Mark Abraham comes from a long line of Jewish community leaders in Windsor, Ont. His grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, arrived in 1953, simultaneous to a great population boom migrating to the area for jobs in the auto industry. Mark’s father became deeply involved in the local Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, acting as president and sitting on its board of directors; his mother was president of her B’nai Brith Youth Organization chapter, among taking other roles over the years.

While past generations inform Mark of his responsibilities to the community, he’s more focused on the future: specifically, getting more Jews in his native city. The Jewish population has stayed stagnant at 1,500 people for years now, but with housing prices skyrocketing elsewhere in the country—and remaining relatively affordable in Windsor—the border city faces a unique opportunity to pitch an affordable lifestyle for young families and retirees looking to flee the Greater Toronto Area.

Mark Abraham shares his family’s story and explains his community’s situation on this week’s episode of Yehupetzville, The CJN’s podcast about Jews living in small communities across Canada and the world.

Credits

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. Our sponsor is PearTree Canada, which you can learn more about at peartreecanada.com. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, watch this video.