Best Tel Aviv University Podcasts (2025)

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Meet the Canadian fighting France for $30 million in unpaid embassy rent in Iraq 20:33

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1d ago20:33

20:33

Although Montrealer Philip Khazzam has never set foot inside his family’s nearly-century old mansion in the Iraqi capitol of Baghdad, he has heard many stories about the lush gardens, fountains, bedrooms to sleep 12, and pool.The residence, built in 1935, was home to his grandparents’ and also to his great-uncle’s families-brothers Ezra and Khedour…

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Canada’s Russian-speaking Jewish community considering appealing the results of the World Zionist Congress vote 18:30

4d ago18:30

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Rabbi Marat Ressin was concerned when he heard the preliminary Canadian results for the World Zionist Congress elections. The prominent member of Canada’s Russian-speaking Jewish community ran as a candidate for the international organization, dubbed the “Parliament of the Jewish people”, under the United for Israel slate. While the final Canadian …

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Antisemitism fighter, founders of Le Château and Great Gulf Homes focus of new Honourable Menschen spotlight 21:50

7d ago21:50

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Le Château was a fashion fixture across shopping malls in Canada during its heyday in the 1970s and ’80s. Founder Herschel Segal, a Montrealer who recently died, is credited with bringing bell-bottom jeans to the masses—and later helping to launch the David’s Tea brand.Segal is one of the five prominent Canadian Jewish leaders we’ve lost since this…

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‘This flag has power’: Wartime Canadian flag recovered from Europe after 80 years 22:31

9d ago22:31

22:31

Michael Levenston has long known about his father’s heroism in the Second World War. But he didn’t know his father dated a Dutch woman there, a nurse, who helped rescue downed Allied pilots—and he had no idea his father had gifted the Resistance member several personal keepsakes, including a battered Canadian flag, his army beret and a radio. The w…

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The CJN’s year-end antisemitism report card for Canadian schools and universities 31:36

12d ago31:36

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As Canadian public schools and universities wind down the 2024-2025 academic year this week, Jewish students can enjoy a desperately needed break from what has, by many accounts, been a difficult year for antisemitism in classrooms and on campuses.In the past school year alone, The CJN has reported on more than 70 stories involving protests, vandal…

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Canadians are rallying to rebuild Israeli universities hit by Iranian missiles 22:01

14d ago22:01

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A direct hit by two Iranian missiles on June 15 caused an estimated $500 million worth of damage to the campus of Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, in Rehovot, Israel. They destroyed a major cancer research building and a chemistry building that was still under construction. Four days later, Iran targeted the area of Beersheba’s Ben-Gurion Un…

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Exodus by way of Egypt: Hear how Canadians fled Israel after war broke out with Iran 23:39

16d ago23:39

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For over a week now, we have been reporting stories about Canadians stranded in Israel since that country launched its pre-emptive attack on Iran on June 13. But slowly, and under the radar for security reasons, The CJN has been speaking to some of the first tourists who found ways to evacuate Israel–mostly without any help from the Canadian govern…

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A Canadian woman recounts surviving a missile strike that wrecked hundreds of Tel Aviv apartments 20:50

19d ago20:50

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In the early hours of Monday, June 16, Alana Ruben Free was sheltering in a friend’s safe room—with her friend, several other women and three cats—when they heard the loudest boom any of them had ever experienced. The six-storey apartment building in a popular Tel Aviv district was one of many that was destroyed or badly damaged by a powerful Irani…

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How an 85-year-old Canadian Holocaust survivor is riding out the Israel-Iran war in a Jerusalem hotel 20:42

21d ago20:42

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Eva Kuper, a Holocaust survivor from Montreal, spent the first five years of her life hiding from the Nazis in German-occupied Poland. Now, the well-known Holocaust educator is stranded in Israel together with a group of university and CEGEP students on the “Journey of Hope”, a trip supported by Montreal’s Federation CJA.After visiting Auschwitz wi…

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'A little bit dystopian': As Iran attacks, 2 Canadians describe the atmosphere in Israeli bomb shelters 22:45

23d ago22:45

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For the last three nights in a row, ever since Israel's military and the Mossad began the ongoing strikes on Iran's nuclear program, Maddy Eisenberg and Dave Heilbron—two Canadian tourists in the Holy Land—have been spending hours sheltering in a safe zone beneath a beachfront hotel in Tel Aviv. The two only met this week, while participating in a …

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Canada's sanctions on Israeli MKs a 'powerful symbol' but with 'limited impact' 22:08

26d ago22:08

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Political observers are describing Canada’s move as “unprecedented” after foreign minister Anita Anand announced on June 10 the country has joined 4 other allied nations in imposing travel and economic sanctions against two extreme-right wing, Israeli politicians for being part of West Bank settler violence against Palestinians.Canada has slapped s…

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Jewish Canadians ‘have another very strong voice in Ottawa’, rookie Tory MPs promise 27:09

28d ago27:09

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Now into their third week as officially-sworn in members of Canada’s 45th Parliament, newly elected Conservative MPs Tamara Kronis and Roman Baber are getting used to their new seats in the backbenches of the House of Commons. They have plenty in common: both trained as lawyers, grew up in Toronto, and, in the 2025 federal election, managed to flip…

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How murdered peace activist Vivian Silver's sons find purpose through grief 26:45

30d ago26:45

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For five weeks after Oct. 7, 2023, the two sons of Canadian Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver thought she was among the hostages from Kibbutz Be’eri who had been kidnapped into Gaza by Hamas terrorists.But after her house was destroyed that day, and they received no further word about her fate, her sons Chen, an archeologist based in Connecticut…

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Ottawa Jewish school trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth resigns over ‘profound dysfunction’ in tackling antisemitism 23:47

1M ago23:47

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Two years and eight months into her term on the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth, a high-profile advocate for the Jewish community and other marginalized groups, announced her resignation during a school board meeting on June 3. She was the only Jewish trustee on the school board.Kaplan-Myrth’s tenure has been challengin…

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Voting starts for Canadian Jews to join the World Zionist Congress. Here’s what’s at stake 25:08

1M ago25:08

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While Israel’s government is still engaged externally in a nearly 19-month long war with Hamas in Gaza, crucial elections are underway for Jews around the world–including beginning June 5, for Canada–for control of Israel’s four main national Zionist bodies: the Keren Kayemeth/Jewish National Fund, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Keren HaYesod/Un…

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Jewish conversions are still rising in Canada. Why? The answer might surprise you 22:49

1M ago22:49

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On the evening of June 1, a synagogue in Mississauga, Ont., will officially welcome nine new members of the Jewish faith, during Shavuot services. The conversion candidates have been studying for months, having undergone ritual baths and—in some cases—symbolic circumcisions, all to join the Tribe. The timing of the ceremony for these “Jews by choic…

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How Israeli-Canadian illusionist Vitaly Beckman fooled Penn & Teller–a third time! 23:41

1M ago23:41

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Vitaly Beckman, a Vancouver-based illusionist, recently accomplished something only four other performers have ever done: stump famed American magicians Penn and Teller with an illusion… for the third time.Beckman wowed the legendary duo in an episode of their long-running reality TV series, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, at the Las Vegas theatre bearing …

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2025 Walk With Israel sees more Jewish pride, fewer anti-Israel protesters, than last year 22:28

1M ago22:28

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Last year, the 2024 UJA Walk With Israel was tinged with pain, coming just months after the Oct. 7 massacres and being marred by intimidating anti-Israel protesters. But participants at this year’s event, held on May 25, felt a strong sense of Jewish pride and confidence, and refused to allow protesters to spoil the day—raising $1.4 million along t…

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After gunfire in the West Bank, Carney is demanding answers from Israel. What comes next? 32:22

2M ago32:22

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It’s been a tumultuous week in diplomatic relations between Israel and Canada. The most shocking news, of course, has been the recent murder of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, D.C., who were gunned down on May 21 by a man calling for “Free Palestine”. Amid the international condemnations, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “dev…

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Canada rebukes Israel over Gaza conflict, threatening ‘concrete actions’—even sanctions 34:12

2M ago34:12

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While many Canadians were enjoying a long weekend for Victoria Day, Canada’s new Liberal government issued what many observers feel is this country’s strongest criticism since Oct. 7, 2023, of how the Israeli government is carrying out its military operations in Gaza. Canada joined the leaders of the United Kingdom and France in issuing a joint sta…

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She was the victim of a 'disgusting' antisemitic assault. A year later, she's angrier than ever 21:04

2M ago21:04

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Tilda Roll usually carries a can of coyote repellent with her when she walks around her neighbourhood in Vaughan, Ont. But ever since she was the target of an antisemitic incident while leaving her synagogue after Shabbat services on Jan. 6, 2024, the lawyer says she has been more afraid of running into the antisemitic attacker again, since he live…

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Toronto's mayor Olivia Chow hopes a federal 'bubble' law against protests would 'make things easier' 21:31

2M ago21:31

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A report from city staff is expected to be released May 14 on whether Toronto should adopt a new “bubble” bylaw that would help protect Jewish buildings from raucous, sometimes violent, anti-Israel and antisemitic protests. The bill would cover all vulnerable communities and faith-based groups, but Jews are the ones most often targeted by hate crim…

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These twin brothers' science project found noisy public washrooms aren't just scary–they're dangerous to your health 25:44

2M ago25:44

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Sammy and Leo Marcus, of Winnipeg, have turned their own sensitivities to the startlingly loud automatic toilets in public washrooms, into a prize-winning science project that’s shedding a light on the plight of young kids and also people who wear hearing aids. The teens, who are 13 year old twins, measured hundreds of devices in hundreds of bathro…

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Progressive Jews are finding common ground—but not in the mainstream 34:27

2M ago34:27

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Since Oct. 7, 2023, many progressive Canadian Jews have found themselves increasingly unwelcome by mainstream community members and organizations. But instead of keeping quiet, they have, over the past nearly two years, created their own spaces to have open and honest dialogues about Israel-Palestine, and their own relationship to Judaism.Recently,…

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Bora Laskin, Canada's first Jewish Supreme Court justice, gets his own Heritage Minute 23:09

2M ago23:09

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Just in time for Jewish Heritage Month, the team behind the iconic Heritage Minutes—60-second short films about notable Canadians throughout history—is spotlighting Bora Laskin, the first Jewish justice appointed to the country’s Supreme Court. Laskin became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court soon after. He served from 1970 until his untimely death…

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Canadian students and survivors ‘shaken’, but safe, after Houthi missile hits Ben Gurion airport 18:09

2M ago18:09

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About 200 Canadian students, their chaperones and nearly a dozen Holocaust survivors were going through airport security at Ben Gurion International when they heard the blast. It happened on Sunday May 4, as the group was returning from a March of the Living trip–which took them to Poland and Israel–when a Houthi missile launched by Islamic terrori…

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How Canada’s Jewish community is helping Filipinos affected by the Lapu Lapu attack 21:55

2M ago21:55

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Friday May 2 has been declared an official day of remembrance and mourning in British Columbia after last weekend’s horrific attack on a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver. To date, 11 people died and dozens more remain wounded after a 30-year-old man drove an SUV into a crowd at the city’s Lapu Lapu festival on April 26. The suspect has been …

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Seriously wounded Canadian IDF soldier still pushing hard to recover 22:27

2M ago22:27

22:27

It will be a very different kind of Yom ha-Zikaron in Israel for the family of Ben Brown. In July 2024, a Hezbollah rocket injured the 20-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., while he was on duty with the Israel Defense Forces’ Golani army unit at a strategic base overlooking the Lebanese border. No one else was hurt, or killed.Now, as the Jewish State r…

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Key Jewish ridings to watch as election results roll in tonight 34:31

2M ago34:31

34:31

It’s Election Day in Canada. By last count, there are at least 26 Jewish candidates running in the 2025 federal election for all major parties, including the Conservatives (10), Liberals (7), NDP (5), People’s Party of Canada (2), Green (2). Despite polls pointing to a Liberal victory, several Jewish candidates are running in ridings deemed too clo…

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How Canada's next PM should fight against Trump—and support Israel 31:11

2M ago31:11

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With just a few days left in Canada’s federal election campaign, U.S. president Donald Trump has once again inserted himself onto the ballot question: the American leader repeated on Wednesday that Canada would “cease to exist” without the United States. Trump also threatened to further increase tariffs on Canadian cars and auto parts.The sabre-rat…

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Peter Jablonski saved Jews during the Holocaust—but he wasn't widely recognized until today 22:58

3M ago22:58

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Eighty years after a Holocaust survivor from Canada saved a wounded, young Jewish orphan by hiding him in his crawl space underneath a washroom in Warsaw, a ceremony in Israel this week will honour the late Peter Jablonski’s wartime heroism.But it won’t be part of the official annual state Yom HaShoah ceremony run by Yad Vashem, the organization in…

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The CJN Daily's political panel weighs in on the 2025 federal election 34:59

3M ago34:59

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With just a week left in the 2025 federal election, it remains unclear which way Jewish voters will lean. Will they give stock to the parties’ promises on the economy, housing and sovereignty? Or will they be single-issue voters and focus on security within their own community? And how will they decide which party’s stance is more aligned with thei…

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Rabbi Louis Sachs speaks out about being sued by his former synagogue in Toronto 24:57

3M ago24:57

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Fresh from a hectic Passover weekend of assisting in conducting services at his Beth Sholom Synagogue in Toronto, and also leading a community seder there, Rabbi Louis J. Sachs says he has been trying to ignore the “noise” of the surprise lawsuit brought against him late last month by his previous congregation.Sachs’ former synagogue, Beth Torah co…

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This Canadian soldier helped liberate Bergen-Belsen—80 years ago today 23:01

3M ago23:01

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Eighty years ago, on April 15, 1945, the notorious Nazi death camp Bergen-Belsen, in Germany, was liberated by Allied troops. To their horror, British artillery crews discovered about 60,000 starving and deathly ill survivors, as well as 10,000 corpses lying, unburied, on the ground. It was a sight and smell that the late Jack Marcovitch never forg…

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Let my elephants go: A new Canadian documentary spotlights animal welfare in zoos 23:59

3M ago23:59

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Just in time for Passover, Fern Levitt has a message of freedom for Canadian audiences—about elephants. On April 11, her new documentary, Lucy: The Stolen Lives of Elephants, will begin streaming nationwide on CBC Gem. The film casts a harsh spotlight on nearly two dozen elephants owned by parks and zoos in Canada, most notably Lucy, of the Edmonto…

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Olive Branch vs. Sobeys: A kosher food fight erupts in Thornhill 22:59

3M ago22:59

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Sobeys, one of the three biggest grocery store chains in Canada, has vowed to “rectify any issues" after allegations that the manager of its longtime kosher food store in Thornhill, Ont., crossed the line as part of an ongoing feud with the CEO of a rival supermarket.In the first week of April, just ahead of a hectic Passover shopping weekend for C…

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Why 72% of police-reported hate crimes in Canada remain unsolved 26:12

3M ago26:12

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Today, on Monday April 7, the human rights advocacy group B’nai Brith Canada is set to release its annual antisemitism audit, tracking what’s likely to be another record level of online hate speech, graffiti, threats, arson and gunshots targeting Canada’s Jewish community. Last year, the group revealed its highest ever tally: 5,791 incidents happen…

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Canada has a secret list of suspected Nazis. This historian found the files online 25:23

3M ago25:23

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For decades, the Canadian government has held more than a million pages of war-criminal investigation files secret, citing privacy laws and international agreements with foreign countries. Many Canadian organizations, including Jewish ones, have lobbied—unsuccessfully—for the government to release the names, which include many suspected Nazis. It t…

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Jewish Canadians in Israel could impact election results back home 19:06

3M ago19:06

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When Elliot Gluck recently tried to figure out how to vote in the upcoming Canadian election from abroad in Israel, he was left scratching his head. The 23-year-old Vancouver native, currently interning at a green tech company in Tel Aviv, knew there had to be a better way to help his fellow Canadians exercise their democratic rights. So the politi…

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How Canadian Jewish business leaders are bracing for Donald Trump’s trade war 27:20

3M ago27:20

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Canadians have been bracing for a trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump for months—and this week, it might actually kick into high gear. Washington has already imposed 25-percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, and is expected to add auto parts to the list as early as April 3. These acts are having devastating effects on Canada’s econo…

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This Holocaust survivor rediscovered her Jewish roots decades later—thanks to a Canadian genealogist 21:53

3M ago21:53

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In 1942, while Nazis were forcing the Jews of Krosno, Poland to move into the local ghetto, they missed at least one: an eight-month-old Jewish infant, left in a ditch by her frantic mother, wrapped only in a blanket, with just a birthdate and false first name pinned to the wool. A passing Polish couple found the child, brought her home and raised …

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We asked Pierre Poilievre about federal funding for UNRWA. Here’s what he said 15:50

3M ago15:50

15:50

Just 24 hours into Canada’s federal election campaign, The CJN has put Jewish issues on the agenda.On Monday morning of Mar. 24, in a hotel near the Toronto airport, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre met with about 40 journalists from significant diaspora communities as part of a media roundtable reserved for “ethnic” news outlets—one of the fir…

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We watched Al-Quds Day in Toronto. Here’s what we heard 26:17

4M ago26:17

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About 2,000 anti-Israel protesters turned up in downtown Toronto on March 23 for the annual Al-Quds Day march in support of a free Palestine.Ahead of the event, calls to ban these events in cities across Canada were especially loud this year. The rallies—which happen globally—have seen protesters dressed up as suicide bombers, explicit calls for th…

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Why was a Toronto suspect released on bail after being charged with terrorism-related hate crimes against Jews? 23:54

4M ago23:54

23:54

On Monday March 17, Toronto Police Services announced that they arrested and laid 29 charges against a suspect allegedly behind a spree of hate-motivated attacks on Toronto’s Jewish community in 2024—and then, revealed a judge had released him on bail.Amir Arvahi Azar, 32, was arrested on Jan. 11, 2025, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto. H…

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Remembering a global genealogist, a Romanian survivor, B'nai Brith's CEO and more community builders recently lost 27:08

4M ago27:08

27:08

On the second Honourable Menschen of 2025, we pay tribute to five Canadians from four provinces who left a mark on our community and who passed away in recent months.Dianne Kipnes, an Edmonton clinical psychologist and philanthropist who, together with her husband Irving fought to find and fund better treatment for people with cancer-related condit…

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Israel urges 60,000 evacuated residents to move back to the battered north: some fear it's still not safe 31:13

4M ago31:13

31:13

Last week, a senior Israeli official told the media that the country’s goal is to establish full diplomatic relations with Lebanon soon, a move that follows a November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that has kept Northern Israel relatively safe in recent months. In that light, the Israeli government has been urging displaced Israeli familie…

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The Onion, but make it Jewish: Meet the Canadian brothers behind a new pro-Israel comedy news site 25:33

4M ago25:33

25:33

Some people might argue there’s nothing funny about what’s happening in the Middle East. But try telling that to Eric and Ryan Turkienicz, the Toronto-based brothers who created the Jewish parody news website The Daily Brine after Oct. 7. Some sample headlines: “Hamas’ Work-From-Tunnel Policy Absolutely Ruining Office Culture.”“US Proposes Letting …

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This pro bono legal team has helped over 550 Canadian victims of antisemitism since Oct. 7 23:58

4M ago23:58

23:58

A pro-Israel student is suing Toronto Metropolitan University for $1.3 million, arguing the school allowed violations of campus policies that created a toxic atmosphere for Jews—and even cost her a job. Eslewhere, Jewish members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada—whose dues get donated to Palestinian causes like the United Nations Relief & Wo…

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Key Passover imports will be exempt from tariff war with U.S., Ottawa confirms 23:41

4M ago23:41

23:41

Canada is exempting key imported Passover foods from the current diplomatic trade war with the United States. The ministry of finance sent The CJN a list of kosher-for-Passover products imported from the U.S., which are going to be allowed into Canada without being hit by the extra 25-percent retaliatory import tariffs that Ottawa began imposing on…

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Stephen Bronfman starts new global Jewish climate fund to counter Trump's cuts to environmental protection 23:17

4M ago23:17

23:17

While tariffs on steel and energy in the Canada-U.S trade war are currently dominating the news headlines, Montrealer Stephen Bronfman has been paying very close attention to a different sector now under the microscope: the environment. Bronfman, a longtime "green" campaigner, runs his family's private investment firms and supports the Birthright o…