February 22, 2019 | 17 Adar I 5779

Thanks to a generous grant, Calgary Jewish Federation's Karina Szulc participated in a Canada-Israel Inclusion Mission. Over the course of 10 days, Karina had the opportunity to visit our Partnership2Gether region of Etzba Hagalil and saw first-hand many of the projects that we support. In particular, she was at Kibbutz Machanayim, where they run an inclusive day program called Beit Yahad, which also provides housing for adults with disabilities. For information about Federation's inclusion work in Calgary, click here or email Karina.

On February 10, over 150 people from the Chinese and Jewish communities attended a very special cross-cultural event, Shanghai: A Refuge During the Holocaust. Honoured speakers included Deputy Consul General ZhenTing Gao, The Honourable Joe Ceci, MLA Karen McPherson, City Councillor Sean Chu, and MLA Richard Gotfried – who was able to bring a personal, family connection to the exhibit. The highlight of the program was a special choir performance in Mandarin, Hebrew, and English by children from The Calgary Jewish Academy and Colonel Irvine School. The formal program held at the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre was followed by a delicious nosh of both Chinese and Jewish food and a tour of the excellent exhibit. Click here for exhibit details.

Join Hillel Calgary and the University of Calgary for a not-so-traditional text study: Finding Our Queer Jewish Ancestors on Monday, March 11 from 3:00 to 4:00pm at the Women's Resource Centre Library (MSC 482). Noam Sienna will engage everyone in a fun Havruta-style text study (a traditional rabbinic approach to learning), with primary sources including selected queer Jewish texts from the first century up to 1969. All are welcome and no previous knowledge or experience is necessary.

After nearly eight years of hard work and determination, Israel is making history! The first Israeli spacecraft, Beresheet (beginning), has been launched and is on its eight-week journey to the moon. Upon landing, Israel will become the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the moon, on par with superpowers USSR, USA, and China. Check it all out here as we follow #IsraelToTheMoon!