Interview with Syd Lapan for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Syd is a Jewish lesbian born in Denver, CO and currently residing on Gabriola Island. She talks about her family’s transition from a well-to-do background in Eastern Europe to starting over again in American midwest. She talks about her and her sister meeting a half-sister that her mother had put up for adoption at the time of WWII. Syd talks about going to university and being taken under the wing of a lesbian couple that she remained friends with for 50 years. She also talks about a gay friend who introduced her to gay activism. Syd talks about her varied education, and moving to Canada with a Canadian partner after attending Queen’s University. She talks about misogyny she experienced as a woman in the tech industry. Syd talks about the Jewish lesbian community in Denver, and also encountering antisemitism in the lesbian community. She talks about how music runs in her family, and how she reconnected with music through choir and the Klezbians. Syd talks about her profession as a private investigator and a significant relationship in her life with a woman named Carolyn. Syd closes by reflecting on her activism and the importance of following one’s heart.
Interview with Jack Huberman for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Jack (he/him) is a gay Jewish man born in Calgary, Alberta. Jack talks about his family’s origins in Poland and his parents’ livelihoods as grocers and property owners upon immigrating to Canada. Jack shares he realized he was gay very late in life, and how little dialogue about being queer and Jewish at the time made him reluctant to ‘come out’ within his Jewish community in Vancouver. He discusses the writing and mentorship of Rabbi Gil Steinlauf as a catalyst for understanding his sexuality within a Jewish context, though shares how ‘coming out’ did not make him feel welcomed across all parts of his Jewish community, including his own congregation. Jack talks about his desire to foster a greater awareness and acceptance for queer Jews. He discusses his experiences through school, including how he eventually became lawyer, and volunteering throughout the Jewish community in Vancouver. Jack closes by talking about his immediate family, including his husband, children, and grandchildren, and the importance of treating others equally and maintaining good relationships with those around you.
Interview with Pat Johnson for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Pat (he/him) is a non-Jewish gay man who is a prominent figure in Jewish journalism in Vancouver. Pat talks about how he was introduced to Jewish culture and community throughout his education, including taking Jewish Studies at McGill, and political organizing on campus. Pat talks about returning to Vancouver, pursuing journalism school and writing for Xtra which eventually introduced him to the Jewish Western Bulletin. He talks about his 25 year history of working for the JWB, now Jewish Independent, including the story of how he came to co-own the paper. Pat talks about the changing attitudes to LGBTQ and interfaith issues within Vancouver’s Jewish institutions, and Jewish institutions participating in Vancouver Pride. Pat and Carmel discuss a vigil Pat organized for Carmel’s cousin who was murdered in Israel for being gay. Pat talks about experiencing anti-Zionism within the Queer Film Festival community. He also talks about Jewish Family Services and their attempts to offer queer programming. Pat closes by reflecting on the most significant works of his career and academics he admires.
Interview with Jonathan Lerner for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Jonathan (he/him) is a gay Jewish man, who was born in Toronto and currently resides in Lantzville, BC. Jonathan shares about his family history briefly, how he knew he was gay and how he came out to acceptance from his mom and sister. He talks about pursuing theater in post-secondary education, and how he volunteered within Hillel and other Jewish campus groups. He talks about being the first openly gay president of the Jewish branch of fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi and what campus life was like for a gay Jew. Jonathan talks about how Hillel came to be involved in Vancouver Pride in 2010 and how more Jewish organizations came to participate with time. He recalls Yad b’Yad, a group for queer Jews and allies, and their difficulties with Vancouver’s Queer Film Festival, anti-zionism, antisemitism and the concept of pinkwashing; a conflict that directly declined Yad b’Yad’s perceived safety in the community and their success as an organization. Jonathan recalls organizing a community vigil for lives lost through homophobic violence and being part of CIJA’s LGBTQ Advisory committee. Jonathan closes by reflecting on how the queer Jewish experience has changed over time and life lessons that have come from this time.
