Accession Number

2010-11-8

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

ca. 30 compact discs and other material

Date

[ca. 2000] - [ca. 2007]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of cassettes, CDs, DVDs and one hard disk that document the activities of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario region. Included are recorded meeting minutes for the Community Relations Committee, Public Affairs Committee and the Security Committee, staff portraits, presentation slides, photographs of antisemitic incidents, Congress Contact newsletters, correspondence, and project proposals.

Descriptive Notes

Physical description note: includes ca. 10 DVDs, ca. 45 audio cassettes, and 1 computer disk ; 9 x 9 cm.

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

17

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1936-1992

Physical Description

47 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

By 1919 the plight of post-war eastern European Jewry and the need for a united community voice for Canadian Jewry led to the creation of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Its founding meeting was held on March 16, 1919 in Montreal. Though it briefly maintained a tiny regional office in Toronto, the CJC remained inactive until 1933, when it fully reconvened by opening offices in Winnipeg, Montreal, and Toronto. Egmont L. Frankel was the first president of the new central division in Toronto. While the national office in Montreal focused on the overarching issues of the social and economic rights of European Jewry, assistance for Jewish immigrants, and combating prejudice in Canada, the Toronto office dealt with local, violent anti-Jewish demonstrations as well as continuing discrimination both in employment and in access to public recreational facilities. The structure was based on regular national biennial plenary conferences, at which policies were delineated and national and regional executives were elected. Between plenary sessions, national and regional councils were in charge. These were augmented by the following standing committees: administrative, officers, personnel, financial, publications, and educational and cultural. Special committees were created to deal with issues such as: youth, community loans, kashruth, fundraising, Israel, Russian Jewry, and various emergency issues such as refugees, immigration, and housing.

During the 1930s the central division office moved several times and occupied offices in the following locations: Yonge Street, the Bond Street Synagogue, Scheuer House, the Zionist Building, and its long-term home at 150-152 Beverley Street, where it remained until its July 1983 move to the Lipa Green Building in North York.

The CJC's activities expanded to include taking responsibility for Jewish educational standards, but by 1941 its main efforts shifted to support for Canada’s war effort. Immediately after the end of the war, the focus again shifted to Jewish immigration projects and the maintenance of Jewish identity in small communities. By 1950, the CJC’s use of the title “division” was changed to “region” to accommodate internal operational divisions within each region. Also, by then, the central region was busy expanding its programs for all Ontario Jewish communities, creating a province-wide council of youth groups, and working with the newly-created Bureau of Jewish Education (later Board of Jewish Education, now Mercaz). Standardization of kashruth rules in Ontario was implemented. As well, regular educational conferences and cultural events were held throughout the province, while province-wide fundraising efforts in support of Moess Chittin for relief projects in Israel and for local Congress activities were expanded. Many of its educational and cultural responsibilities necessitated working with other Jewish organizations such as the United Jewish Welfare Fund, Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (JIAS), Hadassah, the Canadian Legion, B’nai Brith, the World Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Congress, and the many landsmenshaften (Jewish mutual benefit societies, each formed by immigrants originating from the same Eastern European community).

During the 1960s, the central region began sending Moess Chittin relief shipments to Cuban Jews unable to acquire kosher foods for Passover. Its lobbying efforts included participation in the Royal Commissions on Hate Propaganda, and its greatest success came with the introduction and implementation of Ontario’s fair employment and fair accommodation practices legislation, an achievement in which Congress played a pivotal role.

From 1971 to 1989 the major focus became international and national lobbying for, and providing support to, Soviet Jewry. Virtually all local and Canadian efforts to assist the Soviet Jewish “refusniks” were organized and coordinated in Toronto by the Ontario region office, which provided staff and funding for the many lobbying activities and public demonstrations that characterized this successful effort.

As of November 1975, the central region’s responsibilities in Toronto were radically altered. To improve cost efficiency in Toronto, CJC educational and social service program activities were merged with similar programs already provided by Toronto’s United Jewish Appeal. The UJA assumed sole responsibility for these amalgamated programs in Toronto and was renamed Toronto Jewish Congress. The central region still retained province-wide responsibilities for Ontario’s smaller Jewish communities, and its office remained in Toronto. Also, following this reorganization, its name was changed to Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region. Although CJC no longer provided direct social and educational programs to Toronto, the TJC’s senior executive was, at the time, still obliged to continue to keep it notified about developments concerning previous Congress responsibilities.

