Jewish Ottawa

Local news and updates on the Jewish community of Ottawa.

Seniors identified as Ukrainian group in greatest need of support

According to Jewish Family Services (JFS) associate executive director Andrea Gardner, Canada has seen the arrival of 78,500 Ukrainians, with close to 30,000 OHIP cards issued in Ontario. The majority of the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) visa holders have settled …

The history of Ottawa Jewish cemeteries told in new podcast episode

The Ottawa Jewish Archives has released a new podcast episode focused on what Archivist Teigan Goldsmith calls the largest collection of community history — cemeteries. 

It’s the fifth episode in the Archives’ podcast series and the second one produced by Goldsmith.

“I think cemet…

Students honour veterans with mitzvah project at cemetery

Fifty students from the Ottawa Jewish Community School are taking part in a mitzvah project to honour veterans in time for Remembrance Day by putting flags on veterans’ graves at the Jewish Memorial Gardens (JMG).

The cemetery has been putting flags on the graves for a number of years, us…

‘The forgotten victims’ — Pink Triangle Legacies explores LGBTQ+ history

The symbol of the pink triangle was originally intended as one of shame used in Nazi Germany concentration camps to distinguish those imprisoned as gay men. The story of the symbol, LGBTQ+ survivors, and the “forgotten” victims of the Holocaust is told in Dr. Jake Newsome’s new book, P…

Federation welcomes (back) Rena Garshowitz

The Jewish Federation of Ottawa is excited to welcome Rena Garshowitz back into the fold as the new Vice President of Operations. Garshowitz previously served as Federation’s Event Planner and Sponsorship Coordinator before being promoted to the position of Campaign Manager. For the last f…