In the wake of Sunday’s terrorist attack on Australia’s Jewish community, Canadian Jews are feeling angry, scared, mournful and defiant, with some seriously considering moving to Israel.

As of Sunday night EST, the death toll in New South Whales had risen to 15 victims, including the host of the Bondi Beach candle-lighting event, Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who has deep ties to Toronto and Ottawa. Meanwhile, officials believe up to 60 other festival-goers were wounded, including the rabbi’s wife, a mother of five. One of the two shooters was also killed.

In Canada, rabbis and Jewish leaders urged their community to push back against terror, show extra pride and make an effort to attend public candle-lighting ceremonies this Hanukkah. But some fear Canada is equally ripe for an attack like Australia’s, due to the failure of public officials to stop hate speech and protests on our streets featuring chants like “Globalize the Intifada”.

On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast with Ellin Bessner, you’ll hear what Jewish Canada sounded like while mourning Jews on the other side of the planet. We’re joined by Richard Marceau, a senior official with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, who just returned from an antisemitism conference in Australia six days prior to the attack; award-winning Canadian author Sidura Ludwig, who lined up early to buy special sufganiyot at a Thornhill bakery; Sara Lefton of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto; Rabbi Levi Gansburg of Chabad on Bayview, who knew the murdered rabbi; and political leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, Toronto mayor Olivia Chow and cabinet minister Evan Solomon.

Related links

• Read more about how Canadian Jewish leaders and politicians have reacted to the mass terrorist shooting in Australia, in The CJN .

• Why Australia’s prime minister accused Iran of trying to destabilize their country, including by masterminding the arson at the Melbourne synagogue in 2024 and firebombing of a kosher deli, in The CJN.

• This Australian Jewish leader said his country and community are ignoring online hate, at their peril, during a visit to Winnipeg in February 2025, in The CJN .

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner )

• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)

• Music:

Bret Higgins

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter

• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)

• Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here )

This weekend, starting on Dec. 12, thousands of Jewish teens from nearly 70 countries, including Canada, will be participating in BBYO’s annual #GlobalShabbat weekend, featuring dances, Havdalah services and other meaningful Jewish events in between. These BBYO high schoolers can thank Vancouver student Levi Moskovitz for helping raise a lot of the money to pay for it.

Moskovitz, a Grade 12 King David High School student with a passion for finance, is halfway through his term serving as BBYO International’s treasurer. Elected in February, he’s the sole Canadian teen on the current leadership board of the century-old Jewish youth organization. As treasurer, a title known as Grand Aleph Gizbor, Moskovitz has many duties—among them, overseeing a global fundraising blitz last week, called #GivingBBYODay, where they raised $1.6 million in a single day.

But Moskovitz, 17, is equally proud of his success revitalizing BBYO chapters here in Canada and attracting hundreds of new teens to find community and a safe space after Oct. 7.

On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, we hear from Levi Moskovitz in Vancouver to hear why BBYO is sort of a family business. His father, Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, himself a former BBYO international leader, also joins, and we’ll hear from BBYO’s regional director in Winnipeg, Jonah Posner.

Related links

• Read more about why Levi Moskovitz was nominated this fall as one of The CJN’s Chai Achievers

.

• Learn more about BBYO’s Canadian activities, including in the Vancouver area and Winnipeg's Global Shabbat Dec. 12.

• Discover when this Ontario teen was elected president of the international B’nai Brith Girls organization, in The CJN, from 2014.

Credits

• Host and writer:

Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)

• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music:

Bret Higgins

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN

(+ get a charitable tax receipt)

• Subscribe to North Star

(Not sure how?

Click here)

Toronto police, investigating the suspected hate-motivated theft of mezuzahs from a seniors apartment complex over the weekend, now tell The CJN they have raised their original count of 20 cases to approximately 30.

But community leaders—including rabbis, political offices and some tenants—believe the true number is significantly higher, anywhere from 60 to 110. Police acknowledge their count is probably low, but they need the victims to report the crime before they can confirm it.

Beginning Sunday, Toronto police’s hate crime unit and other officers combed through the 14-storey West Don Apartment complex in the Jewish area of Bathurst and Steeles. By the following afternoon, volunteers from the Jewish Russian Community Centre and Unapologetically Jewish replaced more than 60 mezuzahs.

But the disturbing crime spree has left many residents shaken, including one who reportedly asked if the mezuzah could be installed inside their apartment, not outside, to avoid being targeted. The City of Toronto has stationed personnel from the public housing division’s Community Safety Unit at the seniors building for the next couple of weeks “for safety and security support”.

On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner brings you her on-the-scene report, where you’ll hear from tenants including Lev Zaidel and Shoshana Pellman, and also from some of the volunteers, including local Rabbi Yirmi Cohen, Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman and Rabbi Shmuel Neft, who showed up to help.

Related links

• Read more about how the Jewish community came together to help the seniors who were victims of the mezuzah theft, in

The CJN

.

• Learn more about how to

donate mezuzahs

through the Jewish Russian Community Centre.

• This Toronto condo complex had 7 mezuzahs stolen in 2017. What did the victims say? In

The CJN

.

Credits

• Host and writer:

Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner)

• Production team:

Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)

• Music:

Bret Higgins

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN

(+ get a charitable tax receipt)

• Subscribe to North Star

(Not sure how?

Click here )