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Toronto family remembers their son, Tyler Wallace-Cohen, with a twinkling tribute

Two months after their 13-year-old son Tyler Wallace-Cohen died, his parents Jennifer Wallace and Eric Cohen did what their son would have wanted them to do and banished the mid-January darkness by filling their yard with glowing lights, inflatables and joy.

In the midst of the colourful display was the logo for Loeys-Dietz Syndrome, the genetic disorder that led to Tyler’s death in November 2024.

The family invited friends, classmates and neighbours to drive by the Toronto house and give a honk, or get out of their car and enjoy the lights display, take photos and share stories about Tyler. The special event was called Twinkling Tribute Hour for Tyler.  

“We wanted to bring joy to others during the holiday season and shine a light on Tyler and the kind of kid he was,” said Wallace.

He was known for his infectious smile and cheering up those around him.

“Tyler would always champion for others. If someone was having a bad day or being bullied, he would always step in and advocate for that person,” said Wallace.

Tyler had no shortage of challenges himself. When Wallace was pregnant, the couple went to an ultrasound early on and found out there was a ‘laundry list of problems’ with their unborn child.

They decided to continue the pregnancy and hope for the best. After a difficult labour, Tyler was born and immediately whisked away by a medical team.

“In the middle of the night, Jen called me and said that he may not make it through the night, and I had to go to SickKids (Hospital),” said Cohen.

Tyler survived but this was the first of many dire medical situations that he would face throughout his life including 17 surgeries, four being major heart procedures.

He lived with Loeys-Dietz, a rare genetic disorder that affects connective tissue. It can cause aneurysms in the aorta and other arteries, as well as other abnormalities.

When he was born, there were fewer than 500 people worldwide with this diagnosis and he had one of the most severe cases the doctors had seen.

“We made it our mission that he was going to not just defy the odds but beat them,” said Wallace.

They tried to ensure Tyler did everything that other kids did including going to school, participating in extracurricular activities, and more.

“A cardiologist said to me, ‘we’re going to give him the best medical care that he can possibly have. Your job is to let him just be a kid,’ and so we did.” said Cohen.

They took family trips and tried to enjoy life as much as possible. One year they went to Niagara Falls and upgraded to the Presidential Suite.

“When Tyler found out, he was so happy and excited. He looked at me and goes, ‘Mom, we’re big ballers’,” recalled Wallace.

At one time, Tyler was followed by 18 different healthcare professionals. Tema Stein was Tyler’s osteopath. They first met when he was less than two years old.

“When he first came to me, he couldn’t bear weight on his feet. He couldn’t stand or walk,” said Stein.

She helped expand Tyler’s capabilities in different ways including introducing him to Kyoshi Dominic Moscone at the Northern Karate School.

“When I first heard about the medical issues he was going through, I was a bit skeptical. I was told to just meet him and right away he stole my heart,” said Moscone.

They started working together for just 10 minutes at a time because of his condition. They made their big goal to get up to an hour.

“His knees would buckle and he would fall over due to muscular imbalance. I would test his balance, push him over a bit. I would ask him if he fell and he would say no or that he almost fell. The almost fall was a huge accomplishment because it meant he could control that stuff,” said Moscone.

Before long, they were training together consistently every Saturday. They worked together for about seven years.

“He accomplished everything according to the same curriculum as everyone else,” said Moscone.

Just last year, Tyler got his black belt. According to Moscone, he never gave up no matter how difficult things were and his parents also played a big role in this major accomplishment.

“He’s a one in a million kid,” said Moscone, “He’s going to be deeply missed. He lived a short but meaningful life. He brightened the lives of everyone he came in contact with.”

Moscone attended the twinkle tribute hour with his sons last week.

“It was amazing. You look at his parents and his whole family and you can see why Tyler was as good as he was. They’re making this terrible thing into something fantastic. It’s just what they do,” he said.

The front yard of Jen Wallace and Eric Cohen’s Toronto home was lit up in memory of their son Tyler, Jan. 16, 2025.

On Nov. 5, 2024, Tyler had his 16th surgery, this time for his aorta. Just two days later, he had chest reconstruction surgery. He came home from the hospital and was recovering at home.

Shortly after, he wasn’t doing well and his parents took him back to SickKids.

