The Jewish Experience In Twentieth Century Canada

1. By: Hibaq Ali, Jordan Apostoli and Karina Motalleb The Jewish Experience In Twentieth Century Canada Jewish orphans immigrate to Canada in the 1900s 17Jan.2011<http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/legacy/chap-4a.asp>

2. 1897-TheJewish Times Newspaper is Born The first publication of an exclusively Jewish newspaper, the Jewish Times, was printed in Montreal, Quebec. Founded by Lyon Cohen and Sam Jacobs, the newspaper intended to support Jewish rights and advocate for the socialand economic freedoms of Jewish Canadians. The paper began as a platform for the Jews of Montreal to speak-out against the injustice of the anti-Semitic articlescirculated in Montrealnewspapers in the wake of the Dreyfus Affair scandal. The paper became an avenue for Canadian Jews to voice their grievances and support each other in the face of adversity. The Jewish Times, the first Canadian Jewish newspaper, in its first year in circulation 17.Jan 2011 <http://www.jewishpubliclibrary.org/blog/?page_id=744>

3. 1903-The Jacob Pinsler Case School aged kids in Toronto, 1900. 17Jan. 2011 <http://www.stpaulsirishmusic.com/st-pauls-school.html> .

4. 1903- Jacob Pinsler Case The Jacob Pinsler case sparked the Jewish Educational Rights Movement, when Pinsler failed to receive a tuition scholarship promised to him at Dufferin School in Montreal. Pinsler was denied the scholarship under claims that by law, Jewish students were not eligible for provincial education grants in Protestant school boards. After many demonstrations and protests the Statues of Quebec was finally revised in 1903 to allow a portion of the taxes paid by Jewish proprietors to be allocated to Protestant school boards, making them eligible for Protestant education grants. The same law also gave Jewish pupils certain rights in both Protestant and Catholic schools including the right to refuse compulsory classes and daily activities which infringe upon their religious freedoms. This new law was significant for the Jewish community in Montreal because it guaranteed their social and economic access to education. It provided them with many educational opportunities that were denied to their ancestors. It gave them hope and inspired them to work with the Provincial and Federal government to improve the circumstances of Jews across the nation.

5. 1906-The Canadian Committee of the Jewish Colonization Association The Jewish Colonization Association opened its first Canadian committee in Montreal. The organization assisted the mass emigration of Jews out ofRussia and Eastern Europe. The JCA prepared immigrants to become agricultural laborers andencouraged them to take up unoccupied land in the Prairies. This event was significant for Canadian Jews because it assisted in their professional and economic assimilation into Canadian society. The organization presented new immigrants with the opportunities in housing and work. It trained them, and prepared them to be successful contributors to Canadian society. A JCA photo of the Lipton Jewish farming Community in Saskatchewan, just one of the many Jewish communities assisted by the JCA. 17Jan.2011 <http://www.cjccc.ca/national_archives/photos.html>

6. 1917-The Balfour Declaration Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour and a copy of the Balfour agreement, addressed to Baron Rothschild, leader of the Jewish community in Great Britain. 17Jan. 2011 <http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/11/05/hamas-want-britain-to-make-amends-for-crimes-against-palestine/>

7. 1917-The Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was signed by British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour on behalf of the British government promising to aid in the establishment of Palestine as the national home to the Jewish people. This event was met by positive reaction from the Canadian Jewish community which rallied together in support of the declaration, holding demonstrations in many major cities such as Montreal and Toronto. This was a significant event for the Jewish community in Canada because it was seen as a reward for their hard work and dedication to the home front during the war efforts. The British and Canadian support of Palestine as the Jewish homeland created a unity amongst politicians and the Jewish community. It was seen as one of the first major political decision to support Jewish refugees and informed them that they were not alone in their battle.

8. 1919 - Immigration Act of 1919 Immigrants arriving in Canada by boat in the early twentieth century. 17Jan 2011. <http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhnnhs/qc/grosseile/natcul/natcul1/a.aspx>

9. 1919- Immigration Act of 1919 Immediately following the First World War the Canadian government revised its immigration policies in the Immigration Act of 1919. To protect the nation from an influx of foreign immigrant, the Immigration Act formalized immigration policies which allowed officials to turn down immigrants and refugees on the basis of cultural and ideological traits. This event was significant not only for the Jewish community but for Canadian history as a whole. It projected an image of Canada as one that was unsympathetic to victims of war. It was a period of institutionalized racism that was followed by the exclusion and restrictions of many marginalized groups. While the period following the First World War is usually represented as one of economic and cultural prosperity in history books, it was also a dark period for Canadian minorities struggling to overcome deep-seated cultural and religious tension.

