Treyf Podcast

On this episode we try to explain the story of Purim, discuss our love for graggers, and successfully meet the show's JewCon requirements. We talked with Tyler Levitan from Independent Jewish Voices about the Canadian Jewish News' refusal to publish anti-Zionist perspectives, Sam tries to explain sports to David, and we issue a Shkoyach to anti-fascist activists in Montreal who shut down a Jewish Defence League event honouring a British fascist. For the interview, we're joined by retired professor and longtime activist Ismail Zayid to talk about the JNF's Canada Park and his over 40 years of work advocating for the right of return for displaced Palestinians. Show notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/03/16/episode-15-canada-park-with-ismail-zayid-on-this/

This episode includes references to hair gel, 1990s hair flips, and the difference between Adar I and Adar II. We brought back the BDS Watch Watch segment to discuss reverse BDS in the US and Canada, the campaign for BDS at McGill, and recent fear mongering at York University. We return to Illinois to address yet another instance of menorah vandalism, and gave a Shkoyach to sweet potatoes. For the Interview, we spoke with activist and academic Dean Spade about backlash that he received after the Creating Change conference, and what it means to talk about anti-semitism from an anti-zionist perspective. Show notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/03/03/episode-14-resisting-pinkwashing-with-dean-spade/ **We recorded this episode before the BDS motion (that passed the General Assembly at McGill University) was nullified by an online ratification vote. See the McGill Daily’s “BDS Motion Nullified in Online Ratification” and the CBC’s “McGill University BDS movement vows to continue”. Organizers are currently c

It's Treyf’s bar mitzvah episode! On this special occasion, we reminisced about our 13th birthdays and the process of getting older as a podcast. We called Ilan Benattar from Jews for Racial and Economic Justice’s Mizrahi caucus to talk about a Tablet Magazine article and the concept of Mizrahi-washing. After some technical issues the first time around, Dave Zirin joined us for the interview, discussing Zionism and Palestine solidarity activism in the NBA. And finally, our recommendation went to the recent New York Times parody issue distributed by JVP/Jews Say No, and we spoke to Beth Miller about the project. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/02/17/episode-13-mizrahi-washing-dave-zirin/

On this episode: we addressed the deluge of intersectionality related articles in the Jewish press, and spoke with Liza Behrendt of Jewish Voice for Peace about the Cancel Pinkwashing mobilization that took place at the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Creating Change Conference in Chicago. Our newly-appointed New York media correspondent Jonathan Katz discussed the place of Tablet Magazine in the Jewish mediascape, and (for those keeping track), we re-introduced the anti-shkoyach. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/02/03/episode-12-cancelpinkwashing-and-the/

On this episode: we spoke with Keren Soffer Sharon about her work at Jews for Racial & Economic Justice [JFREJ], where she has been building the organization’s first Mizrahi Caucus. In our newest BDS Watch Watch segment, we talked about the Institutional Jewish community’s awkward attempts to talk “intersectionality” as a means of countering the growing BDS movement in North America. Lastly, Shkoyachs were given to Jewish Voice for Peace’s anti-islamophobia Chanukah actions, and the two activists/academics who took the Toronto Star to task for questionable historical fluff pieces. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2016/01/20/11-mizrahi-resistance-to-anti-arab-racism-on/

Inspired by the confluence of panic and satire that is the #waronchristmas, we endeavoured to discover it’s true meaning. Relying on the guidance of longtime activist and teacher Moishe Volf Dolman, we moved through Christmas past and present in Montréal, trying to understand what the #waronchristmas is actually about. Merry Kratsmaych to all!

So we're taking a break from the podcast this month. But! Treyf's first live broadcast will be happening this Friday on CKUT 90.3fm (Dec 4th at 11am) and! we'll be releasing a special War on Christmas episode closer to the end of the month. We felt bad leaving you hanging though so we included some outtakes from previous episodes. Enjoy!

On this episode: We announce our new monthly live broadcast on CKUT, share another instalment of BDS Watch Watch, and announce our upcoming #WarOnChristmas special. We highlight some awkward pivots made by institutional Jewish groups after Harper's defeat, talk about the Arbeter Ring shaking off its dust in New York City, and share some updates on the struggle against the City of Montreal's sewage dump. Finally, we're joined by a member of Demilitarize McGill to talk about a week of events challenging militarism and colonialism at McGill University. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/11/18/10-aint-gonna-work-on-saturday-on-this-episode

(To avoid confusion, please pronounce the title with a guttural “kh”) On this episode: we condemn JK Rowling, the Papacy, and David’s cold. We discuss the dangerous appropriation of #blacklivesmatter by Zionist activists, and contemplate the Jewish media’s treatment of a JDL attack on a Buzzfeed reporter. David gives their Shkoyach to an ex-NDP candidate who recently visited Auschwitz, and Sam applauds the German government for their strong stance against holocaust denialism (by the Prime Minister of Israel). Finally, we’re joined by Manuel Salamanca Cardona of the Immigrant Workers Center (IWC) to talk about the Fight For 15 campaign to raise the minimum wage for workers regardless of status. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/11/04/09-half-chai-and-the-fight-for-15-to-avoid/

