Following the deadly Hamas attacks, Israel has engaged in non-stop bombing in the last weeks on the 2.3 million people living in the Gaza strip. We are witnessing civilian Palestinian casualties in the thousands. Meanwhile, Israel has cut off electricity, water, humanitarian aid, and internet and phone service to the people of Gaza. These restrictions on vital utilities are considered war crimes. People have lost entire families and Palestinians and allies all over the world...

The situation in Palestine-Israel is growing more and more dangerous, with total casualties now in the thousands. The situation is now so dire that some are warning of potential genocide in Gaza. Canadian officials have spoken out in support of Israel’s “right to self-defence” and requested that it abide by international law, but Justin Trudeau and Mélanie Joly have yet to condemn or call for an end to Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.  As...

With over 1,000 Israeli and more than 700 Palestinian casualties so far, the pain felt by those of us both in the region and connected to it cannot be overstated. The lives cut short in the past 48 hours are a tragedy, evidence of the need for an immediate ceasefire, not an escalation of violence. Attacks against civilians are in violation of international law, regardless of the perpetrator and whether by immediate violent force or...

On October 16-17, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Canada’s Jewish Federations are putting on a conference in Ottawa called Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It, co-sponsored by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) Canada. While the gathering is framed as an attempt to fight antisemitism, the sponsors and the speakers slated for the conference give us reason to believe that there is another agenda in play here. In a recent article in the...

Traditionally, the Book of Jonah is read in the synagogue on the afternoon of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Why? The rabbis give a variety of reasons: Because the book reminds us of G-d’s infinite mercy, because the people of Ninveh are a paradigm of repentance, because the book serves as a reminder that the entire world, and all of its natural forces, are in G-d’s hands, and because as we...

The Jewish high holidays are a period to collectively repent for our wrongdoings over the last year, and imagine how we will enact our ethical values in the year to come. It is traditional in the time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, known as the “Days of Awe,” to reflect on the past year, repent, and seek forgiveness. The traditional liturgy focuses on confessing our transgressions during the Days of Awe. Even if they...