10. 1930 - North America, the Promised Land Canada’s Jewish population exceeded 155, 000. The pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe in the late 19th century and the early 20th century caused millions of Jews to seek refuge in North America. After the United States, Canada was the second choice. Its Democratic government promised freedom from dictatorial rule and the Canadian Pacific Railway guaranteed transportation and freedom of movement to various places in Canada and the United States. Immigrating to Canada provided closer proximity to the U.S. and the possibility of immigration there at a later date. The massive exodus of Jewish emigrants from European countries is significant in Canadian History because it reveals the extent to which Canada was seen to be a place of refuge where displaced populations could start over and flourish. A map of North America, symbolizing where European Jews immigrated in the 1930s. Jan.19.2011<http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/canada.html#Between>

11. 1931 - Economic Crisis in Canada “The Unwanted” – In the 1930s and 1940s, Winnipeg was a place rife with Anti-Semitism.Jan.19.2011<http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vosizneias.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/image015.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.vosizneias.com/31428/2009/05/08/quebec-canada-in-winnipeg-in-the-1930s-and-1940s-jews-were-considered-personae-non-gratae/&usg=__HIAirnnW8YhWE1iuwN7Kp7lyEU8=&h=360&w=287&sz=14&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=NHfW9JOFK5RbkM:&tbnh=131&tbnw=104&ei=3FI_TfvxLYKB8gbDwKnsAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3DJews%2Bin%2BCanada%2Bin%2Bthe%2B1930s%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1900%26bih%3D704%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=452&vpy=45&dur=109&hovh=251&hovw=200&tx=132&ty=132&oei=3FI_TfvxLYKB8gbDwKnsAw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=41&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0>

12. 1931 - Economic Crisis in Canada The Canadian government decided to limit immigration because of the failing economy. They attempted to limit immigration by implementing two orders-in- council. In 1930, they implemented the first order-in-council, which prevented Europeans from immigrating to Canada, except for those who were economically independent and/ or had families in this country. The second order in council prevented Jews from entering the country altogether, by stating that only immigrants from Britain and America who were economically independent and worked in an industry could come to Canada. Some people speculated that Canada had ‘dirty hands’ in this immigration policy and was deliberately attempting to exclude Jews from entering. Only 15, 800 Jews were allowed to immigrate to Canada. Within 1930 and 1934, 16, 785 immigrants were expelled from Canada. The restriction is significant in that it reveals how policy makers in Canada, at this time, might well have been anti-Semitic in their orientation. This is a fact that is somewhat repressed in mainstream History.

13. *1933 - Christie Pits Riot In August, there was a riot at Christie Pits during a baseball game in which Jews attacked Germans that they suspected were plotting hate crimes. A boy moved his sweatshirt and out tumbled a swastika. This inaugurated the riot. It is considered to be one of the most serious riots in the History of Toronto. The Jews rioting against Germans was initiatedby their knowledge of anti-Semitism, their awareness of their fellow Jews distress in Europe under Hitler’s Nazi regime and their awareness of swastika clubs in Toronto. The emergence of the swastika at the baseball game was enough to initiate the riot because it reminded them of Jews distress in Europe and they assumed that an attack on them might be imminent. The significance of this event is that it reveals that anti-Semitism existed, to some extent, in Toronto, in the 30’s, not necessarily as an entrenched, organized movement, but more on the level of local friction and occasional outbursts. Also, it reveals that Jews felt free and entitled to openly defend themselves in Canada whereas they did not feel this way in their countries of origin. A plague at Christie Pits, memorializing the riot between two groups. Jan.19.2011 <http://www.alanbrown.com/TorontoHistory/Pages_PQR/Riot_at_Christie_Pits.html>

14. 1939 - Jewish Refugees Refused Entry In May of 1939, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King disallowed a steamship, containing 901 German Jewish refugees, fleeing Nazi Germany, from entering Canada. This is consistent with the ‘none is too many’ policy he came to adopt. That is, no Jew in Canada was still too many Jews, in Mackenzie’s eyes. During World War II, Canada accepted only 1 percent (8, 000) of 811, 000 Jewish refugees. The rest were internationally accepted. This boat first went to the Havana Port, in Cuba, where the government would not acknowledge their passenger entrance visas. No other Latin American country would allow the refugees admittance. The significance of this event is that it most certainly reveals the limited, anti-Semitic orientation of Mackenzie King and, perhaps, his entire government. It does not, however, reveal, a widespread anti-Semitism throughout Canada as most people were not economically in a position to contest government policies, nor where they even cognizant of what his policies were. A picture of the St. Louis steamship, containing 907 German Jews who were disallowed entry into Canada after escaping from Nazi Germany. Jan19.2011<http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/canada.html#Between>

