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How Montreal’s Jewish community helped create a new Uygher translation of Viktor Frankl’s famous Holocaust memoir
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing,” Viktor Frankl famously penned in Man’s Search for Meaning, one of the most impactful literary works of the 20th century, “the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
It was but one of many stirring passages that Kayum Masimov took in hand—and mind—when first reading Frankl’s book in Russian five years ago. A friend had recommended that Masimov, the Canadian representative to the World Uyghur Congress and a project coordinator for the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, read Frankl’s chronicle as a concentration camp prisoner, which has been translated into more than 50 languages and sold more than 60 million copies since first being published in 1946.
His reaction was immediate. “It’s a direct parallel to what I have experienced interviewing so many Uyghurs, especially those who came from concentration camps,” he told The CJN at the launch of a Uyghur translation of Frankl’s classic at the Montreal Holocaust Museum (MHM). The book debuted on Dec. 10, Human Rights Day, marking the day in 1948 that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“What struck me personally was when I read that this has happened before us. It’s a must-read for our community, especially now. I hate doing parallels and comparisons with other tragedies, but I cannot but think and observe these commonalities between our communities.”
Frankl’s survival story has helped generations worldwide cope with suffering, said Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom’s Rabbi Lisa Grushcow, who added that many Jews today acknowledge that “nobody was there for us when this was happening to us, so how can we be silent when this is happening to anyone else?”
Since China invaded East Turkistan in 1949, more than a year before entering Tibet, the region was prone to violence and repression through forced displacement, slave labour, civil rights erasure, rape, incarceration and much more. China has intensified its efforts since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012, says Masimov.
“Over the last 10 or so years, it became intolerable—all-out war against the community. And not only Uyghurs, but all native people living in the region, including Kazaks, Uzbeks, Tartars, predominantly Turkic-speaking Muslims.”
According to rights groups, some 7 million people have been subjected to so-called re-education in China. With some 2,000 Uyghurs in Canada, a community established over the last 20-plus years, Masimov says “not a single Uyghur Canadian family has not been affected by this. And I thought this book will be a good thing because our community is so deeply traumatized, and this will be a good starting point to initiate conversations.
“The fact that I’m here with you, at the Holocaust Museum itself, and talking about it, is a part of the trauma healing for myself, sharing my pain.”
While China declares the number of Uyghurs at 12 million, the Uyghur rights groups put the real population at about 20 million, with about 100,000 in the global diaspora. Canada’s community is among the smallest. (The largest diaspora is in Turkey, estimated between 50,000-80,000 refugees.) “We are the canary in the coal mine in Canada,” says Masimov, who himself has been subject to harassment, intimidation and even death threats as far back as 2007 as a result of his advocacy.
He’s lost track of many members of his own family for several years. “There are people who have heard nothing from 40 family members for a decade,” he says. “My story is not unique at all. We all live with this, every day.” He says post-traumatic stress disorder and intergenerational trauma are evident among Canada’s Uyghur community.
Having acted as interpreter to many ex-concentration camp detainees during Canadian parliamentary hearings, Masimov spoke of hearing accounts of widespread rape and torture, “all this unimaginable cruelty. And the big question looming over my shoulders and that I heard many times from survivors: Why God allows this? What did we do wrong?”
When transmitting the human rights legacy of the Holocaust, MHM president Jacques Saada says, “It is precisely moments like tonight that help accomplish this crucial responsibility. This launch highlights the tragic yet resilient connection between Jewish and Uyghur communities and the importance of allyship in confronting genocide today.”
The project took over a year to complete, spurred on by Masimov and activists Marc Grushcow and Phil Kretzmar, who secured the publication rights and a translator who is anonymously credited on the book for fear of reprisals against their vulnerable family in China.
Frankl, a psychiatrist, originally penned his prescription for survival in German, and its new Uyghur versions are written in both Latin and Arabic script, with a possible Cyrillic edition coming, Masimov said in discussion with Rabbi Grushcow.
Free electronic versions are available for download online for anyone wishing to read, share or help raise awareness of the Uyghurs’ plight. “It’s not about selling anything,” says the rabbi’s father, Marc Grushcow. “It’s about rachmones” (compassion).
“China became a victim of its own success,” Masimov said. “It was so successful in suppressing us and other communities that it came to the point that even outsiders began wondering what is happening and posing questions.”
Rabbi Grushcow says the book’s profound takeaway is not just about surviving oppression, “but about maintaining human dignity, meaning, about psychological autonomy in the face of systematic attempts to destroy those fundamental capacities of any human being.”
Rights groups believe at least one million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in Chinese internment camps.
