History of The Jews in Vancouver - 1960s and 1970s

1960s and 1970s

The Jewish population continued to shift south and west to the Oakridge area through the 1960s and 1970s. At Oak and 41st a new Jewish Community Centre was built in 1962 as well as the Louis Brier Home and Hospital for the aged in 1968. It is the only Jewish seniors' facility west of Winnipeg. Temple Sholom (Reform) was founded on Oak Street in 1964

Wealthy families also moved to the Point Grey and West Vancouver neighbourhoods. Leonoff's study of the Vancouver Jewish Community Telephone Directory suggests that only 10% of the local Jewish community lived outside Vancouver in 1960, though many families began moving to the suburbs as housing costs rose.

While the development of community services and congregations has often been a cooperative process, with help from organizations in neighbouring cities, there are some accounts of suburban communities feeling ignored by central organizations. The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver was established in 1987 to develop a wider community across the area. It was born from the merger of the United Jewish Appeal and the Jewish Community Fund and Council.

The Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver also offers services intended for the entire community. It houses many organizations such as the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, the Jewish Museum and Archives of B.C., and the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. The centre also offers programs for all ages, the Isaac Waldman library, and recreational, arts and event facilities.

In 1974 Rabbi Yitzchak and Henia Wineberg moved from Brooklyn, NY to open the first Chabad House centre in Western Canada. Chabad has been credited with spearheading the resurgence in Jewish identity, and practice. Chabad Lubavitch BC now operates 7 centres in BC including, Chabad of Vancouver Island, Chabad of the Okanagan, Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley in White Rock, Chabad of Richmond, Chabad of Downtown Vancouver, Chabad of East Vancouver, and the Chabad headquarters on 41st and Oak. Chabad also operates in the popular resort town of Whistler, BC with some holiday programs including Chanukah celebrations and Passover Seders