Léa Roback
ISBN 9781917503303

Table of contents

Recommended further reading

Antisemitism

    Abella, I. and Troper, H. ( 2023 ). None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe 1933–1948. 40th anniversary edition. New Jewish Press .
    Tells the story of Canada’s response to the plight of European Jews during the Nazi era and its immediate aftermath, exploring why and how Canada turned its back and hardened its heart against the entry of Jewish refugees. Traces the origins and results of Canadian immigration policies towards Jews and demonstrates the ideas and practices against admitting them were pervasive and rooted in antisemitism.
    Goldstein, P. ( 2022 ). A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism. Facing History and Ourselves .
    Published by Facing History and Ourselves, a community education organization that supports public school teachers and students in understanding histories of genocide in the world in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Updated in 2022, the book traces antisemitism’s evolution over the centuries and examines how it continues to shape attitudes and beliefs in the world today.
    Khouri, R. and Wilkinson, J. ( 2023 ). The Wall Between: What Jews and Palestinians Don’t Want to Know About Each Other. Olive Branch Press .
    A book about the wall of distrust, enmity, and hate that exists between Jewish and Palestinian communities in the Diaspora and an attempt to break down the wall by examining the role propaganda and disinformation play in cementing trauma-induced fears that exist in both communities.
    Lerman, A. ( 2022 ). Whatever Happened to Antisemitism? Redefinition and the Myth of the ‘Collective Jew’. Pluto Press .
    An examination of how antisemitism has been politicised over the past 30 years, and the damaging consequences of its redefinition: the suppression of free speech on Palestine/Israel, the legitimization of Islamophobic right-wing forces, and the politicization of principled opposition to antisemitism.

Canadian Communism

    Weisbord, M. ( 2022 ). The Strangest Dream – Canadian Communists, the Spy Trials and the Cold War. 3rd ed. Montreal : Véhicule Press .
    A book about Canadian communists that brings to life the history and life of militants from the 1930s to the 1956 Khrushchev revelations about Stalin.

Israel and Palestine

    Khalidi, R. ( 2020 ). The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917–2017. Macmillan .
    A history of one hundred years of war against the Palestinians told through pivotal events and family history.
    Khouri, R. and Wilkinson, J. ( 2023 ). The Wall Between: What Jews and Palestinians Don’t Want to Know About Each Other. Olive Branch Press .
    A book about the wall of distrust, enmity, and hate that exists between Jewish and Palestinian communities in the Diaspora and an attempt to break down the wall by examining the role propaganda and disinformation play in cementing trauma-induced fears that exist in both communities.

Jewish communities in Montréal and Québec

    Anctil, P. and Woodsworth, J. ( 2021 ). History of the Jews of Quebec. Montreal : Boréal .
    Describes the history of the Jewish community in Montreal and Quebec.

Léa Roback

    Freedman, A. ( 2022 ). Léa: A Novel. Montreal : Linda Leith Publishing .
    A novel based on the life of Léa Roback.
    Lacelle, N. ( 2005 ). Entretiens avec Madeleine Parent et Léa Roback. Les éditions remue du ménage . (Originally published 1988).
    A set of interviews with Quebec activists Léa Roback and Madeleine Parent.

Rose Pesotta

    Leeder, E. ( 1993 ). The Gentle General. State University of New York Press .
    A biography of Rose Pesotta, the organizer and vice president of the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) from 1933 to 1944.
    Pesotta, R. ( 1944 ). Bread Upon the Waters. Dodd, Mead and Company .
    An autobiography that focuses on Pesotta’s work as a labour organizer in the 1930s and 1940s.
    Pesotta, R. ( 1958 ). Days of Our Lives. Excelsior Publishers .
    An autobiography that tells the story of Pesotta’s immigration to the United States as a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine. Includes stories about Pesotta’s work as a seamstress in a shirtwaist factory and then a labour organizer.

Thérèse Casgrain

    Casgrain, T. ( 1972 ). A Woman in a Man’s World. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart .
    An autobiography that reflects upon Casgrain’s suffragist work, political work for the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), which later became the New Democratic Party, and her work with the anti-nuclear peace group La voix des femmes/The Voice of Women. Casgrain was a politician, radio journalist and activist in the cause of human rights, prison reform, equality, and child welfare. Her contributions to Canadian political life are a testament to her belief that “if society is to be improved, a greater number of competent women must make their presence felt in all spheres of life, politics included.”

The labour movement in Quebec in the 1930s and 1940s

    Dion, G. ( 1987 ). The History of the Labour Movement in Quebec. Black Rose Books .
    An examination of the development of Quebec’s labour movement, focusing on the events and challenges of the 1930s and 1940s.

The women’s movement in Quebec and Canada

    Baillargeon, D. ( 2014 ). A Brief History of Women in Quebec. Wilfrid Laurier University Press .
    An account of the experiences of women in Quebec from the period of European contact to the twenty-first century, discussing themes like demography, work, education, religion, and political activism.
    Rebick, J. ( 2005 ). Ten Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution. Penguin Canada .
    A compilation of stories from over a hundred feminists across Canada, detailing their struggles and achievements in areas such as legalized abortion, pay equity, and anti-racism efforts.
    Ricci, A. ( 2023 ). Countercurrents: Women’s Movements in Postwar Montreal. McGill-Queen’s University Press .
    An examination of the feminist movement in Montreal from the postwar period to the 1990s, highlighting the roles of diverse groups such as the Quebec Native Women’s Association and the Congress of Black Women.