After centuries of isolation, ultra-Orthodox Jews engage with the world more than ever
NEW YORK (AP) — Frieda Vizel left an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect in New York in a crisis of faith at 25. But instead of cutting ties, she became a successful online personality and guide to the tight-knit world she had been raised in.
She gives sold-out tours of Williamsburg, Brooklyn — home base of the Satmar dynasty — and runs a popular YouTube channel focused on the subculture engaging more with the outside world after centuries of separation.
In mid-June, Vizel took a group of Jewish, Christian and Muslim tourists to see synagogues and schools, and visit kosher delis and shops. Instead of Barbie dolls, there were little ultra-Orthodox Jewish figurines. The rabbinically approved products included cellphones without screens, and DVDs and MP3 players preloaded with approved music and films, so no internet connection is needed.
Yet ultra-Orthodox men on the street offered friendly greetings and praise for Vizel's recent postings even though rabbis advise them to avoid the internet unless needed for business, family or other essential needs.
'It's an interesting moment,' Vizel said. 'They're saying, 'What is the whole world saying about us?''
Growth and religious change
Williamsburg and a handful of other locations worldwide — from Monsey, New York, to Stamford Hill, London to Bnei Brak, Israel — host the strictest followers of Orthodox Judaism. In a minority religion it's a minority set apart by its dedication above all else to the Torah and its 613 commandments, from No. 1 — worshipping God — to less-followed measures like No. 568 — not cursing a head of state.
One in seven Jews worldwide are strictly Orthodox, or Haredi. It's a population of roughly 2 million out of 15 million Jews, according to Daniel Staetsky, a demographer with the London-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research.
In a 2022 report, he projects that the strictly Orthodox population could double in size in 15 years. Another study projects that a third of American Jews will be Orthodox by 2063.
Many in the community marry young and have large families.
'You're getting three generations of ultra-Orthodox for every two generations of Reform Jews in the U.S.,' said Alan Cooperman, director of religion research at the Pew Research Center.
'They are becoming the face of Judaism,' Vizel said.
Reform and secular Jews
It's happening while many Reform Jews in the U.S. are becoming less religious and intermarrying. That means that Jewish Americans as a whole are becoming either Orthodox or more secular, Cooperman said.
'There has been a major change, I think, that has taken place over the last generation or two and that is the polarization of American Jewry, much as we've seen the vast polarization of America as a whole,' said Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University.
Among American Jews aged 18 to 29, 17% are Orthodox — a bigger share than in older generations, Pew found. And as a growing number of American Jews are Orthodox, a greater percent is Republican. Still, the majority of American Jews remain Democrats.
The Pew Research Center found in 2020 that 75% of Orthodox Jews voted or leaned Republican.
Walking out of Gottlieb's Restaurant with his salami sandwich, Samuel Sabel — a grocery store worker and journalist — said that 'a lot of the policies Republicans have go together with our beliefs,' citing school choice, and opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage as examples.
Orthodox political activism is 'at the highest point it's ever been,' said Rabbi Avi Shafran, the retired director of public affairs at the Orthodox group Agudath Israel. 'No question about that.'
'There is time and money and ability and savvy and education that allows for a much more, aggressive, much more positive and active effort on political things,' he said.
But while cultural issues are important, 'when push comes to shove, we'll vote our interests, our immediate interests, not the larger issues that are always on the table,' Shafran said.
'We are practical,' he said. 'Put it that way.'
Politics — local, national and global
Vizel guided her group past 'Get out the vote' signs in Yiddish, along with a campaign letter from Donald Trump in the window of Gottlieb's deli.
In New York City's Democratic primary for the mayoral election, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo intensely courted Orthodox communities, counting at least 36 sects and yeshivas — religious schools — among his supporters.
But Cuomo suffered a stunning upset at the hands of Zohran Mamdani in a demonstration of grassroots organizing over bloc voting.
In Florida, Orthodox Jews backed Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis before he signed a expansion of taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools, a movement that has galvanized religious groups across denominations.
