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

33

Material Format

textual record

moving images

Date

1992

Physical Description

1 folder textual records

1 video cassette

Scope and Content

File consists of flyers, programs, correspondence, and a video recording of the lecture "The Wannsee Conference: The Blackest Day in European Jewish History."

Name Access

Wannsee-Konferenz (1942 : Berlin, Germany)

Subjects

Lectures and lecturing

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Koffler Centre of the Arts fonds

Educational programming series

Level

File

Fonds

100

Series

6

File

2

Material Format

textual record

Date

2001

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of records documenting the lecture series Kallah, the Gathering. Included are planning meeting minutes, agendas and correspondence, a program guide to the three-part interactive lecture series, promotional material including a conversation with Elie Wiesel, an evaluation guideline for Kallah coordinators and a list of Jewish schools located in the GTA.

Name Access

Kallah, the Gathering

Subjects

Lectures and lecturing

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

General office records sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-5

File

47

Material Format

textual record

Date

1968

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence and clippings relating to the re-emergence of antisemitism in Poland.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Subjects

Antisemitism--Poland

Places

Poland

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

1617

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[1939 or 1940]

Physical Description

2 photographs : b&w (1 negative)

Notes

Photo by Modern Studio

Name Access

Farband

Independent Workers' Circle Joint Committee

Leivick, H.

Jewish Organizations

Subjects

Committees

Lectures and lecturing

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

Toronto Islands (Ont.)

Accession Number

1978-11-5

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

John J. Glass fonds

Documents series

Level

File

Fonds

109

Series

2

File

22

Material Format

textual record

Date

1937

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of a financial resume for the 1937 Canadian campaign for the relief of Polish Jewry and a letter from the Council of Jewish Organizations of Hamilton, Ontario asking John Glass for a statement of receipts and disbursements of the 1936 Polish campaign.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

3656

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[193-?]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w (negative)

Admin History/Bio

Emma Goldman was an anarchist and writer. She was born in the Russian Empire to a Jewish family in 1869 and died in Toronto on 14 May 1940. In a letter to fellow anarchist Alexander Berkman dated 5 February 1935, Emma wrote, "As far as I know now Milly Desser and I will return to Toronto the 15th of March. I will have some lectures there which the new group will arrange, mostly it will deal with some phase of sex, birth control, the revolt of youth and possible crime. They are the only subjects that draw. And I simply can't afford to face further dificits [sic]. My address in Toronto will again be 471 Brunswick Ave. But keep on writing me here until the 15th of next month."

Scope and Content

Item is a broadside for a lecture to be given by Emma Goldman at the Labor Lyceum in Toronto.

Name Access

Goldman, Emma, 1869-1940

Labor Lyceum (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Anarchists

Lectures and lecturing

Youth

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

Toronto (Ont.)

Accession Number

1976-12-1

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Rabbi Nachman Shemen fonds

Level

Series

Fonds

103

Series

1

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

[192-?]-1993

Physical Description

1.5 m of textual records

35 photographs

Admin History/Bio

The Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel, originally called the Canadian Federation of Polish Jews (CFPJ), was established in 1933 to assist Jews in Poland who were victims of anti-Semitism as expressed in economic boycotts and political discrimination. The CFPJ provided political action and advocacy on behalf of Polish Jews, as well as social help, moral strength and material support. It was a constituent member of the World Federation of Polish Jews, established in 1935, which provided relief and economic assistance to Jews in Poland, and coordinated the assistance given to Jewish communal organizations in Poland. In addition, the CFPJ assisted Canadian landsmanshaften (mutual benefit societies) which were giving support to those communities from which their members had emigrated.

In 1939, following the outbreak of the Second World War, the CFPJ was among those Canadian Jewish organizations which founded the United Jewish Refugee and War Relief Agencies, the purpose of which was to assist in the war effort and to aid war victims. At the conclusion of the war, the UJRWR was renamed the United Jewish Relief Agencies, with an aim to assist refugees in their effort to settle in Canada.

The scope and mandate of the CFPJ has changed over time as new challenges and projects have emerged. In January 1950, its activities expanded to include building homes in Israel for Polish Jewish immigrants, providing local relief to newly arrived Polish Jewish immigrants in Canada, locating relatives and providing legal advice on matters related to passports and visas, contributing to and participating in memorials honouring lost Jewish communities, and maintaining contact with its sister Farbands across the world.