Interview with Mark Weintraub as part of the Canadian Jewish Congress oral history project, interviewed by David Schwartz. Mark, born in St. Catharines, Ontario, talks about his family’s history in Poland and Canada. He speaks about his parent’s participation in St. Catharines and Vancouver’s Jewish community, notably his father’s involvement in Canadian Jewish Congress, prompting Mark’s early interest in the organization. Mark discusses the prevalence of anti-Semitism in St. Catharines and later Vancouver, British Columbia as another inspiration for his involvement. He speaks about his work for Canadian Jewish Congress’ Media Committee which advocated for objectivity and accuracy in public media. He explains how Canadian Jewish Congress advocated for human rights including combatting anti-Semitism, abetting Indigenous rights, and protesting the Darfur genocide. Mark also speaks about how Canadian Jewish Congress was exemplary to other organizations for how to advocate on behalf of a community, as he was a key note speaker at a conference in Japan. Mark discusses the demise of Canadian Jewish Congress due to a mass reorganization and the creation of the Centre for Israeli and Jewish Affairs. Mark also talks about his relationship with Canadian Jewish organizations today, his career as a lawyer, and how he continues to reflect of Canadian Jewish Congress’ success.
Interview with Jeff Kushner for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Jeff (he/him) is a gay Jewish man, born in Winnipeg and residing in Victoria, B.C. with his partner, Randall. Jeff talks about his parents’ lives as children of immigrants in Winnipeg, telling poignant stories of his family members and their influences on his life growing up. Jeff talks about coming out at the age of 30 and how Jewish culture of family and achievement makes a lot of queer Jews come out later as to not disappoint expectations. Jeff talks about the accepting nature of the Jewish community and Victoria of LGBTQ people, which was different from growing up in Winnipeg. Jeff talks about his education, including becoming an engineer out of the University of Manitoba which led him to a career in Alberta’s oil industry. He tells stories of working for different Canadian oil corporations and the experiences he had being a gay Jewish man throughout, which included experiences of antisemitism and homophobia. He closes by talking about finding the dream home in Victoria, where him and his partner both retired early, and he continues to participate in Jewish organizations as a way to build a legacy based on tikkun olam. This includes how he wishes to work on projects for gay and/or Jewish seniors to have old folks’ homes free of prejudice or having to return to ‘the closet’ in old age.
Summary: Interview with Ira Rogers for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Ira (he/him) is a gay Jewish man, born in Manhattan and currently residing in Vancouver. Ira describes his parents’ history and some of his early memories in New York City, and in Los Angeles with family friends. Ira describes coming out at 21, two years after Stonewall, and how it was largely met without resistance in the Jewish community in NYC; a contrast to his time living in Nashville as a songwriter and musician. He talks about his transition out of pre-med in college to major in music at Brooklyn College and how his 19 years in Tennessee allowed him personal and career growth. Ira explains how he was prompted to move away from Nashville to find a place that aligned more with his queer, liberal Jew identity and eventually settled on Vancouver. Ira talks about being married to a woman, while still wanting to explore his queer sexuality and how this complicated their relationship. He then talks about his current partner of over 17 years that he met soon after moving to Vancouver. Ira closes with reflections on being gay and Jewish, and the advice that one’s care, compassion and kindness can be the keys to fulfilling relationships alongside being oneself.
Interview with Barbara Lucas. Interviewed by Debby Freiman on her father, Michael Wolochow, for the Scribe 2019. Barbara talks about her father's early life in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, meeting her mother at Talmud Torah in Edmonton, and family memories. The interview focuses on Dr. Wolochow's professional career as a family doctor and general practitioner. He worked for a long period with Stanley Sunshine. Dr. Wolochow cared deeply about making a difference, serving immigrant communities from the East Side of Vancouver. Barbara also discusses her father's personality and contributions to the Jewish community of Vancouver.
.Interview with Renee Kursan. Interviewed by Sara Bernstein. Renee talks about her family's history, her education, and her childhood growing up in Cape Town and Mossel Bay, South Africa. She discusses her career as a nurse and life raising her young children outside of Queenstown and in Cape Town. Renee speaks about her and her family’s immigration to Vancouver, Canada. She compares Jewish life in South Africa to Canada and the countries’ culture, race and the Apartheid in South Africa.
Interview with Mark Winrob. Interviewed by Debby Freiman for The Scribe, 2018. Mark talks about his family's history, his childhood and career, and his extensive travels around the world. He introduced tapas to Vancouver through his restaurant, Las Tapas. Later on, Mark opened Fatso’s Barbecue and Smoke House and Smoking Crust later on. He describes each restaurant and reflects upon the changing food scene in Vancouver.