From 1983, the Ontario Region's offices were located in the Lipa Green Building at 4600 Bathurst Street. It continued its work of financially supporting various Israeli institutions and fostering Canada-Israel relations. It also spearheaded the movement to support and protect Jews in Arab lands, especially in Syria. Funding for the CJC came from the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy, which restributed a portion of the funds raised by the local Jewish federations across Canada.

The CJC dissolved in 2011. Today, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) acts as the Jewish community's primary lobby group.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of the records of the Ontario Region office of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Of primary importance in documenting this organization’s history are its minutes of the Executive and Administrative Committees and the various standing, and short-term committees such as Community Organization, Finance, Fund Raising, Educational and Cultural, Research, Immigration, War Efforts, and Jewish Education. Most of these records are still managed all together within Fonds 17, Series 1. Fonds 17, Series 2 contains the general subject and correspondence files of these committees. Records in both series require further processing.

Records now found in Series 3 document the efforts of the Committee for Soviet Jewry in coordinating the activities of the many Toronto and Ontario organizations involved in assisting Soviet Jewry during the 1971 to 1989 period.

Series 4 consists of administrative and committee records of the United Jewish Refugee and War Relief Agencies in Toronto from 1938 through 1967. These document its work rescuing the survivors of European Jewish communities, settling as many as possible in Ontario, and providing assistance to those attempting to obtain restitution payments.

Series 5 consists of the records of the Community Relations Committee (1938-1976). Responding to depression-era anti-Semitism in Canada, the Canadian Jewish Congress and B’nai Brith together established in 1938 a new joint committee. Since then this Committee has documented racist threats in Canada; initiated advocacy activities to work for improved civil rights; promoted legislation combating hate; worked to ensure equality of access to employment, education and accommodation; and investigated specific incidents of discrimination. The Committee, for example, played a key role in achieving the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1944, and the Fair Employment Practices Act of 1951, key steps leading to Canada’s current Human Rights Code. Although originally named Joint Public Relations Committee in 1938, a series of name changes later occurred; s follows: Joint Community Relations Committee, Central Region (1962-1978), Joint Community Relations Committee, CJC, Ontario Region (ca. 1978-ca. 1991) Community Relations Committee, CJC, Ontario Region (ca. 1991-present) Records in this series were reorganized into 5 sub-series and a further 9 sub-sub-series during the 2009 to 2011 period. For further details please view the database records for Fonds 17, Series 5. Although this series will eventually hold all CRC records up to 1992, only those prior to 1979 are currently fully processed.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 1839 photographs, 89 audio cassettes, 11 videocassettes, 4 drawings, and 6 microfilm reels (16 mm).

Processing note: Processing of this fonds is ongoing. Additional descriptive entries will be added in future.

Name Access

Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region

Subjects

Pressure groups

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the Archivist prior to accessing some of the records

Arrangement

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the Archivist prior to accessing some of the records.

Creator

Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region (1919-2011)

Places

Ontario

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2009-6-7

Material Format

architectural drawing (electronic)

Physical Description

5 architectural drawings (pdf)

Date

[1992?]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of five PDF files of architectural drawings for the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre. Three files show the floorplans for the three floors of the centre, and two files show the renovations to the building.

Custodial History

The original plans are in the possession of Makrimichalos Cugini Architects.

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

61

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[ca. 1920]-1994

Physical Description

3 m of textual records (19 v.) and other material

Admin History/Bio

The Schwartz-Reisman Jewish Community Centre, the Prosserman Jewish Community Centre (formerly the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre or BJCC) and the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre (MNJCC) in Toronto are the current incarnations of what began, in 1919, as the Hebrew Association of Young Men's and Young Women's Clubs, later known as the Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association of Toronto (YM-YWHA). The YM-YWHA, in turn, began as a merger between several other small athletic clubs operating in the city. The original mandate was strictly athletic, but soon broadened to include other areas of interest, in order to provide a sense of Jewish identity and camaraderie through physical, educational, cultural and community based programming. During the 1920s, the 'Y' became known simply as the Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA) – the name under which it was incorporated in 1930.

For close to two decades, the ‘Y’ had rented rooms in the Brunswick Avenue and College Street area, including the basement facilities of the Brunswick Avenue Talmud Torah. By the mid-1930s, these facilities were overcrowded and unable to support the growing membership, particularly when the young women’s programming was reintroduced in 1936.

As a result, in 1937, the YM-YWHA constructed its own athletic building at 15 Brunswick Avenue, next door to the Talmud Torah, to ease the overcrowding. However, the ‘Y’ still had to make use of five scattered buildings to meet its needs, including the Central YMCA gym for its basketball teams. The early ‘Y’ was staffed by volunteers who were granted free memberships in exchange for their time and expertise.

