Kobili front of French embassies and consulates, of life that can define Judaism, but that tional psychologists. Tratore, a devout Muslim and a neighbour were held all over the world – Paris, New can cause divisions within families and 8. Eating an open-faced allows one to get a in her apartment building, broke into her York, Washington, Los Angeles, Miami, strife at the Kiddush table. It is a staple of taste of the filling rather than being over- apartment. Screaming “Allah Akhbar” Rome, London, Tel Aviv and the Hague. Jewish households, onegs, brunches; any- whelmed by the bagel. A closed sand- and antisemitic epithets, he beat her sav- Toronto’s rally demanding justice for thing to do with Jews and food. It is also wich puts the ratio of bread to the lox and agely and threw her out of her third storey Sarah Halimi was held on May 2 in front of the source of debate amongst Bubbies, cream cheese off. This balance is crucial. window. the French Consulate at Bloor and Yonge caterers, wedding planners, mothers, 9. You might lose your dentures in a closed The supreme French court of appeals, streets. It was organized by 26-year-old mothers-in-law, and even rabbis. Ensuing sandwich (that was an actual opinion!) ruled that because he was high on mari- Sami Cooper, who is a member of End Jew arguments have caused severe marital 10. Eating a thick sandwich is not pleas- juana he was not responsible, and acquit- Hatred, a new grassroots movement that strain, damaged friendships, and rifts ant to watch, especially in close quarters ted him. The Jewish world locally and focuses on peaceful direct action against with the machatunim. Therapists are around the buffet table. globally was in shock. People took to the antisemitism and fights for Jewish civil advising couples to discuss the issue very 11. Only a closed sandwich can be packed social media to express their outrage. The rights. early in a relationship. Rabbis are begin- in your lunch box. acquittal sent a message of impunity to B’nai Brith reported that 2020 marked ning to insist on including a statement of 12. Open-faced runs the risk of getting the the antisemites – you can get away with the fifth consecutive year in which anti- agreement on ketubahs and the issue is half without the seeds. anything when it comes to Jews, even semitic incidents set a record. They sent now part of every conversion class. What 13. A sandwich needs a top and a bottom. violence. out a petition titled, “Demand Justice in is all this mishugas about? Should the Makes it easier to grab. With an open-face Virtually the entire mainstream media France,” which they presented to the ubiquitous bagel, lox and cream cheese be you have to hold on to the lox so that it ignored this travesty of justice. Only French Ambassador to Canada on behalf eaten open or closed ? doesn’t slip off. Then your fingers become Jewish news outlets and French media of the Canadian Jewish community and all To try and answer the question I polled slippery and smelly for the rest of the day. covered it. The New York Times, the most people of ”good conscience.” B’nai Brith is 3,726 people—96 per cent Jewish, three 14. Both. First, eat one closed. Still influential news source in North America also calling on the Government of Canada per cent non Jewish and one per cent who hungry? Eat a half open. --nothing. to demand that “France fill the gaps in its refused to divulge. Here are some of the So there you have it. Or rather you don’t Honest Reporting has said that Jews laws that allowed for this kind of abhor- answers: have it. My informal poll has revealed no have complained that, the for the last four rent result.” 1. Open-faced so that I get to eat twice. definitive answer, no resolution. The only years, mainstream media and the public B’nai Brith CEO Michael Mostyn has 2. Open-faced so that I can choose to eat given is that if the bagel is not fresh, stick have turned a blind eye to the murder, gone on public record stating that, all over only a half and cut down on my carbs. with the party sandwiches. Toronto or and that nobody but Jews cared if Jews the world, antisemitism is treated differ- 3. Sandwich style holds things in place in Montreal? Don’t get me started! were attacked. Every other group gets ently than other forms of hatred and dis- more precarious eating situations, such as front page when violated – Black, Asian, crimination. Let us all heed his voice at a picnic. Bill Shugar is a husband, father, grandfather and a Latino….When someone tore the hijab off when he says, “We will not be silent and 4. Open-faced is more aesthetically pleas- staunch supporter of the open faced BL&CC. a young woman’s head, the story got head- accept this ruling as legitimate. We must ing, allowing the various colours of red lines all over the world. all become the voice for Sarah Halimi onion against the pink lox, with a subtle The ruling is a disgrace. And yet, so and demand equality for all victims of white background, to shine through. The far, only French and Jewish media have injustice.” downside is that the capers tend to fall off. touched the story. Honest Reporting has said that the lack of coverage on a matter Doris Strub Epstein is a former Hamilton resident who lives in Toronto.

