Dr. Arnie Aberman received his honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Toronto in June 2015. He is one of more than 1,500 people who have received honorary degrees from UofT since the school began the tradition in 1850, but Aberman believes he is the first and only person to give it back—as his symbolic form of protest against rising antisemitism on campus and his anger at how his former employer is failing to keep students safe, be they Jews or non-Jews. Aberman actually has three other honorary PhDs from other universities, plus an Order of Canada for his contributions to the medical field. But UofT’s award was special, because it came after an illustrious career in which Aberman held just about every top post at the institution’s medical school over the past 30 years: chair of medicine, dean of medicine and chief of medicine at hospitals in Toronto, including Mount Sinai, Sunnybrook, Princess Margaret, Toronto General and Toronto Western. But the retired physician, 80, no longer wants anything to do with UofT's degree, after he watched the pro-Palestine encampment remain up for two months on campus—just steps away from the medical building. Aberman has now informed UofT’s president of his intention to return the honorary degree in the coming days. Aberman joins this episode of The CJN Daily to explain his decision and what he hopes will happen next.

What we talked about

• Read more on U of T Jewish doctors boycotting their university in protest of the school’s handling of rising antisemitism and anti-Israel actions on campus, in The CJN.
• Learn why an Ontario court ordered the U of T encampment dismantled on July 2, 2024, in on July 2, 2024, in The CJN.
• Hear why UBC medical professor Dr. Ted Rosenberg quit after 30 years because of his university’s handling of antisemitism after Oct. 7, in The CJN.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

After the debacle in 2023, when Parliamentarians gave a standing ovation to an elderly Ukrainian Waffen SS veteran, pressure mounted on Ottawa to speed up publishing the names of long-classified files containing the identities of hundreds of suspected Nazi war criminals welcomed by Canada after the Second World War. The files were prepared in the 1980s for the so-called Deschenes Commission, which studied Canada’s postwar immigration screening problems, especially when it came to former soldiers from Nazi-occupied Europe. It was believed the government would publish them in May 2024, to help commemorate Jewish Heritage Month. But that didn’t happen. In June and July, researchers from Library and Archives Canada held consultations with a small list of stakeholders to discuss privacy issues with the files. A decision was expected this week. But that could be delayed further, after media reports surfaced slamming the bureaucrats for not consulting with a key group: Holocaust survivors and educators. They also missed academics, Polish Canadians and others who want the files released. The CJN has learned the consultations are being reopened as experts from the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Canada, including one of the group’s Holocaust survivors, are scheduled to have a hearing this Thursday. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we’re joined by Sam Goldstein, former legal director for B’nai Brith Canada, the human rights organization that has been at the centre of the campaign to release these files. Goldstein explains why he thinks the government is stonewalling—and what should happen next.

What we talked about

• Read more from February 2024 when Ottawa released more of the Deschenes Commission report’s first part, in The CJN.
• Why B’nai Brith Canada and others want the full records of suspected Nazi war criminals released, on The CJN Daily from Oct. 2023.
• Read B’nai Brith Canada’s statement to the House of Commons committee on Access to Information, Feb. 14, 2023.
• Why the Speaker of the House of Commons resigned after arranging a Parliamentary standing ovation for an elderly former Ukrainian Waffen SS soldier, in The CJN.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

The small Jewish community in St. Catharines, Ont., is marking a significant milestone this week. Exactly 100 years ago, on Sept. 14, 1924, two cornerstones were laid for the foundation of what would become the current building housing Congregation B'nai Israel synagogue. The event was front-page news at the time.

No one could have predicted that, a century later, city council would vote to designate the synagogue building an important heritage property, proving the contribution of the city's Jewish community to civic life. Getting that heritage label has been a key part of Howard Slepkov's plan to secure the future of the house of worship where he is president, and which has been the spiritual home to his family dating back three generations.

Slepkov, an author and professor, was also over the moon when more than 300 people filled St. Catharines' performing arts centre on Aug. 25 for the synagogue's centennial concert, with performances by renowned cantors and a local klezmer band. And there's more to come, as efforts are underway to raise enough money to keep the shul's lights on—even if it turns into a museum some day.

On today's episode of The CJN Daily, we're joined by Slepkov, whose grandparents were among the community's founding Jewish families, and also by Bernice Caplan, 92, who has lived in St. Catharines since she arrived as a teenager 74 years ago.

What we talked about

• Learn more about the Congregation B'nai Israel synagogue in St. Catharines
• Read more about the St. Catharines’ Jewish community in The CJN archives from 2016, 2018 and 2021
• Breathing new life into a small community, in The CJN

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)