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Julie Elizabeth

Interview with Julie Elizabeth 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. Julie (she/her) is a queer Jewish woman, born in Toronto and residing in Victoria, B.C. Julie shares about her parents’ lives in Toronto and family origins based in Russia. She talks about various childhood memories including the close relationships with her father and sister, but also the struggles of family members living with mental illness. Julie talks about rediscovering her father’s family connections in Montreal, leading her back to family history in France. Julie talks about discovering her bisexuality and being discouraged from coming out to her mother. She also talks about her journey with Judaism: as a child alienated from upper class Jewish kids in Toronto, to having a bat mitzvah on her 65th birthday after feeling acceptance and belonging on Salt Spring Island with her partner Reva. Julie talks about her education and career changes over her life. She talks about living with Reva and being accepted by her family. She closes with advice to ‘follow ones bliss’ and anecdotes about trying other religions like Wicca to find herself, and ultimately her way back to Judaism.

Reva Hutkin

Part 1 of interview with Reva Hutkin 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. Reva (she/her) is a Jewish lesbian who was born in Montreal and residing in Victoria, B.C. Reva recalls her parents and grandparents and their origins in Eastern Europe and livelihoods in Montreal. Reva discusses realizing she was a lesbian while in a heterosexual marriage at age 21 and the distance her family kept when coming out, though finding acceptance being out in her communities, both in person and online. Reva describes her school life growing up with sports and literature, but also antisemitism and fear of communism in Montreal. She talks about university life, working in offices and prominent relationships she hard throughout her adulthood including her current partner Julie. She talks about how she ended up in B.C., how her and Julie met, and having a partner that is also Jewish. Reva talks about her children and grandchildren and how they’ve accepted her as a lesbian, and how they relate to Judaism in their own ways. She closes with the reflection of the importance of self-work and personal change.

Jonathan Lerner

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.

Reva Hutkin

Interview with Reva Hutkin as part of the BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project, in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. In part 1, Reva shares her experience being both lesbian and Jewish in Canada. Reva discusses not being accepted by her family. In part 2, Reva talks about her involvement in a Jewish LGBTQ+ group called HaChud. In part 3, Reva discusses a feminist Haggadah and lesbian Seders.

More detailed summaries are provided on the respective Part 1, 2, 3 pages nested herein.

Reva Hutkin

Part 3 of interview with Reva Hutkin 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. Reva recalls to her time in Montreal being active in Jewish lesbian community. She discusses having lesbian Seders which focused on women’s empowerment and Jewish women’s inclusion concerning Seder. She also participated in Jewish queer writing group that produced a queer Haggadah.

Ruth Simkin

Interview with Ruth Simkin for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Madison Slobin via remote Zoom video call. Ruth (she/her) is a queer Jewish woman who was born in Winnipeg, currently residing in Victoria, B.C. She explains how she used to subscribe to the ‘lesbian’ label, but no longer feels connected to one identity. Ruth recalls her family history in rural Manitoba, including her parents, grandparents and siblings, their livelihoods and her relationships with them. Ruth talks about coming out to her family in her twenties, and her experience with getting married to a man at age 18. She discusses her connections to Jewish community, and how being Jewish was understood by her peers throughout her education. Ruth speaks to her pride in being a doctor and a writer, including having written a feminist Haggadah called ‘Like an Orange on a Seder Plate’. Ruth talks about how writing has become an important outlet for her as she became a wheelchair user. Ruth also discusses queer political organizing in Calgary, and coming to B.C. after ending a serious relationship. She discusses how she went back to school to study palliative care while living on Salt Spring Island, and moving to Victoria once working full time as a palliative care doctor. She closes by talking about being a grandmother, but also the relationship between the Jewish and queer communities.

Jeff Kushner

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.

Janna Ginsberg

Interview with Janna Ginsberg. Interviewed by Debby Freiman for The Scribe, 2018. Janna talks about her family's history and her experiences growing up with Jewish food. She describes her background in horticulture and talks extensively about her catering business and restaurant, Janna's Select Catering and Tudor Rose. Janna reflects on the food scene in Victoria over the years.

Leah Levitt

Follow-up oral interview with Leah Levitt. Interviewed by Debby Freiman. Leah talks about her extended family, education, and her involvement with B'nai Brith Girls and the National Council of Jewish Women.

Brett Silberg

Oral interview with Brett Silberg. Interviewed by Debby Freiman. Brett talks about his family's history in South Africa, education, and the Apartheid. He arrived in Canada as a student before eventually immigrating and finding a renewed interest in Judaism.

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