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Irving Abella

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Irving Abella
CM OOnt FRSC
Born
Irving Martin Abella

(1940-07-02)July 2, 1940
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DiedJuly 3, 2022(2022-07-03) (aged 82)
TitlePresident of the Canadian Jewish Congress (1992–1995)
Spouse
​
(m. 1968)​
Academic background
Alma materUniversity College, Toronto
ThesisThe Struggle for Industrial Unionism in Canada (1969)
Doctoral advisor
Academic work
Discipline
Sub-discipline
InstitutionsYork University
Notable worksNone Is Too Many (1983)

Irving Martin Abella CM OOnt FRSC (July 2, 1940 – July 3, 2022) was a Canadian historian who served as a professor at York University from 1968 to 2013. He specialized in the history of the Jews in Canada and the Canadian labour movement.

Early life

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Abella was born in Toronto on July 2, 1940.[2][3] His parents were Esther (Shiff) and Louis Abella.[3][4] He studied at the University of Toronto, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in 1963 and a Master of Arts the following year. He commenced his doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley, before returning to the University of Toronto and being awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in 1969.[2] He wrote his thesis on Canadian labour history.[3]

Career

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Abella first taught at York University in 1968,[2] specializing in labour and Jewish history.[3][5] He continued teaching at that institution until 2013. During the early 1970s, he started the first university course in Canadian Jewish studies at Glendon College, which he considered his greatest achievement.[3] He served as president of the Canadian Jewish Congress from 1992 to 1995. He was also chair of Vision TV, a religious broadcaster.[2][6] He was president of the Canadian Historical Association for the year 1999-2000.[7]

Abella's books include Coat of Many Colours: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada (1990) and None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe, 1933–1948 (1982).[2] He stated that the latter – which detailed the Canadian government's immigration policy during the 1930s that led it to accept only 5,000 Jewish refugees during World War II – was not intended to be more than an academic text.[8] However, it ultimately impacted the immigration policy of the government at the time. After Ron Atkey, the minister of immigration, read a draft copy of the manuscript, the Canadian government welcomed 50,000 Vietnamese boat people by the end of 1980 (up from the original goal of 8,000 refugees per year).[3][8]

Personal life and death

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Abella married Rosalie Silberman Abella in 1968.[2] They met while studying at the University of Toronto together, and remained married until his death.[3] She was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in August 2004. Together, they have two children, Jacob and Zachary.[3][8]

Abella died on July 3, 2022, one day after his 82nd birthday. He suffered from an unspecified long illness prior to his death.[3][8][9]

Awards and honours

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Abella was a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.[2][8] He was conferred the National Jewish Book Award in 1983 under the Holocaust category for None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe, 1933–1948.[8][10] He was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in October 1993 and invested four months later in February of the following year.[11] He was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).[12][13] Abella later received the Order of Ontario in 2014 "for his contribution to documenting the story of Jewish Canadians, and his commitment to the principles of social justice and tolerance."[14][15]

Publications

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  • Nationalism, Communism and Canadian Labour (1973) ISBN 9780802002334
  • On Strike: Six Key Labour Struggles in Canada 1919–1949 (1974) ISBN 9780888620576
  • The Canadian Worker in the Twentieth Century (co-editor, 1978) ISBN 9780195402506
  • None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe 1933–1948 (with Harold Troper, 1982) ISBN 9780919630314
  • A Coat of Many Colours: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada (1990) ISBN 9780886192518

See also

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References

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  1. ^ McNaught, Kenneth (1999). Conscience and History: A Memoir. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-8020-4425-9. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Murray, Joan (January 18, 2012). "David Lloyd Blackwood". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Freeman, Alan (July 4, 2022). "Historian Irving Abella dies after long illness". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Schneiderman, Harry; Carmin, Itzhak J. (1987). Who's who in World Jewry. ISBN 9780961827205.
  5. ^ "iabella | Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies". profiles.laps.yorku.ca. May 24, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "Alumni of Influence > Irving Abella, BA 1963 UC - 2012 Award Recipient". University College, University of Toronto.
  7. ^ "CHA Presidents and Presidential Addresses". CHA Canadian Historical Association. Retrieved May 30, 2023. Presidential address 2000: Irving Abella, Jews, Human Rights, and the Making of Canada. New Séries, Vol. 11, 3-15.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Irving Abella, historian who wrote on Canada's refusal of Jewish refugees, dead at 82". CBC News. The Canadian Press. July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Csillag, Ron (July 3, 2022). "Obituary: Irving Abella, 82, was a Canadian historian who revealed why Canada kept Jews out during the Holocaust". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  10. ^ "Past Winners". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  11. ^ "Dr. Irving Martin Abella". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  12. ^ "Mr. Irving Martin Abella". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  13. ^ "Irving Martin Abella". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  14. ^ "New Appointees to the Order of Ontario". January 23, 2014.
  15. ^ "Order of Ontario members". Government of Ontario. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
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Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by President of the Canadian Jewish Congress
1992–1995 		Succeeded by
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by President of the
Canadian Historical Association
1999–2000 		Succeeded by
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