“I was hoping it was just a panic attack and the pain was related to the surgeries. But when they hooked him up to the heart monitors, all hell broke loose,” said Cohen.

The doctors did everything they could to try and save Tyler one last time.

“The doctor came over and said there’s nothing we can do, your son is dying. Everyone just left the room and we were alone with him.” said Cohen. “It was the worst feeling because I knew he was gone.”

The couple said the holidays were an incredibly difficult time for them and their family but soon Wallace had an idea.

“Jen convinced me to put up the inflatables and then we started to expand it,” said Eric.

They started to get more inflatables donated to them and it just kept expanding. Eventually, the yard was filled with light and colour.

“We did everything we could to turn that darkness into something bright and fun because that’s what Tyler would have wanted us to do,” said Cohen.

At the tribute evening, they were joined by friends, family, community members, and even the police who flashed their lights and honked their horns in honour of Tyler.

“Tyler would have loved this and the world needs more kind, caring, and compassionate people like him,” said Wallace.

Proceeds from the event went to SickKids Hospital.

The post Toronto family remembers their son, Tyler Wallace-Cohen, with a twinkling tribute appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

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Northwestern University Touts Progress on Addressing Campus Antisemitism Amid Federal Scrutiny

Signs cover the fence at a pro-Palestinian encampment at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. on April 28, 2024. Photo: Max Herman via Reuters Connect.

Northwestern University on Monday touted its progress in addressing the campus antisemitism crisis, issuing a statement containing a checklist of policies it has enacted since being censured by federal lawmakers over its handling of pro-Hamas demonstrations which convulsed its campus during the 2023-2024 academic year.

“The university administration took this criticism to heart and spent much of last summer revising our rules and policies to make our university safe for all of our students, regardless of their religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, or political viewpoint,” the statement said. “Among the updated policies is our Demonstration Policy, which includes new requirements and guidance on how, when, and where members of the community may protest or otherwise engage in expressive activity.”

The university added that it has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, a reference tool which aids officials in determining what constitutes antisemitism, and begun holding “mandatory antisemitism training” sessions which “all students, faculty, and staff” must attend.

“This included a live training for all new students in September and a 17-minute training module for all enrolled students, produced in collaboration with the Jewish United Fund,” it continued. “Antisemitism trainings will continue as a permanent part of our broader training in civil rights and Title IX.”

Other initiatives rolled out by the university include an Advisory Council to the President on Jewish Life, dinners for Jewish students hosted by administrative officials, and educational events which raise awareness of rising antisemitism in the US and across the world. Additionally, Northwestern said that it imposed disciplinary sanctions against several students and one staff member whose conduct violated the new “Demonstration and/or Display Policies” which regulate peaceful assembly on the campus.

“In closing, although Northwestern has made significant progress in the fight against antisemitism on campus, the university remains vigilant and will continue to do what is necessary to make our campus safe,” the statement concluded. “Importantly, the fight against antisemitism is NOT [sic] a zero-sum game. All members of our communities on campus — all religions, races, national origins, genders, sexual orientations, and political viewpoints — deserve to feel safe and know that our rules will be enforced to protect them against hate, discrimination, harassment, and intimidation. Northwestern is committed to this principle.”

As previously reported by The Algemeiner, Northwestern University struggled for months to correct an impression that it coddled pro-Hamas protesters and acceded to their demands for a boycott of Israel in exchange for an end to their May 2024 encampment.

University president Schill denied during a US congressional hearing held that year that he had capitulated to any demand that fostered a hostile environment, but his critics noted that part of the deal to end the encampment stipulated his establishing a scholarship for Palestinian undergraduates, contacting potential employers of students who caused recent campus disruptions to insist on their being hired, creating a segregated dormitory hall that will be occupied exclusively by students of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and Muslim descent, and forming a new advisory committee in which anti-Zionists students and faculty may wield an outsized voice.

The status of those concessions, which a law firm representing the civil rights advocacy group StandWithUs described as “outrageous” in July 2024, were not disclosed in Monday’s statement.

Northwestern University is not the only school creating distance between itself and the anti-Zionist movement, a step many colleges have taken in response to US President Donald Trump’s vowing to cut the flow of taxpayer funds supplementing their budgets should they refuse to crackdown down on illegal protests and antisemitism. Following the Trump administration’s cancelling of over $400 million in federals contracts and grants awarded to Columbia University, former interim president Katrina Armstrong proposed a list of reforms the school would agree to undertake — in areas ranging from undergraduate admissions to campus security — to restore the funds.

Armstrong later resigned from her position, saying in a statement which explained the decision that she wishes to return to her role as executive director of the university’s Irving Medical Center, as well as several other positions she holds.

Meanwhile, Harvard University recently fired a librarian whom someone filmed ripping posters of the Bibas children, two babies murdered in captivity by Hamas, off a kiosk in Harvard Yard and denounced him as “hateful.” Additionally, it paused a partnership with a higher education institution located in the West Bank, a move for which prominent members of the Harvard community and federal lawmakers had clamored in a series of public statements. The Trump administration initiated a review of $9 billion in taxpayer funds it receives anyway, prompting interim president Alan Garber to defend Harvard’s handling of the issue.

“For the past fifteen months, we have devoted considerable effort to addressing antisemitism,” Garber said. “We have strengthened our rules and our approach to disciplining those who violate them. We have enhanced training and education on antisemitism across our campus and introduced measures to support our Jewish community and ensure student safety and security.”

Northwestern University is in the Trump administration’s crosshairs too. It is one of 60 universities being investigated by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights over its handling of campus antisemitism, a project that will serve as an early test of the administration’s ability to perform the essential functions of the agency after downsizing its workforce to increase its efficiency.

“The department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite US campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in March. “US colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by US taxpayers. That support is a privilege, and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Northwestern University Touts Progress on Addressing Campus Antisemitism Amid Federal Scrutiny first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Pressure Mounts on UN Members to Block Reappointment of Controversial Anti-Israel Official

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a side event during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The United Nations is facing growing pressure to block the reappointment of Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has an extensive history of using her role to denigrate Israel and seemingly rationalize the terrorist group Hamas’s attacks against the Jewish state.

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is set to reappoint Albanese for another three-year term on Friday, despite calls from several countries and NGOs urging UN members to oppose her reappointment due to her controversial remarks and alleged pro-Hamas stance.

Since taking on the role of UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories in 2022, Albanese has been at the center of controversy due to what critics, including US and European lawmakers, have described as antisemitic and anti-Israel public remarks.

In the months following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, atrocities, across southern Israel, Albanese accused Israel of perpetrating a “genocide” against the Palestinian people in revenge for the attacks and circulated a widely derided and heavily disputed report alleging that 186,000 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli actions.

She has also previously made comments about a “Jewish lobby” controlling America and Europe, compared Israel to Nazi Germany, and stated that Hamas’s violence against Israelis — including rape, murder, and kidnapping — needs to be “put in context.”

Last year, the United Nations launched a probe into Albanese for allegedly accepting a trip to Australia funded by pro-Hamas organizations.

In the past, she has also celebrated the anti-Israel protesters rampaging across US college campuses, saying they represent a “revolution” and that they give her “hope.”

On Monday, US Rep. Brian Mast, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to the president of the UNHRC, Ambassador Jürg Lauber, to express his strong opposition to Albanese’s reappointment.

In the letter, Mast claimed that Albanese has failed to act “in an independent capacity with a professional, impartial assessment, and maintain the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.”

“Ms. Albanese unapologetically uses her position as a UN special rapporteur to purvey and attempt to legitimize antisemitic tropes, while serving as a Hamas apologist,” the letter read.

“In her malicious fixation, she has even called for Israel to be removed from the United Nations while likening Israel to apartheid South Africa,” Mast wrote in a letter signed by six fellow lawmakers. “Regrettably, Ms. Albanese’s rhetoric has perverted the very institution and its foundational principles in which she was appointed to serve.”

Governments worldwide, including France, the UK, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands, have condemned her statements as antisemitic and urged that she not be given another term in her role.

Last month, 42 members of the French Parliament publicly urged the government to oppose Albanese’s reappointment, arguing that it “would send a regrettable signal to victims, human rights defenders, and states committed to credible multilateralism.”

This week, British Labour Member of Parliament David Taylor also objected to Albanese’s reappointment, saying “there is no place for such alleged antisemitism on the international stage.”