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JUNE 2021 • HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS 11 FEDERATION NEWS

Hamilton Jewish Federation | JCC Present Rabbi Ernesto Yattah is the dean of the Abraham Joshua Heschel Rabbinical School at the Seminario Rabínico La- tinoamericano Marshall T. Meyer, in Buenos Aires, where THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN ARGENTINA he also teaches Bible and Jewish philosophy. He re- an in-depth four- part Zoom series with Rabbi Ernesto Yattah ceived his BA in Comparative Religions at Columbia Uni- versity in 1987. He received a BA in Bible and a MA in Judaic Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, where he also was ordained as a Rabbi in 1989.

Rabbi Yattah worked as the assistant and associate rabbi at Congregation Beth Yeshurun of Houston between 1989 and 1998. He served as president of the Houston Rabbinical Association from 1996 to 1997.

In 1999, Rabbi Yattah returned to his native Argentina where he has worked as a volunteer in different com- munity settings such as, Chalom Community Centre, where he served as its Rabbi, and the new home for the elderly L’Dor va Dor as a member of its founding Board of Directors

Peron and Evita, the coming of the Nazis, Two terrorist attacks in Buenos Aires and Rabbi Yattah is an active participant in inter- religious and the capture of Adolph Eichmann. the death of Alberto Nisman. dialogue in Buenos Aires. TUESDAY, MAY 25 | 8 PM TUESDAY, JUNE 1 | 8 PM

We will first explore the historical, political, cultural and In this second part, we will look at the history of anti- economic background that was the fertile ground to Semitism in Argentina and the political relationship of Argentina’s neutrality in World War II. We will then look Argentina with the Middle East which led to the two at the rise of Perón to power in the 1930s and 1940s terrorist attacks that took place in Buenos Aires: against that brought him to the presidency in 1946. the Israeli Embassy in 1992 and against the AMIA in How was his relationship with the Germans in general, 1994, killing 29 and 85 people respectively. Hear the and with the Nazi war criminals that came to Argentina amazing story of Iosi, a policeman who was “planted” in particular? How was his relationship with the Argen- as a spy in the Jewish community of Buenos Aires by tine Jewish community and the State of Israel? We will the Intelligence Services of the Federal Police and who, also cover the incredible capture of Adolph Eichmann at after becoming the reverse version of “Eli Cohen” in the hands of the Mossad, and the whereabouts of his Syria, repented, married a Jewish woman, and confessed family after his execution in Israel. actions that may have been connected to the two attacks. We will address the story of Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor of the case of the AMIA who had brought criminal charges against then incumbent In this fourth presentation, we will President of Argentina, Christina Kirchner and was then have as our guest speaker Rabbi found dead in his apartment the day before he had to Abraham Skorka, a personal friend give testimony in the National Congress. of Pope Francis. He will share with us the story of his close personal relationship with the Pope when he The last Dictatorship, the Disappeared was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the and the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Together they co-authored a book, TUESDAY, JUNE 8 | 8 PM “On Heaven and Earth” and a TV series in which they discussed the most pressing current issues facing In this third presentation, we will explore the political the world. At the request of then history of Argentina that led to the darkest chapter of President of Israel Shimon Peres, the country's 20th century: the military dictatorship of Pope Francis and Rabbi Skorka 1976-1983. According to Human Rights organizations, travelled together to Israel in 2014, around 30,000 people were kidnapped, tortured, killed in what came to be the latest and made to disappear. Courageous mothers of these historic Papal visit to the Holy Land. young people began to gather in Plaza de Mayo (Buenos Aires´central square) and make their voices Rabbi Skorka, who was a professor heard, and they became icons of the resistance of at St. Joseph's University and women around the world against authoritarian and currently a Distinguished Professor totalitarian regimes. We will highlight the work of at Gratz College in Philadelphia, PA, American rabbi and human rights activist, Marshall T. will share memories of that trip as Pope Francis and Rabbis Skorka: a Catholic-Jewish friend- Meyer, and the story of internationally-known Argentine well, and he will address the current journalist,Jacobo Timerman, who was tortured by the state of Jewish-Christian relations. ship rooted in Argentina, with fruits around the world. WITH SPECIAL GUEST RABBI ABRAHAM SKORKA military and wrote a scathing testimony against them: “Prisoner Without a Name. Cell Without a Number." TUESDAY, JUNE 15 | 8 PM

REGISTER TODAY AT https://hamiltonjewishfederation.regfox.com/jews-argentina For more information,please contact [email protected] | 905.648.0605

12 HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS • JUNE 2021