15. *1939 - Jewish Canadian Soldiers In September, 1939, Canada entered World War II. One-fifth of Canadian Jews entered the armed forces (around 17, 000). Many Jewish soldiers who survived received military awards. Some were commemorated by having parts of the natural landscape of Saskatchewan named after them. The significance of this event is that Canada entered World War II against Nazi Germany and anti-Semitism and Jews were enabled to fight for their own cause. In Canada, Jewish efforts were recognized and commemorated. This is a picture of the first Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Canada’s entrance into the World War II was a unique event in Canadian History, as it was the first World War that they fought, because they enlisted the services of women and a sizeable number of Jewish men were enlisted in the Canadian armed forces.Jan.19.2011<http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ww2incolor.com/d/433720-1/start-world-war-2-24&imgrefurl=http://quebec.inetgiant.ca/Montreal/AdDetails/Canadian-British-World-War-II-medal-group-1939-1945-laval-150/3895872&usg=__leX1LGBRXhIZ16st2gnjEpWsKeU=&h=339&w=400&sz=24&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=SuN-corrukQFPM:&tbnh=133&tbnw=151&ei=k1Y_TaimM8O78gaXo8DTAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCanada%2Benters%2BWorld%2BWar%2B2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26biw%3D1900%26bih%3D704%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=375&oei=k1Y_TaimM8O78gaXo8DTAw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=43&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=101&ty=87>

16. *1941- Immigration Policy Amendments The war ended and Canada implements anti-racist and anti discrimination legislation. They became more lax with immigration laws. Within 1941-1951, 16, 275 people of Jewish descent entered Canada. The significance of this event is that Canada became more compassionate and liberal in its immigration policy. This is an picture of a Canadian solider, fighting abroad. Canada entered World War II to protect the interests of the British Crown. Its participation in the war effort and the excellence of its service caused it to be recognized as an important country.Jan.19.2011 <http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sevenyearproject.com/images/cpsoldier.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sevenyearproject.com/canadas-place.htm&usg=__Mp7N5XMPCtKdI5sjTXwwQN2HzDw=&h=299&w=400&sz=30&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=uzHmlssArDQ7kM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=172&ei=alk_TcCIJcOB8ga2-PXZAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCanada%2Bfights%2Bin%2Bworld%2Bwar%2B2%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1900%26bih%3D704%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=344&oei=alk_TcCIJcOB8ga2-PXZAw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=46&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:0&tx=90&ty=24>

17. *1950 - HalychynaMembers Welcomed in Canada A picture of Canada’s rising immigration levels accelerating in the 1950s and 1960s with its new immigration policy which allowed immigrants back into Canada. Jan.19.2010 <http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.healthyanimals.ca/english/doc/discussion/a/images/s2b_e_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.healthyanimals.ca/english/doc/discussion/a/s2b_e.shtml&usg=__1R5qTbT26ZuN1ABUFJAE2JdSaKg=&h=338&w=560&sz=27&hl=en&start=42&zoom=1&tbnid=u1NOUEitKeqVRM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=173&ei=2GE_TZSGFMai8QO0s8nQBA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dimmigration%2Bto%2BCanada%2Bsince%2B1950%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1900%26bih%3D704%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=187&oei=IWE_TY-8FcGB8gbB7rDXAw&esq=2&page=2&ndsp=41&ved=1t:429,r:32,s:42&tx=87&ty=94>

18. 1950 - HalychynaMembers Welcomed in Canada Canada permits more immigration and allows people from Europe, including displaced persons, back into Canada. Unfortunately, by the same token, this meant that S.S. members (Halychyna members) were given entrance. The Jewish population was aghast and the Canadian Jewish Congress resisted the government’s decision. The Government was surprised by the Jewish reaction and was willing to negotiate. It deferred the reception of the Halychyna members to permit Congress to demonstrate evidence that the Halychyna members were plotting against the Jews. The Jewish Congress did not produce evidence implicating the Halychyna members as responsible for committing hate acts and so no evidence could be used against the members. The government enabled immigration to continue. The Halychyna members entered Canada the following year. Although Canadian Jews suspected that many were Nazi sympathizers, and, potentially, war criminals, the government did not enlist support to forcibly remove them, nor did they have jurisdiction to do so. The significance of this event is that Canada’s more liberal immigration policy allowed members of nations/ ethnic groups in conflict to carry their antipathies into Canada.

19. *1960 - The Trial of Adolf Eichmann In May of 1960, Adolf Eichmann, a German Nazi, was tried for war crimes in Israel. These include crimes against humanity under Israeli law and crimes against the Jewish people. His case exposed the atrocities committed during the Holocaust to the world and to Canadians. It transformed the trial from a private issue that the Jews were facing into a public issue that has since become one of the most notorious events in History. The significance of this event is that the world was made cognizant of the fact that Jews had become more powerful globally and were making it known that the horrific events of World War II and would not go unpunished. A picture of the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal. Eichmann was tried for war crimes, including crimes against humanity and crimes against the Jewish people in Israel in 1961. Jan.19.2011 <http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://eatourbrains.com/EoB/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/the-trial-of-adolf-eichmann.jpg&imgrefurl=http://eatourbrains.com/EoB/2007/05/&usg=__xarzwpm9O9yw1QS0zBfNpGdmaNU=&h=370&w=467&sz=49&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=sqJ4KYVuYSovzM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=164&ei=E1o_TZX3Ds6s8Ab96fXxAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3DThe%2Btrial%2Bof%2Badolf%2Beichmann%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1900%26bih%3D704%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=265&oei=E1o_TZX3Ds6s8Ab96fXxAw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=48&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=72&ty=60>

20. 1967 – Immigration Point System Begins Canada implemented a new point system for the selection of new immigrants based on education, language skills, and employability as well as age and Canadian destination. The changes practically banished subjective assessment and discrimination from the selection process. As a result, Jews have continued to immigrate to Canada over the past several decades. This image from Canadian Immigration Lawyers captures the idea that Canada is open to immigration and is inclusive of culturally diverse peoples. 17Jan. 2011 <http://www.akcanada.com/wordpress/ ?tag=assessment-Canadian-immigration>

21. 1976 - The Parti Québécois Win Provincial Election René Lévesque was the founder of the Parti Québécois. He was the Premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. His government passed the Quebec Charter of the French Language. 17Jan. 2011 <http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/francophonie/ histfrqc_s4_modernisation.htm>

22. 1976- The Parti Québécois Win Provincial Election The Parti Québécois won the provincial election. The party put forward French language regulations and passed Bill 101, the Charter of the French Language, in 1980, ensuring the primacy of French in all aspects of life in Quebec. The francizationof the workplace implicitly excluded non- Québécois from employment even if such persons were bilingual. Surveys at this time reveal that Jews were concerned that this piece of legislation would narrow their employment opportunities. Moreover, certain provisions of Bill 101 that govern the language of education and almost entirely eradicate admission to English language schools have a directly negative impact on the Jewish community. While the Canadian Jewish population across Canada has increased, the community in Montreal has decreased between the years 1981 and 1991 because Bill 101’s language restrictions on employment and education are unfavourable to Jews and have caused many in the community to emigrate from the city. The result is that the Montreal Jewish community is struggling because there are no longer enough members to support the group.

23. 1981- Montreal Divorce Conference Montreal held its first conference on divorce to educate the community, suggest strategies, and provide resources for Jewish men and women undergoing issues with divorce. According to Jewish law, only a man can give his wife a get, a Jewish divorce document that is administered by a rabbinic court. Montreal’s conference was a step toward greater equity for Jewish women and led to the contribution of Canadian Jewish women in the national amendment to the country’s Divorce Act on August 12, 1990. According to the amendment, agunot, women bound to disintegrated marriages, can now be freed. The Jewish wedding ceremony is traditionally held under the huppa or canopy. It is here that the blessing, the giving of the ring, the signing of the ketubah, or marriage contract, and the breaking of the glass take place. 17 Jan. 2011<http:// www.israel-wedding.com/ weddings.htm>

24. 1985- Big M Drug Mart Case In the Big M Drug Mart case, the Supreme Court invalidated the Lord’s Day Act of 1906, which prohibited business and recreational activity on Sunday. The Jewish community of Canada contributed to this ruling by submitting an argument that the government should either create policy on strictly secular foundations or make laws that take into account minority religions and not just the religious observations of the dominant group. The Supreme Court’s ruling, though it upheld the concept of religious freedom, did not make note of the articulate objection put forward by the Jewish community against the Lord’s Day Alliance. Schwartz’s Deli is a Jewish establishment in Montreal that was founded in 1928. 17 Jan. 2011 <http://www.schwartzs deli.com /index_fr.html>

25. 1996- OFL Kosher Food Compromised The French Language Office of (OFL) compromised the availability o imported kosher foods that were necessary for Passover meals on the grounds that the products lacked French labelling. Eventually, OFL and the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) came to an agreement that permitted the sale of such dietary goods for Passover without French labels for a limited period during the religious holiday. B’nai Brith Canada was unhappy with the decision because they had preferred to prove that the sale of such goods without French labelling in the province of Quebec had constitutional validity. Kashrut, or Jewish dietary laws, is referred to as kosher in English. 17 Jan. 2011 <www.kosher.com>

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