Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Executive director series

Teacher files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

2-4

File

82

Material Format

textual record

Date

1968-1973

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2018-1-7

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

Physical Description

6 cm of textual records

104 photographs : b&w and col. (3 slides) ; 30 x 23 cm and smaller

1 banner

Date

1919-1991

Scope and Content

Accession consists of handwritten Yiddish writings from the 1930s and 1940s; newspaper clippings about Salsberg's move away from the Communist Party; tributes to Dora Wilensky including newsletters and journals from the Canadian Association of Social Workers, the Ontario Welfare Council, and the Neighborhood Workers Association; correspondence and a newspaper clipping about the Dora Wilensky Fund; drafts and newspaper clippings of tributes to poet Melech Ravitch; and miscellany including a banner from the Labour Council of Kiryat Yam commemorating a medical centre named in honour of Salsberg, a floor plan of the 21st legislature of Ontario parliament, and a publication of the story The Young Wanderer by Eliezer Smoli and Moshe Smilansky 1945. In addition, the accession includes letters by J. B. Salsberg to his wife Dora Wilensky and various letters to Salsberg from individuals such as politician Leslie M. Frost, actor Lou Jacobi, and president of the Workmen's Circle Israel Breslow. Of particular note is a letter from the Consulate General of the United States, including a copy of an order from the Department of Justice confirming his defection from the Communist Party and granting entrance into the United States according to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. Also included are photographs of an art exhibition by Israel Kaplansky 1983; family photographs and portraits; photographs of J. B. Salsberg at various events; photographs of Dora Wilensky's family; and three 35 mm slides of J. B. Salsberg.

Administrative History

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 Lagov, 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 1915, 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 the 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. In 1943, J. B. was 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.

Name Access

Salsberg, J. B.,1902-1998

Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

6

File

23

Material Format

textual record

Date

1976

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of one memorandum Dunkelman wrote about a meeting in Israel attended by himself, Yael Dunkelman and Baruch Erez. The memorandum is related to Dunkelman's research into his role in the Arab-Israeli War.

Notes

Baruch Erez (Freidman) was second in command of the 79th Battalion during the Arab-Israeli War.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

6

File

22

Material Format

textual record

Date

[197-?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of three pages of notes related to the opening of the Burma Road, Operation Dekel and the conquest of Nazareth and Operation Hiram in northern Galilee.

Physical Condition

Record is in good condition but hard to read in places.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

Personal series

Life cycle and family events sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

4

Series

1-5

File

27

Material Format

textual record

Date

1926

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of photocopies of Joseph Baruch Newman's passport. This passport was shared with his wife Gitel. They were the grandparents of Dolly Edell.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

2374

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1908

Physical Description

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

Scope and Content

This item is a copy print and corresponding negative of William and Frieda Borovoy of Salem, Ontario. The couple are pictured standing in front of a stone house.

Name Access

Borovoy, Frieda

Borovoy, William

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

Salem (Ont.)

Accession Number

1977-8-16

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

Henry Rosenbaum fonds

Photograph series

Level

Item

Fonds

121

Series

1

Item

21

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[193-]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 21 cm x 25 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a black-and-white portrait of Moshe Rosenbaum, father of Henry Rosenbaum, (Radom, Poland), ca.1930, murdered in Treblinka in 1942. Murray Rosenbaum, son of Henry Rosenbaum is named in his memory.

Name Access

Treblinka (Concentration camp)

Subjects

Holocaust victims

Portraits

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Executive director series

Teacher files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

2-4

File

129

Material Format

textual record

Date

1961-1964

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Executive director series

Teacher files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

2-4

File

134

Material Format

textual record

Date

1960-1969

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Executive director series

Teacher files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

2-4

File

216

Material Format

textual record

Date

1962-1963

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Executive director series

Teacher files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

2-4

File

328

Material Format

textual record

Date

1966-1967

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Executive director series

Teacher files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

2-4

File

342

Material Format

textual record

Date

1954-1957

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Zionist Organization of Canada fonds

Central Region sous-fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

28-1

Series

7

File

252

Material Format

textual record

Date

1962-1966

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

The file consists of biographic information, copies of the Israel Digest, press releases, obituaries and an advertisement for a memorial service honouring Moshe Sharett in the Canadian Jewish News on June 10 1966, an invitation to the programme, and a selection of essays.

Name Access

Sharett, Moshe, 1894-1965

Subjects

Prime ministers--Israel

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Zionist Organization of Canada fonds

Publicity photographs of people and events series

Level

File

Fonds

28

Series

6

File

251

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[193-?]

