North Star with Ellin Bessner

Funerals began Wednesday in Australia for some of the 15 Jewish victims of the Dec. 14 Bondi Beach massacre, including Rabbi Eli Schlanger. The Chabad rabbi was shot at the popular Hanukkah candle-lighting festival near his synagogue during the terrorist attack by an ISIS-affiliated suspect. Among those who will be mourning is a former Ottawan, Michael Gencher, who now runs the Australian arm of the Jewish advocacy organization StandWithUs. Gencher was a close friend of the murdered rabbi and knew others who were killed. Gencher blames what happened squarely on the Australian government. He believes much more could have been done by the federal government over the last two years to crack down on escalating antisemitic hate, which included street protests and firebombings. Meanwhile, Jason Adessky, a former Montrealer, was near Bondi Beach with his children and their Canadian grandmother on Sunday to pick up Hanukkah treats. They nearly brought the family to the beachfront festivities, but decided against it because of the heat. Now Adessky is “trying not to think about the ‘what ifs'”. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner is joined by Jason Adessky and Michael Gencher to hear how the massacre has affected them personally, along with Australia’s 117,000 other Jewish residents. Related links Read about how Canada’s Jewish community is responding to the Australian terrorist attack, in The CJN. Watch the broadcast of the funeral for Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the Chabad emissary gunned down at his Hanukkah beach festival by ISIS-influenced terrorists on Bondi Beach on Dec. 14. Hear Canadian political leaders warn that our governments must do more to prevent a similar attack here, on The CJN’s North Star podcast . Donate to help the victims' families in Australia with links on the Chabad of Bondi website. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

In the wake of Sunday’s terrorist attack on Australia’s Jewish community, Canadian Jews are feeling angry, scared, mournful and defiant, with some seriously considering moving to Israel. As of Sunday night EST, the death toll in New South Whales had risen to 15 victims, including the host of the Bondi Beach candle-lighting event, Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who has deep ties to Toronto and Ottawa. Meanwhile, officials believe up to 60 other festival-goers were wounded, including the rabbi’s wife, a mother of five. One of the two shooters was also killed. In Canada, rabbis and Jewish leaders urged their community to push back against terror, show extra pride and make an effort to attend public candle-lighting ceremonies this Hanukkah. But some fear Canada is equally ripe for an attack like Australia’s, due to the failure of public officials to stop hate speech and protests on our streets featuring chants like “Globalize the Intifada”. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast with Ellin Bessner, you’ll hear what Jewish Canada sounded like while mourning Jews on the other side of the planet. We’re joined by Richard Marceau, a senior official with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, who just returned from an antisemitism conference in Australia six days prior to the attack; award-winning Canadian author Sidura Ludwig, who lined up early to buy special sufganiyot at a Thornhill bakery; Sara Lefton of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto; Rabbi Levi Gansburg of Chabad on Bayview, who knew the murdered rabbi; and political leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, Toronto mayor Olivia Chow and cabinet minister Evan Solomon. Related links Read more about how Canadian Jewish leaders and politicians have reacted to the mass terrorist shooting in Australia, in The CJN . Why Australia’s prime minister accused Iran of trying to destabilize their country, including by masterminding the arson at the Melbourne synagogue in 2024 and firebombing of a kosher deli, in The CJN.   This Australian Jewish leader said his country and community are ignoring online hate, at their peril, during a visit to Winnipeg in February 2025, in The CJN . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

This weekend, starting on Dec. 12, thousands of Jewish teens from nearly 70 countries, including Canada, will be participating in BBYO’s annual #GlobalShabbat weekend, featuring dances, Havdalah services and other meaningful Jewish events in between. These BBYO high schoolers can thank Vancouver student Levi Moskovitz for helping raise a lot of the money to pay for it. Moskovitz, a Grade 12 King David High School student with a passion for finance, is halfway through his term serving as BBYO International’s treasurer. Elected in February, he’s the sole Canadian teen on the current leadership board of the century-old Jewish youth organization. As treasurer, a title known as Grand Aleph Gizbor, Moskovitz has many duties—among them, overseeing a global fundraising blitz last week, called #GivingBBYODay, where they raised $1.6 million in a single day. But Moskovitz, 17, is equally proud of his success revitalizing BBYO chapters here in Canada and attracting hundreds of new teens to find community and a safe space after Oct. 7. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, we hear from Levi Moskovitz in Vancouver to hear why BBYO is sort of a family business. His father, Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, himself a former BBYO international leader, also joins, and we’ll hear from BBYO’s regional director in Winnipeg, Jonah Posner. Related links Read more about why Levi Moskovitz was nominated this fall as one of The CJN’s Chai Achievers . Learn more about BBYO’s Canadian activities, including in the Vancouver area and Winnipeg's Global Shabbat Dec. 12. Discover when this Ontario teen was elected president of the international B’nai Brith Girls organization, in The CJN, from 2014. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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)

