This work is a historical re-evaluation of the 1988 Outremont dispute that began as a small municipal affair involving two Hasidic congregations, Congregation Amour Pour Israel and Congregation Munchos Elozar-Munkatz. Both groups failed in their attempts to change a zoning bylaw that would allow the former to construct a synagogue at 1035 Saint-Viateur and the latter to retain its synagogue at 1030 Saint-Viateur. By the time it ended, the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Human Rights League of B'nai Brith had become involved in mediating the dispute and responding to the anti-Hasidic stance expressed by some francophone residents of Outremont and a number of journalists. Although several scholars have examined this incident, it has been secondary to other issues. Moreover, a comprehensive review of the scholarly literature written on the controversy shows that scholars' focus on the media fallout necessarily omits key elements of the incident: the historical narrative of the municipal vote, the extent of Jewish organizational involvement, the larger press reaction to the anti-Hasidic stance, and the positions taken by the Hasidim and the municipal officials themselves. This historical approach provides inclusion and analysis of these issues. Finally, a review of the literature written on Hasidim in Canada places this re-evaluation in its proper scholarly context.

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