AJL - Canada

Please join AJL and AJL-Canada for a Members-only Zoom Webinar:

Recent Challenges in Advocating for Israel Through Books for Young People

Thursday, January 19, 2023: 9:30 a.m. PT,
12:30 p.m. ET, 19:30 p.m. Israel Time

Speakers:

Marjorie Gann is a retired elementary school teacher and a children’s author (Five Thousand Years of Slavery, and Speak a Word for Freedom: Women Against Slavery). She sits on the executive of the Association of Jewish Libraries–Canada, and is currently a regular reviewer of children’s books for CAMERA – the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis.

Judy Petersen is the Library Director at a small, non-denominational synagogue, and a long-time member of the AJL. As a music paraprofessional in her local middle school, Judy became aware of the classroom use of Elizabeth Laird’s middle-grade novel, A Little Piece of Ground, a book that demonizes Israel and Israelis. She will share her experience of challenging the book.

Moderator: Sean Boyle, current AJL Vice President, President-elect, and former SSCPL Division President. Sean is also the Chair of the Advocacy Committee for AJL’s SSCPL division.

To register, click on this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvc-isqj4tG9ReH2225ba0B7Lscnu... After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

AJL-Canada’s next event will take place on Wednesday, May 18, at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Zoom.
Our speaker is Vardit Lightstone, a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Vardit's groundbreaking research focuses on the life stories of Yiddish-speaking migrants to Canada from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She will discuss how she discovered these documents, how the immigrants shaped their life stories, as well as what these stories reveal about how Yiddish-speaking immigrants assimilated to Canadian life.

Our moderator will be Dr. Anna Shternshis, the Al and Malka Green Professor of Yiddish studies and director of the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto. Dr. Shternshis is the author of Soviet and Kosher: Jewish Popular Culture in the Soviet Union, 1923 – 1939. Together with artist Psoy Korolenko, she created and directed the Grammy-nominated Yiddish Glory project, which brought back to life forgotten Yiddish music composed in the Soviet Union during the Holocaust.

Tues. Dec. 7/21, 7.30 p.m. ET: via zoom

The meeting will include a special program: “These are a Few of My Favourite things.” Collector and Herzl enthusiast David Matlow will present a sampling of his Collection of Herzl Memorabilia – the world’s largest collection (5000 items) of Herzliana. You’ll get to see objects (imagine Herzl in hockey gear!), letters, and books. We are grateful to David for allowing us to peer into his rich treasure trove. A link will be sent to all AJL-Canada members.

The Ontario Chapter of AJL is pleased to announce that Anne Dublin, our long-standing member, will receive the Canadian Jewish Literary Award (Youth) 2019
(http://cjlawards.ca). We invite all AJL members to attend this event:

The Canadian Jewish Literary Awards is honouring eight outstanding books for 2019. Now in its fifth year, the Canadian Jewish Literary Awards recognizes and rewards the finest Canadian Jewish writing.

Winners have been declared in the following categories: fiction, memoir, biography, history, scholarship, Holocaust, Yiddish, and books for children and youth.

“Choosing just eight Award winners was a challenge this year,” says Jury chair, Edward Trapunski. “The depth and breadth and quality of the submissions show the vibrancy of the culture and the appeal of Jewish themes for fiction and non-fiction writers.”

The awards ceremony will be held on October 27, 2019, at 2:00 pm in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto. Everybody is invited and welcome. Admission and parking are free. The York University subway station is conveniently right outside the door of the theatre.

Meet the winning authors and hear them speak about their books. A dessert reception will follow where the award-winning books will be available for purchase and author signing.