From homesteaders to high tech: How Jewish Calgary celebrates Stampede

From homesteaders to high tech: How Jewish Calgary celebrates Stampede

When people think of the Calgary Stampede, they probably picture rodeos, chuckwagon races, the famous parade, or perhaps deep-fried Mars bars on the midway. But how about kosher pancake breakfasts, Israeli tech entrepreneurs, and the Jewish businessman who created Calgary’s iconic white cowboy hat [https://smithbilthats.com/product-category/the-white-hat/] in 1949? For more than a century, Calgary’s Jewish community has woven its own traditions into Alberta’s “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.” What began with Jewish homesteaders, ranchers and merchants has evolved into one of the busiest weeks on the Jewish community’s calendar. Even before the 114th Calgary Stampede officially begins on July 3, the Jewish community has already hosted two kosher pancake breakfasts: the Calgary Jewish Academy’s Mishpacha & Maple Syrup [https://albertajewishnews.com/cja-mishpacha-enjoy-maple-syrup-and-more-at-the-june-breakfast-event/] celebration June 14, while the House of Jacob-Mikveh Israel’s annual community pancake breakfast held on June 27 attracted hundreds for flapjacks and pony rides. It’s co sponsored by the Calgary Jewish Federation and the city’s Paperny Family JCC. Still to come later this week are the annual “Spuds & Suds” gathering, co-hosted by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC), where Jewish leaders and elected officials mingle over kosher latkes; and the Israeli Embassy’s ShukTech showcase at the Stampede is also set to highlight Israeli innovation and entrepreneurship. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner is joined by historian Saundra Lipton, president of the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta, and by David Silver, president of the House of Jacob-Mikveh Israel synagogue, who moved to Calgary from Toronto nine years ago, to discuss how Jewish Calgarians have been part of one of Alberta’s defining civic traditions for over a century. elated stories: * Putting the “Oy” in cowboy: [https://thecjn.ca/podcasts/the-future-of-alberta-judaism/] former CJN podcaster David Sklar investigated the Jewish roots of Alberta in 2022, on “Bonjour Chai”. * Read more and buy the new book “Building Community: Historical Traces of Jewish Calgary”, [https://jhssa.org/building-community-book-order-form/] by the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta. * Why the separation referendum question is dividing Alberta’s Jews, in The CJN [https://thecjn.ca/news/canada/west/albertan-jews-are-divided-on-their-provinces-separatist-movement/] . * See photos of previous years’ House of Jacob-Mikveh Israel [https://hojmi.org/events/] synagogue’s Kosher Pancake Breakfast. Credits * Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner [https://twitter.com/ebessner] ) * Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) * 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/north] (Not sure how? Click here [https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/] ) * Watch our podcasts on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN] * https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts [https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/podcasts/pod5facd9d70/1.1.0/mac/26] via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. [https://podcasters.apple.com/support/852-ratings-and-reviews] (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

Canada's next generation of Jewish leaders is already making a difference

Over the past school year, The Canadian Jewish News' Local Journalism Initiative reporter, Mitch Consky, who covers education, has introduced readers to some exceptional students through his "Chai Achievers" series. He has profiled young Jewish Canadians making a difference on their post-secondary campuses or high schools, with leadership and community service. As exams come to an end this week, Consky brought six such leaders together for a roundtable conversation about their actions and inspirations. They discuss how young Jews are responding to challenges on campus and at home, and why building connections, volunteering and creating opportunities for others is crucial to ensure a strong future for Jewish Canadians. On today's episode of The CJN's North Star podcast, reporter Mitch Consky takes over the hosting duties, to interview: * Maya Fuerstenberg, a TanenbaumCHAT graduate, who founded the Dalhousie Jewish Society in Halifax * Anastasia Zorchinsky, founder of the StartUp Nation club at Concordia, in Montreal * Levi Moskovitz of Vancouver's King David High School, who recently completed his term as BBYO's international treasurer * Toronto twins Ava and Ezra Freiheit, and their friend Emma Rovner, who also attend TanenbaumCHAT, who founded "Chains for Change" to raise funds for Special Olympics athletes in Ontario Related stories * Read more about the students selected as The CJN Chai Achievers including: a trio who fundraises for Special Olympics [https://thecjn.ca/news/chai-achievers-making-change-one-link-in-a-paper-chain-at-a-time/] ,  a CHAT graduate who built a Jewish club at Dalhousie University [https://thecjn.ca/news/campus/chai-achiever-how-maya-fuerstenberg-brought-a-jewish-student-society-to-dalhousie-university/] , a Vancouver leadership official with BBYO Internationa [https://thecjn.ca/news/chai-achiever-levi-moskovitz-helps-lead-global-jewish-youth-philanthropy-as-bbyos-international-treasurer/] l, and the founder of the pro-Israel StartUp Nation club at Concordia University. * Hear our interview with Levi Moskovitz on The CJN’s “North Star” [https://thecjn.ca/arts-culture/this-vancouver-student-just-led-a-1-6-million-fundraising-campaign-for-bbyo/] podcast from Dec. 2025 on how he raised nearly $1 million for BBYO. * Meet Yair Shpiler, who built Jewnity Sports, a 2025 CJN Chai Achiever [https://thecjn.ca/news/campus/chai-achiever-why-yair-shpiler-built-a-jewish-sports-league/] . Credits * Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner [https://twitter.com/ebessner] ) * Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) * 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/north] (Not sure how? Click here [https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/] ) * Watch our podcasts on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN] * https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts [https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/podcasts/pod5facd9d70/1.1.0/mac/26] via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. [https://podcasters.apple.com/support/852-ratings-and-reviews] (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

