Association for Canadian Jewish Studies

Over the last 50 years, the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies has been dedicated to bringing together academics, students, professionals, artists, and others interested in the study of Jewish experience from coast to coast to coast and across multiple disciplines, including history, literature, sociology, religion, music, and art.

Help us spread the word! Invite your friends to follow the ACJS on Facebook and stay up to date on all our latest posts! Whether you are on mobile or desktop versions of Facebook, select the three dots on our page and select "Invite Friends!"

We're not saying you have to invite all your friends ... but your favourites would be a great start.

Come one, come all! Join us in downtown Toronto for Parchment's launch party on July 20!

Celebrate the release of the Spring 2026 issue and the relaunch of the only literary journal dedicated to Canadian Jewish writing--proudly published by the ACJS! The evening will feature readings by Ronna Bloom, Adam Seelig, and other contributors from the new issue, as well as delicious snacks and drinks. Nourish your appetite for the literary and gather with new friends and old to mark the milestone return of Parchment. See you there!

RSVP now! https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/parchment-launch-party

Parchment Journal

The Association for Canadian Jewish Studies (ACJS) is pleased to announce that Sheldon and Judy Godfrey are the recipients of the 2026 Louis Rosenberg Canadian Jewish Studies Distinguished Service Award, which we presented on May 31, 2026 at our annual conference, in Toronto. Through decades of scholarship, historical preservation, public education, and community leadership, the Godfreys have made an extraordinary contribution to the study and understanding of Jewish life in Canada.

Their landmark publication, Search Out the Land: The Jews and the Growth of Equality in British Colonial America, 1740–1867, remains one of the most important studies of early Canadian Jewish history. Drawing on extensive original research, the book illuminates the social, economic, religious, and legal experiences of Jewish communities while tracing the gradual expansion of civil rights for Jews in British North America. Their later work, Burn This Gossip: The True Story of George Benjamin of Belleville, Canada’s First Jewish Member of Parliament, 1856–1863, broke new ground in documenting Jewish political participation in pre-Confederation Canada.

Our 2026 annual conference is in the books!

Last week, more than two hundred guests joined us at the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University for three days of learning and (educational!) entertainment, including a live taping of our podcast, Tête-à-tête, featuring curator and artist Evelyn Tauben (Fentster); a panel and reading tied to our literary magazine, Parchment Journal; a workshop on applications of AI technology to Canadian Jewish studies; a roundtable reflecting on the past fifty years of Canadian Jewish studies; two book launches; and a walking tour of Jewish Kensington Market by the inestimable Miriam Borden.

With thanks to the Canadian Race Relations Fdn / Fondation canadienne des relations raciales for its generous support.

Stay tuned for information in the coming months about our 2027 conference!

🎤 Episode 13 of Tête-à-tête: Conversations in Canadian Jewish Studies 🎤

"Parchment and the Meaning of Canadian Jewish Literature," with Orly Zebak

After a twelve-year hiatus, Parchment Journal, the only literary journal devoted to contemporary Canadian Jewish writing, is back!

The latest iteration of the journal is supported by a coast-to-coast-to-coast who’s who of Canadian Jewish writers, scholars, and litterateurs and will feature a mix of fiction, poetry, literary non-fiction, and translation that explores the many shades of Canadian Jewish life.

In this episode, host Jonathan Slater sits down with Parchment’s new editor-in-chief, Orly Zebak, for a conversation about what the journal’s return means for the Canadian Jewish literary ecosystem, the role it's primed to play in the wider Canadian literary conversation, and the perennially debated question: What is Canadian Jewish literature?

Find the episode on our website (https://acjs-aejc.ca/tete-a-tete/) or wherever you listen to podcasts!

The Association for Canadian Jewish Studies 2026 Annual Conference is 12 days away!

Join us May 31–June 1 at York University's Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies for an exciting array of panels, roundtables, workshops, and book launches, and a Jewish Toronto walking tour and live taping of our podcast, Tête-à-tête: Conversations in Canadian Jewish Studies, to boot.

View the full program here:https://acjs-aejc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ACJS-2026-Conference_FullProgram.pdf

And it's not too late to register by our extended deadline of May 24: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/association-for-canadian-jewish-studies-2026-annual-conference

We look forward to learning with you in Toronto!

With many thanks to our sponsors, the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University and the Canadian Race Relations Fdn / Fondation canadienne des relations raciales.

🎤 Episode 12 of Tête-à-tête: Conversations in Canadian Jewish Studies 🎤

Fiddler on the Roof, Yiddish Divas, and a Life in Canadian Jewish Theatre, with Theresa Tova

Theresa Tova, the Paris-born, Calgary-raised actor, singer, and playwright, is synonymous with the Canadian Jewish musical stage. Creator of the award-winning Holocaust-themed musical Still the Night, one-third of the globe-trotting sensation The Three Yiddish Divas, and now starring as Yente in the first-ever Canadian production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, Theresa joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation about her life, career, and the relationship between identity, memoir, and performance.

Find the episode on our website (https://acjs-aejc.ca/tete-a-tete/) or wherever you listen to podcasts!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: The Canadian Jewish Life Writing Project

The Canadian Jewish future wants your stories!

From now through October 30, the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies is inviting submissions for the inaugural edition of the annual Canadian Jewish Life Writing Project, a national initiative dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the personal stories of Jewish life in Canada.

This year’s theme, “Growing Up Jewish in Canada,” calls for short, previously unpublished autobiographical essays that reflect on childhood, adolescence, and coming of age through the intertwined lenses of Jewish and Canadian identity. Writers are encouraged to explore family histories, communities, schools, camps, friendships, migrations, celebrations, struggles, and the moments that shaped who they became.

Your stories will be housed in a permanent public collection at the Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives, as well as a digital repository hosted by the ACJS, ensuring that the richness and diversity of Canadian Jewish experience is archived for future generations. The top three submissions, as selected by our advisory board, will be featured prominently on the ACJS website and recognized at a spring 2027 launch event.

Submissions are open until Oct. 30, 2026!

For submission information and other details, please visit: http://acjs-aejc.ca/lifewriting

Parchment, the re-launched literary journal of contemporary Canadian Jewish writing supported by the ACJS, was written up this past weekend in the Canadian Jewish News (The CJN).

>> Check out the article link in the first comment!

>> And don't forget to pre-order your copy of Parchment at https://www.parchmentmag.ca/!

Parchment, the only journal devoted to contemporary Canadian Jewish writing, is coming in hot!

Pre-orders are now open for Parchment's spring 2026 issue, as well as one-year subscriptions for its spring and fall issues. Place your order here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/parchment-contemporary-canadian-jewish-writing

The ACJS is proud to publish Parchment alongside a dedicated team of editors, writers, artists, and literary professionals. Stay tuned for more information in the weeks ahead!

Behold, Parchment's Spring 2026 issue. Claim your copy today by pre-ordering and subscribing to the only literary journal devoted to Canadian Jewish writing.

To read this issue of Parchment is to hold in your hands a world as dynamic as the Canadian Jewish community itself. Inside our Spring 2026 issue, you will find a splendour of poetry, non-fiction, and fiction from Shel Krakofsky, Ronna Bloom, Stuart Ross, Marc Bendavid, Adam Seelig, Rachel Morgenstern-Clarren, and more.

Fill your future with Parchment at https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/parchment-contemporary-canadian-jewish-writing.