Robert Sarner

January 24, 2022, 2:13 am

Top Canadian agent smokes out long-lost relatives with new title ‘The Cigar Factory’

Over his 50-year career, Michael Levine has arranged deals for books, screen and business – but none hit home like a Holocaust memoir released in English this month

By Robert Sarner

Orly Carmon, CEO of Orca Global Leadership and Networking, in her Toronto office in June 2018. (Photo by Ben Katan)

November 15, 2021, 4:36 am

Money talks: Business network unites Israeli women at home and around the globe

Former ultra-Orthodox Jerusalemite Orly Carmon’s Orca networking company is a one-stop shop for over 31,000 Hebrew-speaking professionals to share resources and practice self-care

By Robert Sarner

Vardit Ravitsky in Ottawa, 2014. (Courtesy)

July 16, 2021, 10:53 pm

Israeli-Canadian bioethicist: Return to pre-COVID normal would be wasted chance

With myriad ethical issues prompted by the pandemic, Vardit Ravitsky has emerged as a prominent voice of morality and change in Canada’s public health debate

By Robert Sarner

Anita Winter with Holocaust survivor Fishel Rabinowicz at the opening of the Foundation's 'Last Swiss Holocaust Survivors' exhibit at the Shoah Memorial in Milan, Italy, May 2019. (Courtesy)

June 20, 2021, 4:04 am

Swiss woman helps Holocaust survivors weather pandemic’s 2nd trauma – loneliness

Second-generation survivor Anita Winter helps her parents’ generation with material and emotional assistance as they grapple with the global health crisis in their twilight years

By Robert Sarner

A woman holds a sign that says 'Intifada until victory' at a pro-Palestinian rally held during Israel's Operation Guardian of the Walls, in Nathan Phillips Square, downtown Toronto, May 15, 2021. (Screenshot YouTube)

June 16, 2021, 8:14 pm

Canada’s Jews say antisemites declared ‘open season’ on them since Gaza conflict

May’s Operation Guardian of the Walls brings huge spike in antisemitic incidents. Condemned by politicians, lack of public reaction spurs concerns hate is now socially acceptable

By Robert Sarner

Noa Tishby in Jaffa, January 2021. (Alon Shafransky)

May 6, 2021, 4:22 pm

Israeli actress Noa Tishby’s ‘Simple Guide’ to Israel shakes up US progressives

Endorsed by both Bill Maher and Ben Shapiro, the book seeks to stop left-leaning people ‘from being used by voices who want to dismantle’ the most ‘misunderstood country on Earth’

By Robert Sarner

Canadian Green Party head Annamie Paul wants to reach out to other branches around the globe. (Rebecca Wood)

March 19, 2021, 1:57 pm

Canada’s 1st Black Jewish female party leader took on anti-Semitism — and won

Making history on two fronts, the newly-elected Green Party head Annamie Paul shows Jews there’s nothing to be afraid of on the far left while vowing to expel hidden anti-Semites

By Robert Sarner

Robert Rotenberg in downtown Toronto near his office, January 2021. (Robert Sarner)

February 4, 2021, 2:39 am

Canadian lawyer sets high bar with his bestselling, very Jewish crime thrillers

When not captivating judge and jury as a criminal defender, Robert Rotenberg thinks up ways to challenge fictional homicide gumshoe Ari Greene on his home turf in Toronto

By Robert Sarner

Ya'ara Saks on the wall surrounding Jerusalem's Old City during the first year of her masters degree studies at Hebrew University, in July 1995. (Courtesy)

January 12, 2021, 5:11 pm

Canada’s 1st Canuck-Sabra parliamentarian is Zionist and proudly pro-Palestinian

Newly-elected dual citizen Ya’ara Saks brings a distinct voice to Trudeau’s ruling Liberal Party, often contending with ire of Jewish constituents and anti-Semitism simultaneously

By Robert Sarner

RetiSpec COO Roy Kirshon, left, and CEO Eliav Shaked. (Robert Sarner/ Times of Israel)

November 21, 2020, 4:18 am

Israeli duo’s early Alzheimer’s detection test brings cure one step closer

Toronto-based biomedical engineers Eliav Shaked and Roy Kirshon are working on a quick, non-invasive retinal diagnostic for patients decades away from showing symptoms of dementia

By Robert Sarner

Leonard Cohen performs during the first day of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., Friday, April 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

October 20, 2020, 4:14 pm

Not everybody knows: Fresh Leonard Cohen stories illuminate a complex troubadour

Canadian journalist Michael Posner’s quest to interview anyone who knew the mysterious celeb bears fruit with the first installment of oral biography trilogy, dropping October 20

By Robert Sarner

Hannah Alper with the 10th grade class at an all-girls secondary school in Kenya during a service trip with the organization Me to We, June 2016. (Courtesy)

July 17, 2020, 9:51 pm

Meet Canada’s 17-year-old Jewish ‘Greta Thunberg’ who says activism is a mitzvah

Where many see the world going down the tubes, Hannah Alper sees opportunity to improve — and wields considerable clout after starting her blogging career at the ripe old age of 9

By Robert Sarner

From top left: Screenshots of The Canadian Jewish Record, The Canadian Jewish News, and TheJ.ca. (Screenshot)

May 26, 2020, 4:14 pm

Canada welcomes two new Jewish outlets, but COVID-19 has media on life support

Leaders say a ‘news desert’ threatens the health of their communities as Diaspora Jewish journalism dwindles alongside an advertising drought

By Robert Sarner

Th Wilder-Freeman family, photographed by Elliot Sylman in April 2020. (Courtesy)

April 18, 2020, 12:18 am

Toronto photographer’s Porch Pics portraits raise morale — and charitable funds

Shutterbug Elliot Sylman takes out his zoom lens to snap families stuck at home during the coronavirus crisis for a captivating professional photo shoot

By Robert Sarner

Amal Elsana-Alh’jooj leads an identity workshop with ICAN fellows at McGill University in Montreal, 2018. (Courtesy)

February 17, 2020, 3:38 am

Far from her village, rare Bedouin feminist fights for Israeli women and peace

Now armed with a PhD in Canada, Amal Elsana-Alh’jooj pursues her vision for greater equality between men, women, Jews, and Arabs in her homeland

By Robert Sarner