The CJR is taking a well-deserved break! We will go on hiatus as of Thursday, December 24. Happy New Year!
A Note from the Publisher: The Bridge is Now Completed
Dec. 23, 2020 The Canadian Jewish Record was born at a fraught time in the history of Canadian Jewish journalism. Our lofty goal in April 2020, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, was to be a bridge between the recently shuttered Canadian Jewish News and its hoped-for return. Despite nay-sayers who predicted that our … Continue reading “A Note from the Publisher: The Bridge is Now Completed”
Latest News
Canada Announces More Funding for UNRWA
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 … Continue reading “Canada Announces More Funding for UNRWA”
Retired Supreme Court Judge to Head U of T Hiring Controversy
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, who left the high court in 2016, will … Continue reading “Retired Supreme Court Judge to Head U of T Hiring Controversy”
COVID Slams Hamilton’s Shalom Village
Dec. 18, 2020 By STEVE ARNOLD Hamilton’s Jewish retirement home kept COVID infections at bay for nine months, but now, Shalom Village is being hammered by the deadly infection. By Wednesday of this week, Shalom Village’s interim CEO, Larry Levin, reported that four people died from the virus and another 81 were infected throughout the … Continue reading “COVID Slams Hamilton’s Shalom Village”
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Commentary
Complacency Leads to Complicity
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, … Continue reading “Complacency Leads to Complicity”
Unelected, Unaccountable, Untroubled: CIJA Says What it Wants, Then Says it Speaks For Us
Dec. 16, 2020 By ANDREW COHEN Since its induced birth a decade ago, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has offered full-throated support for the government of Israel. As official advocate of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, it suggests it speaks for Canadian Jewry. That CIJA “represents hundreds of thousands of Jewish Canadians affiliated … Continue reading “Unelected, Unaccountable, Untroubled: CIJA Says What it Wants, Then Says it Speaks For Us”
Dayeinu: Enough About the UN Vote
December 11, 2020 – By ZACK BABINS For most of 2020, same-sex marriage in Israel was effectively illegal. Well, that’s not quite true, and I apologize for the sensationalism. The truth is that same-sex marriage has never been legal in Israel. It’s “recognized,” which isn’t quite the same. LGBTQ+ Israelis, or any Israelis who, for … Continue reading “Dayeinu: Enough About the UN Vote”
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COVID-19
Dr. Rachel Pearl: Keeping Kids Safe at School
Sept. 29, 2020 – By SUSAN MINUK It has been just a few weeks 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 works as a pediatric … Continue reading “Dr. Rachel Pearl: Keeping Kids Safe at School”
COVID Silences Jewish Choirs: Reform’s First Female Cantor
STEVE ARNOLD Jewish choirs have gone silent in the wake of the COVID, and Reform Judaism’s first ordained female cantor warns the music won’t come back soon. Cantor Barbara Ostfeld told a virtual audience at Hamilton’s Temple Anshe Sholom recently that choirs will have to get past the fact that they are fertile fields for … Continue reading “COVID Silences Jewish Choirs: Reform’s First Female Cantor”
Surviving COVID – With Real Survivors
By MARY SIKLOS I am not trivializing the situation. Life during this COVID misery is difficult. Life as we knew it has changed drastically. People are isolated from friends and relatives. Lots of people can’t work from home. Many have lost their jobs and encountered serious financial difficulties. People have not seen their children or … Continue reading “Surviving COVID – With Real Survivors”
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Arts and Culture
She Smiled Again: Ruth Lowe’s Biography Hits the Right Notes
Dec. 23, 2020 By RUTH SCHWEITZER The long-awaited biography of Ruth Lowe, the Jewish songwriter from Toronto who helped launch Frank Sinatra’s career, has finally been published. I’ll Never Smile Again held the No. 1 spot on Billboard for 12 weeks in 1940 and has since become a standard that’s been covered by many jazz … Continue reading “She Smiled Again: Ruth Lowe’s Biography Hits the Right Notes”
It’s Short, but Film About Birthright Packs Meaning
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 … Continue reading “It’s Short, but Film About Birthright Packs Meaning”
The Tailor Project: Our Brothers’ Keepers
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 … Continue reading “The Tailor Project: Our Brothers’ Keepers”
On the Record: Canadian Jewish Musicians of Note
Dec. 18, 2020 Dave Cohen (Aug. 8, 1985 – ): Country Music Keyboard Player, Songwriter, Producer By DAVID EISENSTADT “Nashville cats, play clean as country waterNashville cats, play wild as mountain dewNashville cats, been playin’ since they’s babiesNashville cats, get work before they’re two…” Defined by that Zal Yanovsky/Lovin’ Spoonful lyric, country music keyboard player … Continue reading “On the Record: Canadian Jewish Musicians of Note”
A Family History is Told Through Possessions Left Behind
Dec. 18, 2020 By JANICE ARNOLD MONTREAL—Clearing out a home after a parent dies or moves to a care facility is bound to evoke memories and often turn up surprises. Toronto writer Sharon Kirsch’s widowed mother’s departure for a seniors’ residence and the sale of the family home set Kirsch on a years-long research project. … Continue reading “A Family History is Told Through Possessions Left Behind”
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Lifestyle
With a Stethoscope and a Spatula
Oct. 6, 2020 By SHARON GELBACH The festivals of Sukkot, Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret are the pinnacle of the High Holidays, celebrating the gathering in of the harvest. But does the more-than-weeklong feasting with family and friends mean that we must resign ourselves to excess weight? “Not at all,” pronounced Dr. Rani Polak, founding … Continue reading “With a Stethoscope and a Spatula”
Traditional Desserts Sweeten New Year Celebrations
Sept. 11, 2020 – By BARBARA SILVERSTEIN Shabbat Shalom and welcome to “Kitchen Talk,” the weekly food blog of the CJR. This week, I was thrilled to meet Marcy Goldman, the Montreal-based master baker and author of the iconic cookbook, A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking. Originally published in 1998, it was the first cookbook … Continue reading “Traditional Desserts Sweeten New Year Celebrations”
More Helpings of Iconic Kosher Cookbook
Aug. 7, 2020 – By BARBARA SILVERSTEIN Due to popular demand, Second Helpings, Please!, the iconic kosher cookbook, is back in print. After 50-plus years, this best-selling Canadian cookbook has returned to its roots: The new edition – the 18th – is being published by B’nai Brith Canada, the volume’s original publisher 52 years ago. … Continue reading “More Helpings of Iconic Kosher Cookbook”
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The Canadian Jewish Record is a volunteer based online publication. From the editorial board, writers, lawyer, accountant, illustrator to technical support and everyone in between, none of us get paid. With the demise of the Canadian Jewish News, we are doing our best to bring you information of interest, especially during the pandemic.