Canadian Young Judaea (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה‬ הַצָעִיר‬ קָנָדָה, Yehuda HaTza'ir Canada) is the largest Zionist youth movement in Canada.[3] The movement was founded as the youth wing of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO and the Zionist Organization of Canada in 1917, and is affiliated with HaNoar HaTzioni. Young Judaea operates five Jewish summer camps across Canada.

Canadian Young Judaea
יהודה הצעיר קנדה[1]
Formation1917; 107 years ago (1917)
FounderBernard Joseph
TypeZionist youth movement
Headquarters788 Marlee Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
Region
Canada
Membership (2017)
2,000[2]
Executive Director
Risa Epstein
Staff (2017)
750[2]
Websiteyoungjudaea.ca

History edit

Canadian Young Judaea was established by Bernard Joseph at the 15th Zionist Convention in Winnipeg in 1917.[4] Acting as the youth wing of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO and the Zionist Organization of Canada, Young Judaea held biennial and regional conferences and facilitated transnational social contact between members with its Correspondence Club.[5] At weekly meetings, activities included lectures and discussions on Jewish history, current affairs and topics related to Zionism.[6]

By 1925, there were 75 clubs across Canada and by 1935 national membership reached 5,000.[7] Louis Rasminsky served as national vice-president in 1926.[8] A. M. Klein served as editor of The Judaean, the movement's magazine, from 1928 to 1932 and as national president in 1934.[9][10] Young Judaea became officially affiliated with HaNoar HaTzioni in 1950.[7]

Young Judaea soon grew from a city-based organization to one based around summer camps and Israel programs. The movement's summer camps were modelled after the pioneering kibbutzim in Israel.[11] Young Judaea opened Camp Hagshama (later renamed Camp Kinneret) in 1942 in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, followed by Camp Kadima in Nova Scotia in 1943.[2] Camp Biluim was founded in 1951 in Perth, Ontario, which offered an intensive leadership development program for older teenagers.[12] Camp Biluim moved to the site of Camp Hagshama in 1972.[13]

Summer camps edit

Canadian Young Judaea is the umbrella organization for a number of Canadian Jewish summer camps, including Camp Shalom in Muskoka, Camp Kadimah in Lunenburg County, Camp Solelim in Sudbury, Camp Hatikvah in Kelowna, and Camp Kinneret–Biluim in Mont-Tremblant.[14] Young Judaea also runs a four-week summer tour of Israel and a post-secondary educational gap year program.[14]

In 2018, Canadian Young Judaea announced it would be launching a week-long overnight summer camp for LGBTQ Jewish campers called Machane Lev.[15]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Robinson, Ira (2003). "They Work in Faithfulness: Constitutional Documents of Jewish Communal Organizations Other Than Synagogues". In Elazar, Daniel J.; Brown, Michael; Robinson, Ira (eds.). Not Written in Stone: Jews, Constitutions, and Constitutionalism in Canada. University of Ottawa Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-7766-0545-6. JSTOR j.ctt1ckpg27.11. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b c Dodek, Michelle (31 March 2017). "Young Judaea at 100". Jewish Independent.
  3. ^ Dashefsky, Arnold; Sheskin, Ira, eds. (2013). American Jewish Year Book 2013: The Annual Record of the North American Jewish Communities. American Jewish Year Book. Vol. 113. Springer. p. 591. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-01658-0. ISBN 978-3-319-01657-3.
  4. ^ Tulchinsky, Gerald (1992). Taking Root: The Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community. Toronto: Lester Publishing. p. 185. ISBN 9780874516098.
  5. ^ Tulchinsky, Gerald (2008). Canada's Jews: A People's Journey. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-8020-9062-1.
  6. ^ Glass, Joseph B. (2001). "Isolation and Alienation: Factors in the Growth of Zionism in the Canadian Prairies, 1917-1939". Canadian Jewish Studies. 9: 111.
  7. ^ a b "Our Story". Canadian Young Judaea. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  8. ^ Muirhead, Bruce (1999). Against the Odds: The Public Life and Times of Louis Rasminsky. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-0629-5. OCLC 431543836.
  9. ^ Margolis, Rebecca (2011). "Ken men tantsn af tsvey khasenes? A. M. Klein and Yiddish". In Ravvin, Norman; Simon, Sherry (eds.). Failure's Opposite: Listening to A. M. Klein. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 79–97. ISBN 9780773538320. JSTOR j.ctt802xm.10.
  10. ^ Tulchinsky, Gerald (Summer 1984). "The Third Solitude: A. M. Klein's Jewish Montreal, 1910-1950". Journal of Canadian Studies. 19 (2): 107. doi:10.3138/jcs.19.2.96. S2CID 151793805.
  11. ^ Sales, Amy L.; Saxe, Leonard (2004). "How Goodly are Thy Tents": Summer Camps as Jewish Socializing Experiences. Brandeis University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-58465-347-9.
  12. ^ Pinsky, Marian. "National Headquarters of the Federation of Young Judaea of Canada". Museum of Jewish Montreal. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  13. ^ Caswell, Henny (1 September 1988). "Young Judaeans meet for reunion". The Canadian Jewish News. Montreal. p. 28.
  14. ^ a b Silverstein, Barbara (16 August 2017). "Young Judaea to reunite alumni for 100th anniversary". The Canadian Jewish News.
  15. ^ Minuk, Susan (25 January 2018). "Canada's first LGBTQ Jewish summer camp to open this summer". The Canadian Jewish News.