Self-Published 

The Unexpected Visit from the Prophetic Sam and Lucy

A children’s book for adults inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita.

Story, photographs and book design by Irena Karshenbaum (2014)

 

Shalom Salam: A Celebration of Persian Jewish and Bukharian Culture (2014)

Cultural exhibition catalogue about the Shalom Salam cultural festival held at the Calgary JCC February 20 to March 9, 2013.

Story, photographs and book design by Irena Karshenbaum (2014)

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Essays

The Little Synagogue in Me: How the Lost 1916 Montefiore Institute Came to Calgary’s Heritage Park, Contributing essay to Jewish Life and Times (Volume 10)
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, Winnipeg (Spring, 2024)
 

The Little Synagogue on the Canadian Prairie, Contributing blog

The Baron Hirsch Jewish Farmers Community Blog: Finding Stories of Jewish Farmers in the New World and their Descendants Worldwide.

Silver Springs, MD, USA (April 17, 2023)

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The Little Synagogue in Me, a Journey Within, Contributing essay

Living Legacies: A Collection of Writing by Contemporary Canadian Jewish Women Volume II

Published by PK Press, Toronto (2010)

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Editing

60 Years of Hope: Providing Hope, Enriching Lives and Strengthening Communities since 1961 

Researched and written by Dr. Donna Crawford

Contributing editor

Published by JFSC, Calgary (2023)

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Newspapers & Magazines

Calgary Herald

A tale of two neighbourhoods - Bridgeland and Parkhill — August 21, 2026

Barron Building restoration a celebration for Calgary and a win for heritage — April 1, 2023

Remembering Mikhail Gorbachev, 29 years after his visit to Calgary — September 11, 2022

We’re losing access to our public spaces — January 16, 2014
It’s time to take our past into the future — November 2, 2013
Historic districts are built one building at a time — November 14, 2012
Anchor of the oil patch deserves to be restored — November 20, 2011
A difficult, yet heady exodus (The Free World, Written by David Bezmozgis) — July 10, 2011
Municipal Complex could become Calgary’s living room — June 8, 2011
The uselessness of private grass — September 13, 2010
They paved paradise, put up the parking lot price — August 1, 2010
City policies mean downtown just for the rich — July 4, 2010
More God’s armpit spaces needed — June 6, 2010
Plus 15s make human hamsters of us all — May 2, 2010
Cemeteries are heritage and green spaces, too — March 26, 2010
Vignettes from Morocco — January 16, 2010
Brewing up more culture — August 29, 2009
Want a better city? We can take some lessons from Spain — November 8, 2008
Only thing that will save us is the three-bedroom condo — June 10, 2008
Eau Claire Market needs creativity, not wrecking ball — March 16, 2008
Jewish historical saga captures rich legacy (Joyful Harvest: Celebrating Jewish Contributions to Southern Alberta Life, Published by the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta) — August 23, 2007
Sandstone school needs a champion — August 14, 2007
Bring back charm of natural chaos — March 23, 2007
Let’s get culture back in Calgary — January 9, 2007
May EnCana inspire the others — October 18, 2006
Give us, at least, heritage’s facade — August 25, 2006
Disposable chic rules in Calgary — August 14, 2006
Saving our heritage from the bulldozer — June 2, 2006
What if Jane Jacobs had been our guide? — May 11, 2006
Tax breaks help save our heritage — March 31, 2006
Architecture can be true civic art — February 20, 2006
Arts also need help from private sector — December 19, 2005
Wealthy Alberta neglects its arts — December 5, 2005

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National Post, Toronto
A whirlwind romance: Confessions of a Canadian hurricane chaser — September 18, 2004

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The Ottawa Citizen

A difficult exodus — October 2, 2011

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The Canadian Encyclopedia, Toronto
Jacob Bell Barron (Translated into French) — March 19, 2026

Jacob Bell Barron — November 21, 2025

Peter Caspari (Translated into French) — February 24, 2025

Peter Caspari — September 19, 2024

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The Baron Hirsch Jewish Farmers Community Blog: Finding Stories of Jewish Farmers in the New World and their Descendants Worldwide, Silver Springs, MD, USA

A Brazilian Masterpiece, Finally Available In English — November 4, 2023

 