On 3 February 1953, a new Jewish Community Centre was dedicated at the corner of Bloor Street and Spadina Avenue. By the end of the 1950s, the ‘Y’ was providing services for all ages, ranging from a nursery school to their Good Age Club for seniors.

As the Jewish community moved northward, so too did the ‘Y’, with the dedication of a new northern branch on 1 May 1961. This new branch, located at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue, was created in order to address the athletic, educational, cultural and community needs of the expanding Jewish community in the north end of the city. Fourteen years later, an improved cultural and physical education wing was added as part of the completion campaign. This included the addition of the Leah Posluns Theatre and the Murray Koffler Centre of the Arts. In 1978, the YM-YWHA changed its name to the Jewish Community Centre of Toronto, in order to better reflect its broader role in the community. A new Northeast Valley branch was also established in Thornhill in the early 1980s and later closed in the late 1990s.

In 1994, the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto took over the operation of the northern branch, due to financial difficulties. At this point, all three branches became independent of one another and were no longer constituted as the Jewish Community Centre of Toronto. They each had independent boards of directors, while still receiving some of their operating funds from the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto.

Scope and Content

This fonds consists of the records created and accumulated by the Jewish Community Centre of Toronto -- which included the Bloor branch and the northern Bathurst Jewish Community Centre -- and its predecessor, the YM-YWHA. The records include textual records maintained by the office of the executive director, financial reports, architectural plans, Y-Times newsletters, program material, photographs and oral histories.

The records have been arranged into the following series: Executive director, Jewish Community Centre Archives Committee, Publication Committee, Communications Department, Sports Celebrity Dinner, and Combined Building Campaign Committee.

Notes

Includes 2539 photographs, 42 architectural drawings, 13 sound recordings, 4 artifacts, and 2 posters.

Name Access

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto

Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre

Subjects

Community centers

Related Material

See photo #2369-2646, 3412, 3519, 3804, 4201, 5004, 6125, accession #1986-7-8, MG2 N1a

Creator

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto (Toronto, Ont.)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

2004-6-6

2004-5-13

2004-5-2

1988-11-7

1988-4-9

1984-7-2

1983-12-1

1982-12-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Special events and projects sub-series

Canadian Gathering sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-18-1

File

3

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1984-1985

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

3 buttons, 3.5 cm in diameter

2 posters, 39 x 55 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of promotional material and correspondence for the Canadian Gathering of Holocaust Survivors.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

General community activities series

Level

Series

Fonds

4

Series

11

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1950-2010

Physical Description

77 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

In addition to his ongoing involvement with Clanton Park, the Canadian Jewish Congress Archives, the Aliyah Support Group, Jones Avenue Cemetery, Shomrai Shabbos and Adas Israel, Sol Edell undertook special projects on behalf of a wide array of Jewish organizations. These include cultural (Toronto Cantorial Scholarship Fund), educational (Netivot Hatorah and Yeshivat Or Chaim Ulpanat Orot), religious (Union of Jewish Orthodox Congregations), social welfare (Association of Jewish Seniors and Co-Ordinated Services to the Jewish Elderly) and Zionist (Canadian Friends of Yeshivat Hakotel and State of Israel Bonds) organizations.

Scope and Content

Series consists of records documenting Sol Edell's involvement with a wide variety of Jewish educational, social and religious organizations and institutions in Canada, the United States, and Israel. Included are meeting minutes, publications, reports, photographs, correspondence, invitations, programmes, financial records, an architectural drawing, and a sound recording. While many of these organizations such as Eitz Chaim, Or Chaim Ulpanat Orot (educational), Mizrachi Organization of Canada, Emunah Women (Zionist) and Beth Jacob V’Anshe Drildz (synagogue) are orthodox, others such as Associated Hebrew Day Schools (educational), State of Israel Bonds (Zionist) and Co-ordinated Services to the Jewish Elderly (social welfare) have no religious affiliation.

Notes

Physical description note: includes 26 photographs, 1 audio cassette, and 1 architectural drawing.

Name Access

Eitz Chaim

Or Chaim Ulpanat Orot

Mizrachi Men’s Organization

Emunah Women

Beth Jacob V'Anshei Drildz (Toronto, Ont.)

Associated Hebrew Day Schools

State of Israel Bonds

Co-ordinated Services to the Jewish Elderly

Camp Moshava

Harbord Collegiate

Netivot Hatorah

Union of Jewish Orthodox Congregations

B'Nei Akiva

Toronto Committee for Bikur Cholim Hospital

Subjects

Charities

Children

Education

Fund raising

Older people

Religion

Zionism

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Special events and projects sub-series

Canadian Gathering sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-18-1

File

6

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1985

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

1 videocassette

16 photographs: col. ; 13 x 9 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of a program, video recording, and photographs from the Canadian Gathering of Holocaust Survivors. Identified in the photographs are: Harold Troper, Rabbi Dow Marmur, Irving Abella, Rosalie Abella, Edith Land, Nathan Leipciger, Lou Silberman.