Physical Description

10 photographs : b&w ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

The file consists of 10 portrait photographs of Moshe Sharett.

Name Access

Sharett, Moshe, 1894-1965

Subjects

Prime ministers--Israel

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Zionist Organization of Canada fonds

Central Region sous-fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

28-1

Series

7

File

178

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1950

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 9 x 12 cm

Scope and Content

The file consists of a portrait photograph of Moshe Matas.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Passenger Names

Apelzolt, Moshe

Page Number

534

Date Range

June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915

Photographer

Harvey and Adena Glasner

Source

Rotenberg Ledger

Passenger Names

Brownstien, Moshe

Page Number

616

Date Range

June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915

Photographer

Harvey and Adena Glasner

Source

Rotenberg Ledger

Passenger Names

Goldberg, Moshe

Page Number

689

Date Range

June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915

Photographer

Harvey and Adena Glasner

Source

Rotenberg Ledger

Accession Number

1991-10-1

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 book

Scope and Content

Accession consists of the memoir of Moshe Yaakov Kay. The memoirs are written in Yiddish.

Administrative History

Moshe Yaakov Kay lived in Kitchener Ontario. He had a daughter named Shirley Gossack who donated his memoirs to the Ontario Jewish Archives.

Subjects

Authors, Yiddish

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Julius P. Katz fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

55

Series

2

File

84

Material Format

textual record

Date

1940-1942

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

This file consists of correspondence with Rabbi Moshe Gold, son of Wolf Gold, President of the World Mizrachi Organization.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

744

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[19--?]

Physical Description

1 photograph

Admin History/Bio

Born in Lithuania, Koussevitsky was a world-renowned cantor. His last post was in Brooklyn, New York. He toured extensively during his career.

Custodial History

Item is a portrait of the Lithunian-born cantor Moshe Koussevitsky.

Name Access

Koussevitsky, Cantor Moshe

Subjects

Cantors (Judaism)

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.

Places

Lithuania

New York (N.Y.).

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Benjamin Dunkelman fonds

Dual Allegiance series

Level

File

Fonds

2

Series

6

File

25

Material Format

textual record

Date

1976

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of a one-page memorandum Dunkelman wrote about a meeting he had with Moshe Carmel in Israel. At this meeting, Carmel said Chaim Laskov had never commanded the 7th Brigade.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Solomon Edell fonds

General community activities series

Level

File

Fonds

4

Series

11

File

95

Material Format

textual record

Date

30 Apr. 1980

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of the lyrics to the "Tune into Torah Fund" musical tribute presented by the B'nai Moshe Sisterhood.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Executive director series

Teacher files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

2-4

File

10

Material Format

textual record

Date

1959

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Executive director series

Teacher files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

2-4

File

330

Material Format

textual record

Date

1966-1970

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Board of Jewish Education fonds

Executive director series

Teacher files sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

48

Series

2-4

File

358

Material Format

textual record

Date

1973-1977

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Zionist Organization of Canada fonds

Central Region sous-fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

28-1

Series

7

File

256

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1965

Physical Description

3 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm

Scope and Content

The file consists of 3 memorial portrait photographs of Moshe Sharett.

Name Access

Sharett, Moshe, 1894-1965

Subjects

Prime ministers--Israel

Source

Archival Descriptions

Passenger Names

Plotkin, Chane & Moshe

Page Number

545

Date Range

June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915

Photographer

Harvey and Adena Glasner

Source

Rotenberg Ledger

Passenger Names

Teitelbaum, Moyech & Moshe

Page Number

401

Date Range

June 6, 1911 to January 19, 1915

Photographer

Harvey and Adena Glasner

Source

Rotenberg Ledger

Part Of

Rabbi Nachman Shemen fonds

Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel series

Level

File

Fonds

103

Series

1

File

15

Material Format

textual record

Date

1948-[1951?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence with Nioma Waldman and Cantor Moshe Kusevitsky regarding Kusevitsky's performances in 1950 and 1951.

Subjects

Cantors (Judaism)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Rabbi Nachman Shemen fonds

Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel series

Level

File

Fonds

103

Series

1

File

16

Material Format

textual record

Date

1950-1952

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of tickets, invoices, newspaper clippings, programs, pamphlets, and correspondence related to Cantor Moshe Kusevitsky's performances in 1950, 1951, and 1952.

