My diaspora Jewish world is crumbling - with Jesse Brown

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What is happening to Jewish Canadians, and what it tells us about the country Canada thought it was?

In today’s episode, Dan is joined by Jesse Brown, founder, editor, and publisher of Canadaland, to discuss how Jewish life in Canada has changed since October 7. Drawing on months of reporting for his six-part investigative series What Is Happening Here, Jesse explains why antisemitism in Canada feels more targeted, more tolerated, and more systemic than many outsiders understand. They discuss attacks on Jewish schools and synagogues, the role of progressive institutions and campus culture, the collapse of old assumptions about diaspora belonging, and whether Canadian Jewish life can ever go back to what it was.

Listen to Jesse’s six-part investigative podcast series here.

See Jesse at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan on May 21. More info here.

In this episode:

- Jesse Brown’s life as a Canadian Jew before October 7

- Why Jesse says his diaspora Jewish world is crumbling

- What Jewish life in Canada feels like now

- How Jewish schools, synagogues, and neighborhoods became targets

- Why antisemitism in Canada feels more systemic

- Canada’s postnational identity and the politics of settler colonialism

- The role of Islamist extremism and what Canada refuses to name

- Why anti-Zionist activism in Canada has become more explicit

- Zionism, anti-Zionism, and why Jesse says the labels matter less than the harm

- The fractures inside Canada’s Jewish community

- Why Jesse still wants to fight for diaspora Jewish life

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo