Canadian Jewish Record

Dec. 22, 2020 By SOPHIE HERSHFIELD In only 24 minutes, Israeli filmmaker Inbar Horesh delightfully unpacks a complex account of identity, language, and belonging in her short film Birth Right. This brief but evocative piece is based on the true story of its lead actress, Natasha Olshankaya, and the experience of a Russian tour group on a trip offered by Taglit Birthright, an organization that takes Jewish teens from around the world on trips to Israel.... https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//its-short-but-film-about/

Dec. 22, 2020 By ELLIE DEEGAN My Zaida’s best friend Andy was born in Hungary. He grew up very comfortably but his idyllic childhood did not last long. In March 1944, the Nazis occupied Hungary, and he came to know the horrors of the Holocaust firsthand. Recently, I interviewed Andy. He told me that he, his mom, and his sister survived the Holocaust by chance because an axle on their railcar broke, and they were marched to another camp instead of to Auschwitz.... https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//complacency-leads-to-com/

Dec. 22, 2020 By RON CSILLAG Canada has announced more funding up to $90 million over three years for Palestinian refugees through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The funds will help respond to the rising needs of vulnerable Palestinian refugees in UNRWA’s five areas of operation: the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, said a Dec.... https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//canada-announces-more-fu/

Agrees on CIJA Andrew Cohen’s excellent analysis and critique of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) is most welcome and long past due. (Unelected, unaccountable, untroubled: CIJA says what it wants and then says it speaks for us - Dec. 16) In the eyes of the non-Jewish community and of legislators in Canada, the high profile and well-funded CIJA appears to be the voice of Canadian Jews.... https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//letter-to-the-editor-dec/

Dec. 21, 2020 By STEVE ARNOLD A former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada will head an inquiry into how the University of Toronto handled the hiring of a scholar with a history of anti-Israel activism to head a law school program. Retired Justice Thomas Cromwell Retired Justice Thomas Cromwell, who left the high court in 2016, will review how U of T’s law school handled the controversial hiring of Valentina Azarova to head its International Human Rights Program.... https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//retired-supreme-court-ju/

By PAULA DRAPER In the spring of 1948, Max Enkin, a prominent Toronto Jewish community leader and clothing manufacturer, spoke to a gathering of his peers. He had recently returned from visiting Europe’s post-war displaced persons (DP) camps, where he led a small team of garment industry manufacturers and labour leaders on a mission. Their goal was to bring as many Holocaust survivors and their families to Canada as they could squeeze through obstructive, antisemitic immigration restrictions.... https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//the-tailor-project-our-b/

Oct. 29, 2020 By DUSTIN ATLAS Mira Sucharov’s Borders and Belonging is an intimate memoir of formation, something of a Portrait of a Political Scientist as a Young Woman. A contemporary work, its trajectory is non-linear: hopping from year to year, we see intimate flashes of feelings, events, and relationships; there is no sense at the book’s end that the process is complete, or that the insecurities which propelled the story have been resolved. [ 520 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//book-review-borders-and-/

Oct. 27, 2020 Ontario has become the first province in Canada to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism motivated by the recent anti-Jewish vandalism at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa. In a statement, Government House Leader Paul Calandra said Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet took swift and decisive action on Monday (Oct. 26) to adopt and recognize the definition, even before the legislation could be passed. [ 1,545 more word ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//ontario-endorses-ihra-de/

Annamie Paul becomes the first Black, Jewish leader of a Canadian political party. Watch the CJR for this important news. Meantime, here’s our interview with Paul last summer: https://www.google.ca//annamie-paul-seeks-to-make-his/amp/

Police Visits of Synagogues Were ‘Respectful’, Jewish Schools Report More COVID Cases Oct. 5, 2020 By JANICE ARNOLD MONTREAL There will be no sukkah-hopping in Montreal this year as the city and surrounding region began a 28-day partial lockdown on Oct. 1 in an attempt to stem a rapid increase in new COVID cases. Having visitors at one’s home, whether indoors or out, is prohibited during this period of the province’s highest alert, colour-coded red, in force until Oct. [ 767 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//sukkot-will-be-very-diff/

Oct. 29, 2020 By JANICE ARNOLD MONTREAL Moderna Therapeutics’ COVID vaccine should be ready to begin widespread distribution by late winter or next spring, Dr. Tal Zaks, the company’s Chief Medical Officer, said on Oct. 7 in a videoconference hosted by the Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Dr. Tal Zaks Zaks is hopeful that the vaccine will be available in early 2021 for those at high risk, such as front-line workers or the elderly. [ 523 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//covid-vaccine-distributi/

Oct. 2, 2020 - By BARBARA SILVERSTEIN Shabbat Shalom and chag samayach. Welcome to Kitchen Talk, the weekly food blog of the CJR. Tonight is Erev Sukkot; the week-long holiday, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, commemorates the years the Jewish people spent in the desert after the exodus from Egypt and celebrates God’s protection during that time. [ 613 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//the-fall-harvest-offers-/

Oct. 28, 2020 Colin Linden (April 16, 1960 ) Roots & Blues singer/songwriter, record producer, acoustic and slide guitarist Colin Linden By DAVID EISENSTADT My cousin Eric Rosenbaum, a long-time folk music mover and shaker with years of event volunteer service in Calgary and Edmonton, reminded me of a somewhat unsung Canadian musician, Colin Linden, who qualifies as a [ 808 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//on-the-record-canadian-j/

Oct. 1, 2020 - This past week, we were treated to the sight of a petulant and bullying president of the United States who threatened his fellow citizens. He refused to disavow neo-Nazism and even asked his white supremacist minions to stand back and stand by. It was a call that was heeded immediately by the preening white nationalist Proud Boys, who, within 40 seconds of Donald Trump’s shout-out, posted with glee on Telegram, a social media website frequented by racists, bigots, white supremacists, and violent extremists. [ 411 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca///hate-must-not-take-hold/

Chilly Gonzales, aka Jason Beck (March 20, 1972 - )Pianist, Singer/Songwriter/Producer, Rapper Sept. 30, 2020 - By DAVID EISENSTADT Classical piano compositions with a pop music sensibility. That only begins to describe Jason Beck’s musical contributions. After making his name as an average alt-rocker and a rather awful comic rapper, the Canadian eccentric now dresses in a smoking jacket and serves as a one-man cheerleader for the piano, wrote John Lewis in [ 624 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//on-the-record-canadian-j/

Oct. 28, 2020 By JANICE ARNOLD MONTREAL Families of residents of the long-term care institutions Maimonides Geriatric Centre and Jewish Eldercare Centre, which were hard-hit by COVID this spring and summer, are pleading with health officials to halt a plan to admit outside patients with the virus to recuperate in those facilities. Jewish Edlercare My initial reaction was, ‘What are they thinking?’ Helen Adam, president of the users’ committee at Maimonides, told the [ 795 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//families-protest-possibl/

Oct. 28, 2020 On Feb. 28, 2000, Federal Court judge Andrew Mackay delivered his decision in the matter of Helmut Oberlander, and many of us felt that the case was now settled, that justice would finally be served, even if delayed, and in miserly portion. After all, the decision made it clear that on a balance of probabilities, Oberlander had lied about or misrepresented his wartime activities in order to fraudulently gain entry to Canada and then citizenship. [ 614 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//editorial-oberlander-mus/

Lawmakers from five countries have joined forces to launch an international effort to fight online antisemitism. The Inter-Parliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Antisemitism includes legislators from Canada, Australia, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Anthony Housefather The effort involves two Canadian MPs: Liberal Anthony Housefather from Montreal, and Conservative Marty Morantz from Winnipeg. Over the last several years, there has been an alarming increase in antisemitic incidents across the globe, with many originating online, a Sept. [ 486 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//inter-parliamentary-task/

Oct. 28, 2020 By RON CSILLAG Progressive activists want Canada to prohibit what they call illegal recruitment by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in this country. In an Oct. 19 letter to federal Justice Minister David Lametti, they called on the government to conduct a thorough investigationof those who have facilitated this recruiting for the IDF, and if warranted, that charges be laid against all those involved in recruiting and encouraging recruiting in Canada for the IDF. [ 756 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//campaign-seeks-to-end-il/

Sept. 29, 2020 - Investigators with the York Regional Police Hate Crime Unit are appealing for assistance to locate a man wanted in connection with multiple hate-motivated incidents in the City of Vaughan. On Sept. 18, officers responded to a call for a hate-motivated incident in the area of New Westminster Drive and Steeles Avenue. According to a statement from York Regional Police, the caller had been driving his vehicle when a suspect not known to him began yelling antisemitic remarks. [ 194 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//suspect-identified-in-va/

Sept. 29, 2020 - By JANICE ARNOLD MONTREALThousands in the Montreal Jewish community have become ill with COVID, and far too many have not survived. That grim observation by Federation CJA president Gail Adelson-Marcovitz set the sombre tone for the organization’s 103rd annual general meeting, livestreamed from its headquarters on Sept. 24. Gail Adelson-Marcovitz In her report, Adelson-Marcovitz signaled that the pandemic has brought into stark relief the necessity to reassess the community’s priorities and direct resources to where they are most needed. [ 539 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//pandemic-has-federation-/

Sept. 29, 2020 - By SUSAN MINUK It has been about a month since most students have returned to the classroom under the looming threat of COVID. Teachers and kids alike are navigating new rules, from cohort education, social distancing, hand sanitizing, and the use of masks. Dr. Rachel Pearl Dr. Rachel Pearl works as a pediatric nephrologist at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, and as a general pediatrician and nephrologist in the William Osler Health System at Brampton Civic Hospital. [ 1,075 more word ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//dr-rachel-pearl-keeping-/

Oct. 27, 2020 By CARSON PHILLIPS In a year characterized by increased antisemitism frequently linked to COVID conspiracy theories and social unrest caused by the lingering effects of systemic racism, it seemed only natural that Holocaust Education Week 2020 would tackle some of the the underlying conditions that contribute to such activities. In a quickly changing world, it is more relevant than ever that we understand the role Holocaust education can and does play in fostering an inclusive society that respects all Canadians. [ 637 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//holocaust-education-week/

Oct. 26, 2020 By ANDREW COHEN In the last days of his embattled presidency, facing impeachment and removal from office, Richard Milhous Nixon was alone. He had been undone by Watergate, a byword for a regime of skullduggery, deception and criminality. As he prepared to resign on Aug. 9, 1974, Nixon could rely on one unflagging loyalist. His name was Rabbi Baruch Korff, an émigré from Ukraine who had seen his mother murdered in a pogrom and had a history of incendiary behaviour. [ 744 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//great-nixons-ghost-donal/

By ILANA KRYGIER LAPIDES One of my favorite Yiddish stories is I.L. Peretz’s Ob Nisht Noch Hecher (If Not Higher.) It’s worth seeking out Peretz’s charming, evocative rendition, even in translation, but briefly: The Rebbe of Nemirov seems to disappear every morning at Sliches time and no one knows to where. The rumour is that he ascends to Heaven. [ 654 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//the-pillars-of-justice-o/

Malka Marom (Jan. 21, 1936 - ), Joso Spralja (May 23, 1929 Aug. 8, 2017) MALKA & JOSO, Folksingers Sept. 25, 2020 - By DAVID EISENSTADT One of the joys of writing Canadian Jewish Musicians of Note is that I get many suggestions from many people from many places about many musicians. My long-time Ottawa friend David Dunlop nominated Malka & Joso by reminding me that he was smitten by Malka when he was a host at Expo ’67’s Canada pavilion in Montreal. [ 755 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//on-the-record-canadian-j/

Sept. 25, 2020 - By BARBARA SILVERSTEIN Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Kitchen Talk, the weekly food blog of the CJR. The pandemic has certainly changed the way we observe the High Holy Days. While many synagogues were nearly empty, several congregations attempted to bring the service to the people by blowing shofars in parks and parking lots across the GTA. [ 1,331 more word ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//break-fast-will-be-a-tas/

Oct. 26, 2020 Faced with continuing COVID hardships, Holocaust survivors, including those in Canada, will see a rise in their benefits from Germany. The increases were announced this month by the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, or the Claims Conference. They result from the organization’s most recent negotiations with the German government on behalf of Holocaust survivors. [ 414 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//increased-payments-to-ho/

Sept. 25, 2020 - By JEREMY APPEL Thousands of legendary Montreal bagels were shipped overnight to Calgary and Edmonton just in time for the first night of Rosh Hashanah as a fundraiser for Alberta’s two branches of B’nai Brith Youth Organization (BBYO). Fairmount Bagel in Montreal sent 468 dozen, or 5,616 of the oven-baked goodies, to Edmonton, and 150 dozen, or 1,800, to Calgary via FedEx overnight shipping to ensure delivery for Sept. [ 436 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//montreal-bagels-bring-in/

Oct. 26, 2020 By STEVE ARNOLD When Sandi Seigel walked into her first Na’amat meeting 20 years ago, she was looking for a way to make friends in a new city. Sandi Seigel The Toronto native had just moved to Hamilton with her new husband and she was looking for a Jewish women’s organization in which to get involved. Now, the Hamilton pediatrician and McMaster University medical school professor has been elected National President of the organization. [ 497 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//hamiltons-sandi-seigel-i/

Sept. 24, 2020 - By JON ALLEN The recent UAE-Israel-U.S.A. agreement takes the immediate prospects of Israel’s illegal annexation of part of the West Bank off the table in exchange for full diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates. Bahrain has followed suit, and others Oman, Sudan and Morocco could soon. These accords have been variously described as breakthrough peace agreements, an arms deal, and a stab in the back of the Palestinian people. [ 1,196 more word ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//the-abraham-accords-winn/

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan have condemned the recent antisemitic desecration of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Ottawa police are searching for a man they say carved hateful graffiti at the National War Memorial. Police say the man used a sharp object to etch graffiti onto the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the memorial at Wellington and Elgin streets. [ 283 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//antisemitic-graffiti-at-/

Sept. 24, 2020 - By JANICE ARNOLD MONTREAL Attendance at Kol Nidrei and Yom Kippur services will be much smaller than even the reduced level planned by synagogues after the Quebec government raised the COVID alert level for the city. Hours before Rosh Hashanah ended on Sept. 20, Health Minister Christian Dubé announced that the island of Montreal would be designated orange, the second-highest precaution under the province’s colour-coded system. [ 808 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//quebec-cuts-synagogue-at/

Sept. 23, 2020 - As Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement approaches, we turn our minds to justice appropriate, given the recent death of the legendary Jewish American Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg was a wisp of a woman but whose heart was Olympian and whose soul burned fiercely on behalf of those less fortunate, especially women who have, for much of the past century, been treated like second class citizens in the United States. [ 631 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//editorial-jewish-jurists/

By HARRIS WATKINS Working for a member of Ontario’s provincial parliament, I have often seen coordinated email campaigns influenced by external and third-party organizations (using the same subject line usually gives it away). Such was the case when the office of Progressive Conservative MPP Natalia Kusendova (Mississauga Centre) began to receive concerns about Bill 168, The Combating Antisemitism Act, 2020 [ 986 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//critics-of-ontarios-bill/

Sept. 22, 2020 - By JANICE ARNOLD MONTREALThe COVID pandemic has forced the Montreal Holocaust Museum (MHM) to abandon plans for a new multimillion-dollar premises, but says the project is still going forward. In her annual report, outgoing president Dorothy Zalcman Howard said the MHM had found an ideal location to build a much larger museum and achieved unprecedented success in obtaining funding commitmentsThe dream was about to be transformed into reality when COVID struck, and our board faced the difficult decision of stepping back from the brink and reshaping the vision. [ 628 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//pandemic-delays-plans-fo/

Sept. 22, 2020 - By STEVE ARNOLD Two communities with long histories of persecution are linking arms to push for a better future. B'nai Brith Canada and the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce have signed an agreement to collaborate on efforts to end antisemitism and racism in the country. The deal, signed in a special ceremony Sept. 16 in Toronto, commits both groups to share their knowledge and strategies for attacking their common problem. [ 434 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//black-jewish-communities/

Sept. 21, 2020 - By SUSAN MINUK Mia Adler has reason to smile. This summer, the 11-year-old delivered cookies to raise awareness for mental health. Mimi (her nickname) created Mimi For Mental Health in preparation for her bat mitzvah on Nov. 7 this year. Her business motto: Be kind. Be empathetic. Be brave. Mia Adler, Mimi For Mental Health Mia’s cookie venture has raised $4,226 in support of Mental Health Empowerment Day (MHED), a venture that promotes mental health education, de-stigmatization and builds community. [ 600 more words ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//cookies-for-mental-healt/

Sept. 18, 2020 - By BARBARA SILVERSTEIN Shabbat Shalom and Chag Samayach. Welcome to Kitchen Talk, the weekly food blog of the CJR. Rosh Hashanah begins this evening and I would imagine that many readers have already prepared most of the special dishes they’ll be serving this weekend. With COVID looming large throughout the country, preparing and serving holiday meals will entail safety logistics. [ 1,291 more word ] https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//have-a-happy-healthy-and/