Some suprising guests for Israeli Independence Day

By mmoncaster May 11, 2011

Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) was celebrated with flair in Vancouver, thanks in large part to an Israeli band called Mozaica. The group performed songs in Hebrew and kept the crowd moving. In addition, the night had all the fixings of an Independence Day ceremony; speeches, a moment of silence, and Hatikva, Israel’s national anthem….

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A Jewish pioneer out west

By mmoncaster April 5, 2011

Vancouver turns 125 tomorrow, as April 6 marks the anniversary of the city’s incorporation. And way back in 1886, as Canada’s first transcontinental railroad tracks were laid in the area, a Jewish businessman from Germany arrived as well. Originally settling in Victoria, British Columbia, David Oppenheimer and his brothers used the province capital as headquarters…

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When it rains, it pours

By mmoncaster February 7, 2011

It’s been a fairly slow start to 2011 for Vancouver Hillel, at least from my perspective. No George Galloway or UBC student groups to stir things up. Perhaps the weather is to blame. Winter in the PNW is infamously drab, and the overcast skies have a tendency to dampen even the brightest spirits. But as…

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George Galloway Causes a Stir…Again

By mmoncaster November 23, 2010

George Galloway spoke in Vancouver tonight, and as usual, he brought a whole bunch of controversy with him. The Vancouver event was organized by the StopWar coalition, a group that originally formed to oppose the U.S.-led Iraq invasion. Under this guise, they attracted the support of a number of prominent people in the Vancouver area….

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Location, Location, Location

By mmoncaster October 19, 2010

It was a festive weekend for Vancouver Hillel as the University of British Columbia hosted its Inaugural Grand Opening of the newly built Diamond Foundation Centre for Jewish Campus Life. It was a loaded all-day affair, officially starting at 10 in the morning and ending at 5 in the evening. Unfortunately, due to a high…

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The Forgotten Corner

By mmoncaster September 10, 2010

Looking at a map of the United States, one notices a clustering of Jewish populations at the corners. The well-known nucleus is New York City. But Jewish settlement extends throughout the Northeast, even creeping north of the border, to Toronto and Montreal. In South Florida, Miami and the beaches and cities that surround it host…

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