Raphael "Ralph" Benmergui (born 1955) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

television and radio personality, a writer, an ordained spiritual director, and a strategic advisor in political, environmental, and academic realms.

Early life and education

Born to a

Sephardi Jew Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

ish"Shabbat goes universal"
. '' Jewish Tribune'', April 20, 2012. family in

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the ca ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

, and raised in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, Benmergui studied journalism at

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Toro ...

, where he was news director and program producer at the university's radio station, CKLN-FM.

Career

While Benmergui was still at Ryerson, the CBC offered him a research job in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

. From there, he went on to produce current affairs documentaries and was named host of '' Night Lines'', a late-night music show on CBC Stereo. Back in Toronto, Benmergui hosted ''

Prime Time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

'', a nightly one-hour entertainment program on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

, and its weekend sister program '' The Entertainers''. He later moved on to co-host

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

's '' Midday'' with Valerie Pringle, and also later hosted the variety show '' Friday Night! with Ralph Benmergui'' and the talk show '' Benmergui Live''. He has won a prestigious Japan Prize for Best International Youth Programming, a Yorkton Film Festival prize for Best Youth Programming, and has been the recipient of five

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United State ...

nominations. Benmergui produced Stuart McLean's Christmas special and the children's quiz show ''

SmartAsk {{italic title ''SmartAsk'' is a Canadian quiz show which ran for three seasons (2001-02 through 2003-04) on CBC Television. The show was taped in front of a live audience, with the players sitting on a tiered set (one team on top and the other on ...

'' for CBC television, and for

Vision TV VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic. VisionTV is currently owned by ZoomerMedia, a company ...

he produced five episodes of a series called ''Seekers'', chronicling the experience of five people on journey to find their spirituality, and '' Ralph Benmergui: My Israel'', taking a critical and bipartisan look at the issues and landscape of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He has also hosted three specials, entitled ''Seriously Funny'' in Canada and ''Punchlines in the Sand'' in the US, where three comics comment on and explore serious issues of the day through comedy. In 2009, Benmergui joined the

Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada (french: Parti vert du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It ...

as a strategic communications advisor. He has since worked as a strategic advisor at different political, environmental, media, business, and academic organizations and boards. He continues to periodically work in media. He is writing a book about ageing and , and he leads workshops and counsels others on this topic. In 2021, Benmergui started a podcast for

The Canadian Jewish News The Canadian Jewish News is a non-profit, national, English-language digital-first media organization that serves Canada‘s Jewish community. A national edition of the newspaper was published for 60 years in Toronto. A weekly Montreal edition in ...

called ''Yehupetzville'' about Jews living in small towns across the country.

Personal life

Benmergui is married to Cortney Pasternak, a registered psychotherapist, educator, and former television journalist. He is the father of four and the grandfather of two.

References

1955 births Living people People from Tangier People from Toronto 20th-century Moroccan Jews Canadian Sephardi Jews Canadian people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Canadian television talk show hosts Canadian television variety show hosts Canadian television producers CBC Radio hosts Canadian political consultants Moroccan emigrants to Canada 20th-century Sephardi Jews 21st-century Sephardi Jews Jazz radio presenters CBC Television people {{Canada-tv-bio-stub