1
Thursday, June 29 to July 27.1995 — THE BULLETIN — 11
.5;.
5).
I
' • • o • ♦ e )
From Page 10
It's getting those environmentally concerned people involved in the issue that's key, says Berman.
On that score, this young-yet-seasoned spokesperson can't help but feel accomplished. Just look at what happened — and what's been happening since - in Clayoquot.
Berman may not have made these strides single-handedly, but she's unquestionably been a major player.
"I think the fact that in the past two years we've seen a discussion emerge about clear-cutting among industry, government leaders and in the public eye is a direct result of the campaign [at Clayoquot Sound. It brought the issue to the tforefront."
Berman, who now lives on iowen Island, believes that pthe seeds of her activism l^ere planted when she was Igrowing up in London, irio.
One of five children (she fli^s three sisters and one tferother). her strong conser-IVative Jewish upbringing ^included a kosher kitchen, observance of Shabbat and an emphasis on tzedakah.
"My mother and father were very involved in the community." says Berman of her parents, who passed away when she was just 15.
As strong as the traditions were in her household, Berman says her mother and
father also taught her about the importance of equality between men and women.
She traces her first feminist action back to when she was saying Kaddish for her parents.
"There were some mornings when there weren't enough men to make a minyan but there were four of us," Berman says, referring to herself and her sisters. "We eventually campaigned to get women included in the minyan and our synagogue became one of the first in Canada to do so."
Today, Judaism is still an important part of her life.
"It's the major bond that I have with my family. My sisters, brother and I are incredibly close and I go back to Toronto for all the holidays. My penchant for speaking out and leadership probably came from volunteering at a young age in the synagogue, at the seniors home and with youth groups," says the once USY president.
"I think that the type of non-profit work I do now grew out of that sense of community I had when I was younger."
Berman's strong and serious side, the one that fuels the dedicated activism she subscribes to, is punctuated by a playful, witty persona, though it's seldom portrayed through the eyes of the media.
But when asked why Jew-
Freelartce writer and former JWB "Spotlight" columnist Maria Levy now runs tier own business, Brave New Words.
5«« 'JM^^^UfcmcHt
REGIONAL OFFICE: 12 — 5763 OAK STREET VANCOUVER, B.C. V6I^ 2V7 TELEPHONE (604) 261-9694
Mazel Tov to Sam & Mona Kaplan on their rctiremont & best wishes to
the n(»\v nnanagemenl
from
Rabbi Arraham Feiye[stock and the
EITZ CHAIM CONGREGATION (Orthodox) of Richmond
ish people should care about environmental issues, her repartee leaves no question about her sense of hrumor.
"It's because of lox," she says, deadpan. "I was speaking about this the other day to Valerie Langer, the primary spokesperson for Friends of Clayoquot Sound, who's also Jewish, We realized that if they continue to clear-cut forests and the salmon streams dry up, there will be no lox!"
Jokes aside, Berman believes that Jewish people should care about environmental issues for the same reasons as all people.
"Because it's a crime that we're having thousand-year-old rain forests become telephone books."
This summer Berman's options will be much like 1993. Her thesis, the working title of which is Standing for Our Lives: A Feminist's Journey Through Clayoquot Sound, is still in need of attention.
But if the government waffles on implementing the science panel's recommendations, Berman says she'll likely be spending another long, hot summer at Clayoquot Sound.
on Your Retirement
Greetings and Good Luck to the New Management
i
i
i
(La
Serving the Jewisii Community of B.C., for Over 80 Years.
1 I
1
1
i
Thank You f\/lona and Sam
Kaplan for Your Devoted Years of Service to the Jewish Community. Best Wishes to the New f^anagement
Vancouver Branch
CA^AOiA^ FRIENDS OF
v^-:v:v::-:wx::x::-::::-
Suite 215-2628 Granville Si. Vancouver, B.C. V6H 3H8 Phone (604) 736-4490
YOUR GIFT WILL HELP TO BUILD ISRAEL'S FUTURE
CARDS FOR ALL OCCASIOMS
By EZRA LEVANT
Though he calls Toronto home, you're just as likely to find David Frum in Washington, D.C. or New York City, shuttling back and forth along the corridors of political power.
His schedule is furious — too many invitations for speaking engagements and media appearances to accept them all.
And just pick up a current events magazine nowadays or turn on the radio, and you're likely to come across one of his ubiquitous political commentaries.
Frum — author, columnist and outspoken Jew ~ addressed the prestigious CATO Institute, one of the lofty think-tanks that dot the Washington landscape the way grain elevators blanket the Canadian prairies.
Frum enthralled that full house of America's political elite — party strategists, Capitol Hill staffers and political reporters — with his total command of the American political scene.
After a speech promoting his bestseller. Dead Right,
he casually dispatched questions about American conservatism for a half hour, and then for another hour at
the reception that followed.
Not bad for a kid from Toronto. But for Frum, it DAVID FRUM — Page 12
Photo By Danielle Crittenden
mum ... author of D&sd Right
Your contribution to the community since 1960 has, and continues to be, immeasurable - and we're sorry to see you go. May the years yet to
come be happy ones, filled with satisfying days and memories of a life well spent.
Jeffrey, Hildy, Peter and Shirley Bamett
Beliis Fair, Bellingliam Eaton Centre, yictoria Open from 11 a.m. lit late seven days a week.
"Where you can eat for peanuts^^
NASDAQ - FUBSF