‘Henteleff speaks about  the importance of  eradicating racism”, Shenkarow speaks of need to encourage volunteers

The Kavod Evening  on May 26, 2010 at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue honoured and celebrated many  volunteers and leaders of Winnipeg’s Jewish community.

The following were recipients of the awards:

Yude Henteleff, Sol Kanee Distinguished Community Barry Shenkarow
Barry Shenkarow, Max and Mollie Shore Memorial Award Service Medal
Lindsay Sawyer Fay, Harry Silverberg Leadership Development Award
Richard Buchwald, Max Nathanson Young Leadership Award
Hedva Yurman.  Aleph Bet Child Life Enrichment Program
Bob brown, B’nai Brith Jewish Community Camp
Sharon Chisvin, Camp Massad
Al  Benarroch, Gray Academy of Jewish Education
Sheila Spigelman, Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre
Pam Wener, Jewish Child and Family Service
Sharon Allentuck, Jewish Federation of Winnipeg
Belle Millo, Jewish Heritage Centre
David Berkowits, Rady Jewish Community Centre
Elaine Paul, Shalom Residences
Michal Lavy, Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Teaching Excellence

YUDE   HENTELEFF'S REMARKS

Yude Henteleff, , C.M., Q.C., LL.D. (Hon .) , the recipient of the Sol Kanee 2010 Distinguished Community Service Award  is   a prominent lawyer and human rights advocate who has advocated, over the past 40 years, on behalf of vulnerable people, including special needs children and the disabled, in Canada, Bolivia, Colombia, Thailand, South Africa, Kyrgyzstan and Israel.

Henteleff said, “It is approximately 70 years ago, when I was about 12 years of age that I joined the YMHA (Young Men's Hebrew Association) which at that time was located on Albert Street. I was living on the family farm out in St. Vital… At the "Y", I was invited to join a club known as "The Triple E's" and it was the beginning of my Jewish community involvement.”

He spoke about the importance of mentorship.

“Mentorship was an intrinsic part of the Jewish community…They [mentors] honed my advocacy to achieve equality and social justice and the betterment of all members of the community. These were extraordinary people, many of whom I am sure will be remembered by this audience. People who gave me so much of their time and guidance, such as David Slater, Dr.Norman Corne, Mossy Lehman, Larry Remis, Bill Goldberg, Abe Simkin, Archie Micay, Harry Walsh, Sam Freedman, Rabbi Arthur Chiel, Sam Sheps, Saul Cherniack, Irwin Dorfman, Mark Shinbane and, yes, Sol Kanee. Many of you may not be aware of this, but before the late Harold Buchwald and I formed our law firm, I was associated with the legal firm known as Shinbane, Dorfman, Kanee and Henteleff.”

Henteleff also spoke of his recent visit to Germany and Poland under the auspices of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and in Poland, in particular, of the Wiesenthal Institute. The latter trip included visits to the concentration camps of Auschwitz, Berkenow, Majdanek and the Palazow.

As Henteleff said, “On our trip we met with an official from the Polish Government. He was asked what the rate of anti-Semitism was in Poland and he said rather proudly: "no different than many other countries in Europe". When asked, "there are only a few thousand Jews left of the millions who once lived in Poland, what could possibly be the reason for such anti-Semitism?" He just shrugged his shoulders.”

Hentelff  also spoke of  his concerns of ongoing anti-Semitism.

“From time to time there has emerged the belief by Jews that from a particular point forward, never again; but it was a belief that was soon dispelled.”
 
“We know full well, in chilling detail, whatever commitments to human rights were in
place, as far as Jews were concerned, they were meaningless - an empty phrase. ..Even when the horror beyond understanding of the Holocaust resulted in some suspension of what has been a consistent pattern of anti-Semitism over the centuries, that suspension has lasted a very brief time. Similarly, the euphoria and admiration that the State of Israel basked in after its establishment also has been of short duration. Many of the recent and continuing attacks on the State of Israel are clearly anti-Semitic acts.”

Henteleff spoke of the need to eradicate racism and of the importance of the Canadian Human Rights Museum.

“The general community must became aware of the fact that anti-Semitism and all other
acts of racism, whether it is against Indigenous Peoples or Canadians of different colour or religion or the like, is a cancer that has no limits and, if its practice is not stamped out, it will ultimately destroy civil society.”

“In Majdanek, I saw the piles of the human ashes, left over from the crematorium…murdered. We betray the memories of the millions who died only because they were Jews or Romans or gays or lesbians, the mentally challenged and disabled, if we don't forthrightly and effectively deal with those who continue to further the racism and discrimination that ultimately led to such madness.

“That is why, in my view, the establishment of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg is of such critical importance. Despite the establishment of the United Nations and the enactment of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, we did not stop what happened in Kosovo, Rwanda, Somalia, and the Congo where people were murdered in the millions because of their ethnicity, religion or colour. The Covenant on the Rights of Children is meaningless when millions of children continue to live in poverty.”

Henteleff  referred to the planned museum, as “ a place where thousands of children from Canada and elsewhere will come each year to understand what human rights is all about and why it must become part of who and what they are. They are our hope. “

BARRY  SHENKAROW’S REMARKS

Barry Shenkarow, who received the Max and Mollie Shore Memorial Award Service Medal, spoke of the need to increase the number of volunteers in the community.

“We especially need to motivate the young and new members of our community to  become involved.

“Through the great efforts of the [Jewish Federation] our population has grown with immigration from South America and from Israel, but these new Winnipeggers must become involved and committed to the Winnipeg Jewish Community way of life. As we become a more secular community, it is only through involvement in Jewish cultural life that we learn about the issues confronting the Jewish community.”

Shenkarow also spoke of the “relatively new” and “very expensive” cost of providing security to community institutions, such as the Campus.  This means that money that would “otherwise be spent on Jewish education and Jewish cultural programming is now being diverted to security.”

 As he said, “Only by being involved will we educate ourselves and understand the needs of the community and only with this understanding and involvement will we be able, going forward, to raise the required money to perpetuate our Jewish culture as we know it.”

Shenkarow called on everyone in the community to  “think about your individual contribution” and “take it upon yourself to try and motivate one person to become more active in  the Jewish community…Our future depends on it.”

Shenkarow thanked his family members , Ross, Matthew, Mira, Carrie and Rena, all of whom are active in the  community in a variety of different organizations.

YOUNG LEADERSHIP AWARDS

 The Max Nathanson Young Leadership Award was given to Richard Buchwald, who currently serves on the Board of the Rady J.C.C., canvasses for the CJA and is a past board member of B’nai Brith Jewish Community Camp, past young adult division member of the Canadian Friends of Hebrew University.

Buchwald injected some humour into the evening by thanking his good friend Steven Kroft, who introduced him, for “saying the lines just the way I wrote them.”

He also noted that “My mother [Dee Buchwald] would mention to me that /I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my mother.”

Lindsay Sawyer Fay, a financial solutions specialist with Sawyer Financial, received the Harry Silverberg Leadership Development Award. Sawyer has been an active volunteer in the community since 2005 after returning from a life-changing trip on Birthright. She currently serves as vice-chair of the Jewish Federation’s J-PEG executive board and the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre board, is a former Super Week co-chair and graduated from both Club Fed and the Boardwalking leadership development programs. She said that she was honoured to be chosen for this award and feels she gets back more than she gives from her volunteer work.