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Best Gambling Sites for Canadians in 2026: Gambling Nerd Ranks the Top Picks
Gambling Nerd approaches Canadian gambling sites with a simple question: does the platform actually work well for someone in Canada? Accepting Canadian registrations is only the beginning. CAD accounts, Interac availability, withdrawal times, licensing, provincial restrictions, games and sportsbook coverage can make two apparently similar sites very different once real money is involved.
There is also no universal “best” gambling site. An NHL bettor looking for player props has different priorities from someone interested in slots, live blackjack or poker-style games. Gambling Nerd’s Nerd Nook Hub adds an educational layer to that comparison by examining concepts such as RTP, house edge, probability, sportsbook margins and odds.
For a broader look at the market, the Gambling Nerd guide to gambling sites in Canada covers Canadian casinos, sports betting, banking and regional considerations.
Best Gambling Sites for Canadians in 2026
For Canadian players, Gambling Nerd currently places IZZI Casino first overall, with Betway standing out for slots, North Casino for its welcome package and Hell Spin for poker variants. Sports Interaction is also particularly relevant to players who want casino games and Canadian-focused sports betting within the same platform.
The important distinction is that these sites have different strengths. Instead of treating the ranking as five interchangeable casinos, Canadian players can use it to identify the platform that most closely matches how they actually play.
| Rank | Gambling Site | Gambling Nerd Score | Best For | CAD Support | Interac | Sportsbook |
| 1 | IZZI Casino | 4.5/5 | Overall experience | Yes | Check current cashier | No |
| 2 | Betway | 4.5/5 | Online slots | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 3 | North Casino | 4.5/5 | Welcome package | Yes | Yes | No |
| 4 | Hell Spin | 4.5/5 | Poker variants & game variety | Yes | Yes | No |
| 5 | Sports Interaction | 4/5 | Sports + casino | Yes | Available payment options vary | Yes |
Payment methods, promotions and availability can change, so current conditions should always be checked before opening or funding an account.
1. IZZI Casino – Best Overall for Canadians
Gambling Nerd score: 4.5/5
IZZI takes the overall position because its strengths aren’t concentrated in a single area. Gambling Nerd’s Canadian research highlights its game variety, promotions and flexible banking, while its minimum deposit starts at $5.
The casino has more than 600 video slots alongside digital table games, live blackjack, roulette and baccarat. Providers include Yggdrasil, Betsoft, BGaming and Evolution.
Banking includes cards, e-wallets and several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Tether.
That makes IZZI a better fit for someone looking for an all-around casino than a player choosing exclusively according to one promotion.
Main advantage: Strong balance between games, banking and promotions.
Potential drawback: Players specifically looking for Interac should confirm its current availability in the cashier before depositing.
Best for: Canadians who want a balanced casino rather than choosing primarily according to bonus size.
2. Betway – Best for Canadian Slot Players
Gambling Nerd score: 4.5/5
Betway is Gambling Nerd’s specialist pick for slots.
Its library includes established titles and providers, while progressive jackpot games provide another reason it stands apart from smaller casino platforms. Canadian players can also access familiar banking methods, including Interac.
Betway additionally operates a sportsbook, making it relevant to players who might spend Saturday on NHL markets and use the casino at another time without maintaining completely separate accounts.
The drawback is that its promotions shouldn’t automatically be considered the strongest simply because the platform itself is well established. Bonus terms still need to be compared independently.
Main advantage: Strong slot selection combined with casino and sportsbook products.
Potential drawback: Bonus value should be compared with newer, more promotion-focused competitors.
Best for: Slot players who value established software providers and also want access to sports betting.
3. North Casino – Best Welcome Package
Gambling Nerd score: 4.5/5
North Casino demonstrates why bonus size and bonus value aren’t necessarily the same thing.
Its Canadian welcome package advertises up to C5,000acrossthefirstfivedeposits.Thefirstdepositreceivesa100%matchuptoC1,000, followed by four 50% matches worth up to C$1,000 each.
The headline number is substantial, but so is another figure: 60x wagering requirements apply to the package.
That needs to be considered before opting in.
North Casino also supports CAD and Canadian-friendly banking methods including Interac. Its game library covers thousands of slots alongside table and live dealer games.
Main advantage: Large multi-deposit welcome package and broad game selection.
Potential drawback: The 60x wagering requirement makes reading the complete bonus terms particularly important.
