The Canadian Jewish Review was a Canadian weekly newspaper, published in English between 1921 and 1966.[1] The Canadian Jewish Review merged with the Canadian Jewish Chronicle in 1966, to become the Chronicle Review. The Chronicle Review ceased publication in 1976.[1]
The Canadian Jewish Review was founded in 1921 in Toronto by George and Florence Freelander as a weekly newspaper, publishing in English. An office in Montreal was opened in 1929 and a Montreal edition commenced publication, also in English. The motivation to establish a Montreal edition was Quebec permitted the commercial advertising of liquor, while Ontario did not.[2]
The paper was initially regarded as being more of a review of social events than a paper containing serious social and political commentary.[2] This social focus is now regarded as making The Canadian Jewish Review an important genealogical source.[3] Much of its social and political commentary was by Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath (1902-1973), spiritual leader of Toronto's Holy Blossom Temple and assistant contributing editor of the paper.[4] Rabbi Eisendrath, who came to Holy Blossom Temple in 1929, contributed a weekly column to The Canadian Jewish Review.[2] His views, opposing Zionism and his use of his weekly column in The Canadian Jewish Review to express these views, were a source of controversy. Rose Dunkelman (1889-1949), wife of David Dunkelman (1880-1978), one of Canada's most successful industrialists and retailers[5], co-founded a competing newspaper, The Jewish Standard,[6] with a specific objective of countering the views of Eisendrath.[7]
A substantially complete collection of the Canadian Jewish Review, donated by Simon Fraser University Library, has been digitalized and is searchable via the Multicultural Canada project.[8]