Union ‘Giant’ Dies

OTTAWA — Labour activist Gil Levine died Nov. 16 in Ottawa after a brief battle with leukemia. He was 85. Levine joined the National Union of Public Employees,  a predecessor of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), in the 1950s as a researcher and became the first-ever head of CUPE’s research department, “which he built to legendary status. During six decades, his influence upon CUPE and the Canadian labour movement was profound and immeasurable,” said Ann Dembinski, president of CUPE Local 79 in Toronto. Former CUPE president Jeff Rose called Levine “a giant of Canadian labour history.”

Twinning Event Held

TORONTO — Toronto’s Temple Sinai, Thornhill, Ont.’s Temple Har Zion and Shaarei-Beth El Congregation in Oakville, Ont., were among eight Toronto-area shuls and 100 mosques and synagogues throughout North America and Europe that were twinned with each other over the Nov. 14-15 weekend. The second annual event aimed to have two local congregations – a mosque and a shul – launch joint activities. The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which initiated the event, urged working in one of four areas: the environment, protecting immigrants, combating anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and fighting poverty. Also taking part were the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the World Jewish Congress and the Canadian Association of Jews and Muslims.