Two Homes: Canadian Connections to Zionism

Jennifer Gorman

When I moved to Canada almost eighteen years ago, I easily believed the common assumption in Jewish sociological circles that the Canadian Jewish community is between one and three generations behind the United States. By the time we lived here a year, it was clear to me that this was a grand misinterpretation.

Growing up, I lived in New York, on Long Island, in the same house in the small town of Merrick. Since I left for university, I have lived in three countries and five US states, and I visited many others before I moved to Ontario. Each region of the United States has a distinct and immediately noticeable atmosphere and culture. Canada is no different. At first, it felt familiar. I already loved hockey when I moved to Toronto (Go Islanders!), so I knew all the words to “O Canada” (because of hockey) and the locations of major cities (where hockey is played). It seemed to me that moving among states illuminated more differences than moving to Canada. Toronto’s neighborhoods reminded me of Brooklyn from my childhood. It felt comfortable and familiar. But, over the last eighteen years, I have been privileged to spend time in six of Canada‘s ten provinces and work with the Jewish communities in others.

Officially, I have been Canadian for less than a year, having taken my citizenship oath the day after Rosh Hashanah, huddled around a laptop camera with my family. Much like potential converts who come to the beit din only after they are fully Jewish in their hearts, I can confidently state that, after eighteen years, I have been Canadian much longer than the paperwork attests. My children were raised here. I have watched every episode of Murdoch Mysteries twice. I own Team Canada Olympic mittens and a Canadian skater’s hat from the world‘s largest ice skating rink in Ottawa. I think I became Canadian when, almost ten years ago, I found myself queueing outdoors at a craft beer festival in Ottawa in February—and happy about it.

Although regional differences quickly make themselves apparent, it can take time to fully understand the unique personality of Canada and its Jewish community. Canada’s history influences its own development and the development of the cultures and communities that make it what it is. It will evolve along its own path and not according to American trends. That is not to say that we are not influenced by the same trends affecting the large Jewish population to our south. The Canadian Jewish community is certainly experiencing rising intermarriage and antisemitism, polarization, and frustration with Israeli policy, regardless of who is in power. But so do Jewish communities in other countries, and no one claims that they are just steps behind the United States. Nonetheless, with such a large Jewish population brimming with information so close by, it is rare that we get a deep dive into Canadian data.

Following the 2013 Pew report and changes to Canada‘s long-form census, a Canada-specific study was clearly needed. Anecdotal evidence showed that Canadian Jews were more connected to their Jewish communities, to Judaism, and to Israel. A 2018 survey of Jews in Canada was designed to discover what it means to be Jewish in Canada today, including our unique connection to Israel and Zionism. The data showed that, when it comes to Jewish issues, Canadians punch above their weight.

What weight is that? “The Pew Research Center (2015) estimated that the Jewish population of Canada was thirteen percent larger than that of France as early as 2010,” while others believe that Canada will have the third largest population by 2029.1 Whether Canada’s Jewish population is third or fourth in the world, Canada’s Zionism is first outside Israel.

From the start, “Zionism was… much more successful in Canada than the United States”2 The United States’s melting pot ideal encouraged all immigrants to become fundamentally American, a theme that would continue for many decades to come. Judaism also became Americanized. Jewish immigrants arrived in a country where Jews had lived since 1654, when twenty-three Sephardic Jews fleeing persecution arrived in New Amsterdam. Jews were present from the early years of the United States; they actively participated in the founding of the nation; settlement houses, established in large immigrant populations, took on the responsibility of teaching new immigrants to be American; and parents encouraged their children to speak only English. Canada’s Jewish foundations are different. Initially, non-Catholics were prohibited from entering the colony of New France. The first Jewish settlers in British Canada arrived in connection with the British army, followed by those in the fur trade. Mass immigration came later than it did to the United States. The Canadian Jewish community developed later, more slowly, and through different means than in the United States.

In Canada, Jewish communities remained separate even as they strove to become Canadian. Large numbers arrived from countries where Zionism was already taking hold to a Canada where nationalism was spreading due to the Boer War. These new Canadians were not immune to the nationalistic fervor.

[M]embership in Zionist societies skyrocketed during the war years, as Canadian Jews came to understand Palestine as ‘our fatherland, England, the British Empire as our motherland’…. [Whereas] Zionism seemed to run counter to the whole ethos of America…Americans had been accustomed to thinking of theirs as the new ‘promised land,’…the idea of seeking a place in the Palestine sun reeked of ingratitude.3

Within ten years of the first Zionist Congress, Canada’s Zionist Federation had swelled to forty-two chapters across the country, encompassing all Jewish denominations and levels of society.4

The Federation of Zionist Societies of Canada (FZSC) was the first Canadian Jewish national organization. Other Jewish organizations had made their way into Canada, but they were imports based in the United States. Canadian Jews were ready for a homegrown organization free of American influence, and they embraced the Canadian nature of the FZSC by ensuring that the board was filled with Jews from across the country. Annual FZSC conventions offered the community opportunities to address issues and advance interests important to Canadian Jews.5 The Zionist movement was about more than Zionism. It brought the geographically dispersed communities of Canada closer together, helping to unify Canadian Jews and the Canadian Jewish identity, in which Zionism would be central. This was true at the start of the twentieth century, and it is still true at the start of the twenty-first.

FZSC was Canadian and embraced as such not only by Jews, but also by greater Canadian society. Toronto’s mayor addressed the first convention along with a prominent professor from the University of Toronto and a member of parliament. Subsequent conventions included greetings from Ontario’s lieutenant governor and federal government ministers who assured the gathered delegates “that Zionism had the support of the [Dominion] Government…. The Canadian response, both gentile and Jewish, to Herzl’s summons was enthusiastic and universal.”6

It was not all so rosy. Canada’s Christian nature combined with its conservative attitudes led to more traditional reactions, both positive and negative, among Jews and the greater Canadian community. Canada is a Christian nation. In the early years of Zionism, religious zeal meant that Jews were often excluded from Canadian life. “Canada’s Jews not infrequently viewed themselves and were viewed by others as ‘resident aliens.’ … [Finding] themselves ‘most significantly devoid of all power,’ … they turned to Zionism.”7 Due to Christian exceptionalism, public schools often were Catholic or Protestant. “For many years Jews were deemed by Quebec legislation to be ‘Protestants for school purposes.’ …[Some] came to support Zionism because they could conceive of no proper place for Judaism in Canada.”8 Jews needed to create their own systems not only as a matter of Judaism, but also as a matter of survival. Even today, most Canadian Jews participate in one or more form of Jewish education. Close to half of Canadian Jews were educated in Jewish day school. This high rate of Jewish education leads to greater knowledge, which leads to greater connection.

According to the Canadian Jewish population study,

attendance levels at day schools or yeshivas are most notably a function of denomination…. [Being] most widespread among Orthodox/Modern Orthodox Jews (67%), followed by those who affiliate with one of the smaller denominations or movements (52%), Conservative Jews (43%), those who are unaffiliated (38%), and Reform Jews (24%). Day school experience is also a function of age cohort, with attendance levels more than twice as high among Jews eighteen to twenty-nine (68%) than among those fifty-five and older (31%). Across cities, day school attendance is highest in Montreal (54%) and lowest in Vancouver (33%), reflecting in part the denominational makeup of the Jewish community in each city.9

Although there is a significant difference in attendance rates from Orthodox to Reform, to say that even one quarter of Jewish children attend day school would be considered an astronomical figure south of the border.

The positive effect of Jewish schooling on community cohesion is evident. Comparing those who did not attend a Jewish day school or yeshiva with those who attended such schools for nine or more years shows that the latter are much more likely to believe that being part of a Jewish community, celebrating holidays with family, and caring about Israel are essential parts of being Jewish. Those who attended a Jewish day school or yeshiva for nine or more years are also significantly less likely to have intermarried.10

Of those who studied in day school one to eight years, 42 percent of Toronto Jews say they are very attached to Israel, with the percentage rising among those who attended for nine or more years. Beyond day school, Israel still figures high in the hearts and minds of Canadian Jews. For those who did not attend day school, Israel still figures high in the hearts and minds of Canadian Jews.

For those who did not attend day school, Israel still figures high in the hearts and minds of Canadian Jews. This translates into Canadians visiting Israel in numbers that almost double American trips and an increased knowledge of and ability to speak Hebrew. Interestingly, “the ability to carry on a conversation is most common among younger Jews and first generation Canadian Jews.”11 Almost twenty five percent of Canadian Jews speak Hebrew at home, including more than 45,000 Israeli Canadians (although the actual number may be closer to 60,000).12 Four in ten (40 percent) Canadian Jews say they can carry on a conversation in Hebrew. By comparison, only twelve percent of American Jews say they can do so.13 Estimates put Israeli expatriates at 14 percent of Canada‘s Jewish community and growing.14 Hebrew signs can be seen while driving along Bathurst Street, and I have done as much business in Hebrew while living in Toronto as I did during my seminary year in Israel, not only in Jewish businesses, but with trades and general businesses as well. Just last year, a motion proposed by two Toronto city councillors was approved to include a stretch of Bathurst Street among Toronto‘s cultural districts. “This area has been the heart and soul of Toronto‘s Jewish community.”15

