Jimmy Bitton

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Jun 30, 2025, 11:01 PM

How the Radical Left Gave Hamas a PhD

In the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, history is not simply remembered. It is mobilized, weaponized, and deployed. Competing historical narratives do more than explain events. They justify them. They assign blame, sanctify violence, and switch the roles of victim and perpetrator. Since...

Jun 2, 2025, 9:17 PM

Dreyfus Repaired, Israel Betrayed

This week, France’s National Assembly voted unanimously to posthumously promote Captain Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish officer falsely convicted of treason in 1894, to the rank of brigadier general. Framed as an act of reparation, the move is being hailed...

Apr 17, 2025, 6:20 PM

Mimouna After October 7: What a Moroccan-Jewish Festival Can Teach Us About Coexistence

Jimmy Bitton celebrates Mimouna at Sephardic Kehila Centre in Canada.

Most people outside the Jewish world have rarely heard of Mimouna—and with good reason. This lesser-known, joyful festival, celebrated by Jews of Moroccan descent at the conclusion of Passover, traditionally sees doors flung open, tables laden with sweet pastries,...

Mar 21, 2025, 12:08 AM

Anti-Israel Zealotry: A Religion of Ruin

As postmodern thought dismantled the grand narratives that once gave life meaning—God, nation, family—many turned to politics to satisfy their spiritual hunger. Political movements increasingly function as quasi-religions, complete with doctrines, moral hierarchies, rituals, and heretics. Nowhere is this...

Oct 25, 2024, 12:30 AM

Sephardi Representation in Jewish Day Schools

One erev shabbat while I was reciting kiddush, my then five-year-old son made the following untimely proclamation: "Abba," he pointed out, "you should say kiddush the normal way." Throughout the rest of the Moroccan-style recitation, which I had been performing...

Oct 15, 2024, 8:57 PM

Antisemitism is Canada’s Warning

Lord Dr. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks once warned that antisemitism never stops with Jews. His insight—that hatred of Jews is a harbinger of deeper societal decay—has never been more relevant, especially here in Canada. The rise of antisemitism isn’t just...

Jun 25, 2024, 6:16 PM

Anti-Zionism is Antisemitism

Bob Marley’s iconic song “Exodus” masterfully intertwines the biblical motif of the Israelites’ journey to their promised homeland with the profound longing of the Black diaspora. By invoking the image of the Israelites being led by “Jah” (God) to their...

Aug 7, 2023, 5:58 AM

Confronting the Falsehood of “You Killed God”

"You killed God." I have been the target of this ancient libel on several occasions in my life. My earliest memory dates back to my brief enrolment in public elementary school where attention was drawn to my Jewishness in...

Apr 12, 2023, 9:18 PM

Mimouna, when Jews and Arabs celebrate together

Israelis at a Mimuna celebrations in the city of Beit Shemesh on April 7, 2018. (Yaakov Lederman/Flash90)

The end-of-Passover fete reflects a cultural symbiosis unique to Morocco, where Jews were more welcome than elsewhere

Mar 31, 2023, 11:50 PM

Juxtaposing Judaism and the State

In his book The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, William James, the greatest American philosopher and leading thinker of the late nineteenth century suggests that something is true only insofar as it works. In light...

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About Me

Jimmy Bitton, B.A., B.Ed., M.A., is a historian and senior Jewish educator with over two decades of experience in instructional design, curriculum development, and educational leadership. Renowned for his dynamic teaching style, he is a published essayist and op-ed contributor in leading international media and scholarly publications. Bitton is a sought-after speaker on topics including Jewish identity, antisemitism, Israeli history, and role of artificial intelligence in education.

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