Events, exhibits honour Jewish Heritage Month in Vaughan

Yorkregion.com
May 11, 2015
By Simone Joseph

In honor of Jewish Heritage Month, the City of Vaughan will display a photo exhibit depicting the escape of more than 18,000 Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe to Shanghai, China - a country that became a haven for many “stateless” Jews.

The exhibit at city hall is called Shanghai: A Refuge During the Holocaust. The exhibit includes captions containing historic text in English and Chinese and focuses on the remarkable oral history of the Gottfrieds family exodus and subsequent immigration to Canada.

It was produced by the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre and co-organized by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

The exhibit is on display in the atrium gallery at Vaughan City Hall all this month until May 27, Mondays to Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. An official launch of the exhibit is planned for May 19 at 11 a.m, with a welcome from Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and council members.

In addition, "Being Jewish in Ontario: A Pictorial Celebration" is a travelling exhibition celebrating Jewish Heritage Month. It explores the many different ways of “being Jewish” around the province through photographs from UJA Federation’s Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre.

During Jewish Heritage Month the exhibition will be on display in various locations:

• May 8-29 Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus, 9600 Bathurst St.
• May 4-12 Vaughan Public Libraries, Bathurst Clark branch, 900 Clark Ave. W., Thornhill
• May 13-29 Vaughan Public Libraries, Dufferin Clark branch, 1441 Clark Ave. W., Thornhill
  

The Jewish Heritage Month Bill was spearheaded by MPP Mike Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence) and co-sponsored by MPP Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale-High Park) and MPP Peter Shurman (Thornhill).

Type in #JHMOntario on Twitter for more information. Go to ontariojewishheritagemonth.com for more information.