Your Daily Spiel for August 16

Logo for the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival

A fashion photo shoot that took place last weekend at the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa has drawn criticism from Jewish leaders who say that the site should be a place for reflection and learning. “It’s not a place for a fashion shoot,” said Mina Cohn, director of the Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship at Carleton University’s Max and Tessie Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies. “You wouldn’t do a fashion shoot at the National War Memorial downtown. That is not acceptable. And it’s not acceptable here either.”

For the first time in its 43 years, the Toronto International Film Festival has partnered with the Yorkville Jewish Centre and Ellis Jacob of Cineplex to provide High Holiday services and meals to Jewish industry attendees of the festival.

A new state-of-the-art Herzliah high school opened in Montreal yesterday. More than 300 school, community and civic representatives gathered for the Aug. 14 inauguration of the deluxe school located next to the Sylvan Adams YM-YWHA, two years after the ambitious project’s groundbreaking.

Israel’s Educational Television channel went off the air recently after over half a century of broadcasting shows such as Israel’s version of Sesame Street. “IETV is leaving you with sadness and love,” the station said in a message broadcast right before its closure. “Thank you to our loyal viewers who found a home with us that was warm, smart, enriching and full of humor. We gave our heart and our soul to bring you valuable and quality programming.”

Actress Ruby Rose deleted her Twitter account over the weekend following backlash over her being cast as Katherine Kane/Batwoman in an upcoming CW series. Kane is written as a Jewish lesbian and the online protesters argued that the Aussie starlet is not Jewish and isn’t queer enough to embody the role on screen.