North Star with Ellin Bessner

A Florida court convicted Dan Markel’s former mother-in-law of first degree murder on Sept. 4 for the 2014 contract hit on the Canadian law professor. Markel, 41, was fatally shot in the head outside his Florida home by Latin gang members who his ex-wife’s family had hired to execute him, while the couple was locked in a bitter custody battle over where their two sons should live. With Donna Adelson’s guilty verdict, the American courts have now put five people associated with the murder behind bars, most of them locked away for life: Adelson, 75, the matriarch; Charles Adelson, her son, a dentist, convicted in 2023; also Adelson’s former girlfriend, and the two killers. Markel’s ex-wife Wendi has never been charged, and denies any involvement in the plot. Her parents were arrested two years ago at the Miami airport attempting to flee the United States to Vietnam, which has no extradition treaty. After their former in-law’s three week trial ended, Markel’s parents delivered victim impact statements, including wishing her a Jewish blessing that she should live to 120, alone in her jail cell. Ruth Markel joins host Ellin Bessner on today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast to recount the family’s latest trial ordeal, and why she hopes her two teenaged grandsons will come to Canada. Related links Watch the Sept. 4 verdict and the victim impact statements given by Dan Markel’s family to the Florida court. Read Ruth Markel’s book which she penned about her grief and her family’s journey as murder survivors following the killing of her son Dan in 2014, Hear Ellin’s first interview in 2022 with Ruth Markel on The CJN Daily Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)

The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, a new documentary, debuted to a sold-out audience of nearly 2,000 ticket-holders at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10. The 95-minute film depicts the true story of how a retired Israeli army general raced south through the country to save his children and grandchildren from Hamas terrorists in the closest kibbutz to the Gaza border. TIFF initially barred the Canadian-produced film from screening at the prestigious film festival, citing copyright issues over the use of some graphic video taken by the attackers on Oct. 7. There were also safety concerns about disruptions to the festival by large crowds of anti-Israel protestors. TIFF reversed its decision in mid-August, following international public outrage, including lobbying by Canadian Jewish leaders and festival donors. The Wednesday afternoon screening attracted just a few dozen anti-Israel demonstrators outside. Meanwhile, a question and answer session inside drew “boos” from the largely Jewish audience as journalist Lisa LaFlamme asked the film’s protagonists whether Israel’s continuing military campaign is, as the Tibon family have suggested, “revenge” for the Israeli army’s humiliation on Oct. 7. But the filmmaker, Barry Avrich, insists his documentary is not meant to be political—he interprets it as a human story of family and courage. Cineplex Odeon theatres will show the film in select cities in Canada and the U.S. starting on Oct. 3. On today’s episode of the North Star podcast, The CJN’s news editor, Lila Sarick, shares what it was like attending the hotly anticipated premiere, and what the film itself was like. Related links Watch the trailer for the Oct. 7 film “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue”. Read about how the Jewish community responded, including donors from the Reitman family, when TIFF originally announced the Oct. 7 film could not play, in The CJN. Learn more about why, after receiving 60,000 emails of protest, TIFF officials agreed to screen the film, in The CJN Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)

As a new academic year starts on Canadian post-secondary campuses, headlines and social media posts are already revealing a familiarly troubling atmsphere for Jewish students. At Concordia University in Montreal, the official student handbook seems to glorify anti-Israel protests. At Toronto Metropolitan University, masked students accosted the provost at an orientation session, calling her a coward and demanding she denounce the genocide in Gaza. On Sept. 3, a study from the Aristotle Foundation, a Calgary-based conservative think tank, has found Jewish university students “four times more likely than the average student to be ‘very reluctant’ to speak up and share their views on religion during class discussions,” for fear of being penalized by their professor or experiencing hostility from other students. According to the study, 15 percent of the Jewish students surveyed reported daily abuse on campus for being Jewish, while 84 percent reported being the target of antisemitism on campus at least once a year. Is there any cause for Jewish students to be optimistic? Are there examples of Jewish students or faculty pushing back against the overwhelming anti-Israel atmosphere on Canadian campuses? On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, we’ve found a bit of good news—and some bad news, too. Host Ellin Bessner is joined by Daphne Wornovitzky, a recent graduate from the University of Calgary’s social work faculty; Melanie Trossman, a social worker in Calgary; and also Gdalit Neuman, a PhD candidate at York University’s dance faculty. Related links Read  Gdalit Neuman’s recent article about antisemitism and anti-Israel activism taking place on York University campus, and also as part of international academic associations. Learn more about the pervasive antisemitism found in Canadian university and college social work programs, and also read the scholarly research by social worker Annette Poizner, published in 2023. What happened when pro-Israel speaker Eylon Levy was trapped in a University of Calgary classroom last fall, in The CJN.  Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)

