North Star with Ellin Bessner

On May 16, the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee adopted a motion introduced by the NDP’s Heather McPherson, a vocal critic of the Israeli government. Her motion—which passed with the support of four Liberal MPs, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois—will now see the committee hold hearings on how Canada can foster peace between Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, in light of the recent upswing in violence that has killed at least 89 Palestinians and 14 Israelis this year. McPherson’s views have sparked deep concern from some Jewish MPs and Jewish advocacy organizations, who fear the hearings will give a platform to Israel-bashing and pound a wedge between Jewish and Muslim groups in Canada. The Canadian government hasn’t held hearings on its policies on Israel and the Palestinian crisis for years. (Ottawa still supports a two-state solution and sends millions in financial support to the region, mostly earmarked for Palestinians.) On today’s The CJN Daily, we get the behind-the-scenes story of how this motion came about and hear reaction from Ya’ara Saks, Liberal MP for York Centre and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development; Melissa Lantsman, MP for Thornhill and deputy leader of the Conservative Party of Canada; and Shimon Koffler Fogel, the CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. What we talked about Read the original NDP statement from April 20 from MP Heather McPherson calling on Canada to study the Israel-Palestine question Read her statement on Israel extremism from January 2023. Find us on May 22 at the Walk with Israel in Toronto: come by our CJN booth 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 subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

The group is calling itself the Network of Engaged Canadian Academics, or NECA, and its founders are two professors from Ottawa: Deidre Butler, director of the Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies at Carleton University and Cary Kogan, a clinical psychology professor at Ottawa U. Each has personally experienced anti-Israel or antisemitic incidents in recent years at their workplaces: Butler was not permitted to fundraise to help her religion students accompany her on a study trip to Israel this semester, while Kogan’s faculty association voted to oppose the IHRA definition of antisemitism. The pair say it’s about academic freedom because they are finding that there is no room on campuses anymore for professors who are pro-Israel; only for those who condemn the Jewish State, including many of their Jewish colleagues who are in that camp. And so while there are plenty of existing groups that support Jewish students on university campuses, academics like them also need help to better face the widespread normalization of anti-Zionism in higher education. The co-chairs join The CJN Daily to reveal they have already signed up 100 members and are looking to expand across the country. What we talked about Learn more about the Network of Engaged Canadian Academics in their mission statement. Read why an anti-IHRA network of Jewish faculty was formed in 2021 in The CJN Find us on May 22 at the Walk with Israel in Toronto: come by our CJN booth. 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 subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

Cindy Seni is one of the cast members looking to find true love on the popular new Netflix series Jewish Matchmaking, which debuted on May 3. The show ranks among the streaming service’s most-watched programs in several countries, including in Canada and in Israel. But to Seni’s disappointment, you won’t hear anything on the eight episodes about her Canadian identity and upbringing—including growing up in Thornhill, Ont., and living there until she made aliyah in 2018—because the producers cut all that out. The Netflix series follows Seni, now 28, and a cast of eligible singles from all parts of the Jewish world, who have diverse connections to Judaism. They try to solve their dating problems by using the services of a professional Orthodox matchmaker, Aleeza Ben Shalom, who sets them up with one goal in mind: marriage. Seni joins The CJN Daily to dish about what it was like filming the show, how the experience has helped her love life and we ask whether she really did find her bashert. What we talked about Watch _Jewish Matchmaking _on Netflix Follow Cindy Seni on Instagram, her website and Tiktok Find The CJN in person at the Walk with Israel in Toronto on May 22 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 subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

Michael Kerzner is the highest-ranking Jewish member of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government. Kerzner was appointed as solicitor general last June, shortly after being elected in the York Centre riding—his first successful foray into politics—as part of the Progressive Conservatives’ sweep back to power in 2022. Now Kerzner is taking it upon himself to speak out for the Jewish community. Later today, he is scheduled to speak in the legislature about two hot-button issues: the annual Al-Quds day protest held in downtown Toronto a few weeks ago; and the anti-Israel positions held by a newly elected NDP MPP Sarah Jama, from Hamilton Centre. Kerzner calls Jama’s record of tweets and speeches antisemitic—which some members of the Jewish community also feel have been hurtful. Kerzner joins The CJN Daily to explain why he’s given Jama the silent treatment until now, but things are about to heat up as he ramps up his own personal protest against having her in the Ontario legislature. What we talked about How Michael Kerzner navigated attending the official Ontario event to mark King Charles III coronation on Shabbat, on The CJN Daily Michael Kerzner eyes run in the York Centre riding for the 2022 election, in The CJN Read political columnist Josh Lieblein’s take on Sarah Jama’s election to Queen’s Park in The CJN 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 subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador will hold a news conference today, May 9, to officially announce its adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. The move will be done by proclamation and unveiled at the Confederation Building in St. John’s. “We remain unwavering in our commitment to always challenge antisemitism, wherever and whenever it occurs,” said Gerry Byrne, the cabinet minister in charge of immigration, population growth and skills, in a media release. Officials say the adoption came after a request from local Jewish communities, and is being done as part of the province’s efforts to tackle racism in all its forms. With this, Canada now has seven provinces—plus the federal government—who have incorporated the IHRA definition of antisemitism as official policy. So why are reports of Jew-hatred incidents in Canada still in the thousands last year, according to a recent B’nai Brith report? Does this latest adoption mean a setback to those groups who oppose the IHRA definition, such as academics, unions, the NDP, some First Nations groups, and particularly the Independent Jewish Voices group? The CJN Daily spoke with Belle Jarniewski, a member of Canada’s delegation to IHRA, about the recent successes and where the challenges still lie. What we talked about Hear Ellin speak in Calgary on Thursday, May 11, for Jewish Heritage Month at The Military Museums at 7. p.m. Learn why Quebec supported IHRA—but Montreal did not adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism—in The CJN Read more about Hamilton adopting the IHRA definition, and Vaughan, in The CJN 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 subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

