North Star with Ellin Bessner

At a time he calls a “national crisis of antisemitism,” Simon Wolle has stepped into one of the most visible advocacy roles in the country: CEO of B’nai Brith Canada. He took over in October, leading the 150-year-old Jewish human rights organization at a moment of growing concern for Jewish Canadians. He had little time to settle into the role before the security situation changed dramatically: Wolle calls it “seismic shifts". In recent months, Toronto police foiled an ISIS-linked terror plot; a boycott campaign targeted Jewish summer camps; and protests continue to spread through Jewish neighbourhoods, often without police intervention. Then, after Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran began again in late February, tensions escalated further. In the span of a single week, three Toronto-area synagogues and several Jewish-owned businesses were targeted in drive-by shootings. Elsewhere, hate charges were dropped against a Montreal café owner who had threatened Jews with “the Final Solution”; a long-standing Holocaust education event at Vanier College was cancelled; and political rhetoric around Israel drew renewed national attention ahead of Sunday’s election of Avi Lewis, a Jewish anti-Zionist, as leader of the NDP. When Wolle started the job five months ago, his priorities included encouraging mainstream Jewish organizations to put aside “their egos” and work together more closely to fight antisemitism. He also hoped to persuade Canadian Jews not to abandon this country, but to stay and help improve the situation –even if this will take time. Wolle spoke with The CJN’s North Star podcast host Ellin Bessner in an interview recorded in mid-February, right before the latest escalation between Israel and Iran. In that conversation, he laid out how he believes B’nai Brith’s role must evolve — in ways that now feel even more urgent. Related stories: Hear Simon Wolle in his first interview with The CJN in February 2026 as B’nai Brith CEO push back on the disturbing campaign financially targeting Jewish summer camps, or watch it on The CJN’s YouTube Channel. Simon Wolle made his national debut as CEO of B’nai Brith Canada at a press conference in Ottawa in January, among other things calling for a Royal Commission to be created on antisemitism, in The CJN . See what B’nai Brith Canada told the Quebec government about secularism and rising antisemitism, in The CJN . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director), Yael Sher (graphic designer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

It took five years of DNA testing, forensic analysis and genealogical sleuthing to restore his name — and reveal a hidden past. Pte. Albert Henry Detmold, was the son of British Jews from London, and the nephew of Rufus Isaacs — better known as Lord Reading — who served as Britain’s Chief Justice and later as Viceroy of India. It is the first time since Canada launched its missing war identification unit in 2007 that a Jewish soldier has been identified, although Detmold enlisted instead as Presbyterian. In this episode of The CJN’s “North Star” podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with the historians and forensic experts who identified Detmold through DNA and traced his family. Sarah Lockyer, Alexandra McKinnon and Melissa Davidson of the Department of National Defence’s Casualty Identification Unit describe how they uncovered both his identity — and a family history that had been largely forgotten. Related links Learn more about Pte. Albert Detmold , and also about the 100,000 Canadians who fought in the Battle for Hill 70 in August 1917 Read more about the 4,700 Jewish troops who wore a Canadian military uniform in the First World War, in The CJN from 2021 , and from 2016 , Register to help identify Canadian war dead with no known grave, for the Department of National Defence’s Casualty Identification Program Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director), Yael Sher (marketing and communications coordinator) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