Best for: Canadians who prioritize promotions but are comfortable evaluating wagering requirements before claiming them.
4. Hell Spin – Best for Poker Variants and Banking Choice
Gambling Nerd score: 4.5/5
Hell Spin is particularly useful for demonstrating the difference between a poker room and casino poker.
It doesn’t operate a traditional player-versus-player poker room, but its large casino library includes games such as Casino Hold’em and Caribbean Stud alongside live dealer poker formats.
Its banking selection is another strength for Canadians. Options include Interac, Interac e-Transfer, cards, e-wallets and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum.
The casino has more than 4,000 games, so players who regularly move between slots, table games and live dealer products have considerably more variety than they would at a smaller specialist platform.
Main advantage: Extensive game library and broad Canadian banking support.
Potential drawback: Players seeking traditional online poker against other players will need a dedicated poker room instead.
Best for: Casino players who enjoy poker variants and want Interac and crypto payment choices.
5. Sports Interaction – Best for Canadian Sports Fans
Gambling Nerd score: 4/5
Sports Interaction fills a different role in this ranking.
Its biggest attraction is the combination of a sportsbook and casino with a distinctly Canadian focus. CAD support and coverage of sports popular with Canadian audiences make it particularly relevant to people who consider sports betting their primary activity and casino games a secondary feature.
For an NHL bettor, that may be more useful than joining a casino with thousands more slots but a weaker sportsbook.
The trade-off is that its casino isn’t as extensive as some casino-first competitors.
Main advantage: Strong combination of Canadian sports betting and casino gaming.
Potential drawback: Casino-first players can find larger game libraries elsewhere.
Best for: Canadians who primarily follow sports but want casino games available through the same platform.
Best Gambling Sites That Accept Canadians
The phrase “Canadian gambling site” can be misleading because it can describe several different things.
A site might be operated within a provincial regulatory framework. Another could be an international gambling site that accepts Canadian customers. A third may specifically support Canadian dollars and local payment methods.
Those characteristics aren’t interchangeable.
This matters particularly when evaluating international sites. Accessibility tells you whether an account can be created from a location. Licensing tells you which regulatory framework governs the operator.
The Gambling Nerd-check: Don’t assume that accepting Canadian players means a gambling site is regulated by a Canadian provincial authority.
Which Canadian Gambling Site Fits You?
Someone who mainly plays slots should start the comparison with Betway. Its strength is its slot library rather than simply having the largest headline promotion.
A player prioritizing a substantial welcome package might look more closely at North Casino, but its 60x wagering requirement should be evaluated alongside the C$5,000 advertised package.
Hell Spin makes more sense for someone who regularly switches among slots, live dealer tables and poker-style casino games.
Sports Interaction has the clearest role for sports fans who want to combine betting with occasional casino play.
IZZI is the more balanced choice when none of those individual specializations dominates the decision.
This is ultimately more useful than declaring that one gambling site must be best for every Canadian.
Which Canadian Gambling Sites Accept Interac?
Interac is one of the clearest ways a gambling site can adapt its banking experience for Canadians.
Betway, North Casino and Hell Spin are among the ranked platforms offering Interac support. However, players should check the cashier before depositing because payment availability can change and deposit options aren’t necessarily identical to withdrawal options.
| Gambling Site | Interac | CAD | What to Check |
| Betway | Yes | Yes | Current deposit and withdrawal limits |
| North Casino | Yes | Yes | Minimums and maximums |
| Hell Spin | Yes | Yes | Interac vs Interac e-Transfer options |
Interac transactions can be considerably easier for someone accustomed to Canadian online banking than dealing with foreign currency or unfamiliar payment processors.
The detail beginners often miss is two-way support.
A casino might allow a payment method for deposits but require another method for withdrawals.
The Gambling Nerd-check: Before making an Interac deposit, verify whether Interac is also available for withdrawals on your account.
Why CAD Support Matters
Imagine starting with a C$200 bankroll.
With a CAD account, a C$10 wager represents exactly 5% of that starting amount. The deposit, balance, individual bets and eventual withdrawal remain easy to interpret in the same currency.
A USD-denominated account introduces exchange rates into that process.
That doesn’t automatically make a USD gambling account unsuitable for Canadians. It simply creates an additional variable, particularly if conversion fees or exchange-rate changes apply.
For a Canadian choosing between otherwise similar sites, native CAD support can therefore be a genuinely useful feature rather than a minor convenience.
