This message has 1,196 words and will take about 5 minutes to read.
 This has been a very difficult week, and we are still processing the tragedy in Pittsburgh. But one thing is clear: our community and communities across North America are showing how resilient we are.
Nearly 1,000 community members and friends gathered together on Sunday at the JCC to mourn the victims, to show our support for their families and community, and to comfort each other. Jewish communities across North America did the same.
 Hundreds of us filled the Wosk Auditorium to capacity for a deeply moving program organized by the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver, which included representation from congregational rabbis from across our community, and at which our board chair, Karen James, spoke. Hundreds more filled the JCC Atrium for what became an impromptu vigil, and while they waited for rabbis and speakers to address their group, a woman began to sing and others added their voices until the space was filled with song. They started with Am Israel Chai - The People of Israel Live.
Perhaps ironically, it is in times of sadness that we see most clearly just how resilient we are. Being together and feeling connected was what we needed in that moment on Sunday, and it is how we will move forward. We are reminded of the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: “Let us show the world what it is to stand together and respect one another. Never stand still. Go out there, continue the Jewish journey, and be a blessing to the Jewish people, and to the world.”
As your Jewish Federation, we are here to help you do just that. We are helping build connections by ensuring everyone can participate in Jewish community life. Our work through the Annual Campaign is focused on removing the barriers people face, so that all of us can fully participate - because that is what keeps us strong today and into the future. Now more than ever, we feel the importance of being part of a Jewish community that is as strong, as vibrant and as resilient as it can possibly be.
 Attending the Solidarity Shabbat services being held at synagogues and places of worship across our community and throughout North America is one step we encourage you to take. The more of us who show up for Shabbat, the more powerfully we will feel the strength of community.
For many of us it will be the first time since the tragedy in Pittsburgh that we will enter a synagogue. That act, which we have done so many times throughout our lives, will feel very different. It may feel more significant and more important. It will certainly feel more emotionally charged.
Whether you have come to a synagogue, a community centre, a school or any other Jewish institution this week, we recognize that you may have questions about community security.
Jewish Federation has long taken a proactive, preventative approach to community security, which is just one of the ways we keep our community strong. For more than a decade we have raised funds for initiatives such as security grant programs that supported physical security arrangements and upgrades, like locking systems and cameras, and facilitated ongoing security training for staff and volunteers. Between 2008 and 2014, over $400,000 was allocated to 29 different organizations within the Jewish community, for security. In 2015 we established our Community Security Advisory Committee, chaired by Bernard Pinsky, whose work is focused on assessing the risks facing community institutions and proposing strategies for a comprehensive approach to security and safety that will serve our community for the long term. In 2016 we made community security a focus of the Federation Annual Campaign, and in 2017 we hired a full-time director of community security. Earlier this year we launched the Greater Vancouver Jewish Community Security Volunteer Team, which is already active and assisting at community events. To learn more about our work in this area, click here and here.
It has been heartening to see over the past week the many messages of support from individuals, other faith-based and ethno-cultural communities, and elected officials. Prime Minster Trudeau, Premier Horgan and Prime Minister Netanyahu all issued statements of support. Leader of the Official Opposition Andrew Wilkinson and several members of the BC Liberal Caucus visited the JCC today to express their support. Throughout the week we have tweeted about many such messages and gestures.
 The Honourable Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Coquitlam-Maillardville - who is also a community member - recited the Mourner’s Kaddish on the floor of the BC legislature and spoke at the memorial on Sunday. The Honourable Bruce Ralston, Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology, and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Surrey-Whalley; Ravi Kahlon, Parliamentary Secretary for Sport and Multiculturalism, and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Delta North; George Chow, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Fraserview; Teresa Wat, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Richmond North Centre; Michael Lee, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Langara; Suzanne Anton, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of British Columbia; Vancouver Police Department Deputy Chief Constable Howard Chow; and Irene Lanzinger, president of the BC Federation of Labour all attended the memorial. Many more will join us for the Solidarity Shabbat.
We have received questions from a number of people asking how they can take action now, so here are a few suggestions:
Our community is vibrant and strong, and it takes each one of us to make it so. We ask you now to recommit yourself to community. Use this Solidarity Shabbat as an opportunity to become more involved in the future.
Tonight, as the shiva week comes to a close and we welcome Shabbat, we will take the opportunity once again to remember the eleven people who were killed in Pittsburgh: Joyce Fienberg z”l, Richard Gottfried z”l, Rose Mallinger z”l, Jerry Rabinowitz z”l, Cecil Rosenthal z”l, David Rosenthal z”l, Bernice Simon z”l, Sylvan Simon z”l, Daniel Stein z”l, Melvin Wax z”l, Irving Younger z”l. May their memories be for a blessing.
In just a few weeks Hanukkah will be upon us. The days will be dark and the nights will come earlier, and once again we will gather together and light the candles. As we add a candle each night, the light will continue to grow, reminding us of all we have survived together and renewing our hope and joy.
This is our time to be that light - each one of us building on the light those around us bring. Because light will always drive out darkness. And love will always be stronger than hate.
Shabbat Shalom.
Ezra S. Shanken
CEO,
Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver |
.