Benjamin Brown left an extraordinary legacy. One of the first practising Jewish architects in Canada, he designed several of the most distinctive buildings in Toronto, Canada’s biggest city. He succeeded in spite of the endemic antisemitism that held Canada in its grip before World War II and that placed obstacles in front of talented Jews […]
In the wake of this week’s terrorist attacks in Brussels, for which Islamic State claimed responsibility, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed out, quite correctly, that the international community is now engaged in “a global war against terror.” Having made this pertinent observation, Netanyahu careened off course by making a causal link between Islamic State […]
Approximately one million Muslims have flooded into Europe in the past year, the majority having been admitted by Germany in a grand humanitarian gesture. Haunted by visions of its Nazi past and its central role in the Holocaust, Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, has urged Europeans to emulate her example. Merkel’s openness to the migrants, many […]
It goes without saying that a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli dispute will be fiendishly difficult to achieve unless both sides are psychologically prepared to make meaningful compromises. Israel must accustom itself to the idea that its occupation of the West Bank is unsustainable and counter-productive. How can there be peace when the Palestinians are […]
Islamic State and its 34 affiliates have launched terrorist attacks in countries ranging from France to Turkey, but the Sunni jihadist organization has yet to strike one of its arch enemies, Israel. It seems strange that IS, based in Iraq and Syria, has not targeted Israel, the object of hatred and revulsion in the Muslim world. […]
The spirit of Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza, the great 17th century Dutch-Jewish philosopher, hovers over Holland’s capital, The Hague. Spinoza (1632-1677), the scion of Portuguese Jews, lived here during his last seven years, earning a livelihood as a lens grinder after having been excommunicated by the Jewish community in 1656. A rationalist credited with having laid […]
This year’s edition of House of Cards, the Netflix political drama now in its fourth season, largely lives up to expectations. The 13-part series, based on a book by Michael Dobbs and developed for television by Beau Willimon, gets off to a lumbering and disappointing start, but gathers strength as it moves along. By the […]
From 1947 to 1957, approximately 35,000 Holocaust survivors immigrated to Canada, bringing with them a fierce desire to begin their lives anew. Among the arrivals were my parents, David and Genya, who landed in Canada in February of 1948. Fresh from a displaced persons camp in southern Germany, they arrived in Halifax by ship from […]
Bryan Buckley’s dark comedy, The Bronze, which opens in Canada on March 18, is a rollercoaster of a ride, rife with emotions and replete with an engaging cast of characters. At its center is Hope Ann Greggory (Melissa Rauch), an American gymnast who lives on her laurels and can’t adjust to her mundane life after […]
It is sickening and disheartening that European governments and individuals collaborated with Nazi Germany in the mass murder of Jews during the Holocaust. But it is downright revolting that collaborators with blood on their hands are still being honored by their native lands. This adds insult to injury. The problem is exemplified by two recent incidents. […]