Reporters Notebook: What were the top stories for Canadian Jews in 2024?

The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner

Over the past 12 months, The CJN team has produced more than 700 podcast episodes, news stories, opinion pieces and foreign dispatches. The overwhelming theme has been the reverberation of Oct. 7: firebombed synagogues, gunshots at schools, anti-Zionist campus encampments, cancelled Jewish artists, a crackdown on Jewish charities—and more.

But we always make sure our coverage balances heartache and hope. Throughout the year, we've also reported on the powerful resurgence of Jewish pride and engagement in Canada's spiritual and communal life—increased numbers of Jewish conversions, secular artists embracing their Jewish identities, solidarity across political lines—which gives us a cause for optimism, even while tense conversations about the Israel-Hamas war continue dividing families, colleagues and civil society at large.

On today's episode of The CJN Daily, host Ellin Bessner assembles a team of CJN reporters from across the country to weigh in on the most talked-about stories of the past year and predict what we might expect in 2025. You'll hear from news editor Lila Sarick; Quebec correspondent Joel Ceausu; Western Canada correspondent Sam Margolis in Victoria, B.C.; staff reporter Jonathan Rothman, who covers Toronto city hall and culture pieces; Local Journalism Initiative reporter Mitch Consky, whose beat is campus life and education; and the producer of this very podcast, Zachary Kauffman.

What we talked about:

• Read more about Indigo Books winning legal action to block the BDS movement’s effort to boycott the retailer, in The CJN.
• Hear the interviews with Anthony Housefather about his decision to stay in the Liberal Party, and also our interview with Ya’ara Saks on her choice to meet with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, both on The CJN Daily.
• Read more about Selina Robinson’s new tell-all book, in The CJN.

Credits

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

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