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May 8, 2026 | 21 Iyar 5786 | Candle lighting at 8:22 p.m.
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This message has approximately 1,001 words and will take about 3.5 minutes to read.
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| This Shabbat, I am struck by the depth of responsibility that binds our community together, and by the leadership, past and present, that continues to shape our path forward.
Before I continue, I want to pause to acknowledge a loss felt deeply across our Federation family. It is with great sadness that we note the passing of our Past President, Daniel Pekarsky z”l, who served as the second President of our Federation from 1989 to 1991.
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| Dan helped lay the foundation of the community we steward today, at a time when Federation itself was still taking shape. He led with thoughtfulness, quiet responsibility, and a deep love for Jewish community, mentoring future leaders and staying focused on what we were building together. Our hearts are with his beloved wife, Trudy, and with his children and family. May his memory be for a blessing. |
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| Honouring leadership also means coming together as a community to reflect, renew, and look ahead. |
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Annual General Meeting
Please mark your calendar for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday, June 22. The AGM is an important opportunity to come together as a community, to reflect on the past year, look to the work ahead, and affirm our shared responsibility for Jewish life in our region. |
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| As part of the AGM, we will also present this year’s Young Leadership Awards, which recognize high school students, university students, and young adults who are already demonstrating an exceptional commitment to our community. You are welcome to nominate as many remarkable individuals as you wish. Nominations are open until Thursday, May 22, and we encourage you to help us celebrate and uplift those who are already helping shape our collective future. Submit your nomination here.
Strengthening Leadership from Within
This focus on leadership, past, present, and future, extends to our own organization as well. I am proud of how our Federation continues to grow, not only in the breadth of our work and impact, but in the leadership required to sustain and strengthen it.
In that spirit, I am very pleased to announce the following promotions, which reflect both the expanding needs of our organization and the exceptional leadership within our team.
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These appointments position us well for the work ahead: Gayle Morris as Interim Chief Development Officer; Natalie Karsyente as Executive Director, Development Strategy and Systems; Sarah Mackenzie as Associate Director, Community Engagement; and Yamila Chikiar as Associate Director, Communications and Marketing.
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| Each of these leaders has played a critical role in advancing our mission and positioning our Federation for continued growth and impact. Please join me in extending a heartfelt mazel tov to them on this well‑deserved recognition.
Growing Jewish Life Close to Home
Alongside this work, our community continues to nurture Jewish life through ongoing learning, training, and professional development. This week, PJ Library professionals Katia Fermon and Elvira Molochkovetski, who serves the Victoria community, joined colleagues from across North America at the PJ Library Conference, coming together for learning, connection, and shared purpose.
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| Rooted in relationship‑building and Jewish pride, the conference centred on peer‑led learning, open conversations about challenges, successes, and creative approaches to strengthening Jewish family life. We are especially proud that Katia had the opportunity to share her personal journey of becoming a PJ professional during a moving storytelling session. |
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We look forward to deepening this partnership later this month at our Community Engagement Summit, when we welcome a visit from another PJ officer.
Community Impact in Israel
All of this, our leadership, our community, and our shared responsibility, finds its deepest meaning in how we show up when it matters most. Last August, a missile launched from Lebanon struck the hydrotherapy center at the Mevo’ot HaHermon Rehabilitation and Therapy Hub, causing severe damage to this vital regional facility. Serving people with disabilities, injured individuals, and trauma survivors across the Eastern Galilee, the center is a cornerstone of both physical and emotional rehabilitation. |
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| This week, it reopened, restored as a state‑of‑the‑art, trauma‑sensitive facility and once again a place of healing and care. Through our emergency campaign, our community allocated $218,603 (CAD) toward essential equipment, helping to ensure that recovery, dignity, and support is available when needed most. |
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Partners on the Ground
The impact of the war on daily life in the region this year has been profound and cannot be overstated. For weeks, schools were closed, families were displaced, and entire communities lived under constant security restrictions. Routines disappeared, stability was shaken, and uncertainty became part of everyday life.
In this reality, our partner agencies on the ground became lifelines.
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| With children unable to attend school for extended periods, families were left without familiar structures or support. Organizations such as ELEM, Unistream, Krembo Wings, Kiryat Shmona Community Centers, The Equalizer, and others stepped in to meet people wherever they were, in shelters, online, and through home visits when possible. |
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| Their presence helped reduce isolation, address trauma, and maintain continuity at a time when so much felt broken, especially for children, youth, seniors, and the most vulnerable.
Another example of this adaptive, needs‑driven response is Habayta (Returning to the Galilee). Recognizing the toll prolonged disruption was taking on high school students, they created a network of 80 volunteers who are now providing online tutoring to more than 100 students preparing for final exams. Even under fire, they are helping young people hold on to focus, possibility, and hope.
Frontline Communities and Moments of Respite |
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| That same resilience was visible in Kfar Yuval, a moshav located under two kilometres of the border with Lebanon, in what Israel refers to as “The Confrontation Line”.
After a long evacuation during the war, residents returned home only to find themselves once again living in a turbulent security reality.
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| With the support of our Federation, several hundred members of the moshav spent three days together away from rockets and sirens, commemorating Yom HaZikaron and celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut as a community. For families who have endured prolonged disruption and fear, these shared moments of safety, remembrance, and togetherness carry lasting emotional weight.
This is what responsibility looks like in practice, not only responding to need, but helping create moments of safety, dignity, and connection when they are most needed.
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Ezra S. Shanken
CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver |
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| Honour Dr. Jonathan Leipsic, an evening of music and community. Register here. |
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| Explore Jewish history in BC through JMABC walking tours. Book a tour. |
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| 2025 toll of Diaspora Jews killed in antisemitic attacks was the highest in three decades.
TAU study finds shift in types of anti-Jewish events, with violence becoming the norm; Australia, Canada see highest yearly numbers of antisemitic incidents ever. Read more here.
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| In this episode, Dan is joined by Jesse Brown, founder, editor, and publisher of Canadaland, to discuss how Jewish life in Canada has changed since October 7. Drawing on months of reporting for his six-part investigative series What Is Happening Here, Jesse explains why antisemitism in Canada feels more targeted, more tolerated, and more systemic than many outsiders understand. |
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