Jews and Judaism in Vancouver
Encyclopedia
The history of the Jews
in Vancouver
(also: Greater Vancouver
and Metro Vancouver) in British Columbia
, Canada
has been noted since the mid-19th century.
Early Jewish
settlers were isolated from established Jewish institutions and communities in eastern Canada and the United States. They were also often isolated from each other, scattered across the Greater Vancouver area. As the local cities developed, the Jewish community also grew and expanded beyond the original business districts to spread throughout the area. While some early Jewish settlers ran farms, poultry operations, and sawmills, most tended to work in merchant industries. Many started as street peddlers
and worked their way up to running small stores, a few of which grew into retail empires.
Most of the early Jewish immigrants came from the United States
and Britain
. By the end of World War I
immigrants from Eastern Europe
formed the majority of the Vancouver-area Jewish community due to discrimination in their homelands, notably the pogrom
s in Russia
, and changes in Canadian immigration policy.
were concentrated in the stores of the Gastown
area and the homes of the Strathcona neighbourhood: the East End of Vancouver. The first Jewish businessman in Vancouver
was Louis Gold, who opened a general store on the waterfront in 1872. His wife and son were also prominent businesspeople, and his son Edward willed valuable land to the Jewish community for charities and building projects. Edward was also elected Councilor in South Vancouver in 1914.
One notable early settler was David Oppenheimer
, who moved to Vancouver in 1885. As the city's second Mayor (1888–91), he was responsible for starting much civic infrastructure and industry. Oppenheimer also secured a Jewish burial area in the city-owned Mountain View Cemetery
and offered land to the community for a synagogue. He and his brothers were prominent in real estate, groceries, and transportation; their grocery business is still operating as The Oppenheimer Group. Another prominent settler was Zebulon Franks, who arrived in 1887 and opened a hardware store by 1896. Parts of his business still survive as Y. Franks Appliances and Y. Franks Parts & Service. Franks was also involved in development of Vancouver Jewish religious and community institutions, hosting the first Orthodox prayer services and serving as a founding member of B'nai Brith. Along with Henry Sigler, he also negotiated purchase of the land for the first synagogue in Vancouver.
. Agudace Achim (Orthodox) was the first congregation in Vancouver, active from 1891 to 1906. A semi-Reform
congregation soon followed, as Temple Emanu-El started in 1894 and was active through 1917. In 1907 a new Orthodox congregation appeared, named B'nai Yehudah (also known as Sons of Israel). However, the first Vancouver synagogue did not appear until 1911, when B'nai Yehudah was built at the corner of East Pender and Heatley Streets. Though it seated 200, larger halls had to be rented for High Holy Days. The building also housed several community organizations. Children's Judaic classes began shortly after the opening in nearby homes. In 1914, during an economic depression
, the synagogue was saved from foreclosure
by an emergency fundraising campaign. In 1917 B'nai Yehudah was incorporated as a society by the name of Schara Tzedeck. The Vancouver Hebrew School/Talmud Torah started at the synagogue in 1918. After thirty years as a boys' club and vocational school, the synagogue was developed into residences, and was honoured with a Vancouver Centennial plaque in 1986.
(1910), the Hebrew Aid and Immigrant Society (1910), the Zionist and Social Society (1913), and the Hebrew Free Loan Association (1915). Samuel Davies Schultz was appointed to Vancouver County Court in 1914, making him Canada's first Jewish judge. Max Grossman was the first Vancouver Jew to be appointed King's Counsel
, as a lawyer, in 1917. Grossman was involved in many community organizations and was a major force in the first Schara Tzedeck Synagoge, the Vancouver Hebrew School, and the first Jewish Community Centre.
area in the early 20th century, centered around Congregation Temple Emanu-El. The congregation started raising funds for a semi-Reform synagogue in 1911, but World War I
and economic depression interrupted their efforts. The congregation stopped services in 1917. Shortly afterwards, the rearrangement of European boundaries following the Russian revolution and the Treaty of Versailles
led to a wave of Eastern European Orthodox Jewish immigrants. The Jewish population of Vancouver was still too small to support multiple synagogues; therefore in 1919–1921 the remnants of the Reform congregation joined with the larger Orthodox congregation, Schara Tzedeck, to build a new synagogue in the East End for all Vancouver Jews. However the Temple Emanu-El Ladies Auxiliary continued to hold separate social and charitable events in the West End, as well as a children's Sabbath school, until the congregation dissolved entirely in 1932.
(Orthodox) was built in 1920 on the site of the old B'nai Yehudah synagogue in the East End. The old synagogue building remained for use by the Hebrew school and as a community hall. A Hadassah
chapter was founded in 1920, Jewish Community Chest and Vancouver Council of Jewish Women in 1924, the Hebrew Athletic Club and early meetings for Congregation Beth Israel (Conservative) in 1925. The first Jewish regular newspaper, called the Vancouver Jewish Community Centre, started in 1923. It later became the Jewish Western Bulletin, which published from 1930 to 2001. The Schara Tzedeck congregation, which had hosted and subsidized the Talmud Torah Hebrew school, took over the school's governance from 1928 to 1943.
A significant event was the 6–7 July 1921 visit by the Very Reverend Dr. Joseph H. Hertz
, Chief Rabbi of the United Congregation of the British Empire. In 1922 visiting vaudeville
performer Jack Benny
met Sadye Marks
at a Passover Seder
in the West End. They married in 1927 and she went on to vaudeville, radio, and movie stardom as his partner Mary Livingstone
.
Two prominent Jewish businesses were established during this period. First, in 1919, Sam Cohen opened the Army & Navy surplus and liquidation store. He built it into a mail-order and retail chain operating throughout western Canada; it is now run by his granddaughter Jacqui. Second, Ben and Morris Wosk started Wosk's in 1923 as an appliance store. It grew into a major publicly traded chain of furniture and appliance stores in western Canada, but is now defunct. The Wosks were also real estate moguls and philanthropists.
