What responsibility do arts organizations—and the arts in general—have in championing Jewish culture, fostering inclusivity, and building bridges across communal lines?

In this episode of Tête-à-tête, host Jonathan Slater is joined by curator and writer Evelyn Tauben, founder of the Toronto-based Jewish arts organization FENTSTER, for a conversation about challenges that Jews in the arts in Canada have faced in recent years, as well as the many opportunities that exist for productive engagement, solidarity, and reconciliation. They focus on Evelyn's latest project, SHVILIM ("paths," in Hebrew), a provincially funded initiative celebrating Jewish creativity in Ontario's arts landscape. Jonathan and Evelyn chat about how SHVILIM is charting a new approach to educating about antisemitism through a holistic lens, and why its team is advocating for non-punitive solutions in the arts and beyond.

This conversation was recorded live at the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies' 2026 Annual Conference on May 31, at York University's Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies.

To learn more about SHVILIM and to explore the Bridging Worlds resources on understanding antisemitism in French and English, click here. To read a summary of SHVILIM's work with the Ontario Arts Council and their recommendations for the arts sector, click here.

This episode was produced and edited by Theadora Draper. Original music is by J. K. Bradley. Our executive producers are Joshua Tapper and David Koffman. We thank the Canadian Race Relations Foundation for their generous support of this episode.

Please visit the website of the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies to learn more about its work, how it supports the research and study of Canadian Jewish life, and how you can contribute. The ACJS is based at the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University, in Toronto, ON.

For updates about the ACJS, sign up for its newsletter. If you have comments or thoughts about our podcast, please email us at acjs@yorku.ca.

After a twelve-year hiatus, Parchment, the only literary journal devoted to contemporary Canadian Jewish writing, is back!

The latest iteration of the journal is supported by a coast-to-coast-to-coast who's who of Canadian Jewish writers, scholars, and litterateurs and will feature a mix of fiction, poetry, literary non-fiction, and translation that explores the many shades of Canadian Jewish life. In this episode, host Jonathan Slater sits down with Parchment's new editor-in-chief, Orly Zebak, for a conversation about what the journal's return means for the Canadian Jewish literary ecosystem, the role it's primed to play in the wider Canadian literary conversation, and the perennially debated question: What is Canadian Jewish literature?

You can learn more about Parchment, including how to contribute, at its website. You can purchase individual copies or an annual subscription here. (Full disclosure: Parchment is proudly published by the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies.)

This episode was produced and edited by Theadora Draper. Original music is by J. K. Bradley. Our executive producers are Joshua Tapper and David Koffman.  

Please visit the website of the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies to learn more about its work, how it supports the research and study of Canadian Jewish life, and how you can contribute. The Association for Canadian Jewish Studies is based at the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University, in Toronto, ON.

For updates about the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies, sign up for its newsletter. If you have comments or thoughts about our podcast, please email us at acjs@yorku.ca.

Theresa Tova, the Paris-born, Calgary-raised actor, singer, and playwright, is synonymous with the Canadian Jewish musical stage. Creator of the award-winning Holocaust-themed musical Still the Night, one-third of the globe-trotting sensation The Three Yiddish Divas, and now starring as Yente in the first-ever Canadian production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, Theresa joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation about her life, career, and the relationship between identity, memoir, and performance.

Catch Theresa in the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, running May 25–June 2, 2026, at Toronto's Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company!

This episode features snippets of Theresa's songs "Under Your White Starry Heaven," "Telling Stories," and "Night & Day," which you can listen to in full in the foregoing links! You can find all of Theresa's albums here.

And don't forget to check out the Canadian Jewish Life Writing Project, a new initiative to capture personal narratives about the Canadian Jewish experience!

This episode was produced and edited by Theadora Draper. Original music is by J. K. Bradley. Our executive producers are Joshua Tapper and David Koffman.  

Please visit the website of the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies to learn more about its work, how it supports the research and study of Canadian Jewish life, and how you can contribute. The Association for Canadian Jewish Studies is based at the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University, in Toronto, ON.

For updates about the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies, sign up for its newsletter. If you have comments or thoughts about our podcast, please email us at acjs@yorku.ca.