In December 1951, the name of the organization was officially changed to Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel, and as of March 1953, its priorities had shifted to focus increasingly on providing support to Israel.

Scope and Content

Series consists of records documenting the activities of the Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel. Many records provide insight into the relief efforts carried out to assist Jews in Poland and Israel. Included are meeting minutes, agendas, reports, correspondence, speeches, newspaper articles, financial records, conference material, a ledger book, posters and invitations, membership and donation lists, scrapbooks, leaflets, photographs of important events, letters of appeal, visa and identification applications, property claims applications, and letters from individuals requesting aid.

Name Access

Canadian Federation of Polish Jews

Canadian Federation to Aid Polish Jews in Israel

Subjects

Jews--Israel

Jews, Polish

Access Restriction

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

Places

Israel

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

National Council of Jewish Women of Canada fonds

Toronto Section series

Education Portfolio sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

38

Series

7-6

File

10

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1974-1984

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

37 photographs : b&w and col. (16 negatives and 8 slides) ; 21 x 18 cm or smaller

Scope and Content

File consists of a graphic press cutting, photographs, negatives and slides related to the Soviet Jewry program. Some are of a separated refusenik family, and fundraisers in aid of Soviet Jewry. There is also an announcement of a Separated Family Week with Jim Peterson, M.P. Willowdale, as guest speaker.

Name Access

Peterson, David, 1943-

Subjects

Jews--Soviet Union

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

National Council of Jewish Women of Canada fonds

Toronto Section series

Toronto Section archival material sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

38

Series

7-13

File

43

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1973-1994

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

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

Scope and Content

File consists of photographs, newsclippings, and literature pertaining to refuseniks and activists in Moldavia, and of the fundraising and support NCJW are providing.

Subjects

Jews--Soviet Union

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

6

Material Format

textual record

Date

1976

Physical Description

1 folder textual records

1 photograph: b & w, ; 25 x 19 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of flyers, correspondence, clippings, and press releases related to Howard Roiter's lecture "My Holocaust Problem and Yours." Also included is a photograph of Howard Roiter.

Name Access

Roiter, Howard, 1939-

Subjects

Lectures and lecturing

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

13

Material Format

textual record

Date

1981

Physical Description

1 folder textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of flyers, correspondence, and press releases for Dr. Irving Greenberg's lecture "Presenting the Holocaust a Generation Later."

Name Access

Greenberg, Irving, 1933-

Subjects

Lectures and lecturing

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

John J. Glass fonds

Documents series

Level

File

Fonds

109

Series

2

File

21

Material Format

textual record

Date

1926

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Born in Odessa, Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880-1940) was a Zionist leader notable for founding the Revionist movement within Zionism. In 1926, he travelled to Canada under the sponsorship of the Hebrew Veterans Association.

Scope and Content

File consists of a contract between Hector Duthisac of Montreal and the Hebrew Veterans Association, Toronto. Duthisac was the manager for the Canadian tour of Vladimir Jabotinsky. The contract details the financial and logisitcal responsibilities of both parties for a lecture to be delivered on February 11, 1926 by Jabotinsky on his visit to Toronto.

Name Access

Jabotinsky, Vladimir, 1880-1940

Subjects

Lectures and lecturing

Physical Condition

The contract is in is torn at the seams and is in poor condition.

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Level

Series

Fonds

17

Series

3

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1967-1992

Physical Description

4.5 m of textual records

1822 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller

Admin History/Bio

The earliest impetus for the creation of a Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) committee to focus on the issue of Soviet Jews was in response to the infamous “Leningrad trials” of thirty-one dissident Soviet Jews in the winter of 1970. Concurrently, the Soviet government began to systematically persecute almost all Jews who applied for permission to emigrate. The issuing of exit visas was refused (the genesis of the term “refusenik”), usually on exaggerated claims of national security, after which the applicants were often dismissed from their jobs, recalled to military service, or similarly persecuted by state authorities. Those who publicly protested such treatment were subsequently arrested, detained for long periods, or tried as examples to others and sent to Siberian labour camps.

When information about the plight of Soviet Jews reached Canada, Toronto’s Jews responded immediately and decisively. Synagogue congregations, student groups, women’s organizations, professional organizations and community groups all established independent committees to aid Soviet Jews directly and to pressure local, national and international governments to address Soviet antisemitism. Very quickly these committees began organizing mass rallies, letter writing campaigns, petitions, targeted protests and direct aid involving large numbers of people and considerable fundraising efforts. From 1971 to the late 1980s the cause of Soviet Jewry remained, along with support for The State of Israel, the most significant issue to the Jewish community.

The Action Committee for Soviet Jewry (ACSJ) was formed by the (then) Central Region of the CJC in early 1971 in order to coordinate the activities of, and provide stable funding and administrative support for, the various ad hoc committees and action groups that had sprung up across Toronto and the rest of Ontario. Organizations coordinated by the Action Committee included university student groups, the Group of 35, Women for Soviet Jewry (WSJ), B’nai B’rith, and the Canadian Zionist Federation (CZF). The ACSJ originally reported to the CJC’s Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry (SCSJ), but by the mid-1970s the reporting of the two committees was reversed, with the Steering Committee reporting to the Action Committee. By 1977, the Action Committee and the Steering Committee were merged into the newly-renamed CJC Ontario Region’s Committee for Soviet Jewry (occasionally referred to as the Toronto Committee).

The first Chairman of the SCSJ was the prominent Toronto politician and activist Joseph B. Salsberg. Later chairs, including Sam Filer, Phyllis Sugar, Reg Adelman, author Jeanette Goldman, Joyce Eklove, and Judge Ted Matlow were also involved with affiliated local groups whose activities were coordinated by the SCSJ. Sam Filer, its first permanent Secretary, became in 1976 its second Chairman. He also served as Chairman of the Toronto Action Committee for Soviet Jewry and was an original co-founder of Lawyers and Jurists for Soviet Jewry. Similarly, Phyllis Sugar was a Co-chair of the ACSJ with Reg Adelman in the early to mid-1970s, while simultaneously serving as the Chair of WSJ. Genya Intrator, the first Chair of WSJ in the early 1970s, later served as first Chair of the Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry. Despite having its first meeting in Winnipeg, the Canadian Committee had most of its leadership and activities in Toronto. Toronto residents Sydney Harris (later Judge Harris), David Satok, Genya Intrator and David Sadowski all chaired this committee as it developed a national agenda through contacts with affiliated organizations across the country, while coordinating internationally with groups such as the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews based in New York.

Towards the end of the 1980s, many of the restrictions regarding exit visas for refusniks were removed and increasingly Russian Jews began to immigrate to Israel, the United States and Canada. A large percentage of the latter settled in Toronto. By 1991, in response to the changes in Russia and the former Soviet republics, the CJC’s local and national Soviet Jewry Committees were wound up and their leadership began to focus on new issues, such as the integration of Soviet Jewish immigrants into Canada and the continuing struggle to fight antisemitism in the successor states of the former Soviet Union. To this end, the CJC formed a Political Liaison Committee in the early 1990s. Internationally, however, many Russian Jewish advocacy groups continued to operate on the foundation of activism and community organization established during the decades of solidarity built around the Soviet Jewry cause.

Custodial History

The records in this series were accumulated and maintained in the offices of the CJC under the jurisdiction of Samuel Resnick, in his role as the Director of the Community Action for Israel Committee, and as the main CJC staff employee for overseeing the Action Committee for Soviet Jewry and Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry, which eventually coalesced as simply the Committee for Soviet Jewry circa 1977. By 1980, Resnick’s title was Director of the Committee for Soviet Jewry, Central Region, making him the primary full-time staffer of the CJC involved in the Soviet Jewry cause.

Scope and Content

Series consists of extensive planning, administrative and operational records including meeting minutes, correspondence, budgets and membership lists. Records pertaining to activities include numerous event and protest photographs, articles, petitions, posters and other press materials. Records related to the gathering of information regarding Soviet Jewry include transcripts of telegrams and telephone conversations, background fact sheets and many individual case files.

This series has been arranged into six sub-series. Sub-series 1 consists of Ontario Region committee meeting agendas and minutes. Sub-series 2 consists of the correspondence files documenting various activities of that committee. Sub-series 3 consists of the agendas, minutes and general correspondence of the National Committee for Soviet Jewry. Sub-series 4 consists of records documenting affiliated Jewish organizations that collaborated with the CJC in protesting the persecution of Soviet Jews. Sub-series 5 consists of records documenting the various protest activities such as lobbying, letter writing, public rallies, marches and demonstrations. Sub-series 6 , Rufusnik Cases, consists of 3 sub-sub-series, containing individual case files, large published lists, and reference publications about Soviet Jews who were refused permission to emigrate (refusniks).

Notes

Physical extent note: although over 28 m of Soviet Jewry records were originally transferred to the OJA, more than 23 m of those records have been culled due to their origin (non-Canadian sources), format (outside periodicals and publications), because they were merely externally-created reference materials, or because they were part of the very large volumes of duplicates that made up the majority of the box contents. Records documenting the activities of other CJC Committees have also been removed for future processing within more appropriately-titled series within Fonds 17.

Subjects

Committees

Jews--Soviet Union

Arrangement

Because the Soviet Jewry records donated by the Canadian Jewish Congress had not been maintained in a discernable original order, they had to be reorganized into their current arrangement by the processing archivist.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Jewish Community Centre of Toronto fonds

Jewish Community Centre Archives Committee series

Photograph collection sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

61

Series

2-2

File

79

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1967-1977

Physical Description

3 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm

Scope and Content

This file consists of photographs of lecture audiences at the YMHA Bloor and Spadina and northern branches.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Anti-Semitism cases sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-3

File

34

Material Format

textual record

Date

28 Oct. 1951

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of one report of the National JPRC Eastern Region regarding its activities and relationship with the French Canadian population and French organizations.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Subjects

French Canadians

Jews--Canada

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

391

Material Format

textual record

Date

1950-1953

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

2016-12-39

Material Format

graphic material

Physical Description

9 photographs : b&w (4 negatives) ; 20 x 25 cm and 10 x 15 cm + 1 Identification key

Date

[194-]-[195-]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of five photographs of Nachman Shemen.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2018-4-8

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1954, 1968, 1993

Scope and Content

Accession consists of a writing by Shemen in Yiddish, a newsclipping, an empty envelope originating from the USSR, as well as a flyer and two complimentary tickets to a gala cantorial concert honouring Nathan Stolnitz at Beth Emeth-Bais Yehudah Synagogue. Also included are a series of typed memoriam following Shemen's death, written by an unknown individual, possibly Ben Kayfetz

Name Access

Shemen, Nachman, Rabbi, 1912-1993

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Anti-Semitism cases sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-3

File

101

Material Format

textual record

Date

1954

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence regarding an antisemitic comment made by Edson L. Haines, Q.C. during a lecture at the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Name Access

Haines, Edson L

Law Society of Upper Canada

Subjects

Lawyers

Lectures and lecturing

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

General office subject and correspondence files series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

2

File

1308

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1959

Physical Description

19 photographs : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of nineteen photographs of window exhibits of photographs and Jewish artifacts in storefronts (some which may be Eatons', Simpsons' and Fairweather stores), as well as guests and speakers at a celebration of the National Bicentenary of Canadian Jewry, 1759 - 1959. Individuals depicted include: the Governor General of Canada, Georges Vanier; his wife Pauline Vanier; the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Keiller MacKay; the Premier of Ontario Leslie Frost; the Mayor of Toronto Nathan Phillips; Samuel Bronfman; J.I. Oelbaum; Myer Gasner; Monroe Abbey; Rabbi Reuben Slonim; Rabbi Albert Pappenhein; as well as a shot of a large audience seated in an auditorium; a young girl presenting Mrs. Vanier with a bouquet of roses and a man speaking to the crowd, possibly a rabbi, as he is holding a bible in his hand.

Notes

COPYRIGHT NOTE: Photographs have been annotated as Graphic Artists Photographers (Toronto, ON).

