The project aims to preserve the everyday experiences, memories, and perspectives that often don’t appear in traditional historical sources. Selected submissions will become part of a permanent digital archive, creating a valuable resource for future research on Canadian Jewish life and history.

The call for submissions is open to faculty, students, alumni, and the wider community. The ACJS is hoping to gather stories from people of all ages, backgrounds, and regions of Canada.

You can find more information about the project, along with submission guidelines, here: 

The Canadian Society for Jewish Studies (CSJS) invites members of the public to attend the 2026 Annual Conference at ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University, hosted by the Max and Tessie Zelikovitz Centre, in Ottawa. The conference will include academic panels, keynote lectures, and a special evening concert. Kosher meals are included with registration.

This registration is only for those who have not already registered through the CSJS. (It is intended for local guests.) You do not need to register here if you have already registered with the CSJS organization.

Registration Options

Full Conference – $200*
Includes access to all sessions, kosher meals throughout the conference, and admission to the concert.

Single Day – $75 per day*
Includes access to sessions and kosher meals for the selected day.

*Conference fees are waived for students with a valid student ID but registration is still required. 

Payment

Payment may be made by e-transfer to cansocjstudies@gmail.com (please include your name and “CSJS 2026 Registration” in the message), or in cash or by cheque at the door.

Please complete the registration form below.

For security reasons, we will be checking ID at the door.

Professor Deidre Butler and Zelikovitz Centre friend, Dr. Agnes Klein, will be speaking at an event for the 32nd anniversary of the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda; Humura Association’s 3rd Edition of Intergenerational Dialogue, a meaningful gathering where survivors, elders, youth, and families come together to share stories, preserve truth, and strengthen the bridge between generations. Prof. Butler and Dr. Klein will speak about memories of the Holocaust and the transfer of memory across generations.

Since 2001, Humura has remained dedicated to healing, remembrance, and preserving the memory of loved ones lost during the Genocide against the Tutsi.

Please join us on May 9, 2026, as we continue carrying truth forward through community, education, and action.

Event details:
May 9, 2026
3:00-5:00pm
Online (zoom)
Registration:

Tickets are required: /jewishstudies/cu-events/the-nightingale-of-iran-2/

Powered by the Jewish Federation of Ottawa through the Ottawa Jewish Arts and Culture Grant

Paper proposals in all areas of Jewish Studies are invited for our annual conference. Approaches may be grounded in ethnography, history, textual study, hermeneutics, literary analysis, arts and culture, critical theory, rabbinics, or any other scholarly discipline. Papers may not have been published or presented elsewhere.

Proposals are due by Monday, February 16, 2026. More information available here.

Hear what our students are saying about the project:

“Working on the Hear Our Voices Project has been an eye-opening experience. Through my research I have been able to learn so much about the Holocaust, its impacts today, and the breadth and depth of contemporary antisemitism. This knowledge has allowed me to make meaningful contributions to this incredible project which is making information accessible to Canada for free. Your donations allow us to continue this vital work at a time when antisemitism and Holocaust denial is on the rise among Canadian youth. Every dollar counts.”

 – HOV Research Assistant 2025, Josh, Second Year History and Geography student (featured in video above)

“Working on the Hear Our Voices film and online education project has been truly impactful to me as a history student. As a research assistant, I have been able to encounter the horrors of the Holocaust and the impact that it still has on individuals, their families, and the Jewish community, over eighty years later. With the rise of antisemitism since October 7th, it has never been more important to conduct this research and to make it free and easily accessible.”

– HOV Research Assistant 2025, Bryanna, MA History

“Working for the Zelikovitz Centre on the Hear Our Voices project has truly been one of the highlights of my university experience. During my undergrad, the original HOV Pressbook was a valued resource that aided me greatly in understanding of the true magnitude of the Holocaust, as well as the importance in how these stories get told. With the continual rise of antisemitism, the work we are doing to update the HOV Project is needed now more than ever. There is currently a gap in accessible and reliable resources with the ability to provide a comprehensive education on contemporary antisemitism, and that is a gap we are seeking to fill. With your support we can continue working towards filling this gap, and ensure educators and students across Canada have access to accurate and reliable information about the Holocaust and antisemitism.”

– HOV Research Assistant 2025, Chloe, Religion program, recent graduate

“As a history student, the opportunity to research and preserve Holocaust history has been extremely impactful. Working on Hear Our Voices as a research assistant has helped me understand how to help preserve this history and share it. I believe history should be accessible to all, however, this history is being directly challenged. Along with the rise of unreliable news, antisemitism, and anti-Jewish violence, our work at the Zelikovitz Centre is crucial. We all need to work together to ensure Holocaust and Jewish history gets taught in schools to stop further Holocaust denial and distortion from future generations.”

– HOV Research Assistant 2025, Gracie, Fourth Year History and Film student (featured in video below)

Learn more .

Professor Deidre Butler is now working on the next stage of the Hear Our Voices Project. We are now reworking the footage that was filmed for the online project and expanding on it to develop new educational film documentaries that begin with individual stories to educate about the Holocaust and antisemitism.

Work on the first film is now entering the final stages of pre-production. This documentary will be centred on Professor Jan Grabowski, who is both a Holocaust historian and member of the Second Generation. The film examines his family’s survival in Poland under Aryan papers, how Jan discovered his family’s hidden history, and how his research led to his prosecution and persecution by the Polish Government.

To support this film, Professor Butler completed additional filming in Poland and Germany in February 2024. Our work there included additional interviews with Professor Grabowski as he explained the current efforts to rewrite Holocaust history at Treblinka, as well as an interview with Professor Jan T. Gross, a Polish-American historian born in Warsaw, whose foundational research on Polish-Jewish relations during and after the Shoah has significantly shaped the field. We also interviewed Dr. Elzbieta Janicka, a scholar at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, who provided insight on state-driven Holocaust distortion and double genocide narratives in Poland.

During this time, we also had the opportunity to begin filming in Budapest for the second documentary film which will focus on Tom Deri, a child survivor of the Holocaust. Professor Butler and Professor Walker traveled to Budapest to further research and document Mr. Deri’s experiences.  Professor Butler interviewed Professor Ildiko Barna of Eotvos Lorand University, whose research focuses on Holocaust displacement and post-war identity, and Dr Andras Zima, Director of the Holocaust Memorial Centre in Budapest. These interviews were key to explaining Mr. Deri’s experiences and survival in Budapest as well as the distinct history of the Holocaust in Hungary, and how the Holocaust is remembered in Hungary today.

Moving forward, we are wrapping up work on the Jan Grabowski film and planning the development of new modules for the HOV Pressbook that will draw on the research gathered throughout this phase. As part of this final stage, we are filming the final scholarly interviews.  This will include filming Professor Samuel Kassow, one of the leading historians of East European Jewry, for his expertise on pre-war Jewish life, as well as his own insight as a member of the Second Generation and Professor Piotr Forecki from Adam Mickiewicz University, whose research examines contemporary antisemitism and Holocaust distortion in Poland. These interviews will support the Jan Grabowski film and will also serve as resources for creating new educational content for the original HOV pressbook.

This phase of Hear Our Voices is an exciting one as the project is dynamically growing in both scope and reach. By filming on location and conducting interviews with leading scholars and survivors, we are adding new layers of historical insight and educational value. Thanks to the ongoing support of our community, this work continues to move forward, and we are excited to share the next developments as they take shape.

Interested in supporting this important initiative? Visit our .

Want to learn more? Listen to the testimonials of our students.

Please join us for a special Holocaust Education Month event.

“Were the Nazis Christians?” is a special guest lecture taking place as part of Prof. Megan Hollinger’s course. Guests are welcome to join in on this online (zoom) lecture.

November 6, 2024
11:30am-1:00pm

RSVP is required to receive the zoom link. Please email meganhollinger@cunet.carleton.ca to RSVP.

Unravel the complexities of antisemitism in the Post-10/7 Era with a leading scholar and Israeli foreign policy expert, Dr. Einat Wilf.

The Max and Tessie Zelikovtiz Centre for Jewish Studies and the Jewish Federation of Ottawa are proud to present this important event featuring Dr. Einat Wilf, a leading thinker on antisemitism, Zionism, and Israel, and a former member of the Knesset.

On September 25th at 7 PM, join us as Dr. Wilf, the co-author of the acclaimed book “The War of Return,” challenges our understandings of the alarming rise of global antisemitism, and invites us to imagine a path forward.

Drawing from her extensive background in academia, public service, and international relations, Dr. Wilf offers a unique and incisive perspective that promises to educate and inspire.

Following her keynote address, Dr. Deidre Butler will lead a thought-provoking Q&A session, providing attendees with the opportunity to engage directly with this renowned expert.

Don’t miss this chance to hear from this powerful voice. Register now by clicking , and remember to bring your proof of confirmation for admittance to the event. I.D and bags will be checked on entry.

Doors open at 6:30 PM, and the program will begin promptly at 7:00 PM.

Location will be shared after registration

ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ Dr. Einat Wilf

Dr. Einat Wilf is a leading thinker on Israel, Zionism, foreign policy and education. She was a member of the Israeli Parliament from 2010 to 2013, where she served as Chair of the Education Committee and Member of the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Born and raised in Israel, Dr. Wilf served as an Intelligence Officer in the Israel Defense Forces, Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres and a strategic consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Dr. Wilf has a BA from Harvard, an MBA from INSEAD in France, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. She was the Goldman Visiting Professor at Georgetown University.

Dr. Wilf is the author of seven books that explore key issues in Israeli society. “We Should All Be Zionists”, published in 2022, brings together her essays from the past four years on Israel, Zionism and the path to peace; the co-authored “The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace”, was published in 2020.