The Canadian Institute of International Affairs was founded in 1928, following the example of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, organized in Britain in 1920. Some of the leading founders were Sir Robert Borden, Sir Arthur Currie, John W. Dafoe and Sir John Flavelle. The aim of the Institute was to improve international relations by creating opportunities for conferences, education and research which would create a more informed citizenry. The main headquarters was established in Toronto, Ontario, with supporting branches in most provincial capitals and major cities.

The Fredericton, New Brunswick branch became active role in the early 1930s, with the majority members being University of New Brunswick faculty. They worked with the New England and eastern seaboard states on issues of security and trade and economic relations.

The photographic history of the Saint John Jewish Community is particularly rich. Nearly every aspect of community and personal life has been preserved in these collections. We have also been particularly fortunate in being able to have many photographs copied from the originals to provide the focus of annual displays in the museum. They also provide an additional source for researchers. In many cases we have the original photograph, at least one copy, and a negative. There is also a small collection of slides.

The photograph collection has been divided into a number of sections to correspond with other fonds. A brief description of each of these sections follows :

Personal Collections is made up a number of personal or family collections of photographs. In many cases they represent a chronicle of one person's life experiences or a family history as seen through photographs. There are a number of photo albums kept by individuals. A separate collection of photographs compiled by the Jewish Museum in its early days has also been placed in this section. Most of these photographs are copies of photos found elsewhere in the photograph collections or are compilations of photos borrowed from members of the Saint John Jewish Community.

Synagogue photographs include images of the buildings, rabbis, board members and presidents, community events, weddings, and gravestones.

Photographs of Organizations include images related to many of the Jewish organizations that had existed in Saint John.

Community photographs include photographs of the city in general (including streets, buildings, schools), businesses and servicemen and servicewomen as well as photographs taken at the 1984 Koom Ahaim Reunion.

Photographs of Families and Individuals include professional portraits and family snapshots of Jewish community members.

Many of the slides in the fonds formed the core of the slide shows presented between 1982 and 1991 by Marcia Koven to show the history of this diminishing community to a number of groups, including former community members now living elsewhere. It should be noted that although many of the slides are copies of photographs located elsewhere, there are others that are unique to this section.

The Saint John Jewish Historical Society was created in 1982 with the mandate to preserve the history of the Saint John Jewish Community. This was accomplished with the creation of an archives and the Saint John Jewish Historical Museum in July 1986. The driving force behind the creation of the Museum is Marcia Koven. The once vibrant and active Jewish community in Saint John was rapidly diminishing as most of the young people had gone to larger centres for educational and employment opportunities and did not return. Few families remained and most were older parents. There is no doubt that without the efforts of Mrs. Koven, the community’s history would have been lost. At the same time as the Museum has preserved the history of the community, the records of the Society and the Museum have also been preserved as a record of its growth and accomplishments.

This fonds has three sections. The first is composed of family trees. Many of the family trees have been prepared by professionals. Others have been compiled by family members using computer software. There are also some personal family trees filled out by participants in the Koom Ahaim reunion in 1984.

The second section chronicles the lives of individuals, e.g. births, marriages, obituaries, personal accomplishments, etc., through newspaper articles, letters, curriculum vitaes, programmes, and personal memorabilia. Many noted and colourful people have come from Saint John's Jewish community, including Louis B. Mayer, Nathan Cummings, Mayor Samuel Davis, Senator Erminie Cohen, Hon. Myra Freeman and Diana Meltzer Abramsky, founder of the Thyroid Foundation.

The third section is made up the oral interviews conducted by Marcia Koven and others with members of the Saint John Jewish community about their lives and their memories of life in the city's Jewish community. Most of these interviews were recorded on audiocassette. In 2011, these cassettes were converted to MP3 files for improved access. Other interviews have been recorded on videocassette. The interviews have been transcribed in summarized form and photographs of the subject accompany many of the early interviews. Beginning in 2004, more detailed transcriptions were being produced for the interviews and will be added to the files as completed.

Saint John's Jews were very active within their own ethnic and religious community and also in the city's organizations and business life from the first arrivals in 1858 to the present day. Many community members are noted for their extensive contributions to charitable organizations, educational and professional achievements, business presence and military involvement

The general history of the Saint John Jewish community includes written histories by community members, most notably Dr. Eli Boyaner and Dr. Joseph Tanzman. Additional articles include Jewish immigration to the city, athletes, artists, businesses and the film industry. Lists of Jewish residents have been compiled from census returns and city directories.

A reunion of the now widely scattered Saint John Jewish Community, called the "Koom Ahaim", was held in Saint John in July 1984 to coincide with provincial bicentennial celebrations.

