North Star with Ellin Bessner

Just after New Year’s Day, an NDP member of Parliament, Heather McPherson, adopted a private citizen’s petition calling on the government to scrutinize Canadian citizens and residents who have served in the Israel Defense Forces. The petition is the latest in a series of requests from lawmakers targeting IDF veterans for allegedly violating Canadian war-crime laws and international rules on genocide. This parliamentary effort comes after a Liberal MP from the Montreal area, Sameer Zuberi, asked officials with the Canada Border Services Agency to screen for non-Canadian citizens entering Canada who served in the IDF and may have participated in breaches of international law. Simultaneous to all this, families of Canadian IDF soldiers are still reeling after a Canadian media outlet created a public database of hundreds of former or current soldiers, effectively doxxing private citizens. One young man on that list is Eitan Ellis, 29, the son of Israel Ellis, an author and podcaster who is campaigning to get the website shut down. For reaction to this societal pivot against the IDF Canadians have witnessed over the last several months, Israel Ellis joins today’s episode of The CJN’s flagship podcast, North Star, along with David Kalman, an entrepreneur in Toronto who served his compulsory military service over thirty years ago. He calls the targeting of people in his situation a “witch hunt”. Lastly, at the end of this episode, hear a clip of host Ellin Bessner’s exclusive interview with Israeli comedian Guy Hochman, who was held for nearly six hours by Canadian border agents before a scheduled performance at the Prosserman JCC in Toronto—and found himself greeted with anti-Israel protesters once he arrived at the venue. Related links Read more about the RCMP’s structural investigation into possible war crimes by IDF veterans in The CJN from June 2025 , and in Jan. 2026 . Learn more about Israel Ellis’ new book “10.7 The Wake Up Call” and his “The Unfiltered View” podcasts via his website . Follow Israeli comedian Guy Hochman . Learn more about David Kalman’s pest control business Good Riddance Critters . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner info@thecjn.ca Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Subscribe to North Star Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN + get a charitable receipt

It’s Monday. That means hundreds—maybe thousands—of employees around the world, including some in Canada, will start a shortened work week. It’s part of a growing trend towards a new way of working—the same pay in fewer days. It’s been a trend since the pandemic. Companies such as Microsoft and Lamborghini, along with small towns in Ontario, British Columbia and elsewhere, have turned their workplaces into more productive environments, getting tasks done more efficiently by using technology—especially AI—while avoiding in-person “busy work” during the traditional five eight-hour days spent in an office. Toronto business journalist Jared Lindzon, also the host of The CJN’s Geltwise podcast, has a new book out digging deep into this concept. His book is called Do More in Four: Why It’s Time for a Shorter Workweek, published by the Harvard Business Review. He co-authored it with an Irish-Canadian academic, Joe O’Connor, who has been helping corporations around the world try out this new way of working. The results have helped companies’ financial bottom lines and the mental health of their employees, who report less burnout, more equal opportunities for women, and a greater environmental impact. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, Jared Lindzon sits down with host Ellin Bessner to share why his new book reveals a work-life recipe worth trying. And check out the giveaway contest at the end of the episode to win our one free copy of Do More in Four. Related links Follow Jared Lindzon at his  website and learn more about how to buy  his new book Listen to The CJN’s  Geltwise podcast. Why Canadian cabinet minister Evan Solomon is funding so many applications of artificial intelligence, on  The CJN’s “North Star” podcast . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner info@thecjn.ca Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer),Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Alicia Richler: The CJN’s Editorial Director Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Subscribe to North Star https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/ Watch our podcasts on  YouTube Donate to The CJN + get a charitable receipt

The Senate didn’t attract much attention last month, when, on Dec. 8, the Standing Committee on Human Rights wrapped up its public hearings about antisemitism. Over the course of a full year they held eight meetings, heard from over 40 witnesses and received about 37 briefs. Now the senators and staffers are drafting their report. But while communal Jewish leaders welcome the Senate’s attention to antisemitism, they maintain they don’t need another study that gathers dust on the shelves. Lawmakers have a mandated deadline of the end of 2026 to release the report—but one committee member, Senator Leo Housakos, the leader of the Conservative party in the Senate, wants the final document of non-binding recommendations to come out much sooner. He believes it is urgent to convince the Carney government to tackle “a terrible crisis, and we need action quickly to start protecting our Jewish community.” Housakos feels he represents the voice of Canada’s mainstream Jewish community on the nine-member permanent committee, which currently lacks any Jewish senators. Four of those committee members, including the chair, have either signed open letters critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, or spoken about it in the Senate. Housakos wasn’t thrilled by some of the anti-Zionist witnesses nvited to testify. He clashed with one witness, who said any groups that support the State of Israel should be destroyed. He also frowned on those who urged Canada to scrap the current IHRA definition of antisemitism, which the government adopted in 2019. The committee also heard that antisemitism is being exaggerated and in some cases, carried out by Jews on themselves. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, Senator Leo Housakos joins host Ellin Bessner to explain his urgent priorities for the expected antisemitism report. Related links Take a deep dive into the  Senate’s hearings on antisemitism , which wrapped up Dec. 9, 2025. Why U of T professor Robert Brym told the Senate committee studying antisemitism they had been given “weaponized” information from some anti-Zionist witnesses, on  North Star . Read what the House of Commons committee studying antisemitism recommended in its report on antisemitism in Canada, published in Dec. 2024, in  The CJN . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner info@thecjn.ca Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Subscribe to North Star https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/ Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/user/CanadianJewishNews Donate to The CJN + get a charitable receipt https://www.youtube.com/user/CanadianJewishNews

