How are Canadian Jewish leaders preparing for Israel’s continued political crisis this fall?

Tel Aviv Protests
Anti-government protesters fill the streets of Tel-Aviv in March 2023. (Photo by Amir Terkel / Wikimedia Commons)

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Next week, on Sept. 12, Israel’s High Court is set to hear appeals of a key plank in the judicial reform plan of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

The core issue is a law, passed by the Knesset in July, that curbs the court’s use of what’s called the “reasonableness” doctrine—a doctrine that allows judges to review controversial government decisions and political appointments. The opposition says that new law gives politicians too much power, while supporters say the unelected judges use the reasonableness doctrine too often to defy the will of elected officials.

The Knesset took a break for the summer, and won’t reconvene until after the High Holidays, on Oct. 15. But that doesn’t mean the protests and political turmoil have gone away. And while the chaos unfolds in the Holy Land, Canadian Jewish leaders are figuring out how to navigate the crisis domestically and abroad.

On today’s The CJN Daily, host Ellin Bessner returns to bring you her conversations with CIJA’s Shimon Koffler Fogel; Miriam Pearlman, the past president of the Canadian Reform movement’s ARZA organization; and Michael Kerzner, Ontario’s Solicitor General, who is urging Jewish schools and synagogues to apply for security funding before Sept. 12. 

What we talked about

  • Nine months ago, in December 2022, The CJN Daily spoke to Canadian Jewish leaders about Netanyahu’s re-election. Listen to that episode here.
  • Hear what Jewish Canadian rabbis and progressive Jewish groups predict will happen in Israel this fall, from The CJN Daily on Aug. 29, 2023.
  • Apply here for funding from the Ontario government’s anti-hate security and prevention grant by Sept. 12 at 11:59 p.m. E.D.T.

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer.Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.