, especially Fairview. The Talmud Torah Hebrew school opened an annex here, near Broadway and Cambie Street, in 1923. After a long period of fundraising, the first Jewish Community Centre was built in 1928 at Oak Street and 11th Avenue. The Talmud Torah school annex moved into the Centre that same year. The Congregation Beth Israel was formally founded in 1932 and held services in the Centre. In 1937 the Schara Tzedeck
congregation decided to move to the Fairview area but was hampered by economic depression and war. Following the Wall Street Crash of 1929
, many upper-class families left the West End for the new neighbourhoods of Shaughnessy and Point Grey
.
The Jewish Administrative Council was established in 1932 to coordinate the Free Loan Association, Community Chest, and Community Centre.
in central Vancouver, south of the first Jewish Community Centre. The Talmud Torah school established its first independent facility in 1943 on West 14th Avenue between Oak and Cambie Streets. The Orthodox congregation Beth Hamidrash B'nai Ya'acov began in 1943, so its members could be within walking distance of their Fairview homes. The Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture
, previously known as the Vancouver Peretz Institute or Shule, was established in 1945 near Oak Street as a secular-humanist educational and cultural centre. A home for elderly Jews was founded nearby in 1946, partly funded by American comedian Eddie Cantor
. The Schara Tzedeck
congregation finally dedicated its new synagogue here in 1948, as well as the Beth Israel synagogue in 1949. The Talmud Torah school moved to a new Oak Street campus in 1948 and became a day school for elementary grades.
A Vancouver branch of the Canadian Jewish Congress
was established in 1941. In 1944, the first Jewish funeral chapel was opened by Schara Tzedeck.
period saw a greater influx of central and eastern Canadian Jews, as well as the first wave of Sephardic Jewish
immigration to British Columbia. The first Sephardic High Holy Day services were held in 1966 at the Jewish Community Centre. A Sephardic congregation soon formed and used the Beth Hamidrash synagogue, whose membership had been shrinking. In 1979 the Sephardic congregation merged with the Beth Hamidrash Ashkenazic
congregation.
. . Temple Sholom (Reform) was founded on Oak Street in 1964 http://www.templesholom.ca/
Wealthy families also moved to the Point Grey
and West Vancouver neighbourhoods. Leonoff's study of the Vancouver Jewish Community Telephone Directory suggests that only 10% of the local Jewish community lived outside Vancouver in 1960, though many families began moving to the suburbs as housing costs rose.
While the development of community services and congregations has often been a cooperative process, with help from organizations in neighbouring cities, there are some accounts of suburban communities feeling ignored by central organizations. The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver was established in 1987 to develop a wider community across the area. It was born from the merger of the United Jewish Appeal and the Jewish Community Fund and Council.
The Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver also offers services intended for the entire community. It houses many organizations such as the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver , the Jewish Museum and Archives of B.C., and the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. The centre also offers programs for all ages, the Isaac Waldman library, and recreational, arts and event facilities.
celebrated its centenary in 2007 as the first and largest Orthodox synagogue in British Columbia. Its membership counted 450 families, some of whom were fourth-generation members. Congregation Beth Israel celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary in 2007.
. There were a few Jewish families and businesses in the area by the late 1920s. The Schara Tzedeck congregation of Vancouver consecrated its cemetery here in 1929, despite neighbourhood opposition. One prominent family was that of Louis Zack, who started a drycleaning business in 1929 and became business and community leaders. In 1941 Sam and Paul Heller acquired and modernised the Pacific Pine Co. Ltd. sawmill.
The Royal City Hadassah
chapter was founded in 1947, and was active through at least 2001. The chapter was the focus of increased Jewish social activities. After years of parent car-pooling to Vancouver Jewish schools and hiring private tutors, the New Westminster branch of Vancouver's Talmud Torah school was established in 1949. Most families still tended to participate in Vancouver synagogues, partly due to family ties. Louis Leask was a prominent doctor and school trustee from 1952 to 1971. Muni Evers, a pharmacist, served six years as alderman and fourteen years as mayor of New Westminster.
By 1960, the Jewish community directory listed 21 families in New Westminster. However, during the 1970s the local Jewish community was shrinking and spreading to cheaper housing eastwards.
, and the distance from Jewish institutions, the Jewish population of West Vancouver and North Vancouver
was small until after the Second World War
. One of the notable Jewish businessmen who settled there was Samuel Gintzburger. He served on the first West Vancouver municipal council in 1912, founded the Vancouver Hebrew Free Loan Association, was a long-time president of Vancouver's Temple Emanu-El, and mentored Jewish children from the Juvenile Court. Another North Shore businessman was Louis Brier, who willed his Gold Rush
fortune to fund a non-sectarian seniors' home, orphanage, and hospital. This became the Louis Brier Home in Vancouver. A third notable resident was Harry Evans, who helped to establish Beth Israel Cemetery in Burnaby in 1946. He also founded the B.C. Collateral Loan Co. Ltd., which is still operating, in Gastown in 1899.
In addition to business opportunities, Jewish families and community groups enjoyed the North Shore's beaches, hiking trails, picnic spots, fishing creeks, mountains, and ski runs.
A Jewish community began to develop on the North Shore in the 1950s. In 1952 the Gleneagles Golf and Country Club was established in West Vancouver, since private golf clubs would not admit Jews at the time. It is now owned by the City of West Vancouver. The North Shore Jewish Community Association was founded in 1958, and began holding religious services in the West Vancouver Community Centre as Conservative congregation Shaar Harim in the early 1960s. At this time a Sunday Hebrew School started in a North Shore family home, later moving to the West Vancouver Community Centre.
The North Shore's first synagogue, Har-El (Conservative), was built in 1998. It also features the North Shore Jewish Community Centre and an afternoon Hebrew School. A Traditional congregation, Torat Hayim, started in 1999.http://www.hayim.com/
The establishment of Simon Fraser University
in 1965 attracted many Jewish academics, especially from the United States
. More families also began to settle in east Burnaby and neighbouring areas like New Westminster, Port Moody, Coquitlam, and Port Coquitlam. The Burquest Jewish Community Association began in 1973, and was incorporated in 1976, to offer social and educational programs. A cooperative Sunday school, which met in members' homes and later at the Centennial Lodge of New Westminster, was also founded at that time. From 1976 until 1980, when services started in Burnaby, the Richmond/Delta Jewish Community Association offered seats at its High Holidays services to Burquest members. The Burquest Jewish Community Association and Sha'arai Mizrah congregation are now based in Coquitlam.
farm on Lulu Island
in 1946.
Urban development in Richmond
first started at Steveston
on the southwestern end of Lulu Island. As the town boomed around its fishing harbour and canneries
in the 1890s, several stores were established by Jewish immigrants. When fire ravaged Steveston in 1918, development shifted to the northern side of the island. Twelve Jewish families were listed here in 1959, with four in more rural areas. The same year, the Richmond Country Club was founded on Steveston Highway; though non-sectarian, it was largely Jewish and remains so. The Jewish population increased with the postwar boom as families searched for affordable land, and as bridges were built to Vancouver.
In the 1960s, Jewish residents of Richmond were mostly young families. Residents met to organize a Hebrew school for these children, and formed the Richmond/Delta Jewish Community Association in 1971. Youth programs started in 1971 and High Holy Days services in 1972, both in borrowed facilities. The Conservative congregation Beth Tikvah started in 1977. Ten years later, the congregation established a cemetery in Surrey
and a Hebrew high school. The synagogue was expanded in 1993.
In 1977, some families split from the community association to form the Orthodox Congregation of Richmond. Services and school were held in homes until the 1979 opening of Eitz Chaim synagogue. The congregation built a new synagogue and school in 1988.
The Richmond Jewish community grew quickly in the 1980s and 1990s, welcoming a large number of immigrants from abroad. The Kehila Society was founded in 2000 to manage such growth and coordinate Richmond Jewish community organizations. Chabad
of Richmond (Chabad-Lubavitch) was formed in 1997. Three years later the congregation first celebrated High Holy Days and formed a Community Kollel for pan-Jewish education. Richmond Jewish Day School started in 1992 and moved to a permanent facility in 1998.
In 2002, most of the congregation of Eitz Chaim split off to form a new orthodox community which is now known as Young Israel of Richmond (YIRBC). It has grown tremendously within the past few years and is largely associated with the Yeshiva (PTI) in Vancouver.
and served as alderman (1958–1960).
A summer camp for Jewish youth was built at Crescent Beach
in 1937 by the National Council of Jewish Women, with help from the Vancouver Jewish community. The camp was transferred to the Zionist Organization of British Columbia in 1946 and renamed Camp Hatikvah
. Local Jewish men trained here in 1948 to fight in the Israeli War of Independence. Camp Hatikvah moved to the Okanagan
region of British Columbia in 1956.
The area became home to several Jewish cemeteries, including those belonging to Temple Sholom, Vancouver, in 1977, and Beth Tikvah, Richmond, in 1987.
In 1986 the Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley was founded,http://www.centreforjudaism.ca/ and later opened its first synagogue in North Delta (Chabad Lubavitch). In 1995 it moved to White Rock, where it resides today. The school also runs the Gan Israel children's summer day camp.
A chapter of Jewish Women International, formerly B'nai B'rith Women of BC, formed here in 1989.
In the early 1990s a group of families hosted an open Passover dinner, inviting all South Surrey Jews to attend. The response to the event was so overwhelming that it grew into what became White Rock South Surrey Jewish Community Centre in 1994. In its present permanent location the community centre holds regular services and conducts Hebrew school for all ages, while hosting a multitude of progams from pre-school to senior ages. It has members from as far away as Abbotsford, B.C.
, and Bellingham, Washington
.
, east of Vancouver. They were generally storekeepers, farmers and doctors. Early Jewish residents of Maple Ridge
included John and William Hammond, who arrived in 1872 and established the town of Port Hammond. Thomas Haney arrived in 1876 and built a brick plant that started nearby Port Haney
. These towns peaked in the early 1880s as supply points for Canadian Pacific Railway
construction; they are now parts of Maple Ridge, retaining their names as neighbourhoods.
Jewish settlement in the Fraser Valley was scattered, and the nearest synagogues were a day's travel away in Vancouver
and Bellingham, Washington
. In the early 1950s, the Rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel (Bellingham, Washington)
briefly provided classes for local Jewish children. He could not visit frequently enough, however, and families resumed commuting. Since the 1964 opening of the Highway 1 freeway and Port Mann Bridge
made travel easier, Fraser Valley Jewish families have been able to participate more fully in the synagogues of Vancouver and its suburbs. Some families still prefer to commute to Bellingham, Washington
, which is closer but across the US border.
claims that the interfaith marriage
rate for Vancouver Jews in 2001 was about 60%, with 40% of Jewish people formally involved with religious congregations. He also states that as of 2001 the largest congregations were Conservative
, though the Reform
congregation has also been growing. In the 2006 Canadian census
21,465 people in Greater Vancouver identified their ethnic origin as Jewish. These people represent about 1% of the census region's approximately two million respondents. Leonoff said in 2008 that the Jewish population of Greater Vancouver was 25,000, which was 80% of the Jewish population of British Columbia.
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
(also: Greater Vancouver
Greater Vancouver
Greater Vancouver is the metropolitan area centred on the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, roughly coterminous with the Greater Vancouver Regional District, which is governed by a body known as Metro Vancouver...
and Metro Vancouver) in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
has been noted since the mid-19th century.
Early Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
settlers were isolated from established Jewish institutions and communities in eastern Canada and the United States. They were also often isolated from each other, scattered across the Greater Vancouver area. As the local cities developed, the Jewish community also grew and expanded beyond the original business districts to spread throughout the area. While some early Jewish settlers ran farms, poultry operations, and sawmills, most tended to work in merchant industries. Many started as street peddlers
Peddler
A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a canvasser, cheapjack, monger, or solicitor , is a travelling vendor of goods. In England, the term was mostly used for travellers hawking goods in the countryside to small towns and villages; they might also be called tinkers or gypsies...
and worked their way up to running small stores, a few of which grew into retail empires.
