Victoria Jews' proud history

SHULAMIT ROTHENBERG

Last year, I visited Victoria and helped the city celebrate its 150th birthday. This year, as an actual resident, I will be celebrating with the community another 150th birthday.

The Jewish Historical Society and Congregation Emanu-El are presenting a three-month exhibition, Pioneer Perspectives: A Celebration of 150 years of Jewish Life in British Columbia, starting Sept. 18. The display will be in Emanu-El's social hall.

As a Jew who has recently made Vancouver Island my home, I have a fascination with this exhibition for three reasons: I am interested in the prolific contributions to the West Coast communities by Jewish settlers; the commonality that united all West Coast pioneers, Jewish and non-Jewish; and, finally, the characteristic trait that is evident in Jews, from Masada to Victoria.

In preparation for the exhibit, I read Pioneers, Peddlers and Prayer Shawls by Cyril Leonoff, who has done remarkable research into the Jewish communities of British Columbia and the Yukon. From the book, I learned how the Jewish settlers arrived from Europe to take part in the Fraser River gold rush; California Jews had arrived for the first gold rush in 1849. The Fraser River gold rushes, from 1858 to 1862, brought cultured Jewish people, who attained positions in Anglo-Saxon society and Leonoff relates that these Jews became advisors to governors, legislators, mayors, founders of business and industry, philanthropists and patrons of the arts.

I read about Frederick Landsberg, who was awarded the Appreciation Medal by the Victoria Post and the Jubilee Medal in 1933, for being a leading philanthropist. Then there was Alice Mallek, who was honored with the Centennial Medal in the 1950s, for having "enriched the lives of her fellow citizens of Victoria." She became the first woman to be president of a congregation – at Emanu-El.

I learned about Alexander Mayer, proprietor of the Red House, "the Pioneer Store," in Nanaimo; W. Goldbloom, "the Trappers Friend," from Prince Rupert; David Oppenheimer, "Father of Vancouver," mayor of that city from 1888-1891; Justice Samuel Davies Schultz, the first Jewish Justice in Canada, 1914; Louise E. Mahrer, community and cultural leader of Nanaimo and Vancouver; Labor Zionist Joshua Checov; and many others.

I wondered, as a new West Coast resident, why these people seemed to be accepted so readily. It appears that the "pioneer spirit" that these people arrived with was shared by all of the settlers, Jews and non-Jews. People who come to a land where there is no established community realize that any type of service, business or organization must come from their own hands. To establish new communities is not not for people who are felled easily by setbacks and disappointment. In an undeveloped area, residents must work together and earn each other's respect and friendship. This level "playing field" does not exist for new arrivals to already established communities.

As I read Pioneers, Peddlers and Prayer Shawls, I began to eagerly await the display of historical memorabilia that will be available to us in September. But, more than this, I felt the same feeling that I experienced at the top of Masada, Israel, in 2004. As I stood at the top of this mountain and looked down at the still clearly outlined Roman encampments, where 15,000 soldiers took nine months to defeat 900 Jews, I felt in awe of the courage of my people. Rather than surrender to the Roman troops, they left their food coffers full and took their own lives. This was an overt demonstration that their freedom from slavery meant everything to them and they would rather die than become enslaved again, as they had been in Egypt.

I feel this same awe when I read about the first Jewish settlers in British Columbia. They came with courage, much-needed professional and business skills and leadership ability. It seems that adversity only made them stronger, as it did the Jews of Masada. This gives me great pride, as I begin to establish myself in this illustrious community. I believe that anyone who has the courage to leave their home and come to a new place to reestablish their lives possesses this type of courage and resilience. I am honored to become part of this tradition and this community.

Shulamit Rothenberg is a new resident of Victoria, as of April 2009. She is a learning strategist and a community activist with a passion for Judaism and Torah study.

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