Oral history interview with Celia Margolis, born in Ottawa,Canada. She primarily discusses the activities and roles she held during the Second World war in both England and Canada. She belonged to the Royal Canadian Ordinance Corps for about a year than travelled as a singer in the staff band of the Royal Army Medical Corp to England. Made an officer in the British army, having previously made Corporal / Sargent-major in Canadian army. Left the army in 1947 and took the the 'Empress of Canada' in October of 1948 to Montreal but soon moved to Vancouver in 1949.
Oral history interview with Jack Austin who was born in Calgary in 1932 and worked with the BC Liberal party with Arthur Liang on campaigns and on trade negotiations between Canada and US related to water. In Ottawa he worked with Paul Martin and Arthur Liang as well as Prime Ministers Pierre Elliot Trudeau and Jean Chretien in the energy and natural resources sector. He was awarded Mexico's Order of the Aztec Eagle for his services.
An Oral history interview with Ian Zack who was born in Montreal in 1945 to Ruth Steirman (Montreal, June 20th, 1924) and Harris Ferenly (England, September 19th, 1922). Involved in engineering in the Israeli army. Ian was a tree planter in Ottawa for 26 years.
Oral history interview with Moses Steinberg who was born in Ottawa in 1918. His mother and father were born in what than was Russia but now is located in the Ukraine - Zhitomir & Brusilov. They emigrated to Montreal in 1905. His interview consists of family history, growing up in Ottawa and how he became a Pharmacist.
Oral History interview with Leon Broitman. Leon was born in 1922 in the USSR. He talks about the Ukrainian Holocaust and living in the USSR under Stalin. He started studying to become a teacher but was drafted and subsequently wounded during WW2 and never completed his education. After the war he came to Canada and became a cutter (Tailor) in Montreal. He then moved to Ottawa and opened a store. He also started an investment company that was still in business at the time of the interview (2013). He closed is store in Ottawa and moved to BC. He had 4 children with his wife and talks about them and their careers. Much of the interview is about Soviet Union history and talking about WW2 and the Germans.
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.
Oral Interview with Cynthia Ramsay for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Daniella Givon. Cynthia was born in Moncton, NB but spent most of her time growing up in Winnipeg. She talks about her family history, including her father’s second marriage to a Jewish woman allowing her the choice of converting to Judaism. She speaks about her Jewish education and embracing Jewish family and traditions, as well secular education including degrees in economics. Cynthia talks about her early career at an economic think tank and career at the Jewish Western Bulletin. Cynthia describes coming to own the JWB with her colleagues and changes the publication went through moving it beyond a solely right wing paper. She speaks about her marriage and how she met her wife. Cynthia talks about how she first joined the Scribe as editor and how she began producing the Scribe editions thematically. Cynthia discusses how working on the Scribes fostered a deeper connection to the Jewish community in Vancouver, but also provided insight into prominent Jewish families and businesses in BC, and how their impacts persisted into the present day.
Oral History Interview with Sima Elizabeth Shefrin for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Brynn Gillies. Shefrin was born in Ottawa in 1949. . She is married to Bob Bossin, a Canadian folk musician, and they live together on Gabriola Island. She spent her youth part-time in Italy, surrounded by family fabric-workers and tailors. She describes how this informed her enthusiasm for fabric as a medium, and how she aims to convey stories through sewn projects. The name of Shefrin’s studio as well as her website is Stitching for Social Change, which she explains how she does fabric arts while integrating folk art tradition with activism, including feminism, anti-war sentiments, and reclamation of her Jewish heritage. Most notably, Shefrin tells the story of the Middle East Peace Quilt which aimed to discuss what peace would look like between Israel and Palestine with participants sending her quilt squares with their visions of peace from around the world. Shefrin also shares her exploration of comic and illustrative arts working on Jewish themed children's books and comics about her own life, including her husband's cancer diagnosis and life over the Covid pandemic.
