JEWDAR
FICTION / COMING OF AGE Growing up is hard to do
GARCIA’S FIRST NOVEL , Other Evolutions, tells the story of a young girl of Jewish and Mexican heritage who lives in Ottawa. Alma Alt learns that her sister, in Montreal, is passing as white. In the book, Hirsch Garcia, also author of The Girl Who Cried Diamonds & Other Stories , explores themes of family con- flict and post-accident trauma. The nov- el offers a timely exploration of coming of age in an interfaith, interracial Canadian household from an up-and-coming Ca- nadian Jewish writer. Phoebe Maltz Bovy
OTHER EVOLUTIONS Rebecca Hirsch Garcia
ECW Press October 7
PODCAST / PERSONAL HISTORY The comeback kid
STREAMING / SPORTS Jews who hoop
HAVE YOU HEARD the good news? Yes, friends, the neurotic Jew with a cult following and an obsession with other people’s sins, Canada’s own Jonathan Goldstein, is returning. On the podcast, Goldstein acts as a kind of nudgy, meddle- some life coach. Each episode focuses on a guest who wants to resolve some moment from their past: a falling out, a withheld secret, an unsolved mystery. In a way, it is a show concerned
IN THE 2024-25 SEASON, the National Basketball Association had approximately one Jewish player: the Israeli-born Deni Avdi- ja. (“Approximate” because it’s not publicly known whether three- time all-star Domantas Sabonis has finished the conversion pro- cess he began in 2023 after marrying his wife, Shashana.) This year,
however, the number of hooping Hebrews will jump by 200 percent, as two Jewish players, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf, were drafted in the first round. Also unprecedented: they were drafted back-to-back by the same team, the Brooklyn Nets. Could there be a greater ex- ample of basketball beshert ? Saraf, whose
THE BROOKLYN NETS On TSN and Sportsnet starting October 21
with teshuvah , returning to some broken piece of the past in the hopes of repair. Goldstein is an audio storyteller whose career is a kind of microcosm of the entire industry. Much like the industry, his podcast
HEAVYWEIGHT Jonathan Goldstein September 18
has suffered its own slights, most notably being acquired by cor- porate audio giant Spotify, which then cancelled Heavyweight in a round of mass cuts in 2023. Its welcome return signals some hope for the type of earnest, narrative storytelling shows that have all too often been squeezed out. Zachary Kauffman PODCAST / COMMUNITY Rebuilding connections IN GOOD FAITH The CJN September 3
parents were pro basketball players in Israel, wears number 77, the gematria of mazal, while the seven-foot-tall Wolf was born in Illinois but gained Israeli citizenship to represent the Holy Land in the 2023 FIBA U20 European Championship, where he helped lead Team Israel to a silver medal. Crown Heights will be a raging sim- cha if either one scores a triple-double this year. Michael Fraiman
CAN A ZIONIST and a Palestinian be friends? Many Jewish-Muslim interfaith groups and personal rela- tionships broke down after October 7; two years later, bridges are slowly being rebuilt. In a new podcast miniseries by The CJN, in partnership with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, two co-hosts — Modern Orthodox rabbi Avi Finegold and Palestinian peace activ- ist Yafa Sakkejha —will hold challenging, honest, good-faith conversations with fellow Canadians whose lives have been torn apart by the Middle Eastern conflict. As online polarization pushes both Jewish and Muslim communities deeper into their respective echo chambers, this project aims to re-humanize each side, dispelling myths and opening a frank dialogue at a time when Canada needs it most. Michael Fraiman
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