wehSsJewish
Bulletin
Seniitg BrMsh OibnitMa since 19.iO
Rallying Cry
Thousands gather to support Israel / 5
RoHnson^Mietoric
NDP member of Parliament talks about his foray to the Middle East/7
Point o( View
Journalists need less objectivity, more analysis / 23
$1.00 includes GST APRIL 19.2002/7 lYAR 5762
Morris Wosk's extended family Mobilizing a community
The man they called M.J. loved life and loved to make people happy. ; Federation's three paths to solidarity with Israel.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
Anyone close to the late Morris J. Wosk will tell you how much the love of his family meant to the husband and father of three sons and a daughter.'And, while his immediate family gathered to mourn the loss of their father and grandfather at the Schara Tzedcck cemetery April 10, another group was there to mourn as well — an overwhelmingly large extended "family" who began their own period of grieving for the beloved community leader. . In the more than 70 years that Wosk lived Vancouver, he reached out to a large number of organizations and individuals in a kind-hearted way that left many con-.sidering him a close personal friend.
"I could say I loved Morris," said Gerry Zipursky, executive director of the Jewish Com-mimity Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCC). Zipursky had known Wosk since the former had been the program director of the centre 32 years ago.
"When I was a 21-ycar-old, I looked up to this man because he had diis great smile, a sense of humor and this warmth ofwanting to give," said Zipursky.
In his 18 years at the helm of the JCC, Zipursky interacted frequently with Wosk, the man whose family name is displayed above the main entrimce to the centre's auditorium, in recognition of a generous donation.
"He was approached by everyone in the community and he never made you feel like he didn't have the time.to spend or consider supporting you," said Zipursky. "He would say, 'OK. If it's got to be done, it's done.' And that's a very special way of giving."
Wosk started his life in Vancouver as a man in need himself.
Bom in Odessa, Ukraine, in 1917, Wosk and his family came
, CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
to Halifax in 1928 with little more than the clothes on their backs. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society gave them some food, then sent them on a train to Vancouver where a cousin lived.
Morris Wosk had "a warmth of wanting to give."
His business began when he and his father, Joseph, joined Morris's older brother, Ben, in a father-and-son operation in which they collected secondhand goods, iixed them up and re-sold them for a small profit.
The family rented a storefront in Dovmtown Vancouver, which they eventually developed into the now well-known 12-store furniture chain, Wosk's.
Since then, Wosk, who always preferred to be called M. J. rather than Mr. Wosk, has been known more for his generosity than his business success.
No better salesperson
One of the first organizations Wosk involved himself in was one to which he would end up
dedicating a lot of his own personal time for many years.
"I think Bonds was his prime organization of support," said State of Israel Bonds executive director Geol&ey Druker. "He has worked with Israel Bonds since it first came to Vancouver 50 years ago."
Wosk, who served as the national vice-president of State of Israel Bonds until the day he died, had been honored several times by the organization. He performed many "double mitzvot," as the organization likes to call thern, by making donations to various organizations with gifts of Israel Bonds.
According to Druker, no one was a better salesperson for Bonds. than Wosk.
"He promoted the mil-, lion dollar notes like no one else," said Druker. "He was the champion ofBonds."
Wosk was the honorary chairman for the State of Israel Bonds' 50th anniversary event last November.
Ran Bagg, the Israel emissary for the Jewish National Fund, Pacific Region, who lived in the same building as Wosk, said the legendary philanthropist v/as one of his organization's biggest supporters because he believed in the importance of contributing to Israel.
"First of all he was a very good fiiend who we went to from time to time just to get ideas or suggestions," Bagg explained of his relationship with Wosk. "I know that every time I asked to come see him he agreed immediately. He always wanted to know how the JNF was doing and he was very worried about the situation in Israel."
Wosk's enthusiasm for the JNF was carried forward by the second generation within his family. Last Sunday, Wosk's son.
Please see WOSK on page 6
' tan emergency meeing of mW the local Council of Pres-M|M idents April 10, the Jew-■ Mish Federation of Greater Vancouver put forward a plan of how the Lower Mainland Jewish conununity can best support Israel in its current crisis.
Presidents and executive directors of organizations came to-
getJier at the Jewish Conununitj' Centre of Greater Vancouver to discuss Federation's ideas and offer some of tlicir own in what is intended to be a co-ordinated community effort.
To start the meeting, Mark Gurvis, executive director of Federation, made a presentation that focused on three paths to solidarity; community education and mobilization, advocacy and . financial support
With respect to the first path, ■ Gurvis pointed to several upoom-'ing Israel-related community events and asked that organiza-" tions try to include an Israel com-:ponent in anything they are ' planning. He said that an "Israel ; Now and Forever^ logo is being fi-; nalized by Federation and that or-
< ganizations should display it in f any of their promotional materi-l al or newsletters, e3q)laining that tits use will indicate a consistent message of support for Israel
I Working with the Canadian ; Jewish Congress and the Israel iAction Committee, Gurvis en-^oouraged people to join in an ad-tvocacy campaign. Activities : would include writing letters to
public officials, involving pubhc : officials in community Israel ; events, reaching out to business
and conununity leaders, and be-I ing watchfiil of and responding ^ to any media bias, f ' Financial support oflsrael is >. also needed because the escala-f tion d'violeiue and increased in-itemational isolation has taken ' an enormous toll in social and ; economic terms on the oountiy,
< said Gurvis. He gave examples
of where contributions can be directed: the Jewish Agency Fund to Benefit Terrorist Victims and Their Familes; security upgrades for schools and community centres; and the provision of critical human services affected by government cutbacks that are being implemented to pay for the military action.
Gurvis acknowledged that many local groups are in the midst of fvmd-raising efforts for their owi prc^rams and stressed tliat any monies raised by Israel Now would be in addition to, rather than inst^d of, r^ular contributioius to (H^ganizaticHis or the Combined Jewish Appeal He said that 100 per cent of any mtm-ey raised will go dirsctly to ur;gent and critical needs in Israel
Federation wants the mobilization to be a community undertaking and Gurvis listed the: ways in which to become involved: sign on as an organizational co-sponsor oflsrael Now, support the three elements of the path to solidarity, list pro-Israel events in Federation's oommtmity calendar, enable Israel Now to brief oiiganizatiaDs' members, disseminate infor-; mation and flyers on the Mideast situation, volonteeer to, be a telephone canvasser, recruit people for a mission to Israel in June and use the Israel Now     whenever possible.
After the Federataon presentation, some discossion ensued about how best to show solidarity with Israel Some of (be ideas proposed were exchange programs in whidi Israeli teens would come to Canada for a period of time, the creation of an ea^-to-understand in&nnation padcage for distribution, more solidanly raUiea and increaaed rahhmifflliwiMPaetoflwHtjmnft of scmie Quistian desgy on'it^bai: ishappeoinginfiielifiddleEast
For more information on Israel Now, visit vmwjfyprjcom.
IHZ ZSA 38 J3Ano3UBA -SAV isi*, issn 0S6-90E#
AJ8130S  1B31J0JSJH qsjMSr