Subjects

Cantors (Judaism)

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

Solomon Edell fonds

Clanton Park Synagogue series

Level

File

Fonds

4

Series

6

File

95

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1970]

Physical Description

3 photographs : b&w ; 9 x 13 cm

Admin History/Bio

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895-1985) was an Orthodox rabbi and scholar who was widely regarded as an halakhic authority for North America's Orthodox Jews. He also served as president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada.

Scope and Content

File consists of photographs of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein speaking at an event at Clanton Park Synagogue.

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

Julius P. Katz fonds

Photographs series

Level

File

Fonds

55

Series

8

File

1

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[195-?]

Physical Description

1 photograph : sepia ; 21 x 25 cm

Scope and Content

This file consists of a photograph of Moshe Shapira, Minister of Internal Affairs of Israel, shaking hands with an unknown man.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Zionist Organization of Canada fonds

Central Region sous-fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

28-1

Series

7

File

254

Material Format

textual record

Date

1952

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

The file consists of invitations to the lecture by Moshe Sharett at Massey Hall on June 25 1952.

Name Access

Sharett, Moshe, 1894-1965

Subjects

Prime ministers--Israel

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Zionist Organization of Canada fonds

Publicity photographs of people and events series

Level

File

Fonds

28

Series

6

File

252

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1952

Physical Description

6 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm

Scope and Content

The file consists of photographs of Moshe Sharett, Israel's Foreign Minister, during his visit to Canada and lecture at Massey Hall in Toronto. Included in the file are a publicity photograph of Mr. Sharett and photographs of Sharett with Robert Soren; Eddie Gelber; Samuel Bronfman; David Croll; and photographs of the audience in Massey Hall.

Name Access

Moshe Sharett

Robert Soren

Eddie Gelber

Samuel Bronfman

David Croll

Subjects

Prime ministers--Israel

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

1990-10-2

Material Format

graphic material

Physical Description

4 photographs : b&w

Date

1943-1947

Scope and Content

This accession consists of four photographs that document YMHA basketball teams. Ben Atkin was the coach of both the bantam and senior teams. The 1947 team became the Ontario champions

Administrative History

Ben Atkin as a young man was very involved in the YMHA. During the late 1930s, he was involved in handball. Then during the 1940s, he acted as coach of the batam and senior boys basketball teams

Use Conditions

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.

Subjects

Sports teams

Name Access

YMHA.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1980-9-1

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Physical Description

Textual material

26 photographs : b&w (13 negatives)

Date

[193-?] - 1979

Scope and Content

This accession consists of textual and graphic material donated by Ben Himel. The textual material documents family events as well as information pertaining to the Borochov School, Poalei Zion, B'nai Brith Toronto Lodge, the Independent Workers' Circle and B'nai Zion Association of Toronto. Identified in one copy photograph of the officers of the Canadian Headgear Workers Central are J. B. Salsberg, Motel Bergstein, Henry Sigel, and Sam Chaikofsky.

Descriptive Notes

Borochov School.

Poal Zion.

B'nai Brith Toronto Lodge.

Independent Workers' Circle.

B'nai Zion Association.

Mrs. Menachovsky.

Zerabouaun.

Kreitzer.

Arbeiter Ring.

King Edward School.

Picnic.

Subjects

Clubs

Labor unions

Zionism

Name Access

Himel, Ben

Chaikofsky, Sam

Bergstein, Motel

Sigel, Henry

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Gordon Mendly fonds

Portraits series

Level

Item

Fonds

18

Series

1

Item

20

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1960]

Physical Description

1 negative : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Admin History/Bio

Benjamin Gershon Kayfetz was born in Toronto on 24 December 1916, the son of Max and Leah Kayfetz. He graduated with a B.A. in modern languages from the University of Toronto in 1939, and a B.E.D. from the Ontario College of Education in 1940. In 1955, he married Eva (née Silver) and had three daughters: Zena (Tanenbaum), Tamara (Kingston) and Rebecca (Hamill).

Between the years 1941 and 1943, he worked as a high school teacher in Huntsville and Niagara Falls. 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 the national executive 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. During his tenure, he worked with various churches, unions and minority groups 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, and made visits to Cuba in 1962 and 1965, and Russia in 1985. After his retirement in 1985, he was awarded the Samuel Bronfman Medal by the Canadian Jewish Congress. In recognition of his efforts to promote human rights, he was also awarded the Order of Canada in 1986.

In addition to his professional activities, Kayfetz was a prolific writer, and wrote articles for various Jewish publications under both his own name and the pseudonym, Gershon B. Newman, and gave a weekly radio address on various contemporary Jewish issues on CHIN radio. He was also actively involved in the Toronto Jewish Historical Society, serving as its president, the Canadian Jewish Historical Society and the Yiddish Luncheon Circle. Ben Kayfetz died on 15 February 2002, at the age of 85.

