Expand US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers escort a man in handcuffs during an operation in Escondido, CA, on July 8, 2019. © 2019 Gregory Bull/AP Photo (Washington, DC, July 22, 2019) – A Trump administration plan to speed up deportations by bypassing immigration courts is likely to result in serious harm to migrants and their families, Human Rights Watch said today. The US Department of Homeland Security plans to publish an administrative rule on July 23, 2019 that would authorize officials to deport noncitizens apprehended anywhere in the United States who cannot immediately… (Full Story)

Azerbaijan is celebrating its National Press Day today. But when it comes to press freedoms, there’s not much to celebrate, argues Catherine Pilishvili from Human Rights Watch.  Just ask Seymur Hazi. He was a leading columnist for the opposition newspaper Azadlig, and an anchor for the pro-opposition, online television channel Azarbayjan Saati (Azerbaijan Hour). Hazi’s been in prison since August 2014, serving a five-year term on trumped-up hooliganism charges. His prison term should be completed next month. Expand Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli is brought to the court after he has… (Full Story)

Brexit will not only have social and economic consequences on the United Kingdom, but this will also be felt throughout the British territories. The British Crown once ruled over a quarter of the Earth; nowadays, Her British Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 2, is sovereign over the United Kingdom, Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey, Isle of Man, and 14 British Overseas Territories. In the event that Brexit becomes reality, these Crown territories will have to get used to new rules made by the British withdrawal from the European Union. British territories could get separate deals with the European Union in order to safeguard their economic prosperity and keep their special relationship with neighbouring E.U. members. Some British Overseas Territories and Dependencies are unclear about their social and economic future if Brexit ever happens. (Full Story)

The second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un aimed to achieve the dismantlement of North Korea’s military nuclear infrastructure in return for sanctions relief, but ended abruptly, with no joint document or statement of the two leaders. Most likely the Hanoi experience does not portend derailment of the US-North Korea process, at least for now, and both sides apparently still have an interest to continue cooperation. At the same time, the US and North Korea will find it extremely difficult to resolve a basic contradiction regarding denuclearization.  (Full Story)

Valentine’s Day rituals often begin in the classroom, where the holiday serves both as an enjoyable arts and crafts activity and as a pedagogical tool, teaching children about structuring love and friendship into a concrete, prescribed form. The ritualization of love continues throughout our lives, not only on Valentine’s Day, but through weddings, anniversaries, and Mother’s and Father’s Day. (Full Story)

Montreal Jews rely on non-Jewish academics, writers and filmmakers to present and even explain, in French, Jewish realities to the Quebecois public and within Francophone academia. The considerable number of publications on Jewish themes, both in fiction and non-fiction, written in French by non-Jews is certainly unequaled in the Francophone world and most likely in the West, contends writer Victor Teboul. But do these works encourage or dissuade critical assessment of Quebec and of Quebec–Jewish relations, asks Tolerance.ca’s editor, whose most recent book also questions Quebecois identity. (Full Story)

Despite his dedicated work on behalf of Jewish refugees in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s, James G. McDonald (1886-1964) is little known today. Come discover this highly unusual and outspoken maverick through Shuli Eshel’s inspiring documentary, “A Voice among the Silent,” followed by comments and discussion led by Neil Caplan. (Full Story)

The Canadian government's recent announcement that it will be providing more than CDN $600 million (USD $455 million) over the next five years to bail out the country's financially strapped media outlets -- as part of the fall fiscal update about the federal budget ahead of the 2019 federal election -- is not as innocent as it may seem. (Full Story)

By David Barzilay

The intriguing tale of the location and fate of a Jewish baby placed in the Municipal Foundling Home of Thessaloniki during WWII.

It is March 4th 2016 an email pops onto my screen from some unknown group of researchers based in Thessaloniki, Greece. They introduce themselves: “ We are a group of researchers in Thessaloniki working on a common academic project related to the Shoah. Aliki Arouh, genealogist and researcher archivist of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, , Aigli Brouskou, an anthropologist, researcher of the Municipal Foundling Home of Thessaloniki ‘Agios Stylianos’ and Areti Makri, archivist at the State Archives in Thessaloniki and a researcher”. (Full Story)

To many observers, the Jewish community in Quebec is highly integrated into Quebec society, yet to others it appears insular. How can this apparent contradiction be explained? How do religious groups, including Jews, deal with the trend towards secularization in Quebec? We raised these questions and others with Dr. Morton Weinfeld. Professor of Sociology at McGill University in Montréal, Dr Weinfeld holds the Chair in Canadian Ethnic Studies. He is the author of Like Everyone Else, but Different: The Paradoxical Success of Canadian Jews (McClelland & Stewart, 2001), a study of the Jewish community in Canada. Dr. Weinfeld is also a recognized authority on Quebec’s Jewish community. (Full Story)

On Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 7:00 pm at the Gelber Centre, veteran British journalist Ian Black will be speaking on “Israelis and Palestinians: Contested Past, Uncertain Future.” (Full Story)

During the last fifteen years, Tolerance.ca organized several panel discussions.  To mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Tolerance.ca® organized two panel discussions on religious diversity featuring several distinguished panellists. The first meeting was held at Vanier College. The second, on which a report follows, was held at the Maison des écrivains under the theme “Education, Religion and Diversity: Enrichment or Source of Conflict?” (Full Story)

According to what criteria and in whose eyes do we achieve success? Lévriers is a theatrical investigation led by director Sophie Gee and five others who, like her, have remade their lives in Montreal: a Dutch actress, a Québécois dancer, a Rwandan rugby player, an Antillian rapper, and a retired Jewish businessman. Over the course of a creative laboratory, they all look back on their journey and their culture for ways to define success.  (Full Story)

By Kim Lavi and Udi Deke

In the most recent escalation between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the message conveyed by both parties was that they are not interested in paying the price of a war that will ultimately return them to square one. At the same time, neither wants to allow the other to score success or to appear as if it is conducting negotiations with the enemy. Thus, in the Palestinian arena, Israel should give priority to its long term interests at the expense of its short term interests that focus on achieving calm in the area. It is preferable for Israel that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip be conducted by means of the Palestinian Authority, so that the PA, and not Hamas, reaps the fruits of reconstruction in the eyes of the Palestinian public.  (Full Story)

The Tashme Project: The Living Archives is an award-winning verbatim theatre piece that has been crafted from over 70 hours of interviews with 20 Nisei (second generation Japanese Canadians) from Vancouver, Toronto, Hamilton, Kingston, Ottawa and Montreal. Show creators /performers Julie Tamiko Manning and Matt Miwa are proud to be part of Centaur Theatre’s Brave New Looks from Nov. 15-24, kicking off the national tour of this important show about the WW2 internment of Japanese Canadians. (Full Story)

By Daniel Shapiro and Eldad Shavit

The Democratic Party's success in regaining control of the House of Representatives is a sign of the American public's attitude toward the leadership of President Donald Trump. On the eve of the elections, the President himself stated explicitly that the results would constitute a referendum on his policy. In the American domestic arena, most legislative processes are likely to be paralyzed following the elections, but no conclusions about the 2020 presidential elections should be drawn. However, the results will require President Trump to begin preparing for the presidential race already in the coming months.  (Full Story)