Not in Heaven

Just in time for International Holocaust Remembrance Day this year, a new study by Liberation75, a Canadian organization focused on Holocaust awareness and education, announced that only two-thirds of Canadian students confidently believe the Holocaust happened. The organization's solution, based on this troubling fact, is that Holocaust education must become mandatory in school curriculums. Not a...

This week, JSpaceCanada's president, Karen Mock, who is in her 70s, is stepping down to let a new, younger voice steer Canada's largest organization that promotes both progressive and Zionist stances. Whoever takes over will face a difficult challenge: in a political climate marked by extreme polarization in favour of both Israel and Palestine, how do progressive Zionists make their pitch? To disc...

Nostalgia is in vogue these days—in politics, pop culture and food trends—and Judaism is no different. As North American Jewry evolves, nostalgia for our mid-20th century cultural traditions, from deli sandwiches to the Yiddish language and Holocaust remembrance, has taken hold as perhaps the dominant definition of Western Jewish identity. Rachel B. Gross has studied these trends for her book, Bey...

Of the 135 recent appointees to the Order of Canada, at least 19 are Jewish. The recipients come from diverse fields of medicine, the arts, community activism and religion. For this week's episode of Bonjour Chai , The CJN's weekly current affairs podcast, we've invited four on for one-on-one interviews to discuss their lives and careers: Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Cara Tannenbaum, Jane Heyman and...

What were the biggest Canadian Jewish stories of 2021? What did readers of The Canadian Jewish News care about? What stories transcended the community? In a special end-of-year one-on-one, Avi sits down with Yoni Goldstein, editor and CEO of The Canadian Jewish News, to discuss the year's most popular stories and recurring themes. Credits Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and Da...

In late November, Michael Toledano, a Jewish documentary filmmaker, was arrested while recording from behind the blockades of Wet'suwet'en activists in British Columbia. His arrest made headlines across the country, prompting many Jewish Canadians to ask: What has the relationship between these two communities looked like throughout history? From bigotry to ghettoization, genocide and colonialism,...

A new trailer for the very Jewish, very popular TV show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel recently dropped, announcing its next season for February. Notably, the lead actor, Rachel Brosnahan, is not Jewish. Is that okay? Should non-Jews play Jewish characters on film and TV? Two Jewish actors approach the issue from opposite sides and duke it out. Plus, the hosts debate Canada’s diplomatic boycott of the...

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind for Jewish students at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus. The campus student union passed a motion supporting the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, which would curtail activities and services that "normalize Israeli apartheid." The main issue that sprung up: kosher food. Who's going to find a kosher caterer th...

In the last decade, executives at the Hallmark Channel and Lifetime have realized that Hanukkah exists. Now every year seems to bring a new heaping spoonful of shmaltz for Jewish audiences and anyone bored of watching the same Christmas stories told with new wide-eyed actors. Recent entries have been Mistletoe & Menorahs and Love, Lights, Hanukkah! , while this year's Eight Gifts of Hanukkah p...

Some news: we're launching a Slack channel. If you want to join our community in a tangible way—at least until we can start hosting live events—and chat with Avi, Ilana and David about Jewish topics (or anything at all), email bonjour@thecjn.ca to get the exclusive invite. You can also now follow and engage with us on Twitter @bonjourchai . To navigate this world of online community-building, we i...

Ritual circumcision for Jews came under heavy fire in October. First, an article came out in the New York Times in which writer Gary Shteyngart recalled his own botched circumcision and how it pains him to this day. That same week, by coincidence, an organization called Bruchim went live. Their mission: advocating on behalf of Jews who don't feel comfortable with circumcision. It's a sensitive sub...

It's a question that grows more disturbing every time it pops up in the news: Should private sellers of antiques be allowed to sell Nazi memorabilia? Some will argue history cannot be rewritten and these antiques are simply testaments to a different era; others will decry any sale as profiting off genocide, and insist such items belong in a museum with proper context. But how can you regulate the...

As a group, Jews have one of the lowest rates of organ donation in the world. And as a country, Canada also ranks at the bottom of opt-in organ donations, well below other developed nations. The pandemic has exacerbated the problem, putting thousands of people on lengthy waiting lists for life-saving procedures. But the scarcity has existed long before COVID—and will persist afterwards. There are...

This coming week marks the third anniversary of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue, where 11 people from Pittsburgh's Jewish community lost their lives. Mark Oppenheimer, host of the popular Jewish podcast Unorthodox , has written a book on the event, its precursors in the community and the aftermath of the tragedy. He joins today to discuss his book, Jewish podcasting and the difference b...

The high-holiday season is always been a stressful time for rabbis. Week after week, throughout September and October, they are busier than perhaps at any other time of the year. Congregation attendance numbers are at their peak, and congregants are calling them day and night with personal questions. Plus, back-to-school season means heightened stress for anyone with young families—rabbis included...

Housing affordability is not a uniquely Jewish issue, but Jews face a unique challenge. Practising Jews, in particular, have certain geographic requirements—being close to synagogues, kosher markets and other community members—that make housing especially unaffordable. As home prices across Canada soar, ground zero remains its major urban centres—and therein, Jewish communities tend to be pricier...

On the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Canadians have an opportunity to reflect on the brutal history and treatment of Indigenous people in the country. What can the Canadian Jewish community do to work toward reconciliation with Indigenous people? Do we have a unique obligation to advocate for the cause? To answer these questions, we're joined by Deborah Corber, head of Corber Co...

We're nearly at the end of a frantic late-summer blitz, combining a tight 36-day federal election campaign with Jewish high holidays, the beginning of the school year and Avi's daughter's bat mitzvah. As fall rolls in, the hosts enjoy a leisurely chat with political correspondent Josh Lieblein, who breaks down the coming and goings of what was, as Seinfeld fans like to put it, "an election ab...

With most congregations returning to some semblance of normalcy, one of the biggest questions is how children—who cannot be vaccinated—can safely return after 18 months away. There's no consensus among congregations, resulting in a hodgepodge of ad hoc rules across the country. How can Canada's religious leadership navigate this uncertain future? Is there a right decision? Joining the hosts to unp...

Years ago, Mishy Harman wondered about his fellow Israelis. There seemed to be so many differences within the country—political, ideological, sociological—and yet he didn't personally know anybody who wasn't like himself. He wanted to change that. That desire to meet different people propelled him to create Israel Story , a long-form radio documentary show modelled after This American Life . Now h...

Kids are heading back to school in what may turn out to be another shaky semester, with the risk of virtual learning, school closures and mandatory vaccination policies for teachers hanging over students' heads. But there's a positive side for Jewish parents and students: private Jewish education, which has generally been on a decline over the past two decades, saw an uptick during the pandemic, a...

How much is antisemitism an election issue? Do Jews vote as a bloc? Who are the Jewish candidates to watch? With a federal election underway, Avi and Ilana invite The CJN's political pundit, Josh Lieblein, to break down the issues that matter most to Canadian Jews. You can read Josh's series, "Doorstop Postings", at thecjn.ca . Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Ilana Zackon. Mic...

It's hard to say how Judaism fits into identity politics. As both an ethnicity and religion, comprising (in North America) mostly white-skinned people who may not look obviously Jewish, how can our community fairly compare antisemitism to racism of other kinds? Is such a comparison even needed? Do white-skinned Jews have white privilege? These are not comfortable questions, but longstanding Jewish...

For three years, Jamie Hirsh and Gabe Pulver have hosted Menschwarmers , the world's only podcast about Jews and sports, for The CJN Podcast Network. In the past month they've been busy covering the Olympics from a Jewish perspective, interviewing Jewish Olympians and experts in the field. Today, they share what they've learned with Avi and Ilana for a special sporting edition of Bonjour Chai . Re...

A recent investigation into toxic hook-up culture among American Jewish teens, published in the digital magazine New Voices , shone a light on pervasive sexual harrassment within certain groups of Jewish organizations, such as BBYO, United Synagogue Youth and NFTY. To many people who have attended Jewish youth groups, this may sound like nothing new—but it does feel like a tipping point, as societ...