But the election this month for the World Zionist Congress — an international body predating Israel that controls more than 1,500 square miles (3885 square kilometers) of land there, along with about $1 billion a year from land sales — showed dominance by the Reform bloc despite intense campaigning by Orthodox parties and strong results ahead of coalition building.
The 2020 Pew study found that Reform Jews are 37% of the American Jewish populace, followed by Jews that claim no particular branch — 32% —and then Conservatives at 17% .
The Orthodox make up 9%.
The president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish group in North America, said 'it's a mistake to assume unaffiliated Jews don't care about being Jewish — many do, and Reform Judaism often reflects their spiritual and moral values.
'Reform Jews continue to hold overwhelmingly liberal worldviews and political values,' Rabbi Rick Jacobs wrote. 'In the aftermath of October 7th, many have deepened their connection to Jewish peoplehood while remaining firmly committed to justice, equity, and peace through the Reform Movement.'
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Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba.
Rabbi Pesach Lerner founded the Orthodox party Eretz Hakodesh five years ago to compete in the election for the World Zionist Congress.
The main American party representing Reform Judaism in the Zionist Congress had a better individual showing than Lerner's in voting in the United States, but Orthodox parties did well and said they were optimistic that coalition-building would let them compete with traditional liberal Jewish interests.
Reform Jews and their allies 'went so far to the left of traditional, of national, or family values, in 'wokeism,' that I'm glad the right finally decided that they can't sit back on the sidelines,' Lerner said.
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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Edmonton Journal
12 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Ottawa bakeries make the Montreal-style bagel tradition their own
Play Video Article content Montreal-style bagels may have originated down the 417, but in Ottawa, the debate over which shop does them best is very much alive, and surprisingly personal. At Kettlemans, Bobino, Cadmans and Bagelshop, that label applies to four distinct recipes — and four devoted customer bases prepared to eat accordingly and defend their choice with conviction. I've been loyal to one bagel for over a decade: sesame, from St-Viateur in Montreal, eaten hot straight from the paper bag, toasted seeds scattering with every bite. In my twenties, I lined up for them at 3 a.m., like many in the Mile End, treating bagels as both hangover prevention and personality trait. These days, I stock up during daylight hours on infrequent visits to the city, but my order hasn't changed, and neither has the taste. There's something oddly comforting about a bread ring that always tastes the way you remember. A proper Montreal-style bagel is hand-rolled, boiled in honeyed water and baked in a wood-fired oven until the crust takes on a slight crackle and the inside turns chewy, with a faint sweetness. It's smaller and denser than a New York bagel and best eaten warm, ideally without hesitation. Bagel-making in Montreal dates to the early 20th century, when Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe adapted Polish and Ukrainian techniques to local ingredients. Fairmount Bagel opened in 1919, then St-Viateur in 1957. The original technique is still central to both family-run bakeries. Last summer, I spent a morning behind the counter at St-Viateur, learning to roll the dough and guide the uneven rings past the flames. The bakers, many of them longtime employees, moved with practiced speed. I did not. By the time I was done, my hands were sore from repetition (though owner Vince Morena did most of the heavy lifting) and my clothes smelled like caramelised bread. I walked out with a baker's dozen — one consumed out front on the sidewalk for good measure — and a sharpened sense of what 'Montreal-style' means. When I moved to Ottawa, I went looking for my bagel fix, expecting disappointment. Instead, I found bakeries working from the same blueprint with intriguing results. I tasted each bagel fresh and toasted, stacked against a control batch from St-Viateur, before speaking to the people who make them. A bagel, in theory, is a simple thing. In practice, it's a set of choices about texture, sweetness, size and timing, shaped by a baker and sustained by the people who keep coming back for the version that feels right. What follows is a look at four Ottawa bakeries calling their product Montreal-style, and how each one puts its stamp on that claim. Bagelshop and Deli Hours: Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Prices: $1.59 (single), $8.89 (half dozen), $12.99 (dozen); sandwiches vary Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible entrance -⊚- Sesame bagels from Bagelshop come blistered from the oven, with a chewy interior, a crisp crust and generous sesame coverage. The dough carries a mild sweetness and a malty finish that lingers when toasted. Of all the shops using the Montreal-style label in Ottawa, this one most closely matches the method and flavour I've long associated with St-Viateur. The store has earned that resemblance. When the Piazza family opened the shop in 1984, there were no Montreal-style bagels in Ottawa. 