The head of Windsor’s Jewish community, Stephen Cheifetz, is calling in the big guns to fight back “significantly” against the University of Windsor, which agreed last week to accept a list of demands by its pro-Palestinian tent encampment protesters. In exchange, the protesters agreed to take down their two-month-old tent city peacefully. The July 11 deal is being described by Jewish groups and even by the Windsor encampment students themselves as the most far-reaching victory to date by campus protesters in Canada. It covers a request to divest from any Israel-related investments, to boycott Israeli universities, bring in more Palestinian students and scholars in light of what the UN deems a “scholasticide” when Israel bombed Palestinian schools where Hamas operatives were thought to be hiding. While the university itself insists it isn’t taking sides in the current Middle East conflict, school officials agreed to condemn what it terms “the illegal occupation of Palestine” and called for an immediate ceasefire. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we unpack the deal with law school graduate Sydney Greenspoon, as well as lawyer and former UWindsor law professor Stephen Cheifetz, who is now head of the Windsor Jewish Federation.

What we talked about:

• Read the July 11, 2024 agreement between the University of Windsor and its pro-Palestinian encampment protesters, as well as the second agreement made with the UWSA, the student council.
• Learn why The University of Windsor has a history of anti-Israel activity, in this 2015 article in The CJN archives.
• Read The CJN story about the deal signed in May between Ontario Tech University and its encampment students, which agreed to bring in more Palestinian students to study and to publish any investments in military firms that are involved in the violence in Gaza.

**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. 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. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

On the weekend, the IDF announced its forces had targeted a zone in the Khan Younis area of Gaza where the senior Hamas mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack had been hiding. Initial reports said the attack aimed to take out Mohammed Deif, Hamas’ military chief. International condemnation was quick to blame Israel for dozens of civilians killed in the bomb blast.

And while official Israeli channels endeavoured put their spin on the important military operation, a group of civilian Jewish public-relations whizzes were in a Tel Aviv studio going live with their own English-language briefings and social media posts.

It’s a job Eylon Levy used to do after Oct. 7 as official international media spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. Levy’s earnest and calm handling of Israel’s p.r. war made him a celebrity, especially his expressive dark eyebrows that became famous in their own right on social media. But after six months into the war, the British-born former journalist was unceremoniously fired. The reasons are complicated. Levy pivoted, and assembled a team of p.r. pros to continue fighting the crucial information war for Israel. He’s come to Canada to drum up support for this new venture.

On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, Eylon Levy joins to explain why the Israeli government’s in house public relations efforts to date have failed to counter the lies and propaganda from the Iran-backed Hamas organization, creating a situation which he believes has driven a wedge between Canada and the Jewish State, and also between Canadians and their non-Jewish neighbours.

What we talked about:

• Learn more about the Israeli Citizen Spokespersons’ Office, Elon Levy’s new private public relations work for Israel and the Jewish people.
• Learn how to donate via JGive to the New Israeli Discourse and Citizen Spokespersons’ Office.
• Follow their daily briefing Sunday to Thursday at 8 a.m. ET.

**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. 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. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

At the end of June, a queer artist group's craft market was scheduled to celebrate Pride Month in Saskatoon with an event called Cheers for Queers. The organizers declared support for Palestine, later laying down an umbrella ban on Zionists. Jews could come, they said—just not Zionist ones.

That's when a local parent recalled an interview they'd heard on this very podcast stream, aired exclusively to subscribers of The CJN Daily, in which a Montreal-based lawyer discussed ways to combat antisemitism. Now other parents have joined her to form a new grassroots organization to draw newfound attention to the myriad problems faced by Jews in their Prairie city since Oct. 7—including a disturbing antisemitic drawing made on the blackboard of a Saskatoon public high school classroom.

The activists join_The CJN Daily_ to explain how they successfully got the anti-Zionist market moved, for now, how a little divine intervention worked in their favour, and what they hope to do next.

What we talked about:

• Read the 2SLGBTQ organization's statement about why it opposes Zionism and Israel
• Learn more about the Jewish community of Saskatoon expanding its community centre during the pandemic and renovating the Agudas Israel synagogue on The CJN Daily from June 2023
• To hear the episode that inspired these women, and catch more bonus content aired exclusively for subscribers, subscribe for free to The CJN Daily (and search for the bonus episode on June 3, 2024)

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. 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. Hear why The CJN is important to me.