Youth
The Youth movement in town was quite vibrant during this period. Howard Slepkov led the United Synagogue Youth Group for some time. It began in St. Catharines during the 1960s and then emerged in Hamilton and Buffalo. For many years, the advisors were Sylvia Halperin and Margaret Zeldin. The mandate of this group was to encourage social interaction among Jewish youth. The members of the group were expected to finish Hebrew High School until graduation, attend several Shabbat services each month, as well as half of the High Holiday services. In addition to providing camp subsidies for the youth involved, they also organized sleepovers, hay rides, brunch birthday parties, winter carnivals and outings to other cities. For many of the members, attending the regional USY convention which was held in Niagara Falls in 1979 and several other years was a real highlight.
In 2002, the Jewish students from Brock University formed the BUJU (Brock University Jews United) club. The inspiration came from student Aaron Bronsteter from Thornhill, Ontario. He wanted to support an agenda that was different from that of Hillel, by highlighting social activities rather than political work. The BUJU has hosted bagel lunches, bowling nights and a pool party. The group consists of about 30 members and meets at B’nai Israel Synagogue. It has received support from the Canadian Jewish Congress – both financial as well as in regards to programming ideas.
