Name

Montague Raisman

Number

OH 64

Subject

Nonprofit organizations

Human rights

Antisemitism

World War, 1939-1945

Zionism

Interview Date

11 Jul. 1982

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Jack Lipinsky

Total Running Time

39:42 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Notes

Low sound volume

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Montague Raisman came to Canada from England in 1926. He was actively involved in B'nai Brith Toronto Lodge and held positions of office. He served as the commanding officer for the B'nai Brith Air Cadet Squadron in Toronto during the Second World War. He was instrumental in the formation of the Joint Public Relations Committee, a united Jewish voice in response to pro-Nazi activity.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Raisman, Montague

B'nai Brith

Lipinsky, Jack

Canadian Jewish Congress

Geographic Access

Toronto

Calgary (Alta.)

Montréal (Québec)

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 64 - Raisman\OH64_Log.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Montague describes the formation of the B'nai Brith Air Cadet Squadron during the Second World War. He discusses the recruitment and training of the officers and cadets. He explains how this squadron was instrumental in changing recruitment qualifications to allow entry of new immigrants and Black cadets.

In this clip, Montague Raisman discusses the events leading up to an association between B

Name

Al Hershkovitz

Number

OH 111

Subject

Immigrants--Canada

Labor

Labor unions

Refugees--Canada

Zionists

Interview Date

19 Nov. 1985

Quantity

1 cassette (1 copy)

1 WAV file

Interviewer

Phyllis Platnick

Total Running Time

40.30 minutes

Conservation

November 2006

Digitized in 2014

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Al Hershkovitz was a fur union representative who helped organize the project that brought furriers from the displaced persons camps of Europe to Canada in the late 1940s. As a union representative, Al was granted temporary military rank in order to enter the displaced persons camps in Europe. He became part of the selection committee responsible for determining which displaced persons could come to Canada.

Material Format

sound recording

Language

English

Name Access

Hershkovitz, Al

Federman, Max

Kerbel, Joe

Silver, Harris

Jewish Labor Committee

Canadian Jewish Congress

Jewish Immigrant Aid Society

International Fur and Leather Workers Union

American Federation of Labor

Geographic Access

Toronto (Ont.)

Europe

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\OH 111 - Hershkovitz\OH111_Log.wav

Source

Oral Histories

Name

Ben Kayfetz

Number

OH 210

Subject

Antisemitism

Human rights

Law

Nonprofit organizations

Interview Date

4 Mar. 1984

Quantity

1

Interviewer

Phyllis Platnick

Total Running Time

46 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Notes

Christie Pits riot at approximately minute 16:00

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Benjamin "Ben" Gershon Kayfetz was born on 24 December 1916 in Toronto. He married Eva Silver and had two children. Ben graduated from the University of Toronto in 1939, with a bachelor of arts in modern languages. He worked as a high school teacher in Huntsville, Ontario and Niagara Falls, Ontario between 1941 and 1943. In 1943, he joined the war effort, working for the Department of National Defense in postal censorship and was responsible for reviewing prisoner of war mail. After the war, Kayfetz traveled to British-occupied Germany, where he worked as a censor of telecommunications with the Control Commission until 1947. Upon returning to Toronto, he was hired as the national director of community relations by the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) and as the executive (national) director of the Joint Community Relations Committee (JCRC), a CJC-B'nai B'rith cooperative organization. He also served as the central region executive director of the CJC between 1973 and 1978. He worked to develop anti-discrimination laws and for the protection of minority and religious rights. Kayfetz was also actively involved in promoting the welfare of Jewish communities worldwide. He was awarded the Samuel Bronfman Medal by the Canadian Jewish Congress in 1985 and the Order of Canada in 1986. In addition to his professional activities, Kayfetz wrote articles for various Jewish publications under both his own name and the pseudonym Gershon B. Newman. He also gave a weekly radio address on CHIN radio addressing various contemporary Jewish issues and was actively involved in the Toronto Jewish Historical Society (serving as its president), the Canadian Jewish Historical Society, and the Yiddish Luncheon Circle. He died in 2002.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Balmy Beach Swastika Club

Canadian Jewish Congress

UJA Federation of Greater Toronto

Geographic Access

Toronto

Kew Beach

Christie Pits

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Digital file

Transcript

G:\Description\Oral Histories\AC 210, Ben Kayfetz\AC 210 notes.pdf

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Ben Kayfetz describes the skirmish between antisemitic and Jewish youths at Kew Beach in July 1933.

In this clip, Ben Kayfetz discusses the laws that restricted “Jews or other objectionable races” from purchasing, owning, or renting properties in Toronto and summer resort areas. He describes the steps taken to change the law.

Name

Genya Intrator

Number

OH 223

OH 224

Subject

Antisemitism

Women

Human rights

Interview Date

26 Nov. 1990

Quantity

2

Interviewer

Mindy A. Skapinker

AccessionNumber

1993-9-1

Total Running Time

OH 223A: 46 minutes OH 223B: 46 minutes OH 224A: 16 minutes

Conservation

Copied August 2003

Use Restrictions

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

Biography

Genya Intrator was born in Moscow and moved as a child to Palestine in the 1930s. She was a member of the Israeli underground and served in the Israeli army during the War of Independence. She played a central leadership role in the Soviet Jewry movement in Canada. She founded Women for Soviet Jewry and served as chair of the National Soviet Jewry Committee. She helped with the creation of the Group of 35, a Soviet-Jewry activist group in Toronto. Genya had regular contact by phone with Soviet activists and relayed their information back to Israeli consuls. She was an advisor to B'nai Brith on Soviet Jewry. She started an inter-religious Task Force for Soviet Jewry in Canada.

Material Format

sound recording

Name Access

Intrator, Genya

Skapinker, Mindy A.

Canadian Jewish Congress

Geographic Access

Toronto

Original Format

Audio cassette

Copy Format

Audio cassette

Source

Oral Histories

In this clip, Genya Intrator discusses the formation of the Group of 35, a Soviet-Jewry activist group.

In this clip, Genya Intrator describes how information about Soviet Jews was passed on to the Israeli consulate in New York, who tracked all the data. She explains how she was appointed as a "secret agent" who would report information from her many phone calls to the Soviet Union.