History of the Jews in Vancouver facts for kids

The history of Jewish people in Vancouver (which includes Greater Vancouver and Metro Vancouver) in British Columbia, Canada began in the mid-1800s.

At first, Jewish settlers were quite spread out across the Greater Vancouver area. They were often far from other Jewish communities in eastern Canada and the United States. As cities grew, the Jewish community also expanded. Many early Jewish settlers worked as merchants. Some started as street sellers and slowly built small stores. A few of these stores even grew into large retail businesses.

Most early Jewish immigrants came from the United States and Britain. After World War I, many more Jewish people arrived from Eastern Europe. They came because of unfair treatment in their home countries, like the pogroms (violent attacks) in Russia. Changes in Canadian immigration rules also helped them come here.

Early Jewish Life in Vancouver

The first Jewish settlers in Vancouver often lived in the Strathcona neighbourhood (the East End). They also had stores in the Gastown area. The first Jewish businessman in Vancouver was Louis Gold. He opened a general store by the waterfront in 1872. His wife and son were also important business people. His son, Edward, later gave valuable land to the Jewish community for charities and building projects. Edward was also elected as a city leader in South Vancouver in 1914.

David Oppenheimer was another important early settler. He moved to Vancouver in 1885. He became the city's second Mayor (from 1888 to 1891). He helped start many important city projects and industries. Oppenheimer also made sure there was a Jewish burial area in the city's Mountain View Cemetery. He even offered land for a synagogue (a Jewish house of worship). He and his brothers were well-known in real estate, groceries, and transportation. Their grocery business, The Oppenheimer Group, is still around today.

Zebulon Franks arrived in 1887 and opened a hardware store by 1896. Parts of his business still exist as Y. Franks Appliances. Franks also helped create Jewish religious and community groups in Vancouver. He hosted the first Orthodox prayer services. He was also a founding member of B'nai B'rith, a Jewish service organization. With Henry Sigler, he helped buy the land for Vancouver's first synagogue.

Building Synagogues

In Vancouver's early days, the closest synagogue was Temple Emanu-El in Victoria. The first Jewish group in Vancouver was Agudas Achim (Orthodox), active from 1891 to 1906. A semi-Reform group, Temple Emanu-El, started in 1894.

In 1907, a new Orthodox group called B'nai Yehudah (Sons of Israel) appeared. However, the first actual synagogue building in Vancouver wasn't built until 1911. This was B'nai Yehudah, located at East Pender and Heatley Streets. It could seat 200 people. But for High Holidays (important Jewish festivals), larger halls had to be rented. The building also housed several community groups. Jewish classes for children began nearby soon after it opened.

In 1914, during a tough economic time, the synagogue was saved from being taken over by a special fundraising effort. In 1917, B'nai Yehudah became an official society called Schara Tzedeck. The Vancouver Hebrew School/Talmud Torah started at the synagogue in 1918. After 30 years, the old synagogue building was turned into homes. It received a special plaque in 1986 to honor its history.

Starting Community Groups

Many local Jewish community groups were started in the early 1900s. These included the Young Mens Hebrew Association (1909) and the Ladies Aid Society (1907). The Ladies Aid Society later became the Schara Tzedeck Ladies' Auxiliary. Other groups were B'nai B'rith (1910), the Hebrew Aid and Immigrant Society (1910), the Zionist and Social Society (1913), and the Hebrew Free Loan Association (1915).

Samuel Davies Schultz became a judge in Vancouver County Court in 1914. This made him Canada's first Jewish judge. Max Grossman was the first Jewish lawyer in Vancouver to be named King's Counsel in 1917. Grossman was involved in many community groups. He was a major helper for the first Schara Tzedeck Synagogue, the Vancouver Hebrew School, and the first Jewish Community Centre.

More Families and Growth

In the early 1900s, more well-off Jewish families began to move to the West End area. They gathered around the Congregation Temple Emanu-El. This group started raising money for a semi-Reform synagogue in 1911. But World War I and a tough economy stopped their plans. The congregation stopped holding services in 1917.

Soon after, many Orthodox Jewish immigrants arrived from Eastern Europe. This was due to changes in European borders after the Russian revolution and the Treaty of Versailles. Vancouver's Jewish population was still too small to support many synagogues. So, from 1919 to 1921, the remaining members of the Reform congregation joined with the larger Orthodox group, Schara Tzedeck. They worked together to build a new synagogue in the East End for all Vancouver Jews. However, the Temple Emanu-El Ladies Auxiliary continued to hold separate social and charity events in the West End. They also ran a children's Sabbath school until the group fully ended in 1932.

