North Star with Ellin Bessner

Last week, about 100 parents showed up at Yorkdale Mall to protest against the latest round of school closures imposed by the Ontario government. It might be the first time in Ontario, since the pandemic began, that many organized protesters are visibly observant Jews, including parents of students at Jewish day schools. Ontario is unique in North America for keeping schools closed for so long—since the pandemic began, students have lost 27 weeks of in-person learning. Yet as virtual school continues, shopping malls such as Yorkdale have been allowed to continue operating, albeit with reduced capacity. For some parents, this most recent shutdown was the last straw. Among those aggrieved parents is Aubrey Freedman, the organizer of the Yorkdale protests, who has young sons enrolled in Netivot HaTorah Day School. Freedman and her children join to discuss their motivations for protesting, their frustration with the province and what daily life is like in a house with four kids stuck at home. What we talked about: Watch a clip of the Yorkdale protest on YouTube Learn about the back-to-school protests at backtoschoolontario.ca Read about the learn-in protest on Jan. 11 on Facebook Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

One of the most common new year's resolutions is losing weight. But it's also one of the most difficult—and the reason has less to do with willpower than with neurology. Canadian journalist Mark Schatzker is the author of a new book, The End of Craving: Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating Well. Schatzker travelled the world, talking to experts and reading scientific studies, to find out why people have a hard time with food cravings and keeping pounds off. The reason, he found, has to do with the way modern food is manufactured, packed with so many added sweeteners, vitamins and additives that our brains don't believe we're getting enough real calories and urge us to eat more. Schatzker joins today to discuss his book and the important takeaways for anyone hoping to eat healthier in 2022. What we talked about: Find the book at markschatzker.com Read "The list of Jewish community members named to the Order of Canada at the end of 2021" at thecjn.ca Read "Simkin Centre nursing home in Winnipeg slammed by COVID outbreak among staff" at thecjn.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Last June, the American Food and Drug Administration conditionally approved aducanumab, marketed as Adulehm, to treat those suffering from early Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. It's the first drug in nearly 20 years to gain some kind of approval, even though other countries' health agencies, including Canada's, are still reviewing the data. There are concerns the drug causes brain bleeding and swelling, and may not be an effective treatment. Nonetheless, it's a massive step forward for a disease that affects at least 44 million people worldwide, including 750,000 Canadians, with real patients taking the drug in clinical trials right now. To mark January as Alzheimer's Awareness Month, we're joined by Sharon Cohen, a neurologist who runs Canada’s busiest memory clinic, in Toronto. Cohen's usually got more than a dozen research projects and clinical trials with different drugs and treatments on the go. She's hoping one of them—maybe aducanumab—will turn out to be the cure. What we talked about: Learn about the Toronto Memory Program at torontomemoryprogram.com Register for Cohen's lecture on Jan. 26, 2022, here Read "Doctor provides hope to those who can’t remember" at thecjn.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

As Israel's new ambassador to Canada, Ronen Hoffman has only been in the country a few weeks. But his priority list is already long. He plans to fight antisemitism, counter the threat of global terrorism and forge new industrial and economic ties between Israel and Canada. He steps into a post that's been vacant for two years. Partly because of the pandemic, and partly because of the chaos that has been Israeli politics for the past two years, Canada hasn't had an Israeli ambassador since Nimrod Barkan stepped down in 2019. Hoffman himself was appointed in the summer of 2021, but could only make it to Canada by Hanukkah. Today, in an exclusive Canadian interview, Hoffman joins The CJN Daily from his office in Ottawa to discuss his goals and what makes him a perfect fit for his new job. What we talked about: Read "Ronen Hoffman, the new ambassador of Israel, was welcomed to Canada alongside new U.S. ambassador David Cohen" at thecjn.ca Watch Hoffman's introductory video on Facebook See Hoffman's snowball-throwing form on Twitter Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Gary Kapelus is not a trained lyricist, but rather a retired speech-language pathologist and hospital administrator. But that hasn't stopped him from indulging in a pandemic passion project: writing COVID-themed parody songs since spring 2020. He isn't a singer, so his music videos are simply popular musical tracks, often karaoke-style, with lyrics written atop a slideshow-style video. Sometimes he finds singers to record, like for "Mask Maker, Mask Maker" or "Breathing on a Jet Plane". But his most popular tracks are often politically barbed, even without vocals: "This Plan's Unsound," riffing on "Alberta Bound", digs into Premier Jason Kenney's government for its numerous failures during the pandemic. Kapelus joins today to discuss his inspirations, goals and plans for the future, as well as his thoughts as Canada enters a new year—and a new wave of COVID cases. What we talked about: Hear Kapelus's songs on his YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/Garyoct13, or follow him on Twitter @garykapelus Listen to The CJN Daily episode, "A rocket from Gaza hit his neighbours’ house. He ran inside to save them", at thecjn.ca Learn more about Robert Gasner's "Certificate of Appreciation" ceremony at kan-ashkelon.co.il Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

In November, as Omicron emerged as the new dominant strain of COVID-19, York Region in Ontario appointed Dr. Barry Pakes as their new medical officer of health. The region covers nine urban centres and more than a million people, including Canada's densest Jewish community, in Thornhill. So the fact that Pakes is an Orthodox Jew who studied, in part, at a yeshiva, gives him a unique advantage to liaise with local Jewish institutions and organizations when discussing how to fight the pandemic. While Hanukkah gatherings lead to outbreaks across the community, especially in schools that had to be closed, there are worries about large families that travelled over the holidays as skyrocketing statistics are defining Omicron's winter surge. Pakes joins today to explain how the community can combat the virus, what to expect from the Omicron variant and what the new year looks like from a public health perspective. What we talked about: Find a vaccination clinic in York Region at york.ca Read "COVID cases have kept rising at Jewish schools in York Region during November 2021" at thecjn.ca Listen to Barry Pakes discuss the pandemic in April 2021 on Bonjour Chai Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Quebec’s Bill 21, which bars public employees such as teachers and police officers from wearing religious symbols on the job, has been in place for more than two years already. But the recent reassignment of Fatemeh Anvari, the third-grade public school teacher who was removed from her post for wearing a hijab, escalated the issue to an entirely different level. Until now, political leaders have equivocated on the issue for fear of angering Quebeckers ahead of the federal election. After Anvari's reassignment, that attitude has changed. Politicians from the prime minister to community and political leaders have, more loudly, spoken out against it for discriminating against Muslims, Sikhs and other minority groups—including religious Jews. But the head of the Communauté sépharade unifiée du Québec—the province's association of Sephardic Jews—is worried about the impact all this newfound opposition from outsiders will have on Francophones, who largely support the bill. Jacques Saada, a former politician and cabinet minister in Paul Martin's government, joins to discuss why he personally opposes the bill, but believes the debate may fan the flames of separatism in Quebec. What we talked about: Learn about CSUQ at csuq.org Watch the protests in support of Fatemeh Anvari on YouTube Read "Inside the uphill battle faced by opponents to Quebec’s Bill 21" on thecjn.ca Read CIJA's position at cija.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

The term "lone soldier" refers to recruits in the Israel Defense Forces who have little or no family support systems in the Jewish state. Israel estimates there 6,000 lone soldiers currently active. While it's impossible to say how many of those are Canadian, it's relatively common for Canadian high school graduates to head to the Holy Land for two years of military service, despite the known issues of occasional homesickness, language barriers, depression and even suicide. Elsewhere, some Canadian groups have argued that it's illegal for a foreign country to recruit soldiers on Canadian soil. But none of that is preventing young Canadian Jews from signing up to defend the Jewish homeland. Today, we’ll hear from two veterans of the lone soldier program: Zach Brown, now working at an Israeli startup in Tel Aviv, and Rebecca Weiss, who finished her army duty a year ago, and is now studying at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. What we talked about: Read the Nefesh B'Nefesh brochure for parents of lone soldiers at nbn.org.il Read "How friendships and authentic Israel experiences shaped my Aliyah story" at thecjn.ca Read "Ambassador welcomes Canadian IDF Lone Soldiers" at thecjn.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

In spring 2020, COVID-19 ripped though the Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Centre in Montreal. The facility was understaffed and underprepared to begin with, and while it went into strict lockdown and the army was called in, 67 of its residents have since died from the pandemic. The arrival of the vaccine, one year ago this month, was seen as a beacon of hope. This week, the centre hosted a party to celebrate that anniversary. Cards with the phrase "Celebrating our shot at a future without COVID-19" were on display. They brought out cookies and ballons, and a rabbi recited a memorial prayer for the dead. Camera crews were invited in to see how life at Maimonides is returning to normal as safely as possible. But it's not clear they're prepared for the dangers Omicron could bring. Today, we're joined by Jennifer Clarke of Quebec's public health department and long-time patient advocate Beverly Spanier to discuss the realities facing long-term care homes coming into 2022. What we talked about: Listen to the previous CJN Daily episode, "Counting the Jewish victims of COVID-19", at thecjn.ca Learn about the concert for flood relief at floodrelief.ca Read Jerry Kapelus's poetic funeral notice at steelesmemorialchapel.com Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Amazing Women of the Middle East is an 112-page illustrated children's book. It profiles 25 famous women, including historical figures such as Cleopatra and Nefertiti, and also modern-day heroines like human rights lawyer Amal Clooney. What it doesn't include, however, is the State of Israel. The book's colourful map of the Middle East removed any mention of the Jewish homeland, instead labelling the entire country as Palestine. The author is a Lebanese-born writer and translator who lives in England, and the is publisher is a Palestinian activist whose parents had a home in Jerusalem until 1948. Neither replied to The CJN's requests for comment by our podcast deadline. After one Jewish family noticed the omission, which sparked outrage across social media, Canada's largest bookseller, Indigo, pulled the book from its shelves. Daniel Koren, the person who spotted the book and contacted Indigo directly, joins to discuss his impression and feelings about the issue. What we talked about: Read Indigo's content policy at help.indigo.ca Watch the HMCS Winnipeg return at facebook.com/RoyalCanadianNavy Read "Indigo pulls pro-Hitler and Holocaust-denial books from virtual shelf" at thecjn.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden 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; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.