Articles of Interest

Community leader, pioneer, Wilfred Posluns z"l helped shape Jewish Toronto

Toronto's Jewish community lost one of its most respected builders recently with the death of Wilfred (Wilf) Posluns z"l, who passed away on Sunday, August 15, 2010.

A past chair of UJA Federation, the annual United Jewish Appeal Campaign, and a past chair of UJA Federation's Endowment Fund, now known as the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto, the vision, generosity and compassion of Wilf Posluns helped make Toronto's Jewish community what it is today -  one of the world's most successful and flourishing Diaspora cities.

A recipient of UJA's prestigious Shem Tov Award, presented to Jewish Toronto community leaders representing the highest levels of excellence in volunteer service, Wilf, a former CEO and Chairman of Dylex Ltd., worked tirelessly on behalf of several organizations in Toronto including UJA Federation, UIA Canada, Associated Hebrew Schools, Baycrest Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital, Beth Tzedec, Israel Bonds, Royal Ontario Museum, the Toronto Chapter of Hebrew University and many more.

"Who we are today as a Jewish community, our treasured network of agencies, schools and services and an infrastructure with few equals in the entire Diaspora Jewish world, have more to do with the efforts of Wilfred Posluns than anyone could fully comprehend," said Ted Sokolsky, President & CEO, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. "Above all, it was Wilfred's leadership, his boldness and strength of character that taught us to dream more, do more and be more.  That legacy will continue for generations to come."