Jewish Settlers in Vernon
Alex Fox – January 22, 2023 / 4:00 am | History: 407517
Photo: Vernon Museum and Archives
Aerial view of Camp Hatikvah on the shores of Lake Kalamalka near Oyama, taken circa 1956.
The first Jewish settlers came to British Columbia after 1850 – during the Gold Rush – and settled primarily in Vancouver.
These first Jews were from elsewhere in Canada, the United States, and Western Europe.
At the end of the 19th century, there was an influx of Jews from Eastern Europe.
Unfortunately, it seems that the first members of the Jewish community to arrive in the area found themselves stripped of their rights and freedoms and interned at the Vernon Internment Camp.
At least two Jewish-German citizens who lived in the Lower Mainland were detained after the outbreak of World War I and transported to Vernon.
However, it was their German heritage, not their Jewish identity, that was the reported reason for their internment.
The first Jews to actually settle in Vernon did so in the 1970s. A 1971 census found about 20 Jews living in the area.
The population rose to 55 in 1981, fell to 50 in 1991, and then rose again to 170 in 2001. The latest census in 2021 was the first to include Jews as both an ethnicity and a religion, while just what religion was listed before and 185 people said they were ethnic Jews, while 90 said they were religious Jews.
Even now, the Okanagan Jewish community is relatively small, and organizations like the Okanagan Chabad House and Camp Hatikvah serve to bring them together.
The latter opened in Oyama in 1956 and sought to “produce proud, happy Jewish youth who are serious and sincere in their beliefs.” The summer camp is not just for Jews, as other communities can hire it for their camps, and in the past it was used mostly by the Boy Scouts.
Alex Fox is a collections intern at the Vernon Museum and Archives.
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