Jessica Roda has researched a new wave of ultra-Orthodox women performers raising the ire of certain rabbis
It’s been eight years since Jessica Roda started studying the relatively secret world of female artists performing for ultra-Orthodox communities. And while she wasn’t brought up that way–she comes from a Sephardi family with French and Spanish origins–her access came from teaching piano and the French language to families in Montreal who may have otherwise […]
Jewish groups elated by conviction in the Montreal antisemitic hate speech trial of Gabriel Chaput
Jewish groups are applauding the guilty verdict against a Montreal man accused of willfully promoting hatred against Jews. Gabriel Sohier Chaput, 36, was convicted by Quebec Court judge Manlio Del Negro on Jan. 23 on the single hate speech charge brought against him for a 2017 article the reportedly prominent neo-Nazi wrote in the far-right […]
Jewish groups disappointed by acquittal in a 2022 Israel Day assault in Montreal
A youth who was charged in connection with the assault of a man carrying an Israeli flag following an outdoor Yom ha-Atzmaut celebration in Montreal last year has been acquitted on an apparent technicality. The accused was 15 years old at the time. The May 2022 incident on a Westmount street was captured by a […]
KlezKanada is returning to full programming—including its annual summer retreat—with a new executive director
KlezKanada, a Montreal centre devoted to promoting Yiddish arts and culture, was hard-hit after having to cancel its popular summer retreat for two years because of the pandemic, but is nevertheless confident about the future, says its new executive director, David Moss. A native of Montreal, Moss has spent three decades as an arts administrator […]
After years of work and waiting, an Eritrean family from Israel is reunited in Montreal with the help of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim
The Aukbu family, refugees from Eritrea, are Christian but they are celebrating a miracle worthy of Hanukkah with the Montreal synagogue that has made their resettlement in Canada possible. Congregation Shaar Hashomayim welcomed Shewit and Molu, their daughters Salim, 12, and Bat El, 8, and six-month-old son Abiyel, who they will be sponsoring for a […]
An innovative Holocaust project in a small Quebec school earned teacher Denise LeBlanc a Governor General’s award
Denise LeBlanc can’t recall ever hearing the word “Holocaust” when she was in school, even while being taught about the Second World War. She is determined her own students will not be deprived of that knowledge. LeBlanc, the teacher of grades 5 and 6 in a small school in Rimouski, Que., is the winner of […]
Kosher food banks are finding it a challenge to keep up with the growing need for help in 2022
Kosher food banks across the country say the last few months have been unprecedented as growing numbers of people turn to them looking for help while food prices soar and wages fail to keep up. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver food banks all report that they are stretched ever thinner—and, in some cases, they have had […]
Drive-by antisemitism in a Montreal neighbourhood nets perpetrator a conditional sentence—and a hate charge for his accomplice
A man arrested after allegedly yelling antisemitic slurs while driving through a Montreal Jewish neighbourhood last year has been charged with willfully inciting hatred against an identifiable group. The trial of Jawad Jawad, 21, is expected to begin in February. He also faces counts of uttering threats and being in possession of a weapon for […]
The hate-speech trial of Gabriel Sohier Chaput concluded in Montreal with his lawyer raising doubts about Nazism and the Holocaust
The lawyer defending an alleged promoter of hatred against Jews told the judge hearing his case that the fact that the Holocaust was the consequence of Nazism cannot be entered as evidence without proof. Hélène Poussard argued that her client, Gabriel Sohier Chaput, who faces one count of wilful incitement of hatred against an identifiable […]
Obituary: Mark Mendelson, 73, was a passionate fundraiser for Israeli causes
The sudden death of Mark Mendelson, one of the most successful fundraisers in Canada for Israel-based institutions, has shocked the Jewish community. Mendelson was 73 when he died in Montreal on Nov. 14, but still fulfilling as enthusiastically and effectively as ever his role as CEO of Ben-Gurion University Canada (formerly the Canadian Associates of […]
