Author: Glen Berd

Last night's Movie Night at the Shul showed 'The Impossible Spy' - based on the true story of Eli Cohen who spied for Israel in Syria and who was instrumental in the subsequent success of Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. After the show, there were refreshments and lively discussions about the film ! As a follow up - it may be of interest to take a look at the following articles : https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/widow-of-israeli-spy-eli-cohen-when-he-was-caught-something-died-within-me/      This is an interview with Nadia Cohen, the wife of the late Eli Cohen a few years ago after Netflix released a TV Mini Series in 2019 about her late husband, starring Sasha Baron Cohen.   Another interesting article is here : https://blog.nli.org.il/en/eli-cohen/ How Eli Cohen, Israel’s Man in Damascus, Was Captured - Noam Nachman-Tepper seeks to dispute the accepted narrative surrounding the capture of Eli Cohen....

This is absolutely incredible and very moving! For decades, this man Andy, who is 78 years old, did not know that he was Jewish and in fact is the son of a Holocaust survivor who hid his identity. This month, he finished his volunteering in the IDF and fulfilled his dream of learning Torah. Just before he returned to Canada, he celebrated his Bar Mitzvah which he never had! Jacqui : Wow! I volunteered with Andy at least three times and he never mentioned this story! Unless I forgot which is entirely possible! Mazeltov Andy! Mark : I believe my Esther met Andy in 2017 on a flight from Toronto. A very kind gentleman. Mazel Tov!!! ...

From the Depths works to help both Righteous Among the Nations and Holocaust survivors, providing care packages, financial aid and services to them. 90-year-old who saved Jew in Holocaust found living in poverty in Belarus Lyubov Volchek was recognized as a "Righteous Among the Nations' for sheltering an 11-year-old Jewish girl during the Holocaust. Righteous Among the Nations, Lyubov Volchek, in Belarus (photo credit: WWW.FROMTHEDEPTHS.ORG) A 90-year-old woman who risked her life to save a Jewish girl during the Holocaust was found living in poverty in the town of Hlusk in Belarus, the From the Depths organization announced on Wednesday.   In 1998, Yad Vashem honored Lyubov Volchek as a Righteous Among the Nations, an honour given to those who provided aid to Jews during the Holocaust.       Lyubov Volchek in her home (Credit: www.FromTheDepths.org) Volchek was found living in a crumbling house in Hlusk, a small town in central Belarus. In June 1941, Nazi troops gathered the 2,000 Jews living in the town in the main square,...

What a great idea ! An informal and enjoyable afternoon of ladies chat, with a little light hearted learning, courtesy Rebbetzen Anna ("call me Anna")   17 ladies attended in the relaxed surroundings of The Glendower Hotel - kindly hosted by Michelle Morris (she who brought the kichels) on behalf of 'call me Anna'.     Because some of us (well probably all) are quite nosy, of course we all wanted to know Anna's journey to Rebbetzen-land At the tender age of 8 years, Anna and her secular family, lived opposite Rabbi Portnoy and his wife along with their 9 children. Every Shabbat, Anna would watch Mrs Portnoy walking to shul and even at that tender age - the flame was lit in her to follow in Mrs. Portnoy's footsteps. (Although not with the 9 children .... probably) We also learned Anna discovered that when Shabbat and Yomtov coincided and created 3 consecutive religious days - it presented a major dilemma in the makeup department ! Anna has an articulate and...

April 1943, the greatest act of Jewish resistance against the Nazis during World War II began: the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Leon Kopelman was born in Poland in 1924. After the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, they forced millions of Jews to leave their homes and moved them into ghettos. The Warsaw Ghetto, located in the center of the Polish capital, was the largest one. During Leon's time in the Warsaw Ghetto, he became active in the underground Jewish militia, the ZOB, which was committed to armed resistance against the Nazis. The militia resisted Jewish deportations to extermination camps and killed German soldiers in the ghetto. But in April 1943, the Nazis entered the Ghetto in full force, killed thousands of Jews on the spot and sent the rest to the Treblinka extermination camp. Leon was almost sent to Treblinka, but he told the Nazis that he had experience as a mechanic and was therefore saved by being sent to work. He was later...