North Star with Ellin Bessner

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

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

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

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

Two Israeli seniors were killed overnight when an Iranian cluster bomb hit their Ramat Gan apartment. The husband reportedly needed a walker to get around. When a missile warning sounds in Israel, people have only seconds to act — to get to a safe room or bomb shelter. But what if you can’t get there in time? Nearly one in five Israelis lives with a disability. And for many, reaching safety isn’t always possible. Some shelters can only be accessed by stairs. Others may not receive alerts in time — or at all — if they’re deaf, blind, or unable to use smartphone apps. And for seniors or those without access to technology, those life-saving warnings can fall short. Canadian lawyer and disability rights advocate David Lepofsky says this is a hidden crisis — one that’s been known for years, but still not fully addressed. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star, he joins me to explain how this war is exposing those gaps — and why they’re now a matter of life and death. Israel, disability rights, accessibility, emergency alerts, public safety, war, human rights, bomb shelters, civil defense, Canada, CJN, North Star Podcast Related stories Learn more about the Israeli disability rights organization Bizchut Subscribe to David Lepofsky’s new podcast called “Disability Rights and Wrongs: The David Lepodcast.” Hear Montrealer Neil Oberman’s first-hand account of receiving alerts on the phone and running to a bomb shelter, on The CJN’s ‘North Star’ podcast from March 2. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

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

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

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

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

Tina Ahava Azarin constantly checks the news about the war between Iran and Israel. But for the Ottawa resident, it’s not just distant headlines. An Iranian-Jewish entrepreneur, Azarin was born in Isfahan and raised in Tehran before leaving Iran for Canada in 2001 with her husband and their newborn daughter. Today, that daughter is studying in Israel — making the conflict between the two countries Azarin loves deeply personal. The latest escalation between Iran and Israel followed an Israeli air strike last weekend that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an attack reportedly carried out with support from the United States. The strike and Iran’s retaliation have raised fears of a broader regional conflict, leaving many people in the Iranian and Jewish diasporas watching events unfold with deep personal concern. Growing up in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution meant living under strict social controls. While Azarin was at university, she was detained by the regime’s morality police. Some neighbours and relatives were killed. Now living freely in Canada for more than two decades, where she and her family are active members of Ottawa’s Jewish community, Azarin says she felt “overwhelmed with joy” after learning of Khamenei's death. Despite everything, Azarin still dreams of one day bringing her children back to visit Iran to see the roots of one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities. Jewish life in Persia dates back roughly 2,700 years, although today fewer than 10,000 Jews remain in Iran. On this episode of The CJN’s flagship North Star podcast, Azarin speaks with host Ellin Bessner about living between three loves — Iran, Israel and Canada — and how cooking Persian Jewish dishes helps her cope as she watches the conflict unfold. Related stories Read an essay which our guest, Tina-Ahava Azarin, wrote for the Ottawa Jew Ottawa Jewish Bulletin ish Bulletin in January 2026 while she was watching the tensions build in Israel and Iran. Meet Iranian Jewish Canadian lawyer and politician Dyanoosh Youssefi, who fled Iran as a schoolgirl with just the clothes on her back, in 1982, after the Islamic Revolution,  on The CJN’s North Star podcast from 2022. Why Jewish Canadians have been receiving support at their pro-Israel rallies from the Iranian Canadian community, in The CJN from 2024 . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

For decades, Iran’s regime has targeted Canada’s Irwin Cotler — publicly denouncing him, threatening him, and, according to Canadian authorities, plotting to assassinate him for the last two years. Now, after the military campaign launched by Israel and the U.S. this past weekend that took out Iran’s Supreme Leader, and many of his top regime officials, Cotler isn’t thinking about letting down his guard. Instead, he’s speaking out about what must happen next, even with the war is still going on. In today’s episode of The CJN’s flagship North Star podcast, Canada’s former justice minister and retired Special Envoy on Combatting Antisemitism argues that this moment is not only about celebration — but should be about accountability, too, including for the estimated 35,000 Iranians executed by the regime in January’s popular protests. And Cotler explains to host Ellin Bessner why what he calls a 26-year “culture of impunity” which persisted for so long, may finally be coming to an end. Related stories: In 2024, Irwin Cotler was warned of an imminent threat on his life at the hands of Iranian agents, and received 24-hr protection, on The CJN North Star . How Canada’s lax immigration policies allowed Iranian regime members to come quietly to live in Canada, Irwin Cotler charged, on The CJN North Star podcast from June 2025. Read Irwin Cotler’s letter to The CJN after Ottawa scrapped the position of Canada’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, from Feb. 2026, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

As rockets continue to fly across Israel and the surrounding region, the confirmed death of Iran’s Supreme Leader marked a major turning point — but not necessarily the end of the fighting, nor the Iranian regime. Israel's air defences continue to intercept most, but not all of the incoming Iranian drones and missiles–however, the death toll in Israel is climbing. And Israelis, and Canadians living or visiting that country, are moving in and out of shelters as alerts have been sounding since the attacks launched Saturday Feb. 28. On today's episode of The CJN's flagship "North Star" podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Montreal lawyer and parent Neil Oberman–currently visiting his son in Israel–as the family's rides out the hostilities. During our conversation, rocket sirens sounded and he took us along (virtually) to the bomb shelter to finish the interview. We then speak with Middle East expert Professor Thomas Juneau, of the University of Ottawa, about what this moment means strategically — what it does not mean — and what is likely to happen in the next 24-48 hours. Related stories: Learn more about Neil Oberman , who was a Conservative candidate in the last election, his legal warfare in support of Montreal’s Jewish university students and safety zones around places of worship, in The CJN . Read how Canadians in Israel from North to South are riding out this latest war, in The CJN. Toronto’s Jewish and Iranian community held separate and also joint celebrations on Sunday: for Purim, and the death of the Ayatollah, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

Earlier this week, millions of people watched one of our own stand behind a podium on "Jeopardy!" — and win. Toronto lawyer James Hirsh, co-host of The CJN's long-running "Menschwarmers" podcast, became the latest Canadian contestant to compete and succeed on the iconic American game show. He's got three wins now and will keep going next week. Hirsh says it was "the thrill of a lifetime" to be selected, to fly down to the Alex Trebek studio at Sony Pictures in Culver City, near Hollywood, where he taped several episodes of Jeopardy. It all happened about three weeks ago, but he's had to keep quiet about how he fared. Until now, as the episodes began to air this week on millions of television screens across North America. Hirsh had decades to prepare for his small-screen debut: as a teenager, he was reigning champion at his summer camp's version of the game show, over four seasons. The prize money back then was enough to buy some beers. This time, his actual Jeopardy! winnings will help the father-of-three pay off his family's mortgage. He also won a custom Jeopardy! hat and a tote bag, but he says the best prize is a coveted tagline to his bio: he can now say "I was on Jeopardy!" On today's episode of The CJN’s "North Star" podcast, host Ellin Bessner chats with James Hirsh about what it was like under the bright lights, what questions stumped him and–how he regrets wearing the wrong shoes. Related links: Follow James Hirsh on The CJN’s “Menschwarmers” podcast and subscribe, for free. Missed watching his Jeopardy shows live? Catch all the episodes beginning Feb. 24, 2026 where James Hirsh was a contestant. The show streams on Crave TV in Canada. Tune in Friday in Canada on YES TV to find out how he does on Day 4. Read this Jeopardy fan page for a play-by-play of how James’  Feb. 24 game played out. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) 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 Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the government on Feb. 19 to complete long-delayed renovations to Robinson’s Arch, the official egalitarian prayer section just south of the main Western Wall. For years, it’s where non-Orthodox Jews, including women, can pray together, and also read from a Torah scroll. But what began as a ruling about construction permits has quickly become something bigger. Members of Israel’s governing coalition are advancing legislation this week that would effectively bring the broader Kotel site, including Robinson’s Arch, under the authority of the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate. The law could mean prison terms of up to seven years for anyone deemed to be desecrating the holy site — and observers fear the new proposal could ban any alternative forms of Jewish prayer around Judaism’s holiest place. This raises a deeper question: where does that leave millions of Jews, especially outside of Israel, who are not Orthodox? On today’s episode of The CJN’s “North Star” podcast, Toronto Rabbi Elyse Goldstein joins host Ellin Bessner to explore what’s at stake. The Rabbi is a longtime advocate for pluralistic prayer, for women’s place in Judaism, and a supporter of the Women of the Wall movement’s decades-long struggle for equality at the Kotel. Related stories: Read about the Israel Supreme court decision on Robinson’s Arch Feb. 19, 2026, and reaction, in The CJN Learn more about what Rabbi Elyse Goldstein experienced joining the Women of the Wall’s 25th anniversary prayer service in 2013, in The CJN . Hear what it was like in July 2023 at a Women of the Wall prayer service in this eye-witness account by The CJN’s producer Zachary Judah Kauffman , who was studying in Israel and produced this podcast for The CJN’s North Star Podcast. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) 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 Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

For many Canadian Jews who grew up feeling secure here, the idea of needing a ‘Plan B’ might have never occurred to them. Unthinkable, even. It was something their grandparents faced before the Holocaust. But in recent months, that conversation is now happening in many Jewish spaces across this country — even among people who have no immediate plans to leave. Some families are actively scouting Florida, despite the political and immigration challenges which the U.S.A. poses. Others are traveling to Panama, to explore buying property there just in case-where permanent residency is attainable. Real estate agents and immigration lawyers in Israel and beyond are fielding new calls. And communities in the U.S. and Israel are marketing directly to Canadians: you will have heard about Lech L’Tulsa, Oklahoma. But is this a real demographic shift — or is it something deeper: a rupture in confidence about the future of Jewish life in Canada in response to rising antisemitism and uncertainty? Today on The CJN’s flagship podcast North Star, host Ellin Bessner examines why some Canadian Jews are looking for Plan B: we speak with Aryeh Snitman and his wife Heather Snitman of Thornhill who’re exploring both Florida and Panama; with Jaqueline Lewis, of Toronto, who bought a place in Panama just a few months ago; and with Lauren Cohen, a Canadian-born lawyer based in Boca Raton, Florida who provides immigration business and real estate guidance to clients considering moving to “Mechaya Florida”. Related links: Learn more about Tafsik’s Plan B resources, their next trip to Panama in March , and watch their Zoom video about moving to Panama. Read more about Lauren Cohen’s immigration and real estate services designed for Canadians interested in relocating to Florida, or elsewhere in the United States. Why these Canadian Jews moved to Israel months after Oct. 7, 2023, in The CJN. 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 https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/ Subscribe to North Star https://thecjn.ca/north https://www.youtube.com/user/CanadianJewishNews https://www.youtube.com/user/CanadianJewishNews Donate to The CJN + get a charitable receipt Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

What is behind the push to have Ontario school boards adopt policies to combat anti-Palestinian racism? And why has it prompted an outcry of concern from many families of Jewish students, from Jewish school staff and from some Jewish human rights groups?  The Ontario government recently put more than half a dozen school boards, including in Toronto and Ottawa, under the supervision by the ministry of education. This has effectively halted official school board discussions on the issue there – for now, but the debate over anti-Palestinian racism policies, or APR for short, isn't over: it's just moved out of the spotlight. For weeks, our Mitchell Consky, The Canadian Jewish News’s Local Journalism Initiative reporter, has been digging into why the campaign for school boards to adopt APR policies has become such a flashpoint, what's at stake for Jewish and Israeli families, and also for Palestinian ones, and their allies.  His story was published last week. His investigation also uncovered evidence that the Canadian government has been funding APR advocates who strongly oppose Canada’s widely-accepted definition of antisemitism known as the IHRA Definition, even as the APR groups accuse this framework of causing anti-Palestinian racism.  On today's episode of The CJN's North Star podcast, Consky joins host Ellin Bessner to tell us more about his reporting, what APR is, and how the clash is playing out on the ground and in the schools. Related stories: Read Mitch Consky’s investigative story about the controversy over the campaign to have school boards in Ontario adopt anti-Palestinian racism policies, in The CJN . Hear Mitch Consky evaluate why some Jewish teachers and even a Jewish school board trustee were accused of anti-Palestinian racism, on The CJN’s North Star podcast from June 2025. Learn more about why this Jewish advocacy group for parents warned that identity politics are feeling antisemitism in Ontario schools, in The CJN . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) 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 Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

Just over four months from now, thousands of campers and staff will be heading out to Jewish summer camps from coast to coast. But the lead-up to the annual countdown for camp has being threatened by a new boycott campaign from a coalition of pro-Palestine groups who hope to cripple 17 high profile camps over their support for Israel and hiring of Israeli staff. The campaign was launched Feb. 4. They released a report online urging official camping associations in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes to de-certify the accreditation of these Jewish camps. They also asked the federal tax department to strip the camps of their charitable status because the programming supports “a genocidal state”. The campaign came to light ahead of the Family-Day long weekend weekend, on Friday Feb. 13, afer the Ontario Camps Association released a blistering statement condemning the targeting of Jewish campers and staffers. The board also denounced the singling out for discrimination of its own executive director, Joy Levy. Levy was accused of being a “Zionist who publicly supports Israel, its military, and promotes anti-Palestinian racism,” among other things.  While public reaction has been swift from some Jewish advocates and some allies, none of the individual Jewish summer camp directors we contacted responded to our request for interviews, except for Camp Northland, who declined to comment. It appears the camps have decided to not amplify the boycott’s impact. But on today’s episode of The CJN’s flagship podcast “North Star”, host Ellin Bessner gets reaction from Risa Epstein, the CEO of Young Judaea Canada, an umbrella group for nine Zionist camps operating in Canada, and also from Simon Wolle, the CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, who previously was director of Camp Northland. You’ll also hear what Joy Levy had to say. Related links: Read Ellin Bessner’s in-depth print article about the boycott campaign and how it has impacted Yonge Judaea’s nine camps, and also Joy Levy, the executive director at Ontario Camps Association, who was personally targeted, in The CJN. Read about Israeli kids finding respite from war at Canadian summer camps, in The CJN. How Canada’s Jewish summer camps provided a safe space to discuss the geopolitical issues in the Middle East, in The CJN . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) 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 Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for "North Star" on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!) https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN

In 2024, the image of Jake Retzlaff—the only Jewish quarterback ever to play for Brigham Young University’s football team—adorned special editions of Manischewitz matzah boxes. That brand deal, to showcase a promising Jewish pro-football prospect, was the inspiration for a company co-founded by former Montrealer Jeremy Moses. His sports-marketing company is called Tribe NIL. (NIL stands for Name, Image and Likeness, a new monetization route for college athletes to make money off their work.) The company aims to boost the careers of hundreds of talented Jewish college athletes, including more than a half-dozen Canadians playing for U.S. college football, baseball, hockey, basketball and swim teams, among others. Moses was raised in Montreal. He’s the middle son of retired Montreal Rabbi Lionel Moses and Yiddish scholar and editor Joyce Rappaport. His brother, Zev Moses, is the founder and executive director of the Museum of Jewish Montreal. Jeremy Moses moved to Brooklyn where he’s worked in the sports and entertainment field. He and business partner, the comedian Eitan Levine, founded Tribe NIL last spring. This year, they’re doubling down on the Manischewitz campaign, looking for one male and one female Jewish athlete to reward with $10,000 in prize money each, a “L’Cheisman Trophy” and international fame as this year’s faces of Manischewitz matzah. On today’s episode of The CJN’s flagship podcast North Star, Jeremy Moses joins host Ellin Bessner to share more about his campaign—plus they get into the myriad Jewish sporting news of the week, including Jewish Olympians and Robert Kraft’s controversial Super Bowl antisemitism ad. Related links Learn more about co-founder Jeremy Moses’s company, Tribe NIL and see some of the 250 Jewish NCAA college athletes they represent (including some Canadians). Follow Manischewitz’s contest with TribeNIL for Jewish male and female college athlete of the year, with winners to be announced in March. Listen to The CJN’s Not in Heaven podcast discuss whether parents want their kids to be professional athletes. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) 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 Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube.

France's administrative court has thrown out a lawsuit launched by Montreal's Lawee family, who allege the French embassy in Baghdad has been occupying their family's ancestral home, rent-free, for more than fifty years. The Paris-based body ruled against the Jewish family on Feb. 2. in a printed decision, after an in-person hearing last month, The court said it's denying the Canadian family's case because France has immunity for acts done on foreign soil–and because the old lease was signed in the 1960s in the city of Baghdad, so local Iraqi laws apply. The case has garnered international headlines because it involves a much wider story: the historic injustice done to nearly a million Jews from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) who were forced to flee their regimes' growing anti-Israel sentiment after 1948. They were stripped of their citizenship and their assets were seized. The CJN's flagship podcast "North Star" has been following the story since last year, and on today's episode, host Ellin Bessner sits down with Philip Khazzam, the Montreal businessman on a mission to seek justice for what happened to his grandfather's beloved mansion. Related stories Read the French administrative court’s Feb. 2 decision in The CJN. Learn why Philip Khazzam launched his $30 million legal challenge against France for unpaid rent and damages last year, in The CJN . Hear the survival stories of Canadians of Iraqi descent who survived the “Fraud” pogrom against Baghdad Jews in 1941, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) 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 Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube.

The first Jewish aid mission from Canada since 2019 arrived in Havana, Cuba on Feb. 3, loaded with seven extra suitcases full of batteries, pills, and hundreds of pieces of donated baseball equipment. The delegation from Toronto’s Beth Sholom synagogue spent the past week delivering pharmacy supplies and other necessities–which they donated to Jewish seniors, Cuban synagogues, and even to a pharmacy housed inside the Jewish community centre in Havana, which supplies Jewish Cubans and also nearby hospitals. Local Jewish leaders say this group is the first Canadian Jewish mission to come to Cuba in nearly seven years, since before the pandemic in 2019. And officials worry there might be fewer going forward. The Canadian government raised its travel warnings for Cuba on Feb. 4, citing widespread economic problems impacting tourists, including more frequent power outages, lack of food and fresh water, and fuel shortages. The island, a popular destination for Canadians, was hit in October 2025 by a damaging monster hurricane. But the country’s difficulties worsened noticeably in the last month, after the U.S. president ordered all shipments of Venezuelan oil to Cuba be halted, as part of the capture of Venezuela’s former dictator Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3. On today’s episode of The CJN’s flagship podcast “North Star”, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Beth Sholom’s Cantor Eric Moses, who organized the trip, and with William Miller, a Jewish community leader in Havana; plus we hear from Benji Tock of Toronto. The teenager didn’t make the trip, but his bar mitzvah project–collecting eight duffle bags full of donated baseball bats, cleats, gloves and other gear–arrived safely in Cuba, too, destined for local Jewish players bound for this coming summer’s Maccabiah Games in Israel. Related stories To donate to the Cuban Jewish community, contact Toronto-based Cantor Eric Moses cantor@bethsholom.net Donate to the Global Seder initiative of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. https://www.jewishtoronto.com/donate Learn more about Canadian efforts over the decades to help the small Jewish community of Cuba with kosher food and basic daily supplies, in The CJN archives. In 2014, four Toronto bar mitzvah boys raised thousands to help Cuba’s Jewish community purchase medical supplies, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) 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 Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube.