Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

152

Material Format

textual record

Date

1988

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a report, background information, press sheet and event itinerary.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

1

Material Format

textual record

Date

Aug. 1967

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of an informative essay concerning the fifteenth anniversary of the 12 August 1967 execution of Soviet Jewish writers. This essay was prepared by the American Jewish Conference on Soviet Jewry, an organization based in New York City.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

14

Material Format

textual record

Date

23 Mar. 1972-12 Sept. 1972

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence, promotional materials and articles concerning the commemorative demonstration held in Toronto on 12 Aug. 1972.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

26

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

10 July 1973-12 Sept. 1973

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

2 photographs : b&w ; 13 x 17 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence, a report, an agenda of the planning meeting, promotional materials and articles concerning the commemorative demonstration held in Toronto on 13 Aug. 1973. The file also includes several photographs of the event.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

36

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

July 1974-Aug. 1974

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

4 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence, programmes and articles concerning the commemorative demonstration held in Toronto on 12 August 1974 at Associated Hebrew Skills. The file also includes photographs of the event. Individuals identified in the photos include Milton Harris; S. M. Harris, QC; Nathan O. Hurwich; David E. Newman, Q.C.; S.L. Shneiderman; J. B. Salsberg; Sam Blatt; Susan Paul, York University. The guest speaker for this event was S. L. Shneiderman, a columnist for the Jewish Daily Forward in New York City.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

49

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1975

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

5 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller

Scope and Content

File contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, news releases and programmes of the 12 August annual protest. Also included are a number of short biographical essays concerning the speakers at the event and photographs of these speakers, including the Yiddish poet Israel Emiot, who visited from Rochester, New York, to speak at the event.

Notes

Availability of other formats: Digitized material.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

23rd anniversary of the execution of Soviet Jewish writers and intellectuals file

Level

Item

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

49

Item

16

Material Format

textual record

Date

1975

Physical Description

1 speech

Scope and Content

Item appears to be a speech written for David Satok for the occasion of the twenty-third anniversary of "the execution of the Soviet Jewish poets, novelists and artists." The speech deals principally with the situation of Jews in the Soviet Union.

Notes

Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.

Name Access

Satok, David

Subjects

Anniversaries

Authors

Repro Restriction

Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

61

Material Format

textual record

Date

June 1976-Aug. 1976

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains correspondence, news releases, biographical information and programmes concerning the 12 Aug. annual commemoration. Guest readers included Peretz Miransky, a Toronto area poet.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

71

Item

1-2

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

May 1977-Sep. 1977

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

4 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm

Scope and Content

File contains correspondence, photographs, news releases, fact sheets, and programmes concerning the annual commemoration held on 11 August 1977. Guest readers included Peretz Miransky, a Toronto area poet, and Mordechai Husid from Montreal. File also contains notes and notices in Hebrew.

Notes

Photographer unknown.

Name Access

Husid, Mordechai

Miransky, Peretz

Subjects

Poets

Repro Restriction

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Source

Archival Descriptions

• 

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

97

Material Format

textual record

Date

June 1980-Aug. 1980

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains correspondence, news releases, fact sheets and programmes concerning the annual commemoration held on 13 Aug. 1980.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

122

Material Format

textual record

Date

15 Aug. 1983

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a programme from the annual commemoration.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

127

Material Format

textual record

Date

May 1984-Aug. 1984

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a programme, correspondence and notices from the annual commemoration held 13 Aug. 1984 in Toronto.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

139

Material Format

textual record

Date

July 1986-Aug. 1986

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a programme, correspondence and notices related to the annual commemoration held 12 Aug. 1986 in Toronto.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Refusnik cases sub-series

Reference publications sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-6-3

File

10

Material Format

text

Responsibility

Adele E. Sandberg and Margery Sanford ; introduction by Martin Gilbert ; translation by Irving Dalin

Date

Sept. 1984

Physical Description

1 v. : unbound

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Committee correspondence sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-2

File

1

Material Format

textual record

Date

1970

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of general correspondence related to the committee's activities.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Committee correspondence sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-2

File

3

Material Format

textual record

Date

1971

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of general correspondence and notices related to the committee's activities.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

96

Material Format

textual record

Date

May 1980-July 1980

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains news releases, clippings and programmes related to the third annual summer vigil held on 11 and 12 June 1980 at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Places

Nathan Phillips Square (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Affiliated organizations sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-4

File

2

Material Format

textual record

Date

1980-1981

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains two pieces of correspondence concerning the formation of the Association of the Soviet Jewry in Canada and related to the coordination of activities with the Toronto Jewish Congress. A newsletter of the Toronto Jewish Congress containing information on the activities of the organization is also included.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

Item

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

26

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

13 Aug. 1973

Physical Description

1 photographs : b&w ; 13 x 17 cm

Scope and Content

Photograph audience attending the twenty-first anniversary of the execution of the Soviet-Jewish writers and intellectuals event. The event took place at Beth Tzedec Chapel.

Notes

Photograph by Jacob El-Baz.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

Item

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

26

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

13 Aug. 1973

Physical Description

1 photographs : b&w ; 13 x 17 cm

Scope and Content

Photograph of Basya Hunter giving a dramatic reading at the twenty-first anniversary of the execution of the Soviet-Jewish writers and intellectuals event. The event took place at Beth Tzedec Chapel.

Notes

Photograph by Jacob El-Baz.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

3

Material Format

textual record

Date

[197-?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of an undated list of the synagogue's activities for the Soviet Jewry cause.

Name Access

Beth Tikvah Synagogue (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

121

Material Format

textual record

Date

July 1983-Sept. 1983

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains programme, notices and correspondence concerning the photographic exhibition at Beth Tzedec Synagogue in Toronto.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Affiliated organizations sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-4

File

7

Material Format

textual record

Date

1972-1973, 1983-1984

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains petitions, correspondence and articles related to the Canadian academic community's efforts on behalf of their Soviet Jewish peers and specific appeal campaigns on their behalf. Primary correspondents include Professor Irwin Cotler and Murray Freedman.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry sub-series

Level

Sub-series

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1972-1991

Physical Description

28 cm of textual records

37 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

In order to facilitate the cooperation between regional committees, a National Committee for Soviet Jewry was created in December 1972 at a meeting of regional CJC directors in Winnipeg. Its names "National Committee" and "Canadian Committee" were used interchangeably within its records. While meetings of this committee were fewer in number than those of the regional committees, there was a certain amount of overlapping jurisdiction between the Central Region, based in Toronto, and the Canadian Committee, given that most of the executive members for both were based in Ontario. Further, executive members serving on the national committee also frequently served concurrently on the local committee. The first Chair of the Canadian Committee, elected to the position in Dec. 1972, was Toronto resident (later Judge) Sydney Harris. David Satok, Genya Intrator and David Sadowski, all from Toronto, also served as Chairs for this committee. Unsurprisingly, a majority of activities were thus coordinated in the Central Region office in Toronto. The various regional committees, however, remained largely autonomous, with Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg being the most active outside of Toronto.

Scope and Content

Sub-series consists of meeting agendas and minutes, correspondence, news releases and reports of the Canadian (National) Committee for Soviet Jewry. Also included are numerous examples of the bulletins, notices and newsletters issued by the committee.

Subjects

Antisemitism

Arrangement

Aside from the culling of duplicate documents, files have here been maintained with their original contents and internal order. As some files have date ranges spanning several years, they have been arranged in chronological order by their start dates.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

9

Material Format

textual record

Date

1975

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File includes news briefs, correspondence, bulletins and newsletters, a conference programme, resource books, a mailing list, a budget, various reports, fact sheets, transcriptions and articles.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

11

Material Format

textual record

Date

1976

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists primarily of correspondence and reports.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

13

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1977

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

28 photographs : b&w on single contact sheet ; 3 x 4 cm

Scope and Content

File consists primarily of correspondence and reports. Also included are publicity materials regarding a talk by Arthur Maloney and Rabbi Gunther Plaut on 30 March 1977 in Toronto, including a contact sheet of photos taken at this event. File also includes press releases and fact sheets.

Name Access

Plaut, W. Gunther, 1912-2012

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

14

Material Format

textual record

Date

1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists primarily of correspondence and reports, but also includes an annual budget and various press releases and fact sheets of the committee.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

17

Material Format

textual record

Date

1980

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains several newsletters and general correspondence concerning the accounts of the committee and other activities.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

18

Material Format

textual record

Date

Jan. 1981-Jun. 1981

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists primarily of reports and press releases, but also includes general correspondence of the committee. These documents often include copies of articles from newspapers and magazines and other kinds of fact sheets. Also included in this file is a copy of the minutes from a meeting between the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Canadian Zionist Federation held in Montreal on 25 Mar. 1981, concerning the topic of Soviet Jews.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

19

Material Format

textual record

Date

Aug. 1981-Dec. 1981

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a report by Genya Intrator, National Chairman, on his Western Canada visit to meet with fellow Soviet Jewry activists; materials concerning the "Adopt a Family" programme; and, documents from the "Conference on the Critical Status of Soviet Jews" held in Ottawa on 9 Dec. 1981.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

20

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1982

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

4 photographs : b&w ; 19 x 24 cm

Scope and Content

File contains reports and correspondence of the committee, as well as assorted fact sheets, budget documents and photographs of a rally in front of the Ontario Legislature in support of Anatoly Scharansky.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

21

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1983

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 photograph : b&w ; 24 x 19 cm

Scope and Content

File contains reports, fact sheets and correspondence of the committee, as well as several speech transcriptions for speeches delivered by Serge Joyal, Secretary of State for Canada, Goldie Hershon, Chairman of the Montreal Committee for Soviet Jewry, and David Peterson, M.P.P. and Leader of the Opposition in the Ontario Provincial Legislature. The file also contains a photograph of the British politician Greiville Janner, Q.C., M.P. on his visit to Canada, with James Breithaupt, M.P.P. in the Ontario Legislature.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

22

Material Format

textual record

Date

1984

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains primarily press releases and information packages produced by the committee. Also included are several reports, programmes for meetings and correspondence.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

23

Material Format

textual record

Date

1986

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains budget documents, press materials and fact sheets. Also included is a transcript of Anatoly Scharansky's press conference upon his release from prison.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

1

Material Format

textual record

Date

1972-1984

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of meeting agendas and minutes of the Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry, which was also called the National Committee for Soviet Jewry. The file also contains minutes of the meetings of the executives of the committee and various relevant notices.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

24

Material Format

textual record

Date

1990

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains copies of the committee's Soviet Jewry Bulletin, several articles and general correspondence regarding the dissemination of updates on Soviet Jewry.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-3

File

16

Material Format

textual record

Date

1979

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists primarily of transcripts of phone conversations with Soviet dissidents, however, there is also a copy of a letter of response from a Soviet official to a petition and several other pieces of correspondence.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Affiliated organizations sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-4

File

8

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1975-1987

Physical Description

4 cm of textual records

35 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller

Scope and Content

File contains printed testimonials, notes, correspondence, press releases, operational memoranda, a contact sheet of photos taken during a dinner meeting in 1976,distributed pamphlets, events programs, contact lists, meeting notices, conference notes and a photo of the presentation of a human rights award to David Smith in 1983.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Affiliated organizations sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-4

File

9

Material Format

textual record

Date

1974-1985

Physical Description

5 cm of textual records

Scope and Content

File includes general correspondence and related literature to the activities of the committee.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Affiliated organizations sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-4

File

10

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1976-1984

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

35 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 13 cm or smaller

Scope and Content

File includes correspondence, sample invitation cards, lecture notes and photographs concerning the luncheon lecture programs of the committee. Guests lecturers in this program included Leon S. Lipson, Yoram Dinstein, Natalia Sharansky, Robert McKay, Alan Eagleson, Burton Caine, David Smith, Flora MacDonald, Charles L. Caccia, Fred King, Lynn McDonald and Jim Peterson. Floar McDonald and David Smith are photographed on one contact sheet of 34 photographs during their talk. The other photograph is of Professor of Law Burton Caine.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Affiliated organizations sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-4

File

12

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1972-1974

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 photograph : b&w ; 23 x 14 cm

Admin History/Bio

Lev Levitin was a Soviet electrical and computer engineer and refusnik profiled in the Committee of Soviet Jewry campaigns.

Scope and Content

File contains correspondence in English and Russian, press releases, articles, transcripts and various petitions related to the efforts of the Canadian Friends of Soviet Jewry to raise the issue of Soviet emigration and freedom of religion policies among the candidates in the 1974 Canadian Federal Election. Also includes a photo of Lev Levitin with a child. Primary correspondents include H. Wayne Tannenbaum, Chairman of the Canadian Friends of Soviet Jewry. File also includes a number of documents related to the general administration and fundraising activities of the organization.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

23rd anniversary of the execution of Soviet Jewish writers and intellectuals file

Level

Item

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

49

Item

11

Material Format

textual record

Date

24 Jul. 1975

Physical Description

1 news release

Scope and Content

Item is a news release put out by Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region, dated 24 July 1975. In the news release, Sam Filer "announces the annual commemoration of the Anniversary of the Execution of the Soviet-Jewish Writers and Poets in Moscow in 1952." The commemoration was to be held on 12 August 1975 at Beth Tzedec Synagogue (1700 Bathurst Street).

Notes

Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.

Repro Restriction

Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

23rd anniversary of the execution of Soviet Jewish writers and intellectuals file

Level

Item

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

49

Item

25

Material Format

textual record

Date

1975

Physical Description

1 press release

Scope and Content

Item is a press release from the Canadian Jewish Congress regarding the commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the death of twenty-four Jewish writers. The press release notes, "Coupled with the commemoration of this tragic historic date is the demand by Canadian Jewry that Soviet Jewry be permitted the right to emigrate, an elementary principle of human rights as guaranteed by the United Nations Charter on Human Rights."

Notes

Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.

Name Access

Canadian Jewish Congress

Repro Restriction

Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

23rd anniversary of the execution of Soviet Jewish writers and intellectuals file

Level

Item

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

49

Item

30

Material Format

textual record

Date

22 Aug. 1975

Physical Description

1 article

Notes

Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.

Repro Restriction

Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

Series

Fonds

17

Series

3

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1967-1992

Physical Description

4.5 m of textual records

1822 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

The earliest impetus for the creation of a Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) committee to focus on the issue of Soviet Jews was in response to the infamous “Leningrad trials” of thirty-one dissident Soviet Jews in the winter of 1970. Concurrently, the Soviet government began to systematically persecute almost all Jews who applied for permission to emigrate. The issuing of exit visas was refused (the genesis of the term “refusenik”), usually on exaggerated claims of national security, after which the applicants were often dismissed from their jobs, recalled to military service, or similarly persecuted by state authorities. Those who publicly protested such treatment were subsequently arrested, detained for long periods, or tried as examples to others and sent to Siberian labour camps.

When information about the plight of Soviet Jews reached Canada, Toronto’s Jews responded immediately and decisively. Synagogue congregations, student groups, women’s organizations, professional organizations and community groups all established independent committees to aid Soviet Jews directly and to pressure local, national and international governments to address Soviet antisemitism. Very quickly these committees began organizing mass rallies, letter writing campaigns, petitions, targeted protests and direct aid involving large numbers of people and considerable fundraising efforts. From 1971 to the late 1980s the cause of Soviet Jewry remained, along with support for The State of Israel, the most significant issue to the Jewish community.

The Action Committee for Soviet Jewry (ACSJ) was formed by the (then) Central Region of the CJC in early 1971 in order to coordinate the activities of, and provide stable funding and administrative support for, the various ad hoc committees and action groups that had sprung up across Toronto and the rest of Ontario. Organizations coordinated by the Action Committee included university student groups, the Group of 35, Women for Soviet Jewry (WSJ), B’nai B’rith, and the Canadian Zionist Federation (CZF). The ACSJ originally reported to the CJC’s Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry (SCSJ), but by the mid-1970s the reporting of the two committees was reversed, with the Steering Committee reporting to the Action Committee. By 1977, the Action Committee and the Steering Committee were merged into the newly-renamed CJC Ontario Region’s Committee for Soviet Jewry (occasionally referred to as the Toronto Committee).

The first Chairman of the SCSJ was the prominent Toronto politician and activist Joseph B. Salsberg. Later chairs, including Sam Filer, Phyllis Sugar, Reg Adelman, author Jeanette Goldman, Joyce Eklove, and Judge Ted Matlow were also involved with affiliated local groups whose activities were coordinated by the SCSJ. Sam Filer, its first permanent Secretary, became in 1976 its second Chairman. He also served as Chairman of the Toronto Action Committee for Soviet Jewry and was an original co-founder of Lawyers and Jurists for Soviet Jewry. Similarly, Phyllis Sugar was a Co-chair of the ACSJ with Reg Adelman in the early to mid-1970s, while simultaneously serving as the Chair of WSJ. Genya Intrator, the first Chair of WSJ in the early 1970s, later served as first Chair of the Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry. Despite having its first meeting in Winnipeg, the Canadian Committee had most of its leadership and activities in Toronto. Toronto residents Sydney Harris (later Judge Harris), David Satok, Genya Intrator and David Sadowski all chaired this committee as it developed a national agenda through contacts with affiliated organizations across the country, while coordinating internationally with groups such as the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews based in New York.

Towards the end of the 1980s, many of the restrictions regarding exit visas for refusniks were removed and increasingly Russian Jews began to immigrate to Israel, the United States and Canada. A large percentage of the latter settled in Toronto. By 1991, in response to the changes in Russia and the former Soviet republics, the CJC’s local and national Soviet Jewry Committees were wound up and their leadership began to focus on new issues, such as the integration of Soviet Jewish immigrants into Canada and the continuing struggle to fight antisemitism in the successor states of the former Soviet Union. To this end, the CJC formed a Political Liaison Committee in the early 1990s. Internationally, however, many Russian Jewish advocacy groups continued to operate on the foundation of activism and community organization established during the decades of solidarity built around the Soviet Jewry cause.

Custodial History

The records in this series were accumulated and maintained in the offices of the CJC under the jurisdiction of Samuel Resnick, in his role as the Director of the Community Action for Israel Committee, and as the main CJC staff employee for overseeing the Action Committee for Soviet Jewry and Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry, which eventually coalesced as simply the Committee for Soviet Jewry circa 1977. By 1980, Resnick’s title was Director of the Committee for Soviet Jewry, Central Region, making him the primary full-time staffer of the CJC involved in the Soviet Jewry cause.

Scope and Content

Series consists of extensive planning, administrative and operational records including meeting minutes, correspondence, budgets and membership lists. Records pertaining to activities include numerous event and protest photographs, articles, petitions, posters and other press materials. Records related to the gathering of information regarding Soviet Jewry include transcripts of telegrams and telephone conversations, background fact sheets and many individual case files.

This series has been arranged into six sub-series. Sub-series 1 consists of Ontario Region committee meeting agendas and minutes. Sub-series 2 consists of the correspondence files documenting various activities of that committee. Sub-series 3 consists of the agendas, minutes and general correspondence of the National Committee for Soviet Jewry. Sub-series 4 consists of records documenting affiliated Jewish organizations that collaborated with the CJC in protesting the persecution of Soviet Jews. Sub-series 5 consists of records documenting the various protest activities such as lobbying, letter writing, public rallies, marches and demonstrations. Sub-series 6 , Rufusnik Cases, consists of 3 sub-sub-series, containing individual case files, large published lists, and reference publications about Soviet Jews who were refused permission to emigrate (refusniks).

Notes

Physical extent note: although over 28 m of Soviet Jewry records were originally transferred to the OJA, more than 23 m of those records have been culled due to their origin (non-Canadian sources), format (outside periodicals and publications), because they were merely externally-created reference materials, or because they were part of the very large volumes of duplicates that made up the majority of the box contents. Records documenting the activities of other CJC Committees have also been removed for future processing within more appropriately-titled series within Fonds 17.

Subjects

Committees

Jews--Soviet Union

Arrangement

Because the Soviet Jewry records donated by the Canadian Jewish Congress had not been maintained in a discernable original order, they had to be reorganized into their current arrangement by the processing archivist.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Committee correspondence sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-2

File

17

Material Format

textual record

Date

1980

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of general correspondence, memos and news releases related to the committee's activities.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Committee correspondence sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-2

File

11

Material Format

textual record

Date

1977

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of general correspondence and notices related to the committee's activities.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Committee correspondence sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-2

File

14

Material Format

textual record

Date

1978

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of general correspondence and notices related to the committee's activities.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Committee correspondence sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-2

File

25

Material Format

textual record

Date

1988

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of general correspondence and notices related to the committee's activities.

Source

Archival Descriptions