Toronto police, investigating the suspected hate-motivated theft of mezuzahs from a seniors apartment complex over the weekend, now tell The CJN they have raised their original count of 20 cases to approximately 30. But community leaders—including rabbis, political offices and some tenants—believe the true number is significantly higher, anywhere from 60 to 110. Police acknowledge their count is probably low, but they need the victims to report the crime before they can confirm it. Beginning Sunday, Toronto police’s hate crime unit and other officers combed through the 14-storey West Don Apartment complex in the Jewish area of Bathurst and Steeles. By the following afternoon, volunteers from the Jewish Russian Community Centre and Unapologetically Jewish replaced more than 60 mezuzahs. But the disturbing crime spree has left many residents shaken, including one who reportedly asked if the mezuzah could be installed inside their apartment, not outside, to avoid being targeted. The City of Toronto has stationed personnel from the public housing division’s Community Safety Unit at the seniors building for the next couple of weeks “for safety and security support”. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner brings you her on-the-scene report, where you’ll hear from tenants including Lev Zaidel and Shoshana Pellman, and also from some of the volunteers, including local Rabbi Yirmi Cohen, Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman and Rabbi Shmuel Neft, who showed up to help. Related links Read more about how the Jewish community came together to help the seniors who were victims of the mezuzah theft, in The CJN . Learn more about how to donate mezuzahs through the Jewish Russian Community Centre. This Toronto condo complex had 7 mezuzahs stolen in 2017. What did the victims say? In The CJN . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

Over the last two weeks, the Polish government has been doubling down on its official narrative that, during the Second World War, its own people were the victims of the Germans—not responsible for collaborating in the murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. That policy has been law since 2018, and has led to strained relations with Israel, Holocaust survivors and academic scholars, including award-winning Canadian professor Jan Grabowski. Grabowski, a historian at the University of Ottawa and the child of a Warsaw Holocaust survivor, has spent years researching how ordinary Poles denounced, betrayed and helped carry out the murder of 200,000 Jews—mostly without any prodding from the Nazis. That’s why Grabowski, who has been sued by the Polish state over this issue, has been closely monitoring the recent flare-ups involving Poland, Israel, and even Germany, which began at the end of November. It started on Nov. 19, when the new U.S. ambassador to Poland—an observant American Jew who used to run the Jerusalem Post—told a startled Warsaw conference that it was “a grotesque falsehood” and a “historic injustice” to blame Poland for Holocaust crimes committed by others. After that, a popular far-right member of the Polish parliament stood outside the gates of Auschwitz to oppose the country’s plan to adopt a new antisemitism strategy. He called for Jews to be kicked out of the country. Then, on Nov. 25, the Israeli ambassador to Poland was summoned over a social media post from Yad Vashem. On today’s episode of The CJN’s flagship news podcast North Star, Grabowski joins to unpack why his native country continues distorting the truth about its past involvement in the Holocaust, and how Polish officials are dismissing the historical records he’s unearthed, which tell a more nuanced story of who killed Poland’s Jews. Related links Example Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