“This is the largest incarceration or detention of any ethnic group in the world since the Holocaust,” says Masimov, who also spoke of organ harvesting, nuclear explosions resulting in high cancer rates, environmental degradation and a mass inflow of Chinese migrants, boosting the presence of ethnic Chinese in the region from five percent to surpassing 40 percent today. He also listed the widespread use of slave labour in the production of clothing, solar panels, food and other products found globally.
In February 2021, Canada’s parliament acknowledged the genocide and, in 2023, it launched an initiative to resettle 10,000 Uyghur refugees from third-party states, the first of whom arrived in Canada this week.
Asked what would happen if the world continues to do “almost nothing,” Masimov shared a sobering prognostic: “Within 20 to 30 years, we are facing the extinction of a 25-million-strong ethnic group.”
He says there is no long-term solution for China to keep its existence “as it is, as a political system. The first victims of the Chinese Communist Party are Chinese people themselves, right? It will come to the point that they will decide that it will be done. It’s not sustainable in the long term. I am optimistic on that… But the question is, will our community—along with others like Tibetans, Mongols—survive that? Because at the current rate, it is quite possible that within 20-30, years we will be gone as a group, which is a loss not only to us, but to Chinese civilization and the world.”
The Montreal Holocaust Museum has worked closely with Canada’s Uyghur community over the last few years to discuss pedagogical matters, says MHM head of communications Sarah Fogg. “We’ve done some beautiful bridge-building. We were there to show them what’s possible, how we handle exhibitions and artifacts.” Executive director Daniel Amarsays such collaborationis part of the mission “to strengthen links with other communities who suffered genocide (such as the Rwandan and Cambodian communities).”
Fogg says that part of the mission remains a challenge. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that people are not aware of this type of work that we do, as our core mission is still to educate anyone and everyone about the Holocaust and its legacy and teach about the dangers coming from unchecked antisemitism and unchecked hate.”
What stunned Marc Grushcow “was the parallel of the Jews of the 1930s in Germany into the war and the Uyghurs in China. Starting with the exclusion from society, family separation and forced assimilation. Uyghurs are subject to incarceration and forced labour, documented rape, forced sterilization of women, and it’s all part of China’s stated policy to erase Uyghurs through assimilation.”
Rabbi Grushcow recalled that the Jewish community must do “as much as we need to, to help each other, especially these days. We turn inward, of course, but there is also part of our tradition that says, ‘Remember the stranger, because you were a stranger.’ That we should not just look out for ourselves, but others.”
The situation of the Uyghurs is a grossly under-reported atrocity, she said, “and ‘genocide’ gets thrown around so much in terms of Israel and Palestine, wrongly. But in this case the markers of genocide and what is being done in China is so clear and how China has managed to keep this out of the headlines.”
On Oct. 10, 2023, she recalls, Canada’s Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project came out with a strong condemnation of the terrorist attacks on Israel, adding, “Anything we do with other communities, sometimes it’s strategic: we stand for you, you stand for us… That’s all well and good, but sometimes it’s just the right thing to do.”
Kasimov lauded the support of Canada’s Jewish community in his community’s plight and efforts. “Unfortunately, this has not been matched by our co-religionists,” noting that Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas declared his support for China’s policies last year, “and said China’s re-education camps and everything they are doing are just.”
Indeed, in a June 2023 statement, the PA stated China’s policy toward Muslims in Xinjiang has “nothing to do with human rights and are aimed at excising extremism and opposing terrorism and separatism.” Abbas also characterized criticism of China’s treatment of Uyghurs as interference in internal affairs. That elicited a reminder from MHM president Jacques Saada, who noted, “Abbas also wrote a book in which he justified the Holocaust, so we are again sharing a common point here.”
That’s why collaboration with the city’s Holocaust museum and its “outward-looking element, sharing that legacy about education” is so important, says Rabbi Grushcow. “We have so much history that matters with what’s going on with the Uyghurs.”
Showing compassion and support is no zero-sum game, she agrees: “Morally, it’s incumbent on us to do the right thing. The fact that it’s Victor Frankl, it’s extraordinary that this Jewish human memoir found its way into the hearts of the Uyghur community.”
The post How Montreal’s Jewish community helped create a new Uygher translation of Viktor Frankl’s famous Holocaust memoir appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Belgian Prime Minister Shows Solidarity With Jewish Community, Calls for Caution on Palestinian State Recognition
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured), at the Chancellery, in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
Amid rising antisemitism across Europe and increasing hostility toward Israel from several European governments, Prime Minister Bart De Wever expressed Belgium’s sympathy and respect for the Jewish community this week, honoring the millions of victims of the Holocaust.
During his trip to Berlin on Tuesday, De Wever visited the Holocaust Memorial and left a moving message in its guestbook.
“On behalf of the Belgian government and all people and communities living together in peace in Belgium, I express my deepest sympathy and my respect,” the Belgian leader wrote in a note in German.
