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Winnipeg Free Press
21-07-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Still helping Jewish community thrive at 25
Before immigrating to Winnipeg from Turkey in 2017, Daniel Kazado had never heard of the city. 'We just wanted to find a secure place where we could find work and raise our family,' Kazado, 48, said. Daniel and his wife, Lora Kazado, never experienced antisemitism directly in Turkey. But being Jewish in that country meant being wary. 'It was like living in a glass bowl, feeling exposed,' he said. 'You were always cautious.' Wanting to live somewhere more secure, they decided to move to Canada. At first, they thought about Toronto or Vancouver — both seemed to be good locations for the couple and their two children. Then, they heard about GrowWinnipeg, a program offered by the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. The program, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, invites Jews in other countries to consider immigrating to the province. The Kazados applied and made a week-long visit. 'The people here were very welcoming,' Daniel Kazado of how the family felt embraced by the Jewish community. 'It was clear this would be a great place to live and raise our children.' Kazado is a mechanical engineer who owns his own business, and teaches at Red River College Polytechnic and the University of Manitoba. 'We feel at home here,' he said. 'The people here were very welcoming. It was clear this would be a great place to live and raise our children.'– Daniel Kazado The Kazados are among the more than 6,800 Jews who have come to Manitoba through GrowWinnipeg since 2000. They are from places such as Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine and Uruguay. GrowWinnipeg got its unofficial start in 1997, when representatives from the federation and the provincial government made an exploratory mission to Argentina. The visit was in the wake of the 1994 terrorist attack on the Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and injured more than 300. 'Many Jews in Argentina didn't feel safe,' said Evelyn Hecht, who went on that mission and met many Argentinian Jews who wanted to emigrate to Canada. The federation created GrowWinnipeg three years later, and Hecht was its first director. Through the program, potential immigrants are invited to visit Winnipeg for a week at their own expense. During that visit, they are met by volunteers who help them learn about the Jewish community and city while helping them with networking and providing job advice. Hecht, who retired in 2006, said the visits are key to the program's success. 'We want them to come and see the city with their own eyes,' she said. After the visit, those who would like to make Winnipeg home can apply to the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program, through which people who demonstrate the potential to contribute to the economy seek permanent residency in Canada. Their application is accompanied by a letter of recommendation from GrowWinnipeg. Hecht said the success of the program goes beyond numbers. 'They bring excitement, energy and a love of things Jewish,' she said of their positive impact. 'They have rejuvenated the local Jewish community.' Bob Freedman was also on those early missions. It was supported by members of the Jewish community who wanted to find ways to reverse the declining Jewish population in Winnipeg, he said. 'We'd be in a sad situation' if not for GrowWinnipeg, Freedman said. 'I think we've developed a pretty good reputation for attracting newcomers. It turned out to be a successful initiative.' 'They provide emotional, spiritual and other supports, job connections, guide the newcomers through everything, providing them with whatever tools they need to be successful.'– Dalia Szpiro Dalia Szpiro is one of those early newcomers, arriving here from Uruguay in 2002 with her husband and two small children. She is the director of GrowWinnipeg, which is the only program of its kind in Canada that works in a close partnership with a provincial government to bring immigrants to the country. 'As young professionals, we didn't see much of a future in Uruguay,' she said. 'The Jewish community here was very welcoming.' Szpiro is passing that sense of welcome on to others, working with about 250 volunteers who welcome, host and help the potential immigrants during their week-long visits. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. 'It's a community effort,' she said, adding the support of the community is. 'They provide emotional, spiritual and other supports, job connections, guide the newcomers through everything, providing them with whatever tools they need to be successful,' Szpiro said. Federation CEO Jeff Lieberman said the influx of newcomers has helped stabilize the Jewish population in the city, which decreased from about 16,000 in 2000 to 13,690 in 2011. It is now about 14,000, the 2021 census determined. 'It's amazing what we have accomplished as a community,' Lieberman said of the impact of GrowWinnipeg. 'The newcomers are great people, educated, able to get jobs, and starting a new life in Winnipeg.' faith@ The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER John LonghurstFaith reporter John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
04-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Piece of Passover tradition lost as U.S.-made Manischewitz wine removed from liquor stores: rabbi
Social Sharing A popular brand of kosher wine that has become a staple at Passover will be missing from the Seder tables of many Manitoba families this year, with the U.S.-made Manischewitz pulled from shelves in Manitoba's liquor stores in response to the ongoing trade war. Manitoba removed American-made alcohol from the shelves of its provincially run Liquor Marts in early March, after the first round of tariffs imposed by the U.S. administration on some imported Canadian goods. That included Manischewitz kosher wine, a New York state-made beverage that has become a staple in Jewish religious celebrations passed from one generation to the next, said Allan Finkel, rabbi at Winnipeg's Temple Shalom. "It's really sweet, syrupy — it's like cough syrup, but it's still … very much tied to the Passover Seder experience," Finkel said, referring to the ceremonial dinner that marks the start of Passover. Not having it this year will be "a loss of a piece of tradition," he said. Passover, which begins on April 12 this year, is an eight-day celebration that marks the liberation of the Jews from slavery and their exodus from ancient Egypt. During Passover Seder, four cups of wine are drunk at different stages during the meal. Request to bring Manischewitz back Ahead of Passover, Jeff Lieberman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, wrote to the province requesting an exemption to bring Manischewitz back to Liquor Marts, given its importance to the Jewish community. "Time is running short," he said Thursday. "I'm hoping that the wine will be back, certainly with enough time for people to buy it." Others said they hope so too. Wine is "one of the most important" parts of the Passover meal, said Winnipegger Laura Marjovsky. "It's a staple of the Seder, and it should be available," said Shayla Fink, another Winnipeg resident. But speaking to reporters about U.S. tariffs on Thursday, Premier Wab Kinew said American alcohol, including Manischewitz, will stay off Manitoba's shelves. "That's gotten attention south of the border," the premier said. He also described the action as an "act of solidarity" with other provinces that have taken similar measures. "I apologize if that causes disappointment, but from what I understand, there are substitutes," Kinew said. WATCH | Passover staple may be missing in Manitoba this year due to U.S. booze boycott: Passover staple may be missing in Manitoba this year due to U.S. booze boycott 2 hours ago Duration 2:11 A wine popular at Passover may be absent from the holiday for Manitobans this year. Manischewitz kosher wine is made in the U.S., and Manitoba, along with many other provinces, has pulled U.S. liquor from shelves amid ongoing tariffs. Jews looking for kosher wine might still find some Israeli wine in government-operated liquor stores. Manitoba Liquor Marts offer three kosher wines, both red and white, from the Galil Mountain Winery, a spokesperson said. However, about a half dozen liquor stores CBC spoke with — both private and provincial — said they didn't have kosher wines in stock at the moment. Another replacement is kosher grape juice, said Rabbi Finkel, already in use by families who don't drink liquor. "It's about the blessing of the fruit of the vine. It's actually not about a fermented or an alcoholic drink necessarily," he said. "The tradition disappears, but in no way are we changing the real ritual experience."