'My mom noticed there was sort of a hole in the market,' said owner Liliana Piazza. Her father, then a teacher, was encouraged by her uncle Joe — who started working at Saint-Viateur Bagel at 14 and later took it over — to bring the style to Ottawa. 'We kind of took the Montreal bagel out of Montreal,' she said. They also helped bring the oven with them. 'My dad actually set a precedent in Ontario law to have this type of wood-burning oven,' she said. The structure is embedded in the building. 'It's brick and concrete. It's not going anywhere.' Liliana grew up working in the Bagelshop and later worked at her cousins' bakery in Montreal while studying opera. She returned to Ottawa in 2012 and took over the business in 2019. Since then, she has expanded the selection with flavoured bagels like sourdough and blueberry-cream. 'We're always trying to find things that are compelling,' she said, describing the sourdough as a cross between a Montreal and New York bagel. 'It has a tang. That bagel doesn't have any eggs in it like our Montreal-style bagel does. It's a different dough.' We kind of took the Montreal bagel out of Montreal. Liliana Piazza, Bagelshop owner Still, the classic sesame bagel remains most popular. 'Because the dough is slightly sweet — there's no salt — the sesame adds that sort of complexity of flavour,' she said. 'There's the sweetness, the crunchiness, the texture of the sesame seed. It's actually a really complex bread experience.' Liliana is protective of the term Montreal-style, especially because her family helped define it locally. 'I feel like if you do those three things — quick dough, boil in honey water, and wood-burning oven — then you're going to have a Montreal-style bagel.' That last part is rarer. 'We probably have one of the last full wood-burning ovens,' she said. 'Newer bagel shops tend not to build the oven into the building like we have.' Her favourite way to eat a Bagelshop bagel? 'Hot cinnamon raisin out of the oven. Or a sesame bagel, sliced in half, with salted butter and a chocolate milk. That's what I had growing up, after school,' she said. The Reuben is a customer favourite, and Liliana mentioned they recently introduced an all-day breakfast sandwich. But for her, the soul of the place will always be the bagels. 'I grew up in this business, and now it's part of my kids' lives,' she said. 'It's generational.' Hours: Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Prices: $1.85 (single), $9.95 (half dozen), $14.95 (dozen); sandwiches vary Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible entrance -⊚- Bagels at the Gatineau shop come out of a high-heat oven that co-owner Alex van Dieren says is 'closer to the shape of a pizza oven.' The result is crusty on the outside, tender inside and finished with a sheen that comes from 'a special ingredient in the water as they boil.' When pressed, he clarified, 'That ingredient is mostly honey, but there's something else in there as well… it's all natural. No chemicals.' Unlike some Montreal institutions where fresh-out-of-the-oven is the draw, Bobino recommends waiting. 'Anywhere between two and eight hours after is really the best time (to eat a bagel) because they kind of continue to bake after they're out of the oven,' said van Dieren. The texture is compelling enough on its own that even without much sweetness in the dough they're hard to stop eating. They also reheat well, keeping their chew and structure. Compared to some of the denser, more uniform bagels found elsewhere, Bobino's thinner profile and slightly irregular grooves give them a handmade feel, good for holding toppings. The pastel building across from the Canadian Museum of History — once a car garage, later a gelato shop — houses what van Dieren describes as 'a Montreal-style bagel shop that is not only about the bagel, but the whole experience.' Children who visit are handed playdough at the counter, some may get mini bagels from bakers or at least some real dough to play with. Staff keep the music on seasonal playlists, each song handpicked, 'and the volume of the music is checked every half an hour,' said van Dieren. The shop's name and colour scheme reference Bobino, a beloved children's show that aired in Quebec for nearly 30 years, ending in 1985. Van Dieren said the team got permission from the family of actor Guy Sanche, a Hull resident who played the title character, to use his name. His relatives live next door to the shop and share a fence with it. The cheeky cartoon bagel mascot was designed by Rémi Allen, a longtime collaborator at Orkestra, the Gatineau creative agency co-founded by Bobino's owners. 