Your Daily Spiel is The CJN‘s daily roundup of trending stories in the Jewish world
CANADA
Your favourite Yiddish Canadians, Eli and Jamie of YidLife Crisis, have unveiled the newest episode of their popular web series just in time for Passover, and it’s possibly their most thought-provoking yet. Tackling the debate between religion and customs vs. modern society and secularism, “Coming Out of Bondage” will surprise, entertain and (as always) leave you roaring in laughter.
A Jewish exhibit in Ottawa is in the works to mark 150 years of Confederation. Under the leadership of committee head Tova Lynch, a small group of local volunteers has put together a proposal for what has been named “The Canadian Jewish Experience: A Tribute to Canada” (CJE) and is working hard at developing the various aspects of the project.
As controversy continues to surround a recent Supreme Court ruling that supports physician-assisted death (PAD), Orthodox rabbis from across Canada have spoken out against it in a petition. “We state that any participation in PAD is forbidden by Jewish law,” the petition asserts. “While the Supreme Court has decided to the contrary, we cannot be silent in the face of what our religious teachings and our conscience tells us is contrary to what is good and moral. We are committed to continue advocating for the value of life within our society.”
UNITED STATES
Last night’s Democratic debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders saw the former secretary of state defend Israel and criticize Palestinian leaders for their failure to address the needs of their people, while the Vermont senator went a different route took a left turn. Watch it below. In other Bernie news, his controversial Jewish outreach director has been suspended (that did not last long) after a Facebook post where she made several vulgar remarks about Benjamin Netanyahu went viral.
On the other end of the political spectrum, Donald Trump addressed a delegation of Jewish reporters yesterday afternoon, and got stumped by one reporter’s question about settlements in the West Bank. Trump referred the question to the chief legal officer of the Trump Organization, as he was better suited to answer the question, apparently. This, of course, reiterates what many naysayers have argued about Trump’s campaign: he’s simply not experienced enough to be President. Maybe a mayor?
Nearly 400 U.S. lawmakers have signed a petition urging President Barack Obama to oppose ‘one-sided’ and biased UN resolutions against Israel. Let’s hope the President takes their advice.
ISRAEL
There is currently a campaign promoted by several Palestinian activists for Marwan Barghouti to win a Nobel Prize. Barghouti is currently in Israeli prison for his role in murders that took place during the Second Intifadah. Many speculate that Barghouti could succeed Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority which, according to the Times of Israel’s Avi Issacharoff, would not bode well for Israel.
An Israeli activist posted an interesting photo to her social media account, Enough is Enough, this week, depicting a package that labels Tel Aviv as a Palestinian territory. The package came from a Canadian company, dbrand, that sells smartphone skins. Dbrand did not respond to The CJN’s request for comment as of publication.
Croatian Jews are keeping their promise on boycotting Croatia’s official Holocaust commemorations due its government’s failure to address concerns of growing anti-Semitism and neo-Nazi ideology. The community mourned the victims of Jasenovac, the site known as “Croatia’s Auschwitz,” on their own instead.
Leaders from over fifty Muslim nations united together on Friday to condemn Iran for its support of terrorism at a conference held by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). “The conference deplored Iran’s interference in the internal affairs of the States of the region and other Member States including Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, and Somalia, and its continued support for terrorism,” the OIC said in a summit communique.
And the award for most intriguing headline of the day goes to an Algemeiner article titled, “Saddam Hussein Tried Banning Children’s Franchise Pokemon Because Name of Character Means ‘Be a Jew’ in Arabic Dialect.” I always suspected that Pikachu was Jewish.
CULTURE
Since there’s only one more week until Passover, you’re probably going to want to eat as many carbs as possible this weekend, and what’s better than Chinese food? If you’re looking for some quick and easy recipes for vegetable fried rice or beef short ribs, look no further.
Like Jean-Claude Van Damme before him, Morgan Freeman eventually removed the word ‘Israel’ from a Facebook photo of the popular actor/narrator during his trip to Jerusalem. Your instinct was right the first time, MF.
The rumours were true: there’s a Broad City Israel-themed episode. The episode finds Ilana and Abbi going on a Birthright trip, and features a cameo from Seth Green.
Click here for yesterday’s edition of Your Daily Spiel
Send ideas, news items to [email protected]