Belle Jarniewski

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May 14, 2018, 9:00 PM

Long-Awaited Canadian Apology Welcome, But Must Address a History of Institutionalized Anti-Semitism

I was pleased to read Prime Minister Trudeau’s announcement that Canada will make a formal apology in Parliament for turning away the MS St. Louis. His moving speech also included important references to the discriminatory "None is Too Many" policy,...

Apr 4, 2018, 8:21 AM

NBC’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’: What were they thinking?

Promotional poster for NBC's television special: Jesus Christ Superstar, April 2018.

NBC's blockbuster Easter broadcast of the crucifixion musical perpetuates deadly, age-old lies

Oct 17, 2017, 7:05 PM

Defining Roger Waters’ Antisemitism

Freedom of expression is an important human right and one that must be protected. I believe that this extends to artistic expression. However, if that expression crosses the line to what is clearly antisemitism, it is something we must not...

Aug 24, 2017, 9:21 PM

A time to keep silence and a time to speak

Jewish tradition is clear on the importance of speaking out in the face of wrongdoing. Leviticus 19:17—You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you shall surely rebuke your neighbour and not bear sin account of him. We...

Aug 14, 2017, 8:18 AM

Charlottesville: A renewed call for moral grandeur and spiritual audacity

It's time for faith leaders to take action against hate, for in their passivity, fanatics and violence proliferate

Aug 10, 2017, 10:46 PM

From Winnipeg, Canada, a Jewish Response to the Yazidi Genocide

Fellow blogger Lazar Berman recently wrote about the responsibility of Jews to respond to the plight of the Yazidi people and suggested possible action that might be taken by Israel and Jews around the world. Through his comparison of...

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About Me

Belle Jarniewski is the director of the Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada and the current President of the Manitoba Multifaith Council. Since 2013, she has served on Canada’s delegation to the IHRA—the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Her book, Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors (2010), documents the stories of 73 local survivors. Belle’s passion for tikkun olam has led her to pursue a graduate degree in Dialogue Theology at the University of Winnipeg. Her thesis explored survivor narratives through the thought of the theologian Irving “Yitz” Greenberg. She is also one of the founders of Operation Ezra, an initiative to sponsor Yazidi refugees to Canada and to focus world awareness on this genocide occurring “in broad daylight.”