Part Of

Gordon Mendly fonds

Portraits series

Level

Item

Fonds

18

Series

1

Item

25

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1960]

Physical Description

1 negative : b&w ; 13 x 10 cm

Admin History/Bio

Ben Lappin was born in Kielce, Poland, on 1 May 1916. He was the son of Leibish and Sarah Lapidus. Lappin moved with his family to Canada in 1924. He married Adah Auerbach and had four children: Shalom, David, Naomi and Daniel.

Lappin received his undergraduate degree from McMaster University and his master’s and doctoral degrees in social work from the University of Toronto. He spent several years at the Training Bureau for Jewish Communal Service in New York and returned to the University of Toronto in 1958, where he was a professor in the School of Social Work until 1970. He then accepted an appointment at the School of Social Work at Bar Ilan University in Israel, later becoming its director. In 1963, he published The Redeemed Children: The story of the rescue of the war orphans by the Jewish community of Canada. He later wrote a number of other books, several humorous pieces for the CBC and Macleans Magazine, and served as editor of the Toronto Yiddisher Zhurnal’s English-language page.

From 1948 to 1958, he was the executive director of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region and was involved with the national executive committee of the Canadian Jewish Congress; the Canadian Association of Social Workers; and the Farband Labour Zionist Organization of Canada. Ben Lappin died in January 2001, at the age of 84.

Scope and Content

Item is a portrait of Ben Lappin.

Subjects

Authors

Immigrants--Canada

Social workers

Repro Restriction

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

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Gordon Mendly fonds

Portraits series

Level

Item

Fonds

18

Series

1

Item

39

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1970]

Physical Description

1 negative : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Admin History/Bio

Born in the United States, Joanne Ruderfer is a writer and playwright, and most notably, an investor in musical theatre productions. She has invested in and produced a number of cabarets and musical theatre productions, beginning in the mid-1970s. In 1974, she helped found Toronto's Phoenix Theatre, and stayed with the company for close to two years, before being bought out by her co-owners. In the mid-seventies, she formed a company called Lank Investments, a partnership with actor Tony Miller that supplied financial backing to cabaret revues.

Ruderfer has written one musical play, "The Magi's Gift", and has written lyrics for original musicals and reviews, as well as classical literary productions. She was the former host of the television program "Marquee", an entertainment interview program on Toronto public access television. Her late husband, George Ruderfer, was the owner of a chain of Canadian beauty salons and a beauty supply company called Coventry Beauty Products. Together they had two daughters, Laura and Leila and a son, Bruce.

Ruderfer was also actively involved with Hadassah Wizo and wrote for the Orah magazine.

Scope and Content

Item is a portrait of Joanne Ruderfer.

Subjects

Authors

Television personalities

Theatrical producers and directors

Repro Restriction

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

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2879

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1919]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 13 x 18 cm and 10 x 12 cm

Admin History/Bio

Archibald Belaney, better-known as Grey Owl, was a writer and conservationist. He was born in Hastings, England in September 1888 and died in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on 13 April 1938. Later, he portrayed himself as the son of a Scottish man and an Apache woman. His real identity was exposed following his death in 1938.

Scope and Content

This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of Grey Owl in Biscotasing, Ontario, a community in northeastern Ontario. He is wearing traditional First Nations clothing and is holding a rifle.

Name Access

Grey Owl, 1888-1938

Subjects

Authors

Conservationists

Repro Restriction

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Places

Biscotasing (Ont.)

Accession Number

1981-3-13

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Special events and projects sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-18

File

5

Material Format

textual record

Date

1976

Physical Description

1 folder textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of clippings, correspondence, flyers, and invitation lists for events honouring author Giorgio Bassani.

Name Access

Bassani, Giorgio, 1916-2000

Subjects

Authors

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Fonds

Fonds

103

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[192-?]-1993

Physical Description

45.9 m of textual records

35 photographs

Admin History/Bio

Nachman Shemen, a rabbinic scholar, author, and Jewish civil servant, was born Nachman Boimoil in Chodel, Poland on 15 March 1912. His great-grandfather was a disciple of the founder of Hasidism in Poland, known as the “Seer of Lublin,” and both of his parents were descendants of Hasids and scholars. Shemen was ordained in Warsaw in 1929 at age seventeen by the chief rabbi of Warsaw, Rabbi Eliezer Ezra Kershenbaum of Lublin, and the famous scholar Rabbi Pinchas Eliezer Grosfershtand. In 1930, he settled in Toronto with his family, becoming a teacher at the Eitz Chaim Talmud Torah until 1965. He was also a disciple of Rabbi Yehuda Lieb Graubart, spiritual leader of the city’s Polish Jewish community and an internationally respected rabbinic authority and author. In 1936, he married Toby Rosenberg and they had a son and three daughters.

From 1940 until his death in 1993, Shemen was a secretary of the Canadian Federation of Polish Jews, later known as the Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel, serving as secretary of the Toronto branch and executive secretary of the national executive. From 1954 to 1993, he was director of the Orthodox Division of the Canadian Jewish Congress, now known as the Kashruth Council of Canada.