Subjects

Jews--Canada

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds

Jewish community involvement series

Level

File

Fonds

92

Series

4

File

6

Material Format

textual record

Date

1967-1973

Physical Description

3 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

In 1970 many Jewish groups in Ontario organized to help refusniks who were being persecuted in the Soviet Union and to pressure local, national and international governments to address Soviet antisemitism. In early 1971, the Action Committee for Soviet Jewry (ACSJ) was formed by the (then) Central Region of the CJC to coordinate the activities of, and provide stable funding and administrative support for, these various ad hoc committees and action groups that had sprung up across Ontario.

The ACSJ originally reported to the CJC’s Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry (SCSJ), but by the mid-1970s the reporting of the two committees was reversed, with the steering committee reporting to the action committee. By 1977, the action committee and the steering committee were merged into the newly-renamed CJC Ontario Region’s Committee for Soviet Jewry (occasionally referred to as the Toronto Committee). J. B. Salsberg was the first SCSJ Chairman, serving in this capacity until 1976.

Scope and Content

File consists of records documenting J. B. Salsberg's involvement in the CJC's Committee for Soviet Jewry. Included are booklets, handwritten notes, newspaper clippings, articles, correspondence, meeting minutes of the National Committee on Soviet Jewry and the Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry, reports, newsletters, conference booklets, and a brochure.

Subjects

Committees

Jews--Soviet Union

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds

Jewish community involvement series

Level

File

Fonds

92

Series

4

File

7

Material Format

textual record

Date

1975

Physical Description

3 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

In 1970 many Jewish groups in Ontario organized to help refusniks who were being persecuted in the Soviet Union and to pressure local, national and international governments to address Soviet antisemitism. In early 1971, the Action Committee for Soviet Jewry (ACSJ) was formed by the (then) Central Region of the CJC to coordinate the activities of, and provide stable funding and administrative support for, these various ad hoc committees and action groups that had sprung up across Ontario.

The ACSJ originally reported to the CJC’s Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry (SCSJ), but by the mid-1970s the reporting of the two committees was reversed, with the steering committee reporting to the action committee. By 1977, the action committee and the steering committee were merged into the newly-renamed CJC Ontario Region’s Committee for Soviet Jewry (occasionally referred to as the Toronto Committee). J. B. Salsberg was the first SCSJ Chairman, serving in this capacity until 1976.

Scope and Content

File consists of records documenting J. B. Salsberg's involvement in the CJC's Committee for Soviet Jewry. Included are newspaper clippings, bulletins, executive committee meeting minutes of the Committee for Soviet Jewry, a booklet, and a programme for the 23rd anniversary of the execution of Soviet Jewish poets, novelists and artists at the Beth Tzedec Synagogue.

Subjects

Committees

Jews--Soviet Union

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds

Jewish community involvement series

Level

File

Fonds

92

Series

4

File

8

Material Format

textual record

Date

1986-1991

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Admin History/Bio

In 1970 many Jewish groups in Ontario organized to help Refusniks who were being persecuted in the Soviet Union and to pressure local, national and international governments to address Soviet antisemitism. In early 1971, the Action Committee for Soviet Jewry (ACSJ) was formed by the (then) Central Region of the CJC to coordinate the activities of, and provide stable funding and administrative support for, these various ad hoc committees and action groups that had sprung up across Ontario.

The ACSJ originally reported to the CJC’s Steering Committee for Soviet Jewry (SCSJ), but by the mid-1970s the reporting of the two committees was reversed, with the steering committee reporting to the action committee. By 1977, the action committee and the steering committee were merged into the newly-renamed CJC Ontario Region’s Committee for Soviet Jewry (occasionally referred to as the Toronto Committee). J. B. Salsberg was the first SCSJ Chairman, serving in this capacity until 1976.

Scope and Content

File consists of records documenting J.B. Salsberg's involvement in the CJC's Committee for Soviet Jewry. Included are booklets, reports, agendas, correspondence, meeting minutes, conference material for the Regional Conference on Israel and Soviet Jewry, and newspaper clippings.

Subjects

Committees

Jews--Soviet Union

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Samuel Crystal fonds

1967 UJA Mission series

Level

Item

Fonds

145

Series

1

Item

30

Material Format

graphic material

Other Title Information

Title based on contents of image.

Date

1967

Physical Description

1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 9 cm

Scope and Content

Item is a photograph depicting a view of Jerusalem visible through stone ruins. The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhrah) is visible in the distance.

Notes

Availability of other formats: Also available as TIFF file.

Name Access

Qubbat al-Sakhrah (Mosque : Jerusalem)

Subjects

Cities and towns

Mosques

Repro Restriction

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

Places

Jerusalem

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Affiliated organizations sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-4

File

10

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

Date

1976-1984

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

35 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 13 cm or smaller

Scope and Content

File includes correspondence, sample invitation cards, lecture notes and photographs concerning the luncheon lecture programs of the committee. Guests lecturers in this program included Leon S. Lipson, Yoram Dinstein, Natalia Sharansky, Robert McKay, Alan Eagleson, Burton Caine, David Smith, Flora MacDonald, Charles L. Caccia, Fred King, Lynn McDonald and Jim Peterson. Floar McDonald and David Smith are photographed on one contact sheet of 34 photographs during their talk. The other photograph is of Professor of Law Burton Caine.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Committee for Soviet Jewry series

Protest activities sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

3-5

File

72

Material Format

textual record

Date

26 June 1977

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File contains a typed address given to the Executive Committee of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council.

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

392

Material Format

textual record

Date

1949-1965

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

1993-7-4

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

75 m of textual records

Scope and Content

Accession consists of the records created and collected by Rabbi Nachum Shemen. Included are correspondence, newsclippings, writings, and organizational records.

Among the organizational records are subject files including: Vegetarianism (1944); Warsawer-Lodzer mutual Benefit Association; Rabbi Berel Wein; Kurt Weinberg; Weizmann Institute of Science; Windsor; Anselm Wise obituary (1977); Attitudes Toward Women; World Jewish Congress; Rabbi Dr. W. W. Wurzburger; Yad Vashem; Yavneh - Nir-Etzion Projects; Yeshiva Gedorah Ateres Yaakov, Yeshiva of Staten Island; Yeshiva Torah Chaim; Yeshiva Tiferes Shmiel D'Aleksander; Yeshiva University; Yeshivas; Yiddish Cultural Council; Yizkor Fund; Yivo Institute; York University; Rabbi Aaron Zimmerman; Zionist Organization of Canada; Zionist Revisionist organization of Canada; Rabbi Zolty; Louis Zuker.

Use Conditions

Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.

Subjects

Rabbis

Yeshivas

Yiddish language

Name Access

Shemen, Nachman, Rabbi, 1912-1993

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

1993-1-3

Material Format

object

textual record

Physical Description

11 artifacts

1.2 m of textual records

Date

[19--?]

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records and artifacts related to the work of Rabbi Nachman Shemen.

Use Conditions

Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2015-9-10

Material Format

textual record

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Date

1930-1989

Scope and Content

Accession consists of various lettters, one in Polish and others in Hebrew and Yiddish. One of the letters appears to have been addressed to Rabbi Shemen's mother (Gitl), although undated, it appears to be from the late 1920s or early 1930s. A letter in Yiddish is addressed to the Boimoil family of Chodel, Poland. Boimol was the original last name of Rabbi Shemen.

Custodial History

It appears that the documents came directly from Rabbi Nachman Shemen

Administrative History

Rabbi Shemen was a Rabbinic scholar, author and Jewish civil servant. He held the following positions: Executive secretary of the Canadian Federation of Polish jews (1940-1993), Director of Orthodox Division of CJC, Ontario (1950-1992). Rabbi Shemen died in 1993.

Subjects

Families

Letters

Rabbis

Name Access

Shemen, Nachman, Rabbi, 1912-1993

Places

Toronto, Ont.

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds

Writing and lecturing series

Level

File

Fonds

92

Series

5

File

12

Material Format

textual record

Date

1951-1952, [1990?]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of newspaper clippings and correspondence between N. Shemen and J. B. Salsberg regarding Salsberg's review of Shemen's work.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care fonds

Men's Service Group series

Programs and events sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

14

Series

5-8

File

1

Material Format

textual record

Date

1957-1976

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of flyers advertising special talks and lectures given by guest speakers on various topics such as, the Kennedy assassination, Israel, and the unity of the Jewish community.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds

Writing and lecturing series

Level

Series

Fonds

92

Series

5

Material Format

textual record

object

Date

[195-?]-[1990?]

Physical Description

4 cm of textual records

1 plaque

Scope and Content

Series consists of records documenting J.B. Salsberg's writing and lecturing activities. The bulk of the records are textual and include: correspondence, newspaper clippings, booklets, a Smolar Award plaque, notes, articles, transcripts, lists, and a course outline.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

1391

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1974

Physical Description

1 slide : col.

Subjects

Display boards

Jews--Soviet Union

Women

Places

Toronto (Ont.)

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Anti-Semitism cases sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

5-3

File

188

Material Format

textual record

Date

1952

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence regarding an ad in a Polish newspaper encouraging customers to "buy from a Polish pharmacist."

Notes

Previously processed and cited as part of MG8 S.

Subjects

Advertising

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Julius P. Katz fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

55

Series

2

File

176

Material Format

textual record

Date

1941-1942

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

This file consists of correspondence between Katz who served as President of the Federation of Polish Jews of Toronto with the head of the Polish Consulate in Montreal.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto fonds

Photographs series

Level

File

Fonds

9

Series

12

File

61

Material Format

graphic material

Date

1956, 1967, 1970

Physical Description

5 photographs : b&w ; 21 x 26 cm and 14 x 22 cm

Scope and Content

File consists of photographs of Polish immigrants. Included are images of Maurice Benzacar meeting new immigrants at the airport and one photograph of a group of youth holding Hanukkah gifts. There is a United HIAS Service banner hanging in the background.

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

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

General office subject and correspondence files series

Level

File

Fonds

17

Series

2

File

82

Material Format

textual record

Date

1996

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Access Restriction

Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.

Accession Number

2005-2-2

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

148

Material Format

textual record

graphic material

object

Date

[1940?]-1952, predominant 1946-1947

Physical Description

56 cm of textual records

Admin History/Bio

Founded in 1924, the Ostrowtzer Hilfs Farein was a landsmanshaft society named after the town of Ostrowiec in Poland. Initially a function of the Ostrovtzer Shul, the society’s mission was to provide support to Ostrovtzers who had immigrated to Toronto, offering small loans and medical assistance and fostering a sense of community. The society began with thirty-eight members, offering assistance to Ostrovtzers arriving in Toronto. Over a decade, membership grew to one hundred, enabling the society to hire a doctor for medical services.

While immigration policies and the outbreak of war slowed membership growth, it surged again with the arrival of Holocaust survivors. Postwar, the Ostrowtzer Society extended relief and aid to refugees in displacement camps, Europe, and Israel. Around this time, it became known as the United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee.

In 1946, the society organized a landmark conference in Toronto, leading to the formation of the Central Committee of Ostrowtzer Hilfs Fareinen in North and South America. Max Hartstone served as the committee's executive secretary.

The society expanded its reach, creating a young men's branch and evolving into the Ostrovtzer Independent Mutual Benefit Society. In recent years, it has provided support for Israel, the Baycrest Foundation, UJA Federation, and more. It also owns cemetery land, ensuring that each of its members receives a proper Jewish burial. The society also established an endowment fund through the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto.

Custodial History

The records were donated by Nancy Freeman, Max Hartstone’s daughter, on 17 October 2017. A subsequent donation was made on 19 April 2022. Nancy recalls that the letters, received by her father Max Hartstone in his capacity as secretary of the United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee, were stored in large bakery boxes in their garage.

Scope and Content

Fonds consists of records documenting the activities of the United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee. The fonds primarily contains correspondence from other Ostrovtzer societies and Holocaust survivors from Ostrowiec, Poland, located throughout North and South America, Europe, and Palestine. Photographs are included with some of the correspondence. Other materials include minutes, notices of meetings, financial records, invitations, events memorabilia, speeches, and newspaper clippings. The materials document the efforts of the United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee, in collaboration with Ostrovtzer societies worldwide, to provide assistance and support to Holocaust survivors from Ostrowiec. These records also offer insight into the immediate, postwar experiences of Holocaust survivors

The fonds is arranged into five series. The series are: 1. Letters from individuals; 2. Letters from organizations; 3. Administrative; 4. Events; and 5. Newspaper clippings.

Name Access

Hartstone, Max, 1907-1982

Subjects

Fraternal organizations

Holocaust survivors

Jews--Poland

Access Restriction

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

Repro Restriction

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

Physical Condition

Some of the textual records are fragile and are enclosed in plastic.

Arrangement

Nancy Freeman had bundled the correspondence upon donation; however, given that there did not appear to be a specific order to the bundles, the archivist rearranged the materials to improve accessibility.

Creator

United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee

Places

Ostrowiec (Sokolów Podlaski, Poland)

Accession Number

2017-10-5

2022-4-5

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

Harold S. Kaplan fonds

Architectural projects series

Loew's Uptown Theatre (Toronto) sub-series

Alterations to Uptown Theatre and plan of existing theatre sub-sub-series

Level

Sub-sub-series

Fonds

27

Series

1-2-2

Material Format

architectural drawing

graphic material

Date

1936

Physical Description

2 drawings : pencil on tracing paper ; 49 x 42 cm and 67x41 cm

2 photographs : b&w ; 18 x 13 cm

Scope and Content

Sub-sub-series consists of floor plans and sections of theatre and Balmuto Street entrance and two photographs of the Yonge Street entrance to the theatre.

Notes

Title derived from formal titles of the drawings.

Project reference code AR 1497.

Creation date for the photographs is based on the release date of the movie then playing at the theatre.

The drawings and photographs have been grouped together based on their date of creation, but there is no project reference code on the photographs.

Name Access

Uptown Theatre (Toronto)

Accession Number

2003-6-1

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

57

Material Format

textual record

Date

1996

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence and flyers from David Silberklang's lecture "What Could Have Been Done?: Jewish and Non-Jewish Responses to the Holocaust."

Name Access

Silberklang, David

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds

Community Relations Committee series

Anti-Semitism cases sub-series

Level

Item

Fonds

17

Series

5-3

File

51

Item

4

Material Format

textual record

Date

20 Aug. 1993

Physical Description

1 newspaper clipping

Scope and Content

Item is a newspaper clipping from the 20 August 1993 edition of the Toronto Sun about a contempt of court hearing for Wolfgang Droege and the Heritage Front. The article was written by Bill Dunphy.

Notes

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

Name Access

Droege, Wolfgang, 1949-2005

Heritage Front (Toronto, Ont.)

Subjects

Neo-Nazis

Repro Restriction

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

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Joseph Baruch Salsberg fonds

Writing and lecturing series

Level

File

Fonds

92

Series

5

File

8

Material Format

textual record

Date

1956-[ca. 1985]

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of lecture notes, a reading list and a course outline for school courses related to Marxism and Canadian working class history.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Zionist Organization of Canada fonds

Central Region sous-fonds

Zionist Book Club series

Level

File

Fonds

28-1

Series

3

File

4

Material Format

textual record

Date

1970

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

The file consists of correspondence and abstracts of book reviews It also contains a newspaper clipping taken from an unknown newspaper of the review of "The encyclopeadia of Zionism and Israel" by Reuven Surkis.

Name Access

Reuven Surkis

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Toronto Holocaust Museum series

Second Generation sub-series

Level

File

Fonds

67

Series

28-10

File

16

Material Format

textual record

Date

1990

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of correspondence, promotional materials, clippings and press releases related to author and lecturer Helen Epstein's lecture.

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

22

Material Format

textual record

Date

1986

Physical Description

1 folder textual records

Scope and Content

File consists of a memo and flyers promoting Rabbi Menahem Fogel's lecture on "The Righteous Among the Nations: The Rescue of Jews during the Holocaust."

Subjects

Lectures and lecturing

Rabbis

Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

Julius P. Katz fonds

Subject files series

Level

File

Fonds

55

Series

2

File

177

Material Format

textual record

Date

1942

Physical Description

1 folder of textual records

Scope and Content

This file consists of newspaper page from The Polish Jewish Observer, a section of The City and East London Observer from 1942. Many of the articles report on the plight of Polish Jews (in Poland, Soviet Russia, Lithuania).

Source

Archival Descriptions

Level

Item

Item

1719

Material Format

graphic material

Date

[189-?]

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 25 x 18 cm (oval)

Scope and Content

This item is a photograph of an unidentified Polish man.

Notes

Photo #1720 is probably his wife.

Subjects

Portraits

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

Poland

Accession Number

1979-4-1

Source

Archival Descriptions