Your Daily Spiel is The CJN‘s daily roundup of trending stories in the Jewish world

CANADA

Ari Briggs, director of Israeli NGO Regavim, was in Toronto last week to publicize the organization’s efforts to preserve Israeli sovereignty and reveal the steps taken by outsiders (particularly the EU) to undermine it.

The first in a two-part series on Jewish-Muslim relations in Canada examines those who are working hard to strengthen the relationship between the two religious groups, despite the enormous strain caused by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other issues.

Many in Canada’s political community have been discussing Tom Mulcair’s forthcoming departure from the NDP. Here’s a Jewish take on the issue.

CJN columnist Bernie Farber’s opinion piece on the demise of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford might not be your standard obituary, but it does measure the scope of Ford’s influence, which was felt from Canada to the Judean Hills, and back.

UNITED STATES

If you’re a Conservative Ashkenazi Jew, expect a different menu at your Passover seder this year thanks to the Conservative movement’s overruling of an 800-year-ban on kitniyot. As a Sephardic, this is old news…

A video of Republican presidential hopeful John Kasich trying to school a group of yeshiva students on the Bible is going viral, for obvious reasons.

On the other end of the Republican forum, Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka revealed this week her father’s support of her conversion to Judaism. Ivanka also noted that her husband, Jared Kushner, and Donald are “incredibly close.”

ISRAEL

After a short period of relative calm, terror struck Israel today when an axe-wielding soldier attacked an IDF soldier in the West Bank, before security forces shot him dead. In a separate incident, two twelve-year-old boys were arrested in Jerusalem after police discovered three knives in their possession. The children were also carrying goodbye letters to their parents, according to police.

The IDF soldier at the centre of a highly-publicized court case after he shot dead an unarmed Palestinian attacker has been charged with manslaughter, Ynet reports. A small group of Israelis supporting him demonstrated outside the courtroom.

Apparently, the IDF staged a cyber-security exercise for members of its air force, navy and infantry cyber units modelled on the world of Harry Potter. Seriously.

Motorola Solutions has announced its brand new innovation centre in Israel to be focused on cyber-technology, mobile technology, and all things Internet. Israeli PM Netanyahu lauded the company’s decision: “You’re in the right place in the right country in the right business. That’s a very good match,” he said.

A new video making the rounds online is a social experiment that watches how Jews and Israelis react to a sign that reads, ‘Jews Only.’ Apartheid, eh?

WORLD

Ukraine has appointed its first-ever openly Jewish prime minister. At 38, Volodymyr Groysman is also the youngest person to have the job.

Despite pressure from BDS activists, a delegation of British and Israeli researchers are meeting in Oxford for the third annual BIRAX conference, which looks to find cures for some of the world’s worst diseases.

A Jewish historian drew the irk of several Polish officials, including a Polish prosecutor, after he said that Poles “killed more Jews than Germans” during World War II. While insulting Poland is a punishable offence, Jan Tomasz Gross has not been charged with a crime.

CULTURE

A new exhibit on Bob Dylan in Tel Aviv will focus on the social revolution Dylan kicked off, his influence on music across the globe and his own complex relationship with his Jewish identity. It’s the first exhibit on Dylan of this magnitude to be presented in Israel.

Norwegian rappers Karpe Diem are under fire after releasing a song where they use ‘Jew’ and former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon as insults. A spokesperson for the rapper said they “would never use these words to describe anybody in a derogatory way. Not now, not ever.”

Click here for yesterday’s edition of Your Daily Spiel

Send ideas, news items to [email protected]