Some of Canada‘s continuing connection may come from the concentration of Jewish communities. Canada covers 9,984,670 square kilometers.16 Within that massive area, Jews make up approximately one percent of Canada‘s population, about 392,000 people. More than 87 percent live in six major metropolitan areas: 82 percent live in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. Canada‘s 2021 census showed that one quarter of the Canadian Jewish population lives in Montreal. Almost one half live in the greater Toronto area.17 There is an anecdotal belief among Canadian Jews that a majority live not only in the greater Toronto area but within walking distance of Bathurst Street. If you search for “Canadian Jews Bathurst St,” you will get over two million results, many listing the myriad synagogues and other Jewish organizations that line the street.

This physical closeness breeds spiritual and familial cohesiveness. My spouse, Rabbi Sean Gorman, was the third rabbi at Beth Tzedec Congregation when we moved to Toronto. One of his responsibilities was to build and shepherd ḥavurot within the congregation. Within five years, only one ḥavurah was still functioning. Created as a young families group, the ḥavurah’s couples were primarily families who were geographical orphans or families in which one member of the couple was a convert to Judaism. Why? All the other ḥavurot had family obligations on weekends and holidays. Canadian Jews tend to stay where they are. Multigenerational families still gather weekly at parents’ homes for Shabbat and holidays. They are much less likely to go away to school, and, when they do, they tend to travel to specific schools where there is a significant Jewish population. When our younger son decided live in a dorm his first year of university, even though he was attending the University of Toronto, his friends and ours were surprised to learn he was thinking about dorm life and even more surprised to hear we were encouraging it. When our eldest went off to university in Nova Scotia, more than one person said to me, “That’s because you’re American,” even though we had been living in Toronto for a decade. The family closeness, the high Jewish education levels, and the lack of mobility encourages each generation to follow not just in the physical footsteps of the previous generation, but more importantly in their ideological path.

The United States claims its revolutionary past with pride. A close friend who grew up in the United States, but who has spent almost his entire life as a Canadian, finally became a Canadian citizen in his fifties. When questioned as to why, he only half-jokingly replied that, as an American, he did not want to swear fealty to the British Queen. I understand his point of view. Queen Elizabeth died just three weeks before I took my citizenship oath. I had prepared myself to affirm “that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada.”18 As Canadian as I consider myself, it unbalanced me to realize that I would instead be affirming allegiance to a king, especially as George VII had been circulated as a possibility for King Charles’s royal name.19 Canada’s independence came in 1867, almost a century after the United States, through legislative means and remains part of the British Commonwealth. It is at once progressive and conservative. Only as Queen Elizabeth aged did the number of Canadians who supported a referendum on removing the monarchy from Canada reach a majority. She was, and remains, a beloved monarch.20 While King Charles’s approval rating is only at 32 percent, that is an increase from a year ago, the increase likely connected to watching him in the role.21

Like the rest of Canada, the Canadian Jewish community continues to be more conservative, slower to change. This is true both denominationally and of the Canadian Jewish community as a whole. Our connection to Israel is no different. In examining Canadian Jewish attitudes toward Israel, as mentioned above, the population study found that “a large majority express an emotional attachment to Israel and have spent time in the country. Eight in ten have visited Israel at least once and have done so an average of five times to date”22 Notwithstanding what is happening in Israel, Canadians continue boots-on-the-ground Zionism. “Among those who have visited the country at least once, one in five (20%) says he or she has lived in Israel for a period of six months or more (this translates into 16% of all adult Canadian Jews).”23

While travel to Israel is highest among Orthodox/Modern Orthodox Jews (92%), “it is common across the population, especially among Jews under forty-five years of age (84%) and those with a post-graduate degree (83%),” regardless of denomination.24 Even where the percentages are lower, a majority still make the trip, including “Jews in Vancouver (64%), those with no affiliation (70%), and those who do not belong to any Jewish organization (63%).”25 When we compare Canadian and US Zionism, American Jews are only half as likely to feel a strong attachment to Israel and half as likely to have ever visited the country.26

