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 […]
A sukkah party at Christie Pits connected a group of Jews who work in social services in Toronto
Ola Skudlarska has worked for years in homeless shelters, and has had lots of conversations about faith at work—but rarely have those discussions been with other Jews. So, they decided to throw a sukkah party in a downtown Toronto park, to help fellow staffers from shelters, soup kitchens and hospices connect with each other in […]
Toronto’s Beth Tzedec Congregation is offering free membership to those under 40
One of the largest Conservative synagogues in the world, which currently has over 4,000 members, recently announced it is offering free membership to Torontonians under 40 years of age. Beth Tzedec Congregation’s initiative, which is called the Generations Membership, comes with a renewed commitment to outreach and engagement for members in that age group. Rabbi […]
Multiple attempted break-ins at a Toronto shul are low priority for police—as Rabbi Shmuel Neft recently found
UPDATE (8/9/22): Toronto city councillor James Pasternak confirmed a suspect has been arrested and charged—read the initial Aug. 3 story on the break-ins below. Rabbi Shmuel Neft thought the police would be more concerned by multiple attempted break-ins of a space that operates as both a shul and Jewish community centre. The director and spiritual […]
El Al to stop flying out of Canada, with no trips from Toronto starting this fall
El Al’s decision to stop operating flights out of Toronto, effective Oct. 27, 2022, is a serious blow to the tourism industry still recovering from a pandemic that restricted travel, says an Israeli diplomat in Canada. Gal Hana, the Israeli consul of tourism for Canada, says his office had been in touch with the airline over […]
Toronto’s new Holocaust museum is receiving $2.5 million from Ottawa
The $2.5-million promised in the federal budget for Toronto’s new Holocaust centre was formally announced by Marco Mendicino, minister of public safety, and MP Ya’ara Saks at a news conference on June 10. Mendocino, who made the announcement on behalf of Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez, began by discussing rising antisemitism and the dissemination […]
Toronto man arrested after suspected ‘hate-motivated incident’ at Yeshiva Gedolah
A man was arrested May 25, for a suspected hate-motivated incident after he allegedly threatened students and assaulted a staff member with a weapon at a yeshiva in Toronto. A news release from Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre identified the location as Yeshiva Gedolah of Toronto in the Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue area. According […]
A new day school in York Region is being opened by two Chabad preschool teachers
A new Jewish day school will open in York Region north of Toronto in fall 2022, betting that its Torah-based curriculum and child-centred approach can help it survive in an area where so many other Jewish day schools have recently closed. Bialik Hebrew Day School is the lone remaining Jewish day school that is not […]
The House, which offered programming for Toronto’s young Jewish adults, closes after 18 years
Eighteen years ago, Rabbi Rafi Lipner founded an organization called The House for young Jewish adults in Toronto. But on April 13, just before the start of Passover, he sent out an email announcing The House would be closing its doors. Rabbi Lipner launched the effort in September 2004, providing a space for Jews of […]
Al-Quds Day Rally in Toronto less vitriolic than in past years—but still not ‘benign’, Jewish groups say
This year’s Al-Quds Day rally in Toronto, held on April 30 outside the city’s University Avenue courthouse, was not as hateful or antisemitic as many concerned organizations and advocates feared it would be, based on past iterations of the event. The day before the event, Toronto police chief James Ramer held a press conference to […]
