North Star with Ellin Bessner

Nearly 40 years ago, Hart Snider was a camper at Camp BB Riback in Pine Lake, Alta., the summer after Jim Keegstra, an infamous teacher from the nearby town of Eckville, got fired for brainwashing his high school students against Jews. For years, Keegstra, who taught social sciences, told his teenagers that Jews were evil, Hitler was right and the Holocaust was fake. While he was later convicted of hate speech, that would be years later—in the interim, Alberta's local Jewish communities felt they had to try and help Keegstra's students deprogram their brains. And so, as unbelievable as it may sound, some of Keegsta's students were invited to the camp for a picnic—and a basketball game. Snider, who was nine years old at the time, made a film of his experience called The Basketball Game, which has now become a new graphic novel—just in time for Holocaust Education Month. On today's show, Snider joins to explain the book's message and how it can help today's young people deal with rising antisemitism and other forms of prejudice. What we talked about: Watch the short film on Hart Snider's website Read about Jim Keegstra's death in The CJN archives (2014) Listen to The CJN Daily episode with Dori Ekstein from May 2022 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

Welcome to the fourth episode of The CJN Daily Dead Beat—which we're now calling the Honourable Mention, as we pay tribute to honourable menschen and women who passed away in recent months. As always, we're joined by The CJN's reporter emeritus Ron Csillag. In today's edition, we're focusing on four high-profile Canadian women and their contribution to society: Corinne Bronfman, 74, an artist turned economist and philanthropist; Helen Wolfe, 69, a teacher and advocate for people with disabilities; Sheila Goldbloom, 96, an activist and social worker; and Holocaust survivor Nancy Kleinberg, 95. Plus a profile of Kurt Rothschild, a philanthropist dedicated to religious Zionist institutions in Canada and Israel, 101; Harvey Rosen, the first Jewish mayor of Kingston, Ont. and Charles Taylor, a renowned Ottawa grocery magnate. What we talked about: Read The CJN's obituary of Sheila Goldbloom from July 2022 Read David Weinberg's tribute to Kurt Rothschild in The CJN from July 2022 Read The CJN's obituary of Helen Wolfe from Aug. 2022 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

On Oct. 27, 2022, El Al flew its last direct flight from Canada for the foreseeable future. Leaving Toronto's Pearson airport at 7 p.m., the direct red-eye was packed with passengers both optimistic about their travel plans and sad about El Al's decision to cease operations in the Great White North. The milestone marked the end of nearly four decades of direct flights between the two countries on Israel's national carrier. People flew with El Al for many reasons, but mostly because of its representation of the Jewish state. During the pandemic, a private American Jewish family bought a controlling interest in the airline after a massive government bailout. They got El Al back in the air—but not without chopping some longstanding routes. The CJN Daily arrived at the terminal hours before takeoff to meet some of the passengers on this historic trip, including a young grandmother along with her daughter and two-week-old grandchild; an Israeli-Canadian couple heading to their native land to vote in the country's upcoming elections; and staffers handing out candy, chocolates and souvenirs. What we talked about: Read The CJN's coverage of El Al's decision to cease Canadian operations from June 2022 Listen to The CJN Daily episode about the Jewish community's reaction to El Al's decision 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

As the world prepares to mark the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht on Nov. 9, a new play on Broadway, Leopoldstadt, is reminding audiences what can happen to Jews when nationalism and antisemitism turn into genocide. The production is deemed by many to be possibly the last written by legendary British playwright Tom Stoppard, now 85. The script is loosely autobiographical, as Stoppard's family fled Europe before the onset of the Holocaust, and Stoppard himself grew up not knowing about his true Jewish heritage. While the play debuted in London in 2020, it moved to Broadway in Sept. 2022. Acting in this New York stage version is Caissie Levy, who was born in Hamilton, Ont. She got her show business start singing Hebrew-language versions of Hair and Les Misérables at Camp Ramah in Muskoka. Levy has been performing in musicals for much of her career, including roles in Rent, The Wiz and Caroline, or Change. She even originated the role of Elsa in the Broadway version of Frozen for more than two years. Leopoldstadt, in fact, marks her first major non-musical acting role—but, as she tells The CJN Daily, it may the role with which she identifies most deeply. What we talked about: Read about Leopoldstadt Read about Caissie Levy in The CJN archives (2013) Read about the life of the late Rabbi Shmuel Rodal, formerly of Montreal 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

When The CJN Daily launched in May 2021, one of our first stories was about Jewish organizations urging community members to fill out their census forms. It was important, they said, because the 2016 census was so poorly designed that it didn't ask about religion—only ethnic origins—which left out Judaism, halving the number of Jews living in Canada. The latest census was different. Having taken the advice of Jewish community advocates, the census organizers gave Canadians the option of marking "Jewish" as their religion and their ethnic identity. Experts hoped the data would align with perceived trends in the Canadian Jewish population—which it has. The stats, released Oct 26, show that more than 335,00 people described themselves as Jews by religion—up nearly 6,000 from 10 years ago. And while it's only incremental growth, researchers like Morton Weinfeld, a sociologist and professor at McGill University, are optimistic about the key takeaways. Weinfeld joins the show to explain the meaning behind the numbers. What we talked about: Listen to the episode of The CJN Daily covering the census issue from May 2021 Look at the preliminary 2022 census numbers 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

The book Hana's Suitcase by Canadian author Karen Levine has been translated into 40 languages, won over a dozen literary prizes, adapted into a stage play and been the subject of a documentary. The book tells the story of how a wartime suitcase belonging to a Czech Holocaust victim, 13-year-old Hana Brady, wound up in a Japanese museum in 1999. The curator's search for Hana's identity would reveal more about how she lived in the Theresienstadt camp, before the Nazis murdered her in Auschwitz. But it also led the Japanese researcher to find Hana's surviving older brother, George Brady, who was still alive and living in Toronto. The Canadian publisher, Second Story Press, has re-released the book in a special 20th anniversary edition. Just ahead of a public event on Oct. 30 in Toronto marking the milestone anniversary, author Karen Levine and her publisher Margie Wolfe tell The CJN Daily why the message of the book is even more important to share today with a new generation of readers (and their parents.) What we talked about: Find out more about Hana's Suitcase and where to buy it Discover the Brady family's website run by George Brady's daughter Lara Hana Brady Read the original CJN story from 2001 Read George Brady's obituary in The CJN from 2019 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

For more than 40 years, Efrem "Eppy" Rappaport has run Omnitsky Kosher—first at the original deli and store in Winnipeg; then, for the past 25 years, in Vancouver. He also operates a meat processing plant that has become Western Canada's only fresh kosher meat supplier. But the Omnitsky's deli building on Oak Street is not long for this world. A massive redevelopment project in the area, near the expensive upcoming JWest campus, is forcing Omnitsky's to relocate. But Rappaport, at 65, would rather retire. That leaves Omnitsky's future in jeopardy. If Rappaport can't find a buyer, he'll simply close up shop, shutting down a business with more than a century of history. Rappaport bought an ad in the recent edition of The CJN Magazine, hoping to connect with a buyer for the store, factory, name and delivery trucks. Now he joins The CJN Daily to explain his decision and explain why he feels guilty for selling. If anyone wants to own one of Canada's most famous Kosher delis, now's your chance. What we talked about: Read about Omnitsky's in The CJN archives (2016) Visit their website at omnitskykosher.com Read about Anita Neville, Manitoba's first Jewish lieutenant-governor 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

Israelis are heading to the polls on Nov. 1 for the fifth time in four years. And while former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes this will mark his political comeback with a coalition comprising several far-right and extremist religious parties, his main opponent, Yair Lapid, is looking to capitalize on Netanyahu's criminal indictments and secure another term in office. On Netanyahu's side is Danny Danon, a former member of Knesset sent to New York as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations. And though Danon is not quiet about his ambition to run the Likud party—he ran to replace the long-serving prime minister and has since reiterated his desire to run as leader once Netanyahu exits the post—for now he's walking the party line, hoping to return to elected political life as an MK in the fall. In the meantime, Danon was in Toronto recently to discuss Israeli politics, foreign policy and his new book, In the Lion's Den. He sat down with The CJN Daily for his only Canadian interview to talk about what's at stake for Israel in the next election. What we talked about: Read about Danon's book, In the Lion's Den Learn about the Canadian Jewish Literary Awards Read a Q&A with Danon from The CJN archives (2017) 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

With more than 6,000 candidates running for a council seat in 400 villages, cities and towns, plus 37 school boards, there’s a lot to keep tabs on with Ontario’s upcoming municipal election. But the challenge doesn’t daunt Michael Teper. Teper calls himself an an enemy of antisemitism and a fan of open government. In his private life, he’s a tax expert with a big Toronto accounting firm. But in his spare time, he seeks out anti-Zionists and antisemites running for public office. He files numerous freedom of information requests to uncover what officials are writing in their emails and on social media, and when the story seems big enough, he goes public with it. Teper sat down with The CJN Daily to explain why he does what he does, how Israel and Palestine figure into Ontario's school boards, and what happened during some of the higher-profile antisemitic incidents that inspired him to act. What we talked about: Follow Michael Teper on Twitter @michaelteper1 Read B'nai Brith's election primer for Toronto Read The CJN's coverage of a former Timmins Catholic school teacher whose licence was revoked over Holocaust denial Read Josh Lieblein's column featuring Michael Teper Read how Ukrainian Jews celebrated Sukkot in Montreal this year 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

In September, newly minted Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre appointed rookie MP Melissa Lantsman to his advisory board, naming her one of two deputy leaders of the party. It's a meteoric rise for a politician who's marking her one-year anniversary as an elected official this fall. Lantsman represents Thornhill, a riding in Ontario with the highest percentage of Jewish voters in Canada. And while some Jews have been nervous about the Conservative leader's warm support for the trucker convoy, which harbored antisemitic symbols and proponents, Lantsman insists Poilievre is good for the Jews. Today, she joins The CJN Daily to chat about her first year on the Hill, dive into the Laith Marouf scandal and recap her heated confrontation with the prime minister from February, in which he accused the Conservative Party of standing with swastikas. What we talked about: Watch the House of Commons exchange from February between Melissa Lantsman and Justin Trudeau Read Josh Lieblein's Doorstep Postings column on the incident Listen to The CJN Daily episode from Fall 2021 on Lantsman and Ya'ara Saks heading to Parliament Hill 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 learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.