- 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
- 1
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Date
- 12 Aug. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm
- Scope and Content
- The following caption appears on verso: "23rd Anniversary of the Execution of the Soviet-Jewish Poets, Novelists and Artists. Tuesday, August 12, 1975. Youth Chapel, Beth Tzedec Synagogue, Toronto. Sam N. Filer, Chairman, Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry addressing the gathering." According to a Toronto Star article that appeared shortly after Filer's death, Filer was a judge and "legal icon" who had "helped persecuted Jewish citizens of the former Soviet Union."
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a TIFF file and a JPEG file.
- Name Access
- Filer, Sam, 1935-2007
- Subjects
- Judges
- Speeches, addresses, etc
- 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.
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- 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
- 2
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Responsibility
- Photograph by Gadi Hoz
- Date
- 12 Aug. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm
- Scope and Content
- The following caption appears on verso: "23rd Anniversary of the Execution of the Soviet-Jewish Intellectuals, August 12, 1975 8:00pm, Beth Tzedec Synagogue Toronto, Ontario. Peretz Miransky addressing the gathering." Miransky was a Yiddish poet and writer of fables.
- Notes
- Physical description: Photographer's stamp on verso.
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a TIFF file and a JPEG file.
- Name Access
- Miransky, Peretz
- Subjects
- Poets
- Speeches, addresses, etc
- 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.
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- 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
- 3
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Responsibility
- Photograph by Gadi Hoz
- Date
- 12 Aug. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm
- Scope and Content
- The following caption appears on verso: "23rd Anniversary of the Execution of the Soviet Jewish Intellectuals, August 12, 1975 8:00pm, Beth Tzedec Synagogue Toronto, Ontario. Prof. Lewis Feuer addressing the gathering." Feuer was an American sociologist. According to an obituary that appeared in the New York Times, his "career and prolific writings reflected his intellectual journey from Marxist orthodoxy to neoconservatism."
- Notes
- Physical description: Photographer's stamp on verso.
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a TIFF file and a JPEG file.
- Name Access
- Feuer, Lewis S. (Lewis Samuel), 1912-2002
- Subjects
- Ex-communists
- Sociologists
- Speeches, addresses, etc
- 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.
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- 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
- 4
- Material Format
- graphic material
- Responsibility
- Photograph by Gadi Hoz
- Date
- 12 Aug. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm
- Scope and Content
- The following caption appears on verso: "23rd Anniversary of the Execution of the Soviet-Jewish Intellectuals, August 12, 1975 8:00pm, Beth Tzedec Synagogue Toronto, Ontario. Israel Emiot, Yiddish Poet and Writer from Rochester, New York, addressing the gathering."
- Notes
- Physical description: Photographer's stamp on verso.
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a TIFF file and a JPEG file.
- Name Access
- Emiot, Israel
- Subjects
- Poets, Yiddish
- Speeches, addresses, etc
- 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.
- Places
- Toronto (Ont.)
- 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
- 7
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 24 Jul. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 letter
- Scope and Content
- Item is a form letter from Sam Filer, chairman of the Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry. In the letter, which is intended for one or more rabbis, Filer informs the recipient that "the Toronto Jewish Community is planning to commemorate the 23rd Anniversary of the Execution of Soviet-Jewish Writers in 1952." Written near the top of the letter is a note: "Sent to Toronto Rabbis + Presidents of Synagogues."
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.
- Name Access
- Filer, Sam, 1935-2007
- Subjects
- Rabbis
- Synagogue officers
- 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
- 8
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 24 Jul. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 letter
- Scope and Content
- Item is a form letter from Sam Filer, chairman of the Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry. In the letter, which is intended for one or more rabbis, Filer informs the recipient that "the Toronto Jewish Community is planning to commemorate the 23rd Anniversary of the Execution of Soviet-Jewish Writers in 1952."
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.
- Name Access
- Filer, Sam, 1935-2007
- Subjects
- Rabbis
- 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
- 10
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 24 Jul. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 memo
- Scope and Content
- Item isa memo to Sam N. Filer from Sanuel Resnick regarding the commemoration to take place on 12 August 1975. In the memo, Resnick informs Filer that, "We have been fortunate (through the efforts of Joseph B. Salsberg) to obtain Dr. Lewis S. Feuer of the University of Toronto for our Commemoration evening."
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.
- Name Access
- Filer, Sam, 1935-2007
- Resnick, Samuel
- 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
- 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
- 13
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 12 Aug. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 programme
- Scope and Content
- Item is a programme for a community assembly titled the 23rd Anniversary of the Execution of the Soviet Jewish Poets, Novelists and Artists. The community assembly took place at the youth chapel at Beth Tzedec Synagogue (1700 Bathurst Street). The programme lists the following speakers: Sam Filer, chairman, Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry; Joseph B. Salsberg, chairman, Committee for Yiddish; Milton E. Harris, chairman, Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region; Peretz Miransky, Yiddish poet; Lewis Feuer, professor of sociology and philosophy, University of Toronto; Israel Emiot, poet and essayist; and David I. Satok, chairman, Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry.
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.
- Name Access
- Emiot, Israel
- Feuer, Lewis S. (Lewis Samuel), 1912-2002
- Filer, Sam, 1935-2007
- Harris, Milton, 1927-2005
- Miransky, Peretz
- Salsberg, J. B.,1902-1998
- Satok, David
- Subjects
- Anniversaries
- 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.
- Places
- Bathurst Street (Toronto, Ont.)
- 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
- 17
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 5 Aug. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 letter
- Scope and Content
- Item is a letter to Sam Filer, chairman of the Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry, from Ann Steindel, executive assistant at the Canadian Jewish Congress. In the letter, which is dated 5 August 1975, Steindel informs Filer that "we [Canadian Jewish Congress?] have been unable to arrange any activity with regard to commemoration of noted Jewish writers and intellectuals in Moscow in 1952."
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.
- Name Access
- Filer, Sam, 1935-2007
- Steindel, Ann, 1910-1991
- 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
- 18
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 5 Aug. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 letter
- Scope and Content
- Item is a letter to Sam Filer, chairman of the Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry, from William Stern, executive director of the Canadian Zionist Federation. In the letter, which is dated 5 August 1975, Stern informs Filer, "I will be unable to attend your meeting as I will be in Israel."
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.
- Name Access
- Filer, Sam, 1935-2007
- Stern, William, 1921-2007
- 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
- 19
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 28 Jul. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 letter
- Scope and Content
- Item is a letter to Samuel Resnick, assistant director of the Canadian Jewish Congress, from Israel Emiot, author-in-residence at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester. In the letter, which is dated 28 July 1975, Emiot informs Resnick of his plans as they relate to "my coming event dedicated to the executed Jewish writers in Russia."
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.
- Name Access
- Emiot, Israel
- Resnick, Samuel
- 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
- 26
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 press release
- Scope and Content
- Item is a press release from the World Jewish Congress registering "its anxiety over the increasing intimidating of Soviet Jews" and calling "for a world-wide commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the massacre of Jewish intellectuals which . . . marked the beginning of the liquidation of Jewish culture in the U.S.S.R."
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.
- Name Access
- World 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
- 27
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 program event
- Scope and Content
- Item is a program event for a commemorative evening in honour of "24 leading Jewish poets, writers, and intellectual public figures [who] were executed in the basement of Moscow's Lubianka [Lubyanka] Prison" on 12 August 1959. The evening was to take place on 12 August 1973 at 8:30 p.m. in the Samuel Bronfman house, which was located at 1590 McGregor Street. The second page of the document is in Yiddish.
- 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
- 28
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 18 Jul. 1975
- Physical Description
- 1 letter
- Scope and Content
- Item is a letter to Yiddish poet Israel Emiot from Samuel Resnick, the assistant executive director. In the letter, which is dated 18 July 1975, Resnick confirms "the invitation extended to you [i.e., Emiot] by the Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry and the Committee for Yiddish of Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region who are this year sponsoring jointly a memorial meeting to commemorate the death of the Soviet-Jewish writers in Russia in 1951."
- Notes
- Availability of other formats: Also available as a PDF/A file.
- Name Access
- Emiot, Israel
- Resnick, Samuel
- Subjects
- Poets, Yiddish
- 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 meeting agendas and minutes sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1970-1988
- Physical Description
- 6 cm of textual records
- Scope and Content
- Sub-series consists of agendas and minutes of meetings of 1), the Toronto Committee for Soviet Jewry (its best-known name) and its predecessors 2), The Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry, 3), the Committee for Soviet Jewry and 4), the Action Committee for Soviet Jewry. Each file title reflects the name of the creator committee at that time. With the exception of 1984, there are agendas and minutes for each year of committee activity until 1988, after which time the activities of the committee were considerably reduced. 1989 and 1990 committee meeting minutes were either not created or never transferred.
- Related Material
- Committee correspondence may be found at Fonds 17, Series 3, Sub-series 3-2
- Arrangement
- Files have been arranged in chronological order and by committee name.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Committee for Soviet Jewry series
- Affiliated organizations sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-4
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1970-1987
- Physical Description
- 30 cm of textual records
- 91 photographs : b&w; 20 x 25 cm or smaller
- Admin History/Bio
- Among the major organizations that cooperated with the Committee for Soviet Jewry, the women's organizations and student groups frequently acted as co-organizers and co-sponsors of protest activities and collaborated in the preparation of documents for awareness campaigns. Many of these activities originated from the efforts of such groups as the Toronto Student Councils, the Women for Soviet Jewry and the Group of 35.
- Scope and Content
- Sub-series consists of records documenting the activities of various Jewish organizations which worked in cooperation with the Committee for Soviet Jewry, Ontario Region. These records include some photographs, but consist primarily of correspondence, notices and press materials.
- Arrangement
- Records in this series have been organized alphabetically according to the name of the organization, and then chronologically within the records of each file.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Committee for Soviet Jewry series
- Protest activities sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-5
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1967-1988
- Physical Description
- 70 cm of textual records
- 1238 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller
- Admin History/Bio
- Activities undertaken by the Committee for Soviet Jewry in Ontario and its affiliated partner organizations included political lobbying, telephone and letter-writing campaigns, product boycotting, symposiums, public rallies, petitions, marches and demonstrations. Among the highest profile activities were the annual Simcha Torah rallies in October and the annual commemorations of the execution of twenty-four Soviet Jewish writers and intellectuals, which had occurred on August 12, 1952 at Moscow's Liubianka prison. As well as organizing public protest activities, the Committee for Soviet Jewry established, in the 1980s, the Ida Nudel Humanitarian Award which emphasized the humanitarian work of a number of prominent Canadian women. Other non-protest activities included bar/ bat mitzvah twinning, family and prisoner sponsorships, and holiday greetings, all programmes that tied the daily lives of Soviet Jews to their Canadian counterparts.
- Scope and Content
- Sub-series consists of records documenting the wide range of above-listed protest activities in which the CJC and various affiliated organizations participated. The files include numerous photographs of mass rallies and group demonstrations, planning notes, correspondence, event notices and other promotional materials.
- Subjects
- Demonstrations
- Arrangement
- Records of protest activities in this sub-series have been organized chronologically and by event. Indicated date ranges at the file level are of the documents themselves and are not necessarily indicative of the dates of specific events, such as rallies or marches, though such dates are noted in the file description where known.
- 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
- Committee correspondence sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-2
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1970-1992
- Physical Description
- 14 cm of textual records
- Admin History/Bio
- Planning to create an Action Committee for Soviet Jewry began in December, 1970 with its first real activities occurring in April, 1971. At that time, a Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry was also created to function as a small sub-committee of the Action Committee. By 1972 the roles had reversed, with the Steering Committee becoming the primary functioning committee for the coordination of activities relating to Soviet Jewry. By 1975 the Action Committee was completely phased and, in 1980, the Steering Committee's full name was changed to "Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry, Central Region". In 1981 a further name change occurred as it became the "Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry, Ontario Region". In 1988 the name was simplified to its final form, "The Committee for Soviet Jewry".
- Scope and Content
- Sub-series consists of the chronological correspondence files of the Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry, the Action Committee for Soviet Jewry and the Committee for Soviet Jewry. The correspondence also includes occasional administrative documents such as receipts and reports. There are also numerous general notices, promotional materials and selected articles and news releases related to the communications between the various members and executive officers of the committees. No records could be located for the years 1990 and 1991.
- Related Material
- Meeting agendas and minutes for these committees may be found at Fonds 17, Series 3, Sub-series 3-1.
- Arrangement
- Files have been arranged in chronological order.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Committee for Soviet Jewry series
- Refusnik cases sub-series
- Individual refusnik case files sub-sub-series
- Level
- Sub-sub-series
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-6-1
- Material Format
- graphic material
- textual record
- Date
- 1970-1986
- Physical Description
- 63 cm of textual records
- 382 photographs : b&w; 20 x 25 cm or smaller
- Scope and Content
- Sub-sub-series consists of case files of individual refusniks and includes detailed documentation about several very well known Russian Jews, such as Anatoly Scharansky, Dr. Benjamin Levich, Ida Nudel, and Esther Markish. Files vary in their content from very cursory information to files that include articles, correspondence and/or photographs in addition to information about the status of individual emigration applications and the living conditions of Jews in the Soviet Union.
- Related Material
- Records documenting refusnik groups may be found at Fonds 17, Sub-sub-series 3-6-2.
Publications about refusniks may be found at Fonds 17, Sub-sub-series 3-6-3
- Arrangement
- Sub-sub-series records are organized alphabetically by surname.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Committee for Soviet Jewry series
- Refusnik cases sub-series
- Refusnik groups sub-sub-series
- Level
- Sub-sub-series
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-6-2
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1970-1983
- Physical Description
- 17 cm of textual records
- 74 photographs : b&w; 20 x 25 cm or smaller
- Scope and Content
- Sub-sub-series consists of various types of group documents: listings of groups of Soviet Jews; group and unidentified photographs of refusniks; and records pertaining to advocacy groups organized by former refusniks, both in Canada and internationally. Several of the files in this sub-sub-series also include publications by these groups.
- Related Material
- Individual refusnik case files may be found at Fonds 17, Sub-sub-series 3-6-1.
Publications about refusniks may be found at Fonds 17, Sub-sub-series 3-6-3.
- Arrangement
- Sub-sub-series records are organized alphabetically at the file level.
- 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
- Sub-sub-series
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-6-3
- Material Format
- textual record
- text
- Date
- 1972-1986
- Physical Description
- 11 v. text
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- Sub-sub-series consists of widely-distributed publications listing large numbers of refusniks as well as assorted folders of refusnik file listings and fact sheets. These publications and lists were utilized by the committee and its associated member agencies both to enhance public awareness concerning the extent of the problems and also to create mailing lists that could be used by the agencies to assist in expanding direct contact with individual refusniks.
- Related Material
- Individual refusnik case files may be found at Fonds 17, Sub-sub-series 3-6-1.
Publications about refusniks may be found at Fonds 17, Sub-sub-series 3-6-2.
- Arrangement
- Sub-sub-series records are organized chronologically.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- Committee for Soviet Jewry series
- Refusnik cases sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-6
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- text
- Date
- 1970-1988
- Physical Description
- 81 cm of textual records
- 11 v. text
- 456 photographs : b&w; 20 x 25 cm or smaller
- Admin History/Bio
- Individual case files and refusnik listings were assembled by numerous Soviet Jewry advocacy groups and distributed internationally. Such records were then used by groups like the Committee for Soviet Jewry in their promotional material such as leaflets and news briefs to inform the Jewish community, interest groups and members of the general public about updates to the status of individual refusnik cases and the plight of Soviet Jews within the Soviet Union.
- Scope and Content
- Sub-series consists of files documenting individual refusniks, some very well known, as well as files and publications containing lists and/or groups of Soviet Jews and documents related to group activities. Sub-series is organized into three sub-sub-series: individual case files, groups, and publications.
- 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
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1978-1980
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains notices, promotional material and correspondence related to the Alpha Omega Dentist Fraternity's efforts to mobilize on behalf of Soviet Jews in conjunction with efforts by The Medical Mobilization for Soviet Jewry based out of Massachusetts, U.S.A.. The collected materials pertain to a meeting of Alpha Omega members in Toronto in December 1980.
- 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
- Affiliated organizations sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-4
- File
- 3
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1977
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains correspondence concerning lectures and activities at Beth Tzedec and the coordination of assistance from Sam Resnick on behalf of the Committee for Soviet Jewry. Also included with materials is a notice of a lecture series by Professor Irwin Cotler at Beth Tzedec Synagogue.
- 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
- 5
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1980
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm
- Scope and Content
- File contains correspondence, press releases, program, review and promotional materials related to a Symbolic Third Seder held at Beth Tzedec in 1980 with special guest lecturer Peter C. Newman. Newman spoke about his recent travels in the Soviet Union and the contact he made with Jews living in the Soviet Union. The photograph included in this file is a promotional shot of Newman.
- 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
- Affiliated organizations sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 3-4
- File
- 11
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1980-1981
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains petitions, correspondence and articles related to the committee's efforts on behalf of their Soviet Jewish peers and specific appeal campaigns on their behalf. Primary correspondents include the committee's chairman Eric Fawcett and secretary Israel Halperin.
- 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
- 14
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1980-1981
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File contains correspondence, press releases and various petitions related to the conference activities of collaborations between the Committee of Concerned Scientists (USA) and the Canadian Committee of Scientists and Scholars. Included are details of seminars delivered at a Convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science held 4 January 1981 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Ontario and on other occasions and other cities across North America, in honour of scientist in exile from the Soviet Union.
- Related Material
- Related documents can also be found within this sub-series under the files designated to the Committee of Concerned Scientists (File 9) and the Canadian Committee of Scientists and Scholars (File 8).
- Source
- Archival Descriptions