Ellin brings ‘Double Threat’ to the Thornhill Masonic Temple, April 24, 2019.

During the Second World War, the head of Canadian Jewish Congress, Samuel Bronfman, set up a War Efforts Committee which oversaw efforts by the country’s small Jewish minority to throw itself wholeheartedly into the war effort. The aim was to defeat Hitler, and rescue the Jews of Europe. But also, to show loyalty to Canada. Not only was Bronfman an industrialist, and head of Seagram’s distillers, but he was also a Mason. Under Bronfman’s leadership, more than 17,000 Canadian Jewish men and women put on a uniform and served in the Allied forces during WWII. Hear author and journalist Ellin Bessner, the granddaughter of a Mason herself, on how the tiny Jewish community sent men, money and even matza to help Canada win the war. Her new book “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military and WWII” was published by the University of Toronto Press. Books will be available for sale at the event.