The continuing strength of Canadian Zionism may also be a reflection of continuing immigration by Israelis and by Jews fleeing persecution in other countries. Montreal provides a safe haven for French-speaking Jews, second only to Israel. According to the most recent Canadian census, the Canadian Jewish community is growing, primarily through immigration. Although down from the 1990s, “immigration from Ukraine and Russia continues…. [T]he Russo-Ukrainian war may reverse that trend. Immigration from Israel and the United States has been trending upward.”27

With all our Canadian Jewish connection to Israel documented,

Canadian Jews over the age of seventy-four are twenty percentage points more likely than Canadian Jewish adults under the age of thirty to think that caring for Israel is an essential part of being Jewish…. This is the first Canadian evidence of a trend that has been documented in the United States over decades.28

Nevertheless,

it would be a mistake to base a historical forecast on these data, anticipating that as young Jewish Canadians age, the Canadian Jewish community’s support for Israel will weaken; unforeseen events that change people’s minds happen all the time. On the other hand, based on these results, it is possible to say that, barring unanticipated events that elicit an increase in young Jewish Canadians’ concern for Israel, the Canadian Jewish community may be somewhat less inclined to offer unqualified support for the Jewish state with the passage of time.29

Canadian Jews, like their US counterparts, are not monolithic neither in their views of Israel’s politics or government policies, nor in how they believe the Canadian government should support Israel. “The one notable difference is that American Jews are more apt to hold an opinion (whether positive or negative), while Canadian Jews have a greater tendency to say they are unsure or decline to offer an opinion.”30 Younger Jews here, as elsewhere, are increasingly critical of Israeli policies, which may come to affect the Canadian Jewish community’s and the Canadian government’s support of Israel.

While most Canadian Jews appear comfortable with the government’s current levels of support, there are significant numbers on both sides of the support spectrum. Recent changes in Israel’s government are certainly taking their toll. Recently, the New Israel Fund of Canada and Jspace Canada commissioned a poll, which found that “a majority of Canadian Jews feel that Israel is moving in the wrong direction.” This is unsurprising to many, coming two months after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed his right-wing coaltion. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis continue to protest policies of judicial reform and infringement on civil rights.31 Since then,

[p]rominent Canadian Jews have also voiced objections to the Israeli government‘s proposed judicial reforms. Irwin Cotler, former justice minister and the current envoy on antisemitism, wrote in an essay in the Globe and Mail that the proposed changes to the Israeli Supreme Court “if adopted, will have the combined effect of seriously undermining the independence of the judiciary, its ability to review government legislation, the separation of powers and related checks and balances, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights.”32

It is less the attachment to Israel that is changing than the way Canadian Jews express that attachment.

Three quarters of respondents said that they are either “very attached” (thirty-four percent) or “somewhat attached” (forty-one percent) to Israel. Professor Robert Brym, of the Department of Sociology and Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto, who oversaw the survey said more surveys are needed to corroborate the findings. “However, this poll provides a fair baseline representation of Jewish community perspectives in issues of viral importance to the approximately 404,000 Canadians who identify as Jewish by religion or ethnicity.”33

Canadians, including Canadian Jews, are concerned that the Israel they love will be forever changed. With so many Canadian Jews feeling connected to Israel, spending so much time in Israel, and having family in Israel, major changes to policies that affect values seen by the Canadian Jewish community to be shared between Canada and Israel and part of their own set of Jewish values receive strong opposition. I recently attended a session on foreign policy at a conference sponsored by Canada’s conservative movement. Support for Israel was strongly affirmed and received applause. One speaker did state that we must treat Israel like any other country. When we see commitment to certain institutions being weakened, we must speak up like we would to any other country, to any of our friends and allies. I expect this is a line we will be hearing more in the future. In the current atmosphere of rising antisemitism, there is certainly a concern that silence from Jewish leadership may give strength to antisemites. Of course, there is a difference between quiet and silence, and disagreement on the path the Jewish community should follow.

Canadian Zionism, even in its criticism of Israel, remains strong. More and more, I see Canadian Jews comfortable speaking out when they disagree, considering this to be an act of Zionist love for their homeland, a country to which they continue to have a very strong attachment. Much like the relationships within a family ebb and flow without lessening the familial bonds, so, too, is the likely path of Canadian Zionism, from praise to criticism and back, even in one breath. We will continue to have two homes holding our hearts and minds.

Rabbi Jennifer Gorman is the National Director of Outreach and Programming, Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee. For eleven years prior to this position, she served as the Executive Director for MERCAZ-Canada and the Canadian Foundation for Masorti Judaism.

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