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Workmen's Circle of Montreal

The Workmen's Circle (Arbeter Ring) of Montreal (now Worker's Circle) celebrated its 100th Anniversary in the city in 2007. The organization, which was originally founded in New York in 1892 by mainly Russian Jewish immigrants fleeing Czarist pogroms, conducted itself as an "irretrievable part of the radical labour movement." An advocate for change, the Workmen's Circle also provided education, enlightenment, health benefits, open forums, a library, clubs and cemetery plots for its members. The work of the group extended to emergencies such as operating a soup kitchen during the Depression or organizing the Action Committee for Soviet Jewry in the late-1980s and early 1990s to aid immigration. Their involvement in politics saw support for the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and candidates such as A.M. Klein, David Lewis and Kalman Kaplansky. In 1940, two Workmen's Circle members from Branch 151 were elected to the Montreal municipal council, Michael Rubenstein and Albert Eaton. The first Workmen's Circle building was completed in 1936 after several years of planning and a hold due to the Depression. The building was located at 4848 St. Laurent and served the Workmen's Circle's business and social activities as well as one of the schools. Like most other Jewish organizations, the Workmen's Circle moved from the once-traditionally Jewish Main area and re-located to Isabella closer to the Jewish community campus. The Worker's Circle is still housed there although the organization is shrinking and serves an aging population.

King, Judy, 1915-2007

Judy King, granddaughter of Reuben Brainin, passed away at the age of 92 on December 16, 2007. Judy was the daughter of Reuben's daughter Mizzi and Dr. Sam Ortenberg. Mizzi Brainin passed away in 1918 and Dr. Ortenberg later re-married Reuben Brainin's sister Lisl. Ms. King took a great interest in the history of her grandfather and her family, reflected in the collecting and preservation of research. Ms. King earned a B. Sc and a M. Sc (Physiology) from McGill University and later went on to teach for many years at West Hill and Riverdale High Schools. Ms. King was also an accomplished artist and active in the Montreal art community.

United Talmud Torahs (Montreal)

The United Talmud Torahs were founded in 1896. Rabbi A.M. Ashinsky established the first Talmud Torah class on 130 Cadieux St. In 1903 the Talmud Torah was housed in its own building at 140 St. Urbain Street, when it came under the directorship of Rabbi Hirsch Cohen. In 1912 the school admitted girls and was incorporated under the name of "The Hebrew Free School of Montreal". In 1917 the language of instruction changed from Yiddish to Hebrew. Several Hebrew schools, which were spread over the city of Montreal were amalgamated in 1917 as The United Talmud Torahs. In 1930 the building on St. Joseph Blvd. was erected and in 1935 The United Talmud Torahs became a day school. Since 1970, the French language became a significant part of instruction and curriculum. At present the United Talmud Torahs consist of elementary school and Herzliah High Schools with branches in Snowdon and St. Laurent.

Steinberg Family/Rafman Family

Hyman Rafman The son of Max Rafman and Sarah Rabinovich, Hyman Rafman was born on November 20, 1906. On June 4, 1939, he married Lily Steinberg. He passed away on January 31, 1974. Lily Rafman (nee Steinberg) The daughter of Vilmos Sternberg (later known as William Steinberg) and Ida Roth, Lily Steinberg was born in 1909. As a child, she helped her mother run the family business (Steinberg's Stores). In 1931, after her brother Sam had taken over the family business, she and her mother started up a small shop on Monkland Street in Montreal, where she worked and lived until her marriage in 1939. She and Hyman Rafman had four children, Sandra, Nancy, Marlene and Mark. Steinberg's Ida Roth was born in 1884. In 1902, she married William Steinberg (an arranged marriage). They had six children: Jack (1903), Sam (1905), Nathan (1908), Lily (1909), Max (1912), and Morris (1914). After asking William to leave (not common at the time, but not unheard of), Ida started a small grocery store in 1917 in order to provide for her family. It was on St. Lawrence Boulevard in Montreal, and was quite successful. All family members helped out around the store, but young Sam Steinberg quickly emerged as a retail prodigy. He began opening new stores around Montreal. In 1930, he incorporated the company, calling it "Steinberg's Service Stores Ltd." The first self-service outlet was opened in 1933, and a "Wholesale Grocereria" (offering limited service but drastically-discounted prices) opened its doors in 1934. There was a great expansion in the 1950s, where Steinberg's opened up many outlets all over the province, not just in Montreal. Troubles for the grocery chain began in 1959. Sam attempted to expand into the Ontario market, but the venture was a disaster. In the 1960s, he broadened into discount department stores (Miracle Mart), but his experience in the food industry was apparently non-transferable into the world of clothing retail, and it proved to be a loser as well. In 1966, Steinberg's opened a few stores in France, but once again, the experience was a costly one. In 1969, Sam stepped down as President of the company, and appointed his son-in-law, Mel Dobrin, to take his place. He stayed quite active as Chairman and Chief Executive up until his death in 1978. Upon his death, Mel Dobrin took over the reins as Chairman and Chief Executive, and the position of President was, for the first time in the company's history, given to a non-family member, Peter McGoldrick. After seventeen months, McGoldrick retired, after having spearheaded a disastrous five-percent discount campaign that lost the company millions. Irving Ludmer was to replace him. His tenure would prove to be quite successful and profitable. However, he had a number of disagreements with Sam?s eldest daughter, Mitzi Dobrin, which would prove to be problematic. In 1985, Mitzi, then an Executive Vice-President at Steinberg's, quit her position. Soon after, she began looking around for a buyer for the family business, much to the dismay of her sisters. What followed was years of disputes between the women, including an attempt by Marilyn and Evelyn to take over the company. After a number of purchase offers from outside bidders, a Quebec buyer, Michel Gaucher acquired the company in 1989.

Ravel, Aviva

Aviva Ravel was born in Montréal. She holds a Ph.D. in Canadian Theatre from McGill University, an M.A. from the Université de Montréal, and a B.A from Concordia. She taught English, Drama, and Canadian Literature at the aforementioned universities and at the Collége Militaire Royal. A graduate of McGill's School for Teachers, she taught in elementary schools in Montreal, on a kibbutz in Israel where she and her husband lived for thirteen years, and was a founder of Akiva School. Since 1984 Aviva Ravel has been Artistic Director of Cameo Productions. She is also the founder and director of the popular Performance Playreading Ensemble of the Cote St. Luc Library that has presented over 150 plays, both classical and modern, in the theatre auditorium. Aviva is the author of over 25 plays for both adult and young audiences, which have been presented, at the Saidye Bronfman Center, Centre d'art Canadien, Hart House, Revue Theatre, Fringe Festivals, the Jewish Public Library and community centres and theatres across Canada. Her works have been adapted for radio and produced by CBC and Kol Israel. She has written short stories, articles, a biography, monologues, and edited two books of Canadian plays. Two plays were adapted for film. She has also translated some ten plays from English to French. Most of her work is set in the Jewish community of her native Montreal and deals with issues such as adoption, care for the elderly, the effects of the holocaust on victim and victimizer, the single woman in our society, family relationships, etc. Ravel is the recipient of many awards including the Women Write for Theatre Award, J. I. Segal Award, Women's Press Club award for Humour, Québec Drama Festival Award, Women's Federation Honoree for contribution to Montreal theatre, and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Québec Award. Recently, she was honoured by the Association for Canadian Theatre Research. Aviva is the mother of four children, and grandmother of seven. Her husband, Nahum, an active member of Montreal's Jewish community, passed away in 1998. In 2001 she married Albert Fleitman. Her expanded family now includes four stepchildren and seven more grandchildren.

Gesser, Samuel, 1930-2007

SAMUEL GESSER, CM, 1930-2007 Samuel Gesser was born in Montreal on January 7, 1930 and spent his childhood in the Plateau-Mont-Royal area, the colourful neighbourhood that inspired some of Canada's greatest Jewish personalities such as Mordecai Richler, A.M. Klein, Irving Layton and William Shatner. From an early age, Mr. Gesser was captivated with music and the world of entertainment; first displaying this interest by recording school ground play songs. He continued this early education by sneaking into His Majesty's Theatre to watch the shows and to study the intricacies of scriptwriting. By age fifteen, Mr. Gesser was active in the theatre and cultural committee of the YMHA and in his chapter of B'nai Brith. Shortly after this he left Baron Byng high school to begin his professional career, not yet in the entertainment field but in the commercial art business. His true vocation in the impresario field would soon develop almost by chance. While in Chicago in the late 1940s, Mr. Gesser happened to purchase a Folkways recording of celebrated blues guitarist Leadbelly. On the back of the album was a listing of other records available from Folkways; records not available in Canada as the now-legendary record company had no distributor north of the border at that point. After a meeting in New York with Folkways founder Moses Asch, he signed on as the Canadian representative and also took on the challenge of tracking down and producing Canadian folk music for the label. From 1950-1964, Mr. Gesser produced more than 100 original records for Folkways from songs of First Nations to the music of notable musicians such as Alan Mills, Jean Carignan and Hélène Baillargeon. In addition to this work, Mr. Gesser also produced records for the Pye, Vox and Premier record labels as well as wrote countless radio and television scripts for CFCF and CBC. While producing records, Mr. Gesser had the idea that presenting the artists to live audiences was an excellent way to promote the music. In 1950, Mr. Gesser arranged a concert date for Folkways artist Pete Seeger in Montreal at the L'Érmitage Hall located on Côte-des-Neiges Road and impresario history was born. Over the ensuing years, Mr. Gesser presented over 3000 performances to local, national and international audiences. He believed in not just presenting the obvious but that audiences would be interested in seeing new, or previously unknown, artists, music and dance. His productions brought to Montreal an immense range of artistry; from folk to popular, classical to jazz, international music and dance to Broadway musicals and plays. The success of the Seeger show launched Mr. Gesser on an over fifty-year odyssey of showcasing Canadian and international talent to audiences. In addition to his shows in Montreal, Mr. Gesser also took on touring challenges for artists such as Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett and Nana Mouskouri, bringing the live experience to western Canada, regions of the United States, the Maritimes and small-town Quebec. This work was expanded on a large scale when after his success as booking officer for Expo '67 in Montreal, Mr. Gesser was appointed to Canada's pavilion for Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. Mr. Gesser also helped to found Les Feux-Follets, a music and dance troupe that put Canadian heritage and artistry centre stage. When Mr. Gesser directed this internationally-acclaimed troupe, the operating budget was based entirely on profit from shows as well as a small amount of donations from business. The early days of the troupe did not receive government funding nor did they partner with many private institutions, yet they managed to be successful based on the quality of performances, Mr. Gesser's skilful leadership and the impression left on both Canadian and international audiences. Mr. Gesser continued to contribute to arts and entertainment through writing. His play "Fineman's Dictionary", starring Fyvish Finkel, was presented in 2000 at the Saidye Bronfman Centre in addition to a staged reading at the Jewish Public Library. "Dancing to Beethoven", a play written for and acted by blind actors, was presented in 2003 at Place des Arts. In 2006, the cast and the play itself were also the subject of a National Film Board documentary. Over his lengthy and impressive career, Mr. Gesser focused the spotlight on many outstanding entertainers and artists. His professionalism and accomplishments have not gone unnoticed and Mr. Gesser has deservedly been honoured for his untiring work. In 1993, Mr. Gesser received the Order of Canada for major contributions to the field of arts and entertainment. The Smithsonian has also recently recognized Mr. Gesser for his work in producing music for the Folkways label. His dedication to his craft continues through his donation of his substantial album collection to the Marvin Duchow Music Library, McGill University and, in 2005, his donation to the Jewish Public Library Archives of his professional archives. These archives not only document Mr. Gesser's long career and his achievements but also the history of Canadian culture and entertainment industry. Sam Gesser passed away at the Montreal General Hospital after battling cancer for many years on Tuesday, April 01, 2008.

Jewish Labour Committee (Montreal).

In 1934, leaders in the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, the Workmen's Circle, the Jewish Daily Forward Association, the Jewish Socialist Verband and others gathered in New York's lower east side to form the Jewish Labor Committee. The formation of the JLC was in response to the ever-growing threat of fascism in Europe. The group publicly campaigned to raise awareness of the plight of European Jewry, raised funds for partisan fighters, brought over thousands of political and cultural leaders - both Jews and non-Jews, and immediately after the war assisted in relief efforts and provided support in bringing over refugees. Jewish Labour Committees both in the United States and Canada extended their wartime work in the 1950s by campaigning against discrimination among workers as well as human rights activism on a global scale. In Montreal, the Jewish Labour Committee actively participated in pressuring the government to adopt human rights legislation at the provincial level. In 1947, the Canadian government selected two members of the JLC, Bernard Shane and Maurice Silcoff, to travel to Europe to select skilled immigrants as refugees. Both men were temporarily named colonels of the Canadian army so that they could travel more easily across war ravaged Europe. The task of bringing over skilled garment workers to Canada was no mean feat but the efforts had far reaching implications since workers were then able to bring over family members. The Jewish Labor Committee of Canada Bulletin for 1975, on reporting the death of Bernard Shane, placed the number of families brought to Canada through the work of the JLC at over 2,000.

Gotlib, Noah Itzchak, 1903-1967.

Born in 1901 in Kovno, Lithuania, Noah Gotlib is remembered as a talented poet, writer and journalist, an individual who spoke to many through his multitude of work. Gotlib, whose father was the head of a Hassidic yeshiva, was educated in both traditional Jewish and secular schools. Gotlib also studied for and received his teaching diploma from a Soviet Normal School. Gotlib's earliest poetry was in Hebrew but he soon took to writing in Yiddish. This writing included lyric poetry and prose, essays, literary criticism and articles. His immigration to Montreal in 1930 was helped in part by the sponsorship of a man he had never met but who admired Gotlib's poetry: the poet and brother of Yaakov Zipper, Sholem Shtern. Gotlib was quickly engrossed in the booming literary world of Yiddish Montreal by becoming a regular contributor to the Keneder Odler. The newspaper printed his articles as well as a semi-daily journal published under the pseudonym "H. Yudelevitch". His first collection of poetry was published in 1931 in Montreal and thereafter Gotlib published books of poetry almost continuously until his death in 1967.

Batshaw, Manuel G., 1915-

Manuel Gilman Batshaw (Manny) was born in Montreal on April 17, 1915. His parents, Tuvieh Batshaw and Golda Batshaw (née Gelman) immigrated to Montreal from Russia in 1903, following the birth of Manny's older brother Harry in 1902 [?]. Harry was followed by Arthur in 1908, Frances in 1910 and finally, Manny. The family had a very limited income. While his father worked outside of the home, Batshaw's mother Goldie ran a small grocery store from their home's living room. From childhood, Batshaw was quite active within the Montreal Jewish community. In 1928, as a bar mitzvah gift from his brother Harry, Batshaw received a membership to the YMHA. Over the years, he moved from member, to club leader, to being in charge of all clubs, and finally, to educational director. It was through this organization that Batshaw had his first experiences in the field of social work. At 15 years old, he joined Young Judea. At 16, he became a counselor at Camp B?nai Brith. In the early 1930s when Batshaw was preparing to attend university, McGill had a quota system in place whereby all Jewish applicants had to have an average of at least 75% (this quota was lower for non-Jews). Despite being incredibly bright, Manny?s average was lower than required due to a learning disability. In 1934 he enrolled at Queen?s University in Kingston, Ontario, determined to bring up his average in order to be able to attend McGill. The next year he received his acceptance and completed his Bachelor of Arts at McGill from 1935-1937. He then enrolled in the Montreal School of Social Work, and worked at the Protestant Family Service Association while attending school. After graduation, he found a job in the Family Service Department at the Baron de Hirsch Institute. In 1938, Batshaw met Rachel Levitt (Rachie). She was also a social worker, nine years his senior. Two years later in 1940, the two were married. In 1942, Batshaw volunteered for the Canadian Armed Forces. He was placed in the Infantry and was made District Social Service Officer in charge of Social Services to the Canadian Armed Forces in the province of Quebec. He began his military career as a Private and by the time the War was over had attained the rank of Captain. After the War he was invited to become the Executive Director of the Red Cross in Montreal. As tempting as the offer was, he wanted to play a larger role within the Jewish community, so he declined. From 1947-1968, the Batshaw family moved quite a bit living in Philadelphia, Hamilton, Atlanta, Newark, New Jersey and New York. In 1968, the Allied Jewish Community Services (AJCS) contacted Batshaw, and asked him to return to Montreal as Executive Director of the organization. He agreed, and remained in that position until 1980. During the "Batshaw Era," fundraising increased five-fold and the organization expanded, made obvious by the many buildings which were constructed, including Cummings House in 1973. He personally helped to reassure the community following the implementation of Bill 65. He insisted on making it the right of all Jewish children to have a Jewish education, he helped to integrate the Francophone Sephardic population into the AJCS, he organized trips for students to visit Israel, and in the face of possible Quebec separation (when many Anglophone Jews were leaving the province), he fought for French Immersion education in Jewish schools. His compassion was felt beyond the walls of AJCS. In 1974, following a news story in The Montreal Gazette regarding the maltreatment of children in a welfare institution in La Prairie, Batshaw convinced Claude Forget, Minister of Health and Welfare for the province of Quebec, to allow him to form a small committee of professionals to go into the institution and make recommendations. The approval arrived the next day on a Thursday, the committee was formed the following day, and by Sunday night, the visit had been completed and the finished report had been delivered to the Minister. The recommendations were published in the local newspapers and soon after almost all of them had been implemented. Obviously impressed, Mr. Forget asked Batshaw to spearhead a thorough examination of the province's 60 other institutions. What followed 11 months later was an 11-volume report, informally titled The Batshaw Committee Report. This led to the enactment of Bill 24, Quebec?s Youth Protection Act. In 1993, when the five Anglophone child welfare institutions of Quebec amalgamated, the new name was an easy choice: Batshaw Youth and Family Centres. After his retirement from AJCS in 1980, Batshaw joined Claridge Inc. at the request of his friend Charles Bronfman as his Consultant on Philanthropy and Jewish Affairs. He retired from this position in 1998.

Federation of Jewish Philanthropies/Allied Jewish Community Services/Federation CJA

FEDERATION CJA was founded in 1916 as the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, with the first campaign held in 1917. The Federation originally consisted of 12 Jewish agencies: the Baron de Hirsch Institute, Mount Sinai Sanatorium, Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society, Herzl Dispensary and Hospital, the Montreal Hebrew Orphans' Home, the Montreal Hebrew Sheltering Home, the Ladies Jewish Endeavour Sewing Society, the Young Women's Hebrew Association, the Beth Israel Day Nursery and Infants' Home, the Hebrew Ladies Aid Society and the Friendly League of Jewish Women. That first campaign raised $127,000 for support of agencies and community work. In 1951, the name was changed to Federation of Jewish Community Services and then again, in 1965, to Allied Jewish Community Services. The current incarnation of FEDERATION CJA occurred in 1992. Currently, FEDERATION CJA acts as the «central funding, planning, and coordinating body of services for the nearly 93,000 Jews in Montreal and is the one organization that speaks on behalf of the entire community.» Today FEDERATION CJA is the umbrella organization for 13 agencies and funds 3 associated communal organizations. Agencies Bronfman Israel Experience Centre Bronfman Jewish Education Centre Camp B'nai Brith Communauté sépharade unifée du Québec (CSUQ) Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors (CJCS) Hillel Montreal Jewish Employment Montreal Jewish Family Services of the Baron de Hirsch Institute Jewish Immigrant Aid Services Jewish Public Library Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre Segal Centre for Performing Arts at The Saidye Young Men's-Young Women's Hebrew Association

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