- Ottawa Jewish Archives
- Ottawa Jewish Historical Society fonds
- Interview with Norman Zagerman
Interview with Norman Zagerman
Description only — contact the archive8
- Held by
- Ottawa Jewish Archives via Canadian Jewish Heritage Network (incl. Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives)
- Dates
- March 17, 2008 (indexed as 2008)
- Level
- item
- Scope & content
- Norman Zagerman is a sportsman: he played basketball and hockey in college, was on Jewish basketball teams for 15 years, and has always been a supporter of the professional sports teams in Ottawa, such as the Rough Riders. He discusses having sports teams in the Jewish community, such as the Breakfast Club, but that they did not have great spaces to play in. Norman’s brother, Joel, was an advocate for the creation of a Jewish community centre, and made a speech in 1942 that is available in the archives. Norman got involved with the centre after Joel passed away in 1944, and their father became one of the chairmen. Plans for the centre were made in 1947/48, and the Jewish Community Centre opened in 1952, quickly becoming the new central hub for social activities. The centre had a wonderful gymnasium, meeting rooms, youth programs, and the Talmud Torah day and afternoon school. Prior to the opening of the community centre, prominent hubs included the old Talmud Torah, where they had tea dances for the youth, and the Tel Aviv Tennis Club, where many young people would gather, even if they did not play tennis. Norman explains how clubs such as the Tel Aviv Tennis Club, the Rideauview Golf Club, and the Wellington Club were started out of necessity, given that Jewish people were not allowed membership at other sports clubs at the time. Although the Gatineau Golf and Country Club was owned by Joe Saxe, a Jewish man, he wasn’t overly keen on having the Jewish community join his club because they did not drink and he could not make money from alcohol sales. As Joe Saxe was not especially welcoming, the Rideauview Golf Club opened in 1958, and Norman’s father joined to support a Jewish club, even though he did not play sports. Norman is one of the original members of the club, and at the time of the interview was its longest member. Similarly, in opposition to the Rideau Club, the Wellington Club opened allowing anyone to join regardless of race or religion, and Norman was the club’s first Jewish president. Around 1964, the Rideau Club began to welcome Jewish members after they asked Joe _____ (?) to join the board, and he told them he would not be their “token Jew” at a club that would not allow him to get a membership. They later invited community members such as Lawrence Frieman to join, with the promise that all others would be given the same treatment. In the late 40s and early 50s, Norman recalls the main community leaders being Lawrence Freiman, Alec Betcherman, Tom Sachs, and Hy Hodgeford. He describes Hy as being the glue that held the community together, and how he was the best executive director a community could ever have. Hy was offered jobs all over North America with higher salaries, but he never took them due to his love for Ottawa. Norman explains how Ottawa’s Jewish community had a reputation for being one of the most unique in North America, and was envied by other major cities, because of its leadership and the respect for one another. He says Hy listened to people and their opinions and concerns, weighed the options, and made the best decisions for the community. People were able to argue and voice their opinions, and though there were disagreements, such as how much money to send to Israel, people often came around or accepted the decision once it was made. Norman was appointed by Hy as president of the Vaad, and during his tenure, he fought for democratization of the nomination process and introduced an election system, but recalls only one ever election occurring, in the 1980s. Though the rule was not exercised, he felt it was a necessary and important change to the constitution, as it allowed people to feel more heard and have a more equitable process. He also is very proud of the creation of the Jewish Community Foundation, which he oversaw. Norman discusses changes to the community after the war, such as an influx of Jewish academics from Winnipeg coming to work for the government, and how many Jewish families were moving further West, away from Centretown and Lowertown. Norman mentions the synagogues at the time, as well as how he is a member of Machzikei Hadas, though he is not orthodox. He recalls the introduction of the reformed shul, and how it was not really met with much opposition from other community members in general. He finishes the interview by discussing how inter-faith marriage is a threat to the community, and that it is “the price you pay for democracy”.
- Location
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Where
More details
- Genre / form
- sound recording
- Format
- Audio
- Language
- English
- Harvested
- 2026-10-17T20:12:50Z · source datestamp n/a · cjhn