About Eli

Eli Rubenstein is a Holocaust educator, writer, filmmaker, and activist. Since 1988, he has served as the religious leader of Congregation Habonim Toronto, a synagogue founded by Holocaust survivors. He has also served as the Director of Education for March of the Living International since 1988 and as the National Director of March of the Living Canada from 1988 to 2024. In May 2026, Eli had his investiture for the Order of Canada and his Rabbinic Ordination at Congregation Habonim.

For more information and a complete list of all things Eli, please visit his Wikipedia page at elirubentein.com or directly at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Rubenstein.

Congregation Habonim of Toronto

Congregation Habonim Toronto, founded in 1954,
is the first synagogue in Canada established by Holocaust survivors after the war. Its clergy have included such notable figures as Rabbi Reuben Slonim (1914–2000), Esther Ghan Firestone (1925 to 2015), the first female cantor in Canada, and Avrum Rosensweig, founder of Ve’ahavta, the Canadian Jewish Humanitarian Relief Organization.

Please visit: https://www.congregationhabonim.org/ for more.

March of the Living

Eli Rubenstein has played a central role in the March of the Living since the program was established in Canada in 1988. He became National Director of March of the Living Canada in 1989 and led his first Canadian delegation in 1990. Rubenstein remained National Director until 2024 and continues his work as Director of Education for the International March of the Living, helping guide its educational programming and commemorative ceremonies.

The March of the Living is an annual international Holocaust-education program that brings together thousands of young people, adults and Holocaust survivors from around the world. Participants travel to Poland, where they march approximately three kilometres from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Holocaust Remembrance Day, honouring the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust and confronting the continuing dangers of antisemitism, racism and intolerance. Many delegations also continue to Israel to observe Israel’s Memorial Day and Independence Day. Since the program began in 1988, more than 300,000 people have participated.

Eli has helped shape the March’s educational mission and Canada’s prominent role within the international program. His contributions extend beyond organizing delegations: he has developed educational resources, overseen international commemorative ceremonies, preserved survivors’ testimonies and promoted the responsibility of younger generations to carry Holocaust memory forward.