North Star with Ellin Bessner

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.

Hadassa Kingstone’s parents escaped Hitler’s Europe, snuck through the British blockade of Mandatory Palestine and settled in pre-State Haifa, where she was born in 1936. Her memories include hiding Haganah weapons in her father’s factory while their apartment was used as a clandestine radio station in the lead up to the 1948 War of Independence. But after serving in the first Arab-Israeli War at the Suez Canal in 1956, Kingstone left to see the world. She made it to Montreal, where she fell in love, married and remained for three decades. Along the way she encountered some of Israel’s iconic founding leaders, including Golda Meir and Menachem Begin. But the pull of her native land saw her move back to Israel in 1990, after her children had grown up. Kingstone has spent the last 30 years with a front-row seat to Israel’s more recent history, from Intifadas to Start-Up Nation to the current pro-democracy protests engulfing her homeland. On Israel’s 75th birthday, she joins The CJN Daily from Tel Aviv to share her personal journey, which closely mirrors the story of the Jewish State. What we talked about: Read how other Canadians remember their first trips to Israel in The CJN Hadassa Kingstone’s niece, Heidi Kingstone, writes her memoirs about covering the war in Afghanistan, in The CJN, from 2015 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.

What does Jeopardy co-host (and former Big Bang Theory star) Mayim Bialik have to do with Israel’s 75th birthday? Why does the winner of the Tour de France bicycle race wear a yellow jersey? What year did the Dead Sea Scrolls leave Israel and go on display in Montreal? Here’s your chance to test your own knowledge. To celebrate Israel’s 75th birthday, The CJN Daily has teamed up with David Matlow, creator of The CJN’s popular Treasure Trove column, to explore the history of Israel though his 75 carefully-curated pieces from his massive personal collection of Zionist artifacts. In fact, Matlow has just released a new book, 75 Treasures, where you’ll find all the answers. Listen to the end of today’s episode for your chance to win a hard copy of the book. What we talked about Download a free digital copy of the _75 Treasures _book via David Matlow’s website Never miss a new Treasure Trove column in The CJN Hear Mayim Bialik’s interview with Bonjour Chai 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.

As Israel mourns its 24,213 fallen soldiers (and 4,255 civilians killed by terror) this Yom Hazikaron, Canada’s Jewish community also recently lost a war hero who fought for the State of Israel. Bill Novick of Montreal was the second-last surviving Canadian Machalnik—a nickname for volunteers from abroad—who snuck into Israel in 1948 to help the badly outnumbered Israeli military fight their War of Independence. Novick, who practised as an ear, nose and throat physician until the middle of the pandemic, died on March 23 after a brief illness. He was 99. On today’s “Honourable Menschen” epsiode of The CJN Daily, Ellin and Ron Csillag pay tribute to Novick and fellow Montrealer Jerry Gross, who also volunteered for Israel’s 1948 war; Toronto Jewish studies professor Rabbi Michael Brown; Leo Goldhar, who built Jewish projects in Toronto and Israel; and Winnipeg track star Lou “Lightning” Billinkoff, who took up racing only after suffering a heart attack at the age of 89. What we talked about Learn more about Lou Billinkoff in The CJN Read Rabbi professor Michael Brown’s obituary in The CJN Jerry Gross was one of the last Canadian Machal fighters for Israel, in The CJN Hear our extended interview with Bill Novick on _The CJN Daily _from May 2021 Leo Goldhar devoted his life to building Jewish Canada and Israel, in The CJN Find the names of all of Israel’s fallen soldiers 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.