Name Access

Abella, Irving, 1940-2022

Land, Edith, 1928-2013

Leipciger, Nathan, 1928-

Marmur, Dow, 1953-

Troper, Harold, 1942-

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Association for Ethiopian Jews fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

125

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1980-1993

Physical Description

ca 97 cm of textual records

3 audiocassettes

1 poster

Admin History/Bio

The Canadian Association for Ethiopian Jews was a non-profit organization established in 1980 for the sole purpose of assisting Ethiopian Jews. To this end, CAEJ (pronounced "cage") cooperated with other bodies such as the American Association for Ethiopian Jews.

Initially, CAEJ worked with the Canadian Jewish Congress Sub Committee for Ethiopian Jewry, but the two severed ties early on. The divorce was driven by a difference in strategy: The CJC subcommittee preferred quiet diplomacy while CAEJ wanted to make noise. CAEJ was prepared to criticize Israel in the media, for example, for failing to do enough for Ethiopia's Jews—something that provoked disagreement within the Jewish community.

Apart from advocating for Ethiopia's Jews, CAEJ's main work consisted of rescue and relief. Rescue took the form of a visa program, in which Jewish students in Ethiopia were issued visas so that they could attend Canadian universities; once out of Ethiopia, they were able to immigrate to Israel. Relief took the form of an Adopt-a-Family program, which delivered monthly stipends to Ethiopians in need. According to Cathy Himelfard, past president of CAEJ, at least five hundred individuals received stipends from the organization.

In 1980, CAEJ established a Pacific chapter in Vancouver, which undertook education and rescue programs. CAEJ later opened chapters in Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Calgary.

In 1984, CAEJ received a $15,000 Wintario grant to produce a videotape on the black Jews of Ethiopia. Susan Fish, provincial minister of citizenship and culture, awarded CAEJ the grant. CAEJ was one of sixteen that were given that year.

In 1986, the organization sent a five-person team to Ethiopia's Gondar province, the home of many of Ethiopia's Jews. The team included CAEJ's executive director, Susan Schechtman, and its assistant administrative director, Donna Finkelstein. The team visited five villages, bringing relief and conducting a fact-finding mission, the findings of which were disseminated in the press upon the team's return.

In 1987, the CAEJ held a benefit concert at the EI Mocambo, a live music venue in Toronto, to aid the Jews stranded in Ethiopia.

In 1990, 15,000 Jews moved from their villages in the northern regions of Ethiopia to Addis Ababa, under the impression that they would be able to emigrate without delay. With immigration to Israel greatly reduced, these Jews founded themselves living in terrible conditions, with reports of several hundred individuals, mostly children, dying of malnutrition and disease. In response to these developments, the CAEJ redirected its Adopt-a-Family funds to the mass relief. This involved sending doctors and medication as well as launching projects to provide clothing, food supplements, and more medical supplies.

The association's final project, conducted after Operation Solomon, involved persuading two-hundred-and-fifty Jews in Sudan to return to Addis Ababa. Once there, they were flown to Israel.

In 1992, after twelve years of operation, CAEJ shut down. Former president Jack Hope told the CJN, "We've fulfilled our mandate."

Scope and Content

The fonds consists of material documenting the Canadian Associate for Ethiopian Jews. Included are letters, artifacts, meeting minutes and agendas, newspaper clippings, reference materials, audio recordings, an office manual, and a poster.

The fonds is divided into six series: Rescue and relief letters, Administrative records, Clippings and reference materials, Artifacts, Audiovisual materials, and Posters.

Notes

Related groups of records external to the unit being described: A CAEJ advertisement that appeared in the Toronto Star can be found in the Larry Becker fonds.

Name Access

Canadian Association for Ethiopian Jews

Subjects

Associations, institutions, etc

Jews, Ethiopian

Nonprofit organizations

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

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

Canada

Ethiopia

Israel

United States

Accession Number

1993-1-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2017-7-5

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

45 cm of textual records (6 vol.)

ca. 1000 photographs : b&w and col. ; 25 x 20 cm or smaller

5 drawings

2 ribbons

Date

1976-2007

Scope and Content

Accession consists of photographs and textual records that document the activities of the General Wingate Branch 256 from 1976-2007. Also included in the accession are 6 albums dated 1976, 1984, 1985-1986, 1998-2002, 2002-2004, and 2002-2007.

