to public school kids in Grade 5 and up? Have those felt more urgent lately? I want them to connect to a specific story: to understand what antisemitism is, and that it’s a form of racism. I try to situate it within their own lives and what they can understand. Sometimes I’m asked, “Did your father think antisem- itism was ever going to go away? What would he think now?” And as much as he was an optimist—and a satisfied and grateful person in his life– he would’ve always said, “It’s never going to be gone.” The other thing I’ve thought is that it’s a good thing he hasn’t been alive to see what’s happened since Oct. 7. I actually wish he was here to guide me. He would’ve been disappointed, but also not surprised. n
had this extremely deep sense of empathy, which was also not always helpful to me.
People can see things as they wish, but I’m proud of this work. I know that I’m helping people. And that’s ultimately what I’m here to do, just to bring people mercy and to care about them. This is the total opposite of what the Nazis were. You were the only child in your family. How did you decide that enrolling in medical school was something you wanted to do? It’s sort of clichéd but I was one of those people who, from the youngest age, knew I wanted to be a physician. My first memory was seeing a disabled child on the bus, and I started crying, because their mother was yelling at them. I think that comes from having heard the Holocaust story from such a young age. My father’s story. I just always
Your father Moishe also worked for the Canadian clothing designer Franco Mirabelli. Did that play a role in the fact that you’re recognized for your own fondness for wearing big colours and big prints? I like to think it’s genetic. Both my par- ents had an astute sense of style, and my dad would tell me if what I was wearing was no longer in fashion. He’d be the one to tell me “mini is in now” or “mini is out now.” He loved seeing me dress up and glowed with pride.
What about your weekly Carrying Testi- mony presentations about the Holocaust
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