Accession Number
2018-5-11
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-5-11
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
moving images
Physical Description
15 cm of textual records and graphic material
1 U-matic 3/4" videocassette
Date
1939-2006
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records documenting the life of Ellen Shirley Cole (née Robins) and her husband Albert (Tubby Cole). Included are elementary and high school records belonging to Ellen and Tubby Cole, and photographs of Ellen and Tubby and their parents and children. Also included are: newsclippings and photographs of UJA events featuring Tubby Cole as Man of the Year in 1977, as UJA Chairman in 1978, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Pierre Trudeau; Ellen's community activities; actress Toby Robins (Ellen's sister), and brothers Carl and Jack Cole of Cole's bookstores. Also included are programs and invitations to UJA yearly campaign events, a speech presented by Joe Clark, M.P., to Beth Emeth Bais Yehudah Synagogue, a scrapbook of Harbord Collegiate newsclippings featuring outstanding athlete Albert Cole, a possible UJA event donor list, and a 50th birthday poem written to Ellen from her sister Toby Robins.
Administrative History
Ellen Shirley Cole (née Robins) was born in 1929 in Toronto. Ellen and her husband Albert (Tubby) Cole were active and dedicated members of the Toronto Jewish community. She was a member of Hadassah and the UJA Women's Campaign where she had the opportunity to meet with dignitaries such as Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Pierre Trudeau. Ellen was the sister of the late actress Toby Robins and sister-in-law of Carl and Jack Cole of Cole's bookstores. Ellen enjoyed her role as homemaker and was noted for being an outstanding hostess and cook. Ellen passed away March 22, 2018.
Subjects
Philanthropists
Politicians
Name Access
Cole, Ellen
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-1-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-1-6
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
2 folders
Date
1911-1987
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting two generations of the Singer family. Included are: a College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario certificate for Bessie Thelma Pullan (1911), a Law Society of Upper Canada certificate for Burrell Milton Singer (1937), a Department of National Defense (Army) certificate for Burrell Milton Singer (1946), a Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons (RAM) of Canada constitution (1952), a Mount Sinai Chapter RAM by-law booklet (1952), a Mount Sinai Chapter RAM invitation to its sixty-first convocation (1954), and a Law Society of Upper Canada certificate for Burrell Milton Singer (1987).
Custodial History
Records were donated by Burrel and Carolyn Singer's son Tom.
Administrative History
Louis Michael Singer, K.C. was born in Austria in 1885. When he was three, Louis and his family immigrated to Canada. In Toronto, he attended Jarvis Collegiate Institute. He went on to study law at Osgoode Hall Law School, graduating in 1908. Afterwards, he set up the Singer and Singer law office. In 1914, Louis ran for Toronto City Council, representing Ward 4, and became Toronto's second Jewish alderman. He was re-elected in 1915, 1916, and 1917 only to be defeated in the 1918 election. Thereafter, he returned to his law practice full-time. Louis died on September 23, 1959.
Dr. Bessie Thelma Singer (née Pullan) was born in Russia on June 5, 1888. On July 6, 1911, she married Louis Singer. Two days later, on July 8, 1911, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario admitted her as a member, entitling her to practice physic, surgery, and midwifery in the province. Bessie never practiced medicine; instead, she became a homemaker. She died on January 4, 1947, surived by her husband, Louis, and two sons, Burrell and Ralph.
Burrell Milton Singer, Q.C. was born in Toronto on November 1, 1912. On September 7, 1937, the Law Society of Upper Canada called him to the bar. Burell and his wife Carolyn had two sons: Jeff and Tom. Burrell died on September 26, 1989.
Descriptive Notes
Conservation: Certificates deframed.
General: An annotated copy of Burrell M. Singer's Handbook of Canadian Military Law, which the former co-authored with Lieutenant-Colonel R. J. S. Langford, is available in the OJA's library.
History/Bio note: Bessie Singer's tombstone lists her birth date as July 28, 1890, however, JewishGen has her birth registration as June 5, 1888 and the 1901 Census lists it as July 14, 1888. Bessie's youngest brother Sydney, Harry Pullan was born on Aug. 11, 1890 and therefore the July 28, 1890 date is likely erroneous.