'When he presented the concept of having a bagel that is alive as a character with his little cheeks at the back, it was approved by everyone in about five seconds.' Van Dieren said he used to bring bagels home from Saint-Viateur and Fairmount in Montreal. 'By now I've gone through way too many salmon sandwiches,' he said. 'So I'm into club sandwiches, Bobino style… But in the morning, you absolutely need to try the cinnamon raisin with just a bit of butter. That just tastes like heaven.' Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Carling Rd.); Monday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. (Montreal Rd.) Prices: $2.29 (single), $9.99 (half dozen), $13.99 (dozen); sandwiches vary Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible entrance (both locations) -⊚- Cadman's has been baking Montreal-style bagels since 2016, but the team behind it has been in the business much longer. President and founder Ranjeev Sharma operated as a Kettlemans franchisee starting in 2004 before breaking away and launching his own brand. 'We had a nasty divorce, let's just say that,' he said. The name Cadman, chosen after the split, means 'fighter' or 'warrior' in Anglo-Saxon. 'It was like a David and Goliath story,' he said. The first location opened on Carling Avenue, followed by a second on Montreal Road in 2017. The company built its following early and retained customers through the transition. 'Even when we were at Kettlemans, we had our regulars. When we rebranded, they stayed with us,' Sharma said. Cadman's sesame bagel is the flagship item. 'We sell thousands of them a day,' he said. Each one is hand-rolled, boiled in honey water, and baked in a wood-burning oven. The dough recipe hasn't changed in years. 'If you come back in three years, it's going to taste exactly the same,' Sharma said. 'We do not mess with our recipe.' Cadmans' locations have an open kitchen, where staff can be seen rolling, boiling and baking bagels throughout the morning. When I visited the Montreal Road shop, staff were quick to recommend the cherry cheese bagel made with Canadian fruit — a replacement for the U.S.-sourced blueberry version they had temporarily discontinued due to tariffs. They also encouraged buying a half-dozen instead of my usual four to get a better deal. The sesame bagels I picked up in the late afternoon were already packaged in plastic. They had a yeasty aroma and looked more like New York-style bagels with a smooth exterior and bready interior. However, the crust had a mild snap, and the overall texture was soft and dense. The full-bodied flavour stands apart from the others in Ottawa, and they do hold their own. Cadman's makes 14 varieties daily, including a jalapeño cheddar created by Sharma. 'People love those bagels,' he said. Customers looking for specific flavours are encouraged to order in advance to avoid disappointment. Bagels are baked from 4:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and hot bagels are typically available between 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sharma's favourite? An all-dressed bagel, hollowed out to crisp the crust, then filled with bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo. 'A BLT, basically. One of my favourite sandwiches,' he said. The BLT is also a top seller at Cadmans. A few customers ask for their bagels scooped, he added, to get more crunch and less crumb. Hours: Open 24 hours (Bank, Trainyards, and Nepean locations); Kanata: daily, 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Prices: $1.79 (single), $9.29 (half dozen), $14.49 (dozen); sandwiches vary Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible entrances at all locations -⊚- Kettlemans rolls about 9,000 bagels a day by hand. 'It creates this perfectly imperfect product. There are no two bagels that are alike,' said company president Amer Wahab. 'We roll about 55 dozen bagels every hour and a half with manpower, not machine power.' The sesame bagel dominates production, trailed by poppy. Most bagels go straight into the takeout line or sandwich bar, and a few lucky customers might get a hot one off the fire. 'I have been witness to 48 chocolate chip bagels coming out of the oven,' Wahab recalled. 'A lady leaned in, said, 'How many are there?' The baker said, 'Just did 48.' She said, 'I'll take all of them.'' The bagels are dense with a soft chew and a lightly sweet dough. They reheat better than most others in Ottawa and make an excellent choice for adding toppings, even hours after baking. Wahab attributes their appeal to quality ingredients and consistency. Fifteen years later, I came back and I was like, oh my god, they still have a Reuben. I want my Reuben on poppy. Amer Wahab, Kettlemans president That reliability and the round-the-clock hours make Kettlemans one of the few spots in Ottawa where a 3 a.m. bagel run is possible. The scale also gives the shop room to experiment. 'Every major holiday we'll do something,' said Wahab. ' Canada Day, Christmas, Halloween.' Some flavour ideas come from the management team, others from hourly staff. 'If somebody says, 'We should do a lemon cream cheese.' It's like, anybody against it? No? Somebody makes a bench sample, they bring it back and we try it.' Past successes include a triple chocolate bagel made with cocoa, hot chocolate and chocolate chips released on Valentine's Day. Wahab's own go-to orders depend on the filling. 'If it's just with cream cheese, sesame. If I'm having smoked meat or Reuben, it's poppy,' he said. 'And I love our vegetarian sandwich. It's made with spicy eggplant, pesto mayo, lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese — absolutely hands down delicious.' He also praised Kettlemans' gluten-free bagel. 'It's vegan, it's kosher, it's nut free,' he said. 'Honestly, that could be my substitute for any one of those.' Wahab joined Kettlemans a decade ago, first as a consultant who rediscovered his love for the brand through its sandwiches. 'I was a guest in 1993, at (the Bank St.) location, when it first opened,' he said. 'Fifteen years later, I came back and I was like, oh my god, they still have a Reuben. I want my Reuben on poppy. That bite was the same as it was fifteen years prior. It has not changed.' Wahab described the company's relationships with honey producers, butchers and other suppliers as key to preserving continuity. '(Our relationships) are one thing that we will not ever veer from,' he said.
Winnipeg Free Press
13 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
After centuries of isolation, ultra-Orthodox Jews engage with the world more than ever
NEW YORK (AP) — Frieda Vizel left an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect in New York in a crisis of faith at 25. But instead of cutting ties, she became a successful online personality and guide to the tight-knit world she had been raised in. She gives sold-out tours of Williamsburg, Brooklyn — home base of the Satmar dynasty — and runs a popular YouTube channel focused on the subculture engaging more with the outside world after centuries of separation. In mid-June, Vizel took a group of Jewish, Christian and Muslim tourists to see synagogues and schools, and visit kosher delis and shops. Instead of Barbie dolls, there were little ultra-Orthodox Jewish figurines. The rabbinically approved products included cellphones without screens, and DVDs and MP3 players preloaded with approved music and films, so no internet connection is needed. Yet ultra-Orthodox men on the street offered friendly greetings and praise for Vizel's recent postings even though rabbis advise them to avoid the internet unless needed for business, family or other essential needs. 'It's an interesting moment,' Vizel said. 'They're saying, 'What is the whole world saying about us?'' Growth and religious change Williamsburg and a handful of other locations worldwide — from Monsey, New York, to Stamford Hill, London to Bnei Brak, Israel — host the strictest followers of Orthodox Judaism. In a minority religion it's a minority set apart by its dedication above all else to the Torah and its 613 commandments, from No. 1 — worshipping God — to less-followed measures like No. 568 — not cursing a head of state. One in seven Jews worldwide are strictly Orthodox, or Haredi. It's a population of roughly 2 million out of 15 million Jews, according to Daniel Staetsky, a demographer with the London-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research. In a 2022 report, he projects that the strictly Orthodox population could double in size in 15 years. Another study projects that a third of American Jews will be Orthodox by 2063. Many in the community marry young and have large families. 'You're getting three generations of ultra-Orthodox for every two generations of Reform Jews in the U.S.,' said Alan Cooperman, director of religion research at the Pew Research Center. 'They are becoming the face of Judaism,' Vizel said. Reform and secular Jews It's happening while many Reform Jews in the U.S. are becoming less religious and intermarrying. That means that Jewish Americans as a whole are becoming either Orthodox or more secular, Cooperman said. 'There has been a major change, I think, that has taken place over the last generation or two and that is the polarization of American Jewry, much as we've seen the vast polarization of America as a whole,' said Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University. Among American Jews aged 18 to 29, 17% are Orthodox — a bigger share than in older generations, Pew found. And as a growing number of American Jews are Orthodox, a greater percent is Republican. Still, the majority of American Jews remain Democrats. The Pew Research Center found in 2020 that 75% of Orthodox Jews voted or leaned Republican. Walking out of Gottlieb's Restaurant with his salami sandwich, Samuel Sabel — a grocery store worker and journalist — said that 'a lot of the policies Republicans have go together with our beliefs,' citing school choice, and opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage as examples. Orthodox political activism is 'at the highest point it's ever been,' said Rabbi Avi Shafran, the retired director of public affairs at the Orthodox group Agudath Israel. 'No question about that.' 'There is time and money and ability and savvy and education that allows for a much more, aggressive, much more positive and active effort on political things,' he said. But while cultural issues are important, 'when push comes to shove, we'll vote our interests, our immediate interests, not the larger issues that are always on the table,' Shafran said. 'We are practical,' he said. 'Put it that way.' Politics — local, national and global Vizel guided her group past 'Get out the vote' signs in Yiddish, along with a campaign letter from Donald Trump in the window of Gottlieb's deli. In New York City's Democratic primary for the mayoral election, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo intensely courted Orthodox communities, counting at least 36 sects and yeshivas — religious schools — among his supporters. But Cuomo suffered a stunning upset at the hands of Zohran Mamdani in a demonstration of grassroots organizing over bloc voting. In Florida, Orthodox Jews backed Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis before he signed a expansion of taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools, a movement that has galvanized religious groups across denominations. But the election this month for the World Zionist Congress — an international body predating Israel that controls more than 1,500 square miles (3885 square kilometers) of land there, along with about $1 billion a year from land sales — showed dominance by the Reform bloc despite intense campaigning by Orthodox parties and strong results ahead of coalition building. The 2020 Pew study found that Reform Jews are 37% of the American Jewish populace, followed by Jews that claim no particular branch — 32% —and then Conservatives at 17% . The Orthodox make up 9%. The president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish group in North America, said 'it's a mistake to assume unaffiliated Jews don't care about being Jewish — many do, and Reform Judaism often reflects their spiritual and moral values. 'Reform Jews continue to hold overwhelmingly liberal worldviews and political values,' Rabbi Rick Jacobs wrote. 'In the aftermath of October 7th, many have deepened their connection to Jewish peoplehood while remaining firmly committed to justice, equity, and peace through the Reform Movement.' Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. Rabbi Pesach Lerner founded the Orthodox party Eretz Hakodesh five years ago to compete in the election for the World Zionist Congress. The main American party representing Reform Judaism in the Zionist Congress had a better individual showing than Lerner's in voting in the United States, but Orthodox parties did well and said they were optimistic that coalition-building would let them compete with traditional liberal Jewish interests. Reform Jews and their allies 'went so far to the left of traditional, of national, or family values, in 'wokeism,' that I'm glad the right finally decided that they can't sit back on the sidelines,' Lerner said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Vancouver Sun
14 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
They saved Jews from the Nazis. Eighty years later, two Dutch-Canadian couples named among the 'righteous'
It is an elite club, numbering 28,486 people from 51 countries, unimaginably courageous non-Jews who risked their lives to rescue Jews during the Holocaust. They are the Righteous Among the Nations, honoured by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust museum and memorial, on behalf of the State of Israel. The club was expanded last Thursday in Toronto when the honour was bestowed posthumously on two couples who sheltered Jews in Nazi-occupied Holland. 'What did they have to lose? I would say everything,' said Elizabeth Quinlan, whose honoured grandparents, Eimericus and Anna Maria Tijssen, took a young Jewish girl, Annie Muller, into their already large family in southeastern Holland. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Also honoured at the moving ceremony at Israel's consulate in Toronto were Hendrik and Frederika Veldboom, who hid a Jewish couple in their rural farmhouse near the border with Germany and rescued their newborn son. The ceremony, attended by Ontario MPPs and other dignitaries, was crowded by dozens of descendants of both couples who came from points across Ontario, Edmonton, Texas, and the Cayman Islands. The dangers the Dutch couples faced were clear: Hiding Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe was punished by shipment to a concentration camp or being shot on the spot. Add to that tension food scarcity, regular Allied shellings, and neighbours and even relatives who were Nazi collaborators. It was in 1943 when the Dutch underground brought Elia 'Annie' Muller, then 2-1/2 years old, to the Thijssens after the child had been moved through several hiding places. Despite the fact that five of the couple's seven children were still living at home, they welcomed the Jewish girl, who would call her saviours Opa (Grandpa) and Moeke (Grandma). The Thijssens' married daughter, Lena, helped with the cover story: She said she was friends with Annie's mother, who was in a sanatorium. The child was kept safe until six months after Holland's liberation in May 1945, when she was reunited with her parents. In a video hookup from her home in Holland, Muller, now 84, recalled with deep thanks her memories of a big family, how Moeke sliced the bread, the hams hanging from the ceiling, the old telephone, playing outside with the other children 'and being naughty.' No talk of fear or the sudden need to hide. An artist, her work has centred on themes of memory and resistance – 'a tribute to the people who saved me.' Presented were 'certificates of honour' and medals inscribed with a quote from the Talmud: 'Whosoever saves a single life, saves an entire universe.' The Thijssens immigrated to Canada in 1950 and settled in Proton Station, Ont. with four of their children. They initially worked on a farm, then moved to Strathroy, Ont., where Eimericus became a groundskeeper at a local golf course, while his wife worked at a canning factory. They kept their counsel. In accepting the honour on behalf of her late grandparents, Quinlan, a retired judge who lives in Barrie, Ont., noted Canada's dismal record of admitting Jewish refugees during the war era, the lowest among western countries. 'The inactions of our country underscore the empathy and humanity of our grandparents, who could also have done nothing,' Quinlan told those assembled. 'A supposed civilized country could ignore the suffering around it, but Moeke and Opa could not.' Her grandparents never talked about their valour. The sentiment, according to one of their daughters — Quinlan's mother — was 'it was just something we did. Anyone would have done it.' That isn't so, Quinlan said. 'It was dangerous. It was an act of heroism that until now, was unrecognized.' Hedrick and Frederika Veldboom, meantime, were newly married and members of the Dutch underground who turned their rural farmhouse into a hiding place for Jews and young Dutch men fleeing forced labour. Among the Jews were Lena Kropveld and her husband, Yitzchak Jedwab, a cantor. Wed secretly in 1942, they spent months in a hidden space behind a wardrobe, relying on coded warning systems. The dangers rose to new heights when Lena gave birth to a baby boy. She held her newborn for an hour before Hendrik Veldboom placed him in a cardboard box and bicycled in darkness to put the baby on the doorstep of the leader of the underground resistance, who took the child in despite having eight children. The baby, registered as abandoned, was reunited with his parents after liberation. In 1952, the Veldbooms immigrated to Brockville, Ont., where they became farmers. What would they have said about being honoured as righteous rescuers? 'I think they would be terribly surprised,' said their daughter, Jantina Veldboom Devries, who lives in Hamilton, Ont. and accepted the distinction 'I think it would be almost unthinkable for them because they didn't see themselves as heroic. They did the right thing at the right time. Doing the right and honourable thing doesn't need recognition, they would say.' Idit Shamir, Israel's consul general in Toronto and western Canada, echoed that sense of humility expressed by the two couples — indeed by many other Righteous Among the Nations. 'Were they heroes?' Shamir asked. 'They would laugh. They were farmers. Parents. Neighbours who kept chickens and worried about harvest. 'Were they saints? They would object. They made mistakes. They felt fear. They were gloriously, beautifully human. We call them what they were: Righteous. Not perfect. Not fearless. Not superhuman. Simply people who saw clearly when the world went blind.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .
