North Star with Ellin Bessner

Jacqui Vital has a simple message for the anxious families of the 48 remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, who are set to be released this week: “I’m glad for them.” But despite the joy and celebration of the long-awaited truce between Israel and Hamas, Vital’s own work in Canada is incomplete. Vital, along with the other families of the eight Canadians murdered on Oct. 7, is still pushing the Canadian government to do more to hold terrorist supporters in this country accountable for their actions. Vital’s daughter Adi Vital-Kaploun, 33, was murdered in her kibbutz safe room on Oct. 7. Terrorists carried her two small boys into Gaza. They were released the same day. Earlier this week, on the two-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, the families wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney, asking to meet in person: not only to tell him Adi’s story, but to get him to show the same level of compassion for Canadian citizens who were killed as she feels Ottawa has shown to the Palestinians in Gaza. Vital, an Ottawa native, engaged in several meetings with the former prime minister Justin Trudeau. But now they feel slighted by Carney, who has not made time for them since his election in March. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, we speak with Jacqui Vital in Jerusalem about the mood in Israel during this heady time, and how she’s navigating the second Yarhzeit of her daughter’s death. Related links Read the letter to Mark Carney from the families of the eight Canadians murdered on Oct. 7. Learn about Adi Vital Kaploun’s life through her parents’ mission to keep her story front of mind, in The CJN from 2024. Read more about the families' legal efforts to hold Canada to account for funding UNRWA, in The CJN. Watch Jacqui Vital’s conversation Aug. 8, 2025 with former Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod, during the Jerusalem resident’s summer speaking tour across Canada. 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)

Shye Klein and Joy Frenkiel hadn’t met before last week. But they share some common traits: both are dual Canadian-Israeli citizens, and both are still helping victims of trauma heal, as the world prepares to commemorate two years since Oct. 7, 2023. Klein, 27, is a photographer who had recently moved to Israel when he decided to attend the Nova music festival, which ended up being the site of a horrific massacre from Hamas terrorists. The CJN first interviewed him about two months after Oct. 7, when Klein visited Toronto to showcase photos he had taken at Nova—both before the attack, and while he and his friends narrowly escaped the slaughter. Frenkiel, meanwhile, has been living in Israel for nearly three decades, as a practicing social worker based in Ramat Gan. When The CJN first contacted her, shortly after Oct. 7, she was working at the morgue of the central Shura base of the Israel Defense Forces, where she was helping bereaved families identify victims’ remains. Frenkiel is still on duty, but now her work involves counselling victims of the more recent Iranian missile attacks in June. Unlike Klein, who has told his story in some 240 cities around North America, Frenkiel is just beginning to share her tale more widely. Both meet for the first time on today’s episode of North Star, catching up with host Ellin Bessner about their deeply emotional personal journeys ahead of the solemn day of remembrance. Related links Listen to our original interview with Joy Frenkiel from Oct. 26, 2023 in The CJN and our original interview with Shye Klein, on Nov. 27, 2023, both in The CJN. Follow Shye Klein now to see and support his latest project, “Beyond the Supernova”.  Book Joy Frenkiel to speak to your group about her experiences. Learn more or donate to SafeHeart, the Israeli therapy organization for Nova survivors who were on psychedelic drugs. 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)

The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, a documentary about an Israeli couple driving across the country on Oct. 7 to save their children from Hamas terrorists attacking Kibbutz Nachal Oz, opens in select theatres this week. And down the line, once the film’s revenue is more clear, the filmmakers plan to donate proceeds from the film to the kibbutz itself, which is being rebuilt, just a few kilometres from the Gaza border. It’s a gesture that director Barry Avrich and producer Mark Selby, both of Toronto, are eager to make, after all their film has been through. The Road Between Us _was initially invited to hold its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, but was abruptly rejected just days before tickets went on sale. The unexpected ban made international headlines before the film was re-admitted shortly afterwards. _The Road Between Us _went on to win the TIFF People’s Choice Award for documentaries, despite being granted only one scheduled screening (and a hastily arranged second one at the awards ceremony). Now with the controversy behind them, the filmmakers are prepping for a week-long run in 20 theatres across in Canada. On today’s episode of The CJN’s _North Star, host Ellin Bessner sits down with Avrich and Selby, who reveal behind-the-scenes details about what it was like to tell this harrowing story. Related links Learn where to buy tickets to the screenings in Canada and the US for “The Road Between Us” as the film debuts in theatres Oct. 3-9. Read how Canadian Jewish community leaders went to bat to have the film reinstated after the TIFF film festival originally excluded it over copyright issues and security concerns, and other coverage of this story in The CJN. Hear what it was like at the Sept. 10 public screening of the film, when TIFF’s CEO apologized, on The CJN’s “North Star” podcast. 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)

It’s been five years since Mitch Consky, now The CJN’s Local Journalism Initiative campus reporter, watched his father be diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and, within a few months, pass away at the age of 67. It happened in 2020, right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when health care access became nearly impossible. In the spring of that year, Consky, then 25, decided to move back into his parents’ home in Toronto to serve as his father Harvey Consky’s main caregiver. At the time, Consky channelled his skills as a journalist to document the period. Before his father’s death in June 2020, the Globe and Mail _published an essay by Consky called “The Top of The Stairs”. Next came a book, _Home Safe. But Consky wasn’t done paying tribute to his late father, and doing what he calls “returning the favour” to a parent to whom he owed so much. So he and some friends from university cobbled together a budget to turn the original essay into a 15-minute short film. Last month, his film aired on CBC TV, and it has since debuted on the free streaming service CBC Gem, after doing the rounds at film festivals. Ahead of Yom Kippur and the Yizkor memorial service, Consky joins Ellin Bessner on this episode of The CJN’s North Star to explain why he hopes his autobiographical film will resonate with anyone who has watched a loved one die. Related links Learn more about Mitchell Consky’s film “The Top of the Stairs” on CBC Gem (create free account to watch). Hear Mitch discuss his debut book “Home Safe”, published in 2022, on The CJN Daily. Buy the book. 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)

Retired Ontario Justice Harry LaForme isn’t entirely comfortable with the label of “ally,” which many Jewish leaders have been using to describe him since Oct. 7. After all, LaForme—who was the first Indigenous Canadian to be appointed to the highest court in any province—says he always felt a kinship with the Jewish people, ever since his family told him his First Nations people were one of the lost tribes of Israel. But over the last two years, the trailblazing lawyer and judge, 78, has become a frequently honoured guest in official Jewish spaces, earning thanks and praise for his outspoken condemnation of rising antisemitism here in Canada, and for his his support for Israel—which he calls the indigenous homeland of the Jewish people. It’s a view that isn’t universal in Canada’s Indigenous community, and LaForme gets pushback for his stance. He’s aware of the perceived parallels between the First Nations’ centuries-long struggle to overcome the legacy of Canada’s colonial-settler past and the Palestinian battle for their own land and destiny. But LaForme says conflating the two issues is anathema to his religious beliefs about peaceful reconciliation. That’s why he’s come out in strong opposition to Canada’s recognition of the State of Palestine last week, the day before Rosh Hashanah. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner sits down with Justice LaForme to share his life journey, including a recent trip to Tel Aviv. Related links Read Justice Harry LaForme’s remarks in Tel Aviv at the Irwin Cotler Institute’s Democracy Forum in May 2025.  Learn what Justice LaForme told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in May 2024 about antisemitism and Indigenous rights, together with Indigenous advocate Karen Restoule.  A new book by York University professor David Kauffman about the ties between Canada’s Jewish and First Nations peoples, 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)

When Sunday Hebrew school classes begin on Oct. 5 at Toronto’s Beth Radom Congregation, the students won’t be punished for reading comic books in class. On the contrary: spiritual leader Cantor Jeremy Burko is bringing his extensive collection of over 550 Jewish superhero comics into the curriculum. It’s his (graphic) novel way to explore the messages of Jewish culture and resilience that he finds in the pop culture stories of beloved comic book characters with Jewish back stories or creators, like Superman, Batwoman, Sabra and Magneto. The idea came to Burko as a response to the growing international movement to boycott Jewish and Israeli culture after Oct. 7. He hopes these larger-than-life heroes and heroines can help families find strength and pride amid rising domestic antisemitism. He believes much can be learned from studying these historic Jewish characters and their creators, from Marvel’s The Golem to modern screen adaptations of The Thing in the new Fantastic Four movie, and Moon Knight, a Jewish hero who struggles with his identity. But, as Cantor Burko explains on today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, the heyday of Jewish representation in comic books may be behind us. Related links Learn more about Beth Radom’s Hebrew school and the now-concluded 2025 winter edition of Cantor Jeremy Burko’s Jewish Superheroes course. Read more about when award-winning Canadian Jewish graphic artist Miriam Libicki was banned from exhibiting her work at a Vancouver Comic Fair as a result of anti-Israel boycotts, in The CJN.  How a Jewish Heroes Corps. comic series was born, 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)

On Sept. 19, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government unveiled a series of planned changes to Canada’s criminal code. They, in part, crack down on the explosion of hate crimes across the country over the past two years since Oct. 7, mostly against Jewish people. The new bill is called the “Combatting Hate Act” and still has a way to go before it is passed and takes effect. Ottawa intends to make it a crime when hateful protesters try to scare and intimidate minorities, including Jews, from accessing their community buildings, including synagogues, Jewish Community Centres, Jewish seniors homes, Hebrew schools and even cemeteries. The new law would also, for the first time, outlaw the public display of the Nazi swastika and the SS symbol in Canada, as well as other terrorism signs, if the people waving them are wilfully urging hatred against an identifiable group. Many Jewish leaders are applauding the gesture as a strong signal that the Carney administration is keeping an election promise while putting a strong emphasis on fighting domestic antisemitism–that even while Canada announced on Sept. 21 it has formally recognized the Palestinian State, the government does not want to drag Middle Eastern politics onto Canadian soil. So what’s in the new bill? Will it make it safer for Jews today, as the High Holidays begin? The short answer is: no. On today’s episode of The CJN’s _North Star _podcast, hate crimes legal expert Mark Sandler—founding chair of the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism—joins host Ellin Bessner to break down the proposed reforms. Also joining is Ezra Shanken, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, who personally met with the prime minister in Ottawa just days before the announcement. Related links Read more reaction to the proposed changes to the Criminal Code to outlaw terror symbols and the Swastika, and better define hate and intimidation outside Jewish buildings, in The CJN. Learn more about why Canada banned the Irish band Kneecap from performing next month, in The CJN. Why B’nai Brith Canada lobbied Whitby, Ont. to agree to ban the Swastika, on The CJN Daily (now “North Star”) podcast. 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)

For more than half a century, the Rose family—headed by Rabbi Neal Rose and his wife, Carol—have been prominent leaders in Winnipeg’s Jewish community. He has taught Judaic studies at university, they’ve led religious services and offered family programming, and mental health counselling. The Roses’ famous alternative High Holiday services launched in the basement of the Etz Chayim synagogue attracted hundreds of congregants over the years. But after their four sons grew up and became rabbis far away from Winnipeg—and their daughter, who is married to a rabbi, also left—eventually the elder Roses left Canada, too. For a decade, they’ve been living in St. Louis, MO, where their oldest son, Rabbi Carnie Rose, held his last pulpit position. But last week, the senior Roses pulled up stakes south of the border and moved back to Winnipeg, where they will now have to do some shuffling to decide where to attend High Holiday services: at Shaarey Zedek, where Rabbi Carnie Rose was hired three months ago? Or will they go to Etz Chayim, where their middle son, Rabbi Kliel Rose, has been the spiritual leader since he came home in 2018? On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, we’re joined from Winnipeg by Rabbi Carnie Rose; his brother, Rabbi Kliel Rose; and by their father, Rabbi Neal Rose, to hear how family ties are playing out across the city this High Holiday season. Related links Learn more about Rabbi Kliel Rose returning to Winnipeg in 2018 in The CJN and about his brother Rabbi Carnie Rose returning July 1 this summer. Rabbi Neal and Carol Rose’s departure from Winnipeg in 2017 after 45 years left a void, in The CJN. Why Winnipeg’s largest remaining North End synagogue, Etz Chayim moved to the city's south in 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)

In the riverside border city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Jewish community leaders are stepping up to run programming for the 35 member families of Congregation Beth Jacob. The synagogue—gearing up to celebrate its 80th anniversary next year—can no longer afford to hire clergy to conduct High Holiday services. Instead, over the next month, the prayers will be all DIY, led by local congregant Tova Arbus, who’s filling the shoes of her father, Jeff Arbus, a former union activist. But while the younger Arbus prepares to take the reins, she recognizes that even her father only led the High Holidays prayers once, last year. For decades, he led everything else, including Shabbat services. This year, Jeff is facing sudden medical issues. Another of the shul’s former presidents, 80-year-old U.S. Army veteran Gil Cymbalist, died on Sept. 8, after battling ALS. With the older generation passing the baton, Arbus is determined to help revitalize Jewish life in her hometown. She’s helping to prep pre-teens for their bar mitzvahs; she’s holding family Jewish education classes; she’s even working with the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. to mount a new exhibit on Jewish life, in honour of Beth Jacob’s upcoming 80th anniversary in 2026. Tova Arbus joins host Ellin Bessner on today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast to discuss her efforts to sustain the Jewish community’s future ahead of a hectic High Holiday season. Related links Learn more about Beth Jacob Synagogue in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont, and how to lend artifacts for the exhibit. Read more about Sault Ste. Marie’s famous novelist, author and lawyer Morley Torgov, profiled in The CJN archives. Watch the 1973 National Film Board documentary on small Jewish communities in Northern Ontario and how they survive. 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)

A Florida court convicted Dan Markel’s former mother-in-law of first degree murder on Sept. 4 for the 2014 contract hit on the Canadian law professor. Markel, 41, was fatally shot in the head outside his Florida home by Latin gang members who his ex-wife’s family had hired to execute him, while the couple was locked in a bitter custody battle over where their two sons should live. With Donna Adelson’s guilty verdict, the American courts have now put five people associated with the murder behind bars, most of them locked away for life: Adelson, 75, the matriarch; Charles Adelson, her son, a dentist, convicted in 2023; also Adelson’s former girlfriend, and the two killers. Markel’s ex-wife Wendi has never been charged, and denies any involvement in the plot. Her parents were arrested two years ago at the Miami airport attempting to flee the United States to Vietnam, which has no extradition treaty. After their former in-law’s three week trial ended, Markel’s parents delivered victim impact statements, including wishing her a Jewish blessing that she should live to 120, alone in her jail cell. Ruth Markel joins host Ellin Bessner on today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast to recount the family’s latest trial ordeal, and why she hopes her two teenaged grandsons will come to Canada. Related links Watch the Sept. 4 verdict and the victim impact statements given by Dan Markel’s family to the Florida court. Read Ruth Markel’s book which she penned about her grief and her family’s journey as murder survivors following the killing of her son Dan in 2014, Hear Ellin’s first interview in 2022 with Ruth Markel 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)

The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, a new documentary, debuted to a sold-out audience of nearly 2,000 ticket-holders at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10. The 95-minute film depicts the true story of how a retired Israeli army general raced south through the country to save his children and grandchildren from Hamas terrorists in the closest kibbutz to the Gaza border. TIFF initially barred the Canadian-produced film from screening at the prestigious film festival, citing copyright issues over the use of some graphic video taken by the attackers on Oct. 7. There were also safety concerns about disruptions to the festival by large crowds of anti-Israel protestors. TIFF reversed its decision in mid-August, following international public outrage, including lobbying by Canadian Jewish leaders and festival donors. The Wednesday afternoon screening attracted just a few dozen anti-Israel demonstrators outside. Meanwhile, a question and answer session inside drew “boos” from the largely Jewish audience as journalist Lisa LaFlamme asked the film’s protagonists whether Israel’s continuing military campaign is, as the Tibon family have suggested, “revenge” for the Israeli army’s humiliation on Oct. 7. But the filmmaker, Barry Avrich, insists his documentary is not meant to be political—he interprets it as a human story of family and courage. Cineplex Odeon theatres will show the film in select cities in Canada and the U.S. starting on Oct. 3. On today’s episode of the North Star podcast, The CJN’s news editor, Lila Sarick, shares what it was like attending the hotly anticipated premiere, and what the film itself was like. Related links Watch the trailer for the Oct. 7 film “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue”. Read about how the Jewish community responded, including donors from the Reitman family, when TIFF originally announced the Oct. 7 film could not play, in The CJN. Learn more about why, after receiving 60,000 emails of protest, TIFF officials agreed to screen the film, 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)

As a new academic year starts on Canadian post-secondary campuses, headlines and social media posts are already revealing a familiarly troubling atmsphere for Jewish students. At Concordia University in Montreal, the official student handbook seems to glorify anti-Israel protests. At Toronto Metropolitan University, masked students accosted the provost at an orientation session, calling her a coward and demanding she denounce the genocide in Gaza. On Sept. 3, a study from the Aristotle Foundation, a Calgary-based conservative think tank, has found Jewish university students “four times more likely than the average student to be ‘very reluctant’ to speak up and share their views on religion during class discussions,” for fear of being penalized by their professor or experiencing hostility from other students. According to the study, 15 percent of the Jewish students surveyed reported daily abuse on campus for being Jewish, while 84 percent reported being the target of antisemitism on campus at least once a year. Is there any cause for Jewish students to be optimistic? Are there examples of Jewish students or faculty pushing back against the overwhelming anti-Israel atmosphere on Canadian campuses? On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, we’ve found a bit of good news—and some bad news, too. Host Ellin Bessner is joined by Daphne Wornovitzky, a recent graduate from the University of Calgary’s social work faculty; Melanie Trossman, a social worker in Calgary; and also Gdalit Neuman, a PhD candidate at York University’s dance faculty. Related links Read  Gdalit Neuman’s recent article about antisemitism and anti-Israel activism taking place on York University campus, and also as part of international academic associations. Learn more about the pervasive antisemitism found in Canadian university and college social work programs, and also read the scholarly research by social worker Annette Poizner, published in 2023. What happened when pro-Israel speaker Eylon Levy was trapped in a University of Calgary classroom last fall, 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)

The United Nations General Assembly gets to work this week, beginning its 80th anniversary session on Sept. 9. And as the ambassadors gather in New York, there will be a new pair of Canadian eyes keeping tabs on how the world’s parliament lives up to its mandate of equitably improving human rights, especially on the Israel-Palestine file. Former senator Linda Frum has been appointed the new chair of UN Watch, a Geneva-based non-governmental organization that has, for decades, exposed an alleged anti-Israel bias on the global stage. In the last few years, UN Watch has directed its lens in particular toward the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, which employed at least nine staffers who were possibly involved with the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel—and who were subsequently fired in the summer of 2024. Frum steps onto the stage at what could be a pivotal moment in Middle Eastern history. The UN will bring world leaders together in a few weeks for a summit wherein many countries, including Canada, have signalled they will formally recognize Palestinian statehood. It’s a move Frum feels is “very dangerous” for the Jewish community here, as it will raise temperatures at home and put “a target on the back of every Jewish Canadian citizen.” On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner is joined by both Linda Frum and UN Watch’s executive director, Hillel Neuer, a Canadian lawyer, to take a look ahead at the UN’s fall agenda and what’s at stake. Related links Read the United Nations Watch announcement of former Canadian Senator Linda Frum as the new chair of its board. Follow UN Watch’s latest research on keeping the UN accountable. Hear two views of Canada’s plan to recognize Palestine as a state, on The CJN’s North Star podcast. 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)

Diaspora Jews have spent nearly two full years seeing posters of Israeli hostages ripped down in public, hearing chants of “Go back to Poland” in the streets, and seeing Zionists banned from progressive organizations and events. After all that, Diaspora Jews could be suffering from a condition called “traumatic invalidation”. The diagnosis is contained in a research paper published this year by two Jewish Harvard University–affiliated psychologists who specialize in trauma. The symptoms include anxiety, depression, shame and, in extreme cases, post-traumatic stress disorder. The authors found that Jewish patients reported their pain and trauma after Oct. 7 has been not only widely ignored, but in many cases denied—or even weaponized against them. Since their study was published by The Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment in May 2025, it has struck a chord among the Canadian Jewish community. That’s why a coalition of Canadian synagogues, Jewish medical professionals and trauma organizations have brought one of the authors to this country this week for a series of public talks. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner sits down with Dr. Miri Bar-Halpern, a Boston-based clinical psychologist and Harvard lecturer, who is wrapping up her speaking tour in Toronto. She explains why she decided to investigate this subject and offers some tools to help people heal. Related links Read Dr. Bar-Halpern and her colleague’s scholarly article, about Oct. 7 and traumatic invalidation, in The Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment (22 pages). Learn more about Dr. Bar-Halperin, through her website. Attend the workshop Friday Sept. 5 in Toronto designed for mental health professionals to train them how to better support Jewish patients suffering from traumatic invalidation because of antisemitism. 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)

The suspect charged in the stabbing of a Jewish Ottawa woman at the city’s main kosher Loblaws grocery store last week is still in custody, and is going through a series of court appearances this week. But there has not yet been a bail hearing for Joe Rooke, who appeared by video in an Ottawa court on Sept. 2. Ottawa police arrested the suspect on Aug. 27, shortly after the attack. The man was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a dangerous weapon. Later, when police investigated the suspect’s antisemitic social media posts, the case was classified as a hate-motivated crime. News of the attack has shocked the capital’s Jewish community, especially because it happened at a grocery store that stocks the largest selection of kosher products in Ottawa. And while it’s prompted an outpouring of support and condemnation from political leaders—including a statement signed by 32 Liberal Members of Parliament calling for action to combat rising antisemitism in Canada— some members of the Jewish community say it’s merely lip service, adding that social media posts aren’t enough to counter the sense of fear and anger that they feel after the stabbing. Police say the victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries, but has since been released and is recovering at home. While she and her family are keeping her name private for the time being, they have asked for prayers, and hope the community prays for peace. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Jewish community leader Cantor Jason Green of the Kehillat Beth Israel synagogue, where the victim used to sing in his choir, and also with David Roytenberg, an editor at the Canadian Zionist Forum, who was shopping in that Loblaws store when the attack occurred. Related links Learn more about how Ottawa’s Jewish leaders reacted to the stabbing in The CJN’s coverage from last week. Watch Cantor Jason Green’s “emergency” sermon from Saturday Aug. 30 at Kehillat Beth Israel synagogue in Ottawa. Read the Ottawa Police’s news release classifying the stabbing as a hate-crime 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)

Ellin Bessner will return next week. Today, we're bringing you the latest episode of Menschwarmers, The CJN's Jewish sports podcast. Subscribe to Menschwarmers here. In July, the New York Yankees drafted a Canadian shortstop from Wyoming, Ont., named Core Jackson. They did so despite knowing that Jackson, as a 17-year-old freshman at the University of Nebraska, had drawn a swastika on a Jewish student's dorm room while he was, he later told The Athletic, "blackout drunk." But this isn't a run-of-the-mill case of antisemitism. By all accounts, according to the Yankees' ground scouts and the recent investigation by The Athletic that ran Aug. 20, Jackson was, simply, acting like an ignorant drunk teenager, and was forthright about the incident with teams before the draft. The team did significant due diligence, engaging with New York's Jewish community and sending scouts to learn about Jackson's family and personality. The resulting story is less about the insipid rise of casual antisemitism, and more about the power of forgiveness when people—especially teenagers—make mistakes and try to do better. Keith Law, a longtime baseball journalist and former front office worker with the Toronto Blue Jays, broke this story for The Athletic. He joins us to share his impressions of Core Jackson and how the Yankees are viewing this opportunity. After that, podcast hosts Gabe and Jamie run through this year's hottest Jewish sports movies, from Happy Gilmore 2 to both Safdie brothers' award-season offerings, The Smashing Machine and Marty Supreme. Then they give a quick NFL preview and recap Zach Hyman's ceremonial opening of the new ice hockey rink at the Schwartz/Reisman Jewish Community Centre in Vaughan. Credits Hosts: James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver Producer: Michael Fraiman Music: Coby Lipovitch (intro), chēēZ π (main theme, "Organ Grinder Swing") Support The CJN Follow the podcast on Twitter @menschwarmers Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Menschwarmers (Not sure how? Click here)

North Star is on vacation this week, so we're rerunning some of our favourite episodes. This one originally aired August 7, 2024. Sharon Chodirker and Chaim Bell consider themselves lucky: they were among the tens of thousands of tourists and residents in Jasper who were evacuated from the forest fires that devoured a third of the buildings in the iconic Rocky Mountain resort town on July 24, 2024. The Toronto couple, who were on a hiking trip, managed to escape Jasper while smoke and ash rained down on their rental car. When they reached a safe spot across the border in British Columbia, they slept in their vehicle and dined on kosher snacks they'd stored in their portable cooler. Two days after their frightening journey, flames up to 100 metres high swept right through where their hotel stood, destroying several buildings. Now they're sharing their survival story from the safety of their Toronto home, while the town of Jasper remains off-limits except for emergency crews—and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who visited on Aug. 5, 2024. On this episode of The CJN Daily, we hear from the Toronto couple personally, as well as Rabbi Dovid Pinson of Canmore, who runs the new Chabad community centre outside Banff and hosted the evacuees. We'll also hear from Heidi Coleman, the head of the Jewish community in Kamloops, B.C., who felt like she was starring in the musical Come From Away when she helped a busload of stranded Jasperites in her city. What we talked about When Rabbi Dovid Pinson ran the annual Hanukkah car menorah parade in Edmonton during COVID in 2021, in The CJN

 Learn more about Chabad in the Rockies

 Hear how Heidi Coleman came from Montreal to Kamloops and became their Jewish leader, on the podcast Yehupetzville
 Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Original Music: Dov Beck-Levine 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)

North Star is on vacation this week, so we're rerunning some of our favourite episodes. This one originally aired May 4th, 2023 Canadians of a certain age will remember listening to the comedy duo of Wayne and Shuster on the radio—and, later, watching them on television from the 1950s well into the 1980s. The duo met in high school in Toronto’s prewar Jewish neighbourhood around Harbord Collegiate, where they began writing and performing sketch comedy. After returning from entertaining the troops overseas during the Second World War, they joined the television era, with specials pulling in audiences of millions and worldwide syndication. Since their fathers' deaths, Wayne and Shuster’s children have been campaigning to convince the CBC—which owns the broadcast rights to much of their parents’ material—to air it for the first time in years for a new generation of Canadians to enjoy. These efforts have not been successful, so the families are taking a new strategy. They teamed up with Bygone Theatre, a theatre company in Toronto, to mount a live Wayne and Shuster stage show that opened at the University of Toronto’s Hart House Theatre in May 25, 2023. It went on a national tour, too. Audiences got to see high-profile Canadian actors perform such classic W and S skits as “Rinse the Blood Off My Toga” and “A Shakespearean Baseball Game”. Michael and Brian Wayne joined The CJN Daily, along with Rosie Shuster and the producers of the play, Emily Dix and Conor Fitzgerald. **What we talked about
** When the City of Toronto named a lane after Wayne and Shuster, in The CJN
 For Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017, The CJN ran this profile of Wayne and Shuster
 Watch “Rinse the Blood off my Toga” on YouTube

 Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
 Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
 Original Music: Dov Beck-Levine
 Current 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)

North Star is on vacation this week, so we're rerunning some of our favourite episodes. This one originally aired March 8, 2022. On March 19, 2022, 12-year-old Naomi Hochman will celebrate her bat mitzvah at Winnipeg's Shaarey Zedek synagogue. And while she's the first girl in her family to have a bat mitzvah—her older brothers had theirs, and she just took for granted she would enjoy one too—bat mitzvahs are in fact a relatively new phenomenon. Naomi's bat mitzvah actually takes place on the 100-year anniversary of the very first bat mitzvah in North America. The daughter of an American reconstructionist rabbi, Judith Kaplan, earned that distinction on March 18, 1922. In Canada, what is believed to be the first bat mitzvah wouldn't take place until decades later, in 1949. Miriam Lieff led a Friday night service at Agudath Israel Synagogue in Ottawa, paving the way for generations of Canadian girls to take a more egalitarian role in Jewish religious life. Now 89, Lieff joins to recall her experience during a time when girls weren't even allowed to stand on the bimah—and Naomi will talk about how she feels carrying that torch so many years later. What we talked about: Submit your bat mitzvah story to the Jewish Women’s Archive Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Original production team: Victoria Redden (producer) Current Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Original Music: Dov Beck-Levine Current 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)

North Star is on vacation this week, so we're rerunning some of our favourite episodes. This one originally aired May 12, 2022. You've probably heard "Skinnamarink", the classic children's song by Sharon, Lois & Bram. But you probably haven't heard it on TikTok, where Sharon Hampson, now 82, is putting out quick snippets of classics and new material with her newfound family band. She's recruited her daughter, Randi, and grandsons Elijah and Ethan Ullmann, both full-time students at the University of Toronto. Although they grew up in a musical dynasty, it took an international lockdown for them to agree to help their Bubbe's resurgent Zoom-based career. At the time of recording, they were preparing to mount their first live indoor show since the pandemic began, at the Regent Theatre in Oshawa, Ont., back in May 2022. And despite Sharon's worry that her voice isn't as strong as it used to be, her relatives say she’s still got it. All four join to explain how they're trying to make music that stays relevant for a generation raised on the Frozen soundtrack and "Baby Shark". What we talked about Learn about the performance and others at sharonloisandbram.com/events Learn about the Brott Music Festival at brottmusic.com Listen to "Talk About Peace" Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Original Production team: Victoria Redden (producer) Current Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Original Music: Dov Beck-Levine Current 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)