The United Nations General Assembly gets to work this week, beginning its 80th anniversary session on Sept. 9. And as the ambassadors gather in New York, there will be a new pair of Canadian eyes keeping tabs on how the world’s parliament lives up to its mandate of equitably improving human rights, especially on the Israel-Palestine file. Former senator Linda Frum has been appointed the new chair of UN Watch, a Geneva-based non-governmental organization that has, for decades, exposed an alleged anti-Israel bias on the global stage. In the last few years, UN Watch has directed its lens in particular toward the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, which employed at least nine staffers who were possibly involved with the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel—and who were subsequently fired in the summer of 2024. Frum steps onto the stage at what could be a pivotal moment in Middle Eastern history. The UN will bring world leaders together in a few weeks for a summit wherein many countries, including Canada, have signalled they will formally recognize Palestinian statehood. It’s a move Frum feels is “very dangerous” for the Jewish community here, as it will raise temperatures at home and put “a target on the back of every Jewish Canadian citizen.” On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner is joined by both Linda Frum and UN Watch’s executive director, Hillel Neuer, a Canadian lawyer, to take a look ahead at the UN’s fall agenda and what’s at stake. Related links Read the United Nations Watch announcement of former Canadian Senator Linda Frum as the new chair of its board. Follow UN Watch’s latest research on keeping the UN accountable. Hear two views of Canada’s plan to recognize Palestine as a state, on The CJN’s North Star podcast. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)

Diaspora Jews have spent nearly two full years seeing posters of Israeli hostages ripped down in public, hearing chants of “Go back to Poland” in the streets, and seeing Zionists banned from progressive organizations and events. After all that, Diaspora Jews could be suffering from a condition called “traumatic invalidation”. The diagnosis is contained in a research paper published this year by two Jewish Harvard University–affiliated psychologists who specialize in trauma. The symptoms include anxiety, depression, shame and, in extreme cases, post-traumatic stress disorder. The authors found that Jewish patients reported their pain and trauma after Oct. 7 has been not only widely ignored, but in many cases denied—or even weaponized against them. Since their study was published by The Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment in May 2025, it has struck a chord among the Canadian Jewish community. That’s why a coalition of Canadian synagogues, Jewish medical professionals and trauma organizations have brought one of the authors to this country this week for a series of public talks. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner sits down with Dr. Miri Bar-Halpern, a Boston-based clinical psychologist and Harvard lecturer, who is wrapping up her speaking tour in Toronto. She explains why she decided to investigate this subject and offers some tools to help people heal. Related links Read Dr. Bar-Halpern and her colleague’s scholarly article, about Oct. 7 and traumatic invalidation, in The Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment (22 pages). Learn more about Dr. Bar-Halperin, through her website. Attend the workshop Friday Sept. 5 in Toronto designed for mental health professionals to train them how to better support Jewish patients suffering from traumatic invalidation because of antisemitism. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)

The suspect charged in the stabbing of a Jewish Ottawa woman at the city’s main kosher Loblaws grocery store last week is still in custody, and is going through a series of court appearances this week. But there has not yet been a bail hearing for Joe Rooke, who appeared by video in an Ottawa court on Sept. 2. Ottawa police arrested the suspect on Aug. 27, shortly after the attack. The man was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a dangerous weapon. Later, when police investigated the suspect’s antisemitic social media posts, the case was classified as a hate-motivated crime. News of the attack has shocked the capital’s Jewish community, especially because it happened at a grocery store that stocks the largest selection of kosher products in Ottawa. And while it’s prompted an outpouring of support and condemnation from political leaders—including a statement signed by 32 Liberal Members of Parliament calling for action to combat rising antisemitism in Canada— some members of the Jewish community say it’s merely lip service, adding that social media posts aren’t enough to counter the sense of fear and anger that they feel after the stabbing. Police say the victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries, but has since been released and is recovering at home. While she and her family are keeping her name private for the time being, they have asked for prayers, and hope the community prays for peace. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Jewish community leader Cantor Jason Green of the Kehillat Beth Israel synagogue, where the victim used to sing in his choir, and also with David Roytenberg, an editor at the Canadian Zionist Forum, who was shopping in that Loblaws store when the attack occurred. Related links Learn more about how Ottawa’s Jewish leaders reacted to the stabbing in The CJN’s coverage from last week. Watch Cantor Jason Green’s “emergency” sermon from Saturday Aug. 30 at Kehillat Beth Israel synagogue in Ottawa. Read the Ottawa Police’s news release classifying the stabbing as a hate-crime Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)

Ellin Bessner will return next week. Today, we're bringing you the latest episode of Menschwarmers, The CJN's Jewish sports podcast. Subscribe to Menschwarmers here. In July, the New York Yankees drafted a Canadian shortstop from Wyoming, Ont., named Core Jackson. They did so despite knowing that Jackson, as a 17-year-old freshman at the University of Nebraska, had drawn a swastika on a Jewish student's dorm room while he was, he later told The Athletic, "blackout drunk." But this isn't a run-of-the-mill case of antisemitism. By all accounts, according to the Yankees' ground scouts and the recent investigation by The Athletic that ran Aug. 20, Jackson was, simply, acting like an ignorant drunk teenager, and was forthright about the incident with teams before the draft. The team did significant due diligence, engaging with New York's Jewish community and sending scouts to learn about Jackson's family and personality. The resulting story is less about the insipid rise of casual antisemitism, and more about the power of forgiveness when people—especially teenagers—make mistakes and try to do better. Keith Law, a longtime baseball journalist and former front office worker with the Toronto Blue Jays, broke this story for The Athletic. He joins us to share his impressions of Core Jackson and how the Yankees are viewing this opportunity. After that, podcast hosts Gabe and Jamie run through this year's hottest Jewish sports movies, from Happy Gilmore 2 to both Safdie brothers' award-season offerings, The Smashing Machine and Marty Supreme. Then they give a quick NFL preview and recap Zach Hyman's ceremonial opening of the new ice hockey rink at the Schwartz/Reisman Jewish Community Centre in Vaughan. Credits Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver Producer: Michael Fraiman Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing") Support The CJN Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Menschwarmers (Not sure how? Click here)

North Star is on vacation this week, so we're rerunning some of our favourite episodes. This one originally aired August 7, 2024. Sharon Chodirker and Chaim Bell consider themselves lucky: they were among the tens of thousands of tourists and residents in Jasper who were evacuated from the forest fires that devoured a third of the buildings in the iconic Rocky Mountain resort town on July 24, 2024. The Toronto couple, who were on a hiking trip, managed to escape Jasper while smoke and ash rained down on their rental car. When they reached a safe spot across the border in British Columbia, they slept in their vehicle and dined on kosher snacks they'd stored in their portable cooler. Two days after their frightening journey, flames up to 100 metres high swept right through where their hotel stood, destroying several buildings. Now they're sharing their survival story from the safety of their Toronto home, while the town of Jasper remains off-limits except for emergency crews—and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who visited on Aug. 5, 2024. On this episode of The CJN Daily, we hear from the Toronto couple personally, as well as Rabbi Dovid Pinson of Canmore, who runs the new Chabad community centre outside Banff and hosted the evacuees. We'll also hear from Heidi Coleman, the head of the Jewish community in Kamloops, B.C., who felt like she was starring in the musical Come From Away when she helped a busload of stranded Jasperites in her city. What we talked about When Rabbi Dovid Pinson ran the annual Hanukkah car menorah parade in Edmonton during COVID in 2021, in The CJN

 Learn more about Chabad in the Rockies

 Hear how Heidi Coleman came from Montreal to Kamloops and became their Jewish leader, on the podcast Yehupetzville
 Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Original Music: Dov Beck-Levine Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)

North Star is on vacation this week, so we're rerunning some of our favourite episodes. This one originally aired May 4th, 2023 Canadians of a certain age will remember listening to the comedy duo of Wayne and Shuster on the radio—and, later, watching them on television from the 1950s well into the 1980s. The duo met in high school in Toronto’s prewar Jewish neighbourhood around Harbord Collegiate, where they began writing and performing sketch comedy. After returning from entertaining the troops overseas during the Second World War, they joined the television era, with specials pulling in audiences of millions and worldwide syndication. Since their fathers' deaths, Wayne and Shuster’s children have been campaigning to convince the CBC—which owns the broadcast rights to much of their parents’ material—to air it for the first time in years for a new generation of Canadians to enjoy. These efforts have not been successful, so the families are taking a new strategy. They teamed up with Bygone Theatre, a theatre company in Toronto, to mount a live Wayne and Shuster stage show that opened at the University of Toronto’s Hart House Theatre in May 25, 2023. It went on a national tour, too. Audiences got to see high-profile Canadian actors perform such classic W and S skits as “Rinse the Blood Off My Toga” and “A Shakespearean Baseball Game”. Michael and Brian Wayne joined The CJN Daily, along with Rosie Shuster and the producers of the play, Emily Dix and Conor Fitzgerald. **What we talked about
** When the City of Toronto named a lane after Wayne and Shuster, in The CJN
 For Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017, The CJN ran this profile of Wayne and Shuster
 Watch “Rinse the Blood off my Toga” on YouTube

 Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
 Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
 Original Music: Dov Beck-Levine
 Current Music: Bret Higgins

 Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
 Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)

North Star is on vacation this week, so we're rerunning some of our favourite episodes. This one originally aired March 8, 2022. On March 19, 2022, 12-year-old Naomi Hochman will celebrate her bat mitzvah at Winnipeg's Shaarey Zedek synagogue. And while she's the first girl in her family to have a bat mitzvah—her older brothers had theirs, and she just took for granted she would enjoy one too—bat mitzvahs are in fact a relatively new phenomenon. Naomi's bat mitzvah actually takes place on the 100-year anniversary of the very first bat mitzvah in North America. The daughter of an American reconstructionist rabbi, Judith Kaplan, earned that distinction on March 18, 1922. In Canada, what is believed to be the first bat mitzvah wouldn't take place until decades later, in 1949. Miriam Lieff led a Friday night service at Agudath Israel Synagogue in Ottawa, paving the way for generations of Canadian girls to take a more egalitarian role in Jewish religious life. Now 89, Lieff joins to recall her experience during a time when girls weren't even allowed to stand on the bimah—and Naomi will talk about how she feels carrying that torch so many years later. What we talked about: Submit your bat mitzvah story to the Jewish Women’s Archive Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Original production team: Victoria Redden (producer) Current Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Original Music: Dov Beck-Levine Current Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)