“This ending was written in stone before I even began,” author John Irving says of writing Queen Esther, his 16th novel. “The trajectory that Zionist Esther would become, this child affected by antisemitism before she was three.”

Students Supporting Israel, who sponsored the program, said the event 'turned into absolute chaos' at @torontomet.bsky.social. thecjn.ca/news/five-ar...

Thank you so much to @thecjn.bsky.social for this generous review of A Place For People Like Us 🧡📚 “A fast paced page turner that is at times thriller, romance, and Bildungsroman… highly engaging, offering a fascinating character study…sure to be enjoyed by admirers of Botha’s earlier work.”

The 2025 federal Canadian budget fails to mention security funding, but does close legal loopholes used by terrorist groups. thecjn.ca/news/canada-...

The law also ends accommodation for religious holiday leave for both staff and students in public schools, as well as no dietary accommodations based on religion, i.e., supplying kosher or halal meat for students. 🧵 Read Bill 94's full provisions: thecjn.ca/news/quebec-...

"Queen Esther", John Irving's 16th novel, hits the shelves this week. Rebecca Eckler sat down with the acclaimed author to discuss its Jewish themes. thecjn.ca/arts-culture...

If you have thoughts about my column that you wish to share *publicly* please note that @thecjn.bsky.social has letters to the editor: thecjn.ca/submissions/

"I said something like, 'Tell me something that’s gonna help me.' And he told me that 'people under occupation have the right to armed resistance.' And in that moment, all I felt was... you can’t put down your fucking front and just hold my hand for one second?" thecjn.ca/news/their-j...

A new book and an off-Broadway one-woman show are casting the spotlight on a brave Jewish Zionist icon. thecjn.ca/news/jewish-...

For @thecjn.bsky.social, I tried to make sense of all the recent 'secret Nazi' stories in (thankfully not Canadian) politics. thecjn.ca/opinion/the-...

Critics see it as infringing upon civil rights, while legal experts say it is largely symbolic. thecjn.ca/news/new-fed...

About writing post-Oct 7: “Everything is so surreal fiction can’t compare. A graduate student I supervise tells me he’s having doubts about his project. What’s the point, he says? I want to encourage him, but I have nothing,” @ayelettsabari.bsky.social wrote in an essay for New Quarterly.

Don’t get David Fisher, owner since 2022, started on how other bagel spots fail to nail the right recipe for the perfect bagel. 🧵 Archival pictures supplied by Ontario Jewish Archives.

NORTH STAR producer Andrea Varsany visited a new support group for Jews under-40. Here are their stories: thecjn.ca/news/support...

We start with our hosts: Avi Finegold, a rabbi and a writer with The CJN, and Yafa Sakkejha, a Canadian-Palestinian entrepreneur and volunteer with the Friends of Standing Together. In the first episode, they meet face-to-face for the first time and just… talk.

"That was always the joke when we were kids. Everyone claimed Shawn Green had gone to their synagogue on holidays, that they saw Shawn Green." On today's Menschwarmers' ep: 'Every Jewish angle we could find to the Blue Jays’ World Series matchup'.

After Louis Helbig discovered his German grandfather was a Nazi brownshirt, he's on a mission of intergenerational amends—to save a famous Jewish pilot's vintage plane from the scrap heap. thecjn.ca/news/a-famou...

On the two-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, the families of the eight Canadians murdered want Carney to show the same level of compassion for Canadian citizens who have been killed as they feel he has shown to the Palestinians in Gaza.

Introducing 'In Good Faith', a Jewish-Muslim podcast for a post-Oct. 7 world. Hear Episode 1 & subscribe: thecjn.ca/opinion/what...

My latest @thecjn.bsky.social is kind of two-piece column, but there were two things needing saying! thecjn.ca/opinion/will...

Michal Cotler-Wunsh is the third envoy to leave her country's antisemitism-fighting post this year, following Canada's Deborah Lyons and American Deborah Lipstadt. thecjn.ca/news/israels...

We're honoured to announce all proceeds from our Jewish/Muslim comedy night will be going toward the Vivian Silver Impact Award, awarded annually to two women, Arab and Jewish, who work toward peace in the Middle East. Get your ticket today: ingoodfaith.eventbrite.ca

“I feel like I was treated like part of their family, in the hardest years of their lives. It’s not just one person who is impacted. Yarden has parents, aunties, cousins, and friends. On that day it made me realize that it’s so many people’s pain," says Yoel Levy, known as The Jewish Fitness Coach.

If you have a new or forthcoming Jewish-however-tangentially (or not tangentially!) book you'd like me to review, this is a thing I do for @thecjn.bsky.social so please do alert me to this! I do my own combing but welcome your self-promotion. pbovy at thecjn dot ca . Thank you!

TORONTO: Join us next Wednesday at Youngplace! ⭐Hilarious comics ⭐Drinks ⭐Catering ⭐Podcasting ...All for a good cause. Learn more: ingoodfaith.eventbrite.ca

Jewish references are sprinkled throughout Allan Ungar's London Calling: Benson calling his son “bubeleh” and making references to being in the desert for 100 years (which Julian corrects and tells him it’s 40). A hanukkiah can be seen in the background. 🧵

"There’s one thing I know about European technocrats who run sporting organizations: they’re all cowards and will always do the easiest thing in the goal of self-preservation." The Menschwarmers dig into Israel-Premier Tech ditching the "Israel" brand: thecjn.ca/arts-culture...

Hear comedy sets from Adrienne Fish, Nour Hadidi, Foad HP and Dan Rosen, and stick around for a panel discussion about what it's like performing as Muslim and Jewish comics in 2025—including the challenges they’ve faced since October 7th. Register here: thecjn.ca/arts-culture...

Shye Klein and Joy Frenkiel hadn’t met before last week. But they have a lot in common: both are dual Canadian-Israeli citizens, and both are still helping victims of trauma heal, as the world prepares to commemorate two years since Oct. 7, 2023. thecjn.ca/news/when-i-...

Marvel comic books are on the curriculum at this Sunday school. Full episode: thecjn.ca/arts-culture...

EXCLUSIVE: The team behind the award-winning documentary 'The Road Between Us' will donate proceeds to rebuilding Kibbutz Nahal Oz, the filmmakers tell The CJN in an interview. thecjn.ca/news/barry-a...

The plan calls for Hamas to release the hostages and cede control of Gaza, but its leaders will be allowed to leave. thecjn.ca/news/world-w...

In a Rosh Hashanah sermon, in the spirit of “radical honesty”, Rabbi Grover calls on Mark Carney to reflect on “policies and postures that feel complacent, performative, and, at times, outright hostile.” 🧵 Read the full letter: thecjn.ca/opinion/pers...

So I LOVED Emma Forrest's novel 'Father Figure' and wrote about it for @thecjn.bsky.social here! thecjn.ca/opinion/pers...

Justice Harry LaForme has become an outspoken advocate for Jewish causes since Oct. 7. thecjn.ca/news/why-thi...

The least tax-efficient way to give is just cash, costing you roughly 50 cents on the dollar. Luckily, Canadians can use the Income Tax Act and flow-through shares to their advantage. Listen to the full episode: thecjn.ca/sponsored/th...

When people hear the term "flow-through shares", they think risk. With CRA rulings, Edward Schwartz has eliminated the liquidity risk so Canadians can save more when donating to charity. Full episode: thecjn.ca/sponsored/th... Sponsored by Schwartz Legacy Planning Group.

Our first Chai Achiever, a notable Jewish Canadian student: Yair Shpiler of York University thecjn.ca/news/campus/...

Would you trust an esteemed French academic to educate you on the significance of "Seinfeld"? This and more in my @thecjn.bsky.social Scribe Quarterly review of Michel Wieviorka's THE LAST JEWISH JOKE. thecjn.ca/arts-culture...

Irish band was barred from entering Canada, where concerts were scheduled in Toronto and Vancouver. thecjn.ca/news/interna...

"Superhero values are Jewish values", explains comic fan Cantor Jeremy Burko. thecjn.ca/arts-culture...

A "lack of respect for Quebec values, and western values of equality for people, and of men and women, and of secularism," says organizer Mandana Javan. 🧵

My @thecjn.bsky.social is on yeah what else: free speech stuff. thecjn.ca/opinion/pers...

Critics warn that the move hands Hamas and Jew-haters a victory. thecjn.ca/news/canada-...

A Florida court convicted Donna Adelson of first-degree murder for paying gang members $100,000 to execute her son-in-law, Canadian Dan Markel, in 2014. 🧵

When it comes to your money, you want to be smart about it. The CJN welcomes Geltwise, a new series tackling the questions that matter most to you and your family. 🧵

You want to give money to charity. Why pay 50 cents on the dollar in taxes when you could pay nine? [Sponsored by Schwartz Legacy Planning Group] thecjn.ca/sponsored/th...

“I want to apologize, especially to the Jewish community, for mistakes I made in the lead-up to this day," said Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF, onstage before the premiere. "In an environment of rising, dangerous antisemitism, I want to apologize for the hurt we caused.” thecjn.ca/news/near-ca...

"The term 'humanitarian' might sound ludicrous. We’re not seeing much in the way of anything humanitarian. We have a catastrophe on our hands. But... the solution I hope to see is one that comes from honouring the humans involved."- @marshalederman.bsky.social thecjn.ca/opinion/how-...

Alan Kessel: What does it say about us, as a country, when even the kosher food aisle of a grocery store in Ottawa cannot be a place of safety for Jews? thecjn.ca/opinion/opin...