Your Daily Spiel is The CJN‘s daily roundup of trending stories in the Jewish world
CANADA
Over 130 University of Toronto faculty members have signed a statement in support of a Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) petition calling on the university to divest from three companies that do business in Israel. “These companies have been singled out because they manufacture and sell weaponry and other technologies that are being used to destroy Palestinian lives and welfare on a daily basis,” reads the statement, titled, “Declaration of Faculty and Librarians in Support of the GSU Campaign for Divestment from the Israeli Occupation.”
After serving the community for 44 years, Markham’s Shaar Shalom synagogue has announced that it will close its doors on June 30. “It was a shock to a number of members,” said synagogue president Seymour Hersh.
The daughters of Toronto philanthropist and Holocaust survivor Chaim Neuberger are still engaged in a legal battle over their father’s inheritance, two years after he died. According to reports, Neuberger’s wishes were that his fortune be distributed equally between his daughters Edie and Myra. However, there is a reported $13 million difference in their inheritance.
The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) allegedly refused for a pro-Israel group to take part in its ‘Social Justice Week,’ citing its alignment to the BDS movement. “The Student Association passed a motion endorsing the BDS movement. Your organization seems closely tied to the state of Israel and as such, it would be against the motion to provide any type of resources to your organization … Your application to table at the Social Justice Week fair has been denied,” read an email to Robert Walker, Canadian Director of Hasbara Fellowships. “Never have I seen such explicit discrimination [against us] before,” Walker said.
UNITED STATES
Every day it seems more and more racists are coming out in support of Donald Trump. At a Saturday rally for the Republican front-runner in Kansas City, Missouri, one supporter appeared to give a Nazi salute before another one yelled “Go to Auschwitz! Go to f–king Auschwitz!” Police said they were forced to use pepper spray on two attendees following the rally. Two people were also arrested.
A Boston-area Catholic school made headlines after a basketball game against a predominantly Jewish school where supporters yelled “You killed Jesus!” Parents of the Catholic students claim in a new report, however, that the taunts followed jeers from fans of the Jewish school, including, “Sausage Fest!” and “Where are your girls?” Jewish parents have responded saying regardless of who started it, the “Jesus” remarks were still hurtful and inappropriate.
Israeli supermarket Osher Ad, which specializes in providing only kosher food, is opening its first location outside the Holy Land, in Brooklyn. The market will cater to New York’s ultra-Orthodox community.
ISRAEL
A man hiking through northern Israel stumbled across an incredibly rare 2,000-year-old gold coin, from the year 107 A.D. (C.E.) The coin bears the image of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. It is the second of its kind to be discovered.
A new survey illustrates a widening gap between the residents of Gaza and the West Bank, showing that 52 per cent of West Bank Palestinians oppose the violent uprising against Israelis (whereas 76 per cent of Gazan Palestinians support it). In a separate question, 80 per cent of Gazans supported knife attacks against Israelis specifically, while 54 per cent of West Bank Palestinians oppose it. The poll also reveals that support for Hamas has dropped, while support for Fatah remains stable.
A group of over 1,000 Israeli sociologists have announced they will sever all academic ties to Ariel University (located in the West Bank) because it “is not located in Israeli territory.” In a response, the university said the boycott is “semi-fascist.”
WORLD
A Palestinian teacher has won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize, beating 8,000 applicants from around the world. Hanan al-Hroub, who teaches her students to say no to violence, says she’ll use the money to create scholarships for students who want to become teachers. “The Palestinian teacher can talk to the world now. Hand in hand we can affect change and provide a safe education to provide peace,” she told the AP.
Egypt is mulling a ban on women wearing niqabs in public, claiming that the head covering has Jewish origins. Parliament member Amna Nosseir said the niqab is a Jewish tradition that dates back to before Islam was even a religion.
CULTURE
Jewish actors took home several awards at the Canadian Screen Awards last night, with Eugene Levy winning Best Actor in a Comedy series, Ari Millen for Best Actor in Drama series, and Schitt’s Creek winning Best Comedy series.
Room, Schitt’s Creek dominate Canadian Screen Awards https://t.co/qo86v6E1XA From @GlobeArts pic.twitter.com/79ZweqfY7U
— The Globe and Mail (@globeandmail) March 14, 2016
Saturday Night Live continued to poke fun at the U.S. elections, teasing Hillary Clinton’s chameleon-like ability to adapt in order to defeat her contenders (mainly Bernie Sanders). Larry David reprised his role as Sanders once again, to the delight of audiences everywhere.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center condemned Sarah Silverman’s recent decision to dress up as Adolf Hitler on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. “Entertainment figures accusing Trump of being Hitler-like is wrong and dangerous. You want to mock Trump, ok, he’s fair game. Take him on in every venue, including comedy. Denounce any statement he makes. But inserting history’s greatest criminal — who launched a world war that left 55 million people dead and who mass-murdered 6 million Jews — as a political prop in the 2016 campaign is beyond the pale. It demeans Hitler’s victims and debases history,” said Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper.
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