When millions of people around the world tuned in to watch Saturday’s broadcast of the coronation ceremony of King Charles, one of them was Manitoba’s lieutenant governor, the Hon. Anita Neville. Neville felt a particular attachment to the new sovereign—and not just because her job is to represent the King in her province. Neville had, just weeks earlier, flown to London for an in person tete-a-tete with her new boss at Buckingham Palace. They talked about the environment, Indigenous Canadians and the inner workings of the coronation ceremony itself. “I think he’s going to be a very fine King,” Neville declared. Meanwhile, Ontario’s only Jewish cabinet minister, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, found himself facing the same dilemma as other observant Jews in public office. The coronation was being held on a Saturday, and Kerzner had to keep Shabbat while attending an official ceremony in Toronto to mark the coronation. Kerzner and Neville join _The CJN Daily _to share their royal experiences. What we talked about Anita Neville is Manitoba’s new Lieutenant Governor in The CJN Michael Kerzner is elected to Ontario’s Doug Ford PC government, in June 2022, in The CJN Watch Maya Gamzu’s final performance on Canada’s Got Talent 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 subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

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. Now, the families are taking a new strategy. They’ve teamed up with Bygone Theatre, a theatre company in Toronto, to mount a live Wayne and Shuster stage show that opens at the University of Toronto’s Hart House Theatre May 25. It will go on a national tour, too. Audiences will get 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 join The CJN Daily, along with Rosie Shuster and the producers of the play, Emily Dix and Conor Fitzgerald. What we talked about Learn more about the new Wayne and Shuster live show and buy tickets 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 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 subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

A new documentary is giving viewers unprecedented access to the unconventional life of the Hon. Rosalie Abella, the first Jewish woman—and first refugee—to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The film, Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella, had its world premiere this week at Toronto’s Hot Docs film festival. The film follows Abella, a child of Holocaust survivors, during the final months of her 17-year-long tenure on Canada’s highest court. She retired in 2021, when she turned 75. Over the years, she has been credited with seminal social-justice court rulings, paving the way for same-sex marriage in Canada; advocating for women’s workplace rights; ensuring job opportunities for minorities; and enshrining the right to strike. The film follows some of these cases while also diving into Abella’s fierce work ethic and her courage to take unpopular positions on public policy. We also see her private side, including a home and office where every surface is covered in colourful pop art, collectibles and figurines. Abella originally did not want to have a film made about her life, but her late husband Irving Abella—who died during filming—convinced his wife it would be a good idea. Abella wasn’t giving media interviews before the premiere, so we sat down with the documentary’s director, Barry Avrich, just ahead of the film’s weeklong festival run. What we talked about Watch Without Precedent at Hot Docs or online Read past coverage of Abella in the pages of The CJN here and here Learn about the late Abraham Lieff, the first Jewish judge on Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice (and CJN Daily host Ellin Bessner’s grandfather), in The CJN Vote for Maya Gamzu in Canada’s Got Talent here 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 subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

She’s not even 15 years old, but this Israeli immigrant to Canada is blessed with a powerful singing voice that belies her years. Now Maya Gamzu is hoping that her current success on this season’s reality TV show Canada’s Got Talent (airing on Citytv) will be her ticket to stardom. Gamzu and her family moved from Tel Aviv to Richmond Hill, Ont. four years ago. She was already performing in Hebrew back home ever since she was a toddler, but mastering the English language was a challenge she took on so that she could reach a wider audience. Although she doesn’t flaunt it, her Jewish and Israeli roots are a huge part of Maya’s identity: for her audition episode, she wore a red string bracelet around her left wrist which she had brought from the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Originally, Maya had hoped to make a connection with the lone Jewish judge on the show, Toronto-born comedian Howie Mandel. But surprisingly it was the award-winning rapper Kardinal Offishall who became her champion, and awarded the Grade 9 student at Westmount Collegiate Institute the so-called “Golden Buzzer” – which means she went straight through to the semi finals. That episode airs tonight Tuesday, May 2. Maya Gamzu and her father Sergei join The CJN Daily to take us behind the scenes of the popular show. What we talked about Watch Maya Gamzu’s audition and interview with Canada’s Got Talent on Citytv Follow her on Instagram Vote for Maya Gamzu after the episode airs, using this link 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 subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

When B’nai Brith released its annual antisemitism report on April 17, documenting 2,769 incidents of Jew hatred in Canada last year, we wondered why the numbers were so high. After all, the Canadian government’s own data on police-reported hate crimes against Jews accounted for a fraction of that number. In France, whose Jewish population is bigger than Canada’s, there were just 469 cases in 2022—six times lower than in Canada. And the American numbers are relatively the same as Canada’s although they have 17 times as many Jews as we do. So The CJN Daily _asked B’nai Brith’s director of the League for Human Rights, Marvin Rotrand, to help explain the numbers. As we begin Jewish Heritage Month today, on May 1—and _The CJN Daily turns two years old today—we kick off the month reflecting on these troubling statistics, asking how safe it is for Jews in Canada and what these disturbing data actually look like. What we talked about Read how the Montreal Jewish community reacted to a recent flag-burning in The CJN Why there were 2, 769 reported incidents of antisemitism in Canada last year, according to B’nai Brith’s annual audit, in The CJN. 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 subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.