Your Daily Spiel is The CJN’s (almost) daily roundup of trending stories in the Jewish world.
The great divide: The controversy over the Israeli government cancelling plans to enlarge a prayer space at the Western Wall that can be used by men and women of any denomination continues to spark outrage in the Diaspora, which is deepening the rift between Jews living in Israel and elsewhere. But as Eran Shayshon and Avraham Infeld argue on cjnews.com, there has long been tensions between these two groups.
Nazis in our midst: As part of our continuing coverage of Canada’s 150th birthday, Bernie Farber and Eric Vernon take a look at this country’s track record of dealing with war criminals (hint: it’s not so good).
Buried in green tape: Although Israelis officially have access to medical marijuana, there is so much bureaucracy surrounding the process, that many patients are having troubles getting their medicine. Now, the government has announced plans to grant 100 doctors the right to give patients medical marijuana licenses and to invest ₪2 million (C$740,000) in the system. To which Canadians responded: get with the program, bro; we’ve got a plan to legalize all cannabis come next Canada Day.
The money shot: Speaking of home grown, Israel has a fledgling porn industry, and it’s apparently doing quite well.
There’s treasure buried in these parts: With all the souvenirs and swag surrounding Canada’s sesquicentennial, one may wonder how much of it will survive long enough to witness the True North’s 200th birthday. A couple in Port Moody, B.C., recently discovered a treasure trove of memorabilia from our centennial anniversary in 1967 in their basement. The collection was left behind by the now-deceased previous owners of the house and includes records that feature immigrants describing their experience coming to Canada, including from Jews who escaped the Holocaust.
So much for inclusivity: Hot off the heels of reports of people being kicked out of the Chicago Dyke March for carrying pride flags featuring a Star of David in the middle, the student union at Dalhousie University in Halifax has voted to boycott the city’s Pride Parade, apparently stemming from Pride’s decision to allow the pro-Israel Atlantic Jewish Council to participate in the event. One has to wonder if many gay rights advocates have forgotten that their movement was originally about being inclusive to everyone.
