SDM bringing Tel Aviv heat to Toronto!

Size Doesn't Matter, the web campaign highlighting Israeli nightlife, pop culture, art, innovation and more is aiming to capture the attention of young professionals from across Toronto right after Passover.

For those who have yet to experience the Holy Land, the exotic flavour of Tel Aviv, considered by some to be a cultural mecca, will be on display in Toronto at the first annual TLV to the YYZ. The event will feature world renowned Israeli spinmaster, DJ Erez Ben Ishay, samplings of delectable Israeli food and wines, and showcase the hottest trends from the streets and runways of TLV during its premiere designer fashion show.

For more information and to get on the guest list click here

Don't forget to check out the event's teaser video below.

Better Place works toward a better world for all

In these difficult economic times, vacationers are increasingly choosing "stay-cations" as an option to help save on the traditional costs of air travel and the like. This leads to an increased reliance on our cars for vacation travel. Making that choice, our four-wheelers still cost us a fair bit in gas and oil expenses, which in turn contributes to a greater release of toxins and pollutants into the Earth's atmosphere.

The CJN recently visited the Better Place education and demonstration center at Toronto's Evergreen Brick Works. Better Place is an American-Israeli company and a global provider of networked charge spots, battery switch stations and systems that will optimize the driving experience by helping reduce our dependence on oil and its petroleum byproducts.

Sunday Feb. 26 was the last day the Better Place Brick Works demonstration center was open to the public to promote "green power" and sustainable living by employing newly adopted EV (Electric Vehicle) car models. The Ontario government provided them with a one-year grant to help spread the "drive clean" message.

It was an eye-opening experience, as The CJN got to test drive an EV from Nissan. The car drove just as a Better Place educator explained it would – incredibly smooth and amazingly silent. Without gears and traditional vehicle mechanisms, the Nissan EV relies solely on the electric systems for propulsion. With but a gentle press on the accelerator, the car just about took off at high speed.

Ontario is working to reach its goal of having one car out of every 20 be an EV and on the road by the year 2020.

It will be an exciting feat and a miraculous innovative shift when we truly do, one day, leave the world of the combustion engine behind for hybrid cars and all manner of eco-friendly affordable alternatives.

A twist at Hasbara

The mind of the student can be a brilliantly creative and libidinous network of receptors and neurons. It is no more evident than in the recent video posted to the site for Size Doesn't Matter.

While on the one hand applauding social achievements in Israeli citizen relations to fictional / real scientific initiatives persued by Israeli companies, the video shows how much of a converstion non starter certain Israeli accomplishments can be, in the local coffee shop.

And yet, see how it all plays out...

Re: Israel A Difference of Opinion

Reported in print and online this week, Israeli Opposition leader Tzipi Livni position made clear that "Israel should pursue peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA) so that its future as a Jewish democratic state can be assured. ...Only peace can ensure that Israel will remain Jewish as well as democratic". The comments were made while addressing a large audience at a United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto function held at Events on the Park. This is typical of many news reports on re-newed Israeli peace efforts made despite escalating attacks by members of Hamas and Hezbollah.

What message does this continuously re-enforce on campuses across Canada? Is there nothing more to focus on than the political and military positions within the country? Coming next week in The CJN's opinion section, columnist Seymour Epstein asks "Is militant campus advocacy the solution?" He investigates the conventional wisdom these days that young Jews don’t know enough about Israel to defend against anti-Zionists. While he recognizes there are many different kinds of Jewish education: schools, yeshivot, women’s study centres, Jewish Studies programs on campus, summer camps, Birthright, Masa and adult study groups, he omits centres like JUMP (Jewish Urban Meeting Place), The House and The Annex Shul. These environments, and the programming they provide, enable young jews to absorb more positive aspects of Israel's cutlure, and provides oppotunities to celebrate the country's achievements.

So, is the solution to cram Zionist data into the minds of young Jews so that they can fight back with knowledge? Read why Epstein believes it's problematic from the perspective of an educator.

Have your say here! For Epstein's full opinion on the matter, check your next edition of The CJN.