Ottawa Jewish Bulletin fonds

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn16826
Collection
Ottawa Jewish Bulletin fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Material Type
multiple media
Physical Description
multiple media
Fonds No.
O0041
Date
1937 -
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a complete run of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin in individual editions; 20 silver original microfilm reels, 1937-2002; 20 diazo duplicate reels, 1937 - 2002, Ottawa Jewish Digest and Review by Young Israel Synagogue; Vol. 1, no. 1 (see 4-720); and photographs.
Collection
Ottawa Jewish Bulletin fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Material Type
multiple media
Physical Description
multiple media
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a complete run of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin in individual editions; 20 silver original microfilm reels, 1937-2002; 20 diazo duplicate reels, 1937 - 2002, Ottawa Jewish Digest and Review by Young Israel Synagogue; Vol. 1, no. 1 (see 4-720); and photographs.
Date
1937 -
Fonds No.
O0041
History / Biographical
The first issue of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin was published on October 22, 1937. In its early days, the Bulletin was a four page publication published every Friday and roughly 800 copies were mailed out to the Jewish community which numbered approximately 3500 people. The paper became the voice of the Ottawa Vaad Ha'Ir and the community's leaders and organizations, and was sponsored and produced by the Ottawa Vaad Ha’Ir. For its first 43 years, the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin was free of charge and mailed to local households with the help of students of the local "cheder" who helped address envelopes. Initially the paper was put together by Harry Goldman, the first Ottawa Vaad Ha'Ir secretary with community Rabbi William Margolis and founding editor Myer K. Epstein. Subsequently, local Rabbis Oscar Fasman and Simon Eckstein and Hy Hochberg, the first Executive Director of the Ottawa Vaad Ha'Ir, worked in editorial capacities into the early 1970's. In 1974, Joseph Peimer was hired as the Bulletin's first professional editor. That same year, the Bulletin merged with the Ottawa Jewish Digest and Review, a publication of Congregation Young Israel of Ottawa and was renamed the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin and Review. Prior to this merger, the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin focused “on local Jewish news while the Digest and Review concentrated on Israeli and world Jewish news.” In 1993, the paper reverted to its original name; Ottawa Jewish Bulletin. Bulletin editors include: Gaye Applebaum (1976-1977), Nancy Zalman (1978-1979), and Jeff Bien (1979-1980), Cynthia Engle (1980-1992), Myra Aronson (1992-2001), Barry Fishman (2001-2008), and Michael Regenstreif, who began as assistant editor in 2007 and took over as editor in 2008. In 1995 the Bulletin took a big technological leap hiring Brenda Van Vliet (1995-2017) as production manager and transformed from cut and paste production to computerized layout and in-house design of ads. Patti Moran is the current production consultant for the Bulletin. The Ottawa Jewish Bulletin is a prize winning publication that has received numerous commendations including the Gold Award for best newspaper with advertisements presented by the Council of Jewish Federation in 1993. In 2017, thanks to the guiding force of Ottawa Jewish Archives archivist Saara Mortensen who secured grants from the City of Ottawa Heritage Program and the Ottawa Jewish Heritage Society, all editions of the Bulletin were digitized and made universally accessible online.
Notes
1. In 2000, the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin was digitized through an initiative of the Ottawa Jewish Historical Society from the microfilm copy. Digitization (from the originals) and online web hosting by the Internet Archive Canada will be carried out in 2016 through an initiative directed by Archivist Saara Mortensen (project funded by the City of Ottawa Heritage funding Program 2016 and the OJHS). 2. Issues are received as published and currently 19 issues are published annually. 3. Early history from L. Harry Goldman, late of Fredericton, New Brunswick interview, July, 1995. 4. 1 box (microfilm master) of OJB's from 1937 to 2000 is stored off-site with past Archivist Shirley Berman.
Related Material
December 11, 2017; OJB article: Ottawa Jewish Bulletin celebrates 80 years of publication. p.25-33.
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Jewish Public Library Archives
Less detail