Just before Rosh Hashanah, Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett, a Catholic community leader in Ottawa, launched a campaign to convince more of his Christian colleagues to take a public stand against spiking antisemitism. Bennett, a deacon with a Ukrainian Orthodox shrine in the national capital, made the Canadian Christian Declaration Against Antisemitism, hoping to receive a few hundred signatures by the time his petition closed on Oct. 25. To his delight, more than 700 people joined his initiative, including faith leaders from many Christian denominations—including leaders from Catholic, Anglican, United and Evangelical churches. So what happens next? Bennett has committed to put the declaration’s words into action, with plans to hold a summit in 2025 for interfaith leaders. His ultimate goal is to establish a year-long program to pair individual congregations, schools and groups for in-person events and Shabbat dinners. On today’s The CJN Daily, Bennett joins to explain why he believes Christians have an ancient moral and religious responsibility to protect and encourage their “Jewish cousins”, and why he believes Canadians–including Christians and also Muslims–cannot remain silent in the face of record-breaking anti-Jewish hate crimes.

Related links

• Learn more about the Canadian Christian Declaration on Antisemitism, and what's behind the group's support for Jewish Canadians.
• How Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett served as Canada's first and only Ambassador for Religious Freedom from 2013-2016, in The CJN.
• Read about Dr. Phil (McGraw) and the eight non-Jewish allies honoured last week by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, in Toronto.
• Watch the Rally for Humanity interfaith event held Sunday Nov. 10 in Vaughan, Ontario, and learn more about their petition headed for the House of Commons.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

This year, Remembrance Day ceremonies, including at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, will feel a little different for a number of reasons. The biggest change? Military chaplains who officiate at mandatory public events can no longer recite faith-specific religious prayers for soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in battle. Prayers are now to be called “spiritual reflections”, using non-religious, gender-neutral words. Chaplains can no longer wear their traditional purple sashes with symbols of their faith atop their uniforms. While the changes have been on the books for some time, they weren't being enforced, until now. The changes have prompted renewed backlash from a senior Catholic chaplain and from the Conservative Party, who decried this secularization of the Canadian Armed Forces. But military officials say their goal is to be more inclusive of personnel of all different faiths—plus those who practise no religion at all. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we consult three Jewish leaders involved in Remembrance Day events and the legacy of Rabbi Reuven Bulka, who delivered a short benediction to the nation on Nov. 11 for nearly three decades, until his death in 2021. We’ll hear from Rabbi Idan Scher, who will deliver the official benediction today; Captain (Rabbi) Arnold Noteh Glogauer, Jewish chaplain at CFB Petawawa; and Jon Mitzmacher, the principal at Ottawa’s Community Jewish School, where a new curriculum unit honours Rabbi Bulka’s legacy of kindness.

What we talked about:

• Read more in The CJN about the Hurwitz family of Montreal, whose son Sgt. Samuel “Moe” (KIA 1944) made the ultimate sacrifice, and about a younger brother, naval gunner Harry (taken POW in 1944) who were both honoured as Canadian Jewish heroes during a recent Remembrance Day ceremony in Hampstead, Quebec.
• The late Rabbi Reuven Bulka, considered as Canada’s Rabbi, died in June 2021. Catch up on The CJN’s coverage of his legacy here, his obituary, and here.
• Canada enshrined Kindness Week into law in May 2021 in honour of Rabbi Bulka, on The CJN Daily.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Until the very last day, pollsters predicted the 2024 U.S. presidential election would be too close to call, with just a fraction of a percentage point separating Donald Trump from his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris. Many observers predicted a repeat of 2020, when Trump refused to concede, resulting in riots on Capitol Hill. But as the votes rolled in on Nov. 5, 2024, it became clear Trump was on pace to win a resounding victory for the Republicans and a surprise second term in the White House.

As of Wednesday night, Trump has been elected with 295 electoral collage votes, compared to Harris’s 226, complemented by a victory in the popular vote. Trump’s party also took control of the Senate and will likely control the House of Representatives, although those ballots are still being counted.

Political science professor Donald Abelson of McMaster University in Hamilton had an eye-witness perspective of the final hours of the election from his perch in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, David Weinfeld, a Canadian-born professor of American Jewish history, was monitoring the election results from his home in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where he had previously been a volunteer canvassing for the Democrats.

Abelson and Weinfeld joined The CJN Daily‘s Ellin Bessner shortly after Kamala Harris called Trump to concede defeat Wednesday. Together, they unpack what Trump’s victory means for Jews, Israel, Canada and the world. Their take? While some pro-Israel advocates may be excited, Trump will almost certainly not be a reliable ally for Jews.

What we talked about

• Read more about professor Donald E. Abelson in The CJN, and learn about his new books on U.S. politics, here and here.
• David Weinfeld has been a columnist for The CJN, and most recently was a guest panelist on The CJN Daily’s Canada Day episode on why Canadian Jews feel vulnerable in a post-Oct. 7 world.
• Why the "Tree of Life" synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018 was a turning point for Jews in America and not in a good way, by David Weinfeld in The CJN archives.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)