The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner

The CJN Podcast Network
  • 4,7 (42)
  • ACTUALITÉS DU JOUR
  • TOUS LES JOURS
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner

Newsmaker conversations from The Canadian Jewish News, hosted by Ellin Bessner, a veteran broadcaster, writer and journalist.

  1. -1 J

    Struggling to afford your first home? This Jewish-backed investment firm wants to help

    On the night of Oct. 16, Jews around Canada will welcome the holiday of Sukkot, having erected temporary wooden or cloth structures outside their synagogues and homes. While celebrating in their makeshift shacks, many will tell stories of the huts that ancient Israelites lived in after their exodus from Egypt. Meanwhile, in modern-day Canada, a different kind of exodus is happening across the country: young Jewish families, along with Canadians of all stripes, are finding themselves priced out of the housing market, fleeing their native cities to find affordable homes in ever-farther destinations. While the cost of a sukkah kit may seem steep these days, in the hundreds or low thousands, it pales it comparison to the national average cost of a house: nearly $650,000. As a result, housing organizations are stepping in to find creative solutions. One such company with deep Jewish roots is Ourboro, whose COO, Eyal Rosenblum, is the son of Israeli immigrants. The company essentially buys a stake in your house by lending you up to $250,000 for your down payment. Whatever the percentage of the down payment is, that’s what you’ll have to pay them back once you sell. The idea has caught on, with real estate developer Miles Nadal having joined Ourboro as a key investor. Eyal Rosenblum joins The CJN Daily to explain how this concept can help some Canadians afford homes sooner, and why his Jewish values align with the idea. What we talked about Read more about Ourboro, and how it works to help homebuyers afford a 20 percent downpayment on their first home. (See the math). Learn why real estate investor Miles Nadal’s Peerage Capital backs Ourboro. Why strangers in B.C. are co-owning housing together, on The CJN Daily. 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)

    24 min

  2. -2 J

    Sylvan Adams speaks out after anti-Israel vandals smashed the McGill building with his name on it

    On Oct. 7, 2024, more than a thousand anti-Zionist protesters marched through downtown Montreal toward McGill University as part of a “Week of Rage” to mark the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza. Despite a heavy security presence at McGill, some protesters managed to storm onto the campus, smashing through barricades and vandalizing the Sylvan Adams Sports Science Institute on Pine Ave. The site—still under construction—is named for Adams, the Canadian-Israeli billionaire who, in 2022, donated $29 million to the Montreal university, then called the largest-ever gift to a Canadian campus. His philanthropy focuses primarily on athletics, both in his home province of Quebec and in Israel; in response, pro-Palestinian groups have accused him of “sportswashing” Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. As a major donor, Adams has been paying close attention to how McGill has managed the year-long campus protests, including the first tent city encampment in Canada, set up in April. He has harsh words for Montreal’s mayor, who he blames for letting Jew-hatred run rampant in the city. And, although he can’t take his money back from McGill, Adams is trying to influence the university’s actions in his own way. He joins The CJN Daily to discuss all this and more—including his criticism of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Adams' dreams of reuniting Pink Floyd (minus Roger Waters) to play in Israel one day. What we talked about Read more about Sylvan Adams’ $29 million donation in 2022 to fund a sports sciences institute at McGill University, in The CJN.  Learn why McGill won a 10-day court injunction to block protesters from disrupting campus, beginning on Oct. 8, 2024, in The CJN. How Concordia's Jewish students won an injunction that ended Oct. 12 blocking violent protests, on The CJN Daily. 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)

    26 min

  3. 10 OCT.

    Samidoun: Why Jewish leaders and Pierre Poilievre want it declared a terrorist squad

    You may have heard recently about Samidoun, an extremist, anti-Israel, organization with a branch in Vancouver, ostensibly working to liberate Palestinian prisoners convicted of terrorism in Israel and elsewhere. This week, Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the federal Conservatives, demanded the government declare Samidoun a terrorist organization—as several other countries have already done. Doing so would block Samidoun’s ability to fundraise and would make it a crime for anyone to support it. Jewish leaders have long urged the same thing, citing evidence that Samidoun’s Canadian-based founders are members of a militant anarchist terrorist group known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The PFLP is outlawed in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Israel and many other countries for carrying out dozens of suicide bombings, assassinations and airplane hijackings. But Samidoun’s status in Canada fell under scrutiny this week, after the group organized protests to coincide with the anniversary of Oct. 7. Some supporters tried to set fire to a Canadian flag, calling, “Death to Canada, death to USA and death to Israel.” Meanwhile, authorities in British Columbia were forced to lift bail conditions that had prevented Samidoun’s Vancouver-based director, Charlotte Kates, from participating in any protests for a period of six months. Kates was arrested in April after giving an antisemitic speech that praised the Oct. 7 massacre. But charges had not yet been laid before the bail deadline expired on Oct. 8. Kates is married to Khaled Barakat, suspected of being a high-ranking member of the PFLP, who also was granted Canadian citizenship. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we’re joined by Gerald Steinberg, who founded the pro-Israel research institute NGO Monitor, to explain more about Samidoun’s terrorist ties and outline its operations on Canadian campuses. What we talked about Read when Vancouver police arrested Charlotte Kates of Samidoun in May 1, 2024 after she praised the Oct. 7 massacre during a public rally in Vancouver, in The CJN. Read NGO Monitor’s fact sheet about Samidoun in Canada. Watch B’nai Brith’s video compilation of Samidoun director Charlotte Kates speeches in Toronto and elsewhere supporting convicted terrorists and suicide bombers, and sign a petition demanding Ottawa act. 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)

    23 min

  4. 9 OCT.

    'We carry this pain. It doesn't break us': how Canadian Jews marked Oct. 7's anniversary

    In Montreal, 8,000 people watched wreaths laid on the stage. In Toronto, 20,000 people recited the Kaddish prayer. An interfaith choir sung in Ottawa. All across Canada, tens of thousands of Canadians gathered to observe the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel and remember the Jewish victims who had Canadian ties. The Oct. 7 anniversary also sparked political controversy in the House of Commons, when Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre condemned the Liberal government’s stance on Israel’s right to defend itself, and for not doing more to curb the explosion of antisemitism we’ve seen in Canada after Oct. 7. While the prime minister was absent from Question Period—he spoke to Ottawa’s Jewish community in person later that evening—all lawmakers in the House of Commons agreed to observe a moment of silence for the 1,200 Israeli victims of that dark day. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, you’ll hear the politicians trade accusations across the floor of Parliament, and also hear some of what Jewish Canada sounded like from coast to coast, as Jews and non-Jewish allies marked the solemn anniversary of Oct. 7. What we talked about: Read Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement on Oct. 7, 2024 and also watch his remarks and those of Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre speaking at the Jewish Federation of Ottawa’s evening vigil. Watch the Montreal Jewish community memorial rally here. Watch the Toronto Jewish community rally here. Watch the Vancouver rally here. 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)

    23 min

  5. 7 OCT.

    'There was literally nothing to come back to': Oct. 7 survivor Thomas Hand shares his story with Canadians

    Kibbutz Be’eri survivor Thomas Hand spent nearly a month last year believing his youngest daughter Emily, then 8, had been killed by Hamas terrorists who stormed their Israeli farming community on Oct. 7 and slaughtered over 100 residents. Hand would later learn that Emily had actually been one of the 30 Kibbutz Be’eri residents kidnapped into Gaza that day. The girl was held for 50 days-not in a tunnel, as it turns out, but in private apartments together four other Kibbutz members and also with Noa Argamani, the Nova music festival hostage, until the cease-fire/ prisoner exchange in November 2023 saw Emily among those released. Hand, 64, and his daughter, now 9, are trying to rebuild their lives. They and others from Be’eri have moved into a new temporary home at Kibbutz Hazterim, near Beersheba, away from their own bullet-riddled house, while the kibbutz rebuilds. Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, Hand and his daughter flew to Canada, to Vancouver, to share their story, and also some memories of Canadian victim Vivian Silver, a neighbour on the kibbutz. On this episode of The CJN Daily, Thomas Hand joins host Ellin Bessner, with some tough words for the Canadian government, which he accused of “giving Hamas a reward for the violence caused to Israeli citizens.” What we talked about: Read more about the memorial projects being assembled for the victims of Oct. 7, including Vivian Silver, of Kibbutz Be’eri, in The CJN. Learn more about Kibbutz Be’eri’s fundraising campaign to return home in 2026. Here’s a list of memorial events being held for Oct. 7 across Canada, in The CJN. Example 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)

    24 min

  6. 1 OCT.

    Ottawa just overhauled its grant program for security upgrades. Some Jewish leaders call it a ‘game-changer’

    Just before Canadian Jews gather to observe the New Year on Wednesday, the federal government has announced some long-requested changes to a program that has helped nearly 500 synagogues, schools and community centres pay for panic buttons, security cameras, fencing and other vital safety equipment to date. Until now, Jewish leaders have long complained that Public Safety Canada’s Security Infrastructure Program (SIP) had too much red tape and hasn’t covered nearly enough of the financial burden for keeping Jews safe to worship, study and play–especially in the face of rising antisemitism. The new program–now called Canada Community Security Program–may also have more money to hand out, although how much is unclear. Ottawa said $65 million. and $16 million this year. Most importantly, Ottawa says it will now pay 70 percent of the costs to install security equipment, up from 50 per cent. And the same goes for hiring temporary security guards from Sept. 24, 2024, until after the High Holidays have ended. Daycare centres, cemeteries and Jewish offices are now also eligible to apply. Ottawa will also raise the cap to fund big reno projects from $100,000 to $1.5 million. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we find out why some Jewish leaders are already calling the government announcement a “game-changer.” We speak with Jason Murray, head of the security advisory committee for Vancouver’s Jewish federation; Gary Gladstone, a consultant to many Jewish groups applying for these grants; and Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, Canada’s special advisor to the Prime Minister on antisemitism, who has been advocating for these changes. What we talked about When Montreal’s Jewish Community Council asked Ottawa to fix the SIP program after school shootings post-Oct. 7, in The CJN. Read the federal government’s announcement on Sept 24, 2024 outlining changes to the Security Infrastructure Program, now called the Canada Community Security Program. After Vancouver’s Schara Tzedeck synagogue was lit aflame, the congregation left the burned front doors unfixed for a long time. Here’s why on The CJN Daily. 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)

    19 min

  7. 26 SEPT.

    82-year-old rabbi acquitted of decades-old sex-crime accusations in Montreal

    Rabbi Shlomo Leib (Leon) Mund walked out of a Montreal courthouse a free man on Sept. 25, after a Court of Quebec judge acquitted the 82-year-old rabbi of two sex-crime charges dating back to when the high-profile religious leader taught at an Orthodox school and offered unlicensed marriage counselling in the 1980s and 1990s. The CJN can’t identify the complainant due to a court-ordered publication ban on their identity. But the case made headlines in Canada and Israel in the spring of 2022 after Mund was arrested at the Toronto airport. The widower has since been living under house arrest in Toronto for nearly two and a half years while his case wound through the Quebec legal system. The court heard the alleged victim testify how, when they were seven or eight years old, Mund allegedly sexually assaulted them in the back seat of his car near the rabbi’s former Montreal home in 1997. Mund always denied the accusations. In the 29-page ruling, the judge noted the complainant's “inconsistent statement to [their] husband” about what happened, which “undermines [their] credibility and the reliability of [their] testimony.” The court also heard suggestions the alleged victim hoped to get justice for other members of the family and for Jewish women in the city’s Orthodox community who say the rabbi had also sexually assaulted them. The CJN Daily‘s Ellin Bessner was at the courthouse for the verdict. On today’s episode, she speaks with lawyers for both sides, as well as officials with the ZA’AKAH organization, which supports child sexual abuse victims in the Orthodox community. You’ll also hear from Ruth Pinsky Krevsky, who approached Montreal police about her own allegations of inappropriated behaviour by Rabbi Mund years ago—but was never called to testify during this trial. What we talked about Read our original story on the arrest and charges laid against Rabbi Shlomo Leib (Leon) Mund in April 2022, in The CJN. Hear our interview with the complainant in May 2022 on why she came forward after 25 years, on The CJN Daily Read what the judge wrote in the R. vs. Mund verdict and hear from the new survivor who has come forward now, 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)

    25 min

  8. 24 SEPT.

    ‘Erodes the public trust’: Elected officials react to TDSB field trip rally with anti-Israel chants

    Ontario Premier Doug Ford has blasted the Toronto District School Board for allowing some teachers to “indoctrinate” students with anti-Israel chants during a recent field trip that was ostensibly a learning event about justice for Canada’s Indigenous people. :"It's disgusting," Ford told reporters on Monday. Meanwhile, Ford’s education minister, Jill Dunlop, also slammed what she called “activist” public school teachers, who she said compromised student safety and breached the trust of the parents who had signed permission forms. The event in question involved 15 public schools, which brought students to the annual Grassy Narrows River Run on Sept. 18. The rally and march spreads awareness about the First Nation community in remote Northwestern Ontario that has spent decades fighting for justice after a local factory poisoned their water system with mercury. But parents have reported that a few teachers with a pro-Palestine agenda used the event to spread their own message about a totally separate issue: the Middle East conflict. In videos posted online, they can be seen using a megaphone to lead their students in chanting anti-Israel slogans; some participants in the event are wearing keffiyehs, and carrying banners calling for "From Wabigoon (the lake near Grassy Narrows) to the Dead Sea, We will all be free." Shelley Laskin is a school board trustee who represents the heavily Jewish Ward 8 (Eglinton-Lawrence and Toronto-St. Paul’s). Laskin joins The CJN Daily to explain why she demanded a special public school board meeting be held this Wednesday, Sept. 25, to look into the incident that “erodes the public trust” in Canada’s largest school board. What we talked about Read about the TDSB's reaction to the incident in The CJN. Read how the TDSB adopted an anti racism policy that includes anti-Palestinian racism but, at first, didn’t include antisemitism, in The CJN. Watch the TDSB special meeting live on Wednesday Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. 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)

    20 min
Tout afficher (599)

Bande-annonce

4,7
sur 5
42 notes

À propos

Newsmaker conversations from The Canadian Jewish News, hosted by Ellin Bessner, a veteran broadcaster, writer and journalist.

Informations

  • Créateur
    The CJN Podcast Network
  • Années d’activité
    2021 - 2024
  • Épisodes
    599
  • Classement
    Tout public
  • Copyright
    © 2021 The CJN
  • Site Web de l’émission
    The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi

Pour écouter des épisodes au contenu explicite, connectez‑vous.

Suivez l’actualité de cette émission

Connectez-vous ou abonnez-vous pour suivre des émissions, enregistrer des épisodes et obtenir les dernières mises à jour.
Sélectionnez un pays ou une région

Afrique, Moyen-Orient et Inde

Asie-Pacifique

Europe

Amérique latine et les Caraïbes

Les États-Unis et le Canada