The Human Rights museum's only Jewish trustee wanted the Nakba Exhibit. He just quit

Mark Berlin initially supported the Canadian Museum for Human Rights creating a Nakba exhibit on the experiences of Palestinian Canadians displaced during the Israel War of Independence in 1948. But the Ottawa human rights lawyer and professor who served for years as the only Jewish member on the Winnipeg museum’s board of trustees, resigned abruptly on Monday June 22. His letter [https://thecjn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Mark-Berlin-letter-of-resignation-June-22-2026-courtesy-Bnai-Brith-Canada.pdf] was sent just days before the controversial exhibit is scheduled to open this weekend. Berlin says he spent months in a fruitless effort to push the museum from the inside to tell a more complete story. He alleges that the museum never showed the board any of the exhibit’s content materials. He fears the Nakba exhibit, which opens June 27, will be a one-sided, anti-Israel “ideologically political-oriented story”, which he calls “curation by omission”. The museum website exhibit material blames [https://humanrights.ca/exhibition/palestine-uprooted-nakba-past-and-present] the Israeli military for the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians, but doesn’t give any wider context that five Arab countries invaded the fledgling Jewish State at the time. Museum officials tell The CJN that while the board was not given specific details of exhibit wording, photos and the like, trustees have been “regularly briefed” since 2021, “with a high-level overview of the schematic design and interpretive plan for the exhibit, as well as with reports on how the Museum was managing its relationships and risks. There were lengthy conversations on these matters.” Berlin also decried what he calls an “institutional anti-Zionism bias” at the museum, not just with this exhibit but he cites numerous examples including anti-Israel messages on public display inside the building, and on social media channels, and pro-Palestinian protesters permitted to do a die-in after Oct. 7 while Jewish groups were denied a chance to hold a similar event. Prominent Canadian Jewish community leaders and philanthropists were invited to the museum recently for a meeting to discuss the exhibit, but Berlin and a second source described what happened May 13 as “egregiously, outrageously dismissive of us”. On today’s episode of The CJN’s flagship podcast North Star, host Ellin Bessner sits down with Berlin for his first broadcast interview to hear what he’s experienced these past two plus years that made him realize it was time to leave. They also talk about what he wants the federal Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture to do next. Related links * Read Mark Berlin’s letter of resignation [https://thecjn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Mark-Berlin-letter-of-resignation-June-22-2026-courtesy-Bnai-Brith-Canada.pdf] to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture. * Why Gail Asper, the daughter of the museum’s founder, and law professor Bryan Schwartz, called for the Nakba exhibit to be paused and revised, on The CJN’s North Star [https://thecjn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Mark-Berlin-letter-of-resignation-June-22-2026-courtesy-Bnai-Brith-Canada.pdf] June 1, 2026. * Criticism [https://actionhub.ca/alert/nakba-exhibit/#module] of the planned exhibit’s storytelling and lack of transparency began back in November 2025 after the museum announced the show would go ahead, in The CJN. [https://thecjn.ca/news/museums-decision-to-host-an-exhibit-about-palestine-leaves-winnipeg-jewish-groups-concerned-over-a-lack-of-consultation/] **** Credits * Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner [https://twitter.com/ebessner] ) * Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) * 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/north] (Not sure how? Click here [https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/] ) * Watch our podcasts on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN] * https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts [https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/podcasts/pod5facd9d70/1.1.0/mac/26] via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. [https://podcasters.apple.com/support/852-ratings-and-reviews] (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

What we know about the deadly Montreal shootings that shook a Jewish neighbourhood

A police officer and a Jewish civilian have been killed after a gunman opened fire in a deadly ambush that unfolded Monday mid-morning June 22 in one of Montreal’s busiest Jewish districts. The shooting appears not to have targeted Jews, although many community members initially worried it was antisemitic terrorism. Nevertheless, the “nightmare” event, as police have called it, has left the Jewish community reeling because of the loss of life and because it happened in Snowdon, a community hub in Côte-des-Neiges where many Montreal Jews live, shop and gather. Media reports say the shooter was part of the “incel” community, and left behind a manifesto about how he hated women, but investigators have not confirmed this to The CJN. The chaotic day had residents and hotel guests either in lockdown or scrambling to safety in a nearby Jewish social services agency, MADA. Wide swaths of the city were shut down as hundreds of police tried to locate other possible suspects, although by day’s end the chief said there was only one shooter and he was killed. As the investigation continues, the identities of the slain policeman and also the slain Jewish bystander have now been released. The CJN’s Quebec correspondent, reporter Joel Ceausu, has been following developments since the first emergency alerts were issued. He knew of both of the victims. And like so many Jewish Montrealers, he also has a personal connection to the neighbourhood where this tragedy unfolded. Joel joins host Ellin Bessner on today’s special breaking news edition of The CJN’s North Star podcast to help us understand what happened, who the victims were, and how this devastating event has affected Montreal’s Jewish community. Related links * Read The CJN’s continuing coverage [https://thecjn.ca/news/montreal-police-officer-civilian-and-suspect-confirmed-dead-in-shooting-incident-in-jewish-neighbourhood/] of the June 22 Montreal ambush and shootings in the Jewish neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges, at thecjn.ca [http://thecjn.ca] * Watch what it was like for shoppers trapped inside the PA Supermarket as Montreal police stormed through searching for suspects, on The CJN’s YouTube Channel. [https://youtube.com/shorts/LsnsVVY-i2Q?si=Z0XxGGppxITMfNPX] * Learn more about Montreal’s Jewish community from the latest Canadian census data, in The CJN. [https://thecjn.ca/news/montreal-jewish-population/] Credits * Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner [https://twitter.com/ebessner] ) * Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde, (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) * 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/north] (Not sure how? Click here [https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/] ) * Watch our podcasts on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN] * https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts [https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/podcasts/pod5facd9d70/1.1.0/mac/26] via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. [https://podcasters.apple.com/support/852-ratings-and-reviews] (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

A synagogue heard local schoolchildren were hungry. They've delivered 7,000 lunches

“I didn’t know there was a need.” Two years ago, Dr. Irv Siegel, a past president of Beit Rayim Synagogue in Vaughan, Ont., heard about growing food insecurity in York Region, one of Canada’s wealthiest suburbs, where one in five families faces food insecurity. He was surprised to learn that hundreds of public school kids in Thornhill and Richmond Hill often come to school without lunch. So for the past two years, volunteers from the synagogue have shown up every Thursday morning with fresh produce and bagels to feed students they will never met. Siegel’s successful Feed the Children School Lunch program hit a milestone last week: it’s now provided 7,000 nutritious lunches to students in four York Region public schools. They don’t write a cheque: instead they bring all the food, wash and assemble all the lunch bags on site, and deliver the meals to the school office before the bell rings. School staff say these meals are sorely needed. The program doesn’t operate anonymously. For organizer Irv Siegel, the Star of David on every lunch bag is intentional. He wanted students, families and educators in York Region’s diverse public schools to know that a Jewish community was reaching beyond its own walls to help its neighbours. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner takes you inside this noteworthy response to childhood hunger. And full disclosure: she volunteers there, too. Related links * Learn more about Beit Rayim synagogue’s Feed the Children School Lunch program [https://www.beitrayim.org/feed-the-children---school-lunch-program.html] and how to donate or volunteer. * Read how memorial and yahrzeit plaques have now moved into the digital sphere with a portable kiosk at Beit Rayim, in The CJN from 2023 [https://thecjn.ca/podcasts/synagogue-yahrzeit-memorials-are-going-digital/] . * Discover how rising cost of groceries was impacting Jewish families in the Greater Toronto Area at Passover, in The CJN. [https://thecjn.ca/news/requests-for-passover-food-boxes-grows-as-the-cost-of-living-spirals/] **** Credits * Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner [https://twitter.com/ebessner] ) * Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer), Michael Fraiman (Director of Digital Content), Alicia Richler (Editorial Director) * 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/north] (Not sure how? Click here [https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/] ) * Watch our podcasts on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN] * https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts [https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/podcasts/pod5facd9d70/1.1.0/mac/26] via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. [https://podcasters.apple.com/support/852-ratings-and-reviews] (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)