Jewish Heritage Month

Established by the government of Ontario in 2012 and the federal government in 2018, Jewish Heritage Month is an opportunity to recognize and honour the bravery, resilience, and fight for human rights that Jewish communities have shown throughout history. It is also an opportunity for Canadians to learn about the significant contributions Jewish Canadians have made in the Canada for close to 250 years.

Here are some historic highlights to honour this important month:  

• The first known Jews to settle in the land we now call Canada were Samuel Jacobs and Aaron Hart, commissaries attached to the British army during the British conquest of New France in 1760. 
  
  
• Hart’s sons were involved in founding the first Canadian Jewish community in Montreal, with the first Canadian synagogue being established in 1768.
  
  
• The biggest wave of Jewish immigration to Canada came between the end of the 19^thcentury and the end of World War I.
  
  
• Today, Canada’s Jewish population is approximately 400,000 people, making it the fourth-largest Jewish community in the world.
  
  
• At the Canadian Congress of Labour in 1947, the Jewish Labour Committee passed the first anti-discrimination resolution, calling for strong action in “the fight for full equality for all peoples, regardless of race, colour, creed, or national origin.”
  

Learn more about Canadian Jewish History Month in May, the rich history of Judaism as well as all of its unique communities and sub-ethnicities on the links below:

1. https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/corporate/news/Pages/jewish-heritage-month.aspx
   
2. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jewish-canadians 
3. https://www.etfo.ca/news-publications/publications/jewish-heritage-month-poster