The album for 1976 consists of material related to the First World Assembly of Jewish War Veterans held in Jerusalem. Included are photographs, correspondence, a contact list for branch officers, executive committee and chaplains for 1976/77, newsclippings and general memorabilia related to the First World Assembly in Israel. Of note is a photograph of Moshe Dayan at a lecture of the First World Assembly and of Ephraim Katzir, Israel's fourth president.

The album for 1984 consists of material related to the unveiling of the Canadian Jewish War Veterans's Cenotaph at Mt. Sinai Cemetery, Toronto. Included are photographs of the Cenotaph, Mt. Sinai cemetery, the annual Remembrance Day parade, newsclippings, drawings and political cartoons. Of note are letters of congratulations from members of Parliament to the General Wingate Branch for their efforts in making the Cenotaph possible.

The album for 1985-1986 consists of material related to the annual memorial service dedicated to the men and women who lost their lives in World War II and in particular the 430 Jewish men and women slain in the Canadian Forces. Included are photographs and newsclippings related to the annual memorial service at Mt. Sinai cemetery, Remembrance Day parade and fundraising events.

The album for 1998-2002 consists of material related to the memorial service dedicated to 50th anniversary of the end of WWII. Included are photographs of the memorial service, articles related the Wingate Branch donations to Baycrest and Sunnybrook Hospitals, the CNE Warrior Day parade, the annual Veterans' seder and poppy campaign and the Jewish military exhibit held at Toronto's Lipa Green Building. Of note is a letter from Jean Chretien paying tribute to war veterans.

The album for 2002-2004 consists of material related to the 70th anniversary of the General Wingate Branch 256. Included is a 70th anniversary commemorative soft cover booklet, photographs, newsclippings, general meeting newsletters, correspondence, letters from members of Parliament and the 2004-2005 report to the community.

The album for 2002-2007 consists of material relating to the Wingate Branch annual memorial services held at Mt. Sinai cemetery. Included are photographs of the annual memorial services, community and fundraising events, newsclippings concerning the diminishing membership of the Canadian Legion, letters from members of Parliament, a Portraits of Bravery: Canadian Jewish War Veterans brochure and photo negatives of 2003-2006 events.

Administrative History

The Jewish Brigade was a member of the Great War Association in the 1920s. After its first president was installed in the early 1930s, the Royal Canadian Legion granted a charter for a Jewish Veteran’s Branch. The brigade was renamed the General Wingate Branch in the mid-1940s after the British army officer Major General Orde Charles Wingate, D.S.O. Although Major Wingate was not Jewish, he was a passionate Zionist. At first, the branch met at a veteran’s hall at Crawford and College Street in Toronto, but later purchased its own house at 1610 Bathurst Street. In 1968, the branch moved to Eglinton Avenue West. It is currently located at the Zionist Centre on Marlee Avenue. The Branch holds an annual memorial march and service at the Mt. Sinai Cemetery where there stands a Cenotaph funded and maintained by the branch. The Cenotaph memorializes Jewish servicemen who died and are buried overseas, as well as those who fought in Israel's War of Independence and partisans who fought the Nazis. Once a year veterans distribute poppies and the funds raised are disbursed to assist veterans and their families, hospitals, medical research and charitable causes in the community. In 2018, after more than eight decades of operation Toronto's General Wingate Branch 256 of the Royal Canadian Legion voted to close its doors and give up its charter.

Subjects

Veterans--Canada

Name Access

Royal Canadian Legion. General Wingate Branch 256

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Philip Givens fonds

Jewish communal series

Other Jewish organizations sub-series

Level

Sub-series

Fonds

51

Series

9-8

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

multiple media

Date

[ca.1950] - 1988

Physical Description

2 cm of textual records

34 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21 x 25 cm or smaller

1 presentation piece : b&w ; 42 x 30 cm

Scope and Content

Sub-series consists of textual records, photographs, and a presentation piece documenting Phil Givens’ interaction with a wide range of Jewish organizations in Canada, America, and Israel. Included are speeches and correspondence, as well as photographs of Givens attending various events.

Notes

Photographers and photography studios are identified on the photographs.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Jewish Family and Child fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

79

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1933-2011

Physical Description

ca. 4.8 m of texutal records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Jewish Family & Child was established in 1943 from the amalgamation of a variety of different social agencies formed as early as 1868. These included the Ladies Benevolent Fund, the Free Burial Society, Jewish Family Welfare Bureau, Jewish Children’s Bureau, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and the Ladies Maternal Aid Society. Much of its funding and support after its inception came from the United Jewish Welfare Fund.

The first executive director of the agency was Dora Wilensky. She was a trained social worker who served for twenty-eight years, until her untimely death from cancer in 1959. Jerome Diamond took over in 1960 and Gordon Wolfe succeeded him in 1981. Ron Levin briefly replaced Wolfe after his retirement in 2003, and was succeeded in 2006 by Dr. Richard Cummings who then retired in 2015. As of 2017, Brian Prousky is the organization’s current executive director.

During the early years, fees were established, but the agency never refused to assist clients because of their inability to pay. JF&CS became one of the first agencies to rely on trained social workers. It was also the first social agency in Canada to become unionized.

Over the years the agency’s role has changed and it has expanded significantly, in terms of its staff and services. After the Second World War it played a pivotal role supporting the Holocaust orphans who came to Canada as refugees, particularly in the area of locating foster parents for these children. By 1957, the agency hired its first counsellor and became a member of the United Community Fund of Greater Toronto. The year 1968 marked the start of JF&CS’ new program involving the use of a mobile treatment centre to reach out to Jewish street kids and in 1974 they established the Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre.

In 1981, JF&CS was mandated by the Province of Ontario as a Jewish children’s aid society responsible for the care and protection of all Jewish youth in the GTA. In 1983 they established the Just-A-Second Shop at 3101 Bathurst Street, which took in used goods from the community to pass on to needy families. Two years later they established the Henry G. Goodman Home for developmentally challenged children on Wilmington Avenue. The following year marked the opening of the Elm Ridge Group Living Residence for elderly people. In 1988, they opened a special shelter for abused women and children, and in 1994, they introduced their Homework Club for kids.

The current mission of Jewish Family & Child is to support the healthy development of individuals, children, families, and communities through prevention, protection, counselling, education, and advocacy services, within the context of Jewish values. Their services include counselling, rehabilitation and support, foster care, family services, and community services. These services are offered in a host of different languages including Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, French, and English.

JF&CS is an independent organization that receives its funding from a variety of different sources such as UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, United Way Toronto and York Region, the Government of Ontario, and individual donations.

As of 2017, JF&CS has nearly 130 staff providing more than thirty community services with a budget of almost $20 million. Their main office is located in the Lipa Green Centre for Community Services at 4600 Bathurst Street. They also maintain offices and run services out of their downtown branch at 35 Madison Avenue, their York Region branch inside UJA’s 1 Open Door at the Lebovic JCC, and their Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre in midtown Toronto.

Name Access

Jewish Family and Child

Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959

Wolfe, Gordon

Diamond, Jerome D.

Subjects

Charities

Children

Families

Nonprofit organizations

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing the records.

Related Material

See also: Jewish Child Welfare Association fonds (fonds 86); Jewish Family Welfare Bureau fonds (fonds 87); Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto fonds (fonds 66); and, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds (fonds 67).

Creator

Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

2004-5-101

2004-1-8

2002-10-38

2006-6-7 (Shelf 03-6,Orphan index cards)

2009-12-9

2010-4-1 (Shelf 34-1)

2010-10-5

2015-8/11

2015-9/1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

67

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1936-2010, predominant 1938-1976

Physical Description

14.3 m of textual records

5593 photographs, 25 x 20 cm and smaller, and other media

Admin History/Bio

The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto (FJPT) was incorporated in Ontario in March 1917 to coordinate the fundraising activities of Jewish charitable, philanthropic, and social service agencies in Toronto. In 1918, ten separate agencies were funded by the FJPT. By 1937, fourteen agencies were funded. The Great Depression of the 1930s and the development of several newer Jewish aid, education, and medical care organizations created both increased need for resources and growing competition for ever-more scarce dollars. Within a very few years, this funding crisis forced a major review of the organization.

During 1936, a series of special meetings of leading individuals were held to examine the income and expenditures of all Toronto Jewish agencies and also to speculate about the need for a new Toronto Jewish "community chest" as the sole fund-raising organization for a federation of all Jewish agencies, including the FJPT. In 1938, the new United Jewish Welfare Fund was formally constituted. Added to the FJPT's previous list of Toronto client agencies in 1938 were: the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Hebrew National Association, the Jewish Immigrant Aid Association, the Mizrachi Society, the Toronto Free Loan Association, the Geverkshaften, and Old Folks Home, and the United Palestine Appeal, raising the total number of agencies to twenty-two.