Ofir Sofer is the first member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to visit Canada since pro-democracy protests began in Israel four months ago. Sofer spent a whirlwind day in Toronto last week, as part of a higher-profile trip to New York’s Jewish community, where his first stop was at the Chabad world headquarters. The cabinet minister is a member of Netanyahu’s coalition partner, the right-wing Religious Zionist Party, led by extremist leader Bezalel Smotrich, now also Israel’s finance minister. Sofer’s trip was his first-ever to North America, where he toured mainly Orthodox schools and Orthodox synagogues, encouraging students and staff to make Aliyah. But he also got an earful from some Canadian non-Orthodox Jewish leaders who are worried that his government will tighten eligibility for automatic Israeli citizenship under the historic Law of Return. Sofir’s visit was accompanied by a small protest outside the headquarters of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. The CJN Daily spoke briefly with the minister, although he wasn’t giving interviews. On today’s show you’ll hear why. You’ll also hear from some of the Canadian leaders he met with, who stand on opposite sides of the current tensions in Israel: Rabbi Steven Wernick, Rabbi Elan Mazer, Rabbi Samuel Kaye, Gail Adelson from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs; and David Koschitzky. What we talked about Read more about the Canadian branch of UnXeptable, which is holding protests every Sunday in Toronto for democracy in Israel, in The CJN Why this Canadian Orthodox rabbi says we shouldn’t criticize Israel in public, on The CJN Daily Learn more about the 300 Jewish Canadians who signed an open letter published in Canadian and Israeli newspapers on The CJN Daily 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.Read transcript

An orphaned polar bear named Steve with not enough fish to eat meets a lonely electric vehicle named Eve who ran away to the North Pole to escape being bullied by gas-guzzling cars. That’s the plot of a new graphic novel for young readers by award-winning B.C. authors Paul Shore and Deborah Katz Henriquez. Launched at a book reading in March 2023, Steve and Eve Save the Planet: I Can Hear Your Heart Beep is the first offering in what the creators promise will be a series of books that tackle climate change. Shore, a trained engineer, and Katz Henriquez, a professor of nursing, hope their colourful characters and requisite gross-out jokes about herring breath and burps will entertain children—and also inspire them to take action. Paul Shore and Deborah Katz Enriquez join The CJN Daily to explain how their book promotes tikun olam, and why the message resonates with readers of all backgrounds. What we talked about Find out more about Earth Day and events in Canada this month Learn more about the authors and order the book Why more and more Canadian synagogues are going green, on The CJN Daily 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 Rosenstrasse Protest – which occurred in Berlin in 1943 just weeks before the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which we remember today – was the only demonstration by thousands of German citizens against the Nazis’ treatment of Jews during the Second World War. Eighty years ago this spring, non-Jewish German women stood their ground for a week near the Berlin headquarters of the Gestapo. They won the release of their 2,000 Jewish husbands, who had just been arrested and were slated for deportation. The roundups were part of the Nazis’ plan to make Berlin free of its remaining Jews. But nearly all the intermarried Jewish spouses later survived the Holocaust. Now, a role playing game is on sale that highlights the story of this largely unknown Rosenstrasse event. Its Canadian co-creator, Moyra Turkington of Toronto, joins The CJN Daily to showcase the historic but overlooked role which these brave non-Jewish women played in the Holocaust. What we talked about Read more about the Rosenstrasse game and order a copy Watch the national Yom ha-Shoah memorial ceremony from Ottawa Read about other Holocaust-themed games in The CJN Credit_s_ 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.

As ceremonies are held across Canada for Yom ha-Shoah, the commemoration of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, we bring you the little-known story of a Montreal father of four who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although Harry Cohen had been born in Poland, he’d immigrated to Canada in 1919 and lived for decades in Montreal with his wife and the couple’s four children. On the eve of the Second World War, in June 1939, Cohen decided to take a quick trip back to Europe – he wanted to see his sister and to inspect some of the family’s fabric factories in Opatow. But when Hitler invaded Poland after Cohen arrived, his Canadian residency documents were not enough to help him escape the fate of Europe’s Jews under Hitler’s Final Solution. Although Cohen’s family never heard from him again, and still don’t know exactly when he was killed, they’ve pieced together what happened thanks to a mysterious parcel that arrived back in Canada after the war. It contained his tallit, siddur (prayerbook) and some travellers cheques with his Montreal address on it. The sender? A Polish Christian woman who had risked everything to hide him before the Gestapo found him. Harry’s family has donated his tallit to the Montreal Holocaust Museum, where his granddaughter Ann Cohen now volunteers to take students on tours and shares the tallit’s incredible story. She joins The CJN Daily, along with the Museum’s marketing director Sarah Fogg. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.