Members of Canada’s New Democratic Party are meeting this weekend to choose a new party leader, with a decision slated for Sunday. And for the first time since the 1970s, a Jewish candidate has a strong chance of being elected. Avi Lewis could follow in the footsteps of his late grandfather David Lewis, who led the NDP shortly after Avi was born. David Lewis remains the first Jewish Canadian in history to lead a national political party. (Annamie Paul led the Greens from 2020-2021) But a lot has changed since his grandfather's reign. The NDP was decimated in the 2025 election, winning only seven seats and losing official party status. As they hope to rebuild and expand their coalition, some party members are worried about the younger Lewis’s criticism of Israel and his anti-Zionist beliefs; he is a member of the anti-Zionist organization Independent Jewish Voices Canada and his roster of prominent endorsers includes many activists with similar views. Lewis’s closest rival is widely seen as Heather McPherson, the NDP MP for Edmonton Strathcona. She’s not Jewish, but holds similar sentiments about Israel. She has supported seven petitions against the Israeli government, wore a Keffiyeh in the House of Commons during a vote on Palestinian statehood, and wants Canada to investigate anyone who ever served in the Israeli army. The CJN reached out multiple times to Lewis’s camp for an interview, but they declined. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, NDP insider and The CJN Political Panelist Noah Tepperman joins host Ellin Bessner to explain why he believes both front-runners are problematic for the country—but why Avi Lewis is much worse for Jewish Canadians. Jewish former broadcaster Avi Lewis widely seen as the front-runner, but concerns are being raised about his strong anti-Zionist views. Tags: #Canada politics, #NDP, #Avi Lewis, #Heather McPherson, #Jewish Canadians, #Israel, #antisemitism, #cdnpoli Related links Read how the two leading NDP leadership candidates criticized the current U.S. and Israeli war with Iran, when the attack began Feb. 28, in The CJN . Learn more about the five candidates on the NDP’s leadership convention’s website. Hear The CJN’s Political Panel’s early prediction about the NDP leadership race, on “North Star” with Ellin Bessner , from Jan. 2026. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

Will Bill C-9 make it safer for Canada’s Jews? The federal government’s Combating Hate Act is heading toward a final vote—after weeks of committee study. and a move recently to limit debate. The bill is being framed as as Canada's signture response to rising antisemitism after Oct. 7. But will it actually work? In this episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with two Jewish MPs from opposite sides of the aisle: • Anthony Housefather (Liberal, Mount Royal), who argues the bill gives police the tools they’ve been asking for and Roman Baber (Conservative, York Centre), who says the law won’t make Jews safer and raises concerns about free speech Both were asked about the same issues. Their answers could not be more different. In this episode:• What Bill C-9 would change—and what it wouldn’t• Why the government moved to cap debate• The argument over enforcement vs. new laws• Concerns about free speech and religious expression• Whether the bill will actually reduce antisemitic incidents Keywords: Bill C-9, Combating Hate Act, antisemitism Canada, hate crime laws Canada, free speech Canada, Anthony Housefather, Roman Baber, Canadian politics. Related stories Learn more about the Private Members’ Bill that would have banned promotion of terrorism which Roman Baber, MP for York Centre, tried to have passed to strengthen Bill C-9, in The CJN , from November 2025. Why Canadian Jewish leaders supported Bill C-9 when it was at the Justice committee, in October 2025, in The CJN . Why the Canadian government said Bill C-9 is their response to growing antisemitism, in The CJN from Sept. 2025. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

The Liberal MP for Eglinton–Lawrence, Vince Gasparro, says his heart dropped when he heard a synagogue in his riding was recently targeted. Now he is calling for arrests, increased police support and expanded intelligence sharing, and hints there will be additional funding coming in the spring budget for Jewish security. The rookie MP represents the riding with third-largest concentration of Jews in Canada.  Gasparro was narrowly elected to Parliament last April 2025 on a platform to fight antisemitism and protect the Jewish community living in the area where he grew up. After discovering that no one had been hurt or killed, Gasparro’s next thought was “We need to find these cowards who did this and we need to put them away.” As Canada’s Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime, Gasparro has been at the forefront of the federal government’s recent push to tighten bail, expand police investigative powers and crack down on hate crimes. But while those policy changes have moved through Parliament in recent weeks, Gasparro says the synagogue shootings mark a dangerous escalation—and require resources beyond local policing. On today’s episode of The Canadian Jewish News’s “North Star” podcast, Vince Gasparro sits down with host Ellin Bessner to discuss the incidents, the $10 million just granted for Jewish security and that there may be more coming. Related stories What Jewish leaders and local Toronto-area politicians including Vince Gasparro said after three March 2026 synagogue shootings, in The CJN. Terrorism charges dropped against Irish band Kneecap in 2025’ MP Vince Gasparro had announced they were banned from performing in Canada, in The CJN. Vince Gasparro narrowly won the Toronto area Liberal riding of Eglinton-Lawrence in the April 2025 federal election, defeating Karen Stinz, in The CJN . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

David Lepofsky, Canadian lawyer and longtime disability rights advocate working with Israeli groups, outlines how nearly one in five Israelis with disabilities can’t reach safe rooms during missile alerts. He explains inaccessible shelters, alert failures for deaf or blind people, tech and bureaucratic barriers, and practical fixes that have been known but not implemented.