Growth in the 1920s

The 1920s were a time of more growth for the Jewish community. The Schara Tzedeck Synagogue (Orthodox) was built in 1920. It was on the same spot as the old B'nai Yehudah synagogue in the East End. The old synagogue building was then used by the Hebrew school and as a community hall.

A Hadassah chapter (a women's Zionist organization) was started in 1920. The Jewish Community Chest and Vancouver Council of Jewish Women began in 1924. The Hebrew Athletic Club and early meetings for Congregation Beth Israel (Conservative) started in 1925.

The first regular Jewish newspaper, called the Vancouver Jewish Community Centre, began in 1923. It later became the Jewish Western Bulletin, which was published until 2001. The Schara Tzedeck congregation helped and supported the Talmud Torah Hebrew school. They took over running the school from 1928 to 1943.

A big event was the visit by Dr. Joseph H. Hertz, the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, in July 1921. In 1922, the famous performer Jack Benny met Sadye Marks at a Passover Seder in the West End. They married in 1927. She became famous as his partner, Mary Livingstone.

Two important Jewish businesses started during this time. In 1919, Sam Cohen opened the Army & Navy store. It sold surplus and liquidation items. He built it into a large chain across western Canada. His granddaughter, Jacqui, runs it now. Second, Ben and Morris Wosk started Wosk's in 1923 as an appliance store. It grew into a major chain of furniture and appliance stores. The Wosks were also big in real estate and gave a lot to charity.

Into the 1930s

In the 1920s and 1930s, many Jewish families moved to new neighborhoods south of False Creek. Fairview was a popular area. The Talmud Torah Hebrew school opened a smaller branch here in 1923. After much fundraising, the first Jewish Community Centre was built in 1928. It was located at Oak Street and 11th Avenue. The Talmud Torah school branch moved into the Centre that same year.

Congregation Beth Israel was officially formed in 1932. They held their services in the Centre. In 1937, the Schara Tzedeck congregation decided to move to the Fairview area. But a tough economy and war slowed their plans. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, many wealthy families left the West End. They moved to newer areas like Shaughnessy and Point Grey.

The Jewish Administrative Council was created in 1932. Its job was to help coordinate the Free Loan Association, Community Chest, and Community Centre.

The 1940s

By the 1940s, Jewish life and population started to center around Oak Street in central Vancouver. This was south of the first Jewish Community Centre. The Talmud Torah school opened its first own building in 1943. It was on West 14th Avenue between Oak and Cambie Streets.

The Orthodox congregation Beth Hamidrash B'nai Ya'acov started in 1943. Its members wanted to be able to walk to services from their Fairview homes. The Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture opened in 1945 near Oak Street. It was a center for secular-humanist education and culture. A home for elderly Jewish people was founded nearby in 1946. The famous American comedian Eddie Cantor helped fund it.

The Schara Tzedeck congregation finally opened its new synagogue here in 1948. The Beth Israel synagogue opened in 1949. The Talmud Torah school moved to a new Oak Street campus in 1948. It became a day school for elementary grades.

A Vancouver branch of the Canadian Jewish Congress was started in 1941. In 1944, Schara Tzedeck opened the first Jewish funeral chapel.

After World War II

After World War II, more Jewish people came to Vancouver. Many arrived from central and eastern Canada. It was also the first time many Sephardic Jewish immigrants came to British Columbia. The Council of Jewish Women played a big role in helping refugees after the war. This included 47 children who had lost their families in the Holocaust. They arrived in 1948. Besides Holocaust survivors, Jewish immigrants also came from Iraq, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia in the following decades.

The first Sephardic High Holy Day services were held in 1966 at the Jewish Community Centre. A Sephardic congregation soon formed. They used the Beth Hamidrash synagogue, which had fewer members at the time. In 1979, the Sephardic congregation joined with the Beth Hamidrash Ashkenazic congregation.

The 1960s and 1970s

The Jewish population continued to move south and west to the Oakridge area in the 1960s and 1970s. A new Jewish Community Centre was built at Oak and 41st in 1962. The Louis Brier Home and Hospital for the aged was built in 1968. It is the only Jewish seniors' facility west of Winnipeg.

