S1E6 - Stories from Kelowna's tight-knit Jewish community

Yehupetzville with Ralph Benmergui

There are only a few dozen Jews maintaing a Jewish lifestyle in Kelowna, a beautiful town surrounded by forests, lakes, orchards and mountains in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. When a newcomer wants to join a synagogue—in pre-pandemic times, anyway—they'd get taken out for coffee or ice cream, a warmer reception than you'd see in any big city.

In this episode, two locals, Sandra Blitz and Abbey Westbury, chat about the reality of living Jewish on the ground in Kelowna, touching on the recent rift between Chabad and the JCC, how to find matzah and the surprisingly large contingent of Jews for Jesus.

Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui. Michael Fraiman is the producer and editor. Our music was arranged by Louis Simão and performed by Louis Simão and Jacob Gorzhaltsan. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network—find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.