IPF Atid is a new Canadian group aiming to give young Jews a place to discuss the complexities of Israel
An organization that fosters community for young Jewish people who want to engage more deeply with Israel has recently opened its first Canadian chapter in Toronto. IPF Atid, which is the youth wing of Israel Policy Forum, was founded to address the need for spaces that could accommodate nuanced conversations about Israel—especially regarding the Israeli-Palestinian […]
New play set in Christie Pits takes Toronto students back in time to the 1933 riot
A new immersive play is transporting students back to the Toronto of 1933 to teach them about the infamous Christie Pits riot, which saw Jews and Italians battling antisemitic Protestants as a hours-long fight broke out at a baseball game. The idea to make a show about the event first came from Joe Rosenthal, whose […]
The story behind the Israeli-Canadians taking to the streets beneath the banner of UnXeptable
Every Sunday since the start of 2023—rain or shine—a group of demonstrators has gathered in a public square in Toronto to protest the current government in Israel and its plans for judicial overhaul. It’s the same scene in Vancouver where a group carrying Israeli flags and signs that read “Saving Israeli Democracy” meets every Sunday […]
Shael Rosenbaum, a member of the third generation of survivors, takes over ‘the Holocaust business’ at the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem
Rosenbaum feels Holocaust education and commemoration is his duty and responsibility.
This group of 25 Jewish women is celebrating 7 decades of friendship—one that’s seen them through good times and bad
Many of us count ourselves lucky to have a few close friends. But in what might be one of the most remarkable stories about friendship, a group of 25 Jewish women have been friends for over 70 years. They were just 12 and 13 years old when they met in 1952 at Toronto’s YMHA. The […]
Henry Wellisch, a Toronto Holocaust survivor who was interned on Mauritius, witnessed the tumultuous founding of Israel
Henry Wellisch survived the Holocaust because of an extraordinary run of good fortune and a restrictive policy on immigration to British Mandate Palestine, that saw him exiled to the tropical island of Mauritius. The centenarian, who now lives in Toronto, reflected on the twists of fate during the war years. “It wasn’t the best place […]
Toronto’s Downtown Jewish Community School will be closing after 44 years
After 44 years, Toronto’s Downtown Jewish Community School (DJCS), an afterschool Hebrew program, is closing its doors. Like many schools and businesses, the DJCS was deeply impacted by the pandemic. “Our numbers after the pandemic haven’t rebounded from what they were before COVID,” said Avi Spector, DJCS board president. The school, which was housed […]
Toronto rally echoes protests in Israel with calls for democracy to be restored
Israeli group UnXceptable drew 300 people to Nathan Phillips Square.
Kosher food banks are finding it a challenge to keep up with the growing need for help in 2022
Kosher food banks across the country say the last few months have been unprecedented as growing numbers of people turn to them looking for help while food prices soar and wages fail to keep up. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver food banks all report that they are stretched ever thinner—and, in some cases, they have had […]
The only city where you can still find a Grodzinski family member still running Britain’s most historic kosher bakery is Toronto
England’s Jewish community marked the end of an era in September. Grodzinski, the storied kosher bakery founded in 1888, was sold—which meant, for the first time in 134 years, a member of the namesake family would no longer be at the helm of the original business. Now, the only place where the family is still […]