“Albanese’s response to the largest antisemitic massacre of the 21st century was to describe it as ‘a response to Israel’s oppression,’” Taylor told the Jewish Chronicle. “She described Israel as being a ‘settler colonial conquest.’”

“Making statements of this nature in a UN capacity is abhorrent and does so much damage to communities already torn apart by horrific violence, going against everything the United Nations stands for,” Taylor said.

Human rights groups and NGOs have also campaigned to prevent the anti-Israel rapporteur from receiving a second term.

UN Watch, a Geneva-based NGO, has organized a petition against her reappointment, which has garnered over 83,000 signatures.

Last month, Maram Stern, executive vice president of the World Jewish Congress, sent a letter to the president of the UNHRC urging him to reject the renewal of Albanese’s mandate, citing what she described as the UN official’s history of anti-Israel animus and antisemitic statements.

“Ms. Albanese has repeatedly made public remarks that propagate harmful antisemitic tropes, question the legitimacy of the State of Israel, and employ rhetoric that undermines the credibility of the Human Rights Council itself,” the letter read. “Her persistent lack of objectivity and failure to uphold a balanced and impartial approach required of her as special rapporteur compromises her credibility as an independent expert.”

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) also urged UN Members to reject Albanese’s second term, saying she “has systematically demonstrated a troubling pattern of conduct and expression that is incompatible with the responsibilities, neutrality, and integrity expected of a UN special rapporteur.”

“Her actions not only betray the victims of terrorism and antisemitism but also are a stain on the credibility of the Human Rights Council itself,” the AJC wrote in a letter.

The post Pressure Mounts on UN Members to Block Reappointment of Controversial Anti-Israel Official first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Three Jewish Coaches Lead Teams in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four

Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden and Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl talk before the game as Auburn Tigers take on Florida Gators at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect

The men’s 2025 NCAA Tournament Final Four bracket includes four No. 1 seed teams, three of which have Jewish coaches who will lead the way in the two national semifinals taking place on Saturday.

Auburn University Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl has contributed Auburn’s success in the NCAA in part to God and his Jewish faith. He described Israel as the “ancestral homeland for the Jewish people” and called for the release of American-Israeli Edan Alexander from Hamas captivity at a post-game conference last month. He also took the Auburn team on a trip to Israel, where they made stops at the Western Wall and Yad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center.

The Tigers will compete on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament Final Four against the Florida Gators whose Jewish coach, Todd Golden, is an Israeli citizen who previously played two years professionally for Maccabi Haifa in Israel.

In 2009, Golden was co-captain of the USA Open Team, coached by Pearl, that won gold at the Maccabiah Games, which is an international multi-sport event for Jewish and Israeli athletes. Golden has been the coach of the Tigers for two seasons, but prior to that he was the assistant coach at Columbia, the head coach at San Francisco, and even worked under Pearl. Golden was director of basketball operations for the Auburn staff for the 2014-15 season and was promoted to assistant coach for the 2015-16 campaign.

Duke and Houston also play each other on Saturday in the Final Four. The head coach of the Duke Blue Devils, Jon Scheyer, also formerly played in Israel and holds Israeli citizenship. He played professionally for Maccabi Tel Aviv from 2011-12. In October 2023, not long after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Scheyer commented on the conflict and said in part: “My heart breaks for the people in Israel — that have hostages, American lives that are taken, mourning loved ones.” Scheyer is leading Duke to the Final Four in only his third year as head coach.

The Houston Cougars – the fourth men’s team competing in the Final Four – do not have a Jewish coach, but they have a player who was born in Israel and played for Israel’s national youth squad. Guard Emanuel Sharp, who is the son of Derrick Sharp, was part of Israel’s under-16 national basketball team and also played for Maccabi Tel Aviv for over a decade.

This year’s Final Four have a combined record of 135-16. Since seeding began in 1979, this is only the second time in history that all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It previously happened in 2008. Larry Brown was the last Jewish coach to win the NCAA Tournament when he led Kansas to the victory in 1988.

The 2025 NCAA Tournament Final Four begins on Saturday, with two national semifinals taking place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, and ends on Monday with the national championship.

The post Three Jewish Coaches Lead Teams in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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