Heritage Toronto

City Park: Mid Century 2SLGBTQ+ Heritage — June 17, 2022

 

Heritage Calgary

How a Holocaust survivor built Rideau Towers — January 27, 2021

 

Heritage, The Magazine of the National Trust for Canada, Ottawa

The Little Synagogue on the Prairie Turns 100 — Volume XIX, Number 3, 2016

 

Chinook Country Historical Society Newsletter, Southern Alberta, Calgary

Save the Shaarey Tzedec — Winter 2012

The Barron Building: Calgary’s Most Significant Art Deco Building — Fall 2011

The Little Synagogue on the Prairie — Summer 2010

 

Discovery, The Journal of the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta, Calgary 

Tanya Volovnik Gelfand Sklar: A Woman Ahead of her Time — Winter 2010

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ORAH Magazine, Toronto

Part 2 — Lillian Freiman, Mother to All — Fall, 2022

Part 1 — Lillian Freiman: The woman who inspired generations to use their power for good — Spring, 2022 

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C2C Journal, Canadian Journal of Ideas, Calgary

Calgary shouldn’t kill one of its beautiful buildings — January 25, 2012

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Alberta Jewish News, Edmonton

1916 Montefiore Institute Dedication re-enacted at Heritage Park — October 13, 2026

New Calgary Gan HaZikaron includes a memorial to victims of the October 7 massacre — October 1, 2026 

A Tale Of Three Bernards And The Stories We Tell In The Little Synagogue On The Prairie — August 11, 2026

Exceptional Honourees Were Warmly Welcomed At The B’nai Brith Calgary Dinner — May 21, 2026

Goldie Morgentaler, Speaks In Calgary About The Great Yiddish Writer, Chava Rosenfarb — May 5, 2026

Chai Life Presents ‘The Last Yiddish Speaker’ May 20-June 7 In Calgary — April 28, 2026

The Story Of Leonard Cohen’s Great Masterpiece, Hallelujah, Now Told In A Children’s Book

— April 13, 2026

Stephen Harper To Serve As Moderator At Calgary’s BB Dinner Honouring Conrad Black & Barbara Amiel 

— March 9, 2026

Calgary B’nai Brith Lodge Celebrates 72nd Annual Gala — April 29, 2025

A book about the failure of Holocaust education gives more insight — March 10, 2025

Lady Esther Gilbert Speaks At The Calgary JCC Jewish Book Festival — December 18, 2024

Tony Award Winning Play, ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ Comes To Calgary: Oct. 15 – Nov. 3 — October 11, 2024

Jenny Belzberg Receives Canada’s Highest Honour For A Lifetime Of Volunteer Work — July 11, 2024

Nani Vazana Performs New Ladino Songs in Canmore — November, 2023

Lenka Lichtenberg Wins JUNO For Holocaust-Themed Poetry Album ‘Thieves Of Dreams’ — March, 2023

Leah Horlick Becomes U Of C’s First Jewish Writer-In-Residence — February, 2023

New children's book tells the story of Hadassah founder, Henrietta Szold  (A Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah, Written By Nancy Churnin, Illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg)

— January 24, 2022

Alberta scientist relates nutrition to mental health — June 21, 2021

How A Holocaust Survivor From Berlin Built One Of Calgary’s Best Multi-Residential Developments 

— November 3, 2020

High Holidays 2020, What Will Jewish Seniors Be Doing? — September 8, 2020

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The Jewish Post & News, Winnipeg

Nani Vazana, the only known composer of new songs in Ladino, performs in Canada — December 6, 2023

The privileged, yet not unscathed, life of Baron Maurice de Hirsch (The Baron: Maurice de Hirsch and the Jewish Nineteenth Century, Written by Matthias B. Lehmann) — December 6, 2023

“On a Clear April Morning,” a Brazilian masterpiece written by a Jewish author documenting the early Jewish experience in Brazil, is finally available in English — August 16, 2023

The Winnipegger who changed the course of Calgary’s history — May 10, 2023

Jewish Life in Canada, seen through the eyes of William Kurelek — January 18, 2023

Fredelle Bruser Maynard's centenary and remembering "Raisins and Almonds" — September 14, 2022

"A Queen to the Rescue" tells the story of Henrietta Szold  (A Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah, Written By Nancy Churnin, Illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg) 

— February 16, 2022

Remembering a forgotten book, "Winnipeg Stories" — November 24, 2021

Calgary scientist Bonnie Kaplan publishes new book stressing the importance of nutrition on mental health  — May 26, 2021

The Little Synagogue in Me: How one of the last surviving prairie synagogues found a home at Calgary’s Heritage Park — May 12, 2021

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The Canadian Jewish News, Toronto

Little shul on the prairie — July 18, 2019 Cover Story

The Musical Cohens spark a Jewish Renaissance — June 6, 2019

Harper makes rare appearance at Calgary B’nai Brith dinner — March 24, 2017

Me, myself and Malta — November 27, 2014

Museum full of stories about Jewish prairie life — March 10, 2011

Calgary family celebrates 100 years in Canada — June 17, 2010

Downtown postpones new Edmonton JCC — January 15, 2009

Edmonton’s new rabbi follows in parent’s footsteps — January 8, 2009

Birthright alumni visit Ukraine — December 11, 2008

Calgary hosts 39th CHW convention — November 27, 2008

Morocco: a trip back in time to Arabian Nights — November 20, 2008

Toledo, Spain, first settled by Sephardi Jews — November 6, 2008

Grandmother, 90, does it her own way — June 19, 2008

Prominent Calgary lawyer dead at 91 — June 4, 2008

New book chronicles contribution of Alberta’s Jewish community (Joyful Harvest: Celebrating Jewish Contributions to Southern Alberta Life, Published by the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta)

— October 25, 2007

J.B. Barron: the Jew who founded Alberta’s oilpatch — August 2, 2007   

28-year-old writes about his ‘retirement’ in Florida (Early Bird: A Memoir of Premature Retirement, Written by Rodney Rothman) — February 15, 2007

Homesteaders established prosperous Jewish community in eastern Alberta — September 14, 2006

Drug trade, crime spoil Caribbean Island — August 17, 2006

Jewish Canadian War Veteran gallery to open in Calgary — June 29, 2006

The remarkable life of Gershon Iskowitz — May 25, 2006

Jews have touched every aspect of New York’s life — December 8, 2005

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Jewish Free Press, Calgary

The Little Synagogue in me — June 7, 2019

The musical Cohens fuel a Jewish renaissance at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra — May 17, 2019

Former Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, speaks about global trends at B’nai Brith dinner — April 7, 2017

Avi Avital’s Mandolin — April 22, 2016

Me, myself and Malta, dispatches from the Mediterranean — November 14, 2014

A love story by Sara from Sarajevo, Sara from Jerusalem — December 6, 2013

The Inglourious Basterd that was Henry Balaban — March 22, 2013

My Bukharian conversion — February 15, 2013

Will anyone stand up to protect the Shaarey Tzedec Synagogue? — October 12, 2012

Albina’s bus… and McKillop Award — October 12, 2012

Calgary fiddles while historic Uptown ‘burns’ — September 21, 2012

Calgary’s Jewish war veterans keep marching — May 25, 2012

Morality, as a one sided expectation (The Moral Lives of Israelis: Reinventing the Dream State, Written by David Berlin) — January 20, 2012 

Community Heritage Roundtable comes to the Jewish community — December 16, 2011

Walking Home makes me want to drive (Walking Home, Written by Ken Greenberg) — October 28, 2011

Yuri Suhl’s One Foot in America is republished 60 years later — September 9, 2011

The Diamond Residence added to list of Calgary historic sites — June 10, 2011

The Free World: New novel by David Bezmozgis is about anything but — May 6, 2011

A lost manuscript about the history of Toronto’s Jewish community is published (The Rise of the Toronto Jewish Community, Written by Shmuel Mayer Shapiro) — April 15, 2011

Stories about the Jewish community at the Glenbow Museum — February 4, 2011

A bisl und a bisl macht a fulle schizl (A little and a little makes a full bowl) — September 10, 2010

From challah and cholent to hot dogs and hamburgers, the Switzer family celebrates 100 years in Canada

— August 27, 2010

Switzer family celebrates 100 years in Canada… gathers for a family reunion — June 11, 2010

Construction of Edmonton’s new Jewish Community Centre on hold — February 6, 2009

