Tag Archives: Montreal

Jew of the Week: Morris Cohen

China’s “Uncrowned Jewish King”

Morris Cohen sitting next to Chinese President Chiang Kai-Shek (Credit: Joe King)

(Credit: Joe King)

Moshe Morris Abraham Cohen (1887-1970) was born in Poland to a poor Orthodox Jewish family. While he was still an infant, his family fled the pogroms and settled in London, England. Growing up, Cohen often got in trouble so his parents sent him to work on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada, hoping to mend his ways. There, he learned the value of hard work, in addition to playing cards and shooting guns. He became good friends with Chinese railroad workers, and even defended a Chinese man who was being robbed – a big deal at a time when white people rarely stood up for the Chinese in those days. Cohen’s friends invited him to join the revolutionary party of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who would become modern China’s founding father and first president. Cohen agreed to train Chinese-Canadians in military combat and helped secure weapons for China’s revolutionary army. Meanwhile, he settled in Edmonton and became a successful real estate broker. Cohen was soon appointed as the province of Alberta’s Commissioner of Oaths. With the outbreak of World War I, he fought valiantly with the Canadian Railway Troops. Finding it hard to make a living in Canada after the war, he moved to China. Cohen was hired by Sun Yat-sen to train his forces, procure arms, and serve as his personal bodyguard. After once taking a bullet while protecting Sun Yat-sen in an assassination attempt, he started carrying two guns, and henceforth was known as “Two-Gun Cohen”, though the Chinese called him Ma Kun, “Clenched Fist”. Following Sun Yat-sen’s death, Cohen continued working for China as a military commander and head of their secret service. During World War II, it was Cohen that proved the Japanese were using poison gas against Chinese civilians. Cohen was captured in battle by Japanese soldiers. He was nearly beaten to death before being freed in a prisoner exchange. Cohen then returned to Canada, settled in Montreal, and finally married. He spent the rest of his life in relative quiet, working as a consultant in various capacities, and often traveling to China. (He had the distinction of being the only person allowed to travel freely between China and Taiwan – as he was friendly with leaders of both nations, despite their antagonism towards each other.) Perhaps his last great act was convincing the Taiwanese not to oppose the UN Partition Plan that gave birth to the State of Israel. Taiwan’s position on the UN Security Council made their vote critical, and they intended to oppose the plan until Cohen stepped in. He also helped to arm the nascent State of Israel in its War of Independence. Cohen’s life inspired two books, as well as the 1936 film The General Died at Dawn, and the 1984 film The Gunrunner, starring Kevin Costner. As a major general in China’s revolutionary army (to this day, the only Westerner to hold such a high rank in the Chinese military), one-time head of China’s secret service, and Sun Yat-sen’s personal aide, Cohen played an instrumental role in the founding of modern China. He was once described as China’s “uncrowned Jewish king”.

Yom Kippur Begins Tonight! Gmar Chatima Tova!

Words of the Week

All lovers of democracy cannot help but support… the movement to restore your wonderful and historic nation which has contributed so much to the civilization of the world and which rightly deserves an honourable place in the family of nations.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, on his support for the Zionist movement

Jew of the Week: William Shatner

William Shatner as Captain Kirk (1966-1969)

William Shatner as Captain Kirk (1966-1969)

William Shatner (b. 1931) was born in Montreal to a Jewish family with Eastern European ancestry. Despite studying economics at McGill University, Shatner was drawn to acting from a young age and was a member of the Montreal Children’s Theatre. After graduating, he became the manager of a theatre company and soon started acting himself in Ottawa’s Canadian National Repertory Theatre and Stratford’s Shakespeare Festival. Meanwhile, he had a few small roles in Canadian films before starring in The Brothers Karamazov in 1958 – his first significant Hollywood role. Over the following few years, Shatner struggled to find more success, and picked up whatever roles he could, appearing on Broadway, in a number of television shows, and various films. In 1966, Shatner was cast as Captain Kirk on the new show Star Trek. In one historic 1968 episode, Kirk kissed Lt. Uhura – the first kiss between a white man and a black woman on American television. Unfortunately, Star Trek was not yet very popular, and the show was cancelled after just three seasons. Shatner had a tough time finding work afterwards, and ended up broke and living from his truck. He took on many small roles through the 70s, appearing in multiple shows and doing all sorts of commercials, from General Motors to Canada’s Loblaws grocery store. By the end of the 1970s, Star Trek had made a comeback and developed a massive cult following. Paramount decided to make a film and cast the original actors in the 1979 Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Shatner went on to play Kirk in six more Star Trek films. He soon expanded to directing films, producing music, writing screenplays, and co-writing a series of very popular sci-fi novels. Between 1994 and 2010, Shatner was the CEO of a special effects studio, while also publishing a number of non-fiction books and continuing to play small roles in film and television. All in all, Shatner has appeared in at least 20 films, 30 television shows, and wrote or co-wrote over 40 books. He has won an Emmy and a Golden Globe, and has a star on both Hollywood’s and Canada’s Walk of Fame. He has played for charitable causes on the World Poker Tour, and is an organizer of the Hollywood Charity Horse Show which raises funds for children’s charities. In 2006, he sold his kidney stone for $25,000 and raised an additional $20,000 to build a house with Habitat for Humanity. Interestingly, Shatner does not like seeing himself on video, and says he has never watched any of his films or Star Trek episodes!

Words of the Week

God is a circle whose center is everywhere, and whose circumference is nowhere.
– Empedocles

Jews of the Week: Joe and Ben Weider

Godfathers of Bodybuilding

Weider Brothers with Arnold Schwarznegger (Credit: ibffpro.com)

Weider Brothers with Arnold Schwarznegger (Credit: ibffpro.com)

Joseph (1920-2013) and Benjamin (1923-2008) Weider were born to a Polish-Jewish immigrant family in Montreal. Constantly bullied while growing up, they began exercising and lifting weights in their teenage years, making their own equipment out of old car wheels and axles. As their muscles grew, their adversaries disappeared, and the boys’ self-esteem shot up. They decided to share their new passion with others. At 18, Joe started a bodybuilding magazine called Your Physique. By 1943, the magazine had become popular across Canada. A few years later (following Ben’s return from World War II service) the brothers organized the first “Mr. Canada” contest. Ben then went on a mission around the world to spread the art of bodybuilding, after which the brothers established the International Federation of Bodybuilders. By 1952, their magazine had 25 million readers around the globe. Unfortunately, the sport slowly lost popularity, and by the 1960s, the Weiders were looking for a fresh start. They created a new competition, Mr. Olympia, but it initially didn’t bring the success they hoped for. The brothers moved to California, now with a new magazine, Muscle Builder. While in Europe, they met a young bodybuilder, and decided that he would be the image of their new brand. The brothers brought him to California, settled him in, trained him, taught him about business and media, and eventually turned him into one of Hollywood’s greatest: Arnold Schwarzenegger. (In 2006, then-Governor Schwarznegger presented the brothers with a Lifetime Achievement award, and in his speech thanked them for inspiring him, bringing him to America, and skyrocketing his career.) Ultimately, the Weiders would run several more magazines – including Men’s Fitness and a women’s health magazine called Shape – as well as produce their own health products, vitamins, and supplements (Weider Nutrition is considered the first sports nutrition company). From the start, they warned millions of their readers about the dangers of tobacco and alcohol, and refused to publish ads for these products in their magazines. Not surprisingly, the Weiders are credited with bringing greater awareness of healthy living and exercise to the masses. The brothers were also praised for breaking down barriers and allowing blacks, Hispanics, and women into their competitions at a time when it was still considered taboo. Surprisingly, Ben is also a noted historian, specializing in Napoleonic times, and co-writing several books on the subject. He has been awarded the Order of Canada, the French Legion of Honour, and was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Meanwhile, Joe wrote a couple of books on bodybuilding, and was voted Publisher of the Year in 1983. Along the way, the brothers never abandoned their connection to Judaism, often corresponding with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and donating generously to Chabad organizations, among many others.

Words of the Week

It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?
– Henry David Thoreau