Subjects
Lawyers
Physicians
Politicians
Name Access
Singer (family)
Singer, Bessie Thelma, 1890-1947
Singer, Burrell M., 1912-1989
Singer, Louis, 1885-1959
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-11-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2019-11-6
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
25 cm of textual records and other material
Date
[ca. 1925]-1996
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records related to the Jewish communal and public service activities of Phil Givens. Included are textual records and photographs as well as a small number of artifacts. Included are numerous speeches, municipal, provincial and federal election materials, professional records related to Givens' legal career, Jewish communal records including the Canadian Zionist Federation, the Upper Canada Lodge B'nai Brith chapter, and the Yiddish Committee, biographical materials, letters of thanks, certificates and honours, school graduation composite photographs, and photographs of various events and of the Givens and Rubins families. Artifacts include a Metropolitan Toronto Police Commissioners badge, a City of Toronto Council member pin, a Wingate Legion felt patch, and notably, a Canadian flag and an Israeli flag. The Canadian flag flew over the Canadian parliament, while the Israel flag was raised in the Knesset. Both flags were requested by Givens and were draped on his casket at his funeral. Accompanying documentation is also in the accession.
Administrative History
Philip Gerard Givens (1922-1995) was a municipal, provincial and federal politician, a judge, a police commissioner and an active Jewish communal leader. He is largely remembered as the 54th Mayor of Toronto. Phil Givens was born in Toronto on April 24th, 1922, the only son of Hyman and Mary Gevertz (Gewercz). As a youth, he attended Harbord Collegiate and graduated from the University of Toronto in political science and economics in 1945 and from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1949. In 1947, he married Minnie "Min" Rubin (born February 7th, 1924) and together they had two children, Eleanor and Michael. Givens graduated as a lawyer from Osgoode Hall; however, shortly thereafter he decided to enter politics, running as a municipal school board trustee in 1950. In 1951 he was elected as alderman for Ward 5, serving in this capacity until 1960, when he was subsequently elected as a city Controller. Givens was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1962. Following the sudden death of Mayor David Summerville in 1963, Givens was appointed by City Council as the Mayor of Toronto and was officially elected to the position in 1964, winning a close race against the former mayor, Allan Lamport. As mayor, Givens was automatically a member of the Metropolitan Toronto Executive and Council, the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, the Consumer’s Gas Company Executive, the Toronto Hydro Commission and the governing boards of Toronto’s major hospitals. Givens was publicly seen as an affable and populist mayor but his tenure was not without controversy. His support for the construction of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and his decision to acquire Henry Moore’s bronze sculpture “the Archer” for the new Nathan Phillips Square were both highly controversial during his term in office. In particular, the Moore sculpture sparked intense controversy and public debate amongst council members and citizens alike. Although ultimately purchased with private solicited donations, the controversy surrounding the statue’s purchase was still partly to blame for Givens’ 1966 election defeat to William Dennison. In 1967 Givens entered national politics for the second time, the first being a failed 1957 bid in Toronto’s Spadina riding, winning a seat as a Liberal in Toronto’s York West riding. In 1971 he stepped down before the end of his term to campaign for a seat in the Provincial Legislature. Again running under the Liberal banner, Givens won his seat in York-Forest Hill and after the elimination of this riding in 1975, was re-elected in the new riding of Armourdale. In 1977 he retired from politics. He also worked briefly as a current affairs commentator for local radio broadcaster CHUM 1050 AM. In 1977, Givens was appointed as a provincial court judge and chairman of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, serving in both capacities until 1985, when he left the Commission but continued in the judiciary as a civil trial judge until officially retiring from public life in 1988. An ardent Zionist, Givens was also a prominent leader of several Jewish communal organizations. He was the founder and first president of the Upper Canada Lodge of B’nai Brith and sat on the executives of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the United Jewish Welfare Fund, the Talmud Torah Eitz Chaim, the Zionist Organization of Canada, the Toronto Zionist Council, Jewish National Fund, State of Israel Bonds and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. He was chairman of the United Israel Appeal-Israel Emergency Fund in 1967 and the United Jewish Appeal-Israel Special Fund in 1968. From 1973 to 1985 he was the national president of the Canadian Zionist Federation and in the 1990s was the national chairman of the Canadian Jewish Congress’ Committee for Yiddish. Givens was honoured by Jewish community organizations, including the Jewish National Fund’s Negev Award in 1968 and the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews’ Human Relations Award in 1969. As well, in 1972, he received the Award of Honour from the Toronto Regional Council of B’nai Brith. Givens was also known to be a passionate sailor and was a member of both the Royal Canadian and the Island Yacht Clubs in Toronto. He died on November 30th, 1995 at the age of 73.
Descriptive Notes
Physical Description Note: Includes ca. 300 photographs, 1 pin, 1 felt patch, 1 badge, 2 flags, 1 poster, and 2 paper bags.
Subjects
Politicians
Name Access
Givens, Philip, 1922-1995
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2020-3-4
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2020-3-4
Material Format
graphic material
moving images
object
textual record
Physical Description
ca. 300 photographs : b&w and col. (30 negatives) ; 36 x 26 cm or smaller
8 cm of textual records and other material
Date
1932-2011
Scope and Content
Accession consists of textual records, graphic materials, videocassettes, a scrapbook, and a small number of artifacts, which are related to the Givens and Rubin families and Phil Given's political, Jewish communal, and public service activities. Textual records consist of the Givens family record from Beth Tzedec Congregation; certificates (1932 and 1946); Phil’s campaign material; a birthday greeting to Phil’s mother, Mary Gevertz, from the Government of Ontario (1971); newspaper clippings documenting Phil’s music career in his early years as well as his political, Jewish communal, and public service activities (1932-2011); booklets of B’nai Brith documenting Phil Givens involvement with B’nai Brith Upper Canada Lodge (1949 and 1996); the Phil Givens Negev Dinner programme book (1968); a centennial schoolbook of Harbord Collegiate Institute which Phil Givens attended (1992); and magazines with articles related to Phil Givens’ communal and political activities (1967-1990). Textual records also include invitation and birthday cards (1968-1978), a personal letter and an appreciation message to Phil, and a bulletin of Hebrew Men of England Congregation dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rubin (1966). Graphic materials are comprised mainly of photographs ([194-?]-[199-?]), which include Phil Givens’ professional portraits; Michael Givens’ camping photographs; passport photographs of Phil, Min, and Michael Givens; photographs depicting the Givens family, various social events that Phil and Min attended, Phil’s 1968 political campaign (from the campaign scrapbook), as well as Phil and Min’s trip to Egypt, Russia, and Israel. Graphic materials also include several negatives and over 150 stereo slides featuring the Givens family and events that Phil and Min attended ([195-]1978). Accession also includes fifteen Betamax videocassettes, six passports of the Givens and Rubin families (1965-1983), a SIN card of Mary Gevertz, a scrapbook of Phil’s 1968 campaign, and two metal award and honour panels granted to Phil by the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews and the Bnei Akiva Schools of Toronto (1969 and 1991).
Administrative History
Philip Gerard Givens (1922-1995) was a municipal, provincial and federal politician, a judge, a police commissioner and an active Jewish communal leader. He is largely remembered as the 54th Mayor of Toronto. Phil Givens was born in Toronto on April 24th, 1922, the only son of Hyman and Mary Gevertz (Gewercz). As a youth, he attended Harbord Collegiate and graduated from the University of Toronto in political science and economics in 1945 and from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1949. In 1947, he married Minnie "Min" Rubin (born February 7th, 1924) and together they had two children, Eleanor and Michael. Givens graduated as a lawyer from Osgoode Hall; however, shortly thereafter he decided to enter politics, running as a municipal school board trustee in 1950. In 1951 he was elected as alderman for Ward 5, serving in this capacity until 1960, when he was subsequently elected as a city Controller. Givens was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1962. Following the sudden death of Mayor David Summerville in 1963, Givens was appointed by City Council as the Mayor of Toronto and was officially elected to the position in 1964, winning a close race against the former mayor, Allan Lamport. As mayor, Givens was automatically a member of the Metropolitan Toronto Executive and Council, the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, the Consumer’s Gas Company Executive, the Toronto Hydro Commission and the governing boards of Toronto’s major hospitals. Givens was publicly seen as an affable and populist mayor but his tenure was not without controversy. His support for the construction of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and his decision to acquire Henry Moore’s bronze sculpture “the Archer” for the new Nathan Phillips Square were both highly controversial during his term in office. In particular, the Moore sculpture sparked intense controversy and public debate amongst council members and citizens alike. Although ultimately purchased with private solicited donations, the controversy surrounding the statue’s purchase was still partly to blame for Givens’ 1966 election defeat to William Dennison. In 1967 Givens entered national politics for the second time, the first being a failed 1957 bid in Toronto’s Spadina riding, winning a seat as a Liberal in Toronto’s York West riding. In 1971 he stepped down before the end of his term to campaign for a seat in the Provincial Legislature. Again running under the Liberal banner, Givens won his seat in York-Forest Hill and after the elimination of this riding in 1975, was re-elected in the new riding of Armourdale. In 1977 he retired from politics. He also worked briefly as a current affairs commentator for local radio broadcaster CHUM 1050 AM. In 1977, Givens was appointed as a provincial court judge and chairman of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, serving in both capacities until 1985, when he left the Commission but continued in the judiciary as a civil trial judge until officially retiring from public life in 1988. An ardent Zionist, Givens was also a prominent leader of several Jewish communal organizations. He was the founder and first president of the Upper Canada Lodge of B’nai Brith and sat on the executives of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the United Jewish Welfare Fund, the Talmud Torah Eitz Chaim, the Zionist Organization of Canada, the Toronto Zionist Council, Jewish National Fund, State of Israel Bonds and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. He was chairman of the United Israel Appeal-Israel Emergency Fund in 1967 and the United Jewish Appeal-Israel Special Fund in 1968. From 1973 to 1985 he was the national president of the Canadian Zionist Federation and in the 1990s was the national chairman of the Canadian Jewish Congress’ Committee for Yiddish. Givens was honoured by Jewish community organizations, including the Jewish National Fund’s Negev Award in 1968 and the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews’ Human Relations Award in 1969. As well, in 1972, he received the Award of Honour from the Toronto Regional Council of B’nai Brith. Givens was also known to be a passionate sailor and was a member of both the Royal Canadian and the Island Yacht Clubs in Toronto. He died on November 30th, 1995 at the age of 73.
