Five Questions About Israel The CJN Podcast Network

This year, as the political turmoil in Israel intensified, Canadian Jewish organizations had to straddle a thin line. Many expressed concern about the legislative overhauls planned by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while others preferred to keep mum on the topic; almost all reinforced their fundamental support for the country.

Regardless of which path they chose, their need to speak out—or not speak out—opened them up to criticism from the Canadian Jewish public. And that begs a deeper question: do these organizations actually represent the views of the broader community?

To take a pulse on the issue, Dan Brotman and Yaron Deckel, hosts and sponsors of Five Questions About Israel, assembled a panel of three dedicated Jewish Canadians with a record of volunteering for such organizations. They are Deborah Livneh, the executive director of the Windsor Essex Capital Angel Network and board member for the Windsor Jewish Community Endowment Fund and the American Technion Society; Evan Pilz, a political fundraiser and longtime lay leader for various Jewish organizations, including the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and the Centre for Israel Jewish Affairs; and Max Lissoos, who hails from South Africa, where he was the president of the country's first conservative congregation.

Diaspora Jews are often expected to support Israel—emotionally, financially, spiritually. For some, making aliyah is an admirable right of passage. Reverence and defence are key themes in Diaspora attitudes towards the world's only Jewish state.

In the last episode of this podcast, we asked a significant question about how Canadian Jewish organizations, in particular, should balance their domestic philanthropic needs with those of Israel—which is, by all metrics, as wealthy and successful a nation as Canada, if not more so.

But what about the other way around? Of course Diaspora Jews support Israel—but how does Israel support the Diaspora? If Israel is a homeland to all Jews, how is it ensuring a vibrant global Jewish community that remains strong enough to defend Israel in the broader world?

To help navigate this discussion, we turn to three members of the Canadian Jewish community.
Jonathan Gendler is an Israeli-born Canadian and manager his family's fine-art business; Yakov Rabkin is a writer and professor emeritus of history at the University of Montreal; and Tiphaera Ziner Cohen is a law clerk at the federal court of appeal in Ottawa.

It's a well-known fact that Israel is one of the world's wealthiest countries. Far from being the struggling Jewish state of the 1950s and 1960s, when it needed allies from developed nations to build a safe haven for Jews around the world, Israel now generally ranks among the top countries in GDP per capita by any metric—often scoring in the top 20, often above Canada.

It forces the question: Why are Canadian Jewish organizations still sending money to Israel? Especially with smaller communities struggling to offer social services and meet the needs of their residents, what percentage of funds raised—if any—makes sense to send abroad?

This is the third question asked by Dan Brotman and Yaron Deckel, hosts and sponsors of The CJN Studios podcast Five Questions About Israel. For answers and opinions, they turn to Mathew Frieberg, a real estate developer and co-chair of UJA Toronto's annual campaign in 2021-22; Joanna Mirski Wexler, a Halifax-based accountant and Hebrew teacher who represents Atlantic Canada on the national CIJA board; and Miriam Goldstein, a theatre worker and board member of the Windsor Jewish Federation.

As a country of sharply divided opinions, Israel is no stranger to public demonstrations, protests or rallies—but this year has been different. Israelis have been taking to the streets, decrying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial judicial reform plans, for eight straight months. The debate, meanwhile, has bled beyond the country's borders, seeping into Diaspora communities—and Canada is no exception.

Canadian communal Jewish organizations have been subsequently thrust into a difficult position. Should they voice rare public criticism of Israel and its government, or keep quiet and let Israelis sort out their own affairs? Underscoring both options is a deeper dilemma: Given how divided even Jewish Canadians are on the topic, on whose behalf do these organizations speak? Either road can quickly lead to blowback.

In the second episode of Five Questions About Israel, a podcast miniseries hosted and sponsored by Dan Brotman of the Windsor Jewish Federation and Yaron Deckel of the Jewish Agency for Israel, we bring on three expert guests to opine on the topic. Rabbi Harry Brechner is the spiritual leader of Congregation Emanu-El in Victoria, B.C.; Limor Friedman is an Israeli-born journalist and entrepreneur in Vancouver, B.C.; and Shai DeLuca is an interior designer and TV personality.

Welcome to Five Questions About Israel, a new podcast miniseries by The CJN Studios, hosted and sponsored by Dan Brotman and Yaron Deckel. They're asking big questions about Israel—and inviting you to listen and join.

On the first episode, they're asking three Canadians of different generations how their relationships to Israel differ from their parents'. You'll hear from Koby Gottlieb, an 18-year-old modern Orthodox student attending college at Brandeis University in Boston; Ruben Perez, a law school graduate from the University of Windsor and current MBA student at the University of Laval; and Lori Binder, the head of school and CEO of Gray Academy of Jewish Education in Winnipeg.

Hear how these three everyday Canadians—from different backgrounds, cities and denominations—think about Israel in their daily lives, and how those feelings conflict with, or stem from, their parents' attitude toward the Holy Land.

Listen and subscribe to hear all five episodes.

We're asking big questions about Israel—and inviting you to participate. Each episode, we'll tackle a different question:


Are your views on Israel different from those of your parents?
When, if ever, should Canadian communal organizations voice public criticism of Israel?
How do we balance our domestic philanthropic needs with the needs of Israeli organizations?
What are Israel’s obligations towards Diaspora communities?
Are your views on Israel represented by our mainstream communal organizations?

Email israelquestions@thecjn.ca with your thoughts and answers—and we might even ask you to come on the show. After all, this entire show is a dialogue with you, the listener. Have your voice heard, get engaged and subscribe to this podcast to catch all five episodes, airing summer 2023.