Newspapers of Jewish Montreal" - Jewish Public Library · partly because they were newspapers for...

Experience Heritage

Jewish Public Library Archives

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Newspapers

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1

26Glossary

25Classroom Discussion

6Digital Archive Images

3Introduction to Jewish Montreal Newspapers

2Experience Heritage

EXPERIENCE HERITAGE IN YOUR CLASSROOM

Thank you very much for allowing the Jewish Public Library Archives the

opportunity to share its resources with your students.

Each kit contains a variety of copies of archival sources, including newspaper

clippings, annual reports, photographs, correspondence, commemorative

books and publicity materials. These sources are complimented, when

possible, with secondary sources from standard resources that the Library,

Archives and researchers use in studying Montreal Jewish history.

Also in each kit you will find the guide to the subject. It includes a brief

narrative, a glossary if necessary, useful information such as timelines and

suggested questions for the students to answer in their research. These

questions are merely a suggestion. We designed the questions to match the

material in the kit but they should in no way define or limit the students’ use of

the material. In general, there are ten questions provided with each kit but you

will notice that some kits have more. This allows for more than one group to

work on a topic or for the students to pick and choose those questions they

feel are important to them.

2

INTRODUCTION

Newspapers of Jewish Montreal

3

Canadian Jewish Times

The first Jewish paper was published in English. The Jewish Times was

founded by a number of community leaders, in 1897. Co-founders

included Samuel W. Jacobs, a lawyer and a Member of Parliament (MP),

and Lyon Cohen, an important community leader. Mr. Cohen was an

important leader in the Young Men’s Hebrew Benevolent Society (which

eventually became the Baron de Hirsch Institute) and the United Talmud

Torahs and as well, was the grandfather of Canadian poet and musician

Leonard Cohen. The first editor of the newspaper was an Irishman

named Carroll Ryan. He remained editor of the newspaper until he died

in 1910. The newspaper’s name was changed in 1909 to the Canadian

Jewish Times. In 1915, the newspaper joined with another English

Jewish newspaper, the Canadian Jewish Chronicle.

Der Keneder Adler [The Jewish Daily Eagle]

The Keneder Adler was Jewish Montreal’s daily Yiddish newspaper. It

was not the only Yiddish newspaper to be printed in Montreal but it was

the only one that lasted as long as it did. The Adler was founded by a

Polish immigrant named Hirsch Wolofsky in 1907. The newspaper was

very important to Jewish Montreal as at that time, there was a huge

immigrant population that used Yiddish as their main language. The

Adler gave them a chance to read and discuss the news of their

community, Montreal, Canada, and the world in a language that they

were comfortable in. There were so many Yiddish-speaking people in

Montreal that the government and different business used to publish

notices or advertisements in Yiddish in the newspaper. It was recognized

all over Canada as a very important newspaper since it reached so many

people in Montreal. The Adler eventually had to stop publishing as

Yiddish declined as the main language of Jewish Montreal. The

newspaper stopped printing in after 70 years of being Montreal’s Yiddish

newspaper.

INTRODUCTION


4

Canadian Jewish Chronicle

In 1914, the Wolofsky family – who founded the Adler – founded another

newspaper, this time in English. The Chronicle was the “sister”

newspaper to the Yiddish Adler and provided news in English to the

Jewish community, important to those people practicing their new

language skills or to those Jews who had been here a long time and

didn’t speak or read Yiddish. The Chronicle wasn’t published daily like

the Adler, but instead bi-weekly, or every second week. Both the Adler

and the Chronicle had many important writers working on the paper. For

example, one of the editors of the Chronicle was a Jewish poet from

Montreal named A.M. Klein. He won the Governor General’s award for

poetry and is considered one of Canada’s greatest poets.

Canadian Jewish News

The Canadian Jewish News was founded in Toronto in 1960 by a man

named Meyer J. Nurenberger. In the 1970s, the Federations in Toronto

and then Montreal took over the newspaper so that both communities

could continue to have their own Jewish newspapers. The newspaper

continues to this day and is Canada’s largest and most important Jewish

publication.

Who Was Involved with the Newspapers?


5

Poets, Writers, Journalists, Politicians, Artists and More!

The Keneder Adler and the Canadian Jewish Chronicle were very influential newspapers,

partly because they were newspapers for the Jewish community by the Jewish community, but

also because the people who wrote for the newspaper were so important! Many of the

journalists and editors were leaders in the community, whether by being great artists, world-

famous poets, politicians or novelists. Montreal was a very important city to Jews around the

world because of the amazing Yiddish culture here! To this day, historians study many of the

people involved with Montreal Jewish newspapers, including people like:

Reuben Brainin

Reuben Brainin was a Hebrew writer and journalist from Eastern Europe. In 1912, he came to

Montreal to be the editor of the Keneder Adler, even though he thought that Hebrew was a

more important language to write in rather than Yiddish. Brainin was not editor of the Keneder

Adler for very long and left Montreal in 1916. Before he left though, he helped to found the

Jewish Public Library in 1914 and was involved with many other organizations in the city.

J.I. Segal

J.I. Segal was a Yiddish poet and at one time, editor of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle. His

poetry is so beautiful, and often speaks about Montreal, that it continues to be studied today in

translations into English and French. The Jewish Public Library even gives out writing awards

named after him to people from all over the world – the J.I. Segal Awards!

B.G. Sack

B.G. Sack was a journalist but also wrote a history of the Jewish people in Canada called,

“History of the Jews in Canada.” The book was originally published in Yiddish in 1948 but has

been re-published in English as well. People still use that book as a good source of

information about the history of Jewish communities all over the country.

Leon Crestohl

Leon Crestohl was a Member of Parliament for the Cartier District of Montreal from 1950 until

1962. The Cartier District no longer exists in Montreal but it was made up of parts of

Outremont, Laurier and St.Jacques. Crestohl was very involved with the Montreal Jewish

community in addition to also working on the Keneder Adler.

S.W. Jacobs

S.W. Jacobs was called the “Wit of Parliament”. He sat as the Member of Parliament for the

Cartier District from 1917 until he died in 1938. He founded the Canadian Jewish Times with

Lyon Cohen in 1897 and was also involved with other Montreal Jewish organizations like the

Jewish General Hospital.


6First issue of The Jewish Times, 1897.


7

First issue of The Jewish Times, 1897.

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Advertisements from the Keneder Adler, ca1927-1932

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Advertisements from the Keneder Adler and Canadian Jewish Chronicle, ca1914-1932


10

Advertisements from the Keneder Adler, ca1927-1932


11Advertisements from the Keneder Adler, ca1927-1932


12First issue of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, 1914.

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First issue of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, 1914.


14


15

Editorial staff of the Keneder Adler and Canadian Jewish Chronicle, ca194?

Second row, from left: Israel Medres, A.M. Klein, Mordecai Ginsburg, J. Gallay, J.I. Segal,

Melech Ravitch, Noah Gotlib, Chana Widerman.

First row, from left: Leon Crestohl, Dr. A. Stilman, Max Wolofsky, Israel Medres, Hirsch

Wolofsky, B.G. Sack and and A. Halpern.


16

Yiddish reads:

Canadian Jewry Helps the War-Effort

During the Second World War Canadian Jews played a prominent role in the war-effort

including service in the Canadian Armed Forces. This photograph was taken in front of

the headquarters established by the Canadian Jewish Congress on Park Avenue in

Montreal to recruit Jewish volunteers. Included in the photograph are Phil Abbey,

Harris Cohen, OBE, Berl Schwartz, Sam Bronfman, H.M. Caiserman, Israel

Rabinovitch, Hirsch Wolofsky and Moshe Myerson, who directed the campaign.


17

Yiddish reads:

Two Historic Personalities Visit Montreal

This photograph was taken in 1915 when Nahum Sokolov visited Montreal for the first time.

Seated right to left: J. Yampolsky, Reuven Brainin, Carl Rosenberg.

Standing: Joseph Brainin, S. Sternklar, Hirsch Wolofsky, M. Stein.

This photograph was taken at the Keneder Adler office on Main Street near Ontario Street.


18

Congratulatory letters on the Keneder Adler’s Golden Jubilee, 1957


19



20



21



22


23Jew in Canada



24Jew in Canada

CLASSROOM DISCUSSION


25

1.List the different nameplates on the newspaper(s) and the dates they

were founded.

2. Where were the newspapers published?

3. What language(s) are they in?

4. Who was the editor or editors for the newspapers?

5. Were there any other important people involved in the newspaper?

6. Who were the audience or readers of these newspapers?

7. Did other people in other places also know about these newspapers?

8. What did they think of them?

9. Why do you think these newspapers were important to Montreal?

10. Are there any interesting characteristics of the newspapers that you can

see?

11. Can you name an example of a newspaper that exists today that is like

these newspapers?

12. Compare newspaper advertisements in this education kit with

newspaper advertisements that you see today. How are they different?

How are they the same?

Glossary – Parts of a Newspaper


26

Nameplate: The name of the newspaper printed in special font on the top front of

the page.

Headline: The title of the article

Editor: The person in charge of the overall lay-out and content (articles) of the

newspaper.

Deck: A smaller headline underneath the big one that gives a little more

information about the article.

Article: The main bodies of writing in a newspaper

Lead: The first few sentences of a newspaper article that should answer the 5 W’s

of the story (Who, What, When, Where, Why)

Byline: The name of the author of the article

Sidebars: Extra information about the story – sometimes more background

information – that is printed beside the article.

Cut: A photograph or illustration that is used to help tell the story in the article.

Cutline: A caption underneath a photograph or illustration explaining what it is

about.

Gutter: The space beside the crease where the pages of the newspaper folds.

Index: An alphabetical table of contents that lists the different sections of the

newspaper. Different parts of a newspaper could include:

Arts and Culture

Classifieds

Comics

Editorial

Obituary

Op-Ed (Opposite the Editorial)

Sports

Weather

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