On this episode: we talk about colonial holidays, anti-muslim campaigning, and follow up on our two critically acclaimed segments, BDS Watch Watch and Who’s Invoking the Holocaust Now? [ #WITHN ] . We discuss recent claims of anti-semitism at the McGill Daily, try to understand Ben Carson’s holocaust theories, and share our mixed feelings about the Canadian Jewish News. We end the show with Amanda Lickers, highlighting the ongoing struggle led by indigenous women against the city of Montreal’s plan to dump massive amounts of sewage into the St. Lawrence River. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/10/21/episode-08-the-last-time-well-mention-elexn42/

On this episode: we discuss the institutional Jewish community's response to the ongoing migration crisis, talk about the fight against BDS on Canadian campuses, and try to be more clear about when we're being sarcastic. We reflect on the Jewish left's response to recent repression of BDS Quebec, and debate the ethics of not feeding pets on Yom Kippur. We're then joined by Sozan Savehilaghi to talk about No One Is Illegal's new multimedia project Never Home, as well as Canada's role in the global crisis of migration. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/10/07/on-this-episode-we-discuss-the-institutional/

On this episode: David theorizes about Harry Potter's anti-Semitism, and Sam asks if there’s any difference between politicians' Rosh Hashanah greetings. We discuss the Federation CJA’s failed attempt at online advertorials, and the Quebec government’s new legislation that targets Muslims. We're then joined by Yoni Goldstein, editor of the Canadian Jewish News, to talk about partisan politics and the discourse of Jewish media, as well as his role in changes at Canada’s largest Jewish newspaper. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/09/24/episode-6-jewish-media-and-partisan-politics-on/

On this episode: we talk about the Montreal businessman being called the 'Jewish Schindler' and break our promise to stop talking about the Canadian election. We reflect on the legacy of Montreal's Yom Kippur Ball and try to get to the bottom of an instance of vandalism at a Chabbad Centre in Illinois. We're then joined by Erika Davis, who runs the blog Black Gay and Jewish, to talk about the work she's doing to combat racism within the Jewish community with the Jewish Multiracial Network. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/09/12/on-this-episode-we-talk-about-the-montreal/

On this episode: We reflect on the 7th anniversary of Fredy Villanueva's murder by Montreal police and talk about the continuing reality of systemic anti-black racism in Quebec. We do a survey of the bi-partisan support for Israel in the federal election campaign and problematize the way we talk about histories of anti-Jewish lynching. We're then joined by Rachel Zellars to talk about her petition urging the Quebec government to remove the n-word from natural site place names. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/08/26/episode-4-anti-black-racism-quebec/

This segment didn’t make it into the last episode but we still wanted to share it with you! In this short, we discuss Mike Huckabee’s recent holocaust-invoking fame, Steven Blaney’s special permission, and comparisons between Iran and Nazi Germany. Show notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/08/14/short-whos-invoking-the-holocaust-now/

On this episode: we talk about the new Amazon Prime show ‘The Man in the High Castle,’ provide some updates on the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, and try to parse through the ways North American Jewish communities are talking about the nuclear deal signed by Iran. We reflect on CIJA’s attempt at a national conversation on Jewish safety and examine legal controversies surrounding the state of ‘J’ dating. We’re then joined by Clifton Nicholas, a Mohawk filmmaker and activist, to talk about his fundraising campaign to produce a new film looking back at the uprising in Kanesatake 25 years later. *CORRECTION: In this episode, David mentioned that Black Lives Matter activists shut down the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto but it was actually the Allen. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/08/12/03-oka-everywhere-25-years-since-the-crisis/

This is the first of our Shorts format, where we release things we've recorded outside the confines of a usual show. This week we're putting up an interview with Griffin Epstein, responding to discussions in the Jewish press about Jewishness and whiteness. Griffin is an Ashkenazi Jew from New York City who works as a front-line social service provider and college teacher in Toronto. Griffin is currently in the final stages of a PhD in social justice education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.  Show notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/08/06/this-is-the-first-of-our-shorts-format-where-we/

On this episode: we talk about the JDL in Montreal and an expansion of the Canada-Israel Free Trade agreement. We give a nod to the St.Louis Jewish Voice for Peace in their response to the Anti-Defamation League’s collaboration with city police, and question the royal family’s “heil-gate”. Lastly, we’re joined in studio by Claire Hurtig (Treyf’s director of design) to talk about pinkwashing and a recent Quebec delegation of LGBT Francophone Quebecois(es) to Israel. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/07/29/on-this-episode-we-talk-about-the-jdl-in/

On this episode: we break down new anti-semitism numbers, discuss increasing repression against Muslim communities, and introduce the Jewish National Fund’s mysterious new Israel Advocacy HQ. We bid farewell to the Jewish Tribune, talk about Bill Marantz’s racist column in the Jewish Post and News, and try to wrap our heads around why Mexican workers were paid to dress up as Chassids in NY. Lastly, we’re joined in studio by Amy Darwish (an organizer with Tadamon!) to talk about ten years of the BDS movement. Show Notes: https://www.treyfpodcast.com/2015/07/24/on-this-episode-we-break-down-new-anti-semitism/ David's article going into more detail on anti-semitism numbers: http://treyfpodcast.tumblr.com/post/125089303662/anti-semitism-data