“We had a beautiful wedding. Wish you could have been there!” That’s what Shawna Magence quipped to her new husband, Steven Weiss, about three weeks ago, after a freak accident marred their joyous marriage ceremony in Florida. Magence, 55, from Toronto, had just stood under the chuppah on Nov. 16 with her husband-to-be, an American from the Five Towns area of Long Island, New York, for the traditional breaking of the glass. Suddenly, people noticed puddles of blood on the floor. It turns out, the broken wedding glass had pierced the groom’s right foot, causing a deep gash. Paramedics arrived soon after. Weiss, 59, was strapped onto a gurney and wheeled out to a waiting ambulance. But he didn’t depart for the hospital right away—the rabbi had the couple complete the next stage of their wedding inside the emergency vehicle. Eventually, the groom got nine stitches, while the bride returned to the reception, alone, to tend to their guests. And the wedding? It took another day to complete. Meanwhile, the couple is taking the accident in stride, considering it just one more memorable challenge they’ve had to overcome after the pair, both in their 50s, met in 2024 and embarked on their unexpected, late-in-life romance. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, we hear the whole incredible wedding story with Shawna Magence—while her groom recuperates. Related links Learn more about “After Forever”, the support group and resources for separated, divorced or widowed Jewish people, co-founded by Shawna Magence. Watch the video of the newlyweds’ bloody wedding mishap, on The CJN’s YouTube channel Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

Nearly 40 handwritten letters by a group of Ottawa seniors have made their way into a unique new publication documenting the impact of Oct. 7 over the last two years. The project is by a group called “Active Jewish Adults 50+”, and grew out of a call-out by The CJN in mid-October, following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and subsequent release of the remaining 20 living hostages. The CJN asked readers to send in their reactions—and these seniors took that request to heart. They meet each Tuesday at the Kehillat Beth Israel synagogue in Ottawa for programming and lunch. Upwards of 50 regulars, between the ages of 70 and 100, took part in this special letter-writing project. But they didn’t just send their reactions to The CJN—they decided to publish the letters themselves. The result is a new booklet called Reflections on the Release of the Hostages, launching the week of Dec. 1, just as Hamas handed over more unidentified remains to the Red Cross. Israel hasn’t confirmed whether they belong to the final two deceased hostages, still considered missing since Oct. 7. On today’s episode of The CJN’s flagship news podcast North Star, host Ellin Bessner asks some of the creative seniors to read their submissions and share how the war has affected them. Plus, we hear from Sheila Osterer, the group’s executive director, who initiated the project. Related links Learn more about  AJA 50+  and their activities in Ottawa. Read  the new booklet containing letters and poems about Oct. 7, written by the Ottawa Jewish seniors “Creative Connections” group. Hear when Ottawa native Jacqui Rivers-Vital and her husband shared the story of their murdered daughter Adi with the AJA 50+ members, in February 2024, on  The CJN Daily . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

Former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, a diplomat and former member of the Israeli Knesset, says he has always refused to do public “gladitorial” debates when it comes to representing Israel these last two decades in public life. But the American-born statesman and author changed his long-standing practice to come to Canada this Wednesday Dec. 3 to headline the Munk Debates on stage in Toronto. Organizers are mounting what they admit is their thorniest topic ever: be it resolved that supporting the two-state solution is in Israel’s best interests. Oren is on the “no side” together with right-wing former Israeli politician Ayelet Shaked. They’ll take on a former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert former cabinet minister Tzipi Livni, who will be arguing for the “yes” side. The debate is already attracting controversy for several reasons: there were no Palestinian voices invited on the program, and organizers are expecting protests, so security has been ramped up. They also had to move from their traditional venue, Roy Thomson Hall, for the first time in 15 years. But despite the side show, Oren believes the Munk Debates are important to reach a massive online audience with reasoned arguments, including why most Israelis oppose the so-called two-state solution in any near future. He calls the proposal “deranged”, especially after Oct. 7, even though most Western countries, including Canada, are doubling down on the idea. And says the two-state solution is a tragedy for Palestinians. So what’s in store for Israel, the Palestinians, and the Middle East? Oren joins The CJN‘s “North Star” podcast host Ellin Bessner on today’s episode, for his take. Related Links: Learn more about watching the Munk debate on Dec. 3, 2025. Follow Amb. Michael Oren’s columns, his Israel 2048 organization and his books, at his website . Read Amb. Michael Oren’s praise for former Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper and foreign minister, John Baird, during a 2013 speech in Montreal, from The CJN archives Credits:https://munkdebates.com/membership/ Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