Shemen was a prolific writer, contributing articles to periodicals not only in Canada, but also in the United States, Europe, South America, and Israel. Shortly after his arrival to Canada, Shemen began a journalistic career with the Toronto Hebrew Journal. Writing under seven pen names, his works appeared in numerous Yiddish dailies, weeklies, and periodicals around the world. From the mid-1950s, he served as the editor of Yidishe Nayes for a decade, a monthly bulletin published jointly by the Canadian Jewish Congress and the United Jewish Welfare Fund of Toronto. He edited commemorative volumes for many Toronto Jewish organizations and wrote more than twenty books ranging from biographies of rabbis to works on fascism, Chasidism, and labour issues. He was also a founder and volunteer rabbi for the Torah V’Avodah Congregation.

Custodial History

The records of this fonds were housed in the basement study of Rabbi Shemen's home on Lonsmount Drive in Toronto until 1987, when a flood prompted an emergency effort by his family to rescue the collection. Material was not packed carefully, and was transferred to dry boxes without regard to size or subject. The flood also encouraged Shemen to offer the collection to the archives.

It was Shemen's intention to donate the material piecemeal as he reordered it, and to assist in its processing at the archives following his retirement; however, illness prevented him from doing so. The collection was instead transferred to the Ontario Jewish Archives in a state of disarray in several accessions between 1987 and 1991. Processing began in May of 1996 when funds were made available from the Canadian Council of Archives and other sources.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records that provide insight into the career and thought of Rabbi Nachman Shemen, an influential figure in Canadian Orthodox Jewry. It consists primarily of textual records, both in English and Yiddish, and includes minutes and correspondence related to Canadian Jewish Congress, the Kashruth Council of Toronto, the Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel, and the Kehilla of Toronto, as well as Shemen's own articles and monographs together with research material for his writings. Also included are Shemen's private correspondence with scholars and literary figures throughout the Jewish world. Of special interest is the plethora of ephemera collected over a half-century.

Notes

Associated material: For related material, refer to records at the Archives of Religious Zionism at Bar Ilan University in Israel.

Name Access

Shemen, Nachman, 1912-1993

Torah V'Avodah Congregation (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Authors

Orthodox Judaism

Rabbis

Access Restriction

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

Related Material

For related material at the OJA, refer to the Eitz Chaim Talmud Torah fonds, Canadian Jewish Congress fonds, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds, United Jewish Refugee and War Relief series and the Rabbi David Kirshenbaum accession.

Arrangement

Attempts were made to restore the collection as much as possible to its original order, which required educated guesswork. Duplicate and irrelevant material were culled, and the remainder cleaned as required. Records were arranged into a preliminary series. Further rearrangement of the series and rehousing of material have been carried out by archivists to improve accessibility and address conservation needs.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

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

Level

Item

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

49

Item

16

Material Format

textual record

Date

1975

Physical Description

1 speech

Scope and Content

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

Notes

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

Name Access

Satok, David

Subjects

Anniversaries

Authors

Repro Restriction

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

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Gerald Tulchinsky fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

149

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[185-?]-2017

Physical Description

4.36 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Dr. Gerald “Jerry” Tulchinsky (1933–2017) was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1933 to Harry Tulchinsky and Anne Tulchinsky (née Stemeroff). Gerald spent his childhood and teen years growing up in Brantford as one of four children. His parents owned and operated the Mayfair dress shop on Colborne Street. The Tulchinsky family were active members of their community and were involved with the Beth David Congregation and the Sharon chapter of Hadassah-WIZO. Anne received multiple awards for her volunteer work.

Gerald Tulchinsky left Brantford in order to attend university. He received his undergraduate degree from McGill University and went on to receive his PhD in history from the University of Toronto in 1971.

Gerald married his wife, Ruth Tulchinsky (née Rice), in 1961, and, after spending the first few years of their marriage in various Canadian cities, they settled in Kingston, Ontario. Tulchinsky and his wife had three children: Steve, Ellen and Laura.

Dr. Gerald Tulchinsky’s professional career as a historian began with a focus on Canadian business and labour; later, his research interests expanded to include Canadian Jewish history. He briefly taught at the University of Saskatchewan before becoming a professor at Queen’s University, where he taught in the history department from 1966 to 2000. During his time at Queen’s, Tulchinsky expanded interest in the field of Canadian Jewish studies through his encouragement and supervision of graduate students. As professor emeritus, he was involved in creating the Jewish studies program at Queen’s, which he later became the director of after his retirement from the history department in 2000. In 2005, Tulchinsky became the recipient of theLouis Rosenberg Award, which honoured his contributions to the field of Canadian Jewish studies.

It was also during this time at Queen’s that he became known as a leading scholar on Canadian Jewish history. Over the course of his career, he published six books, including "The River Barons Montreal Businessmen and the Growth of Industry and Transportation 1837–53," "Taking Root: The Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community," "Branching Out: The Transformation of the Canadian Jewish Community," "Canada’s Jews: A People's Community," "Joe Salsberg: A Life of Commitment," and "Shtetl on Grand." The latter is a collection of short stories based on his experiences growing up Jewish in Brantford.

In addition to his books, he wrote and edited dozens of articles on business, immigration, transportation, and antisemitism during his career. Towards the end of his life, he had been working on a book on the history of the Canadian clothing industry.

