Talk:History of the Jews in Canada
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[edit] Ben-Gurion in the Canadian Army
- Is there a source for this? As cool as it sounds, it seems dubious at best... can someone cite this please? pm_shef 05:18, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
- Since no one can confirm this, I'm removing it pending sources. pm_shef 23:42, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Illustrations
Maybe a few illustrations might improve the look of this page. Can anybody obtain a photograph of the Shaarei Israel synagogue in Montreal? Or perhaps a painting of Ezekiel Hart or Abraham De Sola? Would a picture of Herb Gray be appropriate in the famous Jeiwsh Canadians section? Can one obtain a logo from the Canadian Jewish Congress to post? Basically what I'm saying is I'm too afraid to post any pictures I find on the internet for fear that they may not be Free to Use. RPlunk 22:41, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- We have an image of Ottawa's second synagogue at Image:Ottawa French Seventh-day Adventist Church.JPG, though today the building is a Seventh-day Adventist church. User:Montrealais has taken many good photos and is from Montreal. You could try asking him for a picture of the Shaarei Israel synagogue, though I'm not sure if he takes requests. Also any image of Ezekiel Hart, Abraham De Sola, or Henry Nathan would safely be in the public domain by now and could be added to the article. - SimonP 00:08, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC)
- I just corrected the spelling of the synagogue name -- it is usually spelled Shearith Israel, and its full name is Shearith Israel Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue. It is still going, though not in its original location; I was just there for the High Holidays and will be getting married there next summer in fact! There is a historic picture online at http://collections.ic.gc.ca/heirloom_series/volume1/chapter5/178-183.htm among others, but not sure whether it is Free to Use. Incidentally apologies if I am not doing this right: I have been using Wikipedia for a while but this is my very first time trying to edit something! 70.80.27.104 10:08, 19 October 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Demographics
I changed "fifth largest" to "fourth largest" at the top -- this reflects the new-ish 2005 estimate from the JPPPI at http://www.jpppi.org.il/JPPPI/SendFile.asp?TID=67&FID=2377. I wanted to put a footnote or some cite to it right in the article, but didn't know how -- can anyone help? 70.80.27.104 10:08, 19 October 2005 (UTC)
Along the same vein I wonder about the sentence "[a]ccording to recent statistics there are roughly 195,000 Canadians who practise Judaism, and another 156,000 who consider themselves Jews by ethnicity or ancestry, although they do not practice Judaism": which recent statistics, and as of what date? I am familiar with the 2001 census numbers, which are in fact posted on Wikipedia itself at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_2001_Census -- maybe it would be better to say something like "As of 2001 there were 348,605 Canadians who considered themselves Jewish by ethnicity, and 329,995 Canadians who professed to practice Judaism. "? I leave that to someone more expert than I, though. In particular, it would be good to post a footnote or something there too. 70.80.27.104 10:08, 19 October 2005 (UTC)
I updated the Mtl figure to 80k. I recently spoke with an employee with a large Jewish non-profit in Montreal who ordered a survey done of the communities, and the word is that there are only 80 000 left and aging rapidly. The 100 000 is a nice round number being pushed since at least the 1980s and not really realistic. Sure the ultra-orthodox are having more babies, the religious still above average, but facts are that the vast majority of Jewish families [are non-religious,] have two kids (non-sustaining), and the migration persists, though smaller than in the past.
As for Canada having more Jews than Russia; It is estimated that about one million Jews are still left behind in Russia. Of the one million 'Russians' that moved to Israel, about 250 000 are either pure goyim or product of intermarriage. Many, many still left behind. --Shuki 19:52, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
- However, the source provided gives figures that say otherwise. Jayjg (talk) 02:37, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Jews in New France
The numbers on the Jewish Community's demographics in the 18th and 19th centuries, 200 and 450, seem wrong. Census data suggests there were only 107 Jews in 1831 (source below). If no source is provided I will change the numbers.
Canada. 1831. Statistics Canada. 1831 - Census of Lower Canada. Accessed at:<http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/98-187-XIE/1800s.htm>.
New France was Catholic by law, but in practice, people of many faiths lived there, including at least one Jew. The civil administration of New France had no power to enforce most of the laws for lack of proper means. The border between Canada and the Thirteen colonies was of course not walled. When people were embarking for New France at La Rochelle, they had no choice but to declare their faith. People of Protestant faith (or other) only had to promise to convert to Catholicism to enter Le Canada. Some truly converted, while others of course only pretended to get across.
Here is the story of person of Jewish faith in New France, Esther Brandeau, who refused to renounce to her faith and was shipped back:
http://www.bjcc.ca/content/Koffler/Past%20Exhibits/Wendy_Oberlander_Translating_Esther.htm
Because she made herself known by the French authorities, she is the only attested person of Jewish faith we know of. Unfortunately, we can only speculate on the possible settlement of Jews in Canada from France or the Thirteen colonies, or the other colonies of France.
Some other English language links on the subject of Jews in New France:
http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/transactions/3/jewishhistory.shtml
http://www.gelinas.org/centre-gelinas/Juive-en-NF/Allocution-Anglais.htm
-- Mathieugp 16:14, 18 July 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Title Change
When I first founded this article it was already titled. However it should be changed to "Jewish Canadians" How does one go about changing the title? ~~
- Actually,to keep up with the rest of the series, it should be titled History of the Jews in Canada. You can use the move button above, but I would suggest that you use the history title, as in History of the Jews in the United States, History of the Jews in England, History of the Jews in Poland, etc. --Goodoldpolonius2 23:12, 25 July 2005 (UTC)
~~I agree with keeping it. "Jewish Canadians" pushes an atomistic philosophy of history destructive to historical understanding. Why don't you make entries for actual Jewish Canadians, like Aaron Hart, for whome none have been made.
[edit] Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians
Can someone please provide a reference that shows this organization is of similar stature to the CJC and BB? As it stands, with 80 Google hits, most of which are Wiki mirrors and Press releases, not to mention its absence from the mainstream Jewish community (I'm very involved with said community, and hadn't heard of the organization until today), I really don't see it as being notable enough for inclusion at the present time. Not to mention that the founder himself admits that they only have around 100 members. - pm_shef 22:18, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
- All mention of this group should probably be removed from wikipedia altogether, since it seems that Wikipedia is being used as a platform for promoting the organization, in contravention of WP:NOT#INFO and WP:NPOV#Undue weight, as well as probably WP:SOAP. In the interest of putting their rĂ´le into context, I have clarified w/in the text that the group is basically irrelevant here, but would be in complete support of excising this promotional material entirely. Tomertalk 04:53, 11 December 2006 (UTC)