Still Remembering: November 11, 2022
In this November edition of my "Double Threat" newsletter, we are paying tribute to Jewish Canadians who served our country during wartime, and also to those who didn't come back — plus you'll hear from those who continue to teach us to remember.
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She Also Serves
A Toronto artist Alysa Engel created a special print to pay tribute to my great-Aunt, Cpl. Celia "Daisy" Lazare Friedberg, who served as a Jewish member of the CWACs during the Second World War.
Her stunning, limited-edition print was done as part of an art installation for the "She Also Serves" project. which was on display at The Military Museums in Calgary.
I was honoured to help Engel showcase our courageous Aunty Daisy, one of the first group of women trained as Military Police officers: she could do jiu-jitsu and was posted on security duty at the Ottawa train station.
Read more about Daisy. The prints are also available for purchase directly from the artist.
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I believe in fate.
Especially when it comes to telling the stories of the 17,000 Canadians of Jewish faith who served our country in the Second World War.
I feel fate has been at work on this mission since 2011, when I first stepped foot in the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in Normandy. There, something drew me to the grave of Bdr. George Meltz of Toronto.
Fast forward to today: nearly a dozen years later with a book "Double Threat" published by U of T Press to tell their stories, a lecture tour around the world, and this newsletter. Plus, I am still working with Jewish veterans and their families and others to honour the commitments and sacrifices of Canada's Jewish was heroes.
I am sure fate was at work again in this next story. It is a story that has been waiting to be told since before the pandemic began — perhaps since 1945.
And now, it's here, thanks to a surreal personal connection to my own family from Quebec, plus the persistence of John Chisling to honour the memory of Fl. Sgt. Joseph Rabiner. Click on the image to read, or click the button below.
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