Description
Book SynopsisCanada is home to one of the world’s largest and most culturally creative Jewish communities, one of the few in the Diaspora that continues to grow demographically. With its ability to mirror trends found in Jewish communities elsewhere (particularly in the United States) while simultaneously functioning as a distinct society, Canada’s Jewish community holds great interest for scholars, exercising a measurable influence on the culture and politics of world Jewry.
Consisting of a series of essays written by experts in their respective fields, Canada’s Jews is a topical encyclopaedia covering a wide variety of topics from history and religion to the intellectual and cultural contributions of Canada’s Jews.
Trade Review“This collection of 26 essays offers a comprehensive snapshot of the history of Jews in Canada, their contemporary situation, their spiritual/cultural life, and their representation in Canadian literature. . . . The essays are written in a clear style largely by experts in their respective fields. . . . This book would serve equally well as a University text book on Canadian Jewish Studies for the uninitiated and as an introduction to the topic for the curious lay person.” -- Leah Cohen * The Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews, September/October 2014, Volume IV, No. 3 *
“Canada’s Jews has the potential to be a “go-to” resource for Canadian Jewish studies, to be used as a textbook and reference book. It is up to those in the field to promote and encourage its use.” -- Susan Landau-Chark, Metivta of Ottawa * The American Jewish Archives Journal (Vol. LXVI, Nos. 1 & 2) *
Table of ContentsPreface. I. In Time: Canada ’s Jews and Their History. 1. Jews and New France. 2. Jewish beginnings under the British (eighteenth century). 3. Jews in British North America (nineteenth century). 4. Eastern European Jewish immigration and its impact: Farming Colonies and the West. 5. Eastern European Jewish immigration and its impact: Quebec and Ontario ; Jewish labor. 6. Jews and the Political and Social Life of Canada (to 1945): anti-Semitism; Zionism; Canadian Jewish Congress. 7. Jews in Postwar Canada: Holocaust survivors, Sephardim, Russians and Israelis, Federations and Communal Governance. II. In Space: a Survey of Jews in Contemporary Canada. 1. Toronto. 2. Montreal. 3. Vancouver. 4. Winnipeg. 5. Maritimes. 6. Central Canada (not including Toronto and Montreal ). 7. Prairies (not including Winnipeg ). 8. West and North (not including Vancouver ). III. In Spirit: the Religious and Cultural Expressions of Canadian Jews. A. Religious. 1. Ashkenazic Orthodox: Hasidic, Modern, Kashrut. 2. Sephardic. 3. Non-Orthodox: Conservative, Reconstructionist and Reform. B. Languages, Literatures and Cultures. 1. Yiddish. 2. Jews in Canadian literature. 3. Jews in Quebec literature. 4. Canadian Jewish Studies. Conclusion. For further reading. List of contributors. Index.
