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  1. Museum of Jewish Montreal
  2. National Radical School

National Radical School

collection1913-2004

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Held by
Museum of Jewish Montreal via Museum of Jewish Montreal — map of Jewish Montreal
Creator
Marian Pinsky
Dates
1913-2004 (indexed as 1913–2004)
Level
collection (source: Story)
Extent
13 places
Scope & content
Funded by a coalition of Jewish radical and Poale Zion (Labour Zionist) groups, the National Radical School was a secular alternative to the traditional synagogue schools of the 1870–1910s and the Talmud Torah system. Opened in 1913, it emphasized on social justice and Yiddish language and literature which distinguished it from its contemporary, the Jewish People’s School (Yidishe Folks Shule), where Hebrew and Yiddish were given equal attention. As a political party, the Poale Zion in Montreal sought to establish a school that would follow its ideological convictions. Intense discussions in 1911 regarding the status of Jewish education in Montreal led to the opening of the National Radical School two years later. Laiser Zukor, who would become its president, was influential in providing the school’s funding base. Disputes over ideology and the language of instruction occurred almost immediately, leading to the breakaway Jewish People’s School in 1914, which had stronger ties to Zionism, supported more Hebrew instruction, and placed a greater emphasis on Jewish tradition, including religious tradition.. The National Radical School remained firmly Yiddishist and focused on literature and left-leaning ideology. The National Radical School, renamed the I.L. Peretz Shule in 1918, in recognition of the great Yiddish poet, provided an after-school program for Jewish children attending Protestant public schools. At the axis of intra-communal debates between the more assimilated “uptowners” and Yiddish-speaking immigrant “downtowners,” the Peretz Shule provided a cultural and educational milieu for Yiddish enthusiasts, and bolstered “downtowner” efforts for a separate Jewish school system. Moving to a renovated factory on Duluth Avenue, the Peretz Jewish day school opened in 1942 and was soon populated by children of Holocaust survivors. Inspired by the enthusiasm of Principal Yaacov Zipper, many of the initial teachers were volunteers. The school remained on Duluth until 1960 when it moved to Wavell Road in Côte-St-Luc following the westward migration of the Jewish community. Zipper served as the Peretz Shule principal for 50 years and was one of Canada’s key contributors to Yiddish culture. His dedication to preserving the rapidly disappearing language in the face of assimilation was challenged as he struggled to mobilize the community’s financial support. In 1971, Zipper reluctantly assented to the amalgamation of the Peretz School with the Jewish People’s School, which created the Jewish People’s and Peretz School (JPPS) and led to the opening of Bialik High School in 1972. The school set about maintaining a delicate balance between Hebrew and Yiddish instruction alongside a comprehensive secular curriculum. JPPS-Bialik remains one of the few Jewish day schools in the world that teaches Yiddish language and culture. Along with the Yiddish Theatre and the Jewish Public Library, JPPS-Bialik makes Montreal’s Jewish community’s commitment to the Yiddish language quite extraordinary. Compiled by Marian Pinsky. Sources: August, David. The Genesis Period of the Jewish People's School in Montreal. Montreal: Concordia Univeristy, 1975. Masters Thesis. Belkin, Simon. Le Mouvement Ouvrier Juif Au Canada (1904-1920). Trans. Pierre Anctil. Sillery: Septentrion, 1999. Butovsky, Mervin, and Ode Garfinkle. "In Defense of Yiddishkeit: The Journals of Yaacov Zipper, a Selection: 1950-1972." Association for Canadian Jewish Studies 9 (2001): 124-54. Novak, Hershl. La Première École Yiddish De Montreal, 1911-1914: Baym Onhayb. Trans. Pierre Anctil. Quebec: Septentrion, 2009. Rome, David. The Heroes of Montreal Jewish Education. Montreal: National Archives, Canadian Jewish Congress, 1992. Rosenberg, Michael. Ethnicity, Community, and the State: the Organizational Structures, Practices and Strategies of the Montreal Jewish Community's Day School System and Its Relations with the Quebec State. Ottawa: Carlton University, 1995. PhD Dissertation. Shapiro, S. "The Beginning of the Jewish People’s School." Pages for Jewish Education 1 (1962). Wiseman, Shlomo. "The Jewish People’s School of Montreal." Journal of Jewish Education 20.1 (1948): 58-63. Zipper, Ya’akov. The Journals of Yaacov Zipper, 1950-1982: the Struggle for Yiddishkeit. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004. *Images courtesy of the Jewish Public Library Archives and the Canadian Jewish Congress Charities Committee National Archives.
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Subjects
Education
Language
English
Harvested
2026-10-17T06:33:50Z · source datestamp n/a · mjm
Original metadata as harvested (mjm)