“We will remember all the victims. I stand here humbly at this place of remembrance. The Jewish community will always have a home in Europe,” he continued.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association (EJA), commended De Wever’s remarks and his support for the Jewish community, highlighting his leadership as a model.
“We sincerely thank Prime Minister De Wever for his moving message in Berlin. At a time when antisemitism is once again spreading across Europe, his clear and unwavering statement that the Jewish community will always have a home here is deeply important,” Margolin said in a statement.
“Such leadership not only honors the memory of the six million victims of the Holocaust but also strengthens the sense of security and belonging for Jews in Belgium and across the continent,” he continued.
“We also commend the Prime Minister’s principled leadership on Israel, where he consistently calls for security guarantees and a realistic path to peace. His voice carries moral weight in Europe, and we deeply appreciate it.”
During a visit to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, Belgian Prime Minister @Bart_DeWever left an important message in the guestbook. Written in German, his note expressed Belgium’s sympathy and respect for the Jewish community and commemorated the millions… pic.twitter.com/ZcuEfKCavi
— EJA – EIPA (@EJAssociation) August 26, 2025
During his visit to Berlin, De Wever met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss the recent push by several European countries to recognize a Palestinian state at next month’s UN General Assembly.
At a joint press conference, De Wever stressed that recognizing a Palestine state is only meaningful under strict conditions, warning that doing so without such guarantees would be “pointless and even counterproductive.”
“Hamas must disappear completely, there must be a credible Palestinian Authority, an agreement must be reached on borders, and Israel must receive security guarantees. Without that, recognition makes no sense,” De Wever said.
In Belgium, De Wever’s more cautious approach to Palestinian statehood and support for Israel have fueled clashes within the government, with Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot threatening to block government initiatives if the coalition continues to hinder a firmer stance on Israel and the recognition of a Palestinian state.
“If there is no stronger tone within the government regarding the human rights violations committed by the Israeli government, or if no measures are taken in favor of recognizing Palestine, a major crisis is looming,” Prévot said during an interview with De Standaard.
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Amid War, Olim-Owned Businesses in Jerusalem Thrive, Showcasing Resilience, Community Spirit
Olim gather at JFK Airport, ready to board a charter flight to Israel and begin their new lives in the Jewish state. Photo: The Algemeiner
JERUSALEM — Despite the strains of war and the obstacles of starting over in a new country, businesses in Jerusalem owned by Jewish immigrants are thriving — a testament to resilience, Zionist commitment, and the power of community.
New immigrants, or olim, who make aliyah to Israel face steep challenges even in times of peace, navigating strict regulations, endless permits, and financial hurdles, though the Israeli government offers some support and incentives to promote new businesses.
Aliyah refers to the process of Jews immigrating to Israel, and olim refers to those who make this journey.
In recent years, the road has become even more difficult for entrepreneurs, first with the economic disruption of COVID-19 and now amid the uncertainty of the war in Gaza.
For many olim, launching a business in Israel is about more than entrepreneurship — it’s a way to start a new life, serve their country, build a community, and make a meaningful impact.
Last week, 225 new olim arrived in Tel Aviv on the first charter aliyah flight since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN) — a nonprofit that promotes and facilitates aliyah from the US and Canada — brought its 65th charter flight from New York, which The Algemeiner joined.
Founded in 2002, NBN helps olim become fully integrated members of Israeli society, simplifying the immigration process and providing essential resources and guidance.
In partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth, and the Jewish National Fund, NBN has helped nearly 100,000 olim build thriving new lives in Israel.
Eager to start their next chapter in Israel, these immigrants bring fresh ideas, culinary creativity, and cultural richness, strengthening the country’s social fabric every day.
Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Diana Shapira brought her passion for baking and warm hospitality to Israel, turning her aliyah dream into a popular destination for both locals and tourists.
She and her husband created Infused JLM, located near Jerusalem’s Mahaneh Yehuda Market, blending American and Israeli culture and creating a space that brings people together.
“We want people to see that an oleh’s dream can happen,” Shapira told The Algemeiner. “Even without family and facing many challenges, starting a business in Israel is possible — especially when you have the support of the community.”
“Before we made aliyah, so many people told us it was a bad financial decision. But you have to push past the doubt and keep striving,” she continued.
Another olim-owned business located in Jerusalem, Power CoffeeWorks, has become a favorite destination for coffee enthusiasts across the city.
Owned by Stephanie and Brandon, who made aliyah from Cape Town, South Africa, in 2016 with their four children at the time (now seven), the couple has turned their venture into a hub for coffee lovers and a gathering place for the community.
“We made aliyah because we believed Israel was the best place to raise our children,” Stephanie told The Algemeiner. “Despite all the challenges along the way, it has been an incredible journey.”
Crave, another oleh-owned restaurant in Mahaneh Yehuda, has gained increasing attention with its strictly kosher gourmet street food, blending American, Mexican, and Asian flavors in a way that hasn’t been seen before.
American-born Yoni Van Leeuwen, who made aliyah more than 20 years ago with his wife and eight children, views food not just as a business, but as a way to bring cultures and communities together.
Following the Oct. 7 atrocities, the war in Gaza dealt a harsh blow to Israeli businesses, forcing many to cut hours, adapt operations, and manage shortages.
Yet these olim-owned establishments have shown resilience, proving that passion, creativity, and commitment to the Zionist dream can overcome even the toughest challenges.
Whether by serving comfort food, offering a safe space for neighbors, or organizing fundraisers for soldiers in Gaza and Lebanon, these business owners described a spirit of perseverance deeply rooted in Jewish history.
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Police in England Investigate Air Rifle Attack Against Jewish Teenager, Swastika Spray Painted at Rabbi’s Home
Friday night saw a string of swastika vandalism resulting in four reports, including from Rabbi Bentzion Alperowitz, a Chabad leader who discovered the Nazi symbol spray painted in black on his home’s white wall as he left for synagogue the next morning with his two young daughters. Photo: Screenshot
Multiple antisemitic incidents reported this past weekend targeted the Jewish community of Bournemouth in the southern region on the coast of the United Kingdom.
On Saturday afternoon, a driver stopped to harass and yell obscenities at two pedestrians before shooting one, a Jewish teenage boy, in the forehead with an air rifle and fleeing. The victim suffered swelling but has otherwise recovered.
“Detectives are leading the investigation to locate the occupants of the vehicle and to establish the full circumstances of the incident,” a spokesman for Dorset Police said. “The incident is being treated as a hate crime. Officers are engaging with the local community and carrying out patrols in the area. We would encourage anyone with information or concerns to please speak with an officer.”
Rabbi Alan Lewis, who leads the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation, said that “the young man who was shot is a religious Jew who was wearing a skull cap. It was very obvious he was Jewish. Then several people living on Manor Road woke up to find that swastikas had been painted on their homes. The homes had a mezuzah outside, so it was obvious that Jewish people lived there.”
Friday night saw a string of swastika vandalism resulting in four reports, including from Rabbi Bentzion Alperowitz, a Chabad leader who discovered the Nazi symbol spray painted in black on his home’s white wall as he left for synagogue the next morning with his two young daughters.
“We will continue to live as proud Jews here in Bournemouth … I want to encourage everyone to do exactly the same,” Alperowitz said. “This is not the Bournemouth I know. Bournemouth is a kind, beautiful place and I feel this is still the truth for the vast majority of people here.”
Other members of the Jewish community came to assist the rabbi with removing the graffiti.
“[The] good news is that by the time you’re watching this video our wall will have been cleaned, thanks to some amazing people from the community, who came around to help clean it,” Alperowitz said.
Author Dov Forman wrote that “on Saturday morning, my friend Rabbi Benzion Alperowitz of Bournemouth Chabad walked outside to find a swastika on his home. Antisemitism is alive on our streets, yet it is too often excused and ignored. But it will not break us. We will continue to live proudly as Jews.”
Law enforcement has reportedly stepped up patrols in the town’s Jewish neighborhoods which include an estimated 2,000 people.
On Monday, the Community Security Trust (CST), an organization focused on monitoring antisemitic threats in the UK, released a statement saying that it was “appalled by a series of anti-Jewish hate crimes in Bournemouth over the weekend. These are abhorrent acts of racism that are deeply distressing for the Jewish community and should alarm everybody. We are supporting the local Jewish community and working with Dorset Police to assist their investigation. We urge anyone with information about these incidents to contact the police and CST.”
CST released a report of antisemitic incidents in the UK during 2024, finding 3,528 — the second highest ever — showing an 18-percent decrease from the all-time high of 4,296 in 2023.
Earlier this month, CST released a separate report noting the group recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.
“These hateful attacks on people and property in Bournemouth are extremely concerning. We have been informed that the police are investigating and hope that the perpetrators will be arrested and face the full force of the law,” Andrew Gilbert, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said in a statement.
Maurice Michaels, who served as rabbi at Bournemouth Reform Synagogue, said that the community felt “very pressurized and anxious.” He added, “We’re getting terrified calls from people across the UK asking, ‘Is this really happening in Bournemouth?’ I’d never go out wearing my usual skull cap, I don’t show outward signs of being Jewish. I know community members who have even removed their mezuzah from their front door.”
Michaels described the antisemitic crimes as “a measure of what’s going on across the country, demonstrations where people cover their faces. They don’t want to be recognized because they know what they’re doing is wrong. We do the best we can to secure our safety. But when people attack our homes, when they shoot pellets — it gets to a point where it’s no longer a manageable situation. We’re frightened.”