'This is a hair-on-fire moment': Why Canadian Jewish leaders are worried about Israel’s new government

This week, Israel’s incoming prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will announce the country’s cabinet ministers. It’s all but certain that this will comprise his coalition partners, including Bezalel Smotrich, an extreme right-wing politician who wants to take control of the entire West Bank and Gaza and opposes rights for LGBTQ people; Itamar Ben-Gvir, infamous for his anti-Arab political stances; and Aryeh Deri, who’s been convicted on separate counts of tax evasion and bribery—and spent almost two years in jail. Netanyahu insists these men will have to walk back some of their more extreme plans. But one law that could change is the Law of Return, restricting aliyah to only those born to a Jewish mother, in accordance with the Orthodox viewpoint. And how they handle the ongoing crisis with Palestinians is also up for debate—whether new laws will incite more violence and terror. To discuss all these issues and more, The CJN Daily assembled a panel of three Canadian Jewish leaders to share their concerns and make some predictions about what Israel will look like in the near future. Ben Murane is the executive director of the New Israel Fund of Canada; Miriam Pearlman is a past president of the Association of Reform Zionists of America Canada; and Shimon Koffler Fogel is the CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

What we talked about:

• Read the NIFC's open letter warning about Israel new government
• See the reaction from the Reform Jewish Community of Canada

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We're a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.