Faces in the Crowd: The Jews of Canada

Exploring the immigrant experience through the lens of the collective, Bialystok adds new research, unique insights, and, best of all, memorable stories to the history of Jewish life in Canada. The Jews were the first ethno-cultural minority to arrive in Canada, settling in Quebec in 1759. Their story is analogous to the experiences of subsequent immigrants as they arrived and settled into their new homes. Faces in the Crowd sheds light on the unique immigrant experience of the Jews in Canada by focusing on three processes: settlement, adaptation, and diversity. Drawing on case studies from the eighteenth century to the present day, Franklin Bialystok introduces the people and personalities who made up the Canadian Jewish experience. An appendix offers profiles of prominent individuals who have contributed to Canadian life since the Second World War, including business owners, rabbis, politicians, academics, writers, musicians, and entertainers.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction: Who Are the Jews? Part One: Foundations, 1760–1900 1. Creating a Community: The Jews of Quebec 2. The Jews of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Ontario Part Two: Building a Community, 1900–1945 3. The Great Migration 4. Yiddish Canada 5. Organizations 6. Reformers, Radicals, Rogues 7. Antisemitism Part Three: The Community Matures, 1945–2000 8. Into the Mainstream 9. Confronting History: 1945–1967 10. Filling the Void: 1967–1985 11. Continuity and Consensus: 1985–2000 12. Faith, Culture, Scholarship, and Politics: 1945–2000 13. The Jewish Diaspora Comes to Bathurst Street Part Four: Canada’s Jews since 2000 14. The Ascent of Diversity in the New Millennium Epilogue: "Hallelujah" Appendix: Faces in the Crowd

About the Author :
Franklin Bialystok is a sessional lecturer at the Centres for Canadian and Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto.

Review :
"The book, with its well-organized structure, numerous chapter subheadings, and wealth of background historical information, deserves to be the primary text in introductory courses on Canadian Jewish life at the university level…Bialystok should be commended for authoring a book that will add much knowledge about Canada’s Jews to what will hopefully be a wide audience." - Jack Lipinsky, PhD (Canadian Jewish Studies) "This is the first full-scale, synthetic history of Canadian Jewry, spanning the 18th century to the present, since Gerald Tulchinsky’s masterful Canada’s Jews: A People’s Journey. Bialystok enumerates historical factors and introduces a wide range of personages, from movers and shakers to criminals. A welcome addition to the Canadian Jewish bookshelf." - J.D. Sarna, Brandeis University (CHOICE) "Faces in the Crowd is a welcome addition to the Canadian Jewish bookshelf." - J.D. Sarna, Brandeis University (CHOICE)