Operation Ezra
Operation Ezra was launched in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in March 2015. Operation Ezra was initially formed between Winnipeg’s Jewish and Yazidi communities but quickly transformed into a Jewish Community-led coalition of multifaith organizations, charities and businesses. To date we have privately sponsored 65 Yazidi refugees from Iraq and Turkey to Winnipeg.
Through the advocacy efforts of Operation Ezra and other organizations the Canadian government agreed in 2017 to resettle 1,200 Yazidi refugees. A large percentage of those who escaped Iraq and arrived in Winnipeg are single women who lost husbands at the hands of ISIS, many of them young and with multiple children to care for.
What makes Yazidis significantly different from many of the previous refugee arrivals in Canada is the degree of physical, mental and emotional health issues, exacerbated by the fact that they are among the most marginalized and tormented ethnic minorities on the planet.
Operation Ezra Committee
Michel Aziza
Chair - Operation Ezra Committee
Nafiya Naso
Settlement Coordinator - Jewish Child & Family Service
Iael Bensendorf
Settlement Coordinator - Jewish Child & Family Service
Lorne Weiss
President - Congregation Shaarey Zedek
Anita Neville
Ray Harris
Secretary - Manitoba Multifaith Council
Al Benarroch
Executive Director - Jewish Child & Family Service
Bob Freedman
Belle Jarniewski
Executive Director - Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada
