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Podcast: North Star with Ellin Bessner
Episode: In 1973, a record 10 boys celebrated their b'nai mitzvah in Oshawa. Now a docuseries has tracked them down to share their stories
Description: Alan Schwarz was one of 10 Jewish boys in Oshawa who spent 1973 studying for their b'nai mitzvah. It was the biggest coming-of-age cohort the small Jewish community has ever seen. But in the subsequent 49 years, the Hebrew school pals, unsurprisingly, lost touch; many left the city to start careers and families elsewhere.
Schwarz, whose family members were seminal in Oshawa's Jewish community, wound up in the production industry. During the pandemic, he found himself with enough time to follow a project close to his heart: tracking down his nine childhood friends. He pitched a documentary series to Bell...