Today we celebrate the 249th anniversary of the promulgation of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Several months ago I was in Philadelphia and took a tour of Independence Hall. One thing that struck me was the combination of reverence for the place and access for everyone that charact…
Early on in the post 10/7 conflict, I began to listen to podcasts featuring Israeli journalist Haviv Rettig Gur. Gur had a very incisive approach to his analysis. It wasn’t ideological, it was extremely well informed, and it was clear eyed about the challenges faced by Israeli society, by …
A few minutes ago early this morning, my daughter returned home to Toronto.
In Israel on a seminar with educators and group leaders when the war with Iran began, like millions of others she spent most of a week in and out of a bomb shelter. She and her group were evacuated through Ashdod to…
For the second time in two weeks, I find myself compelled to write a new message hours before we publish our newsletter. Circumstances give me no other choice. It reminds me of November 1989, when my Modern European History course in my 2nd year at the University of Toronto had to be reworke…
As Pride Month continues, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, we also take a look back at a number of Jewish leaders who made cultural and historic contributions to that community. From politicians and lawyers to religious leaders, here is a list of some of those who have made a great impact f…
