North Star with Ellin Bessner

According to the 2016 census, Canada's Jewish population dropped by half. This year, Jewish groups want to fix the problem by making sure Jewish Canadians know how to correctly fill out the long-form census. Questions 23 and 30 are at the centre of that campaign: one asks what religion you are; the other, your ethnicity. On today's episode of The CJN Daily, Morton Weinfeld, a professor at McGill University, joins to explain what was wrong with the last census—and how this new one is supposed to be better. After that, Simon Granat, a senior manager of policy and communitations with CIJA, talks about the impact the census has on Jews across the country. What we talked about: Find Weinfeld's book, Like Everyone Else but Different: The Paradoxical Success of Canadian Jews, on Amazon Read British Columbia's press release about new child care and housing projects Read CIJA's take on the census 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.

It's Yom Yerushalayim, a day to celebrate Israel's holiest city. But the holiday is being marred by the threat of ongoing violence between Palestinian protesters and ultra-nationalist Israeli extremists. The situation grew so dire that Canada's minister of foreign affairs, Marc Garneau, issued a statement over the weekend calling for "immediate de-escalation of tensions." Meanwhile, the Israeli high court has postponed a hearing, slated for Monday, on a controversial case over evictions from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheik Jarrah. That postponement was due to fears that the hearing would further inflame the clashes. For an on-the-ground perspective, today's guest is Igal Hecht, an Israeli-born Canadian documentary filmmaker and producer, currently shooting a new production about Israeli elections. What we talked about: View the statement by Global Affairs Canada: "Canada concerned by escalation of tensions in Jerusalem" Watch the trailer for Igal Hecht's new movie, My Election, on YouTube Read about the protests in Jerusalem at CBC News 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.

Clean Speech Ottawa is a movement backed by more than 25 Jewish organizations. Their goal: encourage people to be mindful of the ways in which their flippant, offensive, condescending or insulting language can hurt other people. Their goal is to spread peace across communities "one word at a time." One of the founders, Rabbi Zischa Shaps, joins the show to talk about the birth of the movement and why it matters so much in 2021. What we talked about: Read the Senate bill that could bring Kindness Week to Canada Follow Clean Speech Ottawa on Facebook at facebook.com/CleanSpeechOttawa Learn about Rabbi Shaps's organization, JET, at jetottawa.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. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

While no one knows the number of Canadian Jews who died from the COVID-19 pandemic, the editorial team at Maclean's is casting a wider net. They've teamed up with journalism schools across the country to write an obituary of every Canadian who died from the virus for a massive collection called They Were Loved. Dafna Izenberg, the managing editor of special projects at Maclean's, talks about a few prominent Jewish stories that stuck out to her. Plus, listen to clips from the Liberation75 festival that's commemorating the end of the Holocaust. 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.

With so many Jewish cultural events happening in May—film festivals, literary celebrations and the Walk with Israel, not to mention the Israeli holidays of Independence Day and Yom HaShoah—it’s no accident that the Canadian government, in 2018, announced May would be Canadian Jewish Heritage Month. On the show today, Conservative senator Linda Frum and former Liberal MP Michael Levitt join to discuss how they helped usher this official designation into law. The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner, who you can follow on Twitter at @ebessner. Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia.

Welcome to the first episode of The CJN Daily. Today, host Ellin Bessner focuses on the tragedy that killed 45 people and injured more than 150 others during what was supposed to be a celebration for Lag b'Omer on Mount Meron. Ellin talks with Dr. Oded Oron, a visiting scholar with the Israel Institute, who explains what the event is supposed to be—and how it all went wrong. After that, Dr. Ira Robinson, director of the Concordia Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies, talks about the anti-Zionist Toldos Aharon Hasidic sect, which played a central role in the lethal events. The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner, who you can follow on Twitter at @ebessner. Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia.

Introducing The CJN Daily, a new bite-sized daily newscast for Jewish Canadians.