While Ellin and her team prepare new stories for the new year, we're bringing you an episode from another podcast by The CJN, The Jewish Angle_, hosted by Phoebe Maltz Bovy. She recent sat down with Montreal-based academic and writer Adam Louis-Klein, who founded the Movement Against Antizionism._ Anti-Zionism is often presented as simply a political critique of Israel. But in reality, it frames Zionists as a hostile, genocidal group, while often collapsing Jews and Israelis into the same stereotype due to their support for the Jewish State. From that perspective, anti-Zionists can quickly fall into racist tropes against Israelis, flattening identities into caricatures and seeing scapegoating Israel in broadly conspiratorial ways. The consequences ripple outward. Some anti-Zionists end up sidelining Muslim and Palestinian voices that don’t fit a rigid ideological script, diverting attention from corruption and repression elsewhere in the Middle East. It also reshapes identity politics, excluding Jews from multicultural events, and turning “Zionist” into a charged label that Jews are pressured either to renounce or wear as provocation. On this week’s episode of The Jewish Angle, Phoebe Maltz Bovy sits down with Adam Louis-Klein, a writer and academic currently completing his PhD in Anthropology at McGill University. He is the founder of the Movement Against Antizionism and a pundit who covers this topic in the media. As he explains, by creating an activist organization with academic roots, Louis-Klein is on a mission to help Zionists prepare responses to public anti-Zionist claims while reframing the discussion entirely. 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

It’s been just over a week since U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the military capture and trial of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The stunning late-night operation on Jan. 3 was welcome news to millions of Venezuelans who have fled their home country over the last two decades, leaving it to descend into corruption and impoverishment, despite controlling the biggest oil reserves on the planet. Among the estimated eight million Venezeulans who left, tens of thousands are Jewish. They faced additional pressure to escape: the regime was strongly anti-Israel, supporting Iran and Hezbollah, which led to the harassment of the local Jewish community. It’s a stance first adopted by Maduro’s predecessor, the late former president Hugo Chavez, in 2006. While Maduro now faces drug and racketeering charges in New York City, the uncertainty about what happens next has kept Venezuelans confined to their homes, with schools temporarily closed and paramilitary forces patrolling the streets. Some political prisoners are being released, in a gesture of goodwill by Maduro’s replacement, while President Trump is vowing to bring billions in investment to revamp Venezuela’s oil production. While some Venezuelans say they have great hope now that Maduro is gone, others think restoring democracy is still a long way off. On today’s episode of The CJN’s flagship _North Sta_r podcast, we hear reaction and analysis from three Venezuelan Jews who have made their homes in Canada. Jonathan Rosemberg Kort and Rebecca Sarfatti join from Toronto, while Daniel Topel joins from Ladner, B.C., south of Vancouver. Related links Read what Irwin Cotler and two other experts concluded in 2018 that Venezuela was committing crimes against humanity, in The CJN archives . Why Maduro’s predecessor, president Hugo Chavez, embraced Jew-hatred and hatred for Israel, in The CJN archives . Montreal Rabbi Adam Scheier feared for the safety of Caracas’ Jews after a visit to the country in 2009, in The CJN . Learn more about Jonathan Rosenberg Kort’s new book on corporate change, published in Nov. 2025. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner info@thecjn.ca Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/ https://thecjn.ca/donate/ Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube

Cindy Schwartz started her life in dance when she was barely out of first grade, when her parents arranged for her to perform for patients at the Donald Berman Maimonides long-term care hospital in Montreal. At the time, they felt her passion for dancing should stay just a hobby—but Schwartz believes her late parents would be proud that she's transformed her passion into a decades-long project that culminated in her being named to the Order of Canada on Dec. 31, 2025. Schwartz founded Les Muses, Canada’s first full-time performing arts training program for neurodivergent adults, over three decades ago in Montreal. Since then, she has landed her students roles in movies, television and onstage; one even won best Actress at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2014. The Order of Canada recognition came, coincidentally, just days before Schwartz officially retired on Jan. 5, 2026, at the age of 65. She joins North Star host Ellin Bessner to reflect on her achievements and explain how the Canadian entertainment business still has a long way to go to create space for actors, dancers and singers who are persons with disabilities—which includes increased government funding. Related links Learn more about the latest 2025 Order of Canada winners of Jewish faith, in  The CJN. Read more about Les Muses, t he training school  founded in Montreal by Cindy Schwartz. When autistic artist Adam Wolfond’s poetry, and his mother’s creations, were on display at the Koffler Centre for the Arts in 2025, in  The CJN . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner info@thecjn.ca 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 ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube

The red swastikas and hateful tags that were spray painted on the front doors of Winnipeg’s Shaarey Zedek synagogue early on Jan. 2, 2026 have been mostly cleaned off the building’s front doors, less than a week later. But Winnipeg police say the suspected hate crime is affecting not only the Jewish community, but the city as a whole. And it’s prompted them to call on residents to take a stand against hate, report suspicious activity, and refrain from acting as vigilantes. Meanwhile, the Shaarey Zedek congregation has welcomed the outpouring of support in the last few days, which it received from Manitoba’s premier, Winnipeg’s mayor, the Lieutenant Governor, federal members of Parliament, and religious leaders of other faiths. But despite the solidarity, some Jewish leaders say what’s really needed is for existing hate laws to be enforced, and for Canada to quickly appoint a new special envoy on antisemitism—a post that’s been vacant since July 2025. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, you’ll hear first from Inspector Jennifer McKinnon of Winnipeg’s Major Crimes Unit, then Rabbi Carnie Rose of Shaarey Zedek congregation and Belle Jarniewski, a Holocaust educator and director of Manitoba’s new Institute to Combat Antisemitism, which recently launched. Related links Why Winnipeg police retrieved a suspicious item from the Shaarey Zedek property on Sunday Jan 4, 2026, in The CJN . Rabbi Carnie Rose returned to Winnipeg in the summer of 2025 to lead the city’s Shaarey Zedek congregation where he grew up, and be close to his brother Rabbi Kliel Rose who leads Congregation Etz Chayim in the same city. Then their parents moved back too. On The CJN’s North Star podcast. Under Belle Jarniewski’s guidance, Winnipeg’s Holocaust education centre got a redesign in 2023 aimed at accommodating more visits. Hear the story 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 )

While the Canadian Parliament has been on winter break since mid-December, international politics have only heated up so far in 2026. Pro-democracy protests have rocked Iran; Russia's war against Ukraine remains unresolved; and the United States stunningly bombed oil-rich Venezuela and captured its dictator, Nicolas Maduro. It's all likely to overshadow domestic policy issues once Canadian federal politicians come back to work. But Canadian Jews have their own concerns at home, worrying about whether lawmakers will keep last year's promises to fight antisemitism and remain proactive about hate-fuelled terrorism. And some federal policy is less clear: how will Canada change its relationship with Israel in the wake of recognizing Palestinian statehood? Will the federal New Democratic Party choose former broadcaster and anti-Israel activist Avi Lewis as their new leader? Is Pierre Poilievre, a staunch ally of Israel, going to survive his party's leadership review in January? And what about the economic problems our country continues to face stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war? On today's episode of North Star, The CJN's political panelists weigh in. Joining host Ellin Bessner today are Dan Mader a Conservative strategist and a founder of Loyalist Public Affairs, who sits on CJPAC's advisory board and volunteers with Friends of JNF Canada; David Birnbaum, a former Liberal member of the Quebec National Assembly for the riding of D'Arcy-McGee in Montreal; and Noah Tepperman, a past president of the Windsor-Tecumseh NDP riding association, who has advised the federal and provincial NDP on Jewish issues. Related links Read more about Canada recognizing the State of Palestine in Sept. 2025, in  The CJN. Hear federal Liberal cabinet minister Evan Solomon on how his government is taking antisemitism seriously, as well as the safety of Jews, in  The CJN. How Toronto’s Jewish community gave a warm welcome to Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre at a synagogue in December, 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 )

On Dec. 9, 2025, The CJN teamed up with the Shalom Hartman Institute and two synagogues in Toronto—Beth Tzedec and Holy Blossom Temple—to host a live event called Pathways to Hope, a conversation with young Israeli changemakers. The Hartman Institute runs a project called Hazon, which mentors Israeli university students who are also active in their campus's pro-democracy movement, among other social justice issues in Israel.  Two of the students, Yonathan Machlis and Ayala Dahan, along with Hartman's director of the Center for Israeli & Jewish Identity, Ronit Heyd, joined North Star producer Zachary Kauffman for a panel discussion about what gives them hope amid a challenging time for Israeli democracy. The panel also shares their vision for Israel's future and what it means to enact democracy as the Jewish State heads towards an election in October.  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 )

Fans of the long-running game show Family Feud Canada may have caught the Bernstein family appearing as contestants last week. The five family members—who all live around Richmond Hill and Oshawa—taped their episodes back in August at CBC headquarters in Toronto, but had to keep their appearances a secret until their three episodes aired on Dec. 15-17. In an interview with The CJN’s North Star podcast, two of the family members reveal how proud they were to represent Judaism on the small screen—bantering in Yiddish with comic host Gerry Dee—even though their episodes ended up airing during difficult times. The family watched themselves on TV last week, shortly after losing patriarch Nat Bernstein, 101, in Montreal. And while the timing around Hanukkah was convenient for celebration (especially given how much gelt they won), the terror attack at Bondi Beach in Australia cast a pall over their excitement. To find out what the experience was like, why they auditioned, and what the five of them will do with the prize money, siblings Shaun Bernstein and Alexis Orchard join North Star host Ellin Bessner. Related links Watch the Bernstein family’s three episodes on Family Feud Canada on CBC Gem , or see clips on YouTube . Read about the Kestelman family including Rabbi Stephen Wise and his wife Cheryl, who runs the synagogue's supplementary school, his sister Renee Cohen of TanenbaumCHAT, and other relatives win on Family Feud Canada back in 2022, 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 )

Cabinet Minister Evan Solomon tells The CJN in a wide-ranging interview how the government is 'highly engaged' in monitoring terrorist threats against Canada's Jewish community. Solomon spent much of last week carrying out his official role as Canada’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, making funding announcements to support local researchers and entrepreneurs. But on Dec. 14, the rookie politician made a point to tell Canadians about the impact that the Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre had on Canada’s Jewish community—including himself. Having already spoken to his rabbi and congregants at his synagogue, Holy Blossom Temple in midtown Toronto, he quickly headed downtown to City Hall to film a video of support, inviting Mayor Olivia Chow to join. Days later, he took part in a roundtable discussion with RCMP officials and other Canadian law enforcement agencies, where politicians and Jewish community leaders were briefed about the possibility of a domestic copycat attack. Solomon insists his government is “highly engaged” with what he calls the “unacceptable level” of antisemitic attacks and the “threat level” that’s causing fear and anxiety for his community. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, Solomon sits down with host Ellin Bessner to explain what is being done. Related links Evan Solomon was one the two Jewish MPs from Toronto who were appointed to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new government in May 2025, in The CJN . Hear Evan Solomon’s (and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s_ message to the Jewish community for Hanukkah, after last week’s Australian Bondi Beach massacre, on The CJN’s North Star podcast. Learn more about Evan Solomon’s election campaign for the Liberals in Toronto Centre, one of the key ridings to watch in April 2025, with a tiny Jewish electorate at 1.4% of the population, 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 )

When sociologist Robert Brym published his research on Canadian Jewry in November 2024, his findings made international headlines. While 94 per cent of the community said they support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state—and about 84 per cent were strongly or somewhat emotionally attached to Israel—barely half said they called themselves Zionists. The three progressive Jewish organizations that commissioned the survey concluded it proves how nuanced conversations about Israel are within Canada’s Jewish community after Oct. 7. It also showed how no one can claim to speak for the majority of Canadian Jews, they added—not the mainstream centre-right organizations, nor the anti-Zionist far-left ones. All the while, the author himself has been quietly fuming, as he believes his original findings have been “weaponized”, deliberately misinterpreted by Jewish groups—mainly Independent Jewish Voices—in order to bolster their own political goals. This came to his attention a few weeks ago in the Senate, where a committee has been studying antisemitism in Canada. Byrm has been sitting on the results of a new study he did earlier this year, which he says proves them wrong. He revisited the same nearly 600 people who answered the first time, and asked why 51 per cent felt they could not call themselves Zionists. Now that his paper has been published in the latest issue of the academic journal Canadian Jewish Studies, Brym is eager to set the record straight: while he found the same overwhelming support for Israel as a Jewish state at 94%, modern interpretations of the word “Zionism” are making many Canadian Jews reject the label. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, Ellin Bessner sits down with Brym to unpack his latest findings and to hear his advice for people who support Israel but don’t want to use the Z-word. Related links Read Brym’s new  2025 study just published in the Association of Canadian Jewish Studies' latest journal edition.  Read his first  2024 survey done on behalf of NIFCanada, JSpaceCanada and Canadian Friends of Peace Now Hear how the heads of New Israel Fund of Canada and JSpace Canada broke down the findings of the first 2024 survey, on  The CJN’s Bonjour Chai podcast from Dec. 2024. 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)

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 )