Voters should not have to think about foreign policy when deciding whom to elect as mayor, councilor, school trustee or MLA. Civic and provincial elections should not be venues for conducting foreign affairs. These orders of government have no responsibility…
British Columbians head to the polls twice this month, choosing local governments, school boards and some other offices on Oct. 17 and a provincial government on Oct. 24. The Jewish Independent was already immersed in preparing municipal election coverage when…
As Jewish communities complete the cycle of the High Holy Days, we emerge from a period devoted to an accounting of the soul: reflection on the year that has passed, acknowledgment of failures, repentance, reconciliation and, ultimately, the possibility of…
Rosh Hashanah is an exercise in audacity. We enter a new year conscious of everything that remains unresolved. We take stock, confront what we have done and failed to do. The very idea of a new year carries an implicit…
As students prepare to the return to classes in the coming days, there appears to be a growing public awareness that Canadian campuses are unwelcoming places for Jewish and pro-Israel students. This is hardly breaking news. Anyone who is a…
Canada’s new Combatting Hate Act, which has just come into force, says many of the right things. The question is whether anyone in the justice system will act on them. The passage of Bill C-9 into law creates a distinct…
This week, Sasha Troufanov and Sapir Cohen were married. The couple had only recently begun building a life together in Ramat Gan when terrorists burst into the home where they were visiting with family on Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct.…
Many American Jews have given up on the Democratic Party. Seeing intractable opponents of Israel within its congressional ranks, many Jewish and pro-Israel voters decided that their best or only hope was within the Republican Party. This trend was based…
Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a much-vaunted statement on Canada’s antisemitism crisis last week. It was unlikely to satisfy everyone – partly because there is only so much a single government can do about a global social phenomenon like escalating…
The City of Vancouver’s integrity commissioner this month declared that Mayor Ken Sim breached the city’s code of conduct by criticizing Councilor Sean Orr’s presence and comments at an anti-Israel rally last year. The report concluded that Sim misused the…