Most of the early Jewish immigrants came from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. By the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
immigrants from Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
formed the majority of the Vancouver-area Jewish community due to discrimination in their homelands, notably the pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and changes in Canadian immigration policy.
Early Jewish life in Vancouver
Early Jewish settlers in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
were concentrated in the stores of the Gastown
Gastown
Gastown is a national historic site in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the northeast end of Downtown adjacent to the Downtown Eastside. Its historical boundaries were the waterfront , Columbia Street, Hastings Street, and Cambie Street, which were the borders of the 1870 townsite survey, the proper...
area and the homes of the Strathcona neighbourhood: the East End of Vancouver. The first Jewish businessman in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
was Louis Gold, who opened a general store on the waterfront in 1872. His wife and son were also prominent businesspeople, and his son Edward willed valuable land to the Jewish community for charities and building projects. Edward was also elected Councilor in South Vancouver in 1914.
One notable early settler was David Oppenheimer
David Oppenheimer
David Oppenheimer was a successful entrepreneur, the second mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, and a National Historic Person of Canada.-Early life:...
, who moved to Vancouver in 1885. As the city's second Mayor (1888–91), he was responsible for starting much civic infrastructure and industry. Oppenheimer also secured a Jewish burial area in the city-owned Mountain View Cemetery
Mountain View Cemetery (Vancouver)
Mountain View Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia. Opened in 1887, it is located west of Fraser Street between 31st and 43rd Avenues...
and offered land to the community for a synagogue. He and his brothers were prominent in real estate, groceries, and transportation; their grocery business is still operating as The Oppenheimer Group. Another prominent settler was Zebulon Franks, who arrived in 1887 and opened a hardware store by 1896. Parts of his business still survive as Y. Franks Appliances and Y. Franks Parts & Service. Franks was also involved in development of Vancouver Jewish religious and community institutions, hosting the first Orthodox prayer services and serving as a founding member of B'nai Brith. Along with Henry Sigler, he also negotiated purchase of the land for the first synagogue in Vancouver.
Development of synagogues
In the city's early years, its nearest synagogue was Temple Emanu-El in VictoriaVictoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. Agudace Achim (Orthodox) was the first congregation in Vancouver, active from 1891 to 1906. A semi-Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
congregation soon followed, as Temple Emanu-El started in 1894 and was active through 1917. In 1907 a new Orthodox congregation appeared, named B'nai Yehudah (also known as Sons of Israel). However, the first Vancouver synagogue did not appear until 1911, when B'nai Yehudah was built at the corner of East Pender and Heatley Streets. Though it seated 200, larger halls had to be rented for High Holy Days. The building also housed several community organizations. Children's Judaic classes began shortly after the opening in nearby homes. In 1914, during an economic depression
Depression (economics)
In economics, a depression is a sustained, long-term downturn in economic activity in one or more economies. It is a more severe downturn than a recession, which is seen by some economists as part of the modern business cycle....
, the synagogue was saved from foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
by an emergency fundraising campaign. In 1917 B'nai Yehudah was incorporated as a society by the name of Schara Tzedeck. The Vancouver Hebrew School/Talmud Torah started at the synagogue in 1918. After thirty years as a boys' club and vocational school, the synagogue was developed into residences, and was honoured with a Vancouver Centennial plaque in 1986.
Formation of community organizations
Local Jewish community organizations founded in the early 20th century included the Young Mens Hebrew Association (1909), the Ladies Aid Society (1907; later Schara Tzedeck Ladies' Auxiliary and the Sisterhood), B'nai B'rithB'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
(1910), the Hebrew Aid and Immigrant Society (1910), the Zionist and Social Society (1913), and the Hebrew Free Loan Association (1915). Samuel Davies Schultz was appointed to Vancouver County Court in 1914, making him Canada's first Jewish judge. Max Grossman was the first Vancouver Jew to be appointed King's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, as a lawyer, in 1917. Grossman was involved in many community organizations and was a major force in the first Schara Tzedeck Synagoge, the Vancouver Hebrew School, and the first Jewish Community Centre.
Increase in affluence
More affluent Jewish families began to settle in the West EndWest End, Vancouver
The West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is on the downtown peninsula neighbouring Stanley Park and the areas of Yaletown, Coal Harbour and the downtown financial and central business districts....
area in the early 20th century, centered around Congregation Temple Emanu-El. The congregation started raising funds for a semi-Reform synagogue in 1911, but World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and economic depression interrupted their efforts. The congregation stopped services in 1917. Shortly afterwards, the rearrangement of European boundaries following the Russian revolution and the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
led to a wave of Eastern European Orthodox Jewish immigrants. The Jewish population of Vancouver was still too small to support multiple synagogues; therefore in 1919–1921 the remnants of the Reform congregation joined with the larger Orthodox congregation, Schara Tzedeck, to build a new synagogue in the East End for all Vancouver Jews. However the Temple Emanu-El Ladies Auxiliary continued to hold separate social and charitable events in the West End, as well as a children's Sabbath school, until the congregation dissolved entirely in 1932.
Growth during the 1920s
The 1920s were a time of further growth for the Jewish community. Schara Tzedeck SynagogueCongregation Schara Tzedeck
Congregation Schara Tzedeck is an Orthodox synagogue in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest synagogue and the largest Orthodox synagogue in the city...
(Orthodox) was built in 1920 on the site of the old B'nai Yehudah synagogue in the East End. The old synagogue building remained for use by the Hebrew school and as a community hall. A Hadassah
Hadassah
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with around...
chapter was founded in 1920, Jewish Community Chest and Vancouver Council of Jewish Women in 1924, the Hebrew Athletic Club and early meetings for Congregation Beth Israel (Conservative) in 1925. The first Jewish regular newspaper, called the Vancouver Jewish Community Centre, started in 1923. It later became the Jewish Western Bulletin, which published from 1930 to 2001. The Schara Tzedeck congregation, which had hosted and subsidized the Talmud Torah Hebrew school, took over the school's governance from 1928 to 1943.
A significant event was the 6–7 July 1921 visit by the Very Reverend Dr. Joseph H. Hertz
Joseph H. Hertz
----Rabbi Joseph Herman Hertz, CH was a Jewish Hungarian-born Rabbi and Bible scholar. He is most notable for holding the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and The Holocaust.- Early life :Hertz was born in the...
, Chief Rabbi of the United Congregation of the British Empire. In 1922 visiting vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
met Sadye Marks
Mary Livingstone
Mary Livingstone , was an American radio comedienne and the wife and radio partner of comedy great Jack Benny . Enlisted almost entirely by accident to perform on her husband's popular program, she proved a talented comedienne...
at a Passover Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
in the West End. They married in 1927 and she went on to vaudeville, radio, and movie stardom as his partner Mary Livingstone
Mary Livingstone
Mary Livingstone , was an American radio comedienne and the wife and radio partner of comedy great Jack Benny . Enlisted almost entirely by accident to perform on her husband's popular program, she proved a talented comedienne...
.
Two prominent Jewish businesses were established during this period. First, in 1919, Sam Cohen opened the Army & Navy surplus and liquidation store. He built it into a mail-order and retail chain operating throughout western Canada; it is now run by his granddaughter Jacqui. Second, Ben and Morris Wosk started Wosk's in 1923 as an appliance store. It grew into a major publicly traded chain of furniture and appliance stores in western Canada, but is now defunct. The Wosks were also real estate moguls and philanthropists.
Into the 1930s
In the 1920s and 1930s, many Jewish families moved to new neighbourhoods south of False CreekFalse Creek
False Creek is a short inlet in the heart of Vancouver. It separates downtown from the rest of the city. It was named by George Henry Richards during his Hydrographic survey of 1856-63. Science World is located at its eastern end and the Burrard Street Bridge crosses its western end. False Creek is...
, especially Fairview. The Talmud Torah Hebrew school opened an annex here, near Broadway and Cambie Street, in 1923. After a long period of fundraising, the first Jewish Community Centre was built in 1928 at Oak Street and 11th Avenue. The Talmud Torah school annex moved into the Centre that same year. The Congregation Beth Israel was formally founded in 1932 and held services in the Centre. In 1937 the Schara Tzedeck
Congregation Schara Tzedeck
Congregation Schara Tzedeck is an Orthodox synagogue in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest synagogue and the largest Orthodox synagogue in the city...
congregation decided to move to the Fairview area but was hampered by economic depression and war. Following the Wall Street Crash of 1929
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
, many upper-class families left the West End for the new neighbourhoods of Shaughnessy and Point Grey
West Point Grey
West Point Grey is a neighbourhood on the western side of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered by 16th Avenue to the south, Alma Street to the east, English Bay to the north, and Blanca Street to the west...
.
The Jewish Administrative Council was established in 1932 to coordinate the Free Loan Association, Community Chest, and Community Centre.
1940s
By the 1940s, Jewish population and community life began to centre on Oak StreetOak Street (Vancouver)
Oak Street is a major north-south street in Vancouver, British Columbia. The street runs from a three way intersection with 6th Avenue in the north to the Oak Street Bridge in the south, leading towards Richmond...
in central Vancouver, south of the first Jewish Community Centre. The Talmud Torah school established its first independent facility in 1943 on West 14th Avenue between Oak and Cambie Streets. The Orthodox congregation Beth Hamidrash B'nai Ya'acov began in 1943, so its members could be within walking distance of their Fairview homes. The Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture
Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture
The Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture is a centre for secular Jewish culture and humanistic Judaism in Vancouver, British Columbia.The stated purpose of the Peretz Centre is to "provide a quality alternative approach to Jewish life through the appreciation of Jewish history and culture in...
, previously known as the Vancouver Peretz Institute or Shule, was established in 1945 near Oak Street as a secular-humanist educational and cultural centre. A home for elderly Jews was founded nearby in 1946, partly funded by American comedian Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
. The Schara Tzedeck
Congregation Schara Tzedeck
Congregation Schara Tzedeck is an Orthodox synagogue in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest synagogue and the largest Orthodox synagogue in the city...
congregation finally dedicated its new synagogue here in 1948, as well as the Beth Israel synagogue in 1949. The Talmud Torah school moved to a new Oak Street campus in 1948 and became a day school for elementary grades.
A Vancouver branch of the Canadian Jewish Congress
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...
was established in 1941. In 1944, the first Jewish funeral chapel was opened by Schara Tzedeck.
Post World War II
The post-World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
period saw a greater influx of central and eastern Canadian Jews, as well as the first wave of Sephardic Jewish
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
immigration to British Columbia. The first Sephardic High Holy Day services were held in 1966 at the Jewish Community Centre. A Sephardic congregation soon formed and used the Beth Hamidrash synagogue, whose membership had been shrinking. In 1979 the Sephardic congregation merged with the Beth Hamidrash Ashkenazic
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
congregation.
1960s and 1970s
The Jewish population continued to shift south and west to the Oakridge area through the 1960s and 1970s. At Oak and 41st a new Jewish Community Centre was built in 1962 as well as the Louis Brier Home and Hospital for the aged in 1968. It is the only Jewish seniors' facility west of WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
. . Temple Sholom (Reform) was founded on Oak Street in 1964 http://www.templesholom.ca/
Wealthy families also moved to the Point Grey
West Point Grey
West Point Grey is a neighbourhood on the western side of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered by 16th Avenue to the south, Alma Street to the east, English Bay to the north, and Blanca Street to the west...
and West Vancouver neighbourhoods. Leonoff's study of the Vancouver Jewish Community Telephone Directory suggests that only 10% of the local Jewish community lived outside Vancouver in 1960, though many families began moving to the suburbs as housing costs rose.
While the development of community services and congregations has often been a cooperative process, with help from organizations in neighbouring cities, there are some accounts of suburban communities feeling ignored by central organizations. The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver was established in 1987 to develop a wider community across the area. It was born from the merger of the United Jewish Appeal and the Jewish Community Fund and Council.
The Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver also offers services intended for the entire community. It houses many organizations such as the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver , the Jewish Museum and Archives of B.C., and the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. The centre also offers programs for all ages, the Isaac Waldman library, and recreational, arts and event facilities.
21st century
Beth Hamidrash dedicated a new synagogue building in 2004. Congregation Schara TzedeckCongregation Schara Tzedeck
Congregation Schara Tzedeck is an Orthodox synagogue in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest synagogue and the largest Orthodox synagogue in the city...
celebrated its centenary in 2007 as the first and largest Orthodox synagogue in British Columbia. Its membership counted 450 families, some of whom were fourth-generation members. Congregation Beth Israel celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary in 2007.
New Westminster
Jewish merchants have been part of New Westminster since its founding in 1859 when firms like Meyer, Reinhards & Co. and Messrs. Levi and Boas arrived to supply prospectors for the Cariboo Gold RushCariboo Gold Rush
The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Although the first gold discovery was made in 1859 at Horsefly Creek, followed by more strikes at Keithley Creek and Antler Horns lake in 1860, the actual rush did not begin until 1861, when these discoveries were...
. There were a few Jewish families and businesses in the area by the late 1920s. The Schara Tzedeck congregation of Vancouver consecrated its cemetery here in 1929, despite neighbourhood opposition. One prominent family was that of Louis Zack, who started a drycleaning business in 1929 and became business and community leaders. In 1941 Sam and Paul Heller acquired and modernised the Pacific Pine Co. Ltd. sawmill.
The Royal City Hadassah
Hadassah
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with around...
chapter was founded in 1947, and was active through at least 2001. The chapter was the focus of increased Jewish social activities. After years of parent car-pooling to Vancouver Jewish schools and hiring private tutors, the New Westminster branch of Vancouver's Talmud Torah school was established in 1949. Most families still tended to participate in Vancouver synagogues, partly due to family ties. Louis Leask was a prominent doctor and school trustee from 1952 to 1971. Muni Evers, a pharmacist, served six years as alderman and fourteen years as mayor of New Westminster.
By 1960, the Jewish community directory listed 21 families in New Westminster. However, during the 1970s the local Jewish community was shrinking and spreading to cheaper housing eastwards.
History by local areas
West Vancouver and North Vancouver
Due to an early lack of bridges across Burrard InletBurrard Inlet
Burrard Inlet is a relatively shallow-sided coastal fjord in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the low-lying Burrard Peninsula from the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, home to the communities of West...
, and the distance from Jewish institutions, the Jewish population of West Vancouver and North Vancouver
North Vancouver, British Columbia
There are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...
was small until after the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. One of the notable Jewish businessmen who settled there was Samuel Gintzburger. He served on the first West Vancouver municipal council in 1912, founded the Vancouver Hebrew Free Loan Association, was a long-time president of Vancouver's Temple Emanu-El, and mentored Jewish children from the Juvenile Court. Another North Shore businessman was Louis Brier, who willed his Gold Rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
fortune to fund a non-sectarian seniors' home, orphanage, and hospital. This became the Louis Brier Home in Vancouver. A third notable resident was Harry Evans, who helped to establish Beth Israel Cemetery in Burnaby in 1946. He also founded the B.C. Collateral Loan Co. Ltd., which is still operating, in Gastown in 1899.
In addition to business opportunities, Jewish families and community groups enjoyed the North Shore's beaches, hiking trails, picnic spots, fishing creeks, mountains, and ski runs.
A Jewish community began to develop on the North Shore in the 1950s. In 1952 the Gleneagles Golf and Country Club was established in West Vancouver, since private golf clubs would not admit Jews at the time. It is now owned by the City of West Vancouver. The North Shore Jewish Community Association was founded in 1958, and began holding religious services in the West Vancouver Community Centre as Conservative congregation Shaar Harim in the early 1960s. At this time a Sunday Hebrew School started in a North Shore family home, later moving to the West Vancouver Community Centre.
The North Shore's first synagogue, Har-El (Conservative), was built in 1998. It also features the North Shore Jewish Community Centre and an afternoon Hebrew School. A Traditional congregation, Torat Hayim, started in 1999.http://www.hayim.com/
Burnaby and Coquitlam
One of the first Jewish settlers in Burnaby was George Biely, who started a poultry farm in 1936. Early Jewish residents often socialized in neighbouring cities: residents of western Burnaby went to Vancouver, while those of eastern Burnaby went to New Westminster. In 1946 Vancouver's Beth Israel congregation consecrated a cemetery in northern Burnaby.The establishment of Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
in 1965 attracted many Jewish academics, especially from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. More families also began to settle in east Burnaby and neighbouring areas like New Westminster, Port Moody, Coquitlam, and Port Coquitlam. The Burquest Jewish Community Association began in 1973, and was incorporated in 1976, to offer social and educational programs. A cooperative Sunday school, which met in members' homes and later at the Centennial Lodge of New Westminster, was also founded at that time. From 1976 until 1980, when services started in Burnaby, the Richmond/Delta Jewish Community Association offered seats at its High Holidays services to Burquest members. The Burquest Jewish Community Association and Sha'arai Mizrah congregation are now based in Coquitlam.
Richmond and Delta
The rich river delta soil of the area attracted many Jewish farmers. One was Jack Bell, the "Cranberry King", who started BC's first cranberryCranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
farm on Lulu Island
Lulu Island
Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River. The island makes up most of the City of Richmond, a major suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia...
in 1946.
Urban development in Richmond
Richmond, British Columbia
Richmond is a coastal city, incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Part of Metro Vancouver, its neighbouring communities are Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, while the Strait of Georgia forms its western border...
first started at Steveston
Steveston, British Columbia
Steveston was originally a small town near Vancouver, British Columbia, but has since been absorbed into the city of Richmond, British Columbia....
on the southwestern end of Lulu Island. As the town boomed around its fishing harbour and canneries
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
in the 1890s, several stores were established by Jewish immigrants. When fire ravaged Steveston in 1918, development shifted to the northern side of the island. Twelve Jewish families were listed here in 1959, with four in more rural areas. The same year, the Richmond Country Club was founded on Steveston Highway; though non-sectarian, it was largely Jewish and remains so. The Jewish population increased with the postwar boom as families searched for affordable land, and as bridges were built to Vancouver.
In the 1960s, Jewish residents of Richmond were mostly young families. Residents met to organize a Hebrew school for these children, and formed the Richmond/Delta Jewish Community Association in 1971. Youth programs started in 1971 and High Holy Days services in 1972, both in borrowed facilities. The Conservative congregation Beth Tikvah started in 1977. Ten years later, the congregation established a cemetery in Surrey
Surrey, British Columbia
Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...
and a Hebrew high school. The synagogue was expanded in 1993.
In 1977, some families split from the community association to form the Orthodox Congregation of Richmond. Services and school were held in homes until the 1979 opening of Eitz Chaim synagogue. The congregation built a new synagogue and school in 1988.
The Richmond Jewish community grew quickly in the 1980s and 1990s, welcoming a large number of immigrants from abroad. The Kehila Society was founded in 2000 to manage such growth and coordinate Richmond Jewish community organizations. Chabad
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
of Richmond (Chabad-Lubavitch) was formed in 1997. Three years later the congregation first celebrated High Holy Days and formed a Community Kollel for pan-Jewish education. Richmond Jewish Day School started in 1992 and moved to a permanent facility in 1998.
In 2002, most of the congregation of Eitz Chaim split off to form a new orthodox community which is now known as Young Israel of Richmond (YIRBC). It has grown tremendously within the past few years and is largely associated with the Yeshiva (PTI) in Vancouver.
South Surrey and White Rock
Some Jewish families settled in the area as pioneers, while others retired there after owning summer homes; still others arrived in the 1960s' search for affordable housing. One notable resident was Max Zack, who owned a hotel in White RockWhite Rock, British Columbia
White Rock is a city in British Columbia, Canada, that lies within the Metro Vancouver regional district. It borders Semiahmoo Bay and is surrounded on three sides by the City of Surrey, British Columbia. To the south lies the Semiahmoo First Nation, which is within the city limits of Surrey...
and served as alderman (1958–1960).
A summer camp for Jewish youth was built at Crescent Beach
Crescent Beach (Surrey)
Crescent Beach is a community within South Surrey, British Columbia. Crescent Beach is home to , the Crescent Beach Pier and , all local landmarks....
in 1937 by the National Council of Jewish Women, with help from the Vancouver Jewish community. The camp was transferred to the Zionist Organization of British Columbia in 1946 and renamed Camp Hatikvah
Hatikvah
"Hatikvah" is the national anthem of Israel. The anthem was written by Naphtali Herz Imber, a secular Galician Jew from Zolochiv , who moved to the Land of Israel in the early 1880s....
. Local Jewish men trained here in 1948 to fight in the Israeli War of Independence. Camp Hatikvah moved to the Okanagan
Okanagan
The Okanagan , also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as Okanagan Country is a region located in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. As of 2009, the region's population is approximately 350,927. The...
region of British Columbia in 1956.
The area became home to several Jewish cemeteries, including those belonging to Temple Sholom, Vancouver, in 1977, and Beth Tikvah, Richmond, in 1987.
In 1986 the Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley was founded,http://www.centreforjudaism.ca/ and later opened its first synagogue in North Delta (Chabad Lubavitch). In 1995 it moved to White Rock, where it resides today. The school also runs the Gan Israel children's summer day camp.
A chapter of Jewish Women International, formerly B'nai B'rith Women of BC, formed here in 1989.
In the early 1990s a group of families hosted an open Passover dinner, inviting all South Surrey Jews to attend. The response to the event was so overwhelming that it grew into what became White Rock South Surrey Jewish Community Centre in 1994. In its present permanent location the community centre holds regular services and conducts Hebrew school for all ages, while hosting a multitude of progams from pre-school to senior ages. It has members from as far away as Abbotsford, B.C.
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
, and Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
.
Fraser Valley
A small number of Jewish families settled in the farmland of the Fraser ValleyFraser Valley
The Fraser Valley is the section of the Fraser River basin in southwestern British Columbia downstream of the Fraser Canyon. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Fraser Canyon and stretches upstream from there, but in general British Columbian usage of the term refers to the stretch of the...
, east of Vancouver. They were generally storekeepers, farmers and doctors. Early Jewish residents of Maple Ridge
Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Maple Ridge is a District Municipality in British Columbia, located in the northeastern section of Metro Vancouver. Maple Ridge has a population of approximately 68,949.-History:...
included John and William Hammond, who arrived in 1872 and established the town of Port Hammond. Thomas Haney arrived in 1876 and built a brick plant that started nearby Port Haney
Haney, British Columbia
Haney, British Columbia was historically a town in Southern British Columbia and is now part of the larger district municipality of Maple Ridge, British Columbia.-Features:...
. These towns peaked in the early 1880s as supply points for Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
construction; they are now parts of Maple Ridge, retaining their names as neighbourhoods.
