Military Service
During the Second World War, all of the Jewish servicemen at the military base in Trenton were given leave from their duties on Sunday and were hosted at the synagogue as part of a Sunday brunch program put on by the congregation and the Ladies Auxiliary. The increased attendance and use of the synagogue helped to pay off the congregation’s Pinnacle Street mortgage. A mortgage-burning ceremony was held in 1942. Jack Yanover was given the honour of burning the document at a stag dinner held on the occasion of his enlistment in the Canadian Army. A number of other local Jewish boys were also in the military. Jacob Goodman served overseas. He later returned to Belleville as an associate lawyer with Porter, Payne & Arnott. He had pursued his legal studies in Toronto, where he ultimately returned and worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Abe Tobe also enlisted in 1942 with his brother Zeke. Zeke served in the army, while Abe was engaged in convoy duty with the Canadian Navy. Sam Tobe, living in New York by this time, served in the U.S. Army.