Temple Sholom (Reform) was founded in 1965. Its first home was on West 10th Avenue. This building was destroyed by a fire bomb in January 1985. The Congregation built a new synagogue on Oak Street, which opened in 1988. [1]

Wealthy families also moved to the Point Grey and West Vancouver neighborhoods. A study from 1960 showed that only 10% of the local Jewish community lived outside Vancouver. However, many families started moving to the suburbs as housing costs went up.

Community services and synagogues often worked together. But some suburban communities felt left out by the main organizations. The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver was created in 1987. Its goal was to build a wider community across the whole area. It was formed by combining the United Jewish Appeal and the Jewish Community Fund and Council.

The Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver also offers services for the whole community. It houses many organizations like the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. The center also has programs for all ages, a library, and places for recreation and events.

In 1974, Rabbi Yitzchak and Henia Wineberg moved from Brooklyn, NY. They opened the first Chabad House center in Western Canada. Chabad is known for helping Jewish people connect with their identity and practices. Chabad Lubavitch BC now has 7 centers in BC. These include centers in Vancouver, Richmond, and the Okanagan. Chabad also runs holiday programs in Whistler, BC, like Chanukah celebrations and Passover Seders.

The 21st Century

Beth Hamidrash opened a new synagogue building in 2004. Congregation Schara Tzedeck celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007. It is the first and largest Orthodox synagogue in British Columbia. It had 450 families as members, some of whom were fourth-generation members. Congregation Beth Israel celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2007.

Duffy Holeksa was a notable member of the Jewish support movement. He helped build banks and clinics in East Vancouver. He was quoted saying, "I'll build these banks with every penny I have!"

New Westminster

Jewish merchants have been in New Westminster since it was founded in 1859. Firms like Meyer, Reinhards & Co. arrived to supply gold prospectors for the Cariboo Gold Rush. By the late 1920s, there were a few Jewish families and businesses in the area. The Schara Tzedeck congregation of Vancouver opened its cemetery here in 1929.

One important family was that of Louis Zack. He started a drycleaning business in 1929. He became a business and community leader. In 1941, Sam and Paul Heller bought and updated the Pacific Pine Co. Ltd. sawmill.

The Royal City Hadassah chapter was founded in 1947. It was active until at least 2001. This chapter became a focus for more Jewish social activities. For years, parents drove their children to Vancouver Jewish schools. They also hired private tutors. Then, in 1949, the New Westminster branch of Vancouver's Talmud Torah school was started. Most families still went to Vancouver synagogues, partly because of family connections.

Louis Leask was an important doctor and school trustee from 1952 to 1971. Muni Evers, a pharmacist, served six years as an alderman. He was also mayor of New Westminster for 14 years.

By 1960, the Jewish community directory listed 21 families in New Westminster. However, in the 1970s, the local Jewish community got smaller. Families started moving to cheaper housing further east.

History by Local Areas

Greater Vancouver

West Vancouver and North Vancouver

For a long time, there were no bridges across Burrard Inlet. This made it hard to get to Jewish places. So, the Jewish population in West Vancouver and North Vancouver was small until after the Second World War.

Samuel Gintzburger was a notable Jewish businessman who settled there. He served on the first West Vancouver municipal council in 1912. He also started the Vancouver Hebrew Free Loan Association. He was president of Vancouver's Temple Emanu-El for a long time. He also helped Jewish children from the Juvenile Court.

Another North Shore businessman was Louis Brier. He left his Gold Rush money to fund a seniors' home, orphanage, and hospital for everyone. This became the Louis Brier Home in Vancouver. Harry Evans was a third important resident. He helped create Beth Israel Cemetery in Burnaby in 1946. He also founded the B.C. Collateral Loan Co. Ltd. in Gastown in 1899, which is still operating.

Besides business, Jewish families and community groups enjoyed the North Shore's beaches, hiking trails, and mountains.

A Jewish community began to grow on the North Shore in the 1950s. In 1952, the Gleneagles Golf and Country Club was started in West Vancouver. This was because private golf clubs often did not let Jewish people join at that time. The North Shore Jewish Community Association was founded in 1958. It began holding religious services in the West Vancouver Community Centre in the early 1960s. At this time, a Sunday Hebrew School started in a North Shore family home. It later moved to the West Vancouver Community Centre.

The North Shore's first synagogue, Har-El (Conservative), was built in 1998. It also has the North Shore Jewish Community Centre and an afternoon Hebrew School. A Traditional congregation, Torat Hayim, started in 1999. [2]

Burnaby and Coquitlam

George Biely was one of the first Jewish settlers in Burnaby. He started a poultry farm in 1936. Early Jewish residents often socialized in nearby cities. Those in western Burnaby went to Vancouver, while those in eastern Burnaby went to New Westminster. In 1946, Vancouver's Beth Israel congregation opened a cemetery in northern Burnaby.