Descriptive Notes
Physical Description Note: Apart from photographs and textual records, this accession also includes 156 stereo slides, 15 Betamax videocassettes, 1 scrapbook, 2 metal award and honour panels, 6 passports, and 1 SIN card.
The content and duration of the Betamax videocassettes need further identification.
Subjects
Families
Politicians
Name Access
Givens, Philip, 1922-1995
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 27; File 553
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
27
File
553
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[Aug.?] 1981
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm
Scope and Content
File consists of one photograph of Moshe Dayan and his wife at an unidentified event.
Notes
Photo by Graphic Artists Photographers, Toronto.
Name Access
Dayan, Moshe, 1915-1981
Subjects
Politicians
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 27; File 569
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
27
File
569
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Nov. 1981
Physical Description
5 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm
Scope and Content
File consists of five photographs from a UJA event with Senator Jacob Javits of New York. Identified in the photos are James Kay, Peter Newman, Senator Jacob Javitz, Lionel Schipper, Ephraim Diamond, Hy Isenbaum, Myrna Isenbaum, Gay Berger, Dr. Chas Gold, Allan Offman, Adrienne Offman, and Issy Sharp.
Notes
Photos by Graphic Artists Photographers, Toronto.
Availability of other formats: Also available as digital images.
Name Access
Javits, Jacob K. (Jacob Koppel), 1904-1986
Subjects
Politicians
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 27; File 587
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
27
File
587
Material Format
graphic material
Date
28 Mar. 1982
Physical Description
38 photographs : b&w (38 negatives) ; 28 x 28 mm
Scope and Content
File consists of thrity-eight negatives from a UJA event with Yitzhak Rabin. Identified in the negatives are Allan Offman, Adrienne Offman, Izy Stern, Gerry Halbert, Jack Gwartz, and Judy Gwartz.
Notes
Photos by Graphic Artists Photographers, Toronto.
Name Access
Gwartz, Jack
Gwartz, Judy
Halbert, Gerry
Offman, Adrienne
Offman, Allan, 1938-2017
Rabin, Yitzhak, 1922-1995
Stern, Izy
Subjects
Politicians
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 1909
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
1909
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1980
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 20 x 26 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of Dr. Stephen Speisman, director of the Ontario Jewish Archives from 1973–2001, receiving the City of Toronto Book Award from Mayor John Sewell on 7 March 1980 for his book "The Jews of Toronto: A History to 1937." Dr. Speisman was executive director of Toronto Hebrew Memorial Park/Pardes Shalom Cemetery.
Name Access
Sewell, John
Speisman, Stephen A., 1943-
Subjects
Authors
Literary prizes
Politicians
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 4275
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
4275
Material Format
graphic material
Date
1980
Physical Description
1 photograph : col.
Name Access
Elizabeth, Queen, consort of George VI, King of Great Britain, 1900-2002
Grafstein, Goldie
Hart House
Kaplan, Robert, 1936-2012
Subjects
Grandmothers
Politicians
Queens
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.)
Accession Number
1987-11-2
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 92
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
92
Material Format
multiple media
Date
1914-1993
Physical Description
1.2 m of textual records (2 v.) and other material
Admin History/Bio
Joseph Baruch Salsberg (1902-1998) was a labour leader, political activist, politician, insurance salesman, and journalist. He was also active in various Jewish organizations, including the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto, and the New Fraternal Jewish Association. He is well-remembered by contemporaries, such as Sam Lipshitz, as a “champion of the people," committed to social justice, the plight of the working class, and the preservation of Jewish culture.
