Our Collections

The OJA’s records span all segments of Ontario’s Jewish community. We have records from businesses, families, labour unions, organizations, and synagogues. These records date from the community’s earliest days to its present. What’s more, they come from all over Ontario and in every format you can think of. If you were to lay out all of our boxes, they would stretch from the foot of Yonge Street to Dundas Square!

Below you can find highlights from our newest acquisitions as well as collections that have recently been processed and added to our website search.

Do you have records to donate to the OJA? Click here to learn how.

Acquisition of the Month

January 2023

Print publication featuring a photograph of a young David SadowskiIn 2023, David Sadowski retired from UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, where he oversaw UJA properties in and around Toronto. Before that, he served as director of youth services for the Canadian Jewish Congress in 1972 and associate director of community relations for the Joint Community Relations Committee circa 1974. And despite officially retiring, David continues to be a regular and welcome presence on UJA premises.

In January 2024, David donated some 40 cm of records documenting both his family and his career. As many as half of the records document his work on behalf of Soviet Jewry with groups such as the Student Council for Soviet Jews at York University. Among these records are newspapers related to Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin's visit to Canada in 1971, in the course of which Kosygin met with then prime minister Pierre Eliot Trudeau.

Shown here is a print publication featuring a photograph of David Sadowski sans signature red baseball cap. The text notes that Sadowski was "involved in the Freedom Caravan for Soviet Jews program last summer."