North Star with Ellin Bessner

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, better known as UNRWA, provides health care and education for more than five million displaced Palestinians in the Middle East. But UNRWA has been in the news a lot in the last few years, as several of its employees and teachers have been accused of sharing violent or disturbing antisemitic and anti-Israel content online. This week, UN Watch, an organization based in Geneva, released a new report alleging 22 UNRWA teachers, principals and staff members have posted content on Facebook that glorifies terrorism, quotes Hitler or erases Israel from maps. UN Watch has released several similar reports in the past, finding more than 100 such cases since 2015. Despite these claims, Canada is still on track to donate more than $90 million to UNRWA over the next three years. Hillel Neuer, the Canadian-born executive director of UN Watch, joins to discuss his organization's latest report and what he expects from the Canadian government. What we talked about: Read the 60-page report, Beyond the Textbooks, at unwatch.org See examples of the antisemitic content UN Watch found at their Facebook page, facebook.com/unwatch Learn more about UNWRA at unrwa.org 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.

On Aug. 8, 2021, officials in Edmonton unveiled the first sculpture of Anne Frank anywhere in Canada. The world’s newest memorial to her—a life-sized bronze sculpture gifted by a Dutch-Canadian group based in Alberta—now sits in a park in Edmonton. It's is a replica of one that stands in Utrecht, Netherlands. The unveiling marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Holland in the Second World War, and gives thanks to the Canadian soldiers who freed their country from Nazi Germany in 1945. But there's a second meaning behind the timing—and it's a strange coincidence. On this weekend, 77 years ago, Nazis raided the secret annex in Amsterdam where Frank and her family had been hiding for nearly two years and arrested them. A few days later, they were sent to the Westerbork transit camp, and later they would be shipped to Auschwitz. Today, we’ll hear from the people who pushed for the statue and raised $75,000 to create and erect it, and we're joined by Gillian Horwitz, who runs Holocaust programming for the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, and Steve Shafir, the federation's president, who were at the unveiling ceremony in person. What we talked about: Watch the full statue unveiling on YouTube Read about the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Site at Earl Bales Park at yadvashem.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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Eighty years ago this summer, in July 1941, Nate and Susan Bluman stepped off a boat in Vancouver's port. It had been a perilous journey for the young Jewish couple, who'd escaped from German-occupied Poland to Lithuania, which was then occupied by the Russians. From there, they received transit visas thanks to a Japanese diplomat named Chiune Sugihara. Sugihara is often referred to as the "Japanese Schindler." He helped more than 2,000 Jews escape Europe, via Vladivostok and Japan, during the early years of the Second World War. In doing so, Sugihara, who was helped by his wife, disobeyed orders from Tokyo—and he never spoke publicly about his actions until the 1980s. Since then, the Sugiharas have been celebrated by the global Jewish community and regarded as righteous gentiles by Yad Vashem. He's been the focus of films, books, commemorative gardens and statues. This week, the Japanese department store Takashimaya is mounting a special travelling exhibit to showcase Sugihara and the descendents of those he saved. One of those descendents is George Bluman, son of Nate and Susan. George joins today to share his family's story, explain why he lent his father's visa to the new exhibit and argue why Sugihara's name should be better known than it is. What we talked about: Learn more about the Takashimaya exhibit at chiune-sugihara.jp/en Browse the full list of those saved by Sugihara at secure.math.ubc.ca Watch "A Decision of One Saves Thousands: The Courage of Chiune Sugihara" by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies on YouTube 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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

For 25 years, Nicholas D. Lowry has been one of the experts on the PBS program Antiques Roadshow, where everyday folks bring old furniture, trinkets or artifacts to see if they're worth anything. Lowry is the one with the curly mustache and plaid suits. You wouldn't think he has a connection to the Canadian Jewish community. But this week, Lowry's family business, Swann Auction Galleries in New York City, is auctioning off a rare piece of Canadian Jewish history that he expects to sell for a record price: a poster that was used to encourage men to sign up for the only exclusively Jewish military unit in Canadian history, the Jewish Reinforcement Draft Company. Lowry, who is also Jewish, joins today to explain why the poster is so rare, what the story behind it is and who might end up the lucky bidder of the night. What we talked about: See the poster on Swann's website, catalogue.swanngalleries.com Look at a group portrait of the Jewish Reinforcement Draft Company in 1917 cjhn.ca Read "Beloved Yiddish actor Pinchas Blitt is toasted on his 90th birthday (and memoir launch)" 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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Last year, the Edmonton Heritage Festival, one of the city's biggest celebrations, was cancelled due to the pandemic. This year, organizers decided to go ahead—though at half capacity—and invited the Jewish Federation of Edmonton to join with their annual pavilion for Israel. The pavilion could mark the only Israel-themed public gathering in Canada this summer, as many other large-scale events remained on hiatus or have gone virtual. The Edmonton pavilion featured Israeli folk dancers, selfie photo ops against a backdrop of the Dead Sea, a display wedding and, of course, Israeli food, from falafel to frozen mint lemonade. Beyond the pavilion borders, however, Edmonton's police their tent was not far away. Indeed, the event's organizers worried about taking part in the festival this year—not just because of COVID, but also the summer of spiking antisemitic attacks that have surged across Canada since the violence between Gaza and Israel flared up in May. Stacey Leavitt-Wright, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, joins the show to discuss her organization's thought process and offer an audio tour of what they put together. What we talked about: Learn more about the Edmonton Heritage Festival at heritagefest.ca Learn more about the Jewish Federation of Edmonton at jewishedmonton.org 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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Last week, a local modern Orthodox Jewish man in Toronto, Sam Brody, recorded a video that he posted to Facebook. In it, he described being assaulted near Yonge and Eglinton, where he lives, specifically for being Jewish. Brody says a stranger bodychecked him into a wooden fence and yelled, “F— you, you Jew! You will never take Israel. Free Palestine!” Brody wears a light-blue knitted kippah and a star of David necklace, which was visible at the time. He was walking his dog before heading to work at Magen Meats, a popular kosher butcher, where he works as a manager. The brief attack left Brody with a bruised shoulder and rattled state of mind. Now his anxiety is running high, he's missed a few days at work—and he’s decided to dress less visibly Jewish when he goes outside. Brody joins us today to discuss the attack, how it changed him and the reaction he's gotten since going public. What we talked about: Watch Sam Brody's original video on his Facebook page Read on thecjn.ca: "After an antisemitic attack in Toronto, Sam Brody says he’s hiding his Jewish identity" 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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Of the 5,000 Jewish residents in Hong Kong, Canadian chef Matt Abergel is pretty recognizable. You might spot him riding his skateboard while hanging off a bus driving down the street, or you could find him wearing a T-shirt with the stark black-and-white logo of his famous restaurant, Yardbird. He's the expat whose path started at the Calgary Jewish Academy, spending summers at Jewish sleepaway camp. He channelled his bubbe's chicken recipe when he started out as a professional chef, moving to Vancouver and New York before landing in Hong Kong, where he opened his first restaurant, Yardbird, in 2011. Yardbird is located in the hip Sheung Wan district, near the ferry to Macao. Since it opened, the New York Times, Vogue and Time have all given it rave reviews. This year, as Yardbird celebrates 10 years, it's been awarded its first Michelin star. But between the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, China's increasing clampdown on individual freedoms and the COVID-19 pandemic, life as a restaurateur in Hong Kong has not been easy. Abergel joins today to discuss these milestones and trials during arguably the most difficult year for restraurants on his island. What we talked about: See Yardbird's entry in the Michelin guide at guide.michelin.com Learn more about Yardbird at yardbirdhongkong.com Find Abergel's cookbook, Chicken and Charcoal, on Amazon 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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Becca Ignace's family homestead burned down two weeks ago. It's where she was raised after her parents moved from Montreal to British Columbia a half-century ago. Mendel and Paula Rubinson built that homestead, raised Becca and her two brothers and still continue to run a popular organic vegetable farm west of Kamloops. Ignace, meanwhile, married an Indigenous man and moved onto his reserve, where the couple now lives with their two youngest kids. But when wildfires began ravaging British Columbia, Ignace and her family were forced to evacuate their home right after Canada Day. More than 100 firefighters are working tirelessly on the Sparks Lake fire to keep it from destroying any buildings in her community; others, including Ignace's two brothers, Saul and Eli Rubinson, are helping on the frontlines. As if the fires themselves weren't dangerous enough, life has been completely upended for everyone in the region. Ignace joins today to discuss what the scene is like on the ground, and how her family is coping with the struggle. What we talked about: Keep up to date with B.C.'s wildfires at governmentofbc.maps.arcgis.com Learn about the Skeetchestn Indian Band at skeetchestn.ca Hear an interview with fencer Eli Schenkel on _Menschwarmers_, The CJN's Jewish sports podcast 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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

In May, Sheikh Jarrah became famous as the central neighbourhood in a land dispute in East Jerusalem. The Israeli government recently allowed Jewish settlers to build homes in the area, which has deep significance for religious Jews. But their settlement meant evicting Palestinians whose families have been living in there for generations. Jewish settlers say those homes actually belonged to Jews before that, while many critics and international governments consider the whole area illegally occupied. Two Israeli courts already ruled that four Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah would have to leave their homes—but these families appealed, and a final decision was supposed to be handed down this past May. But protests led to violence across the country, and soon rallies were held around the world, while Israel's attorney general requested a postponement of the court's decision until hostilities calmed down. The decision is now set to be announced next week, on Aug. 2. In Canada, progressive and left-learning Jewish groups are watching the situation closely. Young members of several organizations—including JSpaceCanada, Canadian Friends of Peace Now and the New Israel Fund of Canada—have joined forces to call on the leaders of Canada’s five main political parties to pressure Israel into stopping the evictions and prevent further violent protests. But will the letter have an effect? What are the writers' expectations? On today's episode, Ellin Bessner with Kevin Keystone, a spokesperson for the coalition of young Jews behind the letter. What we talked about: Read the joint letter at nifcan.org/joint-letter-sheikh-jarrah Learn about the upcoming event staged by Canadian Friends of Peace Now at peacenowcanada.org 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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

For Canadians who took a chance this past winter and ventured south to the southern United States, winter may not have felt so bad. Many had the opportunity to get vaccinated sooner than if they'd stayed in Canada; they got to enjoy beautiful weather, as usual; and they may have appreciated local governors refusing to lock down their economies, as was the case in Florida. Of course, the downsides were significant: more than 2.3 million people in Florida contracted COVID-19, and more than 37,000 of them died. Nonetheless, a new survey of Canadian snowbirds shows 91 per cent of respondents plan to travel south this coming winter, despite lingering uncertainty over border controls, America's stagnating vaccination numbers and an impending fourth wave of the deadly virus. Even if these snowbirds are vaccinated, travel won't be business as usual. On today's episode, we're joined by Evan Rachkovsky, director of communications for the Canadian Snowbird Association, a lobby group of about 100,000 travellers. Rachkovsky addresses common questions about COVID positivity rates in Florida, estimates of border openings and how to register vaccines received stateside with Canadian health authorities. What we talked about: Visit the Canadian Snowbird Association's website at snowbirds.org Read about the proposed U.S. Senate bill that could allow Canadian snowbirds to stay south for longer at thestar.com Find details about Rabbi Bulka's Shloshim tribute at eventbrite.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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.