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Haifa Occupations
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Allan Nortman

Oral history interview with Allan Nortman, interviewed by Jennifer Yuhasz, in preparation for the 2014 Scribe with a focus on Jewish scrap metal dealers. Allan speaks on his family’s history, explaining how he came to be born in Haifa, Israel, in 1951. Following their short time in Israel, his family moved to England for a few months before setting in Vancouver in 1953. He speaks on his own career as well as his father’s though his own memories from his childhood.

Sidi Schaffer

Oral Interview with Sidi Schaffer for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Daniella Givon. Sidi goes over her family history in Romania, where she was born, and across Eastern Europe, and then details her immediate family in Canada. Sidi describes her artistic influences from her parents who were professional photographers after WWII, especially her mother who encouraged her to do art. Being born in 1938, some of Sidi’s earliest childhood memories are of fleeing from the Holocaust with her family. Sidi found art to be an escape from personal traumas, which eventually took her to art school in Bucharest where she met her husband, David. Sidi describes her and David’s time living in Israel, and eventually moving to Edmonton where she pursued more formal arts education. Sidi describes opportunities to show her printmaking and painted works, and teach arts across Canada. She also describes inspiration from nature, freedom of expression, and memories of the Holocaust. She outlines how the Gesher Project helped her develop as a Jewish artist, and how she produces Judaic influenced art with her sister.

Sheila Romalis

Follow-up interview with Sheila Romalis. Interviewed by Debby Freiman. Sheila talks about growing up in Vancouver during the Cold War, her education, and her involvement in the community. Her husband, Garson "Gary" Romalis, was a gynecologist who specialized in abortions. She talks about their shared beliefs on women's rights, and the attempts made on his life by by antiabortionists.

Pnina Granirer

Summary: Oral Interview with Pnina Granirer for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Daniella Givon as a follow-up to an interview from 2021. Pnina recalls her earliest memories of producing art at school in Romania, and learning illustration and painting home decor in Haifa. She explains how her art career truly started when her and her husband moved to Illinois as she didn’t have a work visa and thus spent her time painting and crafting. She discusses inspiration from her children, mixing medias and art genres, and the exploration of making and learning. She talks about themes in her paintings coming from universal human experiences such as identity and existentialism, and the only painting she ever did in regards to the Holocaust and its showing in Tel Aviv. She speaks about her working in galleries and pushing for galleries to be made in Jewish institutions in Vancouver. Pnina talks about the creation of Artist in Our Midst and other art crawls in Vancouver, and her experiences teaching arts on Gabriola Island. She closes with an encouraging message for upcoming artists in Vancouver and the importance of art education in the art world’s future.

Jessica Freedman

Oral Interview with Jessica Freedman for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Daniella Givon via remote Zoom call. Jessica was born in Montreal, but recalls moving around as a child to Israel and back to Canada where she grew up in Calgary. She explains immediate family history which included her mother who was a professional actor, and her father and brother who are musicians. She was primarily introduced to the arts through dance and music, though eventually was trained in visual arts at Simon Fraser University. She describes her different careers as a dancer, choreographer, accountant and yoga studio owner and instructor, but pursued arts full time after quitting her job to take care of her mother who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Jessica explains how her painting style transitioned from realism to more expressive abstracts over time, and how she is inspired by emotions and colour. She also discusses how she is motivated by nature and chaos, collaborating on commissions, and the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, having her art contribute as a light to the world.

Rotem Tal and Itamar Shani

Oral interview with Rotem Tal and Itamar Shani. Interviewed by April Thompson for the Feeding Community podcast. Having both immigrated from Israel, Rotem and Itamar together own Chickpea, a Mediterranean food truck and restaurant in Vancouver, BC.