After three Toronto-area synagogues were shot at within the same week earlier this month, new questions are emerging about how the justice system handles antisemitic incidents. In this episode of The CJN’s "North Star" podcast, Toronto lawyer Michael Teper and former Crown prosecutor Rochelle Direnfeld discuss why many protest-related charges tied to antisemitism in Toronto are later withdrawn, or diverted before reaching trial. Teper, who tracks police-reported hate crimes against the Jewish community, says nearly half of roughly 100 recent cases have been handled that way. He and Direnfeld explain how Crown prosecutors make those decisions — and why they warn the pattern risks sending a message of impunity to those who would commit crimes. Related stories: Read the ALCCA brief on the real problem behind the Toronto synagogue attacks. Learn why the National Post counted 94 of 154 Toronto protestors cases stayed, dropped or absolute discharges since Oct. 7, 2023. Read why B’nai Brith Canada thinks Ontario needs to start now to ban the 2027 Al-Quds Day rally, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

Israel’s deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel says Canada must take rising antisemitism seriously after three Toronto-area synagogues were targeted by gunfire. Born in Canada, Haskel tells The CJN’s "North Star" podcast host Ellin Bessner why Israeli officials are watching closely, and why she believes the attacks are a warning of worse violence to come. Related stories They want to scare us: hear from one synagogue member after the BAYT attack, on The CJN’s North Star podcast on YouTube. How Toronto synagogues ramped up security after the weekend gunfire targeting the BAYT and Shaarei Shomayim, in The CJN. Sharren Haskel is repeating her call made in 2024 on this show , for Diaspora Jews to move to Israel, in the light of revamped antisemitic attacks in Canada and France and elsewhere. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

When Laya Witty arrived for early morning Shabbat services at Beth Avraham Yoseph synagogue in Thornhill this past Saturday March 7, she noticed a police car parked at the entrance. Within moments, she learned why: overnight, gunfire had shattered the synagogue’s glass front doors. Witty says she was relieved no one was hurt, and then she swung into action as a volunteer with the synagogue’s security team–screening guests and looking for unfamiliar faces. Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, reached out personally on Monday to her synagogue’s senior rabbi, Daniel Korobkin as well as to Rabbi Sam Taylor from the other targeted congregation, Shaarei Shomayim synagogue, and Rabbi Debra Landsberg of Temple Emanu-El, to express his concern and support. On today’s episode of The Canadian Jewish News‘ “North Star” podcast, Laya Witty joins host Ellin Bessner to share how it felt when attackers hit her place of worship, and why she fears eventually someone will get killed. Related stories: Read The CJN’s comprehensive coverage of the week of gunfire against Jewish businesses and synagogues: beginning with Temple Emanu-El and a restaurant and education academy shot at on March 2 . Hear what it sounded like on the ground last weekend at the BAYT and also at Shaarei Shomayim, on The CJN’s North Star Podcast. Read what the politicians and the police promised on March 8, in The CJN. **** Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

[NOTE: Due to a technical glitch some listeners may have received an incorrect audio file last night. The problem is now corrected. Thank you for your patience and understanding] Gunfire struck three Toronto-area synagogues in less than a week, prompting police to promise a “relentless” investigation into what leaders say are antisemitic attacks. In this episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner reports from outside Beth Avraham Yoseph synagogue in Thornhill and also listened in outside the Shaarei Shomayim congregation in North York Sunday as police, politicians and Jewish leaders gathered for a show of solidarity. Bullet holes were discovered this weekend at Beth Avraham Yoseph congregation in Thornhill and Shaarei Shomayim synagogue in North York. Temple Emanu-El had been targeted earlier in the week. A Jewish-owned restaurant and a Jewish school were also struck the same day. The attacks have stunned Toronto’s Jewish community and sparked calls for stronger action from governments and police before someone is seriously hurt or killed. Keywords: Toronto synagogues, antisemitic attacks, Jewish community Canada, North Star podcast. Related stories: Read The CJN’s comprehensive coverage of the week of gunfire against Toronto-area Jewish businesses and synagogues: beginning with Temple Emanu-El and a restaurant and education academy shot at on March 2 , Then the BAYT and Shaarei Shomayim shot at separately on the night of March 7 . Read what the politicians and the police promised, on March 8, in The CJN . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)