Samuel William Jacobs

A biographical tribute to Montreal lawyer and federal politician Samuel William Jacobs (1871-1938). The Ontario-born Sam Jacobs, as he was familiarly known, moved to Montreal with his parents in 1882 and was educated at the High School of Montreal, received law degrees from McGill University and Université Laval. He is widely known for defending Jewish rights against anti-Semitic attacks and unjust regulations. For example, he was legal counsel in the widely-publicized Plamondon case. On March 30 1910, a Quebec City notary named Jacques-Édouard Plamondon (1862-1928) gave a lecture describing Jews as morally debased, parasitic, and a threat to Christians. As a result, a Quebec City synagogue was vandalized and several Jews assaulted. An action for libel against Plamondon was instigated by two Quebec City Jewish residents. Jacobs acted as legal counsel for one of the residents. The action was dismissed at trial, but upheld on appeal. In 1917 Jacob entered federal politics and won Montreal's Cartier seat for the Liberals. He held the seat during the next five successive elections, until his death in 1938. He also served as president of the Baron de Hirsch Institute (1912-1914), of the Canadian Jewish Congress (1934-1938), and was a Life Governor of the Montreal General Hospital, Hôpital Notre Dame, Mount Sinai Sanatorium, the Young Men's Hebrew Association, and the Hebrew Free Loan Association.

American Jewish Year Book

Vol. 41

95-110

1940

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