Eli Rubenstein [1] (born in 1959) is a Holocaust educator, writer, filmmaker, and activist. He is currently the religious leader of Congregation Habonim Toronto,[2] a Toronto synagogue founded by Holocaust survivors, served as the Director of Education for March of the Living International since 1988, and currently serves as National Director of March of the Living Canada from 1988 to 2024.
Rubenstein has served as the religious leader of Congregation Habonim Toronto since 1988, succeeding Rabbi Allen Veaner, who followed Rabbi Reuben Slonim.
He has helped facilitate collaborative initiatives with numerous organizations, such as Ve'ahavta[3] (for their annual Passover Seder for the Homeless), Sara and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre,[4] Free the Children, the Polish Consulate, the Toronto Partnership Minyan,[5] and various other organizations.
In 2015, amidst a growing membership and religious school, Rubenstein, together with Rabbi Cantor Aviva Rajsky, led the synagogue in a new building campaign to replace its decaying structure, which eventually raised the needed funds. Groundbreaking took place in the summer of 2018, and the new building was opened in the fall of 2019.[6]
A member of Congregation Habonim, Canadian actor, musician, and producer Shaina Silver-Baird credits the original idea for her comedy web series "Less Than Kosher" to her earlier days out of theatre school, recruited by Rubenstein as a substitute cantor for weddings and children's services at the synagogue. [7] Congregation Habonim has archived some of Rubenstein's sermons online.
Rubenstein has been involved with March of the Living since its inception in Canada in 1988. It is an annual educational program that brings together thousands of youths in Poland and Israel to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israel's Independence Day. He assumed the role of National Director in 1989 and led his first Canadian delegation on the March in 1990, where he first met Elie Wiesel, whom he has prominently featured in his published works.[8]
In 2017, Elisha Wiesel was invited by Rubenstein to attend the March of the Living to light a torch in memory of his father, Elie Wiesel, where he delivered a speech to many thousands of participants. "It is a reminder to all of us that we are the next generation. We must all pick up the torch," Rubenstein commented.[9]
Over the years, Toronto has brought the largest delegation for the March of the Living, and Canada is among the countries with the largest delegation.
In 2019, Rubenstein led an effort to bring together the USC Shoah Foundation and the International March of the Living. The joint project involved capturing the testimonies of Holocaust survivors in Europe, using 360-degree filming techniques at the locations where they experienced life before and during the war and where they were liberated. This project aims to ensure that those participating in the March of the Living in Poland can benefit from the survivors' stories relevant to the places they visit.
Commenting on this project, Rubenstein added that "by using emerging technologies, the project is transforming the way the stories and lessons of the Holocaust are learned by people around the globe".[10]
In one of Rubenstein's sermons titled, "Rescuing the Memory of the Six Million: One by One by One," he wrote about the 2021 Virtual March of the Living (during the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person March was cancelled that year). The March of the Living commemorated Yom Hashoah with a special online program on the theme of "Medicine and Morality: Lessons from the Holocaust and COVID-19.”[11] [12] [13]
During the memorial program, a candle lighting ceremony was performed honoring the medical professionals who opposed the Nazis in the Holocaust. A candle was also lit in memory of the victims of COVID-19. One of the six candles was lit in honor of Dr. Benedykt Ziemilski – one of the six million victims of the Holocaust. It was lit by Dr. Allen Nager, Director, Division of 1 Emergency and Transport Medicine and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
In the area of Holocaust education, Rubenstein has advocated for positive relations between Poland and Jews of Polish heritage, emphasizing the 1,000 years of Jewish history in Poland, introducing Polish-Jewish dialogue on the March of the Living, as well as working to recognize the heroic actions of the Righteous Among the Nations, especially those of Polish origin.
He has been quoted as saying, "We can debate the history of Jewish life in Poland over the centuries – and there are many divergent views on this subject. But there is no excuse now for not reaching out to today’s Poland, building bridges and fostering positive relations. We may not be able to forge a consensus about the past, but it is in our hands – indeed our obligation – to create a harmonious present and future for Jews and Poles.” [14] [15] [16]
As part of Toronto's annual Holocaust Education Week, he has spoken at a number of interfaith programs, including ones at the Holy Trinity Armenian Church and St. Ansgar Lutheran Church in Toronto.[17]
On November 7, 2018, the Canadian government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, issued a formal apology in the House of Commons for Canada's Holocaust-era record toward Jews, including its turning away of MS St. Louis and its None is Too Many policy.[18] Speaking in Ottawa at a special ceremony after the event, where the Prime Minister, several ministers and a survivor of the St. Louis spoke, Rubenstein praised the Canadian government in his closing remarks:
Rubenstein also commended the decision in the Canadian Jewish News, where he wrote: "Let us applaud our country and our elected officials for their ability to acknowledge Canada’s errors and forge a new path forward. Countries, just like people, can perform the mitzvah of teshuvah (repentance.)"[19]
Speaking on January 27, 2019, in Ottawa, at a Library and Archives Canada event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Rubenstein said: “I was never more ashamed to be a Canadian, than when I first read “None is Too Many” as a student attending York University in the early 1980s. But I was never prouder to be a Canadian, than when our government issued its apology for this historic wrong.” [20] [21]
In 1993, "For You Who Died I Must Live On...Reflections on the March of the Living" was published by Mosaic Press. The book was edited by Rubenstein, and featured the experiences from participants on the March from its first four years. It was subtitled, "Contemporary Jewish Youth Confront the Holocaust." The book won the 1994 Canadian Jewish Book Award.[22] In 2015,, authored by Rubenstein, was published by Second Story Press. The book was "inspired by a 2014 United Nations exhibit of reflections and images of Holocaust survivors and students who traveled on the March of the Living since 1988.” Spanish, Polish and Hebrew were also subsequently published. In 2020, a special edition of Witness appeared, commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the end of WWII and the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny, and included a section dealing with liberation stories of Holocaust survivors. The new edition also featured an afterword by Steven Spielberg, founder of the USC Shoah Foundation, as well as content from Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis related to the March of the Living and stories concerning the Righteous Among the Nations.
Blind Love: A Holocaust Journey to Poland with Man's Best Friend, a documentary that follows six blind Israelis traveling to Poland with the help of their guide dogs, to learn about the Holocaust. The film premièred in November 2015, at a special screening organized in conjunction with the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, and aired on CBC's Documentary Channel (Canada).
70 Years After Liberation; A Warning to Future Generations[28]
Rubenstein introduced a number of Canadian Holocaust survivors to Justice Thomas Walther (lawyer), Germany's last Nazi hunter. In 2015, with the testimony of these survivors at the trial of Oskar Gröning, a German SS member in Auschwitz, Walther successfully prosecuted Gröning. Known as the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz", Gröning was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of over 300,000 Hungarian Jews and was sentenced to four years in prison by a German court.
Rubenstein also interviewed Canadian residential school survivor, Chief Rodney Monague (1943-2013) of Christian Island.[36]