Have you joined The CJN Circle Quarterly magazine Weekly printable edition Live event invitations WEEKLY PRINTABLE EDITION
APRIL 29, 2022 / 28 NISSAN 5782
5782 Passover 2022 | Pesach
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wants to turn Ontario’s political scene more Green / page 7
Yom ha-Shoah ceremonies marked across Canada
page 2
ST. JOHN’S
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Memories of Toronto book publisher Malcolm Lester
SAINT JOHN
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Recording stories of Winnipeg’s four sibling survivors
CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES
MONTREAL
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OTTAWA
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ST. CATHARINES
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A steamy show onstage at Montreal’s Segal Centre
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The story of Guy Lafleur looking Jewish for a shoot
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These true stories of love, despair and bravery show how families fought to stay together through some of the darkest moments in history. Check out the Azrieli Foundation’s incredible new spring memoirs.
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What’s inside 08
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Comedy according to Shticks & Giggles LAURA LEIBOW
Montreal as viewed by Generation Text
N E D I VA H A N D H A DA R F I N E G O L D
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Guy Lafleur’s long-lost Jewish snapshot
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Five fresh fiction books for summer 2022
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Prince Charles and Camilla’s tour guide
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Three reality show stars you should know
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Behind the curtain of the play Mazel Tov
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Tales of the 50th anniversary of Citytv
H A N N A H S R O U R-Z AC K O N
I L A N A Z AC K O N
30 Remembering Julia Koschitzky
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Jewish Community Organizations, Synagogues and Schools
join our brothers and sisters in Israel in praying for Peace in the world. מצטרפים לאחינו ואחיותינו בארץ ישראל בתפילה על שלום בעולם
Adath Israel Congregation Beit Rayim Synagogue & School Beth David B’nai Israel Beth Am Beth Sholom Synagogue Beth Tikvah Synagogue Beth Tzedec Congregation Canadian Friends of Ezrath Nashim - Herzog Hospital Canadian Magen David Adom for Israel Congregation Beth Haminyan Congregation Habonim
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The Canadian Jewish News
Circling back to another summer… I
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Board of Directors: Bryan Borzykowski President Sam Reitman Treasurer and Secretary Ira Gluskin Jacob Smolack Elizabeth Wolfe
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turned 42 recently, and while I don’t usually make a big fuss when another birthday comes around, my horoscope advised that I should show more emotion this year. So, here it goes: A few weeks before reaching this decade, The Canadian Jewish News announced it was shutting its doors. My colleagues and I were all out of jobs. With the abrupt closure and the social distancing of those early pandemic months, we didn’t even really get a chance to say goodbye to each other—or our readers. But even as The CJN was closing, I was already making plans for its revival. In my mind, it was simply impossible that this would be the end. That summer and fall, I worked on a proposal to bring back The CJN—and to make it a sustainable and ongoing presence. I spoke to a lot of community members, from one end of the country to the other and back, sometimes several times. I heard over and over again how much people missed this media outlet, and how much they wanted it back. I recall sitting during that time with the late Julia Koschitzky, whom we pay tribute to in this edition. She was a staunch supporter of The Canadian Jewish News through its history, not to mention a former board member and advisor, and was among the most eager for its return. When I finished my little shpiel, she offered a simple and meaningful piece of advice that has stuck with me: “Just do it!” That was just the motivation I needed. Later that fall, The CJN installed a new board, and I brought together a small but dedicated staff. And we were back in time for the first day of 2021. It felt like ages, but in reality The CJN was closed for only eight months. All the
more remarkable considering virtually the entire resurrection effort was performed by a small group of dedicated colleagues working remotely. In the year-and-a-half since then, I’m very proud about how much The CJN has grown. We’re doing a ton of stuff—the community news you’ve come to expect from The CJN, plus frequent email dispatches, a Friday digest designed for printing in the office or at home, the quarterly magazine that you’re now reading, and exclusive videos and events. Our podcast network is developing into a priority place for telling our stories, with over 400,000 listens tallied in its first full year—that’s one for every Jew in Canada. No matter how you connect to Judaism, I guarantee we’ve got something for you at thecjn.ca. My colleagues and I have spent this time taking a heritage left behind and creating something entirely new. We believe in its value. And judging by all of the listens, likes and interactions—you do, too. We’ve sent this issue to all members of The CJN Circle. But it’s also reaching many who haven’t signed on to our new membership plan. Read on for a taste of some of the personalities we’ve featured, people we’ve met and places we’ve inhabited. And then, you’re invited to register your support at thecjn.ca/circle, where there’s also the option to add other family members to the plan. If you do, count on getting another edition of our quarterly magazine this fall and beyond. But we’ll also meet you each day along the way at thecjn.ca. (We’ll try and throw in some emotions for free.)
— Yoni Goldstein
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Laura Leibow has started searching for the soul of Jewish comedy in her new podcast series for The CJN: Shticks & Giggles connects the Toronto stand-up with her fellow funnypeople, giving you the opportunity to hear them navigate the personal histories they bring to the stage. Let our emcee explain how she got this far—and where she’s hoping her new show can go.
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A
s a kid, I went to a very Christian school. It wasn’t explicitly Christian, like those schools called The Chapel Christ Academy of Catholic Lutheran Hood, but the student body was dominantly Christian, and a small chunk of kids were somewhatto-very antisemitic. Friends would come over to my house for dinner—or to my grandparents’ house for Shabbat—and they would comment on how loud we were, how involved we were in each other’s lives, how fun we were, how weird we were, how open we were, how inappropriate we were… and I always loved that. Coming from a family of characters made me unique among the Rosalinds and the Bethanys. I could make the kids in my class laugh easily just by describing something that a family member had done recently, or by picking apart the minutiae of a subject that would otherwise have been overlooked—the way I’d been raised to do. The first piece of comedic material I ever wrote down in a notebook was an observation about how my mom used to make us watch the bags when we were at the airport, despite small children being obviously no match for thieves or terrorists. Over the years, these observations turned into more finely tuned jokes. (But when I rediscovered those notes a few years ago, I realized they were mostly roasting the most elderly relatives.) Jewishness and my funniness have always felt inherently linked to me. But then, in my 20s, I tried very hard to unlink the two. At the time, I felt Jewish material was inherently hacky, if only because it had
been done to death. While there’s merit to that argument, there’s no point in denying that it’s the subject burrowed most deeply in my comedy soul. It’s the piece of my identity that seems most crucial to my sense of self. And whether I like it or not, these cultural ties are probably the most essential factor in my standup career. So, I’ve started a podcast to talk about it. Shticks & Giggles is a show for the schmoozers in all of us. For each episode, I bring on comedians to ostensibly discuss a specific topic permeating the comedy business. (But I also know that nobody is more driven to distraction than a funny Jew.) The idea is to dive into big subjects like the cross-section of feminism and Judaism; how different generations see their Jewish identities; whether alternative comedy and Jewish material are compatible; how much our families have influenced our style; whether there’s still a distinctly Jewish comedic identity; and whose bubbe is the hottest. “But Laura,” asks the wise child, “won’t you eventually run out of Jewish comedians to talk to?” Well, to this child, you explain that we can always create new comedians by bullying kids until they feel they have something to prove but realize they can’t play music or sports. The wicked child then asks, “Aren’t there already an obscene amount of podcasts about comedy?” You tell the wicked child we’re pretty sure we’re the only Canadian podcast where Jewish comedians talk explicitly about comedy—and you tell her to
go to therapy. The simple child asks if she can put that in her mouth, pointing to a battery. You tell her there’s only one way to find out if something tastes good, and that’s through experience. And the little idiot who doesn’t even know how to ask a question goes on the podcast app and gives your podcast one star. And you’re like, what’s your problem? How about you learn how to ask questions before you come at me like that? How about, before you judge me, your little brain learns to ask one single question. And then we can talk about your thoughts on my new podcast. There was a time where you couldn’t throw a bagel without hitting a Jewish comedian—if you lived in upstate New York. In the 21st century, however, the tradition of famous Jewish standups has dwindled. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. Perhaps it’s one factor that contributed to a greater diversity of voices in comedy; in that case, it’s a blessing. But maybe there’s still room for some overrepresentation. After all, we’d really only need about four famous Jewish comics to be overrepresented, relative to our population. If my podcast helps revive the tradition a little, I’d be happy. At the very least, it’s fun to relive the glory days, wax poetic about our current place in the industry and listen to our own voices for an hour. As the old saying goes, if a Jew talks non-stop into a microphone and nobody is around to hear it, will that Jew still get paid for her work?
Listen to Laura and her fellow Jewish comedians at thecjn.ca/giggles THECJN.CA 9
Generation Text Nedivah and Hadar Finegold, ages 10 and 9, love to learn about Judaism and the world that surrounds them. And their grandfather Ron Finegold spent decades as the reference librarian at Montreal’s Jewish Public Library. The link between them is Avi Finegold, the co-host of The CJN’s podcast Bonjour Chai, who got his father and daughters to chat about growing up in Montreal.
N: Hi Zaidy we were just in the neighbourhood you grew up in! We got Cheskies!
H: Zaidy, what bakeries were around when you were a kid? Z: Hi girls. When I was your age we had many bakeries in the same neighbourhood that Cheskies is in now. There was Richstones, Cantor, Harris, Arena and my favourite, Homemade, which is still around today. Not all of these had kosher certification, because that only came much later but they all made sure to only use vegetable shortening and other kosher ingredients because they knew their customers insisted on it! N: I got a
.
H: ….and I got sprinkle cookies! Z: My favourites were always an onion pletzel or an
or
turnover.
N: What about kosher restaurants? Did you have those also? Z: There were a couple but they weren’t fancy restaurants like some of the non-kosher restaurants. I remember Levitt’s on the Main between Marie-Anne and Mont-Royal. You could get a for a dime and for a nickel. If you wanted to be a big spender you could get a smoked meat. That was a whole quarter! H: Wow. We have so many more choices now. I love Saizen on Decarie. They serve but I don’t like so I get the Mac and or the Grilled . N: ….and I love BSTRO. They make the best mixed grill with rice. 10
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N: We saw a building that had Hebrew writing on it and Abba told us that used to be a . Which shul did you go to? Z: Mainly I went to Bnai Jacob on Fairmount and Esplanade, but sometimes I went to Beth David on St. Joseph. I remember that you had to sit very quietly next to your father in shul, there was no running around. But when you were 10, you were old enough to go to the junior congregation where the kids ran everything. H: I hope also came to shul. I love leading the Anim Zemirot! I do it for everyone at the Shaar Hashomayim where Imma is a rabba. Z: Well we certainly didn’t have rabbas then but women and girls did come to shul. I remember going to the Shaar for my cousin’s wedding when I was a kid and I also remember that when I was a boy scout, my troop was part of the parade for the coronation in 1952 and the parade ended at the Shaar with all the other Jewish troops, where we had a service and some snacks. N: We love the Shaar on shabbat. We have a kids’ program called Rock Shabbat and then we get to play in the gym while the grown-ups are at kiddush. Z: We never had a gym in shul, but we used to go to Fletcher’s Field to play on shabbos afternoons or we just played Monopoly. The other thing we would do was that the Y on Jeanne-Mance and Mont-Royal was open all afternoon and everyone would go there for different activities and clubs until Havdalah, which we all did together. H: We also play Monopoly but ours is Ms. Monopoly. The
make more than the
!
N: We also saw this mural: N: I know that he wrote Hallelujah but I don’t know much else. Z: When I was in high school Leonard Cohen was in university and he had already published his first novel. My high school teacher, Irving Layton, introduced us to his poetry. I had more connections with Mordecai Richler and A.M. Klein. Klein’s sons were in school with me so I used to see him in the audience at school plays. I did really enjoy Leonard Cohen’s music throughout my life though. N: My friend is messaging me, she wants to play Roblox, gotta go Zaidy Byeeeee H: Me too, Thanks so much Zaidy. Love you and see you soon! Z: Bye girls. Thanks for showing me how to use emojis!
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Guy Lafleur with a siddur
When the Montreal Canadiens hockey legend died of cancer on April 22, 2022, it sparked a great memory for the man who was a 20-year-old McGill University student when he snapped this photo of Guy Lafleur. Robert Foxman pitched the portrait idea when the player emerged from a 1981 practice at the old Montreal Forum—and “The Flower” actually agreed. Wearing the photographer’s tallit, and holding his personal siddur, it was taken across the street outside of Bali-Hi, a Polynesian tiki bar at the Alexis Nihon Plaza. Foxman’s father loved kvelling about the photo, but it was largely under wraps until his sister posted it to Facebook as a memorial tribute. —Ellin Bessner (Read and hear more about this story at thecjn.ca/lafleur.)
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Dawn Promislow (Freehand)
I was an avid reader as a child, devouring books of all kinds. But reading gradually became a chore—until Jewish literature courses at McGill University reignited that passion. Now, as The CJN’s book reviewer, I’m asked for recommendations. But just because I enjoy something doesn’t mean you will, too. I follow up by asking: what kind of books do you like to read? And then I can try and find an answer that satisfies both of us.
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Dawn Promislow’s debut novel follows the story of Jacqueline Kline, a Jewish artist living in Johannesburg in the early 1970s, whose family harbours an anti-apartheid activist who’s presented as Jewish, even if it is never explicitly stated. Narrated in the first-person through flashbacks, we experience Jacqueline’s increasing anxiety as this disruption throws her world into disarray. This is a novel of incredible depth whose short length is deceptive. Privilege, guilt and secrecy all feature as central themes. The narration is confessional in nature, as though she’s attempting to ease a heavy burden: she’s haunted by incredible guilt—and later regret—and often reflects on her own voicelessness. The book draws a parallel between whiteness and sickness (hence the title). Jacqueline constantly falls ill as a physical response to her internal strife. Above all, I highly enjoyed the prose from the South African-Canadian author, which draws on modernist show-don’t-tell storytelling.
Leaving Eastern Parkway Matthew Daub (Delphinium)
What may at first glance seem like another narrative about leaving Orthodox observance behind, this novel offers something of greater substance. Zev Altshul is a Lubavitch teenager in late 1980s Crown Heights, until tragedy leaves him an orphan. His sister Frayda—who now calls herself Frida—whisks him off to live with her and her non-Jewish boyfriend in Champaign-Urbana, Ill. While he struggles to adapt to this new reality, Zev was already flirting with straying before his life was flipped upside down. Zev becomes less observant over time, but there’s little in the way of cynicism towards Judaism. (He never abandons wearing his kippah.) I was moved to tears reading Zev’s story of struggling with antisemitism and interpersonal relationships, becoming an outstanding athlete, and attempting to parse his complicated relationships. The opening scene of Matthew Daub’s debut is among the most memorable I’ve read in some time. This book will be published in September and I’m already hoping for a sequel.
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ב”ה
The Board of Directors, Administration and Staff Congratulate Robbins Hebrew Academy’s 2022 Graduates!
Mazal Tov! מזל טוב
CLASS OF 2022
C
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חיים James Benoliel מנשה Jack Benzaquen טלי Taly de Lara אריאלה Kaylie Ezer יוסף Edward Goodman צופיה Sophia Hirschfield משה Jered Kazman גבריאל Gavriel Lichtman מתן Jack Matias אלון Alon Mei-Dan Itay Mei-Dan איתי Jesse Merkur שמעון Antal (Tali) Moyal (אנטל )טלי Bella Naiberg בלה
דן Dylan Perlis אברהם בר Avery Platt שמואל Samuel Ross לילה Lily Schnoor לב Levi Smith איתן Seth Somer דב Daniel Switzman אבי Avi Tick לילה Lyla Tick יעקב Zachary Weinberg Zach Winter זאב Tatum Worth חנה Mia Zinman מיה Izzie Zusman יהודית
It is with great pleasure and pride that the Board and Staff of The Toronto Heschel School congratulate the Class of 2022 2022 בשמחה ובגאווה הוועד המנהל והסגל של בית הספר על שם השל בטורונטו מברכים את בוגרי מחזור Hannah Baumal Naor Ben-Ary Ava Benaich Avner Black Jacob Bragg Liora Brizeli Laurel Closner Shylee Eliav-Kotick Mira Emerson Ami Ezer www.torontoheschel.org
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איתן דב שרון סשה נעה לב אמיתי לילך נינה ניב
Woman on Fire Lisa Barr (HarperCollins)
As Seen on TV Meredith Schorr (Grand Central)
I reject the notion of romance novels as “guilty pleasures” because it devalues books based on the idea that they’re feminine. It’s also a term disproportionately applied to the work of female authors. Jewish romance novels are actually a growing trend and there’s nothing to feel guilty about in devouring them. This one focuses on 20-something Adina Gellar, a down-on-her-luck journalist in New York City, who’s unhealthily obsessed with romance movies that air on the Hallmark Channel. She then comes across an article about nearby Pleasant Hollow, which is set to be the location of a large condo development. She pitches a piece to an online publication to cover how this charming small town will be changed—while secretly hoping to find love. When she arrives, Adina mistakenly assumes that Finn— the handsome man she meets when she arrives—is a local, when he actually works for the company heading the development. And that’s just one of her assumptions that gets turned upside down. Sure, this book can be predictable, but Meredith Schorr has written the perfect light summer read for anyone who dreams about escaping city life.
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A thriller about the high-stakes world of art dealing and Nazi-looted art, this novel centres on a painting called Woman on Fire, the last-known work of a Jewish artist murdered in the Holocaust. Several people have competing claims to the piece—which has been missing for decades. Jules Roth is an ambitious investigative journalist who finds herself on the case. She aims to repatriate the painting to Ellis Baum, a famous shoe designer with a hidden Jewish past, whose mother is depicted in the painting. This book is filled with gasp-inducing twists and turns, not to mention colourful characters. (All of them are described as beautiful and/or handsome.) The plot takes you on a journey from the streets and galleries of New York, Miami, Paris, and Berlin to the secret lairs of villains, glamorous chateaux, and the eerie forests of the German countryside. Lisa Barr’s writing is upbeat and fast-paced and keeps you hooked with its cinematic feel. It’s no wonder that Sharon Stone snapped up the film rights to star in the movie herself
The Promise of the Pelican Roy Hoffman
(Simon & Schuster) After a few months of reviewing books for The CJN, this one captured my heart more than any other. It’s the work of an author who was once praised by Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, as he similarly demonstrates the power of radical empathy. Hank Weinberg is a retired lawyer (and a child Holocaust survivor) who finds himself raising a grandson with the help of a nanny named Lupita while his daughter Vanessa recovers in court-ordered rehab. The main drama begins when Lupita’s brother Julio, a Honduran man who has overstayed his visa, is wrongly accused of murder. Hank steps out of retirement to take on his case. But this is far more than a legal drama: it’s an exploration of relationships among families and communities, and the sacrifices we make to protect our loved ones, and an object lesson in the complex nature of inherited trauma. Roy Hoffman provides critical insights into the American legal and penal system, especially its treatment of migrant workers, toward creating a novel that earns my ultimate endorsement: I can’t wait to read it again.
The Board and Staff of THE LEO BAECK DAY SCHOOL wish a hearty מזל טובto the Grade 8 Graduating Class of 2021-2022 Alexandra Adler
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The first Jewish butcher to give Prince Charles and Camilla a royal Canadian tour
John Diener usually doesn’t don a butcher’s apron while working at Saslove’s Meat Market in Ottawa’s historic ByWard Market—in fact, he’s usually working in the office rather than behind the counter of his family’s flagship store. But the 68-year-old Diener complied when Canadian protocol officials said he needed to dress the part when he showed Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, around the farmers’ market on May 18, 2022. Charles tried to buy some Quebec-made Brie cheese, and an aide whipped out his card to pay, but the merchant preferred to give it as a gift. —Ellin Bessner
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Reality Recap True tales of TV trials
Amy Rosen Roasted by a gang of Dragons After finding initial success in Toronto as a cinnamon bun entrepreneur, the opportunity to bring her bake-at-home pastries and spreads to Dragons’ Den was something this Cordon Bleu chef couldn’t resist. But her pitch didn’t impress the judges much. During an episode taped last summer—which premiered in December— she stumbled when answering questions about her corporate finances. Still, it’s given her the chance to laugh about being nationally humiliated on CBC Television. While she initially accepted a $300,000 buyout offer for her company, the deal with the panel of celebrity investors later fell through. Now, she’s focused on expanding a retail network across Canada, with the ability to label these products “As Seen on Dragons’ Den.” A long-time food writer in her own right—Kosher Style was the most recent of her five cookbooks—Amy Rosen’s pastry-making skills also put her on the radar for a Food Network Canada competition series, Wall of Bakers. Donning a white chef jacket, she judged the entrants alongside top dessert-making names like Anna Olson, Lynn Crawford and Christine Cushing. But the show had more Jewish representation than most of its kind, thanks to host Noah Cappe, and the baker who ended up taking a top prize of $10,000: Melina Schein, a professional singer based in Vernon, B.C., who explored her heritage in the kitchen while being unable to perform live during a couple years of lockdowns. Schein even gave herself an online persona: “The Saucy Soprano.”
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True tales of TV trials
Melina Schein Trading sequins for a mixing bowl After what she describes as three weeks spent in a fetal position on the couch, the furloughed vocalist got to work—by treating her kitchen as a stage. With the singing came a challenge harkening back to her family roots: making 400 traditional Jewish recipes, even if they involved paying exorbitant sums to ship the ingredients to her home in the Okanagan region of British Columbia’s Southern Interior. But spending $40 for a box of matzo shipped from Victoria paid dividends in other ways for Melina Schein. The exposure led her to Wall of Bakers. “The Saucy Soprano” won her episode, which aired in March 2022, with a finale of a black-and-white cookie
and egg cream drink, inspired by the delis she remembered visiting with her grandparents on the Lower East Side of New York. Schein got back on stage this spring in a musical tribute to Andrew Lloyd
Webber, including her favourites from The Phantom of the Opera. Still, she hopes to get back on the Food Network—or anywhere else that will let her show off her Jewish cooking skills, and her voice.
Kevin Jacobs This houseguest took $100,000 home Just one North American winner in the history of the global franchise Big Brother can say that he learned his reality show skills at Jewish summer camp. And it involved beating out 15 other sequestered competitors for a prize of $100,000 in the 10th season of the Canadian series, which ran for 70 days from March to May. He did it in his hometown of Toronto, too: Kevin Jacobs attended TannenbaumCHAT for high school, and has a day job in tech sales. But nothing prepared him for Big Brother Canada like living in a cabin with a group of guys—and the communication skills required to get along. Jacobs also credits his Jewish background to help him navigate tough conversations, by being accustomed to airing things out in the open. And since the 10 weeks on the show encompassed Passover, he acknowledged it by holding a seder in the household, which came with its own challenge. During a contest where rivals are known to tell little lies to get ahead, Jacobs had to explain to one fellow houseguest that he didn’t invent this ceremony himself.
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Ilana Zackon as Isabelle and Jahlani Knorren as Patrick in Mazel Tov. (Photo credit: Maxime Boisvert)
Ilana Zackon explains her return to the stage The CJN’s nomadic columnist and Bonjour Chai podcaster is also a multidisciplinary performer—who scored her first major role since the pandemic fell in a different kind of Jewish play. 26
M
ourning the end of a play’s run is kind of like mourning a person—only you don’t sit shiva for seven days and no one says,“Sorry for your loss.” I spent six weeks this spring immersed in Infinitheatre’s production of Mazel Tov. It’s a dark comedy, or some would say drama with comedic undertones (when I say dark I mean dark), written by French-Canadian playwright Marc-André Thibeault. Why would a Quebecois write a play about Jews? Good question!
Thibeault was working on some plays in the Jewish community, and this led him to writing what is now the play’s first scene. He initially thought of it as a short performance and then kept asking himself, “And then what? And then what?” Next thing he knew, the notion of a 15-minute play became a full-length show. My director, Jewish Montreal local Ellen David, saw its 2017 premiere at Theatre Prospero. It was then a French play called Mazal Tov. (The original French production
spelled it that way.) After greatly enjoying the performance, David introduced herself to the playwright and the two spent the last few years adapting it for English audiences—with the help of translator Frances Poet. Most playwrights are fairly uninvolved in the actual rehearsal process, especially when they’re dead—like William Shakespeare. (What Shakespeare would have thought about an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set in post-apocalyptic, worn-torn America, we’ll never know.) But for this, Thibeault was quite present behind the scenes of our show. He was very open to minor line changes so that the dialogue felt more natural. David would reach out to him to approve these suggested changes and ask him questions we had about the script overall. Mazel Tov opens in a hospital room, with a bed-ridden and bandaged Patrick (my show husband) on the night of his wedding. His friend and best man, Phillip, comes to pay him a visit. Soon we learn that Patrick’s medical demise came about because he tripped on the glass during the part of a Jewish wedding ceremony where one breaks a glass.
(Some audience members seemed to think this was unlikely, but hey, that’s theatre!) Patrick isn’t Jewish, but he just got married to someone who is: my character, Isabelle! We also learn that his so-called “best man” has no problem ridiculing cultural customs like these, and has a no-filter attitude in general, disregarding the notions of political correctness. And everything escalates from there. Isabelle enters and eventually gets coerced into spitting out the truth: Phillip made a seemingly antisemitic gesture at the wedding. My character’s Jewish family is very upset. I won’t give away too many spoilers, but you can use your imagination to see where this is going. The show touches upon many themes we’ve discussed on my podcast, Bonjour Chai, like how far is too far when telling jokes about the Holocaust—co-host Avi Finegold seems to think they’re harmless, but they make me queasy—and how to define antisemitism. We performed the piece at KIN Experience on Ste-Catherine Street in downtown Montreal, a multipurpose space with exposed brick and a full kitchen which
accommodates a variety of events. For our show, KIN was set up to make you feel like you were attending Isabelle and Patrick’s wedding. Rather than the traditional rows of seats facing the stage, audiences sat at four-person tables—complete with wedding centerpieces—in the middle of the room. On one side of the space was the hospital bed. Lo and behold, when the hospital curtain is closed at the end of the third scene, the lights come up on the total other side of the space. With a quick swivel of your chair to the opposite direction, you found yourself peering into Isabelle and Patrick’s apartment. (It was the side where the entrance to the kitchen is, something we used to our advantage). An immersive theatre experience like this might have been new to many—but the feedback we received indicated people enjoyed it. Moreover, after select performances we held talkbacks that included a conversation with Holocaust survivor Fishel Goldig, a discussion on culture and community within comedy with journalist Joseph Rosen, and a dive into interfaith dating with radio host and producer Sarah Deshaies. Thibeault also showed up for an exclusive chat about the play he wrote.
THE FINAL CURTAIN
Cast and crew of Mazel Tov in Montreal, April-May 2022. (Photo credit: Maxime Boisvert)
My character goes through an emotional rollercoaster in the play–from anger, to shock, to deep depression and beyond. When it all came to a close, I felt the simultaneous sensation of sadness to bid farewell to this magnificent production and also relief not to cry on stage every day anymore. I adored working with the cast and crew, who all gelled together beautifully and worked exceptionally hard on this production. Now that it’s all done, there comes that question which haunts every actor: “So, what’s next?” While we have no ritual practice for ending performances, I said my goodbyes to the character of Isabelle—and will still hold her close in case we do a remount—and am letting myself soak in the post-joy of doing what I love: Live theatre. It was truly a blessing to tell a Jewish story on stage and I hope to tell many more. n
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Julia Koschitzky: A Woman of Valour In the history of Canadian Jewry, Julia Koschitzky’s name will be placed among the most significant leaders of our community. Perhaps you have heard the name — maybe you were even lucky enough to meet Julia in person, here in Canada, in Israel or at Jewish gatherings around the world. But even if the name isn’t familiar, there is no question you have benefited from her tireless work and advocacy. Personally, the thing I learned most from Julia Koschitzky was to get things done — and to do it with grace. Julia passed away on March 21. In the following pages, we pay tribute to a true woman of valour and honour her own words through excerpts of speeches she made through the years. —Yoni Goldstein
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UJA Remembers Julia Koschitzky, z”l A true visionary, Julia’s unparalleled generosity and humble leadership will continue to shape our community— and the entire Jewish world—for generations to come. Her efforts have touched so many, from leading UJA’s Annual Campaign to chairing Keren Hayesod, serving on the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel to pioneering efforts to make day school more affordable for families through UJA’s Julia and Henry Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Education. Julia’s love of Judaism, dedication to Jewish education and community, and extraordinary legacy will forever be an inspiration to us all. May her memory be for a blessing. הַמָּקוֹם יְנַח ֵם א ֶת ְכֶם בְּתוֹך ְ ׁש ְא ָר א ֲבֵלֵי צִיו ֹּן וִירו ּׁש ָלַיִם Hamakom yenakhem etekhem betokh shaar avelay tziyon viyrushalayim
“I believe the greatest wonder in the world is Jewish generosity, because it can touch the lives of millions of people here at home, around the world, and in Israel, and make a better and richer life for everyone.” – JULIA KOSCHITZKY, Z”L
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Jerusalem was in her heart… G
racious. Classy. Elegant. But all mixed with a steely determination. Those who knew Julia Koschitzky, who passed away in Toronto last March at the age of 78, agree on her most obvious traits. Community leader, activist and philanthropist extraordinaire, Julia (often said as “Julie”; she didn’t seem to mind) wore many hats in Canadian-Jewish and Israel-based charitable circles, as well as on the global stage as a former chair of the Keren Hayesod’s World Board of Trustees. Her love of Israel was boundless, but it was distilled to Jerusalem, its eternal capital. “Jerusalem is the centre of Jewish life, Jewish tradition and the future of the Jewish people,” she once observed. Julia’s devotion to the city found its greatest expression in the Jerusalem Foundation of Canada (JFC), of which she was president from late 2009 until mid-2011. That may not seem like a long time, but she was involved with the Foundation long before then and long after as president emerita and an active member of the executive. “Everywhere you go in Jerusalem, you can see the impact of the work of the Jerusalem Foundation, and our support makes this possible,” she said. Julia did more than merely support. A whirlwind, she spearheaded several JFC projects, including Canada House, located in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Morasha, a dynamic community centre serving residents of all ages, dedicated by the JFC in 2013; the namesake Koschitzky Young Adult Centre inside Canada House, which offers programs and projects to advance the personal, social, communal, and professional goals of Jerusalem’s young adult population; and the Jerusalem Cultural Quarter, an essential part of the strategy to transform the city by bringing more young people into the urban centre, with academies, schools and cultural institutions. Stretching across the city centre, the project has developed new
Jerusalem Foundation of Canada Gala 2017 in Toronto. Photo credit: George Kash
campuses, while art and academic institutions relocated to the Quarter have brought increased collaboration and interaction among these institutions. Local businesses have also benefited. Julia also supported Teddy Park, named for Jerusalem’s iconic former mayor, located across from Jaffa Gate in the Old City. Among many laurels, Julia and her husband, Henry, received the
Teddy Kollek Award in 2013. From Julia, Lewis Mitz, who followed her as JFC president, learned “humility and class. You can’t buy those things. And she had it all over the place.” After Julia herself took over the JFC’s leadership from Montreal-based David Azrieli, Mr. Mitz became more involved “because she was such an inspiration for me. And she had confidence in me.”
Reception welcoming new Jerusalem Foundation President at the home of Julia and Henry Koschitzky, July 2019, in photo: Julia and Henry Koschitzky, Shai Doron, Nomi Yeshua. Photo credit: Liora Kogan
He agreed to a three-year term, and ended up serving for nine years. He recalled Julia’s “elegance” and always impeccable appearance. “She was genuine [and] caring.” People wanted to go to fundraising galas she organized,” Mr. Mitz recalled. “She was like a magnet.” And, he stressed, she never missed a board meeting. Joel Reitman, current president of the JFC, related that a week before she took ill, Julia called him to say she believed in term limits, “and that it was my time to take over the presidency, and that she would remain as close as possible. I couldn’t say no to Julia. She was my friend and mentor. She wasn’t afraid of people saying no to her. She was a lady and very sophisticated, sensitive person who really worked on things she felt were important. She followed through and got things done. She was how a leader should be. “She made everybody feel welcome, no matter what your age was, no matter where you were in the charity world. She was there and she was inspiring.” Mr. Reitman too recalled that Julia attended every board meeting, “whether it was at 7 o’clock in the morning or 9 at night.” Julia also attended the 50th anni-
versary celebrations of the Jerusalem Foundation in Jerusalem, in September 2016. The following year, she was the driving force and chair of a JFC gala in Toronto, with proceeds going to the Jerusalem Cultural Quarter. Then Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Toronto Mayor John Tory were the main speakers, and their dialogue was hosted by former Senator Linda Frum. In response to the COVID crisis, the JFC established the Canada Community and Culture Fund, to which Julia also lent her efforts. This fund supports two critical areas in Jerusalem: ongoing needs for vulnerable populations of all ages, and the recovery of the cultural sector, which has been decimated by the pandemic. Mr. Mitz fondly recalled the realization of an idea of his: To erect an inukshuk, a structure of stones piled on top of each other used for navigation in Canada’s frozen north and to mark sacred places, in Jerusalem. Twenty entries were winnowed to the winner, and the 16-foottall inukshuk was unveiled in 2018 at the entrance to the Canada Pathway, which recognizes support for the Canada Community and Culture Fund. “Julia was with me when we inaugur-
Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Jerusalem Foundation at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, September 2016, in photo: President Reuven Rivlin, Julia Koschitzky, Mayor Nir Barkat. Photo credit: Sasson Tiram
ated it,” he recalled. The title of Julia’s autobiography is It’s Been My Privilege, words Monica Berger often used to describe their relationship. “It was my privilege to learn from her, to serve Jerusalem under her mentorship during her years as president,” says Ms. Berger, who served as executive director of the JFC from 2008 to 2018. Berger recalled coaching Julia “with delight but awe” with her French remarks when Julia volunteered at Canadian citizenship ceremonies, where she helped grant citizenship to some 1,000people. “Julia felt that she was giving back to the country that had welcomed her family and in her usual way, nothing less than perfect diction would do,” Ms. Berger recalled. Julia “touched people around the world through her dedicated leadership and her inspiring commitment to the Jewish people and to Jerusalem,” the Jerusalem Foundation noted. “The impact of her life and her work will be felt for generations to come.”
A generous philanthropist and dedicated leader for Jewish communal causes BY RON CSILLAG
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J
ulia Koschitzky, a communal volunteer extraordinaire and philanthropist who lent her name and resources to a plethora of domestic Jewish and Israel-related causes, died at her Toronto home on March 21, 2022 of cancer. She was 78. She was known widely for her poise and graceful presence, and for over four decades, her name seemed to be everywhere, it seemed, notably at big-ticket communal institutions like UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and United Israel Appeal. Throughout, her main passion was Jewish education. Israeli President Isaac Herzog remembered her as “a dear friend whose noble voice will be sorely missed throughout the Jewish world.” “Her decades of contribution to the State of Israel, to Keren Hayesod and to the Jewish Agency for Israel improved the quality of life of countless individuals and communities, which Julia so enthusiastically supported. She never shied away from a challenge, and always saw the virtue of those around her. Julie was an insightful thinker, and a warm, fine human being,” Herzog wrote in a letter to the Koschitzky family. Condolences on her death also included one from Nachman Shai, Israel’s minister of Diaspora affairs, who lauded a “strong, inspiring, and generous woman.” “In many ways, Julia personified Canadian Jewry’s unshakable relationship with Israel,” said Shai. “I and the State of Israel are deeply grateful for her incredible devotion to the Jewish people and the strengthening of the bonds between us.” Israel’s consul general in Toronto, Idit Shamir, tweeted condolences, saying Koschitzky’s leadership and devotion to the Jewish community and Israel “will always be remembered.” Koschitzky’s involvement in communal life began in 1979 when she assumed the presidency of the Parents’ Association at Associated Hebrew Day Schools, where she and her husband Henry enrolled all four of their children. She went on to serve on the school’s board of governors and worked to make day schools more affordable by establishing, in 2013, UJA Federation’s Julia and Henry Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Education, which provides tuition assistance and a variety of programs for children and young adults. In a statement, Ora Shulman, head of school at Associated Hebrew Schools, said
the quality she will associate with Koschitzky is “the grace with which she presided over any setting in which we encountered her. She radiated care and calm.” In a 2017 interview with The CJN, Koschitzky acknowledged challenging times for Jewish education. Enrolment at non-Orthodox schools was down, despite a growing Jewish community. “The commitment of families towards sending their children for a formal Jewish education, which builds strong identity and guarantees the future of Jewish life, really has lessened,” she noted. “That’s also coupled with the rising cost of Jewish education, at a rate of 2-1/2 times the cost of living.” Much of Jewish philanthropy goes to non-Jewish causes, she pointed out. “If it would be redirected to Jewish education, the cost (of education) would not be an issue.” She felt that Jews who came to Canada at the turn of the 20th century had their priorities right. Despite widespread poverty, they managed to build a foundation—synagogues, day schools, benevolent organizations, theatres, and newspapers. “It was a rich Jewish life in poor times,” Koschitzky said. “Now when I think of the incredible wealth there is in our community, and that we should be facing such hardship with keeping Jewish schools afloat, it’s a very depressing time.” After 12 years on the Associated parents’ council, Koschitzky agreed to chair Toronto UJA’s 1985 women’s division campaign to engage more Orthodox women. In 1988-’89, she co-chaired the general Toronto UJA campaign. “I owe a great debt of thanks to the UJA because I felt that was where I was taught and nurtured,” she told The CJN. “That led me to so many extraordinary experiences. The more involved I became, the more I learned, and the more I learned, the more I saw and understood the scale of Jewish needs here and in Israel and around the world.” She served for eight years as an officer of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and, from 1990 to 1992, as president of UIA (United Israel Appeal)/Federations Canada, where, according to the Jewish Women’s Archive, she helped shape the relationship between Canadian Jewry and Israel, and played “a central role” in Operation Exodus, the rescue and resettlement of thousands of Jews from Russia to Israel.
In many ways, Julia personified Canadian Jewry’s unshakable relationship with Israel. I and the State of Israel are deeply grateful for her incredible devotion to the Jewish people and the strengthening of the bonds between us. NACHMAN SHAI, ISRAEL’S MINISTER OF DIASPORA AFFAIRS
THECJN.CA 35
My sister and I grew up in a very traditional home. From our parents, we learned a love of Judaism and the importance of giving, not only financially, but of ourselves. JULIA KOSCHITZKY Z”L
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UIA raised more than $100 million from Canadian Jews for Operation Exodus, in addition to contributions from the annual UJA campaign. She likened the response to the rescue of former Soviet Jews to the 1967 Six-Day War. Both showed, “as never before, that Jewish people can be united.” She became a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel in 1990, and from 1992 to 1997, Koschitzky chaired the Keren Hayesod (United Israel Appeal) World Board of Trustees. She also served as a trustee of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) and was a board member of The CJN (where she strongly favoured a return to a print edition when the paper came back in January 2021 in digital form only). In 1998, Koschitzky chaired the Toronto celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Israeli statehood, featuring then prime minister Jean Chretien as guest speaker. At York University, where Julia was a trustee, she and her husband established the Koschitzky Family Chair in Jewish Teacher Education. With Henry’s brother, Saul and sister-in-law, Mira, the couple established the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies, Canada’s first interdisciplinary research centre in the subject. In its tribute, York recalled “an extraordinary woman devoted to the causes of philanthropy, Jewish education, and social welfare.” In a joint statement on Koschitzky’s death, Linda Frum, chair of UJA’s board, and Adam Minsky, UJA’s president and CEO, reflected that “to spend time with Julia was to be in the company of a truly great leader whose example motivated each of us to become our better selves. Whether it was a kind word of encouragement, a principled decision at a defining moment, or a readiness to step forward when leadership was needed, when Julia led, it elevated everyone around her to a whole new level.” They too extolled Koschitzky’s “incredible kindness, wisdom, and humility.” The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) saw “an extraordinary leader who had a deep love for Judaism, for the Jewish people, and for Israel. She invested time, enormous effort, and generous philan-
thropy in service of her fellow Jews and fellow Canadians. She was a role model for many, including young Canadian Jewish student activists and women in Jewish communal life. She led by example, with her children also taking on significant leadership roles.” Koschitzky was born in 1943 in Cardiff, Wales, the daughter of Max Podolski, who was from Poland, and the German-born Elli Moses. The Jewish Women’s Archives relates that her parents, who worked together in business, fled Germany in 1939 for Wales, where they had business interests, leaving for Canada in 1949 and settling in Toronto in 1956. “My sister and I grew up in a very traditional home,” she recalled for the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto. “From our parents, we learned a love of Judaism and the importance of giving, not only financially, but of ourselves.” In 1963, during her last year of high school, Julia married the Polish-born businessman Henry Koschitzky, whose family came to Canada after living in exile in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Among her many accolades was an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University in 2003 and the Order of Canada in 2015 for her promotion of education and interfaith dialogue. In later years, she was involved with the Jerusalem Foundation, which raises funds for social, cultural and beautification projects in the Israeli capital. Koschitzky is survived by her husband Henry; children Sarena, Hartley, Jonathan, and Leelah; 19 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and a sister, Jeannette Massouda. She was buried in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Koschitzky once said she had grown in every volunteer position she took on, all with a view to the future. “What we do in our community sends a message to our children, to future generations,” she said in 2017. “My children are involved, whether it’s here or in New York or in Israel. Everybody does something because they saw the joy in how it fulfils your life, that you’re doing something not just for yourself but also for others.” n
Jewish Federations Canada – United Israel Appeal (JFC-UIA) Remembers
Julia Koschitzky z”l, An Inspiring Jewish Leader “The lesson of Jewish history is that ordinary people like you and me can achieve miracles. If the inspiration is there, we can rise above any limitation we have set ourselves, and we can help to fashion the hopes and dreams of our Jewish people.” JULIA KOSCHITZKY Z”L
-XOLD SHUVRQLÀ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·V ZRUGV DQG DFWLRQV ZLOO FRQWLQXH WR LQVSLUH XV May Julia’s memory be for a blessing
ʤ ʡ ʶ ʰ ʺ
Julia Koschitzky in her own words
From Cardiff to Canada One day in 1997 Rosalie Sharp called me to ask if I would be a contributor to a book she was publishing together with Irving Abella and Edwin Goodman entitled Growing Up Jewish: Canadians Tell Their Own Stories. The 26 people selected would share their families’ experiences as new immigrants to Canada. I felt most honoured to be among those included, sharing my unique family history as newcomers to this country. This is my contribution.
Cardiff, circa 1947. My parents, Elli and Max Podolski, sister Jeanette, and me, the little one.
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n December 1992, I was invited to Berlin for a United Jewish Appeal (Keren Hayesod) conference to address a group of European chairmen. For me it was a very emotional experience, unlike any other I have had. For the first five minutes I spoke in German—a language I had heard at home. This is how I began: “Were it not for Hitler, I would have been able to say to you tonight, ‘Ich bin eine Berlinerin.’ I would have been able to tell you about the home of my parents, Elli and Max Podolski, who lived on Passauer Strasse. I would have been able to tell you about my father’s Herren Bekleiderung (men’s clothing) and Schuhwaren Geschäft (shoe factory outlet) on Berliner Strasse, or about the synagogue they attended on the Sabbath and Yomtov on Fasanenstrasse, or even about Charlottenburg, where my grandparents lived.” During my three days in Berlin, I visited some of those places that I had heard about since my earliest childhood. Of course, my parents’ home is no longer there. Even the street name has been changed to Ettaler Strasse. What remains of the synagogue where my parents were married are two pillars in front of the Berliner Gemeinde Haus (German Jewish Community Centre). My parents belonged to that group of Jews who felt that Germany was a haven from persecution and poverty. They were modern, enlightened, and yet orthodox in their observance of Jewish tradition. Life was very comfortable and serene. But all that changed with the rise of Hitler. Nevertheless, like most Jews, as the perpetual optimists, they did not hasten to leave and stayed until it was almost too late. It was the terror of Kristallnacht that finally brought the message home to them that things were really as bad as they appeared. When the next day the Gestapo called for my father, he miraculously managed to evade them and left for England on the first plane available, which happened to be on the Sabbath. Being uneasy about travelling on the Sabbath, my father asked the rabbi for advice and was told that in matters of life and death, life took precedence over the Sabbath. That advice proved to be very fortuitous, as the next plane out after the Sabbath crashed, with no survivors.
My parents belonged to that group of Jews who felt that Germany was a haven from persecution and poverty. They were modern, enlightened, and yet orthodox in their observance of Jewish tradition. Life was very comfortable and serene. But all that changed with the rise of Hitler. Nevertheless, like most Jews, as the perpetual optimists, they did not hasten to leave and stayed until it was almost too late.
Wearing a red dress as a teenager in Toronto, circa 1957–58.
Our family’s journey on the Queen Elizabeth from Southampton to Canada, 1949.
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Our wedding picture, March 17, 1963. My parents, Max and Elli Podolski, me and Henry, Golda and Israel Koschitzky.
At the age of eighteen, in my last year of high school, I was fortunate to meet my partner-tobe, Henry Koschitzky, son of Israel and Golda and brother of Saul. Their family history, although vastly different from mine, still had the same thread running through it, as they also survived the war years and came to Canada as new immigrants in 1948.
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My parents were the lucky ones—lucky that they had relatives who could bring them over. The rest of our family were not that fortunate. And this is how a Jewish girl and her sister, Jeanette, were born in a coal-mining town called Cardiff, in the south of Wales. This was a time when Jews from Europe found refuge in all sorts of places, and for my parents, who were “true Berliners,” Cardiff was their salvation. The war years were not easy for them, but compared with what they fled in Europe, the city was paradise. However, that hardship had left its mark on them, so when the tensions of the Cold War grew, they decided to immigrate to Canada, as far away as they could get from any impending conflict. So in May 1948, at the age of four and a half, I, with my parents and sister, aged eight, sailed off to New York on the SS America, first class. Decades later, when my mother was sorting through old passenger lists, she discovered that on our deck was the Kennedy family. We were to journey across the ocean two more times. The decision to make a firm commitment in Canada seemed too daunting for my parents. It wasn’t until the return trip back to England
that we realized Canada was indeed the place to begin our new lives. Obviously, our adjustment as new immigrants was not smooth. We first settled in Montreal, and my father set up a leather goods factory, where he manufactured ladies’ purses. Unfortunately, business ventures with various partners turned sour, and the French language posed a problem for my parents even in those days. My father felt Ontario was the place to go, so in 1954 he relocated his business in Toronto. By that point he had also realized that my mother was the best and only trustworthy business partner he could have. After a very unsettled childhood, I was finally beginning to feel that Toronto would be my permanent home. I grew up on the fringes of the established community, not quite fitting in to any particular social group. Even though my sister and I did not have a Jewish day-school education (only some private tutoring and some cheder classes), we retained our strong Jewish identity because of our upbringing at home. One of my earliest memories, for example, is of seeing my father during his morning prayers. He always considered it mazeldik if I kissed the square tefillin that rested on his forehead.
The kimel family Celebrates the life and legacy of
Julia KoschitzKY z.l. A communal volunteer, extraordinaire and philanthropist who lent her name and resources to a plethora of domestic Jewish and Israel-related causes.
Your dedication and passion towards social work has set an ideal example for us to emulate.
Our strength, our inspiration. May her memory be a blessing.
The first synagogue we attended in Toronto was the Gilgorm, off Eglinton Avenue. Going out during the Yizkor service together with other young people was a social highlight. This was the opportunity for my sister and me to mingle and socialize with members of the shul and make friends. I vividly recall marvelling that during the Israel Bonds Appeal on Kol Nidre there were Jews who could buy tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of bonds and dreamed that perhaps one day I could be one of those purchasers. It was my first introduction to communal fundraising. I attended Northern Secondary School, on Mount Pleasant Avenue, where I was one of a handful of Jews. During my five years there, I was very much aware of my Jewishness. I became very adept at explaining to our principal the significance of every Jewish holiday and why I could not attend school. However, none of this hindered me from fully participating in all the school’s extracurricular activities, which I thoroughly enjoyed and which helped to shape me as a person. At the beginning, our social lives revolved around attending functions with our parents at the New World Club, a group of immigrants from similar backgrounds who enjoyed one another’s company. My parents never hired babysitters for us—we just went along wherever they happened to go. It seemed the most natural thing to do in those days. The first years in Toronto were difficult for our family, with major setbacks. Only one year after arriving from Montreal, my father was involved in a serious car accident and was hospitalized at Mount Sinai for 21 months. In the end, his right leg had to be amputated. We had no family, no medical connections, and found it impossible to find the proper medical consultations. My mother had to attend to the business, bring up her two daughters, and also care for my father, who would eat only her kosher food in the hospital. We brought the food to him every day, travelling on two buses and the subway. I often wonder how we survived those first few years. But, thank G-d, some good always emerges from difficult and stressful times. A romance developed between my sister and the chief resident, Dr. Benjamin Massouda (who saved my father’s life), and in time they were married.
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Circa 1976/1977. Israel and Golda Koschitzky’s seven grandchildren. (Left to right) Joel, Sarena, Hartley, Tamar,David, Leelah, and Jonathan.
Henry and I both feel very fortunate that our families were among the lucky few who survived the Holocaust and were successful in rebuilding strong Jewish families in Canada. After our many happy years of marriage, we can be proud of our four children, their spouses, and our grandchildren.
My father lived for another 30 productive years. He worked full time, travelled, and enjoyed life to the fullest. He marched down the aisle at the weddings of several grandchildren and experienced the birth of great-grandchildren. At the age of 18, in my last year of high school, I was fortunate to meet my partnerto-be, Henry Koschitzky, son of Israel and Golda and brother of Saul. Their family history, although vastly different from mine, still had the same thread running through it, as they also survived the war years (finding refuge in Russia), and came to Canada as new immigrants in 1948. Henry and I both
feel very fortunate that our families were among the lucky few who survived the Holocaust and were successful in rebuilding strong Jewish families in Canada. After our many happy years of marriage, we can be proud of our four children, their spouses, and our grandchildren. When I reflect on our past, I come to the conclusion that our survival and what we possess today are not the result of any wise decisions but rather a gift from G-d, and, as I have been blessed with this gift, it is incumbent on me to share in every way possible my good fortune with the rest of Klal Yisrael. n
Toronto's Jewish Day Schools extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of
Julia Koschitzky
z"l
Julia was a true pillar of the educational community. On behalf of our schools and our communities, we share our immense gratitude for the myriad ways in which Julia z"l, together with her husband, Henry Koschitzky, have generously supported Jewish education in Toronto over the past decades. Julia was an inspiration within our community, providing vision and leadership in Toronto and in Israel, leading with her characteristic strength and generosity. She gave both time and talent to the many Jewish causes and organizations that she embraced. She and her husband have championed Torah study, Hebrew language instruction, and love of the land of Israel, upholding Jewish education at every level of learning. Through their involvement on the Boards of many of our schools, their financial support of all the Jewish Day Schools in the community, their expert advice offered to school leaders and lay leaders, and their presence as role models of upstanding Jewish life in the community, they have served as true examples of how community builds education, and education builds community. For years, Julia acted as a role model to women and to all members of our Jewish community, with her grace, steadfastness, and staunch support of Jewish education. Through the work of the Julia and Henry Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Education, dozens of day schools have remained vibrant - keeping Hebrew a central value, ensuring financial accessibility, and producing generations of connected and knowledgeable Jews. Her loss is felt by our entire community; her impact will be felt for generations to come.
Dr. Daniel Held
Rabbi Elishai Kohananoo
Claire Sumerlus
Chief Program Officer UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
Joe Dwek Ohr HaEmet Sephardic School
Robbins Hebrew Academy
Ora Shulman Associated Hebrew Schools
Benjamin Cohen Bialik Hebrew Day School
Eric Petersiel
Dr. Jonathan Levy
The Leo Baeck Day School
TanenbaumCHAT
Regina Lulka & Sarit Yurovitch
Rabbi Shmuel Zilber
Montessori Jewish Day School
Tiferes Bais Yaakov
Rabbi Dr. Rafi Cashman
Dr. Greg Beiles
Bnei Akiva Schools
Netivot HaTorah Day School
The Toronto Heschel School
Rabbi Mordechai Loiterman
Dr. Amy Platt
Rabbi Eliezer Breitowitz
Eitz Chaim Schools
Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School
Yeshiva Darchei Torah
Rabbi Dr. Seth Grauer
SPONSORED CONTENT
The Julia Koschitzky I knew
Julie Koschitzky at the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies’ 30th anniversary at York University in December 2019.
BY PROFESSOR SARA R. HOROWITZ
I
remember when I first met Julia Koschitzky. On a Sunday afternoon soon after I began teaching at York University, I attended a presentation showcasing the students in our Jewish Teacher Education Program. The students, who would soon be teaching in Jewish schools in Toronto and across Canada, presented model lessons that illustrated their teaching philosophies and skills. In the audience were professors, proud parents, and interested community members. Although I did not yet know her, I noticed Julia because of her intent focus on the presentations. My colleague Michael Brown whispered to me that she and her husband, Henry, along with her brother- and sister-in-law Saul and Mira Koschitzy, shared a deep vision for the importance of Jewish education, and had worked with York to actualize that vision. After the students concluded and the audience began to disperse, Julia lingered to speak individually to
each student, listening attentively and putting them at ease, as though she had all the time in the world to spend with them. The students felt appreciated and special. I later learned she had come to our campus after attending an earlier community event elsewhere, and would be going on to another event afterwards. That first meeting encapsulated so many of the qualities I came to admire in Julia over the many years I worked with her: her graciousness, her commitment to causes she believed in, her respect for others, her hard work. It would be difficult to imagine York University’s Israel and Golda Koschitzy Centre for Jewish studies without Julia Koschitzky. She served as the chair and the founder of our Centre’s community-based Advisory Committee, and I worked closely with her when I was Centre director – and in several projects that Julia drew me into. But it was only when I wrote in support of her nomination for Order of Canada that I began to understand the scope of her life’s work and its effect within and beyond the Jewish community. She had
a deep belief in the importance of education at all levels and for different kinds of learners. Beyond my own university, Julia had a global presence. She met with world leaders, advocating for peace and security in Israel. In many ways, her life, commitments, and achievement exemplify the best of the Jewish and the Canadian experience. Her parents fled Nazi-controlled Germany soon after the 1938 Pogrom, or Kristallnacht. Her husband, Henry’s family comes from the Polish town of Oswiecim, renamed Auschwitz during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Both families were displaced from their homes by the Nazi genocide. This background shaped an ethos of appreciation for the tolerance, diversity, and cultural richness of contemporary Canada. Most of all, it shaped an ahavat Yisrael, a love for Judaism and Jews that translated into profound values and concrete actions. I confessed several times to Julia that I saw her as a role model. She was a woman of great personal strength and intelligence who was unafraid to speak her mind and advocate for what she believed in. She spoke eloquently, whether to small groups, large audiences, or world leaders. She could speak about community affairs, politics, or words of Torah. She behaved with integrity and grace. She worked hard and made it look easy. She would look both at the big picture and at the myriad details that made the big picture come into focus. I consider it a personal privilege and pleasure to have come to know Julia Koschitzky and to work with her. She had a rare and inspiring combination of keen intelligence, articulateness, graciousness, ethics, and integrity. She used her special gifts – intelligence, commitment, eloquence, charisma– for tikkun olam, to change the world for the better.
The Leket Israel staff and boards worldwide are deeply saddened by the passing of
JULIA KOSCHITZKY z”l mother of Leelah and mother-in-law of Joseph Gitler, Founder and Chairman of Leket Israel, The National Food Bank. She was a true woman of valor, devoted to her family and the State of Israel, and a pillar of the Jewish community. We extend our sincerest condolences to her family. May her memory be a blessing.
In loving memory of
Julia Koschitzky ז״ל, friend, model citizen, inspirational leader and the soul of kindness. Linda Frum & Howard Sokolowski
Julia Koschitzky in her own words
International Lion of Judah Conference The truest definition of a mother and a home is that where and when no one else will take you in, the mother in that home will always embrace you with open arms and unconditional love
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ood morning, boker tov. It is with a great sense of humility and a great honour that I share this morning’s program with the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and with all of you, my extended mishpocheh. And thank you for that introduction, but I am really not a guest, but rather I am one of you. I think it is safe to say that there isn’t a person in this room who envies my position at this moment, having to follow the prime minister, and really having to recapture for you the kaleidoscope of emotions, the passion, the drama, the energy, and the enthusiasm that has permeated this International Lion of Judah Conference these past four days. But Elie Wiesel once said that there are certain experiences in life that elevate a person to a new madregah, a new plateau, for every encounter leaves a mark, every story leaves a mark, every person leaves a mark, and certainly the extraordinary encounters we have all shared these last four days, the unique people that we have met, the heartwrenching and heartwarming stories that we have heard will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark on all of us for a long time to come. It has been said repeatedly over the last few days, just as recently as yesterday by Richard Wexler, that no matter what country we come from, what language we speak or food we eat (be it couscous, kishka, or sauerkraut), we all really share one great Jewish virtue, ahavat Yisrael—love of Israel, the Jewish people, and the Jewish nation. This is the motivating force that brings us together to be in one place, Yerushalayim, in one room, at one moment, and to live that moment fully as Jewish women. This International Lion of Judah Conference has made our Jewish world smaller. It has brought us closer together. We have all made friends and created a sense of worldwide Jewish mishpacha. Every community, whether emerging or established, derives its collective strength and character from its individual leaders, and indeed you are those leaders who, with great love, commitment, and concern, stimulate the giving levels of your communities. It is you who set the standards of what an
With Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Mrs. Sara Netanyahu.
ideal community should be, and it is really my deepest honour to pay respect to all of you, for I know that you represent the very best that Diaspora Jewry has to offer. Each one of us has come here on our own personal journey, as Rebecca Newman said during the session titled “A Woman’s Story.” Personally, I owe a great deal of gratitude to Women’s Division, for this is the family that I grew up in. This is where I was taught, where l was nurtured, where I was inspired, where I was given the confidence to assume varied roles of leadership and responsibility. I realized a long time ago that in order for me to reach the centre of my Jewish being, I have to do. And ever since I received that one phone call many years ago, inviting me to an outreach program, I have been doing, and I can tell you that I have not been bored since. I often think of the glorious moments I would have missed out on, moments such as this, had I said no or found an excuse not to participate. You never know where one “yes” can lead. It can chart new paths and
begin new journeys that you never dreamed of. All of us will agree, no matter the distances we have come, that the more involved we are, the more we learn. And the more we learn, the more we understand the scale of Jewish needs in both the physical and spiritual sense. Together, these last four days, we experienced the extraordinary encounter of the physical and spiritual coming together through our newfound friends Rebecca from Cuba, Becca from Bavaria, Dragica from Bosnia, and Victoria from the former Soviet Union. They represent to us our modern-day Sarah, Rivka, Leah, and Miriam. They are doing precisely what our ancestors did in the desert when they proclaimed, as we proclaimed yesterday when Shoshana had us all stand up and recite in unison, “Naaseh v’nishma—We will do and then we will hear.” These women did precisely that. They went forward, irrespective of the challenges. They went beyond their boundaries, irrespective of the difficulties. These women are like our imahot in the Book of Bereishit, which we are beginning to read this month.
These are the women, our imahot, who helped to determine the destiny of the Jewish people by their actions. These newfound friends brought together the physical and spiritual for us in a profound way. Each had a different story, each went on a different journey, but each story had the same thread running through it. And the beautiful thread was bound up and woven into ribbons that we drew from Miriam’s quilt the other night; that we intertwined in our Lion of Judah pins which we wear so proudly above our hearts, forever remembering that as Jewish women we have additional responsibilities and concerns for the survival of our Jewish people as a whole; for the concept of Jewish continuity in our homes and in our communities; for the concept of Jewish solidarity for our people overseas and in Israel. The single threads that they wove together for us were rich in tradition and rich in memories. They spoke of Shabbat candles, of the mezuzah, the brit milah, the Pesach Seder, the Psalms, Pirkei Avot, and synagogue.
THECJN.CA 47
The more I travel around the world, the more I realize that our Jewish world can be likened to a large wheel. As Ted Comet from Council of Jewish Federations once said, “The outer rim represents the totality of the Jewish people. The spokes of the wheel represent the various Jewish communities throughout the world. But the wheel’s inner component, which rivets us together like no other force, is the State of Israel.
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Delivering a fundraising pitch to the International Lion of Judah Conference.
They reinforced for us what the prime minister spoke about a few minutes ago, that no matter how many Jewish continuity task forces we sit on in our communities, there is just one simple truth, and it was expressed so profoundly by Professor Dresdner of the Jewish Theological Seminary when he said, “No licence has replaced our law. No chandelier has replaced our Shabbat candles. No symphony, the songs. No opera, Yom Kippur. No mansion, the home. No country club, the synagogue. No mistress, a wife. No Jaguar, a child. No banquet, a Passover Seder. No towering metropolis, Yerushalayim. No impulse, the joy of doing a mitzvah. No man, no woman has replaced G-d.” What a profound way of expressing the essence and value of Jewish life, something that we as Jewish women must transmit to ensure the survival of our people, whether we live in Bulgaria, Baltimore, Boston, or Belgium. As women, we also know that being Jewish has always meant being married to two concepts: Israel and Diaspora. It is up to us to find that harmony between these various flags, the countries that represent where we come from, where we live, and where we contribute, and yet eternally linked to our ancestral, historical, and spiritual homeland, Israel. The more I travel around the world, the more I realize that our Jewish world
can be likened to a large wheel. As Ted Comet from Council of Jewish Federations once said, “The outer rim represents the totality of the Jewish people. The spokes of the wheel represent the various Jewish communities throughout the world. But the wheel’s inner component, which rivets us together like no other force, is the State of Israel. And, my friends, there can be no Jewish continuity without solidarity with the State of Israel. Jewish life cannot be sustained for long without Israel at its core.” As women, we know it’s not a matter of either-or, it’s not a matter of our community or Israel, it’s a matter of needing both, because we understand that we really are two pillars of a magnificent structure called the Jewish people. However, today a troubling trend is emerging, where communities worldwide are beginning to look inward. They are becoming insular and isolated, and regarding Israel as just another community where Jews happen to live, instead of the entity, as Prime Minister Netanyahu said, that is intended to preserve the common destiny of the Jewish people. We have only to reflect on what Israel has done for all of us in the last few years alone, and that should send a message to every Jew and every community throughout the Diaspora, and the message is that Israel is watching over us.
IN MEMORY OF
Z"L
JULIA KOSCHITZKY
ֹ עו ׇלם ֹ לשה ְד ׇב ִרים ׇה ַעל ַה ּת ֹו ׇרה,עו ֵמד ַעל ׁ ְש ׁ ׇ ֹ וְ ַעל ׇה ֲע בו ׇדה וְ ַעל ְ ּג ִמילּות ֲח ׇס ִדים The world stands upon three things: the Torah, Service, and Acts of Kindness
Julia KoschitzkyZ"L uniquely personified a total commitment to Torah, Service of G-d, and Acts of Kindness The religious Zionist community and its partners will forever be grateful for her decades of generous patronage, inspired leadership and loyal support
This is Israel. This is the Jewish feminine aspect of Shechinah. This idea formed the basis of the state where every Jew has the right to return. This is why we continue to welcome with open arms 70,000 olim each year. This is why, when it comes to rescuing Jews, there is no such thing as asking what the price tag will be. Our love is unconditional. This has been our raison d’être. This has been our historic role throughout the centuries and will continue to be.
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Nowhere was this more profoundly felt than yesterday on some of our site visits. Those of us who went to Mevaseret Zion, the Absorption Centre, met three olim. We heard part of their heartwrenching and heartwarming sagas of how they came home to Israel. There was a Syrian woman who tried to escape from Syria and was arrested at the Syrian-Turkish border. She was five months pregnant, she was imprisoned, she had to give birth in prison, and her husband was also imprisoned for two years. She spoke of her horrendous, arduous journey to come home. And yet, thank G-d, she is here, she is settled, she has two children, her husband is with her, and she is expecting her first child to be born here in a few months. And we met Beni Harel, one of our modern-day heroes, who is proud to retell the story of Operation Solomon, that brilliantly orchestrated, miraculous airlift that brought 14,500 Ethiopians home on the wings of history in 32 hours. No matter how many times we heard that story, we realize that no other nation in the world could have or would have engaged in such humane acts and carried them out with such sensitivity and compassion. And the young woman from Gondar who was part of that operation told us about her culture shock when she came here to Israel, because for the very first time she saw a white Jew. Today, she has a master’s degree in communications, and today she is helping other Ethiopians acculturate. Then there was another woman, the daughter of a righteous Gentile, from Sarajevo. Her mother had saved Jews during the Holocaust. Our people, our country did not forget her. They granted the entire family honorary citizenship in 1994. She told us about the tremendous risks that our shlichim took. It is we who enabled them, in the words that Shoshana used, to ensure that our shlichim could work around the clock, negotiate with military personnel and governments, our shlichim who risked their lives to make sure that no Jew stands alone. Today, this young woman has become Sarah; seven months ago she converted to Judaism, her husband had a brit milah, her
daughter a bat mitzvah. When some of us went over to pay tribute to her, she could see we were so emotional that we had tears in our eyes, and she said, “Why are you crying, why are you sad? You should be happy. I am here.” What I saw yesterday was really the feminine aspect of G-d’s work. It was about the beautiful poem of Miriam that we read Monday evening: We danced with joy, we danced with grace, we danced on nimble feet, some carrying a child, some baking bread, weeping as they prayed. We danced a Shechinah dance. We danced the night away. Yes, this is the Shechinah, the divine presence of G-d, which exists in Yerushalayim and Israel. For the truest definition of a mother and a home is that where and when no one else will take you in, the mother in that home will always embrace you with open arms and unconditional love. This is Israel. This is the Jewish feminine aspect of Shechinah. This idea formed the basis of the state where every Jew has the right to return. This is why we continue to welcome with open arms 70,000 olim each year. This is why, when it comes to rescuing Jews, there is no such thing as asking what the price tag will be. Our love is unconditional. This has been our raison d’être. This has been our historic role throughout the centuries and will continue to be. As Betty Kane so clearly stated yesterday, and Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated today, we have reached another milestone in our history—the 100th anniversary of Zionism. If blood and sweat and tears made Israel romantic in the past, and that was the compelling force for our fundraising efforts, then let me repeat what was suggested this morning. It will be peace and prosperity and continuity that will make Israel what its founding fathers intended it to become—the magnet for Jews throughout the world. And we have every reason to believe that by the next century, Israel will become for the first time since the destruction of the First Temple, the home of the majority of Jews.… n
In honour of Julia Koschitzky z”l A truly inspirational community leader May her memory be a blessing to all who knew her
United Way Greater Toronto is deeply saddened by the passing of Julia Koschitzky. For decades, her commitment and generosity had an extraordinary impact on our community. We are filled with immense gratitude for her support of United Way and our network of agencies. We extend our sincerest condolences to the Koschitzky family. May Julia’s memory be a blessing.
Congregation Ayin L’Tzion and Zichron Yisroel Congregation mourn the loss of
Julia Koschitzky ז”ל. Julia was an eloquent spokesperson who inspired us all. Her deeds and actions served as guideposts for the entire community and her mentorship was instrumental in developing future community leaders. Julia was deeply committed to making synagogue life accessible to Jews of diverse backgrounds. As a kehila, we were truly fortunate to have benefitted from her support and generosity. We are grateful for the privilege of having been part of her sphere of influence. Julia’s grace, passion and dedication to the Jewish people was a gift to Toronto, Israel and world Jewry. We extend our condolences to her husband Henry, and the entire family.
המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים
Julia Koschitzky in her own words
Yossi Tanuri, Director of the UJA Jerusalem office, on a live video feed.
UJA Rally during the Lebanon War Enlisting in Israel’s struggle for survival … [by] becoming participants rather than passive bystanders
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Y
ossi [Tanuri, director of United Jewish Appeal of Canada in Jerusalem], thank you for being with us at 3 a.m. Israel time. This is a gesture that illustrates the inseparable bond between our community and the people and the land of Israel. We are present here in Toronto in great numbers—an overflow crowd—and there is an outpouring of love, concern, and care that is palpable. There are Canadian and Israeli flags waving side by side, people spontaneously bursting into Hebrew songs … “Hineh Mah Tov uMah Na’im.”
Ezer Mizion Board and Staff extends our condolences to Henry and the entire Koschitzky family on the loss of
Julia Koschitzy z”l.
Julia was a true Eshet Chayil. She was charming, graceful and beautiful in every way. She was an inspiration to all who met her and a role model for this generation and future generations. She cared deeply about family and the Jewish community both in Canada and in Israel. She was admired for her strength and commitment to everything she was involved with. Julie’s passing is a great loss to the entire Toronto Jewish Community. May her memory be a blessing and may her family know no more sorrow.
We remember and honour Julia Koschitzky, z’’l, for the global impact she made through her inspiring leadership, extraordinary philanthropy, and never-ending thoughtfulness. On behalf of the millions of patients at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, who benefited from Julia’s generosity, we remember, honour, and thank her for her outstanding work. Julia was—and will always remain—a pillar of the Jewish world. Her passion for giving back was beyond contagious, she was a true champion, driven by chesed and kindness. We are grateful to represent a part of her indelible legacy, The Board of Directors, and staff of The Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation ThE CaNaDiAn ShAaRe ZeDeK HoSpItAl FoUnDaTiOn SaViNg LiVeS
DeLiVeRiNg LiVeS
ChAnGiNg LiVeS
www.hospitalwithaheart.ca
Henry and me with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
In times like these we are consumed by a deep yearning to assemble together in a spirit of oneness. Unfortunately, we have come together for crises such as these far too many times, and once again we want the citizens of Israel to know how distressed and desperately concerned we are. Above all, we want the citizens of Israel to know they are not alone. We, the Jewish community, are joined this evening by representatives from 120 Jewish organizations, as well as leaders and members from many other faith groups, nationalities, and religions. We are heartened by the unequivocal and consistent support of our Canadian government, as well as our prime minister, Stephen Harper, for their strong stand with Israel in its right to defend itself. We know that Israel is not only fighting its own war but also our war and the war of all free and democratic nations of the world. Yossi, you will be proud of Toronto in the leadership role it is playing. Just a few short hours ago, our leading donors came together to demonstrate their tangible commitments. Once again they have set the standards that will stimulate the giving levels not only in
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North America but throughout the world. Tonight they launched the emergency campaign. Within 45 minutes, over $6 million was raised toward an overall goal of $20 million from our community. Our presence here this evening is our way of enlisting in Israel’s struggle for survival, of becoming participants rather than passive bystanders. Across the Jewish world, there is a call from Israel that is being heard, and we will answer that call in the best way we know how. We want Israel to know that we will do whatever it takes—this is not a country any of us will walk away from. As Daniel Gordis has said, “We will never abandon it; we will visit it, nurture it, and support it to the best of our ability, because Israel is who we are and the place we plan to stay.” We hope and pray for the safe return of our captured soldiers and that this war will come to an end and usher in a new era of peace. Yossi, as we read at the end of the Torah portion last Shabbat, “Chazak, chazak, v’ematz—Be strong, be strong, and we will all be strengthened.” n
The Board of Directors and staff at Ben-Gurion University Canada honours
JULIA KOSCHITZKY z”l for her deep love of, and many contributions to the State of Israel. We remember with reverence the exceptional life she led, the joy she imparted, and her commitment to building community, both in Canada and in Israel, through love and compassion.
Mitchell Oelbaum
Eric Beutel
President BGU Canada
President BGU Canada in Toronto
Mark Mendelson
Shimmy Wenner
CEO BGU Canada
Executive Director BGU Canada in Toronto
Julia Koschitzky, of blessed memory,
was one of the most outstanding and extraordinary leaders ever of Canadian and world Jewry – a true Woman of Valour – learned, committed, engaged, empathetic, and replete with “Ma’asim Tovim” - good deeds - where we are all the beneficiaries of her inspired life and legacy. We have had the pleasure and privilege of working with Julia – and witnessing her inspired leadership – including in the legendary struggles for Soviet Jewry and Ethiopian Jewry; in the advancement of the case and cause of Israel, Jewish peoplehood, and Israel Diaspora relations; and in her incredible and exemplary initiatives. May her memory serve always as a blessing and may we continue to be inspired by that memory and Ma’asim Tovim.
Ariela and Irwin Cotler
The Back Pages Curated by Ed Conroy/Retrontario
Behind the screens of the Jewish history of Citytv
The trajectory of television was altered forever 50 years ago this fall, when Citytv signed on in Toronto on the UHF dial—against some rather stiff competition. But the scrappy approach to programming will be forever remembered, thanks to many names the management didn’t want changed. For this occasion, we got in touch with a few. Interviews are edited and condensed.
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MOSES ZNAIMER Born in Tajikistan and raised in Montreal, the co-founder and former head of Citytv started in broadcasting at the CBC, before he started his private broadcasting journey. Later, he founded ZoomerMedia, and now oversees its TV, radio and magazine, along with the MZTV Museum at the ZoomerPlex. I flipped the “on” switch for Citytv on Sept. 28, 1972, a day that marked the largest television audience recorded in Canadian history up to that time. Alas, the viewership wasn’t tuned into the upstart I co-founded at Channel 79. Most viewers were watching Team Canada’s decisive seventh game victory over the Soviets, topped by Paul Henderson’s epic goal. We premiered at 7:30 p.m. with an unprecedented two-and-a-half-hour news and current affairs broadcast called the City Show and that segued into a fabulous BBC-produced costume drama called Casanova—which I managed to snag from the CBC because they were afraid of the bare breasts that occasionally flashed into view.
PHOTOS: The City Show, Casanova and the goal that defined the night
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JERRY GRAFSTEIN Well-known as a Toronto lawyer and political campaigner, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1984, and stayed there until retirement in 2010. But his business career also found him involved in a wide range of media companies, one of which was like no other. Back in 1971, as I began to specialize in communications law, I became a hot shot at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). And that’s where I met a woman named Phyllis Switzer. I already knew about her husband, Sruki Switzer, who was one of the most innovative communications engineers in the country. Phyllis told me about his scheme to take a small UHF tower at the corner of Yonge and Eglinton streets in Toronto to start a small independent television station and how she’s got Ray Wolfe, a terrific guy, financing the project with $800,000. A brilliant idea, I told her. But it ain’t gonna work. Ray Wolfe is a grocer. And do you think the CRTC is going to allow it after the CBC and all the rest complain? No way. But if the money falls away, and you need my help… you call me. Nine months later, she’s at my law office to tell me I was right: Ray dropped out because he doesn’t think it’ll be approved. I was honoured that she wanted me to be a partner. A TV station also needed someone in public relations and advertising. Ed Cowan, who worked in my building at 111 Richmond St., was one of the hottest and brightest guys in the country. And then we needed a programmer. I thought of an interesting guy I met in Ottawa named Moses Znaimer. I called him up and told him what we were doing, and he came right over. We were the four original partners of Citytv—and it all came together within one hour.
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Ed Cowan, Phyllis Switzer, Moses Znaimer and Jerry Grafstein in the early days of Citytv
MICKI MOORE The most famous Jewish person from Shreveport, Louisana, ended up a celebrity in Toronto thanks to her uninhibited conversations on daytime television. Married since 1990 to Town Shoes founder Leonard Simpson, the couple remain active philanthropists. It was like a whirlpool of creativity there. We were all flying by the seat of our pants, but you could go to bed thinking of some crazy idea and by the morning it would be all fleshed out and on the air. The viewers must have liked it because they kept tuning in—and phoned whenever they had an opinion. If my hair was straight one day and curly the next, we’d get 50 calls demanding that I bring back the old hairdo. I was a mother with two children back when everyone else in the original Citytv building at 99 Queen St. E. was single. It put me in a different league from them, but it all worked out, because the youthful energy paid off everywhere. We did a daily show that taped enough new episodes to fill 52 weeks of the year. And that was with a staff of three! Somehow we managed with just a few people. And something great always happened. To this day, I get these guys who are now in their 60s—maybe even older— telling me they rushed home from high school to watch. They tell me, “Everything I learned about sex, I learned it from you.”
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LIBBY ZNAIMER After breaking into journalism with the Associated Press in Tel Aviv, she went from Minneapolis to New York to Ottawa before settling in Toronto. These days, her role as vice-president of information at ZoomerMedia includes hosting a daily open-line radio talk show, Fight Back. When I was the money specialist at CityPulse in the 1990s, I did a lot of explainer pieces aimed at regular consumers. So one day I was at Queen’s Park covering a demonstration of public servants—I think they were mostly prison guards—and I was shocked because it was starting to turn violent. I saw them spit on a cabinet minister; it was something else. And then in the middle of this melee I see a cop coming straight towards me. I’m sure he’s going to tell me to move or get out of the way, like they usually do. But instead he asks me, “What should I do with my mortgage?” For a while, CityPulse was promoted as being about what happened to you today: your city, your street, your house, your job, your kids. “Everywhere” was the slogan we had to live up to. It also meant letting reporters use their real last names in the days when Italians, Greeks and Jews were instructed to change theirs. News used to be wallpaper, with everything presented at a distance. What we pioneered in Toronto was all about getting in the middle. And sometimes it meant the reporter was the one caught off-guard by a question.
LORNE HONICKMAN A comedian turned news reporter whose on-air work as a legal specialist motivated him to enroll in Osgoode Hall Law School—while continuing to do newscasts on the weekend. Today, he’s a defamation law specialist at Brauti Thorning LLP, while continuing to make media appearances in Toronto and beyond.
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After my failed attempt at stand-up comedy, I was fortunate to get a job at CityPulse in 1981. I remember when Hanukkah was coming up in that first year. They wanted to do some kind of story— why not send out this young reporter of Jewish heritage? But this still meant doing the usual TV news thing where I went to a day school and interviewed a teacher. And the questions were things I already knew the answers to: “Why the candles?” … “Why are we doing this for eight days?” … “So, I understand that a miracle took place …?” The great thing about the newsroom in respect to culture is that, no matter what your background was, you were able to kibitz with everybody. The very essence of City was the mosaic of personalities, the different cultures,
which meant being Jewish there wasn’t something to be self-conscious of. When I started, the station had just been bought by the Waters family, and it wasn’t like anyone imagined the multicultural element would be taken away. Shortly after I arrived there was another new reporter, Jeff Ansell (who died in 2021), and we were the ones who took off many of the Jewish holidays. We were the guys for whom our news director learned how to properly pronounce “Chag sameach,” even if it took him a few years. But differences weren’t something people focused on. That’s why I never would have thought to myself today, “Oh, it’s about time that somebody did an article about what it was like to be Jewish at Citytv.”
JAY LEVINE The creator of one of Canada’s most successful broadcasting exports worked behind the scenes with host Jeanne Beker for its entire run, which included spinning it off into a full-time network. His later projects included developing digital content for the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. I’d been putzing around Canadian TV shows like Bizarre, fetching coffee and bagels for the crew, so I proposed a show to the channel where I always wanted to work: Citytv. It was a pitch for a Siskel & Ebert-style show about theatre. I knew Moses liked theatre—because he was promoting his involvement in Tamara, an experimental 1981 interactive play. And while he liked the review idea, he said they weren’t interested, but would I like to produce the 10 p.m. newscast instead? And that was the Citytv esthetic: Getting someone who knew nothing about news to do the news. It was enough to assure me a few years later that I could make a show about fashion. I saw it mentioned somewhere in 1985 that Paris designers were starting to film their own collections for American buyers who couldn’t attend in-person.
MOSAIC The Jewish Show
Reading this, I figured if we could get our hands on that footage, we could make a show about that. The first four quarterly hours of FashionTelevision with Jeanne Beker became a weekly series, which ran from 1986 to 2012. The show aired in over 70 countries. Citytv wasn’t set up to syndicate anything, but the intense interest in FT made it happen. And we got a lot of letters from guys in jail who loved the show.
Vladimir Handera wasn’t sure what Moses Znaimer meant by asking him to create “a Yiddishkeit show” for Citytv. But he got down to the business of figuring it out anyway. The resulting product was Mosaic, a pioneering type of Jewish program, which was just one of multiple multicultural offerings designed to reflect the emerging diversity of Toronto. It aired for three seasons. Primarily hosted by singer and journalist Malka Marom—then going by just her first name—the episodes focused on topics like Canadian Jewish identity, flashbacks to life in the shtetl, and a panel on “women’s lib and the Jewish woman.” Otherwise, they could always count on an upcoming holiday to structure the episode around. “Mosaic shows improvement after understandably slow start,” was the headline on a conspicuously unbylined review in The CJN’s issue dated Feb. 16, 1973, which noted how “the camera occasionally still pans desperately searching for the right face.” The non-Jewish producer-director of Mosaic went on to produce (and later host) Citytv’s 1970s disco show, Boogie. Later, he mounted a Hebrew series called Shalom on multilingual startup Channel 47, which only lasted one season due to a lack of sponsor support. (Vladimir Handera died in 2015.)
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JOEL GOLDBERG Born in Cleveland, his first on-camera break led to credits that included executive producer of Citytv’s dance party show Electric Circus, and directing hip-hop videos for Maestro Fresh Wes. Since then, his productions have included Your All Time Classic Hit Parade series on VisionTV. J. Gold was the name I used on Channel 47 in Toronto, as the host of music video shows which had a following because they focused on British new wave stuff. My goal however was to get to Citytv and I sent in my resumé along with some tapes. I then got a call from Moses Znaimer, who had one question— why wasn’t I using my real name on TV? It was the producers’ idea, I explained, as they hinted I had to do it to get the job. Moses responded by telling me, “I’m going to give you your name back!” The job was associate producer of Toronto Rocks, the Citytv music video show I’d been competing with. And then I was promoted to producer—in my 20s! We were the pulse of local pop culture in the mid-’80s—the program kids would race home from school to watch. The crew putting together the show was equally youthful. You could feel the energy and adrenaline and creativity. I’d grab a camera in the morning, shoot something during the day and have it on the air that afternoon. We were given direction by Moses—but once you understood his vision, you were given absolute freedom to carry things out in wonderful ways. And he demanded that we all do it under our real names.
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IVAN REITMAN The legendary Hollywood director, who died at age 75 on Feb. 12, 2022, was broke and needed a job when he became an early employee of Citytv. Watch our conversation about the early years of his career at thecjn.ca/ivan. I don’t know how many other people got fired from Citytv, but it certainly happened to me, it was just six months after I started working there. And it was good for me—because then I could get on with the rest of my career. Greed was a terrific show, it was live, it was 90 minutes every Saturday night. We had a budget of about $500, and two cameras. It was a combination of a bar mitzvah band, Joey Bishop’s burlesque performer cousin Rummy, who was the host. We did stunts and skits and it was just an amazing experience.
The other show that I did was Sweet City Women, it was on at 4 o’clock every single day. We had a lot of interesting segments: one was called “Losing It,” about losing weight, with a 300 lb. host, Monica Parker. And there was one called “All About Men.” I think the most important part of that show was asking men about their sex lives. I thought it was a terrific show but... nobody watched! Maybe that’s why I got fired. n
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