J. B. was born in Lagow, Poland on November 5, 1902 to Abraham and Sarah-Gittel Salsberg. Abraham immigrated to Toronto in 1910 and J. B. followed with his mother and two younger sisters in 1913. They settled at 73 Cecil Street. Abraham and Sarah-Gittel had additional children in Canada: Nathan (b. 1915), Reuven (Bob or Robert, b. 1917), Betty, and Thelma. Abraham worked as a peddler in Toronto.
J. B. briefly attended Landsdowne Public School, but dropped out around 1916, against his parents' wishes, and took a job in a leather goods factory to contribute to his family’s income. J. B.’s parents had hoped he would become a rabbi and, despite his full-time employment, J.B. continued to study Torah with scholars at the synagogue on Centre Avenue.
In 1917, J. B. decided to pursue the ideas of Zionism and socialism and, abandoning his plans to become a rabbi, became involved in establishing the Young Poale Zion organization, a Labour Zionist youth group dedicated to secular aims. Around 1922, J. B. was made secretary general of the Young Poale Zion of America in New York, where he worked for one year. Shortly after returning to Toronto, he became the organizer for the Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers Union of North America in Chicago. J. B. married Dora Wilensky in 1927.
In 1926, J. B. joined the Communist Party of Canada (CPC). He was an active member of the CPC for 30 years, serving as the head of its Trade Union Department for two decades. In 1929 he was suspended from the party for one year as a dissenter. In 1932, he became the Southern Ontario District union organizer for the Communist Workers' Unity League.
It was as a member of the CPC that J. B. entered electoral politics. After a series of failed bids in municipal and provincial elections between 1935 and 1937, J. B. was elected alderman of Ward 4 in Toronto in 1938. He only held the position for one year. He was re-elected to this position in 1943, beating out Nathan Phillips, before being elected to the Ontario Legislature as the representative for the St. Andrew riding. J. B. sat as member of provincial parliament for the Labor-Progressive Party (the provincial wing of the CPC) for 12 years. For several years, he was the only elected Communist in North America. As MPP, he helped create legislation banning discrimination in public places and introduced a bill that would ensure fair employment practices in the province. He lost his seat to Allan Grossman in 1955 and unsuccessfully ran in the federal election later that year. Remembered by journalist Gordon Sinclair as “one of the best debaters in the house," J. B. was well-respected by members of all political parties. Out of admiration for J. B., Conservative Premier Leslie Frost named Salsberg Township in Northern Ontario in his honour.
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, J. B. had grown increasingly concerned about reports of Soviet antisemitism and privately urged party leaders to pursue the issue. In 1956, when Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev exposed the transgressions of Stalin’s regime, J. B. went to Moscow as part of a CPC delegation. After meeting with Khrushchev himself, it became clear to J. B. that antisemitism was indeed a problem in the USSR and that his efforts to probe the situation were being stonewalled.
J. B. publicly expressed his concerns about Soviet antisemitism in a series of articles published in the Vochenblatt from October 25, 1956 to December 13, 1956. He finally left the Communist Party in 1957. However, he remained a member of the United Jewish People’s Order (UJPO), a Communist Jewish fraternal organization.
Entering the business world, J. B. established the Model Insurance Agency Limited in 1957, where he served as president for several years. In 1959 J. B.’s wife, Dora, passed away. Around this time J. B. also resigned from the UJPO, along with other members who felt the organization needed to be more critical of the Soviet Union. They founded an alternative, non-Communist, left-wing Jewish organization, the New Fraternal Jewish Association, where J. B. served as president for several terms and edited its publication, Fraternally Yours.
In his later life, J. B. was active as an executive member of organizations, such as the CJC and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. He was the first chairman for the CJC Ontario Region’s Soviet Jewry Committee and the Committee for Yiddish. He also began writing an award-winning weekly column for the Canadian Jewish News. J. B. was awarded the CJC’s Samuel Bronfman Medal for distinguished service, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto’s Ben Sadowski Award of Merit. A strong supporter of Israel, he was involved in the creation of two Israeli medical centres that are named in his honour. He also helped establish the J. B. and Dora Salsberg Fund and the J. B. Salsberg Fund for Yiddish at the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto. J. B. passed away in 1998.
Custodial History
The records were donated to the OJA in a series of accessions. Material from accessions 1991-5-4 and 1992-9-4 were donated by J. B. Salsberg. The remaining material was donated by his estate after his death.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records documenting J. B. Salsberg's personal, professional and Jewish communal activities. The bulk of the records are textual and relate to his membership in the CPC (later LPP), election campaigns, and Jewish communal work. Included is correspondence; photographs; reports; political writings; certificates; agendas; pamphlets; brochures; booklets; flyers; campaign literature; campaign notes; posters; newspaper clippings; press releases; articles; transcripts; speeches; telegrams; political platforms, briefs and submissions; statements; constitutions; resolutions; newspapers; meeting minutes; bulletins; periodicals; notebooks; notes; course guides and outlines; medallions; pins; plaques; donation receipts; event invitations and programmes; lists; blank employment applications; a school test; a study; a coin; a drawing; a sketch; an audio cassette; and a delegate card.
Records are arranged into the following five series: 1. Personal ; 2. Labour Zionism and union activities ; 3. Political career ; and, 4. Jewish community involvement. There are also four files and one item attached directly to the fonds.
Notes
Physical Description Note: Includes 53 photographs, 7 medallions, 11 pins, 4 posters, 2 plaques, 1 sketch, 1 drawing, 1 audio cassette, 1 desk name plate, and 1 coin.
Physical Extent Note: Fonds was reduced from approximately 7 metres to 1.5 metres. The culled material consisted primarily of published books, periodicals and pamphlets that had been collected by J. B. Salsberg. For further details about what was culled please view the accession records.
Associated Material Note: Queen's University Archive also has a J. B. Salsberg fonds, 14 hours of interview tapes with J. B. Salsberg and records of the UJPO are held by the Multicultural Historical Society of Ontario (MHSO).
Name Access
Salsberg, J. B.,1902-1998
Subjects
Labor leaders
Politicians
Related Material
For additional records in OJA's holdings, see: Ben Kayfetz fonds 62, series 8, file 2 ; accession 2008-11-2 ; accession 2004-1-4 ; and oral histories AC 71 and AC 226.
Creator
Salsberg, Joseph Baruch, 1902-1998
Accession Number
1991-5-4
1992-9-4
1998-2-2
1998-12-5
2004-5-28
2010-4-1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Philip Givens fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 51
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Philip Givens fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
51
Material Format
multiple media
Date
[192-]-1990
Physical Description
1.35 metres of textual records (20 vols.) and other material
Admin History/Bio
Philip (Phil) Gerald Givens, QC, (1922–1995) was a Canadian politician, judge, police commissioner, and active Jewish communal leader. He is is largely remembered as the fifty-fourth mayor of Toronto.
Phil Givens was born in Toronto, the only son of Hyman and Mary Gevertz (Gewercz). As a youth, he attended Harbord Collegiate and graduated from the University of Toronto in political science and economics in 1945. In 1947, he married the former Minnie “Min” Rubin. They had two children together: Eleanor and Michael.
Givens graduated as a lawyer from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1949; however, shortly thereafter, he decided to enter politics, running as a municipal school board trustee in 1950. In 1951, he was elected as alderman for Ward 5, serving in this capacity until 1960, when he was subsequently elected as a controller.
Givens was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1962.
Following the sudden death of Mayor David Summerville in 1963, Givens was appointed by City Council as the mayor of Toronto and was officially elected to the position in 1964, winning a close race against Allan Lamport. As mayor, Givens was automatically a member of the Metropolitan Toronto Executive and Council, the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, the Consumer’s Gas Company Executive, the Toronto Hydro Commission and the governing boards of Toronto’s major hospitals.
Givens was publicly seen as an affable and populist mayor, but his tenure was not without controversy. His support for the construction of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and his decision to acquire Henry Moore’s bronze sculpture The Archer for the new Nathan Phillips Square were both highly controversial during his term in office. In particular, the Moore sculpture sparked intense controversy and public debate amongst council members and citizens alike, because traditional and representational public art pieces were the norm in Toronto at the time and The Archer sculpture was considered expensive, bold, and unrelatable. The controversy surrounding the statue’s purchase was still partly to blame for Givens’ 1966 election defeat to William Dennison. Ultimately, the sculpture was purchased with privately solicited donations and has become one of Toronto’s beloved and recognized landmarks.
Givens ran for the House of Commons of Canada in the 1957 and 1958 federal elections but was defeated in his bid to become member of Parliament for Spadina. In 1967, Givens entered national politics for the second time, winning a seat as a Liberal in Toronto’s York West riding. In 1971, he stepped down before the end of his term to campaign for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Again, running under the Liberal banner, Givens won his seat in York-Forest Hill. In the 1975 provincial election, he was re-elected as a member of Provincial Parliament in the Armourdale constituency.
In 1977, Givens retired from politics and was appointed as a provincial court judge and chair of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, serving in both capacities until 1985, when he left the Commission but continued in the judiciary as a civil trial judge until officially retired from public life in 1988.
In addition to his political career, Givens also worked briefly as a current affairs commentator for local radio broadcaster CHUM 1050 AM.
Givens was an ardent Zionist and a prominent leader of several Jewish communal organizations. He was the founder and first president of the Upper Canada Lodge of B’nai Brith and sat on the executives of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the United Jewish Welfare Fund, the Talmud Torah Eitz Chaim, the Zionist Organization of Canada, the Toronto Zionist Council, Jewish National Fund, State of Israel Bonds, and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. He was chair of the United Israel Appeal-Israel Emergency Fund in 1967 and the United Jewish Appeal-Israel Special Fund in 1968. From 1973 to 1985, he was the national president of the Canadian Zionist Federation. In the 1990s, he served as the national chairman of the Committee for Yiddish of the Canadian Jewish Congress.
Givens was the honouree of the Jewish National Fund’s Negev Dinner in 1968. He received the Human Relations Award from the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews in 1969 and the Award of Honour from the Toronto Regional Council of B’nai Brith in 1972.
Givens was also known to be a passionate sailor and was a member of both the Royal Canadian and the Island Yacht Clubs in Toronto.
Custodial History
The records were in the possession of Phil Givens until they were donated to the Archives in September 1990 by his wife.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records documenting the personal, professional and communal activities of Phil Givens. The bulk of the material is graphic and most of the photographs relate to his tenure as Mayor of Toronto and to his Jewish communal work. The records also include general correspondence, speeches, campaign material, scrapbooks, cartoons, certificates and awards, biographical writings, audio and visual materials and artifacts. The records have been arranged into nine series representing Givens’ various roles and activities and have been described to the file level and item level when necessary. These series are: 1. Personal life; 2. City of Toronto Alderman; 3. City of Toronto Controller; 4. City of Toronto Mayor; 5. Metropolitan Toronto Police Commissioner; 6. Provincial politics; 7. National politics; 8. Legal career; 9. Jewish communal service.
Notes
Physical Description Note: Includes ca. 915 photographs, 14 drawings, 1 print, 1 presentation piece, 27 objects, 4 DVD’s, 4 videocassettes and 1 audiocassette.
Physical Extent Note: Fonds was reduced from 5.5 m of records to 2.6 m of records. Please see accession record for further details regarding the records that were culled.
General Note: Previously cited as MG6 B
Associated material note: City of Toronto Archives: “Philip Givens fonds” (fonds 1301) and Series 363, Sub-series 2 “Mayor' Office journals” (fonds 200). Library and Archives Canada: “Correspondence and subjects” series (R4942-1-1-E) in the Stuart E. Rosenberg fonds (R4942-0-X-E); Henry S. Rosenberg fonds (R3946-0-9-E); Jewish National Fund of Canada fonds (R4347-0-1-E), “Subject series: Givens, Judge Philip G. – Toronto” (R4347-7-4-E); “Correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports” series (MG31-H67), Zdzislaw Przygoda fonds (R6257-0-0-E) [Sir Casimir Gzowski monument committee records –chaired by Phil Givens]; B'nai Brith Canada fonds (R6348-0-9-E); Canadian Zionist Federation fonds (R9377-0-6-E).
Name Access
Givens, Phillip, 1922-1995
Givens (nee Rubin), Min
Subjects
Law
Politicians
Related Material
See Fonds 2: Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
See Fonds 18: Gordon Mendly fonds
See Fonds 28: Zionist Organization of Canada fonds
See Fonds 37: Gilbert Studios fonds (Negev dinners series, Zionist Building series, Portraits series).
Creator
Givens, Philip, 1922-1995
Accession Number
1990-9-7
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Philip Givens fonds
City of Toronto Mayor series
Level
Series
ID
Fonds 51; Series 4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Philip Givens fonds
City of Toronto Mayor series
Level
Series
Fonds
51
Series
4
Material Format
multiple media
Date
1963-1990
Physical Description
ca. 360 photographs : b&w, sepia toned, and col (99 contact sheet, 2 slides) ; 34 x 26 cm or smaller and other material
Scope and Content
Series consists of records documenting Phil Givens’ work as Mayor of Toronto from 1963 until 1966. The bulk of the records are photographs featuring Mayor Givens at various city and community events; of note are images of Givens meeting with Robert Kennedy, Israeli President Zalmon Shazar, Sam Shopsowitz, and Pope Paul VI. Also included is general correspondence, speeches, election campaign materials, cartoons, certificates, artifacts, textual records related to the acquisition of the Henry Moore sculpture, a VHS cassette of Givens discussing the building of the New City Hall and an audiocassette documenting a council trip to Montreal in 1966. In addition, there is a small number of photographs which document events that occurred outside the dates of his time in office, but which relate to his role as mayor.
