Na’amat Canada Convention celebrates the accomplishments of out-going president Susan Inhaber

by Maxine Fischbein, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(AJNews) – An Alberta contingent of 13 women was all smiles at the Na’amat Canada Triennial Convention held October 30-November 1 in Montreal. There, five Edmontonians and eight Calgarians – some accompanied by spouses – celebrated the work they do, “…empowering women and children in Israel and Canada,” as the organization’s tagline proudly proclaims.

Delegates from Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver joined their Alberta chaverot (friends) in celebrating the accomplishments of National President Susan Inhaber, the first Calgarian and second Western Canadian woman to serve as president of Na’amat Canada since it’s founding in 1925.

Inhaber will briefly serve as co-president until newly minted National President Dalia Margalit-Faircloth, of Vancouver, fully transitions into the top role. Inhaber will then serve as immediate past president until the 2029 Triennial convention in Toronto, which she will chair.

The strong leadership emanating from Western Canada is a point of pride for the chaverot from Alberta and BC, including Edmontonian Maya Feldman, who was also elected to the Na’amat Canada board. Feldman will simultaneously serve as president of her Na’amat chapter in Edmonton, where Darlene Bushewsky serves as centre president.

The Montreal triennial – expertly stickhandled by lay leaders and staff, including Na’amat Canada Executive Vice President Vivian Reisler and National Administrator Pam Segal, was filled with memorable speakers and entertainment.

Highlights included an inspiring talk by recent Order of Canada recipient Dr. Joe Schwarcz, Director of the Office of Science and Society (Separating Sense from Nonsense) at McGill University. Schwarcz’s informative and entertaining presentation focused on the enormous contributions of Jewish scientists in chemistry and beyond.

Another crowd pleaser was a talk about AI by tech specialist Carmi Levy, well known by CTV viewers for explaining complex topics and issues in a comprehensible, relatable, and entertaining way.

A Saturday evening Havdalah service by Montreal’s Reverend Hazan Daniel Benlolo was the prelude to one of the most heartwarming experiences at the triennial convention as Benlolo and his Montreal Shira Choir – composed of talented and enthusiastic neurodivergent adults – knocked it out of the park.

Susan Inhaber’s contribution to Na’amat was celebrated during the convention’s closing banquet.

“She has been a tremendous leader of Na’amat Canada for the past three years,” said Hamiltonian Sandi Seigel, immediate past president and chair of the Montreal triennial.

“Tonight is a very special evening for me as I look back on my time as national president of Na’amat Canada,” said Inhaber. “I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. It’s been an incredible privilege to work alongside so many dedicated, talented, and passionate women… When you are in a group of strong, determined Na’amat women, there is very little that we cannot accomplish.”

Inhaber’s presidency began during a challenging time for Israel and the Jewish people, less than a week after the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. While cancellation of the 2023 Triennial Convention in Calgary was briefly considered, Na’amat leadership knew that gathering Jewish women committed to supporting women and children in Israel was more critical than ever. Participants took much comfort in the company of other proudly Zionist women as Jews in Israel and around the world coped with shock and grief.

“We watched in horror as the images emerged from Israel following the Hamas attacks,” recalled Inhaber, as she delivered her president’s report in Montreal.

“We were devastated, and it became even more personal when we learned that one of our daycare centres in Rishon LeZion had been damaged.”

Na’amat Israel and International President Hagit Pe’er and Shirli Shavit, Director of Na’amat’s International Department, were unable to travel to Calgary in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks. Instead, they delivered reports via Zoom, until an alarm sounded and they had to rush to safe rooms.

It was, recalled Inhaber, “…a sobering reminder of what our Israeli chaverot were experiencing.”

Inhaber noted that Na’amat Canada immediately launched an emergency campaign, primarily devoted to safe rooms and programming for children. Initially, $200,000 was raised with additional funds to follow.

In February of 2024, Inhaber joined Na’amat presidents from around the world in Israel and later traveled to Toronto for that centre’s successful Israel solidarity program, dedicated to raising additional emergency funds.

Other highlights during Inhaber’s term included the 2025 Na’amat Centennial event in Toronto. Following that celebration, a newly renovated playground at Beit Frida in Ramle was dedicated to the past presidents of Na’amat Canada.

Inhaber led a 2025 leadership seminar in Israel, during which 13 Canadian women were joined by four American chaverot. The women saw the new Na’amat Israel headquarters, visited the Meshanot Centre in Jerusalem and the Kanot Youth Village, where the ground floor of a new middle school was recently completed. At the Hadera Technological High School, they observed students and learned of plans for a new hairdressing facility.

Dear to the hearts of Na’amat members and contributors is the Na’amat Canada Glickman Centre for Family Violence Prevention, where recent projects include a new musical playground, trauma counselling room, and kitchen as well as a renovated dining room and upgrades to other spaces.

Among new initiatives at the Glickman Centre is a special day for women and children during which moms healing from intimate partner abuse enjoy spa treatments while their kids are treated to special programs, often featuring furry friends. Inhaber noted that Dalia Margalit-Faircloth has selected this program as the beneficiary of her president’s fund.

Na’amat Canada is also currently raising funds that will help to renovate and equip kitchens in daycare centres throughout Israel and for programming at the Rhodie Blanshay Benaroch Children Centre.

When participants at the Na’amat 2025 Leadership Seminar visited the Sderot Multi-Purpose Daycare Centre, a staff member described the trauma of children and parents still struggling in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks. Participants later also participated in a memorial service at the site of the Nova Music Festival where 378 people, the vast majority young Israelis, were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists on October 7.

“It was a deeply emotional experience that none of us will soon forget,” recalled Inhaber of the Yizkor service.

During Inhaber’s three-year term, Na’amat Canada sent more than $2.6 million to Israel, supporting domestic violence shelters, daycare centres, and schools, all of which have had to ramp up their services since the October 7 attacks due to increased demand for counselling and other services.

Canadian Na’amat chapters and clubs also make a difference to women and children in their own communities through projects like Na’amat Canada Calgary’s School Supplies for Kids, which has, over the past three decades, provided backpacks filled with school supplies to tens of thousands of children and youth temporarily living in local domestic violence shelters together with their mothers. The program, which was the brainchild of Calgary Na’amat stalwart Stephanie Sacks, was subsequently embraced by Na’amat in other Canadian cities.

Na’amat Canada has made much progress on other fronts, said Inhaber, including an e-card fundraising program, a new and improved website, eye-catching promotional materials and social media posts, and a facelift for the Na’amat Year in Review and other publications.

“We’re doing a much better job of telling the Na’amat story,” Inhaber said.

More than 101 years in the making, that story is extraordinary. Na’amat is Israel’s largest women’s movement, and it is supported by women in Canada as well as Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, the United States and Uruguay. Early leaders included Golda Meir, who went on to become Israel’s first female Prime Minister.

To support or join an Alberta chapter, email Calgary.info@naamat.com.

To find out more about the Na’amat story and find chapters or clubs in other Canadian centres, check out the Na’amat Canada website at www.naamat.com.