When the State of Israel was established in 1948, the UJWF's annual fundraising campaign was combined with the CJC's United Palestine appeal to form a new, combined campaign named the United Jewish Appeal (UJA). In 1967, the UJA name was legally changed to the United Jewish Appeal of Metropolitan Toronto.

In mid-1976, the organization's public name was changed to the Toronto Jewish Congress. Although initially thought of as a merger between the UJWF and the CJC, the actual result was the expansion of the UJWF responsibilities to include local education and welfare services previously shared with the Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region. The UJWF, however, remained the legal senior entity.

In 1991, the public name was again changed to the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto and, in 1999, to UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. By this date, over thirty beneficiary and affiliated agencies, forty-nine affiliated schools and five federation departments were fully or partly funded by the federation.

In June 2010, the organization altered its legal structure, with the senior legal entity becoming the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of 25 series: Annual Meetings, Annual Reports, Board of Directors, Constitution Committee, Executive Committee, Officers Committee, Budget and Finance Committee, Administration Committee, Social Planning Committee, Committee on Capital Needs and Planning, Central Committee on Scholarships in Aid, Joint Committee of the BJE and UJWF Study on Jewish Education, Nominations Committee, Pension Fund Committee, Coordinating Committee, Special Ad Hoc and Temporary Committees, Annual Campaign, Client Agencies, Joint Committee of the CJC and the UJWF, Committee on Community Organization, Sub-Committee on Construction and Administration of Community Schools, Joint Committee on Fundraising, Personnel Committee, Community Leadership Development Council, and Israel at Fifty Community Celebration.

Over 4500 photographs and a variety of other media are managed within Series 17, Campaign records.

Notes

For exact details about the contents of individual series and sub-series, please review their scope and contents notes.

Name Access

United Jewish Welfare Fund

Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto

United Jewish Appeal

Toronto Jewish Congress

Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto

UJA Federation of Greater Toronto

Subjects

Charities

Fund raising

Access Restriction

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.

Related Material

For records of the predecessor of the UJWF, see Fonds 66, the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto fonds.

Further detailed documentation of the proposed merger between the UJWF and the CJC (creation of the TJC) may be found in Fonds 67, Sub-sub-series 5-5-1, Files 171 and 221.

Further documentation on the United Jewish Welfare Fund may be found within Fonds 9, Series 7, records of the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society.

For further detailed records of a key community leader's involvement with the UJWF see Accession 1982-8-8, the records of Samuel Godfrey, 1943-1972.

Creator

United Jewish Welfare Fund (1938-)

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2015-12-7

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

ca. 10 cm of textual records and other material

Date

1986, 1991-2015

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting the personal and professional activities of Janice Benatar. Personal records include a family tree, speeches Janice delivered at the Lipa Lippers Toastmaster's Group meetings, a Sephardic cookbook, immigration papers, and a Sharon School Reunion invitation for alumni living in Toronto. Also included are photographs of Janice with her family, performing in a ballet production with the Academy of Ballet and Jazz, with her newborn son, at her son's bar mitzvah at Chabad Flamingo, and with the keys to her first home in Thornhill. Also identified in photographs are: Elan Levitan, Viviane Benatar, Michael Benatar, Claudia Benatar, Rachel Pasternak, and Samuel Pasternak.

Also included are speeches, invitations, event programs, and video recordings of Book Of Life events as well as a bookmark that was designed by artist Enya Keshet for Book of Life honourees. Finally, accession also includes Professional Advisory Committee meeting minutes (2009-2015) and breakfast seminar presentations (2014-2015).

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Physical description note: includes 7 photographs, 4 DVDs, 200 KB of textual records, and 1 bookmark.

Subjects

Immigrants--Canada

Nonprofit organizations

Philanthropy and fundraising

Women

Name Access

Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

National Council of Jewish Women of Canada fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

38

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[190-]-2002

Physical Description

2.6 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

The National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (NCJWC) was the first national Jewish women's organization in Canada. The council had its beginnings among the urban elite, and played a strong role over the years in influencing public policy in such areas as relations with Israel, national unity, and the plight of world Jewry. The NCJWC is dedicated, in the spirit of Judaism, to furthering human welfare in the Jewish and general communities -- locally, nationally and internationally. It operated around three main pillars: service, education, and social action.

The National Council of Jewish Women was founded in the United States in 1893 by activist Hannah G. Solomon. In 1897, its first Canadian chapter was established in Toronto. In 1925, with seven chapters in Canada, a Canadian liaison position to the National Council of Jewish Women was created. A full-fledged “Canadian Division” of the NCJW was formed in 1934, with rules drafted at the first conference in Winnipeg three years later. Irene Samuel served as the Canadian Division’s first national president. In 1943, the division was renamed the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, and was officially incorporated in 1944, though it did not receive its letters patent until three years later. Even so, the NCJWC still retained some affiliation with the NCJW, whereby they paid per-capita dues to the Americans in return for program and administrative materials. In 1967 the NCJWC ceased these payments altogether, thereby separating from NCJW completely.

The early NCJWC focused on providing service to young girls and immigrants. They also involved themselves in contemporary politics through support for the war effort; the council donated vehicles to the Red Cross, turned Council House into a servicemen's centre, and even built several libraries at Canadian army camps. A national office opened ca. 1950 in Toronto, but until 1966 it moved to the national president's home city with every election. That year the office was permanently anchored in Toronto. In the 1950s and 1960s the council established Good Age clubs, the Irene Samuel Scholarship Fund, and developed the national Higher Horizons child-care and Newer Horizons elder-care programs. It expanded its overseas programs with support for the Israel Family Counseling Association and Ship-a-Box. The Soviet Jewry projects in the 1970s and 1980s reflected the council’s increasing emphasis on social action. Since the late 1990s, the council has focused on women's issues with efforts such as the Breast Self-Examination (BSE) program.

The NCJWC was governed by an executive council, led by a president. Vice-presidents were each responsible for one portfolio, such as membership, public affairs, etc., which were in turn made up of a number of national committees. The national executive was responsible for producing by-laws, guidelines, policies and procedures, as well as developing national service and social action programs. National also provided support and program materials to the sections, and held biennial meetings every other year from 1937 in cities across Canada. Its decentralized structure meant that while the national office remained in Toronto, officers of the executive have resided right across the country.

As of 1997, the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada was an affiliate member of the International Council of Jewish Women, a member of UNESCO Canadian Subcommission of the Status of Women, and a member of the Coalition of Jewish Women Against Domestic Violence and the Coalition for Agunot Rights. Prominent past presidents include Mrs. Harry (Irene) Samuel, Mrs. Lucille Lorie, Dr. Reva Gerstein, Mozah Zemans, Mina Hollenberg, Sophie Drache, Thelma Rolingher, Helen Marr, Bunny Gurvey, Sheila Freeman, Penny Yellen, and Gloria Strom. The council’s national office moved to Winnipeg in November, 1993. As of 2006, the council still had 5 active sections in Canada: Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal.

Custodial History

NCJWC donated these records to the OJA after they had finished a historical exhibit and catalogue in 1997 called "Faith and Humanity," celebrating 100 years of NCJWC.

Scope and Content

The fonds documents NCJWC’s fundraising, social service and social action work in Toronto, in other cities across the country, and overseas. Records include conference and meeting programs, minutes, hand-written correspondence, speeches and reports, national newsletters, published histories, by-laws and policies, photographs, publicity material, historical subject files and artifacts. The records have been arranged into nine series: National biennial conventions and annual meetings; National Executive Council; National portfolios and committees; National program and event materials; National history research and subject files; International Council of Jewish Women; Toronto Section; Photos and audio-visual material; and National Council of Jewish Juniors, Toronto Section.

Notes

Physical description note: includes ca. 2470 photographs, 13 architectural drawings, 2 artistic drawings, 3 badges, 3 medals, 1 pin, 28 audio cassettes, and 1 videocassette.

Name Access

National Council of Jewish Women of Canada

Subjects

Women

Related Material

See also: photographs 3207, 3192, 4140, 4067, 4066, 4434; Accession 1977-8-7 for National Council of Jewish Women of Welland; National Council of Jewish Juniors, photographs 458, 459, 460, 463, 464, 465, 466, 468; MG2 B-1K

Arrangement

Records have been arranged by function, in accordance with information gleaned from NCJWC's organizational charts and annual reports

Creator

National Council of Jewish Women of Canada

Accession Number

2001-8-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2014-10-1

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

10 cm textual records

ca. 70 photographs: b&w and col. ; 10 cm x 15 cm or smaller

1 scrapbook

Date

1963-2013

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the activities of "Council '63", a branch of the Toronto Section of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (NCJWC). Types of records include a photograph album, a scrapbook, correspondence, souvenirs, meeting minutes, membership lists, program materials and budgets.

Administrative History

The "Council '63" Branch of the Toronto Section of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (NCJWC) was formed in 1963. Currently consisting of 20 members, the group was initially spearheaded by Barbara Norwich (d. 2011), and they met regularly in homes in the Cedarvale area. The group primarily did volunteer work, although it later evolved into a study group and book club.

Subjects

Women

Nonprofit organizations

Name Access

National Council of Jewish Women (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions