Your Daily Spiel is The CJN‘s daily roundup of trending stories in the Jewish world
CANADA
A new initiative at the Hebrew Academy in Montreal encourages students to ‘Be A Mensch’ by recognizing admirable traits in their peers and taking pride in their own strengths and virtues through the awarding of special cards that are sported as badges of honour.
A performance Monday night in Toronto, in support of Chai Lifeline, brought together three Jewish superstars performing music that reflects their diverse backgrounds. It was billed as a historic show in the world of Jewish music.
UNITED STATES
The Bernie Sanders campaign has a new Jewish outreach director, and wouldn’t you know it, she is an outspoken critic of Israel. Feeling the Bern yet?
The faculty at University of Michigan-Dearborn voted against two anti-Israel resolutions this week. According to the Algemeiner, University Chancellor Daniel Little “spoke forcefully” against both resolutions.
ISRAEL
Google announced today a $700,000 grant to Israel’s disabilities technology initiative: Tikkun Olam Makers (TAM). Such technologies developed by TAM include a bionic hand and a walker that helps disabled people climb stairs.
So Israel’s national hockey team squared off against North Korea (yes, that North Korea) in a hockey tournament in Mexico on Sunday, with Israel winning 8-4. Apparently, this wasn’t even the first time the two countries played each other in hockey; they also met in 2009 and 1993. Israel will continue the tournament today with a game against Australia.
Two IDF soldiers were arrested after setting fire to a Palestinian flag they confiscated near an Arab village. One was sentenced to 20 days in military prison, the other will be confined to a military base for a month. The IDF Spokesperson’s Office said, “The first investigation made clear that it was an unusual incident and that the soldiers acted in contradiction with what is expected of it and against commanders’ instructions.”
After twenty years of service, a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor living in Israel was fired from her job working with pensioners in Tel Aviv. “This is horrible. This is the thanks I get for 20 years? I’m very active and I love helping people. I want to continue volunteering there. There was something to live for; to get up in the morning, get dressed,” Ella Yaguda told Ynet.
WORLD
A recent poll shows that a greater percentage of U.K. Muslims harbour anti-Semitic attitudes as opposed to the general population. The poll found that while 6 per cent of the British population believe Jews are “responsible for most wars,” more than 25 per cent of Muslim respondents hold that view.
India’s 2,500-year-old Jewish community (approximately 5,000 members strong) is renewing its request to be officially recognized by the government as a minority group.“Jews have been part of the Indian society for 2,300 years now. But post independence, we have not been recognized as a minority,” a spokesperson for the community said.
The Palestinian Authority is readying to release ‘State of Palestine’ passports, which it hopes to provide to West Bank residents.The move, which was made without Israel’s approval, comes weeks before the PA’s plan to reintroduce a UN resolution banning Israeli settlements.
An Air France steward has launched an online petition against gay flight attendants having to travel to Iran, appropriately titled, “Gay stewards from Air France don’t want to fly to the death penalty in Iran.” Indeed.
Ahead of her 90th birthday, the Queen of England was presented with a Jewish prayer-themed birthday gift by the Commonwealth’s chief rabbi and his wife: a hand-crafted copy of a Jewish prayer said on Sabbath mornings.
CULTURE
There’s two new Passover parody videos floating around as the countdown to Pesach continues: a Justin Bieber/Adele mashup (it also spoofs The Ten Commandments) and a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” called “Seder.”
In this week’s biggest piece of viral news, Bono suggested that the most effective way of fighting ISIS terrorists would be by sending fun-loving comedians like Amy Schumer or Chris Rock. Rightttttt…………………..
If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, you’ll be interested to learn that two Israeli actors have joined the cast for the upcoming sixth season. Here’s the first trailer to feature them:
As previously reported, Craig David performed in Tel Aviv this week, sharing several photos of his performance and trip on social media. “Music is the one thing that has no color…so ultimately being here, is, I think, very important for me because it shows — you know what? I’m here to perform for my fans, let the music do the talking. And I really do hope that my music can break down more boundaries, that more artists can come here and perform,” he told Israeli media.
“Thank you for allowing me to glimpse into the lives of so many Jewish women, men and children.” @CraigDavid at YV pic.twitter.com/KzUQgX3Nkg
— Yad Vashem (@yadvashem) April 10, 2016
A special day visiting Jerusalem. Thank you to my friend & manager @ColinLester for this wonderful experience. pic.twitter.com/Rh25RdAIsY
— Craig David (@CraigDavid) April 10, 2016
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