Don’t forget us! — December 19, 2008

Spain 101 - an introduction after a 500 year absence — November 21, 2008

Little Synagogue project builds support — May 9, 2008

Ribtor downtown store, a Calgary institution closes after 59 years — March 14, 2008

Amy Winehouse, the badest girl in all of jazz — December 14, 2007

Moshav, they’re not bad they only look that way — November 30, 2007

A Joyful Harvest, the book, chronicles the many contributions of Calgary’s Jewish community

— August 24, 2007

On the occasion of Aron Eichler’s retirement — May 25, 2007

J.B. Barron, A Renaissance Man for All Ages — February 15, 2007

The secret world of Florida’s retirees (Early Bird: A Memoir of Premature Retirement, Written by Rodney Rothman) — January 18, 2007

The Sengaus Family 100 Year Farm Centennial — August 31, 2006

The Jews of the Caribbean — July 6, 2006 

Art Gallery in Honour of Jewish Canadian War Veterans — May 25, 2006

The remarkable life of Gershon Iskowitz — April 13, 2006

Mazel Tov! It’s Haifa Deli — April 13, 2006

Saving the Temple Mount from religious terrorism — March 23, 2006

Jewish hookers in the New World (Bodies and Souls: The Tragic Plight of Three Jewish Women Forced into Prostitution in the Americas, Written by Isabel Vincent) — February 9, 2006

Russian Immigration to Israel: History, achievements and challenges — January 12, 2006

Myra Paperny’s “The Greenies,” digs into past (The Greenies, Written by Myra Paperny)

— November 24, 2005

Sandy Martin, Calgary’s first National President of Hadassah-WIZO — November 24, 2005

A Calgarian’s Journey through Jewish New York — November 3, 2005

A walk down memory lane: Remembering Calgary’s communities with author Harry Sanders

— September 1, 2005

Does Jewish history have to be dry? (The Canadian Jewish Studies Reader, Edited by Richard Menkis and Norman Ravvin) — April 7, 2005

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getdown.ca, a blog of the Calgary Downtown Association

Jews: A Canadian Story in Pictures coming to Calgary City Hall Atrium — January 24, 2014

The Barron Building: Anchor of the Oil Industry in Calgary — July 30, 2012

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Jewish Independent, Vancouver 

Putting down roots after exodus: David Bezmozgis’ novel, The Free World, takes readers on a familiar immigrant journey — July 1, 2011

Jewish living on the Prairies: Calgary’s Glenbow Museum is collecting more cultural objects — June 17, 2011

Economy hits Edmonton JCC — February 6, 2009

A message from Jewish Ukraine — December 26, 2008

Memories of a Jewish golden age — October 31, 2008

Moving the mission on — December 9, 2005

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The Jewish Tribune, North York

Story of orphan ‘Greenies’ based on little-known fact (The Greenies, Written by Myra Paperny)

— January 26, 2006

New national president takes reins of Hadassah-WIZO — January 5, 2006

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Western Standard, Calgary 

Smart music for smart kids — November 22, 2004

The uninteresting side of adultery (After Goodlake’s, Written by Terence Young) — November 8, 2004

A life of storytelling through art and music — October 25, 2004

A writers’ festival that really is festive — October 11, 2004

Retelling an Alberta tragedy through song — September 13, 2004

Edmonton’s uncommon songbird — August 30, 2004

All the world’s a page for Winnipeg’s Shakespearian etcher — August 2, 2004

Read and drive this summer (not at the same time) (The Longest Road: Stories Along the Trans-Canada Highway, Written by Bob Weber) — July 19, 2004

Calgary’s own honky-tonk legend lives on — June 28, 2004

The West meets an Eastern-inspired Edmonton designer — June 14, 2004

Winning kids books may be closer than you think (Hidden Buffalo, Written by Rudy Wiebe, Paintings by Michael Lonechild; In Abby’s Hands, Written by Wendy A. Lewis, Illustrated by Marilyn Mets and Peter Ledwon; My Home Bay, Written by Anne Laurel Carter, Illustrated by Alan and Lea Daniel) — May 31, 2004

A children’s author with unusual talent — May 3, 2004

Old Trouts breathe life into the art of puppetry — March 29, 2004

Western writers get lost in the national shuffle — March 12, 2004

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