Tulchinsky died on 13 December 2017. He was eighty-four.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records created and accumulated by Dr. Gerald Tulchinsky. The records relate to his personal life and professional career. The majority of the records are textual and primarily consist of his research on J. B. Salsberg, Canadian Jewish history, business, labour, and the Canadian clothing industry. The records include photocopied research materials, such as articles, statistical reports, and scanned newspaper pages. The records also include research notes; interviews; correspondence; grant applications; photographs; six audio cassettes and two VHS tapes; newspaper clippings; and lecture notes and course syllabi; as well as drafts of Dr. Tulchinsky’s manuscripts, poems, short stories, and articles. Also included among the records are daily planners; some family photographs; birthday and congratulation cards; a passport; a travel diary; a record of the Tulchinsky family tree; Anne Tulchinsky’s volunteer awards and other records; and various materials related to the Tulchinsky family’s involvement in the Brantford Jewish community, the Beth David Congregation, and the Sharon chapter of Hadassah-WIZO.

The fonds is divided into the following six series: 1. Drafts and manuscripts, 2. Research, 3. Personal and family, 4. Correspondence, 5. Teaching materials, and 6. Miscellaneous.

Notes

Associated material: Records of the parish of Gerald Tulchinsky are also held by Queen's University Archives.

Name Access

Tulchinsky, Gerald, 1933-2017

Subjects

Authors

College teachers

Historians

Creator

Tulchinsky, Gerald, 1933-2017

Places

Canada

Accession Number

2008-7-1

2014-8-4

2015-2-2

2016-2-7

2016-5-10

2017-9-4

2018-1-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2015-8-5

Material Format

textual record

sound recording

Physical Description

60 cm of textual records

2 DVDs

Date

[196-]-2000

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records related to the life and literary career of Morris J. Granite. Included are manuscript copies of his published works, unpublished poems and essays, bound copies of articles written for the Canadian Jewish Outook, published issues of the same periodical, an essay describing his life in Lodz written to his grandchildren, Laura and Rebecca and an interview conducted with Morris by a group interested in establishing a Jewish museum in Toronto.

Administrative History

Morris J. Granite (Granatstein) was born in 1911 in Lodz, Poland and in 1926, he immigrated with his family to Toronto, Canada. He had two sisters, Eva and Leah and a brother Layzer, who was killed in the Holocaust.

Morris served in the Royal Canadian Ari Force during the Second World War, and he worked as a teacher and draftsman in his early years and as a builder in his middle and later years. The buildings and homes he worked to create still stand in Cuba, Detroit, and Toronto. He also worked in Toronto, New York City, and Philadelphia as a waiter, power press operator, construction worker, and teacher at Hebrew and Yiddish schools. He was president of the Jewish Public Library, an editor of the Canadian Jewish Outlook, a member of the League of Canadian Poets, and a major supporter of artistic and progressive causes.

Throughout his life, he loved the written word. His published writings include several books of poetry: Street Corners (1935), My City Lodz (1995), Welcome to the Year 2000 (1999), and Toronto, My City (2000).

Morris was married to Barbara Moore Better and had two children, Ettie and David and two granchildren, Laura and Rebecca. Morris died in Toronto on April 29, 2001 of leukemia.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Use Conditions note: Copyright is held by the estate of M. J. Granite. Donor must be contacted prior to publication.

Subjects

Authors

Name Access

Granite, Morris

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2015-9-16

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

ca. 60 cm of textual records

Date

1970-2014, predominant 1993-2014

Scope and Content

Accession consists of textual records documenting the literary career and communal involvement of Shirley Kumove. The bulk of the accession includes correspondence, contracts, newspaper clippings and flyers relating to the publishing, marketing and promotion of Kumove’s various books. Also included is working content for Shirley’s unpublished book, Yet More Words, an unannotated manuscript for Kumove’s published book, Drunk From the Bitter Truth, and various book reviews written by Shirley. Of note are rejection letters Shirley received from publishers while trying to publish, Words Like Arrows, as well as correspondence with author Roger Greenwald in which he attached an original short story manuscript entitled, Conversations With Scott.

Accession also includes, ALTA conference material, issues of Paken Trager, and brochures for the National Yiddish Book Centre, the Canadian Jewish Book Awards, and Yiddish Studies at the University of Toronto. Finally accession also includes minutes, flyers, and planning material for the Habonim Reunion Organizing Committee (1983). Of note is a document containing personal memories of Habonim activities and its history (author unknown).

Custodial History

Joel is the son of Shirley Kumove. He provided the OJA with the material while he was cleaning out Shirley's house to put it up for sale.

Administrative History

Shirley Kumove is a Toronto-based writer and translator of Yiddish literature and folklore who has published articles and books relating to folklore, literature and the art of Yiddish translation. She was born in 1931, the first of two children of Harry (Hersh Meyer) Recht and Rifka Lessman. Kumove received her education at Toronto's Borochov School and, less formally, in her parents' home where Yiddish was the language spoken. She then attended New York University and the University of Toronto. During her career she has worked as a teacher of Judaic Studies and a public relations and special projects consultant; then in the 1980s, she served as Executive Director of The United Synagogue of America, Ontario Region, and Executive Director of JIAS. From 1997 to 2003, she was also a columnist for Paken Trager (The Book Peddler), the journal of the National Yiddish Book Centre in Massachusetts. Through the years she also undertook short-term translating projects on contract.

Kumove is the author of two books on Yiddish folksayings, Words Like Arrows: A Collection of Yiddish Folk Sayings (1984) and More Words, More Arrows (1999). A third volume is yet unpublished. She was a contributing editor of Found Treasures: Stories by Yiddish Women Writers (1994), and her most recent books are Drunk From the Bitter Truth: The Poems of Anna Margolin (2005), and a translated novel, Ordinary Jews (2009). She also worked for a time on a translation of the memoirs of Puah Rakovsky, "a Jewish revolutionary," but this work was not completed or published. In addition to her writing, Kumove has travelled extensively throughout North America giving lectures to Jewish Studies students, community groups and at conferences.

Kumove is a member of the American Literary Translators Association (ATLA) and has served on the boards of several organizations including chairing the Jewish Affairs committee of the National Council of Jewish Women. Shirley is married to Leon Kumove and they have three sons, Martin (Moishe), Aaron and Joel, as well as many grandchildren.

Shirley Kumove is the recipient of awards from the federal Multicultural Department and the Ontario Arts Council, and she won the 2007 Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award for Yiddish Translation for Drunk from the Bitter Truth.

Descriptive Notes

Related material note: accession #2009-7/11

Subjects

Authors

Name Access

Kumove, Shirley

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2016-4-14

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

moving images

Physical Description

ca. 35 cm of textual records

ca. 5 cm of photographs : b&w and col. ; 45 x 30 cm or smaller

1 VHS : col. ; 43 min.

Date

1905-2007

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting the family history and publishing career of Alvin Abram. The records include a scrapbook created by Alvin’s father Herman "Harry" Joseph Abramovitz, managing editor of the Canadian Jewish Weekly. The scrapbook documents Abramovitz’s Canadian national lecture tour entitled “The Jews in Two World Wars,” in which he spoke on the plight of the Jewish people during the First World War and the ongoing destruction of the Jewish people in the Second World War. Abramovitz also lectured on the heroism of Jews participating in the Allied armed forces and the importance of the Tehran Declaration. The same scrapbook also includes newspaper clippings, rail tickets, and programs related to his 1944 tour and subsequent 1945 tour “From Destruction to Reconstruction.” A second scrapbook created by Alvin Abram shares the Abramovitz family tree and includes several early family photographs of Alvin and his siblings and his parents’ marriage certificate. A third scrapbook, also created by Alvin Abram, is oversized and includes a few personal items, such as a page from his high school yearbook, caricature sketches of Alvin, and photos and flyers from the book launch of “The Light After The Dark.” There are a number of miscellaneous items including a copy of Louis Epstein (Alvin Abram's father-in-law)’s immigration card, condolence cards for Annie Ruth Abramovitz (née Schwartz), and personal items such as a 1935, Yiddish-language, ten-page, anti-communist booklet portraying Herman Abramovitz as a barber (Herman’s trade) and Stalin in his barber shop chair, as well as a personal Yiddish-language diary (1941).

In addition, there is a signed poster of Dubi Arie’s The Mission: Under The Wings of God and The Shadow of Amalek, a broadside of The Light After The Dark, associated newspaper clippings, a Leonard Mayzel-Ontario B’nai Brith Lodge Charter Certificate (1949), a fiftieth-anniversary video prepared for the Leonard Mayzel Lodge #1800 B'nai Brith celebration (1998), a video-and-photograph compilation that includes a slideshow with a brief history of the lodge, and a tribute to Leonard Mayzel.

Lastly, the accession includes published book titles On The Shoulders of Giants by Alvin Abram, Toronto Street Names by Leonard Wise and Allan Gould, and The Light After the Dark by Alvin Abram.

Administrative History

Alvin Abram (1936–2021) was a storyteller, writer, printer, and graphic designer. He was born on 11 May 1936 in Toronto to Herman Joseph Abramovitz (1905–1954) and Annie Schwartz (1903–1994).

Alvin's father, Herman ("Harry"), was born in Ataki, Bessaravia (Moldova). He immigrated to Canada in 1927 at the age of twenty-two and married Annie Schwartz (of Romania) in Hamilton, Ontario on 23 December 1928. Together, they had three children, Murray (b. 1929), Alvin (b. 1936), and Morton (b. 1938). Herman, a professionally-trained barber, was active in the union and worked as a journalist, lecturer, and editor of the Canadian Jewish Weekly.

Alvin Abram married Marilyn in [1961]. They had three children, Lisa, Lori, and Jason. Alvin ran a successful printing business and, upon completing several creative writing courses in the 1990s, he launched his accomplished writing career publishing dozens of short stories and several books.

Alvin was very involved in community work and volunteered his to time to many Jewish causes including B'nai Brith Canada, where he served on the executive of its Leonard Mayzel Ontario Lodge.

Subjects

Authors

Name Access

Abram, Alvin

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2016-4-20

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Physical Description

ca. 4 cm of textual records

7 photographs : col. ; 10 x 15 cm or smaller

Date

1953-2014, predominant 1965-1995

Scope and Content

Accession consists of textual and graphic records documenting the history and professional activities of Ismé Bennie. The accession includes: a report card from Vereeniging Medium English High School; a SA identification card; documentation from her early employment history in SA; clippings of her work with News/Check magazine; newspaper articles documenting reactions to the "South Africa Speaks" documentary and her involvement with the production; correspondence received while working in public broadcasting at NET (National Educational Television, later succeeded by PBS [Public Broadcasting Service]) and OECA (Ontario Educational Communications Authority, also known as TVOntario); an invitation to the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) Personal Achievement Award party in 1990 and correspondence related to her receipt of the award; a commemmorative document written by Stuart Foxman entitled "Paragon International: Bennie Celebrates Decade at the Helm"; correspondence regarding Bennie's ten year anniversary at Paragon; an invitation to the CFTPA Jack Chisholm Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Motion Picture and Television Industry luncheon and correspondence related to her receipt of the award.

