Number: CA JMABC A.1971.001-20.18-44
Name: Elliot Dainow
Interviewer: Victor Neuman
Date: October 25th, 2018
Place: Peretz Centre
Project: The Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia Oral History Project
Summar:
00:00: The interviewer, Victor Neuman, introduces himself and Elliot Dainow who is being interviewed. Dainow was born in Montreal to parents who had immigrated from what is now Belarus. Dainow also describes his education.
4:07: Dainow describes his career path up until the time of the interview and includes a description of how he came to be part of the Vancouver Jewish Folk Choir. Neuman also asks Dainow about his history with music and being a pianist.
9:34: Dainow recalls some of his most prominent memories of being in the Vancouver Jewish Folk Choir.
12:55: Neuman asks Dainow what he believes is the importance of the Choir to its members and the community in general. Dainow replies that is has an important role in keeping Secular Jewish and Yiddish culture alive. Dainow occasionally still plays or sings for the Choir.
14:55: End of interview.

Number: CA JMABC A.1971.001-20.20-08
Name: Gyda Chud
Interviewer: Debby Freiman
Date: May 12th, 2020
Place: Vancouver, BC, via Zoom
Project: The Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia Oral History Project

Summary:
00:00: Debby Freiman begins to introduce Gyda Chud, a male voice interrupts her.
00:37: Freiman introduces herself and Chud who are meeting over Zoom. Gyda was born in 1947 and has lived in Vancouver all of her life.
1:53: Gyda has a sister named Rita who kept the full version of their last name, Chudnovsky. Her mother, Gallia Chud was ninety-seven at the time of the interview but her father, Ben Chud had died many years prior. Gallia’s family came from Belarus while Ben’s came from Russia. Gallia’s family lived in Winnipeg. Ben and Gallia met in Toronto and married before coming to Vancouver.
3:56: Chud describes how her parents came to Vancouver and were met by several other community members at the train station. The Chuds arrived to help start the new Peretz school in Vancouver.
6:15: Chud mentions several families that were influential in the beginning of the Peretz school such as the Sarkins, Wynes, [Oberbachs]. The Peretz school was initially in an old Tudor style house on Broadway.
8:20: Gallia Chud was involved in parent’s organizations at Peretz. The students used to be at Peretz school twice a week and on Sunday mornings.
10:03: Chud explains the original secular humanist approach of the Peretz school. The children were taught Yiddish rather than Hebrew. Chud was an early childhood education professional.
13:23: Chud recalls performing plays in the auditorium of the old Peretz school building on the holidays.
16:14: Chud describes having her father as a teacher and his teaching style that attempted to be more interactive and engaging for the students.
18:00: Ben Chud left Peretz school in order to complete his high school education. He then went on to get his Master’s of Social Work and taught at the School of Social Work at UBC.
19:42: The two speakers discuss their memories of Ben Chud’s successor, [Label Bossman].
21:40: Chud describes a group she is part of called the Exploring Jewish Authors Group.
23:30: Chud describes making latkes for the holidays while attending Peretz. She also describes a secular humanist Haggadah that was developed at Peretz.
28:10: Chud tells the story of how the P’nei Mitzvah program and celebration came about.
35:35: The speakers discuss their memories and knowledge of Sara Sarkin.
37:06: Chud discusses the adult programming at Peretz including the Sholom Aleichem Speaker Series. She also discusses the other regular activities and classes that go on at the Peretz Centre.
41:06: The speakers discuss the rumours about the Peretz Centre being a place for communists. Chud rationalizes that people who saw the photo of I.L. Peretz on the wall may have thought he was a Russian man and a communist influencer.
44:30: Chud mentions her son and that he and his wife were married in the Peretz auditorium.
46:31: Freiman asks Chud about the population of Jewish people in Vancouver and how many are regularly involved in the Peretz Centre. Chud mentions that many local Jewish people don’t even know that Peretz exists.
49:18: Chud describes her happiness that the Peretz Centre has become a gathering place for the Jewish community and its organizations.
50:52: The Peretz Centre has several levels of Yiddish classes.
51:44: Chud describes how one of the teachers visited several Jewish families in the Squamish area and described the Peretz services and programs. She also tells of a program where children in the P’nei Mitzvah program gather with students from an Islamic school to learn from each other and cook for the poor of the area.
54:50: End of interview.

An Interview with Sam Rothstein whose family came to Vancouver before World War I and settled in the Strathcona neighborhood. Sam took a PhD in Librarianship in California, and took a job at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He was involved in the Waldman Library and the Beth Israel Library.

Oral history interview with Bessie Diamond who was born in London, England in 1899 but her family emigrated in 1905 to Canada. Bessie worked throughout the Jewish Community in Vancouver such as setting up the Well-Baby Clinic and during the Second World War worked with refugees. Bessie built the Joseph J. and Bessie Diamond Hospital in Israel to her late husband (1964).

Oral history interview with Fred & Fannie Horodezky. Fred was born Belarus,1887 and Fannie (nee , Applebaum) was born in Kiev, 1890. The Horodezky's speak of growing up in Eastern Europe and farming in the early twentieth century. Fred took Boy Scouts to meet Lieutenant General Baden Powell, founder of the Scouting movement.

Oral history interview with Kiva Katznelson who was born in Minsk,1892 (under Russian control) and emigrated to Montreal in 1914 to avoid being drafted into Russian army. Operated his own business in Vancouver and was involved in the Zionist Organization of Canada, Schara Tzedeck Synagogue and Peretz School.

Oral history interview with Sheila & Milton Rabinovitch, the couple provides a long family history dating back to the Klondike Gold Rush and Riel's Rebellion in 1885.

Oral history interview with Sam Rothstein who was born in Russia, 1921. His family left Russia due to anti-semitism and post-revolution fallout, despite his father’s success in the lumber business. His father was Yisrael Leib and his mother was Elka Raisel. They settled in Vancouver because that’s where the rest of his family had chosen to live when they had arrived years before. He attended UBC for undergraduate studies and did a joined honours program in French and English and completed his masters there in French and English. He did his PhD at Berkeley and then got a teaching fellowship at the University of Washington in 1942 as a French teacher. He was drafted into the Canadian military during WWII. He served in counterintelligence. He was shipped to England in June, 1944 and then to Italy, Belgium and then stopped in Holland. While finishing his service, he came across a Librarianship pamphlet. He had money for the first time in his life and felt it was time for a change as he felt distance from the idea of being a French professor. He was invited to the faculty of the University of Manitoba as a French Professor but decided to go to Berkeley instead to become a Librarian, doing his PhD in Illinois. UBC offered him a job while he was briefly on return to Vancouver. He met his wife Miriam in 1948/49 through youth group activities at the JCC, they wed and then moved to Illinois to do his PhD, which he received in 1954 while Miriam worked as the dietician for the men’s residence. In 1961, he became the acting director of the UBC libraries. He also started the library school at UBC that same fall. Their daughter Linda was born in 1955 and Sharon was born in 1957. They were members of Beth Israel and Miriam was active in Hadassah. Sam served as an advisor to Hillel and joined the board at the JCC and eventually became president from 1970-1972. He served as one of the vice presidents of Jewish Congress.

Oral history interview with Dr. Bluma Tischler, who was born 1924 in Baranowicz, Poland - now Baranavichy in Belarus. Bluma and her husband Issac attended medical school at the University of Odessa, than studied in Munich, Germany. Bulma and Issac wanted to emigrate to the United States but due to their quota's being full they decided to come to Canada.

Interview with Marsha Ablowitz for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Marsha (she/her) is a Jewish lesbian born in Vancouver. Marsha discusses her family’s origins both in Canada, and as immigrants from Europe. She tells stories of her immediate family in Winnipeg and Vancouver. She talks about her heterosexual marriage, and how she didn’t realize she was interested in women until after getting married. She explains her little exposure to queer Jews outside of her uncle Max, and how she experienced discrimination more through racism against her husband, than through anti-Semitism or homophobia in the community. Marsha talks about being aware of the Holocaust and Jewish issues as a kid, being involved in Jewish youth groups into her twenties, and eventually becoming a social worker. She describes her community initiatives within Jewish community organizations, teaching women’s self defense classes and empowering women and LGBT communities. Marsha closes the interview by talking about Quirk-e, a queer writing collective she is presently involved in, life with her partner Maribel during COVID, and her connection to feminist counselling and women’s health movements across Canada.