The Community Today
There were 30 Jewish families in the Belleville area in 1988. Though the community has shrunk in size since its early heyday between the 1930s and 1950s, it has remained fairly stable since the 1970s, with the occasional new family or member offsetting the departures and deaths of the older members. In 2002, the Sons of Jacob Congregation estimated between 25 and 30 regular attending members.
The congregation has mostly relied on Israeli teachers living in Toronto to serve as teachers for the Hebrew school. Many of these individuals came to Canada for a short time in order to improve their English. They faithfully commuted to Belleville each Sundays to educate a handful of pupils.
In June of 2005, a reunion fundraiser was held in Belleville for the 50th anniversary of the building of the Victoria Road synagogue of the Sons of Jacob Congregation. Organized by Brenda Goldstein (née Black), Paul Yanover and other former Jewish residents of the Belleville community, the gathering illustrated for those involved the depth of their roots in Belleville. People came primarily from Toronto, Kingston and Montreal for a weekend of events, during which time old friends were re-acquainted and funds were raised to help preserve the synagogue and cemetery for future generations of Jewish citizens in Belleville.
