Oral interview with Michael Elterman. Interviewed by Laura Zitron. Michael talks about his family and their involvement with the Jewish community in Cape Town, and his move to Canada as a graduate student. He compares Jewish life between Cape Town and Vancouver, noting differences in denominations and ethnic divisions.

Number: CA JMABC A.1971.001-20.19-19
Name: Michael Elterman
Interviewer: David Schwartz
Date: December 27th, 2019
Place: Home of David Schwartz, Vancouver, BC
Project: The Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia Oral History Project

Summary:
00:00: Interviewer David Schwartz introduces himself and Dr. Michael Elterman who is being interviewed. Elterman was born in 1953 in Cape Town, South Africa and trained as a psychologist.
00:56: Elterman notes both his parents were also born in South Africa and both of their families were of Latvian origin.
2:30 Elterman describes his parents’ involvement in the Jewish community of Cape Town.
3:29: Schwartz asks Elterman about Elterman’s twenty-year long tenure working for the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. Elterman eventually became Chair of the CJC Community Relations Committee.
8:07: Elterman describes some difficult situations and events that the CJC helped resolve while he was working in the organization. He describes the local newspapers’ anti-Israel leanings, Doug Collins and the North Shore News, Canadian Liberty Net and Holocaust denial.
13:25: Schwartz asks Elterman if the CJC had trouble dealing with any particular conflicts during his tenure. Elterman describes how Congress was accused of being against free speech, even internally.
15:45: Elterman describes his and the CJC’s involvement with other ethnic and community groups who formed a coalition with the CJC. This coalition consisted of groups of Sikh, Chinese, Polish, Ukrainian and Black people. The CJC was also aligned with the BC Federation of Labour. Elterman also mentions the CJC’s part in Holocaust denier, David Irving’s, being denied entry in to Canada. Elterman was also on the Committee for Racial Justice with Aziz Kharki.
21:24: Elterman notes that other groups viewed the CJC as a leader.
22:31: Elterman discusses the differences in focus points between the Jewish Federation and the CJC. They speakers also discuss Professor Bill Nicholls.
25:18: Schwartz asks Elterman what he is most proud of while thinking about his time at the CJC. Elterman notes that he is proud of the respect the CJC garnered from the community and other groups. He mentions the organization of a ‘buy-cott’, when the CJC encouraged the Jewish community to purchase as many Israeli products as possible.
27:45: The speakers discuss the restructuring of the institutional structure of the CJC and its centralization.
36:55: Elterman laments that the restructuring meant a loss of local Jewish community engagement since local members had little say in the happenings and advocacy.
39:15: Elterman mentions that be has friends in other area of Canada who feel the same way as he does regarding the structural changes of the CJC.
41:24: End of interview.

Interview with Michael Braude. Interviewed by Sara Bernstein. Michael talks about his family's history and speaks fondly about his childhood in Cape Town, and in particular about his grandfather. Once he finished school, he wanted to leave South Africa because of the Apartheid. In the meantime he found a position in the jewelry trade, which he enjoyed, before going on to work for his fathers clothing business. He and his family lived in Israel for six years, but the climate didn't suit them and so they moved back to Cape Town where he had his career in clothing manufacturing. He also speaks about his wife, children, and grandchildren, as well as his interests such as music and archaeology. He has lived in Vancouver throughout the second half of his life.

Number: CA JMABC A.1971.001-20.18-23
Name: Marcus Stiller
Interviewer: David Goldman
Date: June 4th, 2018
Place: Vancouver, BC
Project: The Jewish Historical Society of BC Oral History Project

00:00 Interviewer David Goldman introduces themselves and Marcus Stiller, the owner of Fish Café, who is being interviewed.
0:21 Stiller was born in Durban, South Africa in 1961. His family lived in a near a Jewish community and Stiller went to Jewish schools. Stiller also describes the significant role food has played in their life since they were young.
1:53 Stiller went to hotel school in South Africa but decided they preferred the culinary industry. Later they worked in Israel for two years.
3:10 Stiller’s first restaurant was in Tel Aviv. They developed a restaurant for a wealthy family and enjoyed the social aspect of the business.
4:18 Goldman asks Stiller how they started the Fish Café in Vancouver. Still recalls that he modeled his business after one with a similar concept in South Africa that sells only seafood.
5:21 Stiller provides an overview of their time in the food industry. After working in Israel for two years, they went to Pretoria, South Africa and joined a friend’s steakhouse business. Around that time, Stiller met their wife to be who was planning to move to Cape Town. Stiller moved with her where they got involved in a successful pizza and pasta restaurant chain. Later, Stiller moved to Johannesburg where they joined their brother-in-law in an electronics business before also working in the security industry. In 1996, Stiller and their wife moved to Vancouver and in 2000, opened the Fish Café.
8:25 Goldman asks Stiller about the extent that Judaism had an effect on their business. Stiller describes how the Jewish community in Vancouver continuously supported their restaurant.
9:33 The speakers begin discussing the changes that have occurred in the food industry during Stiller’s career. Stiller notes that they have noticed a growing trend of smaller food businesses that are independent and family-owned opening in the Kerrisdale area. Stiller recalls their sons’ involvement in the restaurant.
11:39 Goldman asks what Stiller thinks regarding the future of the Fish Café and whether their children will continue it. Stiller replies that it is unlikely their children will take over the business and they will work in it until they are no longer able to.
13:27 Stiller recounts what they’ve learned after working in the restaurant industry. They describe how they are starting to see young people whose parents brought them to the Fish Café as children come in themselves. The Fish Café has allowed Stiller to develop many relationships within the community.
15:11 Stiller recalls how Kerrisdale has changed since the Fish Café began. They notice that it has become increasingly commercialized. Stiller also mentions how they feel very fortunate to be part of the community in Vancouver.
16:19 End of interview.

Oral history interview with Louis Eisman in preparation for the 2015 Scribe on Jewish clothiers. Louis speaks on his family history, his grandparents having moved to South Africa from both Russia and Lithuania, as well as his upbringing in Cape Town. In South Africa, Louis began working as a traveling salesman after six months of university, before going on to have an agency and manufacturing plant. In 1977 he moved to Toronto, Canada, where he was successful in his work for a few years. In 1979, he was offered a position in Vancouver, and after spending a weekend there, he and his wife prepared to move there in the following year. He also speaks about his involvement with the Jewish community, and his life and success in Vancouver since moving.