After Hamas terrorists gunned down Rabbi Leo Dee’s wife Lucy and two of their daughters, Maia and Rina, during a family outing in the West Bank in April 2023, the tragedy made international headlines. Thousands attended the funerals, where the bereaved rabbi and his three surviving children quickly became public figures. The Dees are officially considered by Israel to be the first victims of the Oct. 7 attacks, despite their murders happening six months before. Rabbi Dee, 53, has since become a sought after speaker and an activist on behalf of other grieving families. So when he announced in June that he was getting remarried, to Aliza Teplitsky, a Canadian formerly of Toronto, the news prompted an outpouring of well wishes. Fans rejoiced that Rabbi Dee had found happiness again, two years after his family was shattered. The new couple had intended to spend two weeks in Canada in July. But Iran had other ideas. Israel’s brief war with Tehran broke out just before their trip, forcing it to be postponed until after their high profile marriage, which took place in August in their West Bank community of Efrat. Now though, the newlyweds have arrived in Canada, for what they jokingly refer to as their “workingmoon”, because the private visit also includes meetings and speeches to the Jewish community, and others. The Dees hope to inspire people with his story about how he rebuilt his life, and balances his sorrow with his newfound happiness. It’s also why he’s written a new book entitled “The Seven Facets of Healing.” On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, Rabbi Leo Dee and Aliza (Teplitsky) Dee join host Ellin Bessner to talk about their self-described rom-com, and about healing, but also to share some harsh criticism of Canada’s recent declaration to unilaterally recognize unilateral Palestinian State. Related links Hear Rabbi Leo Dee and Aliza Dee in Toronto Nov. 28 and 29 at Shaarei Shomayim synagogue. or in Whitby on Nov. 30 a local church. Learn more about Rabbi Leo Dee’s new book “The Seven Facets of Healing” available now on Amazon. Read about the murders of Rabbi Dee’s late wife Lucy, and their daughters Maia and Rina, in this tribute by former Montreal Rabbi Mark Fishman, from April 2023, in The CJN.. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

Quebec’s nationalist government is expected to table yet another bill later this week that will go even further to take religion out of provincial institutions and public life–and which will likely include a few key issues impacting the Jewish community. The new “Secularism 2.0” law, as the minister in charge has dubbed it, will make it illegal to hold public prayers on the streets, although the province will leave it up to municipalities to enforce the ban. Some observers believe it’s a response to growing concerns in Quebec since Oct. 7, 2023 over the frequent, intimidating anti-Israel protests where Muslim demonstrators block traffic to hold prayer services. Others say it’s a sign the ruling CAQ government is in trouble at the polls, which is why lawmakers are doubling down on Quebec’s existing secularism restrictions. Since 2019, many government employees have been banned from covering their faces, and from wearing religious symbols like hijabs and kippahs at work. Then just a few weeks ago, Bill 94 was passed on Oct. 30, that expanded these bans to more people in the Quebec education system. It also revoked the practice of giving public school staff and students accommodation via time off to observe their religious holidays. While there is some fear this coming week’s newer proposals could impact provincially-subsidized day schools, and ban kosher meals in public institutions, Jewish leaders say they will wait to comment until the actual bill is tabled. All this comes after recent local elections, which saw Montreal elect a new mayor who is seen as friendlier to the security concerns of the Jewish community, while in the majority-Jewish municipalities of Côte Saint-Luc and Hampstead, two kippah-wearing mayors have now officially been sworn in to office. The CJN’s Quebec correspondent Joel Ceausu joins “North Star” host Ellin Bessner–back from vacation–to unpack all these developments. Related links Read about Côte Saint-Luc’s newly elected mayor, David Tordjman, in The CJN . Learn more about Montreal’s new mayor and some of the key issues impacting Jewish voters, in The CJN . How Quebec moved to tighten secularism laws, bans religious symbols and face coverings for school staff, with more to come, in The CJN . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

While host Ellin Bessner is on vacation, we're bringing you an episode from the archives of our show. This episode originally aired 06/20/2022. For the past 20 years, Ari Sitnik has taken small acting gigs on the side in Toronto. But nothing compared to two weeks ago, when he got a call to show up at the Royal York Hotel for the top-secret filming of Drake’s new music video, “Falling Back”. The video shows a lavish wedding featuring Drake getting married to 23 Instagram models. Sitnik, as the officiant, appears right at the beginning, clad in his ultra-Orthodox outfit, asking the betrothed if they will act "according to our values and traditions." He then pronounces them "man and wives." Today on The CJN Daily, you'll meet the real Sitnik, the father of four who works as a computer specialist, who doesn't call himself "Rabbi Sitnik," who was born in Brazil before moving to Canada—and who isn't too worried about Jews criticizing his portrayal of our religion for what is currently the most popular (and controversial) music video on the internet. Related links Watch the video for " Falling Back " Watch Sitnik in the " Slammin for Shabbos " video Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

This episode originally aired on The CJN's peace-building podcast, In Good Faith. To subscribe and hear more, visit thecjn.ca/faith. Mainstream Jews, who support Israel and consider themselves Zionists, feel like they are under attack. When they see people wearing keffiyehs and storefronts stamped with Palestinian flags, they hear an implicit attack: "You are not welcome here." But for Palestinians, watermelons and keffiyehs aren't anti-Jewish icons at all: they're symbols of national pride.  How can everyday Canadian Jews and Muslims even start a conversation when words and symbols have such different meanings to different people? Telling people they're overreacting isn't an effective tool, nor is public shame, arguing over historical facts or posting online memes. What might work: navigating difficult conversations. On today's episode of In Good Faith, The CJN's interfaith podcast miniseries, we speak with two people who are working toward exactly that. Niki Landau and Bashar Alshawwa both came to conflict resolution through trauma. Landau lost a close friend, Marnie Kimmelman, to a terrorist pipe bomb on a Tel Aviv beach at age 17; Alshawwa was shot by an Israeli army sniper during a protest in 2014. Now they're touring Canada, bringing Jews and Muslims together for lengthy closed-door dialogue sessions, with a singular goal: create a toolkit to guide Canadians through conversations they desperately don't want to have. Credits Hosts:  Yafa Sakkejha and Avi Finegold Producers:  Michael Fraiman and Zachary Judah Kauffman Editor:  Zachary Judah Kauffman This podcast is sponsored by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, with support from the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation.

While host Ellin Bessner is on vacation, we're bringing you an episode from the archives of our show. This episode originally aired February 13, 2023. More than five years have passed since the still-unsolved murders of philanthropists Barry and Honey Sherman in their Toronto home. Despite a $35-million reward for clues to solve their killing, the case remains a mystery. Conspiracy theories abound over who did it and why, with fingers being pointed at the Clintons, Big Pharma, the Sherman children, a cousin or even the Mossad. Police haven’t released any clues in more than a year. But interest is about to heat up again as two major Canadian news outlets give the story the true-crime treatment, each releasing podcasts about the Shermans—this same month. The two shows take very different approaches. One is hosted by Kevin Donovan, the Toronto Star reporter who broke most of the Sherman case and wrote a book about it; the other, produced by the CBC, is hosted by Jewish journalist Kathleen Goldhar. She has produced previous hit shows about a romance scammer and the cult that ensnared two Bronfman sisters. Today, both podcasters join The CJN Daily to explain why they have been pursuing the case for years and whether either of their competing shows actually provide closure to the unsolved mystery. What we talked about:. Learn why the Toronto police  released this video  of a person of interest Hear Kevin Donovan on  The CJN Daily  talk about his book  The Billionaire Murders , which the new podcast is based on Read about  the philanthropic legacy  of the Shermans Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

This episode originally aired Oct. 15, 2024. On the night of Oct. 16, 2024, Jews around Canada welcomed the holiday of Sukkot, having erected temporary wooden or cloth structures outside their synagogues and homes. While celebrating in their makeshift shacks, many told stories of the huts that ancient Israelites lived in after their exodus from Egypt. Meanwhile, in modern-day Canada, a different kind of exodus is happening across the country: young Jewish families, along with Canadians of all stripes, are finding themselves priced out of the housing market, fleeing their home cities to find affordable houses in ever-farther destinations. While the cost of a sukkah kit may seem steep these days, in the hundreds or low thousands, it pales it comparison to the national average cost of a house: nearly $650,000. As a result, housing organizations are stepping in to find creative solutions. One such company with deep Jewish roots is Ourboro, whose COO, Eyal Rosenblum, is the son of Israeli immigrants. The company essentially buys a stake in your house by lending you up to $250,000 for your down payment. Whatever the percentage of the down payment is, that’s what you’ll have to pay them back once you sell. The idea has caught on, with real estate developer Miles Nadal having joined Ourboro as a key investor. Eyal Rosenblum joins The CJN Daily to explain how this concept can help some Canadians afford homes, and why his Jewish values align with the idea. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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 )

While host Ellin Bessner is on vacation, we're bringing you some highlights from other podcasts produced by The CJN. Today: The second episode of our interfaith miniseries, In Good Faith. Over the last two years, a flood of gruesome images have emerged in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and ensuing war in Gaza. In Canada, thousands of kilometres away, Jews and Muslims have watched this horror online—and, in many cases, found their social lives overturned by them. Friends, acquaintances and colleagues have made comments online, often over-simplified, that they’d never say out loud. What happens when politics become personal? When geopolitics half a world away breaks apart relationships between parents and children, romantic partners and close friends? That’s what happened to Ronit Yarosky and Ehab Lotayef. They met in the early 2000s, during the Second Intifada, at a dialogue group for Jewish and Arab residents in Montreal. Both of them have deep connections to the region. They became close friends, celebrating festivals together and dining in each others’ homes, marching side-by-side in activist circles—until October 2023. Hear how they fell apart, and found their way back together, on the second episode of In Good Faith.

Mickey Heller wasn't eager to open up about his Second World War military service. But his grandson, Aron Heller, a journalist and contributor to The CJN, was curious about his zayde's wartime past—and so, over the span of a decade, he asked questions durings phone calls, visits and emails. As Heller discovered his grandfather's fascinating untold stories, he decided to expand his scope of inquiry to include his grandfather's circle of Jewish veterans who fought in the Second World War, and also Israel's War of Independence as overseas volunteer fighters called mahal. In one story, Heller discovers previously unpublished details about a long-unsolved plane crash in southern Israel that cost the lives of three Canadian military volunteers in 1948. Heller combined these stories into a new nonfiction book, Zaidy's Band, to be released Nov. 11, 2025, for Remembrance Day. Heller joins North Star host Ellin Bessner to share stories about his late grandfather and the parallels between that elder generation and those who are defending Israel today. Related links Learn more about Aron Heller’s new book [Zaidy’s Band ](https://aronheller.com/)and see where he's holding book talks across Canada from Nov. 11-19. Read Aron Heller’s tribute to his late grandfather Mickey Heller, in [The CJN archives](https://thecjn.ca/opinion/even-as-he-turns-100-rcaf-veteran-mickey-heller-goes-back-to-memories-of-the-second-world-war/). Read Aron Heller’s coverage from Israel of Oct. 7 in [[The CJN](https://thecjn.ca/opinion/canadian-dispatches-from-israel-at-wartime-like-father-like-daughter/)] Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN Subscribe to North StarClick here

Twenty years ago, when Ilanit-Michele Woods urged her grandmother Olga Fisch to write down her memoirs of life in Hungary before and after the Holocaust, Woods could never have imagined the journey that manuscript would make. The 75 typed pages, all in Hungarian, sat unread for decades in Montreal, long after Olga died in 2017. The family eventually translated the documents into English at the Montreal Holocaust Museum in the summer of 2023. And because Woods is an award-winning sound editor, with both a BAFTA award and an Emmy nomination on her resume, she turned a microphone toward herself and her mother and recorded hours of tape during trips to Hungary, Poland and Israel, shortly after Oct. 7. The mother-daughter duo explored the places that shaped Olga's remarkable life. As a teenager, Olga had been deported from eastern Hungary to Auschwitz; she was later shipped off to a slave-labour factory, and sent on a death march. They also explored the source of their mother's Holocaust trauma, which they firmly believe has impacted three generations of their family. The long-lost manuscript might eventually become a book. In the meantime, Woods has released a six-part audio podcast entitled Olga, Erika and Me, which launched in Montreal in Sept. 2025. On today's episode of The CJN's North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner is joined by Woods and her mother, Erika Ciment, to discuss how the audio format will enhance the storytelling. Related links Listen to the six-part podcast Olga, Erika and Me Watch the trailer for the podcast on YouTube Learn more about the podcast via the Montreal Holocaust Museum Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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)

While host Ellin Bessner is on vacation, we're bringing you some highlights from other podcasts produced by The CJN. Today: The most recent episode of The Jewish Angle. Israelis breathed a collective sigh of relief after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire that included the return of the remaining hostages and and end to the fighting in Gaza. But the question remains: What comes next? What does the future look like for embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heading into next year’s elections? How are Western political figures like U.S. President Trump perceived in the region after this fragile peace deal? To get an inside view of life this month in the Holy Land, we bring on Lahav Harkov, a senior political correspondent for Jewish Insider and co-host of the Misgav Mideast Horizons podcast, who is based in Israel but writes for a Western audience. She sits down with Phoebe Maltz Bovy on The Jewish Angle for a discussion of Israeli political polling, Israeli views on Canada and what are the ramifications of a possible Zohran Mamdani mayoralty in New York City. Credits Host: Phoebe Maltz Bovy Producer and editor: Michael Fraiman Music: “Gypsy Waltz” by Frank Freeman, licensed from the Independent Music Licensing Collective Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to The Jewish Angle

The name Hannah Senesh is a household legend for many Israelis, and also for Diaspora Jews of a certain generation–especially those who attended Jewish school. Over the years, there have been books and films and documentaries about her, and even a recent re-enactment of Senesh’s famous 1944 military commando mission when she and dozens of Jewish volunteers parachuted back into Nazi occupied Europe to try to rescue tens of thousands of imperilled Jews and also save downed Allied pilots. But Canadian journalist and author Douglas Century, of Calgary, felt there was more to discover about the brave Hungarian teenager who escaped growing antisemitism in her native Budapest at the start of the Second World War, to pursue her Zionist ideals as an illegal immigrant to British Mandate Palestine in 1939. Senesh was eventually captured by Hungarian collaborators, tortured, and despite an offer of clemency if she confessed, was executed by firing squad eighty-one years ago this week, on Nov. 7, 1944. She was only 23. Her poems and diaries were recovered after her death, and published, like Anne Frank’s. One poem, known as “Eli Eli”, is regularly sung at Holocaust remembrance ceremonies. Douglas Century joins host Ellin Bessner on today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast to explain why his new book about Hannah Senesh aims to challenge the historical record that the wartime mission was a failure. Related links Learn more about Douglas Century’s new book about Hannah Senesh at the Canadian book launch on Nov. 19 at Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple.  Order the book “Crash of the Heavens: The Remarkable Story of Hannah Senesh”. Read The CJN’s Treasure Trove from 2024 paying tribute on the 80th anniversary of Hannah Senesh’s execution. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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)

Fania Fainer’s friends risked their lives to celebrate her 20th birthday in a forced labour factory in Auschwitz, fashioning a tiny ersatz cake along with a folded paper greeting card shaped like a heart. Decades later, she was living in Toronto when she decided to donate it to the Montreal Holocaust Museum to further the cause of Holocaust education. Her origami heart was also featured in the recent Auschwitz exhibition at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum. Fainer is one of the prominent members of Canada’s Jewish community who passed away recently. Just ahead of Holocaust Education Week, The CJN’s _North Star _podcast is paying tribute to her and to other community leaders as part of our recurring series, “Honourable Menschen”. On today’s episode, host Ellin Bessner is joined by The CJN’s obituary columnist, Heather Ringel, to share the stories of Fainer and: Cantor Ben Maissner, who served at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for 40 years; Carole Grafstein, who helped found the Canadian Women Against Antisemitism group after Oct. 7 and raised millions for many charities as a member of the Toronto Glitter Girls; Montreal’s Sid Stevens, who co-founded the Sun Youth organization; and Ben Schlesinger, a child Holocaust survivor who transformed his trauma into a career in social work. Related links Read more about the life of the late Fania Fainer in The Canadian Jewish News. Read the obituary of the late Cantor Ben Maissner from Holy Blossom Temple, in The CJN. Find out more about the life of the late Carole Grafstein, who raised millions for charity, in The CJN. Read how the late Sid Stevens co-founded Montreal’s Sun Youth organization, started first food banks, and Crime Stoppers, in The CJN. Learn how the late Ben Schlesinger survived Kristallnacht as a child to become a renowned Canadian social worker at the U of T, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) 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)