Aviva Chernick on what it’s like growing up Jewish in London, Ont.

What Jewish life is like in a city of 2,000 Jews—but still three synagogues.
Aviva Chernick. (Photo by Dahlia Katz)

Aviva Chernick is an award-winning queer Jewish artist living in Toronto. But she didn’t grow up there: Aviva hails from the relatively small but still-strong Jewish community of London, Ontario. Despite having only around 2,000 Jewish residents, London has three synagogues, vibrant programming and a tight-knit community filled with eager volunteers.

In this episode of Yehupetzville, The CJN’s podcast series spotlighting small Jewish communities across Canada, Aviva chats about all these aspects of her upbringing, plus the stark differences between being Jewish in London and Toronto.

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Yehupetzville is hosted by Ralph Benmergui. Michael Fraiman is the producer and editor. Our music was arranged by Louis Simão and performed by Louis Simão and Jacob Gorzhaltsan. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network.

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