North Star with Ellin Bessner

Soon after COVID-19 vaccines began rolling out, clashes erupted between authorities and the Hasidic community in Montreal. Police officers raided a synagogue that violated the lockdown curfew in January 2021; court battles ensued; more illegal gatherings took place in March, blowing past attendance limits. But there has been a shift in tone this summer, especially since vaccine passports became mandatory across Quebec this week. Other provinces announced similar plans to restrict movement for the willingly unvaccinated. The Quebec Council of Hasidic Jews is urging its members to get vaccinated. To that end, they've been holding vaccine clinics in the heart of their communities, handing out pamphlets in Yiddish and setting up help lines for people who don't use the internet or have smartphones. The latest clinic was held recently, just before Rosh Hashanah. Avi Finegold, host of The CJN's weekly current affairs podcast Bonjour Chai, attended the clinic to talk to the attendees and give an on-the-ground report. What we talked about: Watch the video from January of police raiding a Hasidic synagogue in Montreal on Twitter Read about Montreal's vaccination drives at thecjn.ca Learn about the Abraham Global Peace Initiative Campus Petition at agpi.ca/campus-declaration-1 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.

Since she was nine years old, Hannah Alper has been blogging and speaking all over the world about climate change, clean drinking water, education, homelessness and discrimination against Black and Indigenous communities. She's interviewed Malala Yousafzai, travelled to Africa three times, written a book and been the subject of a documentary in 2020, CitizenKid: Earth Comes First. Now 18, Alper will soon be facing a new challenge: university. This month, she starts school at the University of Western Ontario, where she’s expecting to face antisemitism on campus, including calls to boycott Israel, and pro-BDS resolutions by some student groups. But she's coming to campus prepared. On today's episode, Alper explains how she spent the summer developing skills to bring her Jewish pride and positivity to the tense world of Middle Eastern campus politics. What we talked about: See Alper's website, callmehannah.ca Catch the virtual candlelighting event on Sept. 3 on Hillel Ontario's Facebook page, facebook.com/HillelOntario 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.

Walk down the craft beer section of your local liquor store, and you'll be met by a wall of beautiful designs and bright colours. But if you spot a Shillow beer, something might catch your eye: the certified logo of the Kosher Council of Canada. Being kosher-certified is an extra expense, but it was a necessary one for Ben and Jamie Shillow, the modern Orthodox couple behind Shillow Beer. This month, they opened their first retail store on Cyrville Road in Ottawa, in a new brewery built during the pandemic. It's not open on Shabbat, of course, but their product is sold in LCBOs across Ontario, the Shillows deliver cases personally, and Jewish organizations and communities across the province are taking notice—and placing orders. The Shillows join today to discuss their journey, brewing process and how the community has responded. What we talked about: Learn more about Shillow Beer at shillowbeer.com See a full list of their kosher-certified brews at cor.ca Visit the One Family Fund website at onefamilyfund.ca 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.

This year, first prize for photographic storytelling at the prestigious World Press Photo awards went to an Italian photojournalist named Antonio Faccilongo. Faccilongo's winning photo essay, titled "Habibi"—which means "my love" in Arabic"—documents the families of jailed Palestinians prisoners serving sentences in Israel. Over the years, many of these men have smuggled their semen out via test tubes or ballpoint pens hidden in chocolate bars, and their wives use this sperm to artificially inseminate themselves to bear more children. Faccilongo's images portray these women and the children born under these circumstances, but avoid referencing the crimes for which the men have been imprisoned—which include terrorism and murder. "Habibi" is part of a larger travelling photo show put on by the World Press Photo Foundation. This year, from July 22 to Aug. 15, the exhibit set up at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, a crown corporation funded in part by government money. Upon discovering this exhibit had come to Canada, some Jewish organizations launched protests. One such group was Honest Reporting Canada. Their executive director, Mike Fegelman, joins today to discuss his group's reaction to the images and why the Jewish community should be outraged. What we talked about: View the images from "Habibi" at worldpressphoto.org Read the Honest Reporting Canada press release about the exhibit at honestreporting.ca Learn about Shofar on the Corner at shofaronthecorner.com 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 year after the separatist Parti Quebecois government won Quebec's 1976 election, they passed Bill 101—better known as the Charter of the French Language—which cemented French as Quebec's only official language and restricted the use of English in private businesses and public schools. A mass exodus of Jews from the province ensued, with as many as 40,000 Jewish Quebeckers leaving the province for good. Robert Libman was a teenager then, but ended up staying in Quebec. In 1988, after graduating with a degree in architecture from McGill, he entered politics as the founder of the Equality Party, pushing for anglophone rights. Along with a few other party members, Libman won his seat in Quebec's National Assembly in 1989. Now 60, Libman is a columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and joins The CJN Daily to reflect on the 44th anniversary of the bill's passing, and why he's rallying against the "troubling" proposed new Bill 96 amendments that he says should concern everyone. What we talked about: Read Libman's column, "This summer is no time for Quebec anglos to relax," at montrealgazette.com Listen to the episode of Bonjour Chai about Jews and Quebec nationalism at thecjn.ca 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 Museum of Jewish Montreal started out as a digital idea about 10 years ago. When Zev Moses started plotting historic sites of old Jewish Montreal, putting little stories about theses buildings and people on a website, he wanted to showcase the origins of what was, for 200 years, Canada’s largest Jewish community. That concept morphed into a physical museum in 2016, right on Saint Laurent Boulevard. It hosted well-known walks, fascinating exhibitions, in-person classes, klezmer brunches and foodie events. Unfortunately, the pandemic put a halt to most of that. A new landlord bought the museum's physical building and issued an eviction notice. Staff scrambled to put everything in storage, pivot to online programming and plan for an uncertain future. Now, thanks to some financial help from an investor and government funding, the museum has a new site—and it's even closer to one of the most iconic landmarks of Canadian Jewish history. The founder of the museum joins to discuss the museum's troubled year and what the future has in store. What we talked about: Learn about the Museum of Jewish Montreal at imjm.ca Sign up for the Red Light Walking Tour at museemontrealjuif.ca Read more: "Famed food writer Ruth Reichl lends support to Museum of Jewish Montreal" (the cjn.ca) 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.

Jeffrey Freedman was working for a Toronto tile company when the pandemic hit. The office was deemed an essential service, so Freedman kept going into work. His wife's daycare business was shut down due to the pandemic and money got tight, so he kept going in until he took ill. He started having trouble breathing and was rushed to North York General Hospital near the end of Passover. On April 15, he was taken into the ICU, where he spent more than a month living on a ventilator. Miraculously, Freedman survived. But he hasn't been the same since his recovery. His voice is different after being intubated, his left arm has weakened and he suffers from other medical issues that have left him unable to drive or work. That makes Freedman one Canada’s "COVID long-haulers"—those who survived the disease but continue to suffer from ongoing health problems. One small upside has been the response he got from the Toronto Blue Jays, a team he's rooted for his whole life. the organization invited him to throw the first pitch at the opening game in July—their first in Toronto in two years. Today, Freedman joins the show to share his story. What we talked about: Watch the Jays' home opener pregame ceremony on YouTube Watch Jeffrey accept more than $600,000 from the Jays Care Foundation at mlb.com/bluejays 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.

KlezKanada and the Ashkenaz Festival are some of the largest Jewish and Yiddish arts celebrations in North America, and both are being held mostly virtually this year because of COVID-19. As the pandemic has upended cultural events around the country, so too has it forced these two renowned annual celebrations to figure out new ways to reach fans of Yiddish and Jewish culture. Despite the hurdles, both events are gearing up for innovative programs this year, and organizers from KlezKanada have even said their audiences have grown in 2021, because technology has swung open their doors beyond geography. On today's episode, we’ll hear from the artistic director of Ashkenaz and the executive director of KlezKanada about what to expect this year from both festivals. Plus, the host of Winnipeg’s Jewish radio hour joins to explain why she feels the pandemic may have actually saved Yiddish music. What we talked about: Learn more about KlezKanada at klezkanada.org Learn more about the Ashkenaz Festival at ashkenaz.ca Listen to the Jewish Radio Hour at podomatic.com/podcasts/jewishradiohour Sign up for KlezKanada's digital Backwards March at Eventbrite Check out the in-person and live-streamed after-party for both festivals at ashkenaz.ca/event/klezkanada-after-party 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 The CJN Daily continues its brief summer hiatus, we're bringing subscribers another compilation of some of our favourite stories. Today, two episodes in one: Canadians remember the Iraqi Farhud, a pogrom in 1941, as well as Argentina's AMIA bombing in 1994, which remains the country's biggest unsolved terror attack. What we talked about: Learn about the museum in Israel dedicated to the history of Iraqi Jews at bjhcenglish.com Find Joseph Samuels's book, Beyond the Rivers of Babylon, on Amazon Listen to our original broadcast about the AMIA bombing and the Farhud at thecjn.ca 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 worst race riot in Canadian history happened on a Toronto baseball field exactly 88 years ago today. Just a few months after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, in the midst of a global depression, the dictator's ideas were already taking hold in some parts of Canada. By the summer, pro-Nazi agitators showed up to a baseball game where a Jewish team was facing off against a Protestant team. Agitators unfurled a big banner with a swastika on it, and citywide violence ensued: within hours, an estimated 10,000 people were slugging it out, both in the park itself and in nearby neighborhoods across Toronto. To mark this anniversary, we're joined by Eli Yarhi of Historica Canada, which recently published a short video about the event, and Jamie Michaels, the author of a graphic novel about the riot. Plus: There's a federal election happening on Sept. 20. That's 36 days away—double chai. Will this be an auspicious election for Jewish Canadians? Hear what The CJN Daily has planned for the next month of coverage. What we talked about: Watch the Historica Canada video on YouTube Find the graphic novel Christie Pits, by Jamie Michaels and Doug Fedrau, at dirtywatercomics.com/christie-pits Find the graphic novel The Good Fight by Ted Staunton at Indigo.ca 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.