Jewish settlement in the Fraser Valley was scattered, and the nearest synagogues were a day's travel away in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
. In the early 1950s, the Rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel (Bellingham, Washington)
Congregation Beth Israel (Bellingham, Washington)
Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform synagogue located at 2200 Broadway in Bellingham, Washington. Formally established in 1908, the congregation consisted mostly of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Originally Orthodox, it became more liberal following World War II, and in 1987 joined the Union...
briefly provided classes for local Jewish children. He could not visit frequently enough, however, and families resumed commuting. Since the 1964 opening of the Highway 1 freeway and Port Mann Bridge
Port Mann Bridge
The Port Mann Bridge is a steel tied arch bridge that spans the Fraser River connecting Coquitlam to Surrey in British Columbia near Vancouver. The bridge consists of three spans with an orthotropic deck carrying five lanes of Trans-Canada Highway traffic, with approach spans of three steel plate...
made travel easier, Fraser Valley Jewish families have been able to participate more fully in the synagogues of Vancouver and its suburbs. Some families still prefer to commute to Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
, which is closer but across the US border.
Intermarriage rate
Cyril Edel LeonoffCyril Edel Leonoff
A civil engineer by profession, Cyril Leonoffs passion has always been for history. He has authored and edited a number of books and papers on engineering and historical topics. He remains one of the preeminent historians on Jewish history in British Columbia. In 1971 Leonoff became the founding...
claims that the interfaith marriage
Interfaith marriage in Judaism
Interfaith marriage in Judaism was historically looked upon with very strong disfavour by Jewish leaders, and it remains a controversial issue amongst Jewish leaders today. In the Talmud, interfaith marriage is completely prohibited, although the definition of interfaith is not so simply expressed...
rate for Vancouver Jews in 2001 was about 60%, with 40% of Jewish people formally involved with religious congregations. He also states that as of 2001 the largest congregations were Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
, though the Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
congregation has also been growing. In the 2006 Canadian census
Census in Canada
The Census in Canada is a census that takes place every five years. The census is conducted by Statistics Canada. The census provides demographic and statistical data that is used to plan public services including health care, education, and transportation, determine federal transfer payments, and...
21,465 people in Greater Vancouver identified their ethnic origin as Jewish. These people represent about 1% of the census region's approximately two million respondents. Leonoff said in 2008 that the Jewish population of Greater Vancouver was 25,000, which was 80% of the Jewish population of British Columbia.
Population trends
List of local congregations
- Ohel Ya'akov Community Kollel: Vancouver; Orthodox
- Congregation Schara TzedeckCongregation Schara TzedeckCongregation Schara Tzedeck is an Orthodox synagogue in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest synagogue and the largest Orthodox synagogue in the city...
: Vancouver; Orthodox. - Louis Brier Home and Hospital: Vancouver; Orthodox.
- Congregation Beth Hamidrash]: Vancouver; Orthodox (Sephardic).
- Congregation Beth Israel: Vancouver; Conservative.
- Temple Sholom: Vancouver; Reform.
- Congregation Or Shalom: Vancouver; Jewish Renewal.
- Chabad of Richmond: Richmond; Orthodox (Chabad-Lubavitch).http://www.chabadrichmond.com/
- Eitz Chaim Congregation: Richmond; Orthodox.
- Beth Tikvah Congregation: Richmond; Conservative.
- Burquest Jewish Community Association: Coquitlam; Reform.
- White Rock South Surrey Jewish Community Centre: South Surrey White Rock, Various.
List of local Jewish schools
- The congregations listed above offer part-time educational and Bar and Bat Mitzvah programs. Some also offer daycare and/or preschool.
- Florence Melton Adult Mini-School: Part-time Judaic studies certificate program for adults from the Hebrew University of JerusalemHebrew University of JerusalemThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, located in Vancouver at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. - King David High SchoolKing David School, VancouverKing David High School or KDHS is a pluralistic Jewish community high school with comprehensive general and Judaic programs.-Facility:...
: Full-time Judaic and general studies for grades 8–12, located in Vancouver. - Pacific Torah InstitutePacific Torah InstituteThe Pacific Torah Institute or PTI is an all-male yeshiva high school in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.The school is an affiliate of the Rabbinical Seminary of America or Chofetz Chaim yeshiva. The school is the only all-male yeshiva high school in the Pacific Northwest or Western Canada...
: Full-time Judaic and general studies for male students, grades 8–12, located in Vancouver. - Shalhevet Girls High School: Full-time Judaic and general studies for female students, grades 8–12, located in Vancouver.
- Richmond Jewish Day School: Daycare, preschool, and full-time Judaic and general studies for kindergarten to grade 7.
- Vancouver Talmud Torah: Preschool and full-time Judaic and general studies for kindergarten to grade 7.
- Vancouver Hebrew AcademyVancouver Hebrew AcademyThe Vancouver Hebrew Academy is a private orthodox Jewish pre-K to 7 school in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Vancouver Hebrew Academy or VHA is located at 1545 West 62nd Avenue in the Marpole neighbourhood.-External links:*...
:http://www.vhebrewacademy.com/ Preschool and full-time Judaic and general studies for kindergarten to grade 7. - White Rock South Surrey Jewish Community Centre: Preschool and part-time Judaic and general studies for kindergarten to grade 7; youth group for grades 8–12.
List of local Jewish cemeteries
- Beth Israel Cemetery: Consecrated in 1936 at 1721 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby.
- Beth Tikvah Cemetery: Consecrated in 1987 at Victory Memorial Park Funeral Centre, 14831 28th Avenue, Surrey.
- Mountain View CemeteryMountain View Cemetery (Vancouver)Mountain View Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia. Opened in 1887, it is located west of Fraser Street between 31st and 43rd Avenues...
: A section of this Vancouver city-owned cemetery was set aside for Jewish burials in 1887. It is located west of Fraser Street between 31st and 43rd Avenues, and the office is at 5455 Fraser Street. - Schara Tzedek Cemeteries: The first cemetery was consecrated in 1929 at 2345 Marine Drive, New Westminster. In 2008, a new cemetery was consecrated at 16656 60th Avenue, Surrey.
External links
- Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver
- Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia and Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia
- Jewish Independent tourist guide for Vancouver.
- The Scribe, journal of the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia
- Congregation Schara Tedeck, the oldest synagogue in Vancouver