North Star with Ellin Bessner

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair opened to the public Friday Nov. 6 in Toronto for its 104th year, with its iconic butter sculptures, goat mascots and the World Cup equestrian show jumping event. But the Allen family, of Cambridge, Ont., is laser focused on their supersized, orange pumpkin – with the Hebrew name “Chani” – which their daughter Hazel, 20, entered into the farming exhibition’s prestigious agricultural competition. Hazel is studying biology and forestry at the University of Toronto, where she’s also involved with Hillel. She says it was important to her to let everyone know that her gourd, which also has the English name “Gertrude”, is at heart, a Jewish pumpkin. The Allens estimate their pumpkin weighs close to 300 pounds, which is significantly smaller than previous winners who have tipped the scales at over 1,000 pounds. But Hazel, a first-time contestant, says she’s thrilled to have successfully raised such a “beautiful” pumpkin, and already considers the effort a win, even before the final results have been announced. The student comes by her passion for produce honestly: her parents’ now-closed Little Louie’s burger restaurant in Cambridge was once featured on the Food Network show You Gotta Eat Here. Her father Steven Allen is a repeat winner at the Royal for his apiary honey products. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Hazel Allen and her father about the family’s foray into the world of competitive agriculture growing, and asks what happens with their heavyweight pumpkin once the Royal ends Nov. 16 Related links Follow Hazel Allen and her giant vegetables on Instagram to see how her pumpkin and gourds and giant sunflowers fared at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto this month. Watch the Allen family’s beekeeping and other food foraging adventures on her father, Chef Steven Allen’s YouTube channel. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to North Star Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

In the fall of 1943, the Strom family, Polish Jews living in Rome, found themselves fleeing for their lives after the Nazis occupied most of northern and central Italy and began hunting Jews and deporting them to their deaths at Auschwitz. One day, while trying to avoid a German checkpoint, Dr. Alfredo Strom encountered a former patient, Donatello De Luigi, who quickly realized his Jewish physician was in imminent danger. De Luigi, a prominent Italian book publisher, immediately took the doctor, his wife and the Jewish couple’s two toddlers to his villa on the west side of Rome. De Luigi and his wife, Zelmira, sheltered the family for nine months until the Allies liberated Rome in June 1944. There were several frightening close calls as the Nazis rounded up more than 2,000 Roman Jews. Only 16 returned after the war. The two families remained close after the war. Many decades later, De Luigi’s nephew, Emilio De Luigi—now living in St. Catharines, Ont.—learned about Yad Vashem’s program honouring non-Jews who risked their lives to save persecuted Jews. Emilio had been a teenager in Rome during the war, regularly visiting his uncle’s home and helping keep the Strom family’s presence a secret. Wanting to share his family’s story, he applied to Yad Vashem in 2010 and even wrote a book about the tale. But for years the application went nowhere, because he had lost touch with the Stroms. Only recently did the surviving son, Roberto Strom, now 87, agree to share details about his family’s rescuers. In late 2025, Yad Vashem officially recognized Emilio De Luigi’s late uncle and aunt as Righteous Among the Nations, joining 28,707 others who have received the designation. Their names will be added to the Wall of Honour at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. On Nov. 10, Yad Vashem’s chairman, the Israeli ambassador to Canada, and the Italian ambassador to Canada will attend a ceremony in the Toronto area honouring the De Luigi family’s extraordinary act of humanity. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Emilio De Luigi in St. Catharines, Ont. The nonagenarian remains haunted by what he calls “the moral failure” of the Italian authorities that enacted anti-Jewish racial laws and later cooperated with the Nazis during the Second World War. Related links Learn more about the De Luigi family rescuing the Stroms at the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem website. Buy “It had to be done”, Emilio de Luigi’s book about his uncle and aunt’s act of humanity in 1943-1944. Read about the two Dutch families who were posthumously given the award at the Israeli Consulate in Toronto in 2025. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to North Star Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

About 40,000 Holocaust survivors settled in Canada after the war, and many later spent their retirement years teaching future generations about hatred and antisemitism. They helped found major Holocaust museums and school speaker programs, and pushed for mandatory Holocaust education in public schools. They were also instrumental in launching the annual Holocaust Education Week, now underway across Canada to coincide with the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, on Nov. 9, 1938. In the last few months, at least a dozen of Canada’s most prominent and beloved remaining Holocaust speakers and authors have died. They include Toronto’s Judy Weissenberg Cohen, 97, who created a website to document women’s experiences of the Holocaust; fellow Torontonian Rose Lipszyc, 97, an Order of Canada recipient whose story was published this February as the graphic novel Two Roses; Harry Rozendaal, 95, who died in Poland in May during his first March of the Living, undertaken so he could say Kaddish there for his murdered mother; Montrealer Ted Bolgar, 101, an orphan who advocated for fellow survivors; and Calgary’s Morris Dancyger, 86, who watched his father be shot and killed—a full year after liberation—by a former Auschwitz guard whom he had recognized at their displaced persons camp. The list continues with several Montreal survivors who have recently died, including Maxwell Smart, the subject of the 2023 feature film The Boy in the Woods; Sidney Zoltak; Paula Bultz; and David Barzilay. Also among those who recently died was Eva Olsson, from Bracebridge, Ont. On today’s special “Honourable Menschen” episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner is joined by The CJN’s obituary columnist, Heather Ringel, and Dara Solomon, executive director of the Toronto Holocaust Museum. They share memories of these survivors and discuss what motivated many of them to begin speaking publicly only many years after arriving in Canada. They also explore how Holocaust education is changing as the generation of first-person eyewitnesses disappears. Related links Special thanks for permission to use video and audio of the survivors: March of the Living, Calgary Jewish Federation, Hon. Stephen Lecce, the Montreal Holocaust Museum, and the Toronto Holocaust Museum. Read more about the survivors on The CJN.ca Hear the latest Honourable Menschen episode about children of survivors Tova Vickar and Franklin Biaystok Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to North Star.https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/ Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

Jewish leaders across Canada are looking to Ottawa later this week to see whether the Nov. 5 federal budget contains substantial funding increases and other commitments to protect Jewish communities from violent attacks. While the community has been sounding the alarm since Oct. 7, 2023, this is the first budget since a synagogue in Belleville, Ont., was attacked on Yom Kippur. It also comes amid recurring vandalism and threats, including the latest suspected hate crime at Montreal’s Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom on Oct. 29, when five windows were broken, likely by pellets fired from a gun. Last week, Canada announced its new National Security Strategy, although antisemitism was not mentioned. Just a month earlier, however, the government said “antisemitism could be a national security threat”. After three Toronto synagogues were shot at in March, Ottawa transferred $5.8 million to the Jewish Security Network (JSN). Then, in April, the federal fiscal update pledged $75 million over five years for community safety grants to at-risk faith communities across Canada. Toronto’s Jewish Security Network CEO, Jevon Greenblatt, says the community is “substantially safer” than it was when the organization launched in September 2024. It now has a 24/7 command centre and 30 staff, while $15 million has been spent upgrading security at the community’s 180 Jewish schools, camps, offices and synagogues. But Greenblatt also says there is “a long, long way to go.” Closing that gap will require tens of millions more, he says: about $50 million for physical security infrastructure, on top of the $20 million to $40 million “fortune” the community is already spending annually on security guards. But he’s optimistic the money will be forthcoming. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Greenblatt about the behind-the-scenes work being done to keep Toronto’s Jews safe, where the threats are coming from, and how smaller Jewish communities can better prepare for attacks. Related links Learn how to contact the Jewish Security Network in Toronto to report suspicious activity or to ask for training or funding. Their emergency number is 437 222 3999 Read about the $75 million for security funding announced in the April 2026 Fiscal Update, in The CJN Read about the various official and allied Jewish civilian security firms keeping Toronto’s Jewish community safe after Oct. 7, 2023, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to the podcast North Star.https://thecjn.ca/north-star/ Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

When Pte. Aidan Goulding was given his Hebrew name, his family chose Ilan, after Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who died in 2003, just a month before Goulding was born. Goulding, 23, was raised in an interfaith home. He attended Hebrew school at a Vancouver synagogue and celebrated Jewish holidays with his grandparents and extended Jewish family. Goulding was one of four soldiers serving with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment who died Oct. 17 at CFB Wainwright when a wildfire engulfed the terrain during a training exercise. He had been in the army for only eight months. His family says the young mechanic loved being in uniform and was “laser-focused” on a future serving his country. They remember him as “brilliant,” “very ambitious” and big-hearted. He hoped eventually to work as a police officer in a tactical unit. On Thursday, Oct. 29, Goulding’s body was released by the medical examiner’s office in Calgary and escorted by motorcade through the city, accompanied by Calgary police, RCMP and military members, to a local funeral home. His remains will be flown to Vancouver next week, The CJN was told, ahead of several services. An official military service is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8, at the Seaforth Armoury in Vancouver, with a rabbi participating to honour Goulding’s Jewish roots. Before that, his father, Sean Goulding, and other family members will attend services Friday, Nov. 6, at Temple Sholom in Vancouver. There may also be a separate Catholic service. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner and The CJN’s news editor, Lila Sarick, speak with the young soldier’s grieving family about how they want him to be remembered. Related links: To watch the synagogue service Friday Nov. 6, follow the livestream at 8 p.m. Vancouver time. To donate to the Jewish-founded charity helping all the military families impacted by the CFB Wainwright fire: Watch our interview with the late Pvt. Goulding's father and aunts, on The CJN's YouTube channel. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to North Star.https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/ Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

Related links Read detailed coverage of the Oct. 7, 2026 Court of King's Bench hearing, in The CJN. Winnipeg police charge suspect after antisemitic graffiti sprayed on synagogue, park, homes, school, in The CJN. Why Winnipeg’s Asper Jewish Community Campus has started scanning IDs, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to North Star.https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/ Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

An estimated 67,000 Israelis living abroad say they planned to fly back to the Jewish State to vote Tuesday Oct. 27 in the historic national election – the first one since Oct. 7, 2023. Many Israelis living in Canada are among those making the long trip. Most of the voters who spoke to The CJN say they hope to see the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defeated, the weakening of the power of the Haredi bloc and also the far-right religious “Messianics” in the country’s life, and the creation of a renewed path for peace with the Palestinians. But “Bibi” still has his admirers in Canada, too – even though they blame him for Oct. 7’s horrific terrorist attack. The long-serving Israeli leader is being praised for his audacious exploding pager operation against Hezbollah and the assassination of many Islamist leaders, as well as for expanding the Jewish presence in the West Bank, and presiding over a strong economy. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner sits down with four Israelis who are making the long trip from Canada to try to make a difference: Marty Strub and Debbie Strub from Hamilton, and Eviatar Tron of Toronto, on why they are voting for change, while Avi Miller, also of Toronto, will likely vote to keep the government as is. Related links: There likely won't be a clear winner right away in Israel's election on Tuesday, says Concordia professor Csaba Nikolenyi. What happens after Oct. 27, on The CJN's North Star podcast. Why so many expat Israelis must fly back in person to vote, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to North Star.https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/ Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

It’s hard to remember when Canadians have had so many elections in such a short span. In three weeks this October, there will have been seven—including municipal and provincial votes, plus the referendum in Alberta. Albertans voted “No” on Monday, Oct. 19, to consider a Brexit-style split from Canada, while on Oct. 5, Quebecers elected a separatist government, with only 28 per cent of the popular vote. Meanwhile, in B.C., they’ve just finished a municipal election that saw Vancouver city hall sweep left and include a majority of politicians who signed anti-Israel pledges. In Toronto, the race for mayor comes into the final stretch this weekend before the municipal election on Monday, Oct. 26, where Jewish community safety and the front-runners’ stances on antisemitism and Israel are in focus. Manitobans also hold municipal elections this coming week, while voters go back to the polls this weekend in British Columbia in a snap provincial election that is seeing NDP Premier David Eby’s treatment of a Jewish cabinet minister in 2024 come back to haunt him. Now that same former NDP cabinet minister, Selina Robinson, joins The CJN’s political panellists Dan Mader, a Conservative strategist with Loyalist Public Relations, and David Birnbaum, a former Quebec Liberal MNA, to talk immigration, separation, and why Israel-Palestine is being seen in some races as more important than filling potholes and fixing homelessness. Related links The Toronto Jewish community focuses on who will be the new mayor, in The CJN. Vancouver’s new city hall is decidedly anti-Israel, and the school board, too, in The CJN Ahead of the Alberta referendum, Jewish Albertans were divided, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to North Star.https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/ Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

Montreal artist Sheila Nemtin Levine didn’t plan to fulfill the final commandment of the Torah, which says that every Jew should write their own Old Testament. But that’s what ended up happening after she painted 54 vibrant, mixed-media canvases—one for each parashah in the Torah—and imbued each with a modern take on the ancient Biblical verses. Her exhibit, Tablet Tableaux, has just opened for a three-month tour of prominent Toronto synagogues. It begins at Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda this week, then heads to Holy Blossom Temple until the end of December, and finally moves to Darchei Noam for all of January 2027. Nemtin Levine calls the panels a journey of exploration. Audience members are encouraged to physically engage with the works by touching the grains of sand, family photos and architectural blueprints for the Israelites’ portable desert tabernacle. Her works have been displayed at several synagogues across Montreal and, last month, at Ottawa's JCC. Jewish high schools have used them for special b’nei mitzvah study modules. The project has also spawned a coffee table book, a free audio guide, and a forthcoming documentary video series. On today’s episode of The CJN's North Star podcast, we bring you Nemtin Levine's interview with host Ellin Bessner, who visited the artist's studio in Montreal in July 2025. Related link Learn more about Tablet Tableaux at the artist's website. See the original story on The CJN.ca from 2025 Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to North Star.https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/ Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

Ellin is off today, so we're bringing you the latest episode of Menschwarmers, The CJN's Jewish sports podcast. Hear more at thecjn.ca/menschwarmers Jewish hockey is having a moment. Players like Adam Fox, the Hughes brothers, Zeev Buium, Zach Hyman, Jake Walman and Devon Levi are having a major impact on the ice—and with more Jewish players joining the NHL each year, fans are holding them up as role models for the community’s youth. Jonny Lazarus has lived through both sides of that story. The Long Island native played Division I hockey at UMass Amherst and Mercyhurst and represented the United States at the 2017 Maccabiah Games. But during the COVID shutdown, realizing he wasn’t going to make it pro, he pivoted to making hockey content. These days, he co-hosts Morning Cuppa Hockey and is working on a new interview series with Bleacher Report. Lazarus joins Menschwarmers to give a wide-ranging preview of the 2026-27 NHL season. They chat about major Jewish players to watch—including Lazarus’s childhood friend and former campmate, Adam Fox—and Lazarus shares his own journey of breaking into the hockey-talk industry. Plus: the Jewish MLB postseason comes to an end, the PWHL approaches its new season, NBA hopefuls Noam Yaacov and Lajae Jones fight for roster spots, and the boys preview the incoming crop of International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to North Star.https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/ Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)