The Gambling Nerd-check: Confirm the account’s base currency before depositing, not when requesting your first withdrawal.
Which Canadian Gambling Sites Have the Fastest Withdrawals?
There isn’t a single payout time that applies to every Canadian gambling site.
The payment method can matter almost as much as the operator.
Interac and e-wallet withdrawals can often be relatively quick. Cards and bank transfers may require additional business days. Crypto can process particularly quickly after the casino approves a withdrawal.
That last distinction matters.
Casino processing time describes how long the operator takes to approve and send a withdrawal.
Payment processing time describes what happens after the transaction enters Interac, an e-wallet, banking network or blockchain.
Gambling Nerd’s Canadian methodology includes testing withdrawals rather than relying entirely on advertised payout claims. Its real-money casino testing has also found particularly fast crypto withdrawals at some operators.
The Gambling Nerd-check: When a site says “fast payouts,” determine whether that claim refers to casino approval time, payment processing or the entire withdrawal.
Real Money Gambling Sites in Canada: What Does That Actually Mean?
“Real money gambling site” is a broad term.
It can describe an online casino where money is wagered on slots or blackjack, a sportsbook accepting wagers on the Stanley Cup, an online poker room or a platform combining several products.
It also distinguishes these platforms from free-play casino games and social casino products where the economic model and prize structure can work differently.
For beginners, this distinction matters because different real-money products require different comparisons.
A slot player should understand RTP and volatility. A sports bettor should understand odds and sportsbook margin. A poker player needs to distinguish games played against the house from poker played against other users.
The word “gambling” connects them, but the underlying products are very different.
Best Gambling Sites for Canadian Sports Fans
Canadian sports bettors have several locally relevant markets to consider.
NHL coverage is an obvious priority. A Toronto Maple Leafs or Edmonton Oilers fan may want player props, period markets, puck lines and live betting in addition to a simple game winner.
CFL bettors might care more about market depth around regular-season games and the Grey Cup.
Toronto Raptors fans introduce NBA player props and same-game markets, while Toronto Blue Jays followers need MLB coverage across a much longer season. NFL betting also remains important despite Canada not having an NFL franchise.
The best sportsbook shouldn’t therefore be determined solely by its welcome offer.
Check whether it actually provides strong coverage of the sports you follow, then compare the prices.
Two sportsbooks can offer the same Maple Leafs moneyline at different odds. That difference directly changes the potential return.
The Gambling Nerd-check: Compare sportsbook odds before sportsbook bonuses. A promotion is temporary; pricing affects every qualifying wager.
What Casino Games Should Canadians Compare?
A casino advertising 5,000 games isn’t automatically better than one offering 1,500.
The more useful question is what those games actually are.
Slot players should look at software providers, RTP information, volatility and bonus mechanics. Jackpot players may prioritize progressive networks. Live casino players need to consider table availability, limits and streaming quality.
Table rules can also affect the mathematics.
European roulette generally uses one zero, while standard American roulette adds a double zero. That changes the house edge despite both games being called roulette.
Blackjack works similarly. Rules concerning dealer actions, doubling and payouts can alter the mathematical return.
This is why Gambling Nerd treats game quality as more than a count of how many thumbnails appear in the lobby.
Are Bigger Canadian Gambling Bonuses Better?
Consider two hypothetical promotions.
Casino A offers 200% up to C$2,000.
Casino B offers 100% up to C$500.
The first appears obviously better until the terms are opened.
If Casino A requires 60x wagering while Casino B requires 20x, the comparison becomes substantially more complicated. Game contribution, expiry dates, maximum bets and cash-out restrictions can change it further.
North Casino provides a practical example. Its C$5,000 package is one of its most noticeable features, but the 60x wagering requirement belongs in the same conversation.
The Gambling Nerd-check: Don’t compare bonus percentages until you’ve compared what must be wagered to use them.
Best Gambling Sites in Ontario vs the Rest of Canada
Ontario needs to be treated separately when discussing Canadian online gambling.
The province has a competitive regulated iGaming market overseen through Ontario’s provincial framework. Players participating within that market use operators authorized for Ontario.
International gambling sites available elsewhere in Canada shouldn’t simply be presented as Ontario alternatives.
This means a national ranking needs an important qualification: a site that Gambling Nerd evaluates for players in Alberta, British Columbia or Quebec may not be the appropriate recommendation for someone located in Ontario.
Ontario players should confirm that an operator is authorized for the provincial market before creating an account.
The Gambling Nerd-check: A national “Canada” ranking doesn’t override provincial availability. Check your province before evaluating the rest of the site’s features.
Do the Best Gambling Sites Change by Province?
Yes, because Canada doesn’t have one identical online gambling environment from coast to coast.
Ontario has its competitive regulated iGaming framework. British Columbia operates PlayNow through the British Columbia Lottery Corporation. Quebec has its provincial offering through Loto-Québec, while other provinces follow their own models.
That creates a distinction between what exists provincially and which international gambling sites may be accessible from different parts of Canada.
Alberta is another particularly relevant market for online gambling research, while Quebec players may additionally care about French-language accessibility.
The practical lesson is simple: check provincial availability before spending time comparing bonuses, games or payment methods.
What Should Quebec Players Look For?
Quebec introduces several additional considerations.
CAD support and familiar banking remain important, but French-language accessibility may also matter. Players should determine whether the site itself, its terms and its customer support are available in a language they’re comfortable using.
Quebec also operates its own provincial gambling products through Loto-Québec.
International sites should therefore be evaluated separately rather than being presented as though they operate within the same provincial framework.
For a beginner, understanding that distinction is more important than immediately comparing welcome bonuses.
How Gambling Nerd Tests Canadian Gambling Sites
Gambling Nerd’s rankings aren’t based solely on reading promotional pages.
The site’s Canadian methodology includes practical testing of the player experience, including registration, deposits, mobile usability and withdrawal requests. Licensing, game software, customer support and bonus terms are also evaluated.
Canadian reviews introduce additional questions.
Does the platform support CAD? Which Canadian banking methods are actually available? How does the site handle withdrawals? Is it appropriate for the player’s province?
That testing matters because advertised specifications don’t always describe the complete user experience.
A casino can advertise thousands of games but have inconvenient banking. Another might promote fast withdrawals while requiring a lengthy internal approval process. A huge welcome offer can lose much of its appeal once the wagering conditions are examined.
The goal is therefore to assess the platform rather than one headline feature.
Nerd Nook Hub: The Site Doesn’t Change the Mathematics
The Nerd Nook Hub approach becomes particularly useful once players move beyond comparing operators.
Consider a slot advertised with 96% theoretical RTP.
That does not mean someone depositing C100shouldexpecttofinishasinglesessionwithC96. RTP is a theoretical long-run measurement calculated across a very large number of plays.
Sports betting has its own mathematics.
Decimal odds of 2.00 correspond to a 50% break-even probability before accounting for how the wider market has been priced. If another sportsbook offers a better price on the exact same outcome, the underlying basketball or hockey game hasn’t changed—the price has.
Bonuses, site design and payment methods don’t alter these underlying mathematical principles.
That’s why choosing a gambling site and understanding the games are two separate decisions.
The Gambling Nerd-Check Before Joining a Canadian Gambling Site
Start with location rather than the welcome bonus. Confirm that the platform is appropriate for your province and understand which regulatory framework applies.
Then check the currency. If you want to manage your bankroll in Canadian dollars, confirm CAD support.
Next comes banking. Verify that your preferred deposit method is available and, crucially, determine how you will withdraw.
After that, examine what you actually want to play. A sports bettor should compare markets and odds. A slot player should look at providers and games. Someone interested in both needs a platform that performs well in both areas.
Only then does it make sense to evaluate the welcome offer.
That produces a useful rule for Canadian beginners:
Don’t ask only whether a gambling site accepts Canadians. Ask whether it actually works well for Canadians.
Frequently Asked Questions About Canadian Gambling Sites
What are the best gambling sites in Canada?
Gambling Nerd currently ranks IZZI as its best overall option for Canadian casino players, while Betway stands out for slots, North Casino for its welcome package and Hell Spin for poker-style casino games. Sports Interaction is particularly relevant to players who prioritize sports betting alongside casino gaming.
Which gambling sites accept Canadians?
Numerous international gambling sites accept Canadian customers, but availability can differ by province. Acceptance from Canada also shouldn’t be confused with regulation by a Canadian provincial authority.
Which Canadian gambling sites accept Interac?
Betway, North Casino and Hell Spin are among the ranked sites offering Interac banking. Players should verify current cashier availability and whether Interac is supported for both deposits and withdrawals.
Which gambling sites accept Canadian dollars?
Several gambling sites targeting Canadians offer CAD-denominated accounts. CAD support can make deposits, bankroll tracking and withdrawals easier to understand by removing the need to continually translate balances into another currency.
What are the best gambling sites outside Ontario?
The answer depends on the player’s province and preferred product. Gambling Nerd evaluates international sites including IZZI, Betway, North Casino and Hell Spin for Canadian audiences, while Ontario requires separate treatment because of its regulated provincial market.
Are gambling sites different in Ontario?
Yes. Ontario operates a distinct competitive regulated online gambling market. Players in Ontario should verify that a platform is authorized for use within the province rather than assuming that a general Canadian recommendation applies there.
How long do Canadian gambling sites take to pay out?
It depends on the operator and withdrawal method. E-wallets, Interac and cryptocurrency can be relatively fast, while cards and bank transfers may take longer. Casino approval time should also be distinguished from the time required by the payment network.
What should Canadians check before joining a gambling site?
Province availability, licensing, CAD support, deposit and withdrawal methods, payout conditions, games or sports markets, bonus terms and player-control features should all be checked before depositing.
Finding the Best Gambling Site for You
The best gambling site for a Canadian NHL bettor doesn’t necessarily have to be the best casino for a slot player.
Someone following the Maple Leafs may prioritize hockey markets and sportsbook pricing. A slots player might care about software providers and Interac withdrawals. A Quebec user could put French-language support higher on the list, while an Ontario resident first needs to establish whether the operator is authorized for the provincial market.
That is why Gambling Nerd’s Canadian approach works better as a decision process than as a simple list of five brands.
For Gambling Nerd, the best gambling site for Canadians isn’t necessarily the platform advertising the biggest bonus. It’s the one that combines suitable games or betting markets, transparent terms, appropriate licensing and banking options that genuinely work for the individual Canadian player.
About Gambling Nerd
Gambling Nerd is the editorial brand and collective byline of GamblingNerd.com, an independent gambling media website that publishes experience-based reviews, guides, and analysis of online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker sites for gamblers of all experience levels worldwide. Its Nerd Nook Hub provides educational resources that break down sports betting mathematics, casino game theory, probability, odds, and other key concepts to help players make more informed decisions.
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Israeli-Arab influencer behind ‘Nas Daily’: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism
(JTA) — DENVER – Israeli-Arab social media entrepreneur Nuseir Yassin, of the viral vlog “Nas Daily,” said he believes “anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism” and stressed his commitment to overturning “misguided hate” against Jews, at a conference devoted to the subject this week.
Yassin, 34, was speaking with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on the sidelines of the conference, hosted by the David Merage Foundation for Confronting Antisemitism. A self-described “village boy” from the Lower Galilee town of Arraba in Israel, he achieved massive success through viral short-form videos that attracted viewers from all over the world. Today he boasts more than 68 million followers across numerous social networks.
Yassin is a Muslim of Palestinian origin, although he said he is not religious. Asked why it was important for a non-Jewish person to participate in a conference about combatting antisemitism, Yassin equated this battle to fighting for his family, noting that “the success of Israel and the Jewish people is also my success as an Israeli citizen.”
“I’m not a fan of the Israeli government, and I’m not here to defend it, just like I’m not a fan of many governments,” Yassin noted, but he asserted that the reaction to the government “is absolutely fueled by antisemitism.”
“I do believe anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism,” he added.
He said he views Zionism as “the most vanilla thing in the world – a group of people wanting a place to live,” and has therefore concluded that Israel’s detractors “just really don’t like Jews.”
Yassin, who first broke through in 2016, has become increasingly outspoken in recent years about his combined Israeli and Palestinian identity. During the conference, he recalled that he grew up labeling himself Arab-Israeli. After the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, he started listing Israeli first and Palestinian second.
“I could not relate to the extremism that I saw, and I wanted to distance myself from it without erasing my identity connected to it,” Yassin said. “I’m not just Israeli because I think it removes a little bit of spice, but I’m also not just Palestinian anymore.”
“A lot of Israeli culture is inside me,” he continued. “I never agree with people. I’m always disagreeable. That’s Israeli. I speak up.”
Yassin noted that he was “the first guy to go study in the United States out of my entire lineage,” graduating from Harvard University in 2014 with a degree in economics and a minor in computer science. Despite having grown up in Israel, Yassin said that Harvard was the place where he made his first Jewish friend.
After working as a software developer for Venmo in New York, Yassin left his job in 2016 to travel and document his journeys. Ultimately, he launched a Facebook page called Nas Daily – using the word for “people” in Arabic – where he posted one-minute videos for 1,000 days, telling the stories of communities around the world.
What was once a personal brand has since expanded into the parent Nas Company, which offers platforms for solo entrepreneurs to build and monetize their online businesses.
Yassin earned an honorary degree from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 2025 in recognition of his advocacy work for Israeli and Palestinian coexistence. This past August, he also joined the advisory board for the Genesis Prize Foundation, which each year celebrates inspiring Jewish individuals for their achievements.
“I do not relate to hundreds of men on the street shouting ‘Allahu Akbar,’” Yassin told JTA, adding that there needed to be more women and fewer religious fanatics participating in the Israeli-Palestinian conversation.
Yassin argued that he’s “not a weird Arab for saying this” and that “the entire country of the UAE says the same thing,” referring to one of the Gulf countries that signed onto the Abraham Accords normalizing relations with Israel. He also challenged “Free Palestine” activists to envision a concrete future for Palestinians rather than fixating on Israel’s transgressions.
“We should all be ‘Free Palestine’ – but from what?” Yassin asked. “We disagree on the solution, not on the problem. We don’t want suffering. Nobody wants suffering.”
“I’m a free-Palestine-from-Hamas guy,” he continued. “Just free Palestine,” he said, ”is not an answer. I’m free-Palestine-from-extremism.”
Yassin affirmed that there is room for criticism of Israel’s government, noting, for example, that he would like to see an Israeli-Arab presence in the government.
But he marveled at the notion that an alien visiting Earth would likely guess that the most hated country in the United Nations is North Korea, when in fact “It’s not – It’s Israel.”
That struck him as absurd because “the Israel-Palestine conflict is not a big deal when you compare it to everything else that’s happening on planet Earth. The only thing that makes it a big deal is that we, as Palestinians, have the perfect enemy.”
That enemy, he continued, is “the most hated type of enemy, which is the Jews.”
As part of his appearance at the conference, Yassin presented a recap of a fellowship he launched this past spring in partnership with the David Merage Foundation to help 50 content creators – 25 Jewish and 25 Muslim – produce meaningful material.
Participants received $1,000 and spent a month learning from the Nas Daily team about viral and impactful storytelling during the fellowship, named for Yassin’s first Jewish friend, Zaki Djemal, who recently died of a sudden heart attack.
To Laura Merage, the Iranian-born Jewish co-founder of the foundation, Yassin was a natural partner for this bridge-building effort. Given his social media following and “infectious personality,” Merage said she felt “that’s what we need more of in the world.”
At the conference on Tuesday, Yassin announced two winners of the fellowship’s influencer competition: recent McGill University graduate Raihaana Adira, a Canadian Muslim, and Grace, a Jewish-American digital content creator who preferred to use only her first name for privacy reasons. Grace tells stories about unique public figures, such as the first Arab “Miss Israel.” Adira, meanwhile, began posting about antisemitism and Muslim-Jewish relations after witnessing anti-Zionist protests at McGill.
“When I see a Jewish person being attacked on campus or online, it feels like I’m watching someone from my own community hurt,” Adira told JTA, noting that she started posting because no one believed her when she talked about incidents on campus.
“I wanted the protests and the graffiti on the walls that said ‘Death to the IDF’ to be seen,” she continued. “I am a Canadian, I am a Muslim, and when people at school on the streets say, ‘Death to Canada, We are Hamas, Hamas is heroic’ – that is not me.”
Adira said she received many death threats when she first started posting. While acknowledging how difficult that was, she also emphasized an influx of support that has helped “drown out the hate.”
Yassin offered a similar perspective, noting that at the beginning of his career, he “used to amplify the blowback and talk a lot about it,” referring to the criticisms he’d receive for promoting coexistence and calling out antisemitism. But after realizing that this deterred others from speaking out, he deemed the threats insignificant, calling them “the smallest price to pay for the largest outcome you can possibly imagine.”
During his travels around the world, Yassin said he has witnessed how flawed people’s perceptions of Jews can be and that he feels “a responsibility to set the record straight.” He also noted that he is dating a Jewish woman, author and influencer Aija Mayrock, whom he is marrying next year and with whom he expects to have children.
“They’re going to be Jewish, so that’s my family – literally, my family,” Yassin said.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Israeli-Arab influencer behind ‘Nas Daily’: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism appeared first on The Forward.
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Four Seats or No Seats? Why Israel’s Final Polls Disagree Over Amcha Yisrael
Conflicting projections for Ofer Winter’s party illustrate the uncertainty of measuring public support near an electoral threshold.
A Channel 12 poll gives Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael four parliamentary seats.
An i24NEWS survey reaches the same seat total.
Other final polls find that the party does not qualify for representation.
How can surveys conducted close to the same election produce such different results?
The answer lies partly in the difference between measuring a vote share and converting it into parliamentary seats.
A Statistical Boundary
Israel’s electoral threshold is 3.25 percent.
For a party receiving substantially more than that percentage, modest sampling fluctuations may change its expected number of seats without calling its parliamentary presence into question.
For a party whose support lies near 3.25 percent, the same type of fluctuation may change its projected representation from several seats to zero.
This does not necessarily mean the polls are measuring completely different political realities.
They may be producing estimates close to the same threshold but on opposite sides of it.
Sample Size Is Only One Factor
The i24NEWS survey conducted on October 22 included 5,124 adult respondents and reported a sampling error of plus or minus 1.4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
That is a substantial sample by conventional political polling standards.
But a larger sample does not eliminate every source of uncertainty.
Different pollsters may employ different recruitment methods, weighting systems and procedures for estimating turnout.
They may also differ in how they handle respondents who are undecided or reluctant to state their preferences.
These choices can matter particularly for smaller parties.
The Problem of Turnout
Opinion polls generally estimate voting preferences before actual voting takes place.
Election results reflect the ballots cast by people who participate.
Differences between intended and actual turnout can affect parties in different ways.
Analysts must therefore consider not only how many respondents express support for a party, but also whether the poll’s turnout model accurately reflects the eventual electorate.
Without transparent, comparable information about the methods used by each polling organization, it is difficult to identify which methodological difference is responsible for a particular disagreement.
Reading the Final Surveys
The appropriate interpretation of Amcha Yisrael’s polling is neither that its parliamentary representation is guaranteed nor that exclusion is certain.
The available surveys demonstrate uncertainty around a legally decisive boundary.
The four-seat projections reported by Channel 12 and i24NEWS are meaningful observations.
So are the below-threshold findings published by Channel 13, Maariv and Zman Yisrael.
Each survey is a measurement of electoral intentions under a particular methodology, not a count of actual votes.
For readers following Israel’s election, this makes Amcha Yisrael an instructive case study in how polling uncertainty interacts with electoral law.
The final result will provide the definitive seat allocation. The polls explain why the outcome was difficult to measure in advance.
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As Trump betrays Ukraine, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Munich
In Munich on Sept. 30, 1938, the leaders of Britain and France signed an agreement with Adolf Hitler that caved to the Nazi leader’s demand that Germany be given a chunk of Czechoslovakia. Five months later, Hitler ordered the German military to forcibly take the remainder of the neighboring country.
On Oct. 9, 2026, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin struck a deal allowing Russia to sell diesel fuel to global markets, most importantly to the US. Then Trump waived a package of sanctions on Russia that had been passed by Congress. By replenishing Russia’s war coffers, it is likely more Ukrainians will die because of these twin gifts from America’s president to the warmongering Russian autocrat.
Why is Trump doing this? He seems to be hoping the diesel deal will help him avert disaster in the upcoming midterms. Or maybe there’s more to it than that. Perhaps Trump seriously thinks that this will get him the Nobel Peace Prize by ending the war in Ukraine through helping Putin win it. Perhaps it’s one more scheme to further enrich himself and his family. Or maybe Putin really does have something on Trump.
In any event, it feels like Munich all over again.
There are some remarkable parallels between Czechoslovakia’s predicament in 1938 and Ukraine’s nine decades later: separatists in two vulnerable Central European democracies were encouraged and supported by a neighboring authoritarian regime that sought to seize adjacent territory under the pretext of protecting a minority from oppression.
And at the center of both narratives is betrayal: of Czechoslovakia by Britain and France, and Ukraine by Trump.
In the spring and summer of 1938, Konrad Henlein, leader of the Nazi-allied Sudeten German Party in Czechoslovakia, held secret meetings with Hitler and other Nazi officials. They concocted a plan: Cause so much disorder in the Sudetenland that the Czech government would declare martial law, thus creating an excuse for German troops to march in to protect the ethnic German minority.
Tensions that had long existed along the Czech frontier erupted into gunfire and death in the Sudeten town of Habersbirk on the morning of Sept. 13, 1938. A mob of German separatists hung a swastika banner from a church tower, stormed the police station, kidnapped the wife of a cop, and engaged in gunfights with police officers that lasted hours. Four Czech police officers and four insurgents died. Outbreaks of violence, terror and torture raged along the border for days, backed by Freikorps paramilitary troops who crossed from Germany and by SA and SS men who took part in cross-border sabotage and armed attacks.
The uprising had the desired impact. Just 17 days later — on Sept. 30, 1938 — Britain, France, Italy and Nazi Germany signed the Munich Agreement, yielding to Hitler’s demand that the Sudetenland be ceded to him. After landing at an airport outside London, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain waved a document in his hand and jubilantly proclaimed:
“The settlement of the Czechoslovak problem which has now been achieved is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace.”
“I believe it is peace for our time,” Chamberlain said later that day.
But it didn’t take long for Hitler to show he could not be trusted. Hitler’s army marched into Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939. Germany’s invasion of Poland followed less than six months later, and by 1942 German forces controlled territory spanning from the Atlantic Ocean to deep inside the Soviet Union.
Ethnic Germans’ uprising in Czechoslovakia in 1938 found an echo nine decades later in Ukraine’s Donbas region, where unrest that began with pro-Russia protests in 2014 evolved into the war Russia has been waging on its neighbor for nearly five years.
In the spring of 2014, paramilitary units led by Russian intelligence officers stormed government office buildings in several towns and cities in Donbas, seizing weapons and clashing with police. In a scene reminiscent of the Habersbirk siege of 1938, on April 14, 2014, pro-Russian militants seized the police station in Horlivka, beat up the police chief, and murdered a member of the city council, whose body was found in a river. Similar clashes occurred throughout Donbas.
Two Kremlin-backed pseudo-states soon emerged: the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. Russia funneled tanks, artillery, air defense systems and fighters into Donbas, fueling a war between separatists and Ukrainian forces that dragged on for years.
Like Hitler in the Sudetenland, Russia’s de facto occupation of Donbas was not enough for Vladimir Putin. His eyes were on all of Ukraine, and he spent years manufacturing pretexts for the full-scale invasion that began on Feb. 24, 2022.
Trump has been buttering up Putin for more than a decade, starting with his 2015 campaign for president, when he effusively praised the ruthless Russian autocrat’s leadership style. Putin is a “strong leader,” is “far more respected than our president,” meaning the immensely popular Barack Obama, and was someone he “would get along with very well,” Trump said back then.
Trump’s admiration for Putin took on ominous tones after becoming president. During a press conference after the two leaders’ 2018 Helsinki summit, Trump questioned intelligence findings on Russian election interference and said he believed Putin’s denial. “I don’t see any reason it would be Russia,” Trump told reporters, with the Russian strongman standing at his side.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, during Biden’s presidency, Trump called it “a pretty smart move,” praised Putin as a “genius,” and also said it wouldn’t have happened if Trump was still president, remarks that were amplified by Russian state media.
During Trump’s second term, his buddy-buddy relationship with Putin has turned into a virtual strategic alliance, as the American president repeatedly makes moves and statements that seem designed to please the Russian autocrat. There are Trump’s threats to abandon NATO, his humiliation of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky during a February 2025 meeting inside the Oval Office, and most recently Trump’s demand that Ukraine cease its drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, his call for Zelensky’s ouster, and envoy Steve Witkoff thanking Putin for being a “humanitarian.”
Putin has proposed a summit between himself, Trump, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. It’s notable that Ukraine has not been invited. This is also what happened in Munich nine decades ago, when Czech delegates were excluded from the room, and others decided Czechoslovakia’s fate.
Last October, aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters the Donbas region should be “cut up,” leaving most of it in Russian hands.
“Let it be cut the way it is,” he said. “They can negotiate something later on down the line.”
It seems the fate Trump envisions for Ukraine is similar to the one Hitler envisioned for Czechoslovakia. It would be naïve to think that Putin’s expansionist ambitions would stop there.
The post As Trump betrays Ukraine, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Munich appeared first on The Forward.
