Friday, March 7
ISRAELI ARTIST AT UQAM
An exhibition of the works of Paris-based Israeli artist Esther Shalev-Gerz opens at the Galerie de l’UQAM Pavillon Judith Jasmin, Room J-R120, and runs until April 12. Hours are Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Born in Vilnius, Shalev-Gerz moved to Israel with her family in 1957 and she studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art. Entitled La mémoire en mouvement, this is the artist’s first travelling solo show in Canada. It’s being organized by the Kamloops Art Gallery in British Columbia.
Shalev-Gerz’s installations explore such themes as the nature of democracy, cultural memory and the politics of the public space – something very current in Quebec. Among her more striking works, which incorporate video footage, is D’eux (2009), an implied dialogue between the French philosopher Jacques Rancière and young Lebanese philosopher Rola Younes. Shalev-Gerz is one of six finalists selected to design the planned National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa. www.galerie.uqam.ca.
Tuesday, March 11
ON POPE PIUS XII
Prof. Robert Ventresca of the University of Western Ontario speaks about his biography Pope Pius XII, Judaism and the Jews at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom at 7 p.m. Rosie, 514-937-3575, ext. 213.
Wednesday, March 12
PURIM PARTY
A costume Purim party will be held at the Creative Social Centre at The Chevra synagogue at 1 p.m. Hamantashen and doughnuts to nosh.
The centre also offers a Pilates exercise class given by Tamara Winston. The class is aimed at alleviating back and knee pain, and instruction is tailored to the participant’s needs. 514-488-0907.
WARTIME MONTREAL
Patricia Burns reads from her latest book Life on the Home Front: Montreal 1939-1945 at a Canada Council for the Arts-sponsored wine reception at the Jewish Public Library at 5:30 p.m. World War II was a time of social change in Montreal, with labour unrest and women entering the work force. Burns will be introduced by Simon Dardick, co-publisher of Véhicule Press. Registration, 514-345-6416.
ALL ABOUT ESTHER
In preparation for Purim, Rabbi Lisa Grushcow looks at its heroine, the biblical Esther – “beauty contestant turned queen” – at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom at 10:30 a.m. The discussion continues on March 19. Rosie, 514-937-3575, ext. 213.
Thursday, March 13
PATIENT SAFETY
A presentation on patient safety will be made at the Côte St. Luc Men’s Club meeting at the Côte St. Luc Aquatic and Community Centre at 10 a.m. It’s part of a touring program sponsored by the Jewish General Hospital to educate the public about their rights and responsibilities in the health care system and is aimed at reducing medical errors and other “adverse events.”
…Et Cetera…
CLIMBING KILIMANJARO
Luis Monton, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Jewish General Hospital, and his daughter Olivia Monton are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, this summer and are hoping to raise $200,000 for the Donald Berman Yaldei Development Centre while doing it. They are inviting others to find sponsors and join them on the trek up the almost 20,000-foot peak from Aug. 6-22. They chose Yaldei, Olivia explained, because they admire the “small, grassroots organization… [where] we know that we will see the results of the money we raise, unlike larger organizations where it may get lost in the bureaucracy.” Yaldei provides therapy and support to children with autism and other developmental challenges. For more information, visit www.hikeforhope2014.com.
FOR CANCER RESEARCH
The Quebec-Clinical Research Organization in Cancer(Q-CROC) has been awarded $9.2 million by the Quebec government over four years, which is to be matched by the pharmaceutical industry and other private enterprises. Q-CROC is a non-profit organization founded by Gerald Batist of the Jewish General Hospital’s Lady Davis Institute and Luc Bélanger of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec. The $18.4 million is to be used for the development of personalized medicine, that is, treatment tailored to the patient’s genetic profile.
MCGILL PEACE PROGRAM
After several years, McGill University expects to receive a group of students from the Middle East for its peace and civil society building program. Eight students from Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan are to arrive in July to begin a two-year master’s degree in social work program. The first year is spent studying at McGill and doing field work together and in the second, they return to their homelands to put into practice their new skills at community centres the program has established in disadvantaged neighbourhoods over the past two decades.
More than 40 candidates made the final round of interviews.
ICAN McGill (the International Community Action Network) has been trying for two years to raise the money for the full fellowships the students receive, and is still about $200,000 short, said ICAN founder and director Jim Torczyner. Keeping the program going has been a struggle, since ICAN’s main source of revenue, the Canadian International Development Agency, ended its funding at the end of 2012.
DRAMA THERAPY
Chabad Lifeline introduces a drama therapy workshop for anyone affected by addictions on Thursdays at 3 p.m. at its centre, 4615 Côte Ste. Catherine Rd. Participants can try out new behaviours in facing fears. Registration, Ruth Weinberger, 514-738-7700.
UP NORTH
The House of Israel Synagogue in Ste-Agathe holds a Purim pajama party for children 12 and under on March 15 at 8:15 p.m. Planned are a Megillah reading, magic show, face painting and refreshments. The grand prize is a kiddie car.
ISRAELI DOC
The documentary Israel: A Home Movie by Eliav Lilti is on at Cinéma du Parc until March 13. Using amateur home movie footage taken from the early years of the state until the late 1970s, the film casts a critical eye on the development of Israel. According to critics, the film’s power lies in its ability to both evoke nostalgia and profound political unease. The 2014 Oscar-nominated, Montreal-made documentary short The Lady in Number 6 also continues until March 6.
HELPING SURVIVORS
Social worker Myra Giberovitch has published Recovering From Genocidal Trauma: An Information and Practical Guide for Working with Holocaust Survivors (University of Toronto Press). It draws on her 25 years of working with survivors, including at the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, and her experience as a daughter of Auschwitz survivors.