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Feeling green over these resolutions? Jewish groups are slamming the Green Party after reports emerged it is looking to consider passing two resolutions: one that supports the BDS movement, the other which aims for Canada to revoke the charitable license of the Jewish National Fund. “JNF Canada has been raising money in Canada for over 100 years. We operate to the letter of the law in full compliance with CRA regulations,” said Josh Cooper, JNF CEO. Cooper added that party leader Elizabeth May was given false and biased information.
It’s (never) too late to apologize. An Alberta opposition MP is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to formally apologize on behalf of the government of Canada for turning away Jewish refugees on board the ocean liner St. Louis in 1939. “This was a blight on Canada… one of the worst incidents in Canadian history,” says Deepak Obhrai, Conservative MP for Calgary Forest Lawn.
Reunited. Six years after a raid by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara flotilla to Gaza Strip left nine Turkish citizens dead and relations between Turkey and Israel seemingly irreconcilable, prime ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Binali Yildirim announced a reconciliation today, which will be made official tomorrow. Some have expressed concern at the deal, and reports claim defence minister Avigdor Liberman will not support it. Ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked of Bayit Yehudi say they’ve yet to decide.
Checking in on our favourite dads. Two years have passed since the photo of Frankie Nelson and BJ Barone with their new-born baby went viral. The two are raising their son, Milo, Jewish, and have just completed a book (from Milo’s perspective) on surrogacy, family and love called Milo’s Adventures: A Story about Love. “The spotlight of getting to speak for other gay dads is something both of us feel strongly about. It has given us a voice for being proud and being out, and running Gay Straight Alliances,” Nelson told The CJN. Today is also Milo’s 2nd birthday – mazel tov!
Coming back to Tel Aviv. It’s been a bit of a crazy year for David Blatt. After making history as the first Israeli head coach of an NBA team, he was fired (much to the chagrin of Israeli ball enthusiasts) and eventually took a job with Turkish basketball team Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul. In October, Blatt will face off against his old, old team, Maccabi Tel Aviv. “Darussafaka and I are happy and proud to be the guests of Maccabi in this exciting and interesting pre-season game,” Blatt said today. It will no doubt be an emotional game for him.
So he’s basically just a big phony. After years of educating others about his alleged experiences as an inmate at Auschwitz during the Holocaust, a 91-year-old Pennsylvania man has admitted his story was entirely fabricated. “I am writing today to apologize publicly for harm caused to anyone because of my inserting myself into the descriptions of life in Auschwitz,” wrote Joseph Hirt in an apology. “I was not a prisoner there. I did not intend to lessen or overshadow the events which truly happened there by falsely claiming to have been personally involved.” Hirt made the apology after a suspicious history teacher began an investigation into his story.
Toronto finally has rainbow bagels. What A Bagel restaurant in Toronto has jumped on the rainbow-bagel trend, following bakeries in New York and Montreal. However, Toronto’s version doesn’t appear that it’s meant to be consumed as a bagel dessert (this one doesn’t come with cake batter cream cheese) but hey, we’ll take it.
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