Book Launch: Les Juifs de la Révolution tranquille - Regards d'une minorité religieuse sur le Québec de 1945 à 1976

We are pleased to welcome you to the launch of the book Les Juifs de la Révolution tranquille - Regards d'une minorité religieuse sur le Québec de 1945 à 1976 written by Dr. Simon-Pierre Lacasse.

Quebec's Jewish community holds a unique political and cultural place in Canada and North America, which led to the creation of a Montreal Jewish identity distinct from those elsewhere in Canada and in the US. The post-war era to the mid 1970s saw decisive changes within the Quebec Jewish community, though it is not widely studied until now. In Les Juifs de la Révolution tranquille analyzes this evolution, Quebec's sociopolitical debates and increasing contact with French-Canadian Quebecers influenced the ideological positioning of the Montreal Jewish community.

In a society largely split, on the confessional level, between Catholics and Protestants—the “two solitudes”—, Jewish activists fought for the recognition of their community and incited political players to think more broadly about what is referred to today as “togetherness.” Far from staying on the fringes of public and political spaces, several activists from the Montreal Jewish community spoke up and defended a developing Québécois society, one in which pluralism played an increasingly important role.

Simon-Pierre Lacasse holds a Ph.D. in History (University of Ottawa, 2020), an M.A. in History (University of Ottawa, 2016), and a B.A. in History (Concordia University, 2013). His research focuses on the Canadian Jewish community, particularly the relationship between Jews and French Canadians in the 20th century, using intellectual, social and political history approaches. His recent book, "Les Juifs de la Révolution tranquille : regards d'une minorité religieuse sur le Québec de 1945 à 1976" analyzes the discourses presented by various Jewish periodicals on Quebec and French Canadians during the three decades following the Second World War. He also studied the emergence of the Hasidic community in Montreal during this same period. In the broader context of Canadian history, his work considers the importance of integrating the voices of ethnic and cultural minorities into historical narratives. Simon-Pierre Lacasse is a lecturer in the history departments of Concordia University and the University of Ottawa, the managing editor of Canadian Jewish Studies/Études juives canadiennes, a peer-reviewed scholarly journal published at York University, and a research associate at the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University.