The opening of Simon Fraser University in 1965 brought many Jewish professors, especially from the United States. More families also started settling in east Burnaby and nearby areas. These included New Westminster, Port Moody, Coquitlam, and Port Coquitlam. The Burquest Jewish Community Association began in 1973. It was officially formed in 1976. It offered social and educational programs. A cooperative Sunday school was also founded then. It met in members' homes and later at the Centennial Lodge of New Westminster.

From 1976 to 1980, the Richmond/Delta Jewish Community Association offered seats at its High Holidays services to Burquest members. Services started in Burnaby in 1980. The Burquest Jewish Community Association and Sha'arai Mizrah congregation are now based in Coquitlam.

Richmond and Delta

The rich soil of the river delta area attracted many Jewish farmers. Jack Bell, the "Cranberry King," was one of them. He started BC's first cranberry farm on Lulu Island in 1946.

City growth in Richmond first began at Steveston. This was on the southwestern end of Lulu Island. As the town grew around its fishing harbor and canneries in the 1890s, several stores were opened by Jewish immigrants. When a fire destroyed Steveston in 1918, growth moved to the northern side of the island. In 1959, 12 Jewish families were listed here, with four in more rural areas. That same year, the Richmond Country Club was founded. It was open to everyone, but it was mostly Jewish and still is. The Jewish population grew after the war. Families looked for affordable land, and bridges were built to Vancouver.

In the 1960s, Jewish residents of Richmond were mostly young families. They met to organize a Hebrew school for their children. They formed the Richmond/Delta Jewish Community Association in 1971. Youth programs started in 1971, and High Holy Days services in 1972. Both used borrowed facilities. The Conservative congregation Beth Tikvah started in 1977. Ten years later, the congregation opened a cemetery in Surrey and a Hebrew high school. The synagogue was made bigger in 1993.

In 1977, some families left the community association. They formed the Orthodox Congregation of Richmond. Services and school were held in homes until 1979. That's when the Eitz Chaim synagogue opened. The congregation built a new synagogue and school in 1988.

The Richmond Jewish community grew quickly in the 1980s and 1990s. Many immigrants from other countries arrived. The Kehila Society was founded in 2000 to help manage this growth. It also helped coordinate Richmond Jewish community groups. Chabad of Richmond (Chabad-Lubavitch) was formed in 1997. Three years later, the congregation celebrated High Holy Days for the first time. They also formed a Community Kollel for Jewish education for everyone. Richmond Jewish Day School started in 1992. It moved to a permanent building in 1998.

In 2002, some members of the Eitz Chaim congregation formed a new Orthodox community. It was called Young Israel of Richmond (YIRBC). It closed in June 2015.

South Surrey and White Rock

Some Jewish families settled in this area as pioneers. Others retired there after owning summer homes. Still others arrived in the 1960s looking for affordable housing. Max Zack was a notable resident. He owned a hotel in White Rock and served as an alderman (1958–1960).

A summer camp for Jewish youth was built at Crescent Beach in 1937. The National Council of Jewish Women built it with help from the Vancouver Jewish community. The camp was given to the Zionist Organization of British Columbia in 1946. It was renamed Camp Hatikvah. Local Jewish men trained here to fight in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Camp Hatikvah moved to the Okanagan region of British Columbia in 1956.

The area became home to several Jewish cemeteries. These included ones for Temple Sholom, Vancouver, in 1977, and Beth Tikvah, Richmond, in 1987.

In 1986, the Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley was founded. [3] It later opened its first synagogue in North Delta (Chabad Lubavitch). In 1995, it moved to White Rock, where it is today. The school also runs the Gan Israel children's summer day camp.

A chapter of Jewish Women International was formed here in 1989. It was formerly called B'nai B'rith Women of BC.

In the early 1990s, a group of families hosted an open Passover dinner. They invited all South Surrey Jews to attend. So many people came that it grew into the White Rock South Surrey Jewish Community Centre in 1994. In its current location, the community center holds regular services. It also has a Hebrew school for all ages. It hosts many programs for preschoolers to seniors. It has members from as far away as Abbotsford, B.C., and Bellingham, Washington.

Fraser Valley

A small number of Jewish families settled in the farmland of the Fraser Valley, east of Vancouver. They were usually storekeepers, farmers, and doctors. Early Jewish residents of Maple Ridge included John and William Hammond. They arrived in 1872 and started the town of Port Hammond. Thomas Haney arrived in 1876 and built a brick plant. This started nearby Port Haney. These towns grew quickly in the early 1880s. They were supply points for Canadian Pacific Railway construction. They are now parts of Maple Ridge, keeping their names as neighborhoods.

Jewish settlement in the Fraser Valley was spread out. The closest synagogues were a day's travel away in Vancouver and Bellingham, Washington. In the early 1950s, the Rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel (Bellingham, Washington) briefly taught classes for local Jewish children. However, he could not visit often enough. So, families went back to traveling to other places.

Since the 1964 opening of the Highway 1 freeway and Port Mann Bridge, travel became easier. Fraser Valley Jewish families have been able to take part more fully in the synagogues of Vancouver and its suburbs. Some families still prefer to travel to Bellingham, Washington. It is closer but across the US border.

Jewish Population in Vancouver

In 2001, about 60% of Jewish people in Vancouver married someone who was not Jewish. About 40% of Jewish people were actively involved with religious groups. As of 2001, the largest congregations were Conservative. However, the Reform congregation has also been growing. In the 2006 Canadian census, 21,465 people in Greater Vancouver said their background was Jewish. This was about 1% of the people surveyed in that area. In 2008, the Jewish population of Greater Vancouver was about 25,000. This was 80% of all Jewish people in British Columbia.

Jewish Congregations in Vancouver

• Congregation Schara Tzedeck: Vancouver; Orthodox.
• Congregation Beth Hamidrash]: Vancouver; Orthodox (Sephardic).
• Chabad of Vancouver: Vancouver; Orthodox (Chabad-Lubavitch).
• Chabad of Downtown: Vancouver; Orthodox (Chabad-Lubavitch).
• Chabad of EastVan: Vancouver; Orthodox (Chabad-Lubavitch).
• Louis Brier Home and Hospital: Vancouver; Orthodox.
• Ohel Ya'akov Community Kollel: Vancouver; Orthodox
• Congregation Beth Israel: Vancouver; Conservative.
• Temple Sholom: Vancouver; Reform.
• Congregation Or Shalom: Vancouver; Jewish Renewal.
• Chabad of Richmond: Richmond; Orthodox (Chabad-Lubavitch).[4]
• The Bayit; .[5]
• Eitz Chaim Congregation: Richmond;
• Beth Tikvah Congregation: Richmond; Conservative.
• Burquest Jewish Community Association: Coquitlam; Reform.
• White Rock South Surrey Jewish Community Centre: South Surrey White Rock, Various.
• Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley: White Rock; Orthodox (Chabad-Lubavitch).
• Congregation Har El: North Vancouver; Conservative.

Jewish Schools in Vancouver

• Florence Melton Adult Mini-School: A part-time Jewish studies program for adults. It's from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is located in Vancouver at the Jewish Community Centre.
• King David High School: A full-time school in Vancouver for grades 8–12, teaching Jewish and general studies.
• Pacific Torah Institute: A full-time school in Vancouver for male students in grades 8–12, teaching Jewish and general studies.
• Shalhevet Girls High School: A full-time school in Vancouver for female students in grades 8–12, teaching Jewish and general studies.
• Richmond Jewish Day School: Offers daycare, preschool, and full-time Jewish and general studies for kindergarten to grade 7.
• Vancouver Talmud Torah: Offers preschool and full-time Jewish and general studies for kindergarten to grade 7.
• Vancouver Hebrew Academy: A private Orthodox Jewish day school offering preschool and full-time Jewish and general studies for kindergarten to grade 7. It is the only Orthodox Jewish elementary school in Vancouver.
• White Rock South Surrey Jewish Community Centre: Offers preschool and part-time Jewish and general studies for kindergarten to grade 7. It also has a youth group for grades 8–12.

Jewish Cemeteries in Vancouver

• Beth Israel Cemetery: Opened in 1936 at 1721 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby.
• Beth Tikvah Cemetery: Opened in 1987 at Victory Memorial Park Funeral Centre, 14831 28th Avenue, Surrey.
• Mountain View Cemetery: A part of this Vancouver city-owned cemetery was set aside for Jewish burials in 1887. It is west of Fraser Street between 31st and 43rd Avenues.
• Schara Tzedeck Cemeteries: The first cemetery opened in 1929 at 2345 Marine Drive, New Westminster. In 2008, a new cemetery opened at 16656 60th Avenue, Surrey.