Whenever there's a new mainstream TV show with a Jewish bent, Jewish audiences share a familiar reaction: excitement over representation, followed by dread over how bad that representation will be. The latest example is Nobody Wants This, the new Netflix rom-com series about a sex-advice podcast host (Kristen Bell) who, despite not being Jewish, falls for a hot young rabbi (Adam Brody). Gasp!

One key theme in the show is the nuance and viability of interfaith relationships, which, for Bonjour Chai co-host Phoebe Maltz Bovy, brought to mind the writer Meghan Daum. A prolific writer, Daum once penned a 1996 GQ piece called "American Shiksa", which appears in her 2001 collection of essays, My Misspent Youth, and which describes the common Jewish-guy-meets-non-Jewish-girl love story from the female perspective. On this week's episode, Daum joins to recall the origins of that article and helps dissects Netflix's new take on the age-old trope.

And after that, the hosts turn south to examine how Donald Trump spent the one-year Oct. 7 anniversary... by visiting the grave of Lubavitcher Rebbe and allegedly offering to sign siddurs.

Credits

• Hosts: Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy (@BovyMaltz)
• Production team: Michael Fraiman (producer), Zachary Kauffman (editor)
• Music: Socalled

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The cover illustration of the fall issue of The Canadian Jewish News Magazine drew hundreds of responses from readers across the country.

The image depicted a fictional family gathered for Rosh Hashanah. This family included a matronly woman in an apron wearing a yellow ribbon in support of bringing the hostages home; a young girl with a dog tag necklace in support of the Israel Defense Forces; two bearded men in a heated discussion; someone looking at footage of an explosion posted to Instagram on their smartphone; one woman clutching her forehead in apparent disappointment or frustration; and, most controversially, a young woman sporting a keffiyeh and watermelon earrings—a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.

The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Hamutal Dotan, joined Rabbi Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy for a robust discussion of the logic behind the drawing. After that, they discuss Phoebe's and Avi's articles inside: one on what Judaism has to say about Zion as a historic homeland for Jewish people, and one on the new philosemitism that's arisen since Oct. 7.

Read a condensed transcript of this conversation here.

Credits

• Hosts: Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy (@BovyMaltz)
• Production team: Michael Fraiman (producer), Zachary Kauffman (editor)
• Music: Socalled

Support The CJN

• Subscribe to the Bonjour Chai Substack
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Bonjour Chai (Not sure how? Click here)

Last week, Toronto's public school board came under fire after footage emerged on social media showing students partaking in a public protest for Indigenous water rights... that also happened to feature pro-Palestinian chants and signs. A provincial investigation ensued to learn how it happened and why teachers allegedly encouraged students to get involved in the demonstrations, but while those slow bureaucratic gears turn, parents—especially Jewish ones—are unhappy. Bonjour Chai hosts Avi and Phoebe ask: should students ever be taken to a public protest as part of a school curriculum, even if parents agree with the cause?

After that, they dig into the Indigo boycott/buycott fiasco, sparked after Indigo mounted a legal challenge against a grassroots movement claiming they kill kids. The movement began because Indigo CEO Heather Reisman operates a separate charity that supports Israelis without families (who are in all likelihood lone soldiers), but has spiralled into Jews and allies proudly supporting Canada's singular monolithic bookstore entity as a badge of honour. Remember when people used to proudly support their local indie bookstore?

Finally, Ta Nehisi Coates has re-entered the public discourse, years after breaking ground with his argument for reparations for Black Americans. His topic this time? Israel-Palestine, something that's being marketed as a "taboo" subject for discussion by a public intellectual. Except... it really isn't. Everyone's talking about it. So what's going on?

Credits

• Hosts: Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy (@BovyMaltz)
• Production team: Michael Fraiman (producer), Zachary Kauffman (editor)
• Music: Socalled

Support The CJN

• Subscribe to the Bonjour Chai Substack
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Bonjour Chai (Not sure how? Click here)