The series has been arranged into nine sub-series: 4-1. Campaign; 4-2. City of Toronto Council; 4-3. Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto Council; 4-4. City of Toronto Board of Control; 4-5. Henry Moore Sculpture and artwork; 4-6. Official engagements; 4-7. Certificates and Awards; 4-8. Portraits and publicity; and 4-9. Political cartoons.
Notes
Includes 7.8 cm of textual records, 14 drawings, 1 DVD, 1 videocassette, 1 audiocassette, and 8 objects.
Photographers and photography studios are identified on the photographs.
Subjects
Politicians
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
Committee for Soviet Jewry series
Protest activities sub-series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 17; Series 3-5; File 144; Item 1-2
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
144
Item
1-2
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Aug. 1987
Physical Description
22 photographs : b&w ; 13 x 18 cm or smaller
Scope and Content
File contains photographs of Anatoly Scharansky meeting with dignitaries and speaking in Ottawa. Included is a meeting with Joe Clark, the then secretary of state for external affairs, and one with Senator David Croll.
Notes
Photographs by Ben Lechtman.
Name Access
Clark, Joe, 1939-
Croll, David, 1900-1991
Subjects
Politicians
Repro Restriction
Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
Places
Ottawa (Ont.)
Source
Archival Descriptions
Accession Number
2022-7-6
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2022-7-6
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
object
Physical Description
ca. 8 cm of textual records
25 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21 x 26 cm or smaller
1 medal : bronze
Date
1922-1997
Scope and Content
Accession consists of textual records, photographs, and a bronze Shekel Medal for Israel’s twenty-fifth anniversary, most of which document Pearl Freedhoff and her Jewish communal and public service activities.
Textual records include public speeches, handwritten notes and short writing pieces, invitation and greeting cards, correspondence, materials relating to the sisterhoods of Beth Tzedec and Goel Tzedec synagogues, Pearl’s 1940 National Registration certificate, materials documenting the Ontario Bicentennial Award and dinner, and the 1981 royal tour of Canada, newspaper clippings relating to Pearl’s Jewish communal and public service activities, and an advertisement that Pearl made for Lido Spa. Also included are newsletters, magazines, and bulletins, which document Pearl’s experience in wedding consultation and her active involvement in Toronto Hadassah-WIZO and the Women’s Auxiliary of the Jewish Home for the Aged; and travel itineraries and promotional materials for Israel and the Orient trips, which were issued by Toronto Hadassah-WIZO, B’nai Brith, and travel agencies they were in co-operation with. Textual records also include a small number of bulletins and magazines as well as a twenty-fifth anniversary book of Baycrest men’s service group, which document the accomplishments of Pearl’s husband, Dr. Samuel Freedhoff.
Photographs feature the Goel Tzedec Sisterhood, trips to Israel organized by Toronto Hadassah-WIZO, the wedding of Linda Greene (Lorne Greene’s daughter), and various social and political events that Pearl attended.
Accession also includes a bronze Shekel Medal for Israel’s twenty-fifth anniversary. It was presented to Pearl to commemorate her inscription as a governor of the Haifa Community College.
Custodial History
Records were in the possession of Judith Golden, Pearl's daughter, until being gifted to the Ontario Jewish Archives on 14 July 2022.
Administrative History
Pearl Freedhoff (née Narrol) (1906-1997) was born on 17 September 1906 in Toronto to Harry Narrol and Esther Narrol (née Newman). She had four siblings: Albert, Gertie, Hilda (m. Spivak), and Mendell (died as infant). Pearl married Dr. Samuel Osias Freedhoff (1903–1973) in 1927 and had two children: Stephen and Judith. Samuel was the son of Harry Freedhoff and Molli Freedhoff (née Bohnen). Pearl graduated from the University of Toronto, School of Social Work, and Samuel graduated from the School of Dentistry. Both were members of Goel Tzedec Synagogue, with Pearl serving as sisterhood president from 1949 to 1950 and Samuel as president of the men's club in 1952.
Pearl was an active member of the Jewish community and served on executives and boards in many Jewish communal organizations, including the Canadian Hadassah-WIZO Toronto Centre, the sisterhoods of Goel Tzedec and Beth Tzedec Synagogues, and the Women’s Auxiliary of the Jewish Home for the Aged. She had a political interest in the Progressive Conservative Party and was active in federal and provincial politics; she served on the boards of the Victorian Order of Nurses and Ontario Housing Commission and was included in special dinners such as dinners for the royal family. In addition, she had an outstanding reputation as a bridal and bar-mitzvah counsellor for over thirty years. In 1984, she was awarded the Ontario Bicentennial Medal in honour of her contributions to the community at large.
Pearl passed away on 18 December 1997.
Use Conditions
Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Subjects
Politicians
Name Access
Freedhoff, Pearl, 1906-1997
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions