North Star with Ellin Bessner

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

  1. HACE 2 H

    Israel’s Final Flag Raising in Toronto Was a Celebration, Not a Flashpoint

    For about a dozen years, the City of Toronto has displayed Israel’s flag each spring on a ceremonial courtesy pole to mark the Jewish State’s Independence Day. The annual event drew little attention—until the Oct. 7 war reshaped the context and protests have spilled onto local streets ever since. Last fall, a Jewish advocacy group sought to block what would have been the first Palestinian flag raising at Toronto City Hall. The court challenge failed. But the escalating tensions prompted Toronto City Council, including Mayor Olivia Chow, to vote on March 26 to end all foreign flag raisings as of Dec. 1, in hopes of “lowering the temperature.” Chow had previously called the Israeli flag ceremony “divisive.” Toronto now joins other municipalities stepping back from the practice, including Calgary and Mississauga, where a sudden ban adopted on Passover cancelled the planned Israeli flag raising there this week. On this episode of The CJN’s North Star, host Ellin Bessner went to what may be Toronto’s final Israel flag ceremony—one marked by defiance and sadness, and a surprising absence because for the first time in two years there were no protesters. Related stories Opinion: Are Israeli flag raising in Canada good or bad for the Jewish community, on The CJN’s Not In Heaven podcast. Tensions over Palestinian flag raising last November at Toronto City Hall, in The CJN . Check out the list of flags raised at the City of Toronto courtesy flagpole in 2026. Israel was the last one, so far. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

    23 min

  2. HACE 1 DÍA

    Israel at 78 Through A Sabra Who Was There—and a Son of 1948

    On Israel’s 78th birthday, Israelis are marking that moment during a very different reality—two years after the October 7 attack, and in the wake of a ceasefire from a widening regional conflict that includes the U.S., Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon. In 1948, the founders declared Israel’s independence with a manually typed paper invitation to a secret, hurried ceremony in a secure basement, with a sense of both triumph and fear. Modern Israel has a powerful army, but the country continues to sacrifice its young defenders, while Israelis have spent countless hours in recent months sheltering in their secure basements and safe rooms to hide from incoming enemy rockets and drones. This Yom ha-Atzmaut, our guests say the Jewish State is both an idea fulfilled, and a story that is still unfolding. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner brings you her interviews with two guests who embody the story of Israel: Hadassa Kingstone, 89, who was an eye witness to the birth of her country, and David Matlow, The CJN’s “Treasure Trove” columnist. Follow David Matlow’s “Treasure Trove” columns about the history of Israel through his vast collection of Zionist and Herzl memorabilia, in The CJN . Our readers share their own memories of Israel on her recent 75th birthday, in The CJN from 2023 . Hear Israeli American writer Yossi Klein Halevi, who lives part time in British Columbia, speak for Israel’s 76th birthday on why Israelis are "still an enormously powerful people” after Oct. 7, on The CJN Daily . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

    27 min

  3. HACE 3 DÍAS

    From Hannah Senesh to Hersh Goldberg-Polin: the Meaning of Jewish Heroism today

    In his new book, Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe, Matti Friedman sets out to uncover the short life of Holocaust heroine Hannah Senesh and several of her comrades. It is the second book of late to revisit the story of the Hungarian-born Zionist who became a British-trained parachutist sent from Mandatory Palestine into Nazi-occupied Europe. Friedman argues that after Senesh’s capture and execution in 1944, the young State of Israel helped shape her into a national icon because of a broader need for stories of heroism to inspire the next generation. His book is dedicated to the memories of two modern-day symbols of Jewish bravery after Oct. 7 whom Friedman knew personally: slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the young Nova Festival captive and Yuval Shoham, his friend who was an IDF tank corpsman and went searching for Hersh while on duty in Gaza before he, too, lost his life. The book arrives ahead of Yom ha-Shoah, Yom ha-Zikaron—the memorial day for Israel’s war dead including victims of terrorism, which begins tonight—and Yom ha-Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, which falls the day after. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Matti Friedman about why, tragically, heroism is still being asked of the descendants of Senesh’s generation. Related links Learn more about Matti’s Friedman and his new book “Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe” by McClelland and Stewart Canada . Watch the new rap song about Hannah Senesh by Kosha Dillz, on YouTube . Hear Canadian author Douglas Century explain why he resisted Hannah Senesh’s life in his new book which came out in November 2025, called “Crash of the Heavens”, on The CJN’s North Star podcast. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

    29 min

  4. HACE 6 DÍAS

    Ahead of Yom ha-Zikaron, this Rabbi’s new book confronts trauma, Oct. 7 and the power of forgiveness

    Forgiveness is often framed as a moral ideal. But what happens when the wound is still open? In his new book The Forgiveness Experiment, Rabbi Yisroel Bernath of Montreal makes the case that forgiveness is a form of self-liberation, not a gift to those who caused you harm. After Yom ha-Shoah but ahead of Yom ha-Zikaron on Monday April 20, that idea collides with a painful reality: for many Jews, October 7 is not history: it is still happening. As is the war with Iran and Hezbollah. Among the 30,000 soldiers and victims of terror being remembered is the name of Yotam Haim. The kidnapped Israeli hostage managed to escape his captors in Gaza but then was mistakenly killed by the IDF. His family has publicly forgiven the troops involved. That story of grace despite horrific pain is part of Rabbi Bernath’s new book. Bernath is a relationship expert, leader with the Chabad community in N.D.G. and at Concordia University. He lays out his own personal path and tackles the question of how to move on from being a victim. On today’s episode of The CJN’s “North Star” podcast, Rabbi Bernath sits down with our producer Andrea Varsany to reveal how he did it. Related links Learn more about Rabbi Yisroel Bernath Find the book “ The Forgiveness Experiment” to read his lessons on forgiveness and on moving forward from trauma and pain to peace. Rabbi Bernath was one of The CJN’s relationship columnists before the pandemic and now runs a Jewish matchmaking service. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

    31 min

  5. 15 ABR

    The Story Behind the Kosher Canadian Cereal that Just Flew Around the Moon

    Toronto entrepreneurs Daniel Carson and Daniel Schreiber have been revelling in the spotlight ever since the Artemis ll astronauts blasted off into space on April 1. That’s because the best friends’ Goldy’s Superseed Strawberry Lavender breakfast cereal was along for the ride as part of the historic mission’s menu. Their product is made in a KSA-certified kosher plant in Etobicoke. It was personally selected by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen to be among his home-grown pantry during the crew’s 400,000 kilometre journey around the moon. It is the farthest distance any human, or cereal, has ever traveled from Earth. And while that floating jar of Nutella in the capsule garnered global attention, which was also made in Canada and is kosher, the two Daniels’ all-natural, nut-free breakfast choice comes with a secret ingredient: Jewish pride. Carson has been deeply rooted in the Jewish community, working for Camp Robin Hood and also the Magen Boys, while his childhood pal Schreiber, who he met growing up in Thornhill, was born in Israel. On today’s The CJN “North Star” podcast, they speak with host Ellin Bessner about how it all started and about their next-level ambitions to bring kosher cereal to infinity—and beyond. Related links Learn more about the two Daniels behind Goldy’s kosher KSA-certified oatmeal and cereals. Read more about the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, killed when the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded on re-entry in 2003, in The CJN. Interview with Gregory Chamitoff, a Jewish astronaut who grew up in Chomedey, Que. and went to space on board Discovery, in The CJN from 2013. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

    26 min

  6. 13 ABR

    On Yom HaShoah, Kathy Kacer Explores 13 Victims of Nazi Persecution—Jewish and Beyond

    As Yom HaShoah begins, award-winning Canadian children's author Kathy Kacer explains how 100,000 small brass plaques across Europe—known as stolpersteine—help pass Holocaust memory to the next generation. That’s why after publishing over 30 kids books with Holocaust themes, her newest effort Last Known Address, dropped just before Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Kacer uses “stolpersteine”s or “stumbling stones” to connect her young readers with the lives lost or disrupted during the Holocaust. Kacer showcases the last homes where Anne Frank and 12 lesser-known victims of Nazi persecution lived. Most of the book focuses on Jews, but she also broadens her storytelling to include others targeted by Hitler’s regime: a Roma couple, a gay German man and a mentally disabled brother. Several of her subjects survived, including the late Vera Katz Schiff of Toronto and Salman Schocken of Israel. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, Kathy Kacer joins host Ellin Bessner to describe her voyage of discovery tracing the stumbling stones, and why she keeps speaking about the Holocaust to thousands of students at hundreds of schools. Related Links Learn more and buy Kathy Kacer ’s latest book “Last Known Address ” through Second Story Press. Read more about Ellin’s personal encounter with Stolpersteine in the small German Rhine River town of Bacharach in 2017, in The CJN. Search more about the Stolpersteine on artist Gunter Demnig’s project site . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

    26 min

  7. 10 ABR

    After Her Mother’s First Yahrzeit, daughter does 100-Library Walk

    For Marci Stepak, Toronto Public Library branches were never just about books—they were where she spent time with her mother. Eunice Stepak died of breast cancer on April 7, 2025, one day before what would have been her 88th birthday. This week, marking one year since her mother's death, Stepak set out on a 10-day, 300-kilometre walk to all 100 TPL branches. She’s calling it Every Library TO and is raising funds for library outreach programs that supported her mother in her final months. In this episode of The CJN’s "North Star" podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Stepak about grief, memory and finding a way forward. Related links Follow Marci Stepak ’s memorial walk for her late mother to all of Toronto’s 100 public libraries. Learn how to donate to her TPL fundraiser. Read more about Marcie Stepak’s background in The CJN from 2010, about the show “Being Erica.” Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

    25 min

  8. 6 ABR

    50 protesters. 80 Toronto police. Did anything change at Bathurst and Sheppard?

    Two weeks after Toronto police’s new rules of engagement were announced for the duelling anti– and pro-Israel weekly demonstrations at the intersection of Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave., a small core of marchers nevertheless spread out through the heavily Jewish area. That prompted renewed expressions of frustration on Sunday, April 5, from some local residents and Jewish leaders who believe that the protesters should not be permitted to expand their traditional protest zone at the intersection. But police say there’s obviously some confusion, because they were never going to ban the anti-Israel protests entirely. Rather, they just want to keep marchers off residential side streets. So did the new rules improve safety at all? Or was the heavy police presence the key factor in keeping things a bit quieter this time? On today’s episode of The CJN’s "North Star" podcast, host Ellin Bessner brings you her on-the-ground report from the three-hour long duelling rally and march. You’ll hear from several voices, including Toronto police Inspector Israel Bernardo, who explains why the new rules may have been misunderstood; James Pasternak, the local city councillor who says the protests are taking up valuable police resources for the sake of “glorified babysitting”; lawyer and activist Michael Teper, who describes his role in sparking a recent hate crime arrest; and one resident of the neighbourhood who feels the police’s new protest zone rules actually allowed the anti-Israel demonstrations to escalate. Related stories Read more about how the new police protest rules were enforced at Bathurst and Sheppard on April 5, in The CJN. Why Toronto police announced March 22 that no protesters would be allowed to enter side streets, in The CJN. Hear legal experts denounce why so many antisemitic or anti-Israel protesters in Toronto are having their charges dropped, on The CJN’s “North Star” podcast . Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here ) Watch our podcasts on YouTube. Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

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

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