Scope and Content

Item is a portrait of Ben Kayfetz.

Name Access

Kayfetz, Benjamin, 1916-2002

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

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

William Stern fonds

Toronto Jewish community photographs series

Level

Item

Fonds

33

Series

4

Item

20

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[ca. 1970]

Physical Description

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

Admin History/Bio

Benjamin Gershon Kayfetz was born on December 24, 1916 in Toronto, graduating from the University of Toronto in 1939, with a B.A. in modern languages. Between the years 1941 and 1943, he worked as a high school teacher in Huntsville and Niagara Falls. 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. During his tenure, he worked with various churches, unions and minority groups 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, and made visits to Cuba in 1962 and 1965, and Russia in 1985, to study and report on the state of these Jewish Communities. After his retirement in 1985, he was awarded the Samuel Bronfman Medal by the Canadian Jewish Congress. In recognition of his efforts to promote Human Rights, he was also awarded 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, and gave a weekly radio address on CHIN radio addressing various contemporary Jewish issues. He was also actively involved in the Toronto Jewish Historical Society (serving as its president), Canadian Jewish Historical Society and Yiddish Luncheon Circle. Ben Kayfetz died in 2002 and is survived by his wife Eva.

Scope and Content

This item is a portrait of Ben Kayfetz.

Name Access

Kayfetz, Benjamin, 1916-2002

Subjects

Portraits

Repro Restriction

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

Accession Number

2004-5-96

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Research Records sub-series

Advocacy, General sub-sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-4-9

File

127

Material Format

textual record

Date

1973

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence from and to Ben Kayfetz related to various issues.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Name Access

Kayfetz, Benjamin, 1916-2002

Source

Archival Descriptions

Accession Number

2010-11-6

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

sound recording

Physical Description

ca. 60 cm of textual records and other material

Date

[ca. 1930] - 2002

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the personal and professional activities of Ben Kayfetz. Personal records include correspondence with family and friends, including letters home while serving overseas, Kayfetz's marriage and high school certificates, Kayfetz's memoirs, tributes and obituaries written about Kayfetz, as well as a portrait of him. Personal records also include audio cassettes of Yiddish music by Toronto musicians Honey Novick and Faye Kellerstein.

Professional records include articles, book reviews and newspaper clippings written by Kayfetz, event invitations, correspondence, lecture notes, and speeches. Professional records also include an Order of Canada membership book and event programme, meeting minutes for various organizations Kayfetz was involved in, such as, the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies, photographs of Kayfetz receiving various awards, and photographs of various Canadian Jewish Congress and B'Nai Zion Club events. Finally, professional records include sound recordings of interviews, lectures given at various events, and the meeting minutes of various organizations, such as, CJC, JCRC and the Yiddish Dialects in Toronto.

Administrative History

Benjamin Gershon Kayfetz was born on December 24, 1916 in Toronto, graduating from the University of Toronto in 1939, with a B.A. in modern languages. Between the years 1941 and 1943, he worked as a high school teacher in Huntsville and Niagara Falls. 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. During his tenure, he worked with various churches, unions and minority groups 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, and made visits to Cuba in 1962 and 1965, and Russia in 1985, to study and report on the state of these Jewish Communities. After his retirement in 1985, he was awarded the Samuel Bronfman Medal by the Canadian Jewish Congress. In recognition of his efforts to promote Human Rights, he was also awarded 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, and gave a weekly radio address on CHIN radio addressing various contemporary Jewish issues. He was also actively involved in the Toronto Jewish Historical Society (serving as its president), Canadian Jewish Historical Society and Yiddish Luncheon Circle. Ben Kayfetz died in 2002 and is survived by his wife Eva.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Physical description note: includes ca. 20 audio cassettes, 1 audio reel, and ca. 25 photographs (4 negatives)

Name Access

Kayfetz, Benjamin, 1916-2002

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2010-12-11

Material Format

textual record

textual record (electronic)

sound recording

Physical Description

1 box of textual records

1 audio cassette

1 CD

Date

1932-2001

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the personal and professional activities of Ben Kayfetz. Personal records include correspondence with family and friends, Kayfetz's high school examination reports, and speeches, invitations and other material relating to a tribute dinner for Kayfetz. Personal records also include correspondence about the Ben Kayfetz Scholarship Fund at the University of Toronto.

Professional records include articles, book reviews and newspaper clippings written by Kayfetz, correspondence, lecture notes, speeches and transcripts for Kayfetz's CHIN Radio broadcasts. Professional records also include notes from Kayfetz's interview of Arthur Gelber, obituaries written by Kayfetz for Frank Shuster and Ben Lappin, and early teaching contracts with the Huntsville Board of Education. Finally, professional records include a CD that contains records transferred over from Kayfetz's old computer floppy disks and one audio recording of a CBC Radio broadcast featuring the Yiddish Luncheon Club.

Administrative History

Benjamin Gershon Kayfetz was born on December 24, 1916 in Toronto, graduating from the University of Toronto in 1939, with a B.A. in modern languages. Between the years 1941 and 1943, he worked as a high school teacher in Huntsville and Niagara Falls. 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. During his tenure, he worked with various churches, unions and minority groups 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, and made visits to Cuba in 1962 and 1965, and Russia in 1985, to study and report on the state of these Jewish Communities. After his retirement in 1985, he was awarded the Samuel Bronfman Medal by the Canadian Jewish Congress. In recognition of his efforts to promote Human Rights, he was also awarded 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, and gave a weekly radio address on CHIN radio addressing various contemporary Jewish issues. He was also actively involved in the Toronto Jewish Historical Society (serving as its president), Canadian Jewish Historical Society and Yiddish Luncheon Circle. Ben Kayfetz died in 2002 and is survived by his wife Eva.

Use Conditions

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

Descriptive Notes

Language note: some records are in Yiddish.

Name Access

Kayfetz, Benjamin, 1916-2002

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2011-4-2

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

15 cm of textual records

Date

1989-1991

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting Ben Libman's involvement with the Kielcer Synagogue and the Amalgamated Dawes Road Trustees during the early 1990s. The records primarily consist of financial documents and correspondence.

Custodial History

Records were in the possession of Dena Libman, the granddaughter of Ben Lipman.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2013-9-5

Material Format

graphic material

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

3 photographs : b&w ; 15 x 10 cm

Date

1943-2001

Scope and Content

Accession consists of photographs of Ben Grossman's graduation from the University of Toronto in 1943 and a photograph of his parents Etta and Jacob Grossman. Also included is Ben Grossman's 2001 memoir entitled "Toronto to Jerusalem".

Administrative History

Ben Grossman (d. 2011) was the son of Etta dn Jacob Grossman. Ben's father was the founder of Billy Bee Honey which started in the Kensington Market neighbourhood in the late 1920s. Ben had his bar mitzvah at Beth Jacob Synagogue on Henry Street. He helped in the family business, especially during the war when his brother Jack was overseas. He went on to law school at the University of Toronto and eventually practiced immigration law. He helped many survivors navigate the Canadian immigration laws.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2016-3-69

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1950-1991

Scope and Content

Accession consists of interviews with various persons concerning their link with Goel Tzedec and its successor synagogue, Beth Tzedec. The interviews were primarily conducted by Ben Keyfetz and Jack Orenstien, the latter serving as the executive director of Beth Tzedec at that time. Persons interviewed included Carl Keyfetz, N. N. Levine, Meyer Axler, and Bert Godfrey. There is also other information in the file concerning cantors and rabbis who served at Goel Tzedec, including Julius Price, Bernard Wladowsky, Jacob Gordon, and Samuel Sachs. There is a document from Bert Godfrey—undated but with a reference to 1950—titled "Report of Construction Sub-Committee." This presumably preceded the construction of the building housing the Beth Tzedec Synagogue on Bathurst Street. Also included is a 1955 publication of the Ne'ilah Service of Beth Tzedec to take place on 6 February 1955, concluding a half century of worship at the synagogue on University Avenue. Lastly, there are several pages of notes concerning the synagogue and its history.

Custodial History

There is no information on the acquisition of this material.

Subjects

Committees

Synagogues

Rabbis

Name Access

Kayfetz, Benjamin, 1916-2002

Places

Toronto, Ontario

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2016-11-19

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1950-1964

Scope and Content

Accession consists of the personal records of Ben Kayfetz. Included is an article written under the pseudonym Gershon B. Newman, and one legal document belonging to Eva Silver. Also included are writings on the Jewish community in the year 1913-1914, a fictional account of a trip from Chile to Argentina and a poem written about Eva Kayfetz by her daughter.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2018-4-13

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1984-1992

Scope and Content

Accession consists of letters to Ben Kayfetz from Florence Hutner and Bernard Wind, a memoriam for Florence Hutner and general writings.

Name Access

Kayfetz, Ben, 1916-2002

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions