For several months now, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather has been calling for his boss to resign. The Montreal-area politician first broke publicly with his party in March 2024, over its positions on the Israel-Hamas war—yet he ultimately decided to remain in the Liberal caucus. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later appointed Housefather as special advisor on the Jewish community and antisemitism, but that promotion didn’t stop Housefather from calling for Trudeau to step down in recent weeks. On Jan. 6, 2025, Housefather finally got his wish. Trudeau announced he would resign as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada after the party votes on a new leader. To give themselves some time, the prime minister prorogued parliament until March 24. The significant decision comes on the heels of tenuous conflicts that the Prime Minister’s Office faced, both within and beyond his own party—including conflicts over Jewish issues. His centrist approach to the Middle East conflict invited criticism on his foreign affairs file from right- and left-leaning supporters, while Canadian Jewish voters faced unprecedented spikes in antisemitism across the country, with some laying blame, rightly or wrongly, at the foot of the federal government. For his part, Housefather thinks Canadian Jews should stick with the Liberals under a new leader, and plans to advocate for Jewish issues with the forthcoming candidates. (He’s already praising Christy Clark, the former B.C. premier, and Chrystia Freeland, the ex-finance minister). Housefather joins The CJN Daily to discuss Trudeau’s historic resignation and lays out what to expect. Then, we speak with Jeremy Levi, the mayor of the Town of Hampstead, Quebec, for his take on the moment and why Trudeau’s decision doesn’t move the needle for Conservative supporters such as himself.

Related links

• Read what Justin Trudeau told The CJN in 2015 about his and his party’s positions on Jewish and Israel issues before he was first elected as Prime Minister with a majority.
• Review why Liberal MP Anthony Housefather almost left the Liberal government over its anti-Israel positions, on The CJN Daily, from March 2024.
• Learn more about Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi, a Conservative supporter who has become a vocal critic of the Liberals, especially Housefather, in this recent The CJN profile.

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 newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

This week marks one month since Islamist rebels overthrew the brutal Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and took control of the country, forcing the former president to flee for his life to Russia on Dec. 8. Jews around the world, including in Canada, might breathe a sigh of relief at some of the new regime’s stated attitudes toward Jews and Israel. Their leader has made promising comments about not wanting to continue its war with Israel, and the ruling party has also pledged to allow people of all religions to worship freely in the war-torn country, Jews included. There’s just one problem: there are barely any left. That’s according to retired human rights advocate Judy Feld Carr. The Canadian activist has spent decades masterminding the secret exodus of Syria’s remaining Jewish population; by 2001, she had successfully smuggled out more than 3,300 Syrian Jews, including many who had been imprisoned, tortured and falsely accused of being Israeli spies. Unsurprisingly, Feld Carr has been monitoring the recent developments in Damascus, including reports about the condition of the local Jewish community’s historic buildings and the whearabouts of millions of dollars worth of looted Jewish artifacts. She joins The CJN Daily to shed light on what what life was like for Syrian Jews under the Assad regime, and why there are still some parts of her clandestine mission that can never be made public.

Related links

• Read more from Judy Feld Carr about her rescue mission for the Jews of Syria, in The CJN archives from 2017.
• Why growing up Jewish in Sudbury, Ont. helped Judy Feld Carr deal with bullies, in The CJN magazine from 2022.
• Watch the documentary "Miss Judy" on YouTube.

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 newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Over the past 12 months, The CJN team has produced more than 700 podcast episodes, news stories, opinion pieces and foreign dispatches. The overwhelming theme has been the reverberation of Oct. 7: firebombed synagogues, gunshots at schools, anti-Zionist campus encampments, cancelled Jewish artists, a crackdown on Jewish charities—and more.

But we always make sure our coverage balances heartache and hope. Throughout the year, we've also reported on the powerful resurgence of Jewish pride and engagement in Canada's spiritual and communal life—increased numbers of Jewish conversions, secular artists embracing their Jewish identities, solidarity across political lines—which gives us a cause for optimism, even while tense conversations about the Israel-Hamas war continue dividing families, colleagues and civil society at large.

On today's episode of The CJN Daily, host Ellin Bessner assembles a team of CJN reporters from across the country to weigh in on the most talked-about stories of the past year and predict what we might expect in 2025. You'll hear from news editor Lila Sarick; Quebec correspondent Joel Ceausu; Western Canada correspondent Sam Margolis in Victoria, B.C.; staff reporter Jonathan Rothman, who covers Toronto city hall and culture pieces; Local Journalism Initiative reporter Mitch Consky, whose beat is campus life and education; and the producer of this very podcast, Zachary Kauffman.

What we talked about:

• Read more about Indigo Books winning legal action to block the BDS movement’s effort to boycott the retailer, in The CJN.
• Hear the interviews with Anthony Housefather about his decision to stay in the Liberal Party, and also our interview with Ya’ara Saks on her choice to meet with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, both on The CJN Daily.
• Read more about Selina Robinson’s new tell-all book, 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 newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Just in time for Hanukkah, comes a century-old-tale of a young Jewish boy’s courage to take on an adult’s responsibilities as chief light keeper in his Russian shtetl. It’s the true story of Ottawa’s Samuel Saslove, who stepped up to keep his community's brand new electric street lights working, at the tender age of ten. Saslove arrived in Canada in the 1920s and while he didn’t divulge much about his experiences growing up in “the old country”, his daughter, Sheila Baslaw, preserved those memories for decades. Now, at 92, Baslaw has found a whole new audience for her father’s inspiring tale of bravery and resilience. Her debut children’s book “The Light Keeper”, co-written with Karen Levine of “Hana’s Suitcase” fame, has just been published by Second Story Press and is already a Heather’s Pick at Indigo. While Baslaw’s father did have to overcome antisemitism–and the persecution of Jews in Czarist Russia that sparked mass emigration to this country in the 1900s–her book’s message deliberately highlights the universal challenges many of her young readers could face. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, Sheila Baslaw joins along with her co-author to explain why it’s never too late to learn a new skill.

What we talked about:

• Learn more and buy 'The Light Keeper' book at Second Story Press.
• Read more about Hana’s Suitcase, the true story of the Brady family, on The CJN Daily.
• Hear more stories about the author’s family in her oral history with the Ottawa Jewish Archives from 2001.

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 newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

High drama continues in Ottawa, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces loud calls from his own MPs and opposition leaders to step down, following the surprising resignation of his finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, from cabinet. Trudeau has so far withstood the criticism, shuffling his cabinet on Dec. 20—the same day that NDP leader Jagmeet Singh confirmed he would make a no-confidence vote as soon as Parliament resumes, on Jan. 27, sparking an election that the Liberals will almost certainly lose.

Amid the chaos, Jewish Canadians have been caught in the middle. Since Oct. 7, politicans' responses to the Israel-Hamas war—and the ensuring flood of violent antisemitic attacks on domestic soil—have sharply divided political parties and the public. As a result of the federal cabinet shuffle, the Montreal-area MP for Outremont, Rachel Bendayan, has been given two portfolios—official languages and associate minister for public security—and immediately revealed that she'd been tasked to convene a new national summit on antisemitism in the new year. But will the Liberal government even last that long?

As 2024 comes to a close, The CJN Daily called on its political panel to reflect on the tumultuous year that was—and kvell about their predictions from their last appearance on this program. They are David Birnbaum, former Liberal MNA for the Montreal riding of D’Arcy-McGee in the Quebec National Assembly; Emma Cunningham, the former NDP riding president in Pickering-Uxbridge who quit over antisemitism, and is now a school board trustee; and Stephen Adler, a Conservative insider and senior director at National Public Relations in Toronto.

What we talked about:

• Hear the political panel on The CJN Daily in 2023 to hear if their predictions came true.
• Ottawa is convening a second national antisemitism forum focused on policing and law enforcement, in The CJN.
• Why Canadians and Jews are turning their backs on the Liberals, on Bonjour Chai.

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 newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Some Canadians might be excited about this season’s federal tax break—an initiative that makes certain items GST/HST-free from Dec. 14, 2024, until Feb. 15, 2025. You’ll find prepared meals, books, video games and kids’ clothing on the list. “Christmas and similar decorative trees” are also included, which includes an unexpected nod to the Jewish community: “Hanukkah trees or bushes”.

The tax department’s gesture prompted many Jewish Canadians to scratch their heads. What’s a Hanukkah bush? Have you ever seen one for sale in a store? Was this a just misguided stab at being inclusive for the holiday season? The CJN tried to find someone who has actually ever bought a Hanukkah bush, but we had no luck.

We did, however, find Leah Markovitch, the longtime owner of the Solly’s Bagelry chain in Vancouver. Her three bakery and deli locations also sell an array of Hanukkah merchandise each year, including dreidels, socks, candles, cookies and hanukkiyot. Notably, she has never sold an actual Hanukkah bush—because it is not a thing. And it irks her that the festive items she actually _does _sell are not tax-exempt.

Markovitch joins Ellin Bessner on _The CJN Daily _to explain why the she feels the government is being ignorant and insulting to Jews, and how she’s fighting back: she’s going rogue by offering her own tax breaks on some hanukkiyot, which she’s decided to call a “Hanukkah bush”.

What we talked about

• See the full list of GST/HST-exempt items on the Government of Canada’s website.
• Learn about quality Hanukkah content for kids, in The CJN archives.
• Why these Christmas gingerbread houses are kosher and made in Toronto, on The CJN Daily.
• Check out Solly’s Bagelry in Vancouver, B.C.

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 newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

On Dec. 17, Toronto's city council will consider a report on a new package of measures aimed at better protecting vulnerable community spaces—including schools, houses of worship, hospitals and community centres—that have become targeted by hateful demonstrations in the last year. And while the report doesn't specifically mention the Jewish community, the package does include $2.5 million to install protective traffic bollards and other street furniture to deter violent car-ramming attacks, which sources say was a specific request to help the downtown Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Toronto police have responded to nearly 2,000 demonstrations related to the Israel-Gaza war, with more than 160 people charged for more than 400 hate crimes. Many Jewish leaders have expressed frustration that the authorities and the City haven't done more to stop these protests, where participants routinely harass and intimidate Jewish residents, business owners and passersby in Jewish neighbourhoods and elsewhere. Back in May, city council was asked to approach the province to bring in this so-called bubble legislation, which would establish a no-go zone around vulnerable spaces, but 13 councillors, along with Mayor Olivia Chow, voted it down and instead, council adopted a motion to draw up an action framework, and that is what's coming back to council on Dec 17.

So what's changed between May and today? On The CJN Daily, host Ellin Bessner is joined by councillors James Pasternak, who has been prodding city staff to move, and Josh Matlow, who voted against bubble legislation back in May—but will be on side this time, even though he still thinks the bylaw doesn't solve the bigger problem.

What we talked about:

• Read more on the proposed anti-hate measures and renewed effort to bring in so-called bubble bylaws at Toronto city council this coming week, in The CJN.
• Learn more about the proposed safety measures by reading the city council documents yourself, on the toronto.ca website.
• Why the new bubble legislation bylaw enacted by the City of Vaughan failed its first big test outside the BAYT synagogue on Dec. 9, 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 newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Targeted by official complaints to their professional bodies. Doxxed on social media. Harassed for their pro-Israel views. Getting negative reviews from antisemitic or anti-Israel medical students. Being asked where their horns are. Having to hide their Jewish identities. These are just some of the hundreds of stories shared by Canadian Jewish doctors and doctors-in-training as part of a new survey on antisemitism in this country’s health system since Oct. 7. The survey was conducted this fall by the new Jewish Medical Association of Ontario (JMAO). The findings were released two weeks ago during a media conference at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto. JMAO officials say they were expecting the results to be bad, but were stunned to discover antisemitism was even worse, as they read the feedback from nearly 500 Jewish doctors who sent in detailed examples of how they have been impacted personally and professionally. The incidents happen both in the corridors of the hospitals they work in, but mostly in the university medical schools where they teach. In fact, the authors of the study say, their colleagues are quitting the classroom altogether, or retiring early, and over 30 per cent report they are considering leaving Ontario altogether. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, host Ellin Bessner delves into the study’s findings and hears the personal experiences from the quartet of doctors behind the new survey: JMAO president Dr. Lisa Salomon, chair Dr. Ayelet Kuper, and members Dr. Barry Pakes and Dr. Karen Devon.

Related links

• Learn more about the Jewish Medical Association of Ontario’s study and official launch.
• Read the Canadian Jewish doctors’ submission to Parliament about antisemitism in the medical system.
• Read more on the Feb. 2024 pro-Palestinian protest outside Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto, 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 newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)