President Beryl Tovim 514-877-5000 and then 450-247-2686 Past President Mark Covet 450-462-1409 Vice-President Alain Assor 514-726-2470 Treasurer Rosalie Miller-Hodson 450-462-7870 Secretary Roger Gilor 450-462-1924 Directors Ralph Abergel Laurent Azancot Max Benchetrit David Bornstein Laurence Herscu Mike Parker Isaac Sayegh Leo Wertheim MAILING ADDRESS C.P. 50547 RPO Carrefour Pelletier Brossard, QC J4X 2V7 PREMISES Place LaCitière 50 Taschereau Blvd. LaPrairie, PQ J5R 4V3 EMAIL ssjccjrs@yahoo.ca. FAX 450-676-4115 COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS HAPPY BIRTHDAY - MAY 2007 Izolda Bit-David 4 Sharon Claiman-Burrows 5 Tamara Lovi 6 Dorit Meyouhas 8 Jacob Saada 12 Myra Kestler 21 Harold Brender 22 Kyle Clement 22 Brian Gold 23 Hersh Perlman 25 Joseph Sadoun 27 Jocelyn Mikael Said 27 Asa Shulman 27 WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Pascale Hayoun & family Sophie Nouchy & family Adrienne de Burgos HEBREW CONVERSATION GROUP If you wish to participate, call Rachel Gilor: 450-462-1924 ASSISTANT EDITOR REQUIRED FOR THE BULLETIN Contact Rosalie Miller-Hodson 450-462-7870

May 2007 NISSAN-IYAR 5766 UPCOMING EVENTS BAGEL BREAKFAST - ISRAELI GEO-POLITICS Speaker: Luciano Del Negro, Exec. Dir. Quebec-Israel Committee Sunday, May 6, at 10:00 a.m. SHAVUOT GATHERING Saturday, May 26th, 7:30 p.m. Cheese cake, blintzes, ice cream and other delights UNVEILING OF GERRY MINTZBERG'S TOMBSTONE May 27, 2 p.m. at Kehal Israel Memorial Park Cemetary SSJC CELEBRATES PASSOVER with 14th SEDER Nearly 50 people attended our 14th annual Seder held on the second night of Passover at our community centre. With Isaac Sadoun leading the Seder, members took it in turns to read the Haggadah in Hebrew, English, or French, just like a large family. The relaxed, family atmosphere was apparent as people moved around the room after dinner and socialized. Catered by Kosher Cravings, the menu contained some favourite traditional starters, such as matzoh ball vegetable soup, eggplant salad, and gefilte fish. Marinated salmon and fried sole were served as entrées along with mixed vegetables and a delicious, fluffy potato kugel. The meal was accompanied by salad, white or red wine, and followed by fresh fruit, cakes, macaroons, and coffee. We were delighted to welcome several new members to our Seder, who saw our ads in local newspapers: Pascale Hayoun and her daughter, Sophie Nouchy and her three children (the two ladies on the right of the above picture), and Adrienne de Burgos and her partner Edouard-François Robitaille (the couple standing in the picture on the front page.) We appreciate all the work put in by the social committee and extend our warmest thanks for a wonderful evening. A MOVING GATHERING IN MEMORY OF THE HOLOCAUST The SSJC remembered Yom Ha'Shoah at the community centre on Sunday, April 15 at 5:30 p.m. The pain in the room was palpable as two Holocaust survivors, members of our community, related their experiences as hidden children in France. First, Fanny Brender described how her father, a man much respected in the village of Chateaux-gontier in France, was arrested by the Gestapo, Her school teacher vowed to save his family and immediately began to take steps to hide them and help them escape. Thus began the dramatic rescue that started with her mother's midnight escape from the hospital with her newborn child, the very day she gave birth to Fanny's brother, while the two sisters were taken in by the teacher's relatives before being transferred to different convents.

They were reunited only at the end of the war. Margarite Quddus described her return France last year and her visit to the prison where her father was first held by the Nazis at the age of 37 before being deported to Auschwitz. To exteriorize her pain at the loss of her beloved father, Margarite wrote a poem; a poem so powerful that we have decided to include it with the Bulletin for all to read and share. Mrs. Fatima Houda-Pepin, Liberal MNA for Brossard-La Prairie, joined the gathering in support of our community. She spoke of her muslim origins as a Berber, and of the importance of maintaining strong links between the various cultural communities. She noted that Berbers have given some noteworthy philosophers to other communities, e.g. St. Augustin, and how they opened up the route into Spain. Although the King of Morocco was under the rule of the Vichy government, he did everything in his power to avoid the persecution of Jews in his country, considering them valuable participants in their economy and culture. Rabbi Bouskila was a guest at the ceremony and said Yitzkor. Laurence Herscu acted as Master of Ceremonies and Laurence and Rosalie Miller-Hodson also gave memorial readings. The ceremony ended with the playing of the Israeli national anthem and was followed by a cake table and coffee. BAGEL BREAKFAST - SUNDAY, MAY 6, 10:00 A.M. How the geography of the region shapes Israeli politics The SSJC is holding another bagel breakfast on May 6th and it will probably be the last until next fall. When Beryl visited Israel recently and spent some time in the army through the SAR-EL program, she realized only then, she said, how much geography influences Israel's foreign policy and self-defense. She wondered how many of our members realize the role that geography plays in Israeli politics and thought it would make an interesting topic at one of our breakfasts. The guest speaker on May 6th will be Mr. Luciano Del Negro, Executive Director of the Quebec-Israel Committee. It should be a fascinating talk. SHAVUOT GATHERING SATURDAY, MAY 26, 7:30 P.M. This year, we decided to do something different. Instead of having a Saturday morning service to mark Shavuot, there will be a social gathering at the centre with traditional dairy deserts - cheese cake, blintzes, ice cream, etc. We look forward to seeing you there. UNVEILING OF GERRY MINTZBERG'S TOMBSTONE Sunday, May 27th at 2 p.m. For the benefit of new members, Gerry Mintzberg was a senior member of our community and a member of the Board for several years. He also had a great interest in jazz, and brought his musicians to our community centre several times for our entertainment. Sadly, he passed away after a long illness last July at the Maison Victor Gadbois palliative care unit. His friends are invited to participate in the unveiling of his tomb-stone at 2 p.m. at the Kehal Israel Memorial Park cemetery (Congregation Beth Abraham section) 4189 Sources Blvd. in Dollard-des-Ormeaux. A reception will follow the unveiling (details will follow at a later date), and it is possible that his jazz band will be there to play. Gerry will surely be there in spirit