None is Too Many

None is Too Many
Author: Irving M. Abella
Publisher: New York : Random House
Total Pages: 370
Release: 1983
Genre: History
ISBN:

This book traces the evolution and execution of Canadian immigration policy during the Great Depression, when the pressure of unemployment prevented large-scaleimmigration of any kind, through World War II and its aftermath. During this period, immigration regulations were restrictive, with Jews, Orientals and blacks at the bottom of the list. The authors describe how, as in all democracies, Canada's policies and her public servants were subject to the will of the people and to political considerations.

The Jew in Canada

The Jew in Canada
Author: Arthur Daniel Hart
Publisher:
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2010-05
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780978443542

Originally published in 1926, The Jew in Canada is the most thorough and ambitious book ever assembled about the Jews of Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Vancouver and numerous other Canadian cities. A treasure trove of history and genealogy, The Jew in Canada is filled with capsule biographies of hundreds of prominent personalities and community leaders, each augmented with an elegant portrait photograph. Interspersed are descriptions and illustrations of many historic synagogues, community organizations and endeavours. This is an abridged facsimile edition of an original long out of print and almost impossible to attain second-hand. It is certain to be a valuable resource for genealogists, historians, students and everyone else with an interest in Canadian Jewish history. The present edition contains all of the biographical and genealogical material of the original; only several historical essays have been omitted. Paperback, 8.25 x 11 in., 466 pages.

Taking Root

Taking Root
Author: Gerald J. J. Tulchinsky
Publisher: UPNE
Total Pages: 392
Release: 1993
Genre: Canada
ISBN: 9780874516098

Jews seeking a new life in Canada faced problems beyond those of other immigrants. Farm colonists often lived in communities too small to afford a rabbi or ritual slaughterer, or even to form a minyan for worship. In French Canada, Protestant and Catholic school boards battled over who was responsible for educating Jewish children. In the cities, the socialist philosophies of Jews fleeing the poverty and oppression of Europe were anathema to aggressive New World capitalists. And when suspicion or resentment arose, there was always someone to revive the old antisemitic slurs and myths. Taking Root is the meticulously researched record of how Canadian Jewry coped with these obstacles, and flourished despite them. The book covers the 160 years from the beginnings of the community in the 1760s to the end of the First World War, including the great European upheavals that forever changed the lives of the Jews of Eastern Europe and their migration to Canada. Canada's Jews took root in a nation with a distinctive history, political structure, and cultural diversity Gerald Tulchinsky weaves the threads of Canadian Jewish history into the wider Canadian fabric, and shows how the unique character of this history reflects the political, economic, and social development of the country. Drawing on letters, synagogue records, diaries, newspapers, and biographies, as well as a host of archival sources, Tulchinsky makes Taking Root not just a historical account, but a very personal one.

Double Threat

Double Threat
Author: Ellin Bessner
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2019-01-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1487533624

"He died so Jewry should suffer no more." These words on a Canadian Jewish soldier's tombstone in Normandy inspired the author to explore the role of Canadian Jews in the war effort. As PM Mackenzie King wrote in 1947, Jewish servicemen faced a "double threat" - they were not only fighting against Fascism but for Jewish survival. At the same time, they encountered widespread antisemitism and the danger of being identified as Jews if captured. Bessner conducted hundreds of interviews and extensive archival research to paint a complex picture of the 17,000 Canadian Jews - about 10 per cent of the Jewish population in wartime Canada - who chose to enlist, including future Cabinet minister Barney Danson, future game-show host Monty Hall, and comedians Wayne and Shuster. Added to this fascinating account are Jews who were among the so-called "Zombies" - Canadians who were drafted, but chose to serve at home - the various perspectives of the Jewish community, and the participation of Canadian Jewish women.

Faces in the Crowd

Faces in the Crowd
Author: Franklin Bialystok
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2022-06-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1442604441

Starting with the first steps on Canadian soil in the eighteenth century to the present day, Faces in the Crowd introduces the reader to the people and personalities who made up the Canadian Jewish experience, from the Jewish roots of the NHL’s Ross trophy to Leonard Cohen and all the rabbis, artists, writers, and politicians in between. Drawing on a lifetime of wisdom and experience at the heart of the Canadian Jewish community, Franklin Bialystok adds new research, unique insights, and, best of all, memorable stories to the history of the Jews in Canada.

None Is Too Many

None Is Too Many
Author: Irving Abella
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 483
Release: 2023-08-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1487554419

Today, we think of Canada as a compassionate, open country to which refugees from other countries have always been welcome. However, between the years 1933 and 1948, when the Jews of Europe were looking for a place of refuge from Nazi persecution, Canada refused to offer aid, let alone sanctuary, to those in fear for their lives. Rigorously documented and brilliantly researched, None Is Too Many tells the story of Canada’s response to the plight of European Jews during the Nazi era and its immediate aftermath, exploring why and how Canada turned its back and hardened its heart against the entry of Jewish refugees. Recounting a shameful period in Canadian history, Irving Abella and Harold Troper trace the origins and results of Canadian immigration policies towards Jews and conclusively demonstrate that the forces against admitting them were pervasive and rooted in antisemitism. First published in 1983, None Is Too Many has become one of the most significant books ever published in Canada. This fortieth anniversary edition celebrates the book’s ongoing impact on public discourse, generating debate on ethics and morality in government, the workings of Canadian immigration and refugee policy, the responsibility of bystanders, righting historical wrongs, and the historian as witness. Above all, the reader is asked: "What kind of Canada do we want to be?" This new anniversary edition features a foreword by Richard Menkis on the impact the book made when it was first published and an afterword by David Koffman explaining why the book remains critical today.

Canada's Jews

Canada's Jews
Author: Gerald J. J. Tulchinsky
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 669
Release: 2008-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0802093868

Canada's Jews covers the 240-year period from the beginnings of the Jewish community in the 1760s to the present day, illuminating the golden chain of Jewish tradition, religion, language, economy, and history as established and renewed in the northern lands.

None Is Too Many

None Is Too Many
Author: Irving Abella
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2017-06-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 148751669X

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award (Holocaust Category) Winner of the Canadian Historical Association John A. Macdonald Prize Featured in The Literary Review of Canada 100: Canada’s Most Important Books [This] is a story best summed up in the words of an anonymous senior Canadian official who, in the midst of a rambling, off-the-record discussion with journalists in 1945, was asked how many Jews would be allowed into Canada after the war … ‘None,’ he said, ‘is too many.’ From the Preface One of the most significant studies of Canadian history ever written, None Is Too Many conclusively lays to rest the comfortable notion that Canada has always been an accepting and welcoming society. Detailing the country’s refusal to offer aid, let alone sanctuary, to Jews fleeing Nazi persecution between 1933 and 1948, it is an immensely bleak and discomfiting story – and one that was largely unknown before the book’s publication. Irving Abella and Harold Troper’s retelling of this episode is a harrowing read not easily forgotten: its power is such that, ‘a manuscript copy helped convince Ron Atkey, Minister of Employment and Immigration in Joe Clark’s government, to grant 50,000 “boat people” asylum in Canada in 1979, during the Southeast Asian refugee crisis’ (Robin Roger, The Literary Review of Canada). None Is Too Many will undoubtedly continue to serve as a potent reminder of the fragility of tolerance, even in a country where it is held as one of our highest values.