The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Queen Elizabeth II was 'good for the Jews' even though she never visited Israel: tributes from Canada and Britain on her death
12 Sep 2022
This episode reflects on Queen Elizabeth II's notable relationship with Jewish communities, acknowledging her support for Holocaust memorial initiatives and ...
12 Sep 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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For the first time ever, Jewish RCMP officers can now wear kippot on duty
8 Sep 2022
This episode discusses the significant policy change by the RCMP to allow Jewish officers to wear kippot while on duty, a move driven by advocacy from B'nai ...
8 Sep 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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How Vancouver's Jews are fundraising one of the most expensive Jewish building projects in Canadian history
7 Sep 2022
The CJN Daily explores the immense $450 million Jewish community center project, JWest, in Vancouver, which promises to greatly expand community resources ov...
7 Sep 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Alex Polowin, who lied about his age to fight Nazis in Europe, dedicated his life to peace and education
6 Sep 2022
This episode of The CJN Daily pays tribute to Alex Polowin, a heroic WWII veteran, who as a young Canadian Jew, lied about his age to join the Navy and fight...
6 Sep 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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50 years after the Munich Olympics, Germany will finally apologize to victims' families—and a Canadian filmmaker has been sharing their story
1 Sep 2022
The episode discusses the formal apology and compensation offered by Germany to the families of the 11 Israeli athletes killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics on...
1 Sep 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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How Alexandre Matte channelled his Jewish roots to come second in Toastmasters' global public-speaking contest
31 Aug 2022
This episode features Alexandre Matte, a professional storyteller rooted in both Jewish and Francophone traditions, who recently placed second in the Toastma...
31 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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He thought his family was wiped out in the Holocaust. Then he discovered 75,000 distant relatives—including Bob Dylan and Bette Midler
30 Aug 2022
This episode of The CJN Daily delves into the remarkable story of the Kuklya family, whose extensive genealogy project uncovered 75,000 relatives, including ...
30 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Industry watchdog urges Benjamin's funeral home 'do the right thing for grieving families'—or risk losing their license
29 Aug 2022
This episode delves into the unsettling practices of Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, a major Jewish funeral home in Canada, focusing on their controversial ...
29 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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'I was gaslit continuously': Alexandra Lulka Rotman speaks out about her antisemitism battle with Toronto's school board
25 Aug 2022
Alexandra Lulka Rotman discusses her battle with the Toronto District School Board after being falsely accused of Islamophobia for condemning anti-Israel edu...
25 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Death doesn’t take a holiday: Remembering some significant deaths in Jewish Canada from summer 2022
24 Aug 2022
This episode of The CJN Daily reflects on the lives and contributions of six notable Canadian Jews who passed away in the summer of 2022. Through these stori...
24 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Thousands of Jews are flying to Switzerland to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the first Zionist Congress
23 Aug 2022
This episode of The CJN Daily delves into the significance of the 125th anniversary of the first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, where thousands of J...
23 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Mark Goldberg spent years tracking Laith Marouf's hateful tweets. Now, the Canadian government is taking action
22 Aug 2022
Mark Goldberg has been tracking Laith Marouf's antisemitic online behavior since 2016, leading to recent government scrutiny over funding Marouf's anti-racis...
22 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Greatest Hits: Meet the oldest bat mitzvah celebrant in Canada—and one of the youngest
18 Aug 2022
This episode highlights the evolution of the bat mitzvah ceremony in Canada through the stories of Miriam Lieff, who held Canada's first bat mitzvah in 1949,...
18 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Greatest Hits: Pulling a rabbit out of their virtual hats, these magicians transformed a pandemic into financial success
17 Aug 2022
Magicians Ben Train and Jonah Babins, co-founders of the Toronto Magic Company, discuss their journey from pandemic-related setbacks to achieving financial s...
17 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Greatest Hits: How Zoom is helping to revive Jewish folk music in Canada
16 Aug 2022
This episode explores how Canadian Jewish folk music festivals like KlezKanada and the Ashkenaz Festival have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic by pivoting to ...
16 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Greatest Hits: At nearly 80 years old, Gary Averbach is trekking 1,000km across Canada for cancer research
15 Aug 2022
The episode features Gary Averbach, a 79-year-old real estate mogul and philanthropist from Vancouver, as he completes a 1,000km trek from Calgary to Vancouv...
15 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Greatest Hits: Modern diets are making us fat: A Canadian author explains food cravings
11 Aug 2022
In this episode, Canadian journalist Mark Schatzker discusses his book "The End of Craving" which explores how modern diets and food additives disrupt our br...
11 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Greatest Hits: Meet the woman at the centre of Jewish life in Abu Dhabi: Canada's ambassador
10 Aug 2022
This episode highlights Canada's ambassador to the UAE, Marcy Grossman, who has significantly influenced Jewish life in the UAE, particularly following the A...
10 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Greatest Hits: At 13, he got an Apple Watch. At 14, he built a daily prayer app for it
9 Aug 2022
Eitan Steinfeld, a 14-year-old from Toronto, developed the WatchSiddur app for Apple Watch users to access daily Jewish prayers conveniently. Despite limited...
9 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Greatest Hits: A Jewish-Indigenous family explains the importance of truth and reconciliation
8 Aug 2022
This episode features a conversation with a Jewish-Indigenous couple who reflect on their interfaith relationship and discuss the significance of the Nationa...
8 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Meet the Canadian behind Globle, the web's hot new geography game
4 Aug 2022
In this episode, Abe Train, the developer of the geography-based game Globle, discusses his journey from leaving a corporate job to creating a popular online...
4 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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We visited the set of Adam Sandler’s bat mitzvah movie being filmed in Toronto
3 Aug 2022
This episode of The CJN Daily explores the filming of Adam Sandler’s new Netflix film, 'You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,' at Beth Tzedec Synagogue i...
3 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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For nearly 40 years, Benjamin’s funeral home foundation has been keeping 10% of charity donations—until a family sued
2 Aug 2022
In this episode of The CJN Daily, Ellin Bessner covers the legal battle between the Zisman family and Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel over undisclosed admini...
2 Aug 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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At nearly 80 years old, Gary Averbach is trekking 1,000km across Canada for cancer research
28 Jul 2022
On this episode of The CJN Daily, Gary Averbach discusses his personal journey walking 1,000 kilometers across Canada to honor a promise to his late cousin a...
28 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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The butterfly effect: Why the endangered monarch is a Jewish issue
27 Jul 2022
This episode explores the relationship between the endangered monarch butterfly and the Jewish concept of tikkun olam or repairing the world. Monarch advocat...
27 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Go behind the scenes of Zach Hyman's very Jewish charity golf tournament
26 Jul 2022
This episode highlights NHL star Zach Hyman's involvement in philanthropy through his celebrity golf tournament aimed at raising funds for Jewish Federations...
26 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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It’s been a year since Canada’s national antisemitism summit. What has been accomplished?
25 Jul 2022
One year after Canada's first National Summit on Antisemitism, there is a mixed assessment of progress; while legislative advancements have been made, such a...
25 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Meet the Canadian lawyer whose one-act play just won a top Israeli prize
20 Jul 2022
This episode discusses Gabriel Emanuel, a Canadian lawyer-turned-playwright, who won the Israeli Prime Minister's Prize for his play about Menachem Begin. It...
20 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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80 years after his death, a Canadian war hero's art finally finds an audience
19 Jul 2022
Nick Yudell, a Canadian Jewish war hero and gifted photographer, left behind a treasure trove of hundreds of film negatives depicting everyday life in Manito...
19 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Hitmen murdered her son. Eight years later, she's written a tell-all of her grief and survival
18 Jul 2022
This episode of The CJN Daily delves into the tragic murder of Dan Markel, focusing on his mother, Ruth Markel's journey through grief and advocacy, culminat...
18 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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How Yukon’s tiny Jewish community is surviving the worst wildfires in a generation
14 Jul 2022
Yukon's Jewish community of 38 people, led by Rick Karp, is facing the challenge of surviving the region's worst wildfires in decades, while working to estab...
14 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Jewish organizations are outraged over 'bizarre' Montreal court case putting the Holocaust on trial
13 Jul 2022
This episode discusses the trial of Gabriel Sohier Chaput, a neo-Nazi charged with inciting hatred against Jews, which shockingly turned into a debate about ...
13 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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This 80-year-old Montrealer just celebrated her bat mitzvah for the first time
12 Jul 2022
Ruth Cooperstock celebrated her bat mitzvah at the age of 80, becoming the oldest Canadian woman to achieve this milestone as part of a Reconstructionist Jud...
12 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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'I must tell the world what happened': Max Eisen, in his own words
11 Jul 2022
This episode commemorates Max Eisen, a prominent Holocaust survivor and educator, who dedicated his life to spreading messages of tolerance and confronting e...
11 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Meet the flagbearers leading Canada’s team of 600 into the 21st Maccabiah Games
7 Jul 2022
This episode of The CJN Daily features an interview with three Canadian athletes selected as flagbearers for the Canadian delegation at the 21st Maccabiah Ga...
7 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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'A better Canada because of him': Tributes pour in at the funeral for renowned historian Irving Abella
6 Jul 2022
This episode of The CJN Daily highlights the achievements and personal life of the late historian Irving Abella, known for his impactful work on Canadian imm...
6 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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A new philanthropic initiative asks wealthy Canadians to donate half their posthumous charitable givings to Jewish causes—but the uptake is slow
5 Jul 2022
The Jewish Future Pledge asks wealthy Jews to allocate 50% of their testamentary charitable donations to Jewish causes but has found limited uptake in Canada...
5 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Camp Kadimah just reopened for its 79th year. Meet the family who's been there for 77 of them
4 Jul 2022
The episode features a nostalgic look at Camp Kadimah in Nova Scotia through the experiences of the Conter-Abramsky family, with four generations having atte...
4 Jul 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Despite shattered goodwill, El Al could return to Toronto next spring, expert predicts
30 Jun 2022
This episode discusses the impacts of El Al's decision to suspend its direct flights from Toronto to Tel Aviv, a move prompted by COVID-19 disruptions but cr...
30 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Ellis Jacob, CEO of Cineplex, is banking on blockbusters to recover from COVID and inflation
29 Jun 2022
The episode features an in-depth conversation with Ellis Jacob, CEO of Cineplex, discussing the challenges and strategies of reviving the cinema industry pos...
29 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Roman Baber is the Jewish political maverick hoping to lead the Conservative party—and all of Canada
28 Jun 2022
This episode delves into Roman Baber's journey as an independent Jewish politician in Canada, highlighting his controversial stance on vaccine mandates and h...
28 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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The CJN Daily Dead Beat, Part Deux
27 Jun 2022
This episode of The CJN Daily honors influential Canadian Jews who have passed recently, highlighting their impactful lives with stories and contributions to...
27 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Canadian Jewish community stunned by El Al's decision to cease its Toronto route
23 Jun 2022
This episode discusses El Al's abrupt decision to cease its Toronto flights by October 2022, a move that has shocked the Canadian Jewish community. Community...
23 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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After 2 years of lockdowns, Ottawa’s Jewish community threw one giant party for 115 b’nai mitzvah
22 Jun 2022
This episode highlights a massive celebration in Ottawa for 115 Jewish teenagers who had their b’nai mitzvahs during the pandemic, facilitated by Kehillat Be...
22 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Shopify’s Harley Finkelstein wants to bring Jewish life back to downtown Ottawa
21 Jun 2022
In this episode, Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify, discusses his philanthropic efforts to reinvigorate Jewish life in downtown Ottawa by supporting t...
21 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Meet the real rabbi who starred in Drake’s controversial new music video
20 Jun 2022
In this episode of The CJN Daily, Ari Sitnik discusses his unexpected role officiating Drake’s controversial wedding in the singer's new music video. Despite...
20 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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This gripping new photo exhibit showcases 161 Holocaust survivors with links to Calgary
16 Jun 2022
The "Here to Tell" exhibit at Calgary's Glenbow Museum honors 161 Holocaust survivors linked to the city through intimate photographs and stories, highlighti...
16 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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How Jews brought the movies to Val-d'Or, Que.—and how the city is celebrating them today
15 Jun 2022
The episode explores the Kaplan family's significant contribution to the cultural fabric of Val-d'Or, Quebec, highlighting their establishment of the Capitol...
15 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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Cancelled by COVID 4 times, this couple's wedding party is finally happening
14 Jun 2022
Zane and Baden Colt, a Jewish couple from Toronto, discuss their challenges in having to reschedule their wedding multiple times due to COVID-19, finally set...
14 Jun 2022
The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner
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'I don’t know if justice will ever be served for him': Survivor speaks out against 79-year-old rabbi accused of sex crimes
13 Jun 2022
This episode addresses the arrest of Rabbi Shlomo Leib Mund on charges of sexual assault, casting a light on the historical handling of sex crime accusations...
13 Jun 2022