Canadian Jewish Studies / Études juives canadiennes
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Hannah Director: Jewish Pioneer, Chairman of the School Board
Get PDFHannah Director (1886-1970) is a noteworthy, but overlooked, figure in Jewish Canadian historiography. Her life and contributions encapsulate many of the challenges experienced by Canadian Jews throughout the early twentieth century. In 1917/1918 Director was elected chairman of the school board in Prince George, British Columbia. In doing so, she became the first Jewish woman elected to public office in Canada. By investigating the larger social circumstances within Canadian society this article will elucidate Hannah Director’s integration into the rural frontier and urban settings of BC during the early twentieth century.Hannah Director(1886-1970) est une figure remarquable, et pourtant peu connue, de l’historiographie juive canadienne. Sa vie et ses contributions illustrent parfaitement les nombreux défis auxquels ont été confrontés les Juifs canadiens au début du XXe siècle. En 1917/1918, Director est élue présidente de la commission scolaire de Prince George en Colombie Britannique. Elle est ainsi devenue la première femme juive à être élue à une charge publique au Canada. En s’intéressant au contexte plus large de la société canadienne, cet article jette un éclairage nouveau sur l’intégration d’Hannah Director dans les milieux ruraux et urbains de la Colombie Britannique du début du XXe siècle
Ethnic, Class and Gender Dynamics among Jewish Labour Activists and Jewish Human Rights Activists
Get PDFRabbi Solomon Jacobs, “of the assimilationist synagogue” (Holy Blossom, which represented mostly the old community of middle-class, English Jews), was accused of playing an “ugly role” during the 1910 strike of Toronto cloakmakers. According to Abe Kirzner, a prominent Yiddish-speaking trade unionist and socialist, the rabbi preached that “Jews must not rebel and that this [strike] is a disgrace in the eyes of the Gentiles.” This is just one example of the conflicts that sometimes sharply divided Jewish communities in Canada. Our exploration of these issues in this paper is a tribute to Jerry Tulchinsky’s broad and inclusive approach to Canadian Jewish history. His detailed survey of Jewish history examines both middle-class and working-class Jews, while his most recent book focuses on the life of Joe Salsberg, a prominent left-wing labour activist. In this paper, we draw on examples from Toronto, Montreal, and Winnipeg to explore the historical interplay of Jewish identity, class politics, and gender dynamics in the Jewish labour movement from the turn of the twentieth century to the Second World War and in the postwar human rights campaigns
REVIEW: Bill Gladstone's "Only Yesterday: Collected Pieces on the Jews of Toronto by Benjamin Kayfetz and Stephen A. Speisman"
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REVIEW: Ruth Klein (ed.) "Nazi Germany, Canadian Responses: Confronting Antisemitism in the Shadow of War"
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From Rags to Comfort: Women Holocaust Survivors Rebuilding Lives in Montreal, 1947-1958
Get PDFThe majority of holocaust survivors who came to Canada settled in Montreal. Most came with little if any money or material goods. Within a relatively short period of time the immigrant survivors transitioned from poor-new immigrant to successful or at least comfortable Canadian. The benchmarks for family economic success are often rooted in man’s work and income. Drawing on in-depth interviews with survivors who arrived in Montreal between 1948 and 1958, and Jewish Immigrant Aid case files, I argue research that pays attention to the dailiness of women survivors’ lives offers a more nuanced understanding of their success narrative.La majorité des survivants de la Shoah ayant immigré au Canada se sont installés à Montréal, la plupart avec très peu d’argent et de biens matériels. Relativement rapidement, ils ont amélioré leurs conditions de vie bénéficiant d’un niveau de vie élevé ou tout au moins confortable. Le succès économique d’une famille est souvent mesuré à l’aune du salaire et du travail de l’homme. En se basant sur des entretiens approfondis avec des survivant-e-s qui sont arrivé-e-s à Montréal entre 1948 et 1958, et sur des dossiers individuels d’organisations juives d’aide à l’immigration, cette recherche met en lumière la vie quotidienne des femmes survivantes et permet de nuancer le récit classique de leur réussite
