For over ninety years, The Jewish Standard, a monthly English-language periodical, has documented topics of local, national, and international interest to Canadian Jewry and the wider community. Founded as a weekly publication in 1929 by Toronto’s Rose Dunkelman, Dunkelman served as both publisher and managing editor. Meyer W. Weisgal, the periodical’s first editor, brought his expertise to the publication after elevating New Palestine, a New York City-based Zionist magazine, to international prominence. His pro-Zionist stance was reflected in The Globe‘s October 27, 1930, issue, where he emphasized “the right for the self-determination of every nation” in response to contemporary news regarding the lack of fulfillment of the Balfour Declaration.

The periodical emerged at a critical juncture for the community. In that same year, the popular daily newspaper the Canadian Jewish Review welcomed its new editor, Rabbi Eisendrath, who succeeded Holy Blossom’s Rabbi Brickner. Eisendrath’s non-Zionist stance—particularly his coverage of the 1929 Hebron massacre—highlighted the need for a pro-Zionist magazine. Dunkelman, herself a member of Holy Blossom, spearheaded the effort to provide a counter-narrative. She purchased a struggling weekly paper and rebranded it as The Jewish Standard.

Throughout her life, Dunkelman was an active leader and champion of various causes, advocating for the welfare of veterans and orphans, serving as president of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO’s Ontario region, and playing a prominent role in Canadian Zionism. In 1937, Julius Hayman, a lawyer originally from Manitoba who had moved to Toronto in 1934, acquired the publication and became its editor. Hayman was also deeply involved in Jewish community organizations. He served as president of the Zionist Organization of Canada and held leadership roles in the United Synagogue Day Schools, the Canadian Jewish Congress’s Education and Cultural Committee, the Toronto Jewish Public Library, Baycrest, and more. Fifty years later, in the 1980s, his son, Michael Hayman, assumed the role of editor.

Today, The Jewish Standard continues as a digital magazine, serving Toronto and Montreal. From its inception, the publication was praised in the mainstream press for its excellence in journalism, artwork, and illustrations. In the 1930s, it was both recognized and referenced for its coverage of Zionism, particularly the writings of Pierre van Paassen on “the renaissance of the Jewish people in Palestine.” Decades later, in 1977, the press quoted Julius Hayman’s remarks on Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Israel, commenting that it took “a great deal of courage” to speak of peace and compromise.

Michael Hayman, the current editor, has noted how Stephen Speisman, founding director of the Ontario Jewish Archives and author of The Jews of Toronto: A History to 1937, credited his father, Julius, with providing invaluable opportunities to learn about the history of Toronto’s Jewish community through The Jewish Standard.