North Star with Ellin Bessner

For the last three nights in a row, ever since Israel's military and the Mossad began the ongoing strikes on Iran's nuclear program, Maddy Eisenberg and Dave Heilbron—two Canadian tourists in the Holy Land—have been spending hours sheltering in a safe zone beneath a beachfront hotel in Tel Aviv. The two only met this week, while participating in a government-sponsored trip for Jewish LGBTQ leaders who were meant to attend Tel Aviv's famous Pride parade. That was supposed to take place on June 13—but the parade was hurriedly cancelled, and their itinerary curtailed, as news of the initial strikes broke. Since then, every time air raid sirens go off, or their phones alert them to incoming Iranian rockets and missiles, they rush down to the bomb shelter and ride out the anxious hours, together with other tourists and Israelis alike. While the death toll of Israelis killed and wounded continues to climb, and first responders try to dig out those still missing from direct hits on Bat Yam and other Israeli cities, the Pride delegates—who are required to stay within 100 metres of the hotel—are now also worrying about how they will get home, since all flights in and out of the country have been cancelled until further notice. Maddy Eisenberg, a broadcaster and communications strategist in Ottawa, and Dave Heilbron, a human resources executive and Jewish leader now living in the Netherlands, join North Star podcast host Ellin Bessner to describe what they're seeing on the ground. Related links * What Global Affairs Canada is telling Canadians in Israel to do, in The CJN [https://thecjn.ca/news/canada-warns-its-citizens-in-israel-to-exercise-a-very-high-degree-of-caution-after-strikes-on-iranian-nuclear-sites-and-military-leadership/]. * Follow the IDF's official website account [https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/operation-rising-lion/]on “Operation Rising Lion”. * How Canadian Dave Heilbron, a leader of a pro-Israel lobby organization based in Amsterdam, experienced the “pogrom” [https://thecjn.ca/podcasts/amsterdams-mayor-says-the-violence-wasnt-a-pogrom-dutch-jewish-leaders-agree/] against Israeli soccer fans in his adopted country, in November 2024. Credits * Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner [https://twitter.com/ebessner]) * Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) * Music: Bret Higgins [https://www.brethiggins.com/] Support our show * Subscribe to The CJN newsletter [https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/] * Donate to The CJN [https://thecjn.ca/donate/] (+ get a charitable tax receipt) * Subscribe to North Star [https://thecjn.ca/daily] (Not sure how? Click here [https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/])

Political observers are describing Canada’s move as “unprecedented” after foreign minister Anita Anand announced on June 10 the country has joined 4 other allied nations in imposing travel and economic sanctions against two extreme-right wing, Israeli politicians for being part of West Bank settler violence against Palestinians. Canada has slapped similar sanctions on several civilian Israeli settlers three times already since 2024, accusing them of fomenting attacks on Palestinians and their villages–attacks which largely go unpunished. But the listing of Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, sitting members of a democratic, Western government that is a long-time ally of Canada, is being seen as an important diplomatic “signalling its extreme displeasure with the Israeli government”. Smotrich is Israel’s current finance minister, while Ben Gvir is in charge of national security. Both men live in settlements on the West Bank, and both have made highly controversial remarks about Palestinians, about wanting to annex the West Bank and Gaza for Israel, even that there is no such thing as a Palestinian people. The International Court of Justice is now hearing a case about incitement to genocide because of some of these remarks. While progressive Jewish leaders in Canada have praised the sanctions on the two men, in practise, experts say Canada rarely enforces them. To explain the strategy behind Canada’s team approach to the new sanctions on Israeli politicians and what message they’re meant to send, on today’s episode of North Star, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Thomas Juneau. He is a professor of political science and an expert in Middle East studies at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa. Related links * How Canada, France and the U.K. rebuked [https://thecjn.ca/news/a-former-canadian-diplomat-makes-sense-of-a-head-spinning-week-in-global-affairs/] Israel’s renewed military campaign in Gaza and threatened sanctions about expanding settlements, on May 19, in a joint statement. * How Canadian Jewish leaders express concerns [https://thecjn.ca/news/canadas-threat-to-impose-sanctions-on-israel-over-aid-to-gaza-raises-concerns-from-some-jewish-organizations/] about Carney’s threat of sanctions on Israel. * Here is Canada’s announcement [https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2025/06/canada-imposes-fourth-round-of-sanctions-on-facilitators-of-extremist-settler-violence-against-civilians-in-west-bank.html] of sanctions against extremist settlers, published June 10 2025. Credits * Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner [https://twitter.com/ebessner]) * Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) * Music: Bret Higgins [https://www.brethiggins.com/] Support our show * Subscribe to The CJN newsletter [https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/] * Donate to The CJN [https://thecjn.ca/donate/] (+ get a charitable tax receipt) * Subscribe to North Star [https://thecjn.ca/daily] (Not sure how? Click here [https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/])

Now into their third week as officially-sworn in members of Canada’s 45th Parliament, newly elected Conservative MPs Tamara Kronis and Roman Baber are getting used to their new seats in the backbenches of the House of Commons. They have plenty in common: both trained as lawyers, grew up in Toronto, and, in the 2025 federal election, managed to flip their ridings blue for the first time in a decade. And on top of all that, both are the offspring of Jewish immigrant families, although Baber’s Canadian passport is much more recent. This is Kronis’s first time in political office, although she ran unsuccessfully for the Tories in the same Vancouver Island riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith in the 2021 election. She comes from a prominent Conservative political family: her late father, Jules, was a party operative dating back to the days of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. Roman Baber represented the heavily Jewish Toronto riding of York Centre provincially from 2018 to 2022, during the first Doug Ford government in Ontario. Before throwing his hat into the ring federally, he ran unsuccessfully for the federal Conservative leadership, losing to his current boss, Pierre Poilievre. With Parliament having resumed May 26, these two newcomers have been learning the ropes of their new roles while navigating some historic moments. They met King Charles during his recent visit and dove headfirst into speaking up about housing affordability, the national drug-overdose crisis and important Jewish issues including antisemitism and the recent desecration of the national Holocaust monument. On today’s episode of North Star (formerly The CJN Daily), Tamara Kronis and Roman Baber join to share what their first whirlwind weeks have been like. Related links * Read [https://thecjn.ca/podcasts/roman-baber-is-the-jewish-political-maverick-hoping-to-lead-the-conservative-party-and-all-of-canada/] more about Roman Baber’s political career, including running for the leadership of the federal Conservative party in the election which Pierre Poilievre ultimately won in 2022 * Hear Tamara Kronis explaining the International Court of Justice’s [https://thecjn.ca/podcasts/whats-at-stake-for-israel-after-their-international-court-of-justice-genocide-hearings/] 2024 hearing brought by South Africa against Israel for genocide. * How [https://thecjn.ca/news/toronto-elxn45-recap/]the April 28, 202 federal election brought longtime Conservative politician Roman Baber and candidate Tamara Kronis to Ottawa, this time as rookie Opposition MPs. Credits * Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner [https://twitter.com/ebessner]) * Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) * Music: Bret Higgins [https://www.brethiggins.com/] Support our show * Subscribe to The CJN newsletter [https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/] * Donate to The CJN [https://thecjn.ca/donate/] (+ get a charitable tax receipt) * Subscribe to North Star [https://thecjn.ca/daily] (Not sure how? Click here [https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/])

For five weeks after Oct. 7, 2023, the two sons of Canadian Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver thought she was among the hostages from Kibbutz Be’eri who had been kidnapped into Gaza by Hamas terrorists. But after her house was destroyed that day, and they received no further word about her fate, her sons Chen, an archeologist based in Connecticut, and Yonatan, an Israeli social worker, threw themselves into campaigning for their mother’s release, while also channelling her spirit in advocating for a non-violent solution to the war. In late November 2023, Israeli forensic experts notified Silver’s family that her remains had been identified in the rubble of her burned-out kibbutz neighbourhood. She had been killed on the first day of the attack. Growing up, they had watched their mother’s tireless efforts to build bridges between Jews and Palestinians, while they pursued their own, different lives and career paths. Now, as the two-year anniversary of their mother’s murder approaches, Vivian Silver’s sons are still mourning their mother, but also curating her legacy as “Vivian”, an internationally-renowned political anti-war symbol. On today’s episode of The CJN’s newly-rebranded North Star podcast (formerly The CJN Daily), host Ellin Bessner sits down with Chen and Yonatan Zeigen to explore how having a purpose helps with their grief, rather than seeking vengeance for past trauma. Related links * Read more about the sons of the late Vivian Silver, fresh from their June 4 Toronto fundraiser/celebration of their mother’s life, in The CJN. [https://thecjn.ca/news/vivian-silvers-sons-continue-her-work-and-legacy-of-building-peace-in-israel/] * To learn about the Vivian Silver Impact award [https://nifcan.org/gifts-in-honour-of-vivian-silver/] and to donate [https://www.womenwagepeace.org.il/en/in-her-voice-the-vivian-silver-legacy-event-june-4th-2025-toronto-canada/]. * Hear how Silver’s family and friends gathered in November 2023 in Israel for her private funeral and then for a separate public memorial service, on The CJN Daily [https://thecjn.ca/podcasts/we-all-become-vivians-hundreds-honour-murdered-canadian-peace-activist-vivian-silver-at-memorial-and-funeral-in-israel/]. Credits * Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner [https://twitter.com/ebessner]) * Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) * Music: Bret Higgins [https://www.brethiggins.com/] Support our show * Subscribe to The CJN newsletter [https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/] * Donate to The CJN [https://thecjn.ca/donate/] (+ get a charitable tax receipt) * Subscribe to The CJN Daily [https://thecjn.ca/daily] (Not sure how? Click here [https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/])

Two years and eight months into her term on the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth, a high-profile advocate for the Jewish community and other marginalized groups, announced her resignation during a school board meeting on June 3. She was the only Jewish trustee on the school board. Kaplan-Myrth’s tenure has been challenging, to say the least. When she advocated for mandatory masking during the COVID pandemic, she received countless antisemitic insults—even death threats—via social media and email, for which the police did lay charges against some of her critics. The school board has tried to censure her several times, prevented her from coming to meetings or speaking, and she has been in a running battle with a rival trustee over what she considers was racism against her because she is a white, Jewish Israeli-Canadian. But things came to a head recently after an email campaign [https://www.instagram.com/p/DJFilKQRVbR/?hl=en] by the National Council of Canadian Muslims to the board, accusing her of anti-Palestinian racism. Kaplan-Myrth said the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is so “toxic” and “dysfunctional” that she had to quit, for her own mental health and for the safety of her family. She joins Ellin Bessner of The CJN Daily to explain how she hopes her resignation is a wake-up call to what’s going on in school boards across North America—and why her problems may not be over. Related links * Watch Dr. Nili-Kaplan Myrth’s resignation speech at the June 3, 2025 OCDSB [https://pub-ocdsb.escribemeetings.com/Players/ISIStandAlonePlayer.aspx?Id=22e3cf04-2853-4f4c-9f78-e2b6a26604f3] meeting: she begins at the 4 hour mark. * Learn about the disgusting threats sent by an Ontario man to Dr. Nili Kaplan Myrth that resulted in his recent conviction in 2025, in The CJN [https://thecjn.ca/news/nilikm/]. * Hear a previous interview with Dr. Kaplan-Myrth when she was initially sanctioned by the Ottawa public school board in 2024, on The CJN Daily. [https://thecjn.ca/podcasts/nili-kaplan-myrth-fights-back-against-ottawa-school-board-sanctions/]  Credits * Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner [https://twitter.com/ebessner]) * Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) * Music: Dov Beck-Levine [https://www.dovbecklevine.com/] Support our show * Subscribe to The CJN newsletter [https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/] * Donate to The CJN [https://thecjn.ca/donate/] (+ get a charitable tax receipt) * Subscribe to The CJN Daily [https://thecjn.ca/daily] (Not sure how? Click here [https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/])