Abbreviation | ZOC |
---|---|
Merged into | Canadian Zionist Federation |
Established | 1899 |
Founded at | Montreal, Quebec |
Dissolved | 1978 |
Type | Non-profit |
Headquarters | Montreal (1898–1970) Toronto (1970–1978)[1] |
Location | |
Formerly called | Federation of Zionist Societies of Canada (1898–1921) |
The Zionist Organization of Canada was a political and philanthropic organization[2] that acted as the official voice of Zionism in Canada from 1898 until 1978. It was a member of the World Zionist Organization.[3] It was known as the Federation of Zionist Societies of Canada until 1921.
The Federation of Zionist Societies of Canada was founded in Montreal in 1898, a year after the First Zionist Congress was held in Basel, with Clarence I. de Sola as its first president.[4] It held its first general meeting in November 1899.[5] By 1907, the Federation had chapters in 42 cities and towns across Canada.[6]
The organization changed its name to the Zionist Organization of Canada (ZOC) in 1921.[7] By the 1930s, it was the largest Zionist group in Canada.[8] Until Canadian Jewish Congress was reconstituted in 1934, the ZOC also acted as a representative organization for Canadian Jewry.[9]
The ZOC ran regular programming and published a periodical, The Canadian Zionist.[1] It fundraised for the Keren Hayesod, the Jewish National Fund, and the United Israel Appeal.[7] The ZOC also oversaw organizations like Canadian Hadassah-WIZO and Young Judaea.[1][10]
The ZOC moved to Toronto in 1970. It was dissolved in 1978, and its functions were absorbed by the Canadian Zionist Federation.[1]