Identified in the photos are: Ismé Bennie and Veronica Tennant.

Custodial History

Material was in possession of Ismé Bennie. Isme donated it to the OJA.

Administrative History

Ismé Bennie was born in Vereeniging, South Africa in 1940. She graduated from Witwatersrand University in 1960 with a B.A. in Library Science. She intially worked as a librarian at the City of Johannesburg Library and briefly left SA to seek opportunity in London. After returning from London, Ismé worked as a writer, researcher and editor with News/Check magazine until the mid-1960s. During this period, she participated in the production of "South Africa Speaks"; a Peabody Award-winning NET/WGBH produced documentary that was critical of the apartheid regime.

Bennie left SA in 1965 in search of professional opportunity and to leave the politics of apartheid. She began working primarily in public broadcasting in the United States. She continued in this field after relocating to Canada 1960s and rose to success in production at OECA,

In 1983, she founded Ismé Bennie International, a media distribution company. After it merged with production company Paragon, Bennie returned to broadcasting. She joined CHUM, (the Toronto-based media company), as Director of Development, rising to Director of Programming and Acquisitions in 1995, and that year won the (CFTPA) Jack Chisholm Award. Previously, she had received the CFTPA Personal Achievement Award in 1990. In 2003, Women in Film and Television – Toronto (WIFT–T) recognized her contribution to supporting and developing women in broadcasting, and she received the WIFT-T Outstanding Achievement Award. Canadian Television Network (CTV) acquired CHUM in 2007 and Bennie was one of the executives retained in the acquisition. Around 2010, Bennie left CTV. Since leaving she has done consulting work and freelance writing. In 2015, she published a memoir entitled, White Schooldays : Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Related material note: oral history AC 429

Subjects

Authors

South Africa--Emigration and immigration

Television producers and directors

Name Access

Bennie, Ismé

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2018-9-3

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

moving images

Physical Description

ca. 30 cm of textual records and graphic material

2 optical discs

1 scrapbook : 62 x 47 cm

1 videocassette

Date

1975-2018

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting Alvin Abram, the Jewish National Fund of Toronto (JNF Toronto), and the Leonard Mayzel Ontario Lodge (LMOL).

LMOL records include certificates (1975-1977); issues of the Observer (1978-1979), Planet Observer (2016-2018), and the Bulletin (2017-2018); a VHS tape made on the occasion of the lodge's fiftieth anniversary (1998); a DVD made on the occasion of the lodge's sixtieth anniversary (2008); and a scrapbook commemorating the lodge's community volunteer services (1977-1978).

JNF records include annual reports for the years 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008; copies of the Roots newsletter for the years 2000-2008; and Negev Dinner tribute books for the years 2003, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015.

Other records include a Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue Yakir Hakahal gala tribute dinner book honouring Sir Nicholas Winton (2010), a Temple Har Zion gala dinner book honouring Rabbi Michael S. Stroh (2005), a Wiesenthal Award book honouring Judy Feld Carr (2002), and a DVD-R with 34 photographs (jpg) taken at an Unto Every Person There is a Name event on 5 May 2016 that was attended by Andi Reti, Councillor James Pasternak, and Daniel G. Lovell.

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

Authors

Clubs

Nonprofit organizations

Name Access

Abram, Alvin

Jewish National Fund of Toronto

Leonard Mayzel Ontario Lodge

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2019-2-7

Material Format

textual record (electronic)

textual record

Physical Description

8 textual records (electronic)

1 folder

Date

2017-2018

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material collected and/or created by Sidney Freedman. The accession includes four hard copy records and eight records in electronic format. The hard copy records include a memoir of Ivansk Poland around the time of his birth, a visit to Poland and Ivansk in 2006, and an essay titled "The Book of Job and Related Matters." There is also a copy of the The Funeral Chronicle with an article by Mr. Freedman. The electronic records include Mr. Freedman's speech at the dedication of Pardes Shalom Cemetery, and essays/stories titled "Ecrite Intimes," "Holocaust Memorials," "Hungarian Rhapsody," "Israel and Palestinians," "O Canada," "Pride and Celebrity," and "The Enduring Hatred."

Custodial History

The donor emailed the eight records in electronic records to an OJA archivist in February 2019; he mailed the hard copies shortly thereafter to the same archivist shortly thereafter.

Administrative History

Sidney Freedman was born in 1928 in Ivansk (Iwanska) Poland. In 1929 the family of eight immigrated to Canada, first to Winnipeg, and then in 1933 to Toronto. He put himself through law school by working in construction jobs and opened a law firm after graduation. He later became president of Temple Sinai and became interested in the operation of cemeteries. In 1970 he purchased the land that would become Pardes Shalom Cemetery and later founded the Toronto Hebrew Memorial Parks.

Descriptive Notes

Scope: Regarding the speech he made at the Pardes Shalom dedication, the donor noted: "Some of the comments I made at that time were adopted as a legend in THMP's promotional material. In reading it however I see how I schmaltzed up the audience with gratitude to the number of institutions and people who really didn't deserve it. The story about our priorities as to number one of first paying back invested monies to buy land etc. was completely false. In fact the only contribution came later as the archives will show when in serving the land a commercial loan from the predecessor to federation came up with something like $350,000 in increments which got paid back at 10% interest cumulatively and retired on five years. On that basis the speech I gave was feel-good but not one that was at all accurate in terms of who assisted in establishing the cemetery."

Subjects

Authors

Cemeteries

Essays

Name Access

Freedman, Sidney

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Morley Torgov fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

108

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

Date

1938-2011

Physical Description

5.2 m of textual records and graphic material

Admin History/Bio

Morley Torgov (b. 1927) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer and former commercial lawyer.

Torgov was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to Allan (b. Russia, 8 July 1895-1964?) and Janey (née Colish) Torgov (b. England, 1901-d. Sault Ste. Marie, July 1926). Allan Torgov owned and operated a clothing store in Sault Ste. Marie named Allan's. Morley married Anna Pearl (née Cohen) in 1948 and had two children, Sarah Jane Steinberg and Alexander Torgov (b. 1959-d. 2009), and four grandchildren.

Torgov was educated at the University of Toronto, receiving his bachelor of laws degree from Osgoode Hall and was called to the bar in 1954. He became a partner in the law firm Olsch, Torgov, Cohen and specialized in commercial law. While practicing law in Toronto during the 1960s, he turned to writing. Torgov's first book, A Good Place to Come From (1974), a comic memoir of growing up Jewish in Sault Ste. Marie, was made into a CBC miniseries and won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. Torgov continued to write other books including the Outside Chance of Maximillian Glick (1982), which won him his second Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. The CBC produced a television series based on this work and the book was published in several languages. This success was followed by St. Farb's Day (1990), which won the Toronto Book Award and the National Jewish Book Award for fiction. Other published works include the Abramsky Variations (1977), the War to End All Wars (1998), Stickler and Me (2002), Murder in A-major (2008), and the Mastersinger from Minsk (2012).

Torgov's writings also include several screenplays for television and film and numerous essays and articles for the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the Montreal Gazette, the Canadian Lawyer and the New York Times Sunday Magazine. Torgov has been honored by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, naming their annual award the TORGI after Torgov, the first recipient of that award in 1984. In 2005, he received the Order of Mariposa, a lifetime recognition award from the Leacock Society. In 2010, he received the Order of Canada as an acknowledgement of his contributions to Canadian society.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of material related to the life and work of Morley Torgov. Included are literary drafts and working papers, reviews, speeches, presentations, public addresses, memorabilia, sketches and drawings, photographs, correspondence, newspaper and magazine articles, and Torgov's original file folders with jottings of ideas and references for future use.

Notes

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: The scope and content for most of the file level descriptions are taken verbatim from the original description provided by Mr. Torgov at the time of donation and therefore is written in the first person.

Name Access

Torgov, Morley, 1927-

Subjects

Authors

Related Material

Researchers should consult the Morley Torgov fonds at the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library for other records.

Arrangement

Records were arranged at the file level by the creator. This original arrangement has been maintained by the archivist.

Places

Sault Ste. Marie (Ont.)

Accession Number

1984-12-8

1986-12-6

1989-12-7

1990-12-10

1992-12-4

1995-12-4

1998-12-2

1999-12-3

2000-12-2

2002-12-6

2003-12-4

2004-12-1

2005-3-2

2005-12-3

2006-12-6

2007-12-16

2008-12-7

2011-12-3

2018-8-18

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

Part Of

Betty Goldstick Lindgren fonds

Level

Item

Fonds

45

Item

13

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1910]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 10 x 7 cm in mat 18 x 13 cm

Admin History/Bio

Dr. Isadore Goldstick was the son of William Goldstick and Sarah Goldstick. He was born in Latvia in 1890. He graduated with a PhD from the University of Toronto in the Department of Pedagogy in 1928. He married Anna Nathanson in December 1917, and they had two daughters, Reva and Esther. The family lived in London, Ontario. He spent many years teaching at the secondary school level and later became a professor at the University of Western Ontario. He was the author of eight German and French texts that were used in Canadian schools.

Scope and Content

Portrait of Isadore Goldstick as a young man.

Notes

The image is an albumen print glued on a mat board.

Subjects

Authors

Immigrants--Canada

Teachers

Repro Restriction

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Related Material

There is a fonds for the Isadore Goldstick family at the Ottawa Jewish Archives.

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1978-10-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5086

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1986

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 10 cm

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Dr. Edward L. Greenstein. Greenstein's photograph was kept by the Beth Sholom Synagogue adult education department. It is unclear whether or not he was invited to speak in Toronto.

Name Access

Greenstein, Edward L.

Subjects

Authors

Portraits

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

5091

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1985

Physical Description

2 photographs ; b&w (1 negative) ; 18 x 13 cm and 35 mm

Admin History/Bio

Noam Zion is an author whose works include A Day Apart: Shabbat at Home.

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of Noam Sachs Zion. Zion's photograph was kept by the Beth Sholom Synagogue's adult education department. It is unclear whether or not he was invited to speak in Toronto.

Name Access

Zion, Noam

Subjects

Authors

Portraits

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.

Accession Number

1989-6-3

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

2

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1898, [192-?]-1997

Physical Description

80 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Benjamin Dunkelman (1913–1997) was a successful businessman and president of Tip Top Tailors. He had a distinguished military career in both the Canadian Army during the Second World War and in the Haganah during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Benjamin was born in Toronto to David Dunkelman (1883–1978) and Rose (née Miller, 1889–1949). He had three sisters and two brothers: Joseph, a movie executive; Ernest, a manufacturer; Zelda; Veronica; and Theodora. His father, David, was a successful entrepreneur who established Tip Top Tailors in 1910. Both David and his wife Rose were fervent Zionists.

Benjamin attended Upper Canada College and, at the age of eighteen, visited Palestine for the first time. While in Palestine, he worked for a year on a kibbutz, mostly as a guard. During the Second World War, he served as a major in the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada; as major, he gained respect for his knowledge of mortars. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1945 for his role in the final Allied assault on Germany. Two years later, Benjamin returned to Palestine to join the Haganah in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. As a commander, he captured Nazareth and brought northern Galilee under Jewish control. Near the end of the war, he met and married Yael Lifshitz (m. Dunkelman), a corporal in the Israeli army. Benjamin was elected national commander of the Jewish War Veterans of Canada in 1977.

In addition to his work as a soldier, Benjamin was a successful businessman. He served as president of Tip Top Tailors after his father stepped down; he was also director of Colonial Finance Corporation, president of Cloverdale Shopping Centre, and president of Renforth Developments. Besides operating the Dunkelman Gallery, Benjamin and his wife, Yael, ran the Constellation Hotel and Dunkelman’s Restaurant.

Dunkelman later wrote of his experiences in both wars in his autobiography "Dual Allegiance" (published by MacMIllan). As well as the DSO, Dunkelman was awarded the Fighter’s Decoration of the State of Israel (1970), and an Israel Bonds Award Dinner in Tribute to Ben Dunkelman (1977). He was a guest of honour both at a reception hosted by the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science and the veterans of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (1976) and at a 7th Brigade Reunion in Israel (1991).

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting Benjamin Dunkelman's personal, business, and military activities. Included is personal and business correspondence and other records, maps, photographs, news clippings, and scrapbooks assembled by Dunkelman. The bulk of the records relate both to Dunkelman’s autobiography Dual allegiance and to his military career in the Second World War and in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Other records relate to his business work with Tip Top Tailors, the Constellation Hotel, Dunkelman’s Restaurant, and the Dunkelman Gallery, as well as to his Zionist actvities, his writing and public speeches, and his personal life.

The fonds is organized into the following series: Personal records and correspondence, Zionist materials, Businesses, Second World War, Arab-Israeli War, Dual Allegiance, and Speeches.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 218 photographs, 60 maps, 7 postcards, 5 architectural drawings, and 3 albums.

Associated material note: see the Ben Dunkelman fonds at Library and Archives Canada.

Name Access

Dunkelman, Benjamin, 1913-1997

Subjects

Authors

Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949

World War, 1939-1945

Related Material

See fonds #39 (Rose Dunkelman fonds).

Creator

Dunkelman, Benjamin, 1913-1997

Accession Number

2000-3-4

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Level

Series

Fonds

2

Series

6

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

cartographic material

Date

[194-?]-1997

Physical Description

30 cm of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Ben Dunkelman published his memoirs with MacMillan of Canada in 1976 under the title Dual Allegiance. Although nearly thirty years had passed since his involvement in the Second World War and the First Arab-Israeli War, Dunkelman began researching his memoirs in the 1950s and an early version of the book, Israel Assignment, was finished in 1959. After further research, writing and correspondence with publishers, Dunkelman finally secured publication of the manuscript with MacMillan of Canada under the title Dual Allegiance, which was published in 1976. The response to Dual Allegiance after its publication in November came quickly. MacMillan collected many of the newspaper reviews and sent them to Dunkelman. Ben Dunkelman also wrote several different screenplays based on his autobiography. These range from plot summaries to a full-length screenplay submitted to Charles Greene which includes directions for camera shots.

Scope and Content

Series consists of correspondence, research notes, novel notes, manuscripts, reviews, film/TV scripts, clippings and publicity material related to Ben Dunkelman’s autobiography, Dual Allegiance, which was published by MacMillan in 1976. The series contains drafts of Israel Assignment. It also contains some correspondence, both between Dunkelman and MacMillan about the book, and from readers commenting on it. The series is organized into several general areas in the following order: research, manuscripts, publicity, correspondence and Film/TV scripts.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes 30 maps, 4 photographs, and 2 albums.

Subjects

Authors

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Sylvia Schwartz fonds

Portraits of prominent Jewish Torontonians series

Level

Item

Fonds

80

Series

1

Item

26

Material Format

graphic material

Date

Feb. 1944

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative) ; 12 x 8 cm and 13 x 10 cm

Admin History/Bio

Harry J. Pollock (1920- ) was the first president of Temple Sinai and was an advertising executive, writer, and teacher. He developed an interest in the work of James Joyce and established the James Joyce Society in Toronto in 1964. Pollock has written and staged several plays that were adaptations of Joyce's works, including "Yes, I will yes," "Night boat from Dublin," and "Giacomo de Trieste." Pollock has delivered talks at Joyce symposia in Canada, Ireland, and Italy and co-edited proceedings from some of these Joyce conferences. He has also written a novel ("Gabriel") and some poetry. In addition, Pollock has written and produced several television programmes and radio documentaries. In 1969, Pollock became a fellow of Stong College, York University, and offered college tutorials on Joyce and creative writing there until 1995. He received an honourary D.Litt in 1995 from York University. He also served as the curator of the Anglo-Irish collection at McMaster University in Hamilton, 1970–1972.

Scope and Content

The item is a portrait of Harry Pollock.

Notes

Associated material note: See Fonds 0381 at the York University Archives and Special Collections for his research about James Joyce.

Name Access

Joyce, James, 1882-1941

Pollock, Harry J., 1920- (subject)

Subjects

Authors

Repro Restriction

Copyright is in the public domain and permission for use is not required. Please credit the Ontario Jewish Archives as the source of the photograph.

Related Material

See accession 1990-1-5 item 5029 for a group portrait with Harry Pollock.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Gilbert Studios fonds

Al Gilbert portraits series

Level

Item

Fonds

37

Series

4

Item

55

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1966]

Physical Description

1 negative : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Admin History/Bio

Rabbi Rosenberg was born in 1922 in New York City to Kate and Hyman Rosenberg. He married Hadassah Agassi and they had three children: Rachelle, Ronni and Elissa Beth. After receiving a Ph.D from Columbia University, he taught at the University of Rochester in the Religious Studies department. He was rabbi of Temple Beth El in Rochester for ten years before moving to Toronto to become rabbi of Beth Tzedec. Rabbi Rosenberg travelled to numerous countries to assist in refugee work and to meet with ambassadors' of Jewish communities. He was a prolific writer and contributed to various American, Canadian and Jewish newspapers and journals, and as well, was the author of several books on Jewish themes.

Scope and Content

Photograph of Rabbi Stuart Rosenberg posing for a formal portrait.

Name Access

Rosenberg, Stuart E

Subjects

Authors

Rabbis

Repro Restriction

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

Related Material

see also Accession 1978-5-2 for materials related to the Rosenberg case with Beth Tzedec

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Gilbert Studios fonds

Al Gilbert portraits series

Level

Item

Fonds

37

Series

4

Item

56

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1966]

Physical Description

1 negative : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Admin History/Bio

Rabbi Rosenberg was born in 1922 in New York City to Kate and Hyman Rosenberg. He married Hadassah Agassi and they had three children: Rachelle, Ronni and Elissa Beth. After receiving a Ph.D from Columbia University, he taught at the University of Rochester in the Religious Studies department. He was rabbi of Temple Beth El in Rochester for ten years before moving to Toronto to become rabbi of Beth Tzedec. Rabbi Rosenberg travelled to numerous countries to assist in refugee work and to meet with ambassadors of Jewish communities. He was a prolific writer and contributed to various American, Canadian and Jewish newspapers and journals, and as well, was the author of several books on Jewish themes.

Scope and Content

Item consists of a photograph of Rabbi Stuart Rosenberg seated at his desk.

Name Access

Rosenberg, Stuart E

Subjects

Authors

Rabbis

Repro Restriction

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

Related Material

see also Accession 1978-5-2 for materials related to the Rosenberg case with Beth Tzedec

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2021-12-1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Physical Description

ca. 25 cm of textual records

15 photographs : b&w and col. ; 20 x 26 cm and smaller

Date

1832-2017

Scope and Content

Accession consists of the research files of Bill Gladstone. The materials document Bill’s research on various aspects of the Jewish history of Toronto and Canada and are sourced from a variety of newspapers, books, and archival repositories. Most of the newspaper clippings and copies of clippings are from the Canadian Jewish News, Toronto Star, the National Post, and the Globe and Mail; and the copies of archival documents are mainly from the Archives of Ontario, the City of Toronto Archives, and the Ontario Jewish Archives.

Included are Bill’s newspaper articles; documents relating to Bill’s books and a publishing house that Bill established in 2008 named Now and Then Books; genealogy research materials and notes; copies of early Toronto maps; copies of articles written by Ben Kayfetz; research materials documenting Toronto local synagogues such as the Holy Blossom Temple, Goel Tzedec Synagogue, First Narayever Congregation, and McCaul St. Synagogue (Beth Hamidrash Hagadol); copies of Canadian Moving Picture Digest and Canadian Film Weekly that document the accomplishments of Jews in the Canadian film industry; and research materials pertaining to Russian Jews, Yiddish theatres and opera houses, religious education in public schools, and the history of the Jews in Toronto and Canada in general. Also included are research documents relating to Toronto Jewish neighbourhoods such as Kensington Market, The Junction, The Ward, and Bathurst Manor; and materials documenting Toronto local Jewish businesses, organizations, families, and individuals.

Accession also contains a small number of photographs that Bill took or collected during his research, most of which feature the Holy Blossom Temple, Temple Beth Israel (Macon, Georgia), and Congregation Mickve Israel (Savannah, Georgia).

Administrative History

Bill Gladstone is a researcher, journalist, author, publisher, and genealogist living in Toronto. He has written and edited numerous books on Canadian Jewish history and is a frequent contributor to the Canadian Jewish News, the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and other publications. He is often asked to give community presentations on a variety of topics related to the history of Jewish Toronto. In 2008, Bill established a publishing company named Now and Then Books. Bill is the former president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto and book review editor for Avotaynu, the international journal of Jewish genealogy.

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.

Descriptive Notes

Titles of files were transcribed from their original formal titles; for files that do not bear formal titles, supplied titles were given based on file contents.

Subjects

Genealogists

Authors

Journalists

Name Access

Gladstone, Bill

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions