Maj. (Ret.) John Spencer is an American army veteran who heads the Modern War Institute at the U.S. Military’s prestigious West Point Academy in New York State. His books and courses about fighting historic urban and tunnel wars have been widely quoted–he’s even interviewed Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-who name dropped the former combat officer’s research during his speech to Congress in July. The Israel Defence Forces like his work so much, they’ve brought Spencer with them three times inside some of the captured Hamas tunnels under Gaza. Although Spencer wasn’t present last weekend when the IDF discovered the bodies of six executed hostages under Rafah, he understands why the IDF is now claiming the entrance to that tunnel was hidden in the bedroom of a Palestinian child’s room. Despite the heinous war crime that has rocked Israel and people around the world, Spence feels Israel is actually winning the war against Hamas. He’ll be speaking next week in Winnipeg (on Sept. 11) and in Toronto (on Sept. 12) at events sponsored by Tafsik and other pro-Israel groups. His topic? “The Myth of Genocide in Gaza”. John Spencer joins The CJN Daily to share his eyewitness accounts the terrorists’ tunnels, and why tunnels between Egypt and Gaza are what’s holding up a cease-fire deal that some believe could free the hostages. What we talked about Learn more about Maj. (ret.) John Spencer and buy tickets to his speaking tour in Toronto on Sept. 12 and on Sept. 11 in Winnipeg.Watch the IDF spokesman video filmed outside a children’s bedroom leading to the Hamas tunnel where the six executed hostages’ bodies were found.Hear the advice for IDF troops going into the Gaza tunnels, from veterans of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, on The CJN Daily. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) info@thecjn.caProduction team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletterDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Dozens of Jewish students at Concordia University joined the Montreal Jewish community Tuesday night Sept. 3, 2024, for a vigil in memory of the six Israeli hostages whose bodies were discovered after they had been executed. The event—held on campus right outside the Concordia student centre—came just a few days after four Jewish students and two pro-Israel clubs officially sued Concordia and its president, demanding better protection as the new academic year gets underway. The lawsuit, filed Aug. 30 in Quebec’s Superior Court, details 10 months of antisemitic and anti-Israel harassment, intimidation and both physical and psychological violence, which the students have been subjected to on campus ever since Oct. 7. They are demanding the school enforce its own codes of conduct policies fairly, kick out the protesters who violate them, and stop ignoring the toxic situation for Jews on campus. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we’re joined by two guests. Neil Oberman is a Montreal-based lawyer (and federal Conservative candidate) who is representing the four Concordia students, and Mitch Consky is The CJN’s new campus reporter; the two share their views on how Jewish university students are better prepared this fall to face a rough reception. Read the new lawsuit filed by four Jewish students and two Jewish clubs against Concordia University and its presidentLearn more about the original letter sent to Concordia nine months ago, the riot in November 2023, and the blockade outside Federation CJA HQ in March, in The CJN archivesRead Mitch Consky’s stories about how Jewish students are prepared for the new year, and about McGill’s president’s recent webinar with Anthony Housefather, special advisor to the Prime Minister on Jewish issues and antisemitism, in The CJN What we talked about Read the new lawsuit filed by four Jewish students at Concordia University plus two Jewish clubs against their school and its presidentLearn more about the original letter sent to Concordia nine months ago, the riot in November 2023, and the blockade outside Federation CJA HQ in March, in The CJN archives.Read Mitch Consky’s stories about how Jewish students are prepared for the new year, and about McGill’s president’s recent webinar with Anthony Housefather, special advisor to the Prime Minister on Jewish issues and antisemitism, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner). info@thecjn.caProduction team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletterDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Toronto resident Maayan Shavit is set to fly to Israel on Monday to attend the funeral of her cousin Carmel Gat, one of the six Israeli hostages found executed two days ago in a Hamas tunnel under Rafah. Carmel, an occupational therapist and yoga instructor, was kidnapped while visiting her parents’ home in Kibbutz Be’eri. Terrorists also took Carmel’s brother, sister-in-law and their young daughter hostage. They then tied up their mother, 67-year-old Kinneret Gat—a teacher and tour guide—and paraded her through the kibbutz before killing her. Although the Gats are not Canadian, their fate has resonated strongly with Toronto’s Jewish community, thanks to the tireless advocacy of their cousin, who has lobbied Canadian politicians and spoken at countless rallies and public events here since Oct. 7. On this episode of The CJN Daily, we speak with Maayan Shavit just hours after she learned the tragic news about her cousin. Shavit opens up about who she feels is to blame for what she called “a loss that could have been prevented,” and why she won’t stop fighting for the others who are still being held in Gaza. What we talked about Watch the vigil which was live-streamed by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto at 8 p.m. Sunday Sept. 1, 2024.Read more about the efforts of Maayan Shavit to keep her cousin Carmel Gat’s plight on the front pages, in The CJN.How Canadians with families hostage in Gaza reacted to the release of 105 hostages in November, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) info@thecjn.caProduction team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletterDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

When news broke of the Jewish National Fund of Canada losing its charitable status on Aug. 10, the move meant the Canada Revenue Agency also stripped the venerable Jewish charity of its ability to issue tax receipts to donors. This poses a serious challenge to the historic Zionist fundraising organization–which received $20.2 million in donations in 2023: will supporters still want to give money to JNF Canada for environmental and resilience projects in Israel if they can no longer write the philanthropy off on their Canadian income tax forms? Some donors are taking a wait and see approach, but want answers as to why JNF Canada admits it kept quiet for years about its problems with the federal tax auditors who warned them about "repeated and serious non-compliance" with Canadian tax rules dating back to at least 2014, and earlier. But other philanthropists say the bureaucrats didn't treate JNF Canada fairly, and they expect the charity will win both of its appeals in court: to block the suspension, and to eventually overturn it. On today's episode of The CJN Daily, we're joined by two prominent JNF Canada donors: Jonathan Goodman of Montreal, who is raising $10 million for JNF Canada's new Climate Solutions Prize to boost "green technology", and also by Mary Ellen Herman of Toronto, who donated half the cost of an accessible playground built in southern Israel. What we talked about Learn more about the accessible playground JNF Canada helped build in Kiryat Malachi with the donation by philanthropist Mary Ellen Herman and familyRead The CJN’s previous coverage of JNF Canada’s Climate Solutions Prize launched by Montrealers Jonathan Goodman and Jeff Hart, in thecjn.caRead why JNF Canada has known for nearly a decade it was at risk of losing its charitable status, in thecjn.ca.Why JNF Canada hasn’t yet wound down its Canadian charitable operations just yet, in thecjn.ca. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletterDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

The CEO of the embattled Jewish National Fund of Canada, Lance Davis, insists he is now “running a very tight ship” in the wake of the Canada Revenue Agency’s recent decision to strip the historic Zionist fundraising organization of its charitable status. Davis, who became JNF Canada’s CEO in 2017, maintains that many of the government's longstanding concerns had already been addressed in years past. In an interview with The CJN Daily, Davis blasted the CRA for deliberately choosing the harshest punishment for the venerated Zionist charity, which has sent more than $200 million to beautify Israel and help vulnerable people there. He also argues the CRA rushed to pull the trigger on its status too early, given how JNF's legal dispute is still before the courts. However, documents obtained by The Canadian Jewish News paint a more nuanced picture of why the CRA lost its patience after a decade of "major concerns" about "repeated and serious non-compliance” with Canada’s Income Tax Act rules. As reported in The CJN's print feature that digs into the paperwork, the auditors quietly told the Jewish charity several times that it needed to clean up its act, and by 2019, JNF Canada knew Ottawa was moving to revoke. Yet the charity still got five more years to comply. Lance Davis joins The CJN Daily to explain JNF Canada's point of view, then we're joined once again by charity law expert Mark Blumberg who helps explain how the charity got to this point, what could have prevented this scenario and why the government stopped waiting. What we talked about Read why JNF Canada has known for a decade it was at risk of losing its charitable status, in TheCJN.caRead the CRA's documents for yourselves outlining its case vs. JNF Canada since 2014JNF Canada said it was 'blindsided", on The CJN Daily back on Aug. 13 Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) info@thecjn.caProduction team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletterDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Toronto police have arrested and charged three people—including two pro-Israel protesters—in connection with a violent incident at a weekly community rally in Toronto that saw an 88-year-old Jewish volunteer beaten and thrown to the ground. It happened on Sunday, Aug. 18, at the event held on Bathurst Street at Sheppard Avenue West. Video from the attack shows a car come to a stop beside the crowd of approximately 100 people waving Israeli flags. A young passenger exits the car, scuffles with the senior citizen, beats him, then picks him up and slams him into the street. He fell centimetres away from the wheels of a Toronto city transit bus that happened to be stopped at a red light. The senior was badly cut and bruised, and had to be taken to hospital with what police have called "non-life-threatening injuries". Police have charged three people, but will not be releasing more details while the investigation is underway. However, the organizer of the pro-Israel rally tells The CJN Daily that, aside from the attacker, police charged two members of his group, too, after some people reacted violently when they saw what had been done to the elderly gentleman. Guidy Mamann joins the show to explain what exactly happened—and why he won't cancel the weekly rallies he helps organize. What we talked about Read the Toronto Police Service social media post about the arrests and chargesLearn more about pro-Israel rallies that popped up across Canada after Oct. 7, in The CJNMeet the Canadians knitting for IDF soldiers and running for the hostages, on The CJN Daily Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletterDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

As Jewish overnight camps' summer 2024 sessions come to a close this week across most of Canada, several camp communities in Ontario have had to deal with sudden tragedies: the unexpected death of a councillor at one camp, and an accident at a different camp that took the lives of several cleaning employees. In each case, camp directors quickly called for outside help, which included bringing in alumni to offer support, inviting in a therapy dog, holding yoga sessions and even arranging candlelight memorial prayers at the waterfront. How well are Jewish summer camps prepared to deal with these crises? Did they give the support that was needed? Should parents race to bring their children back home when something tragic happens, or leave them up at camp, where they're among friends? The CJN will not be naming the victims out of respect for their families, but Toronto grief counsellor Lynda Fishman has some advice about the important role that summer camps can play in developing a child's resilience in the face of hardship. She spoke to The CJN Daily a year ago, in July 2023, to explain why so many Jewish summer camps began adding mental health experts last year; today, we're re-airing that episode today to help families navigate these tragedies. What we talked about Therapist Lynda Fishman’s advice on how summer camps can actually help campers and staff deal with tragedies, on Everything Jewish Toronto’s Facebook pageHow Jewish summer camps in 2024 prepared to face the topic of Oct. 7 and antisemitism at home, in The CJNAfter nine months of war, some Israeli kids are finding respite at Jewish summer camps in Canada, in The CJN Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletterDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

The official revocation notice of the Jewish National Fund of Canada’s charity status, published in the Canada Gazette on Aug. 10, caught many by surprise—especially JNF officials themselves. Lance Davis, CEO of JNF Canada, says the venerable Jewish charity was “blindsided” by the Canada Revenue Agency’s move because it came so quickly, despite efforts to negotiate a solution. It also came only two weeks after JNF Canada said that, if no deal was reached, it would appeal the government’s “biased” findings to the Federal Court of Appeal. Experts say losing the charitable status means JNF Canada can no longer issue tax receipts for donations; it has one year to wind down business, dispose of all its financial assets or pay 100 percent tax on the millions in its accounts, and go out of business. JNF Canada says it is now going to apply for an immediate judicial review to stop the clock on what its spokespeople call Ottawa’s “draconian” approach. Meanwhile opponents of the six-decade-old pro-Israel charity—including the NDP, the Green Party, Independent Jewish Voices and Just Peace Advocates—have been loudly proclaiming victory after years of complaints that the charity’s Canadian donors have been funding projects in the West Bank and directly helping the IDF. (JNF Canada says they stopped doing this in 2016.) On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we ask if JNF Canada was a victim of politics—or the author of its own misfortune. Our guest is charity law expert Mark Blumberg. What we talked about Read why the CRA revoked the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund of Canada on Aug. 10, 2024.Read why the CRA revoked the charitable status of the Ne’eman Foundation of Canada on Aug. 10, 2024Learn more about the start of JNF’s battle with the Canada Revenue Agency, from 2014 to today, in The CJNRead about JNF’s financial reports on Mark Blumberg’s charity watchdog portal charitydata.ca. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner). info@thecjn.caProduction team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletterDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

On the night of Aug. 12, Jews around the world will mark the holiday of Tisha b’Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. It's considered the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. On this date, it's believed the First Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. And nearly 500 years later, Roman Emperor Titus and his legions destroyed the Second Temple, in 70 CE, to stop a successful ongoing Jewish military revolt. As we hold our breaths to see if—or when—Iran and Hezbollah decide to strike against the State of Israel, we thought it would be good to hear from one of Israel’s leading philosophers during this dark time. Ellin Bessner is taking a two-week holiday starting today, so we're bringing you some of our favourite conversations instead. Here’s Ellin's conversation with Yossi Klein Halevi, scholar, journalist and podcaster with the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He visited Toronto earlier this year to speak about the impact of Oct. 7 on Jewish history. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletterDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

On July 25, the London Police Service picked up a very upset Darlene Zaifman-Guslits by her arms and legs, and carried her away from the front door of the Jewish Community Centre. The London resident had just been issued a trespass notice for refusing to leave the building where her community was hosting a speech by Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre, about antisemitism. Whether she was booted out because some of her family members took part in a peaceful protest outside the venue that evening, together with members of Independent Jewish Voices, unions, and pro-Palestinian activists, or whether it was because of what she was wearing, it isn’t clear. And no one–not the police, not the JCC, and not Poilevre’s people–is taking responsibility for making the call to kick her out. Zaifman-Guslits comes from a prominent Jewish family with deep roots in the city: she has run meal programs for the needy, she’s taught Hebrew lessons, and her Holocaust survivor parents helped found the Jewish day school inside the very building she was turfed from. She’s now consulted a lawyer. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, Darlene Zaifman-Guslits joins to share why she feels so betrayed and whether mainstream Jewish communities are marginalizing people with progressive views. What we talked about Watch the video of Darlene Zaifman-Guslits being denied entry, and evicted for trespassing at the JCC London, on Instagram.Why the Jewish Federation in London, Ont. is actively seeking new immigrants, on The CJN Daily.When London’s Jewish leaders attended a vigil to remember the four members of a Muslim family murdered by being run over by a truck, in The CJN archives. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) info@thecjn.caProduction team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletterDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

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. 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. On today's 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 CJNLearn 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) info@thecjn.caProduction team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Get free emails from The CJNDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Nohad Mansour, a 22-year-old combat veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, is keeping a close eye on developments back home in Israel—especially his native Druze village of Isfiya, overlooking Haifa. With the prospect of an imminent Iranian-led attack on Israel this week, the region, close to the Lebanese border, is a likely target for Hezbollah. His community is still grieving after a Hezbollah rocket exploded into a soccer field in the Druze city of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights ten days ago, killing 12 young people. But Mansour’s combat days are over for now. During his mandatory army service which ended in August 2023, the young paratrooper damaged his hearing while under fire patrolling in the West Bank. Although he insisted on returning to the field after Oct. 7—and spent time inside Gaza battling Hamas terrorists and searching for hostages—he’s now under doctor’s orders to recuperate from a diagnosis of PTSD. For the young veteran, that means an extended visit to Canada where his sister is doing her PhD, and where Mansour started telling his story to Canadian Jews. You’ll hear that story on today’s episode of The CJN Daily, including why he fought for Israel—and how he plans to continue the fight in the battlefield of public opinion. What we talked about Nohad Mansour’s friend Netta Epstein, 21, was killed in K’far Aza on Oct. 7 when he jumped on top of a grenade thrown by Hamas into the safe room he shared with his girlfriend, in The CJNRead how K’far Aza resident Hagar Brodutch and her three children survived 51 days in Hamas captivity, in The CJNMeet the first Druze IDF Surgeon General, and hear how the leader of the Druze in Israel visited Toronto, in The CJN archives Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) info@thecjn.caProduction team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Get free emails from The CJNDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

With the synagogue’s shattered front glass windows still boarded up with plywood sheets and an emergency fundraiser underway to repair the damage, Toronto’s century-old Pride of Israel congregation opened its doors to host a large community solidarity rally on the evening of July 31. More than a dozen federal, provincial and municipal politicians, as well as a senior Toronto police inspector, spoke to the crowd of 1,500 and pledged to work harder to stop the wave of antisemitic hate that began after Oct. 7, yet has intensified in recent weeks. Just in the past few days, there have been dozens of incidents of vandalism, graffiti and arson targeting Toronto-area institutions. So it was no surprise that tensions ran high at the solidarity rally, with organizers trying to prevent pro-Palestinian protesters from disturbing the event—while also keeping guests inside from being rude to the invited politicians… with varying degrees of success. On the The CJN Daily, hear the crowd boo during the remarks by Mayor Olivia Chow and Liberal MP Ya’ara Saks, hear from an uninvited pro-Palestinian Jewish protestor, Gur Tsabar, and from others speakers—including Ontario’s Solicitor General Michael Kerzner; newly elected Conservative MP Don Stewart; Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, the prime minister’s new special advisor on antisemitism; and Melissa Lantsman, deputy leader of the federal Conservative party—who pledged their solidarity and demanded that Jewish rights be protected. What we talked about Read the latest hate crime data from the Toronto Police Service, in The CJNGo inside the Pride of Israel solidarity rally and read Ellin's written version of the story, in The CJN.How worshippers discovered the Pride of Israel synagogue had been vandalized when they arrived for Sunday services on June 30, 2024, in The CJNHear the controversy over Ya’ara Saks’s March 2024 photo op with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, on The CJN Daily Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) info@thecjn.caProduction team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Get free emails from The CJNDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

When the Israel Defense Forces announced on July 24 that one of their soldiers was badly wounded by Hezbollah rocket fire aimed at an army base in Northern Israel, they didn't disclose the young man's identity. But his parents want the Jewish community to know. Just before they flew to be with him at his hospital bedside, the parents of Ben Brown, asked members of their community in Toronto to begin praying for their son's recovery. Now Jews in Canada and around the world are keeping the 20-year-old student in their prayers. Ben was raised in Toronto, attending Associated Hebrew School and then Or Chaim high school, and went to Moshava summer camp in Ontario before moving to Israel to attend a yeshiva and enlist in the IDF—just like his older brother before him. Since the Hezbollah attack, Ben has undergone neurosurgery in Haifa's Rambam hospital and remains in intensive care, still in a coma. On today's episode of The CJN Daily, we speak to Rabbi Daniel Korobkin of the family's Beth Avraham Yoseph synagogue in Thornhill, with community members who know the Browns, and we hear from his older brother, Zach Brown, in Israel, in whose footsteps Ben chose to walk. What we talked about: Listen to Ben’s brother, Zach Brown, share his own experiences as a lone soldier from Canada serving in the IDF, on The CJN Daily from Dec. 2021Read about how Canadian parents of lone soldiers are coping with their children’s decision to serve in the IDF after Oct. 7, in The CJNHow Yonadav Levenstein, 23, was killed in battle in November 2023 in Gaza, the son of Canadian-born parents, in The CJN Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our Show Get free emails from The CJNDonate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Last week, the Federal Court of Canada sided with Jewish communities in Montreal and Toronto in their dispute with the federal government over new biological guidelines covering how cows are slaughtered. On July 24, the judge granted kosher meat producers a temporary injunction, effectively pausing the enforcement of new guidelines that are aimed at ensuring animals don’t feel undue pain when they’re killed. Jewish groups such as Montreal Kosher and the Kashruth Council of Canada argued in court that the guidelines not only were bad science, but were not in keeping with ritual practice, and were too costly. Which is why the judge felt he needed to act quickly so as to preserve the religious freedoms enjoyed by Canadian Jews who’ve been legally permitted to use handheld ritual slaughter methods for generations. The judge’s ruling took religion and culture into consideration, including how trained shochetim carry out a vital religious service for the Canadian Jewish community, and also the importance of eating meat on Jewish holidays. But do Jews really need to eat meat? How many shochet jobs are actually at direct risk? And, perhaps most important to the majority of kosher-keeping Canadians, will the price for kosher meat go down? Rabbi Avi Finegold, host of The CJN’s weekly current affairs podcast Bonjour Chai, joins _The CJN Daily _to share his insight, and we’ll also hear from Shimon Koffler Fogel, the CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, who were directly involved in the case. What we talked about: Why the Federal Court granted a temporary injunction July 24 allowing _shechita _to resume without subsequent bolt-stunning, in The CJNHear why MK Kosher and COR went to Federal Court over the CFIA’s new shechita _guidelines, on The CJN Daily_Read more about the science behind kosher animal slaughter and Canada’s new slaughtering guidelines for cattle, on The CJN Daily **Credits: ** The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

On Oct. 8, 2023, one day after the Hamas terror attack on Israel, Fred Hahn—the president of Ontario’s chapter of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)—wrote a tweet on his social media account: “I’m thankful for the power of workers, the power of resistance around the globe. Because #Resistance is fruitful and no matter what some might say, #Resistance brings progress, and for that, I’m thankful.” It was a controversial post, due to the timing, though Hahn denies he was referring to Oct. 7—even though the longtime labour leader has a history of pro-Palestinian activism, and CUPE Ontario has long come under fire for years for harbouring antisemitic sentiments. For Carrie Silverberg, it was the last straw. The Vaughan, Ont. woman–who is a CUPE member as required by her job in a public school board–decided to take Hahn, and the union to court. The education worker is the lead plaintiff in a human rights complaint filed with Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal. Her case was also joined by nearly 80 other union members. For years, Silverberg has fought to change her union’s anti-Israel policies; it makes her sick that CUPE uses her mandatory membership dues to support anti-Israel boycotts, calls to renew UNRWA funding, and standing with the recent encampments on university grounds. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, Carrie Silverberg joins to explain why she’s in for a long legal fight. What we talked about: Read more about CUPE Ontario’s adoption of a pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions policy in 2006, in The CJNLearn about the time a CUPE local at the University of Toronto hosted a speaker who had been ordered to be deported from Canada because of his ties to the PFLP terrorist organization, in The CJNCUPE members supported and participated in the U of T encampment in May, in The CJN.  **Credits: ** The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine.  We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

On July 19, the International Court of Justice in The Hague demanded Israel leave the disputed territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, after occupying them since 1967. The UN’s high court also instructed Israel to repay Palestinian residents an untold sum for taking natural resources, segregating the Palestinians, forcing Palestinian families to flee their homes due to settler violence, transferring Israeli Jews into the area illegally and unlawfully turning what was once a legal postwar military occupation into a de-facto civilian annexation full of settlements. The ruling was the first time the UN’s highest court has ruled on the legality of Israel’s control of the area, which it captured 57 years ago from Jordan, during the Six-Day War. Israel immediately rejected the court’s non-binding ruling, asking how Jews could be occupying land that historically belong to the Jewish people. The Canadian government officially “took note” of the ruling but has said nothing further. So today, we ask: Is the ICJ declaration a game-changer for the Palestinian cause? Or is it, as some of the dissenting judges and critics have said, just another one-sided, politically motivated attack by the UN on Israel while the Jewish state fights for its survival against Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and other nearby enemies? On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we unpack the latest ICJ findings with two guests: Ben Murane, the executive director of the New Israel Fund of Canada, and Arsen Ostrovsky, who just wrapped a week of meetings in Canada as the CEO of the International Legal Forum, an Israeli-based NGO that uses courts to defend Israel around the world. What we talked about: Read the International Court of Justice advisory opinionLearn more about the International Legal Forum and the New Israel Fund of CanadaHear what the January 2024 ICJ ruling on Israel’s war in Gaza means, from human rights lawyer Tamara Kronis, on The CJN Daily **Credits: ** The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine.  We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

Fredericton's annual LGBTQ pride parade wound its way through the New Brunswick capital on July 21—with the Fredericton Palestine Solidarity group leading the event as grand marshals. The march went ahead despite the mayor and provincial lieutenant-governor pulling out due to the event's distinctly political tone. Local Jewish leaders and groups, meanwhile, tried to keep the parade apolitical and convince sponsors to boycott it. The parade has become the latest anti-Zionist flashpoint in Fredericton since Oct. 7, after at least three hate crimes against Jews have occurred in the past few months. A synagogue was vandalized before a Holocaust remembrance event; an Israeli high school girl was badly beaten by a Muslim classmate, with charges pending; and, most recently, a large rock was thrown through the apartment windows of an Israeli man studying at the University of New Brunswick. And so, on today's episode of The CJN Daily, we ask: What's going on in Fredericton? To hear some answers, we're joined by Ayten Kranat, a leader of the city's Sgoolai Israel congregation, and by the Israeli UNB student who was targeted because he displayed his Israeli flag in the window of his off-campus apartment. What we talked about: Why Pride events in Fredericton and Newfoundland became the centre of controversy after organizers chose to appoint Palestinian community groups as parade marshalls, in The CJN.Fredericton police arrest a high school student after Israel classmate attacked and beaten, in The CJN.How the wider community turned out in solidarity after Fredericton synagogue vandalized, in The CJN. **Credits: ** The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine.  We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

Six months have passed since the president of Harvard University was forced to resign after she refused to sanction pro-Palestinian protesters. Claudine Gay was one of several university leaders who came under fire at a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., last December during an investigation into how America’s Ivy League schools were failing their Jewish students and staff. In January, Harvard appointed a presidential task force to study antisemitism, and named professor Derek Penslar as co-chair. Penslar is a prominent Canadian scholar of Jewish history who runs Harvard’s Jewish studies centre. Just a few weeks ago, the task force issued an interim report, saying it couldn’t wait until the fall because they’d found a “dire” situation facing Harvard’s Israeli students, including derision and social exclusion. Harvard faculty and teaching assistants were also reportedly discriminating against and harassing pro-Israel students. On Tuesday, the report was publicly slammed by 28 Republican lawmakers as weak and a “re-inventing of the wheel”, while some Harvard Jewish students and leaders are upset the antisemitism group is committed to working closely with Harvard’s other task force currently studying anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias. Derek Penslar joins The CJN Daily from Toronto to respond to the criticism, and explain why he nearly quit in the face of allegations he wasn’t Zionist enough to do the job. What we talked about: Read the Harvard Presidential Task Force on Combatting Antisemitism’s preliminary report, and read the interim report from the Task Force on Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab bias, both published on June 26, 2024. Read the letter from 28 Republican members of Congress slamming Harvard’s antisemitism task force’s findings, and released to the interim Harvard president on July 16. Read why Derek Penslar thought anti-Zionism was not a big problem for university campuses back in 2014, in the CJN archives. **Credits: ** The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine.  We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

The head of Windsor’s Jewish community, Stephen Cheifetz, is calling in the big guns to fight back “significantly” against the University of Windsor, which agreed last week to accept a list of demands by its pro-Palestinian tent encampment protesters. In exchange, the protesters agreed to take down their two-month-old tent city peacefully. The July 11 deal is being described by Jewish groups and even by the Windsor encampment students themselves as the most far-reaching victory to date by campus protesters in Canada. It covers a request to divest from any Israel-related investments, to boycott Israeli universities, bring in more Palestinian students and scholars in light of what the UN deems a “scholasticide” when Israel bombed Palestinian schools where Hamas operatives were thought to be hiding. While the university itself insists it isn’t taking sides in the current Middle East conflict, school officials agreed to condemn what it terms “the illegal occupation of Palestine” and called for an immediate ceasefire. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we unpack the deal with law school graduate Sydney Greenspoon, as well as lawyer and former UWindsor law professor Stephen Cheifetz, who is now head of the Windsor Jewish Federation. What we talked about: Read the July 11, 2024 agreement between the University of Windsor and its pro-Palestinian encampment protesters, as well as the second agreement made with the UWSA, the student council. Learn why The University of Windsor has a history of anti-Israel activity, in this 2015 article in The CJN archives.Read The CJN story about the deal signed in May between Ontario Tech University and its encampment students, which agreed to bring in more Palestinian students to study and to publish any investments in military firms that are involved in the violence in Gaza. **Credits: ** The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine.  We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.