Jewish men in business were led by Solomon Hart who opened a cigar factory in 1858. Similar businesses were established by the families that followed from England and Western Europe. The Eastern Europeans possessed skills and trades when they arrived, but they turned first to the peddling of goods into the countryside to earn money and also to learn English. After a few years, small shops and factories were established in the city's North end along Main Street and some later moved uptown or to other parts of the city. It was a varied group of businesses but clothing, food, and manufactured goods were the most common things available. Many also sold second hand goods and dealt in scrap metal. The history of Jewish businesses has been well documented through the city directories, newspaper advertisements and features, and a limited number of company records. At one time a great many of Saint John's prominent merchants were Jewish, but by 2007 all of the "original" Jewish run businesses had closed.

The Saint John Jewish community was very active in both World Wars. During the Second World War many men enlisted for the army, navy, and air force, while many women joined the Red Cross, the Canadian Women Army Corps, enlisted as nurses, or stayed in Saint John to provide assistance to the servicemen passing through the city, either in their own homes, in the Jewish Servicemen's Centre on Union Street, or in other service centres.

Jewish life throughout Canada and the rest of the world is also represented, mostly from newspaper clippings and magazines. This serves to place this community into a context with the rest of the world and reflects information easily available in the local city newspapers on world events.

The first Jewish organizations in Saint John started in the 1890's. Between the 1920's to the 1960's there were more than a dozen Jewish organizations in the city. Nearly every Jewish citizen was a member of at least one of these organizations. Although some of these organizations were unique to Saint John, others were affiliated with larger national or international organizations.

The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society was established in 1896 by several men in the community to assist the Russian Jewish immigrants arriving in the city. This organization was superseded in the 1920's by the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society centred in Montreal.

Mrs. Alice Hart founded the Daughters of Israel in 1899 as the first Jewish ladies' organization in Saint John. The mandate of this organization was to assist the poor and the needy in the city as well as new Jewish immigrants.

The Jewish Amateur Club dated from the turn of the 20th century but little is known, other than that it was a small theatre group.

The Hebrew Ladies Association has not been well documented but it was most likely associated with either the Sisterhood or the Ladies Auxiliary.

The Ladies Auxiliary flourished from the 1930's to the 1940's when it joined with the Daughters of Israel to form the Sisterhood.

The Sisterhood Shaarei Zedek was formed in the 1950's from the combination of the Daughters of Israel and the Ladies Auxiliary. This women’s organization sponsored dinners, the Hebrew School, and played a role in the religious life of the community. In later years it was affiliated with the National Women's League for Conservative Judaism.

The Young Men's/Women's Hebrew Association, a Jewish counterpart to the YMCA, had its beginnings in 1919 when discrimination prevented Jewish children from joining the existing organization. A building was purchased on Horsfield Street although the vestry of the Synagogue was also used for meetings and sporting events. The members were very active in the Saint John sporting scene and regular gym classes were held for the girls. Lectures and annual balls were also held to add to the social life of the community.

A Judaean Boy Scout Troop was created in 1923 and remained active to the 1960's. Among its notable leaders were Eli Boyaner and Gar Meltzer. There were also several groups of Cubs. A Judaean Girl Guide troop was established in 1924 and remained active until the 1960's. There were also groups of Brownies.

A theatre group, the Jewish Community Players was formed in 1952 and presented plays in the vestry of the Shaarei Zedek Synagogue throughout the 1950's under the direction of Dr. M.I. Polowin. Many of the plays that were presented were on Jewish themes, but others had a wider appeal as well. The Hebrew Choral Society was active in the 1950's and presented a series of concerts under the direction of Mr. Douglas Major. Concerts were staged in the Shaarei Zedek Synagogue and the Admiral Beatty Hotel.

The Shaarei Zedek Men's Club existed briefly in the mid 1960's under the auspices of the National Federation of Men's Clubs within the Conservative Jewish movement. The men met on a regular basis for social purposes.

The Shomer Club (The Guardians) was the first Jewish senior's organization in the Atlantic Provinces and was founded in 1978 by Mrs. Rose Freedman. It was active from the mid-1970s to 1995, when interest in the organization disappeared. The Club met monthly with presentations by guest speakers on a variety of subjects of interest to senior citizens.

The Henrietta Szold Chapter of Hadassah-WIZO was a Zionist ladies organization, begun in Saint John in 1916 and which remained active to the 1990s. They "were dedicated to the promotion of better health, education and social welfare of mothers and children" in Israel and many fundraising events were held to accomplish this goal. The local chapter organized a number of regional and national conferences of Hadassah.

The Zionist men's organization, Ezra Lodge Habonim flourished from the 1940's to the 1970's. Their focus was directed to supporting Israel and its development. This support included sponsoring dinners to honour outstanding members of the community.

The State of Israel Bonds was an active organization from the 1950's to the 1970's. Dinners were held as a means of raising funds for Israel in honour of prominent Jewish and Gentile community members. The Jewish National Fund was established as a means of raising funds for developing land in Israel, often through the planting of trees. The United Jewish Appeal / Israel Histradut Campaign funds were also dedicated to developing the State of Israel.

Young Judaea was a Zionist organization for young people. The members "were taught Hebrew songs and dances as well as the history of the Zionist movement...[and] about the founders of the Zionist movement." Summer camps also formed an integral part of their activities. It had its beginnings in Saint John with Percy Goldman in 1917 and remained an active organization for every child in Saint John until the early 1970's. Many members went on to become national leaders of this youth movement.

A branch of the Canadian Jewish Congress was active in Saint John only during the 1940's and had its beginnings as The Hebrew War Council. Their greatest accomplishment was the opening of a servicemen's centre on Union Street in 1944. Saint John also hosted a conference in 1940.

A branch of B'nai B'rith, a men's organization, was established with a charter night banquet in January 1954. It was a service club similar to the Rotary or Kiwanis to provide assistance to the community. It declined in Saint John in the 1970's as interest waned, although some men in the community remained affiliated with the national organization.

The Atlantic Post of the Jewish War Veterans of Canada was active for several years, although the membership in Saint John was limited due to the small number of veterans. Gar Meltzer was the most active of the members and maintained strong ties with the national organization.

The Lord Beaverbrook Scholarship Foundation was formed by 1915 to support the scholastic endeavours of New Brunswick university students. Lord Beaverbrook himself was heavily involved with university life in New Brunswick, especially the creation of the library and archives. A special collection and reading room at the Harriet Irving Library, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton bears his name. The awards include undergraduate scholarships, law scholarships, overseas scholarships and teacher's scholarships.

Maritime Freight Rates Commission was established at Moncton, New Brunswick, after passage of the Maritimes Freight Rates Act in 1927 as a permanent watchdog for regional interests in transportation policy. The Atlantic Provinces Transportation Commission is its successor, supported by the four Atlantic provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, and it is affiliated with the Atlantic Provinces Chamber of Commerce.

The establishment of the Union of Canadian Municipalities in 1901, led to the formation of provincial unions, including the Union of New Brunswick Municipalities in February 1907. The leaders of these unions were usually municipal and social reformers who were alarmed at the private ownership of public utilities and strove to limit the power of provincial and federal governments to encroach on municipal powers. Especially in their early years, they promoted measures to improve public health and child welfare.

The two World Wars and the Depression seem to have diminished the enthusiasm of the Union of New Brunswick Municipalities for reform. However, in the 1960s, it revived to oppose some of the more controversial measures of provincial "equalization" proposed in the Byrne Commission report of Premier Louis Robichaud's Liberal government. Their opposition was not successful and the report led to the abolition of the county councils, from which most of the financial resources of the Union had come. As a result, the Union became dormant in the late 1960s.

The Masonic Order probably had a presence in St. Andrews, New Brunswick prior to 1800. The Eastern Star Lodge No. 37 was formally recognized by the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia on 29 August 1814, and the St. Andrews Royal Arch Chapter was established under the warrant of the Eastern Star Lodge about 1819. The Hibernian Lodge No. 318 was formed on 10 March 1830, the first lodge organized in New Brunswick under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The warrant was issued to Samuel Barclay, William Finley, and Samuel Brown as master and wardens. The lodge closed in 1863 due to declining membership.

The Hibernian Royal Arch Chapter received its warrant about 1834, and the Hibernian Encampment, organized on 5 April 1840, was the first band of Knights Templars in New Brunswick. Saint Mark's Lodge No. 759 received its charter from the Grand Lodge of England on 9 August 1845, the warrant being issued to the Reverend Jerome Alley, Charles Vaughan Forster, William Jarvis, Thomas Wyer, Robert Edward Law, Samuel Tilley Gove, and Samuel Frye. In 1862 the lodge number was changed to 718. In 1868 the English warrant was surrendered and the lodge became known as Saint Mark's No. 5 of the Grand Lodge of New Brunswick.

Saint Mark's No. 5 is not to be confused with Saint Mark's Royal Arch Chapter, which was constituted under a warrant dated 5 April 1846 issued by the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of England to the Reverend Jerome Alley, Thomas Wyer, Samuel McCurdy, Samuel Tilley Gove, Charles Kennedy, Charles A. Robrock, Donald D. Morrison, James McMaster, and John Ayman. Saint Mark's Royal Arch Chapter was issued a new warrant by the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Canada in 1877.