Murray Bernard Koffler OC OOnt (January 22, 1924 – November 5, 2017) was a Canadian pharmacist , businessman, and philanthropist. He was best known for founding the Canadian pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart , establishing the Koffler Centre of the Arts , co-founding the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, and as an initial investor, co-founder and partner in Four Seasons Hotels .
23-531: The Koffler Centre can refer to two centres named after Murray Koffler : Koffler Student Centre at the University of Toronto Koffler Centre of the Arts Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Koffler Centre . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
46-555: A Phm. B. degree in 1946 from the University of Toronto . In 1946, he became a pharmacist at Koffler Drug Stores (established in 1921 by his father and pharmacist Leon Koffler). From 1968 to 1971, he was President of Koffler Stores Ltd. From 1971 to 1986, he was Chairman of Shoppers Drug Mart. He was appointed an Honorary Chairman in 1986. In 1979, Koffler opened the first Super-Pharm pharmacy, in Herzliya , Israel . Super-Pharm
69-882: A quarterly. In addition, they launched a new frequent email newsletter and began several original podcasts. The current list includes The CJN Daily , a daily newscast hosted by Ellin Bessner, author of Double Threat ; Bonjour Chai , hosted by Rabbi Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy, a columnist with The Globe and Mail and the author of The Perils of "Privilege" ; Menschwarmers , about Jews and sports; Culturally Jewish , about Canadian Jewish arts and culture, hosted by actors Ilana Zackon and David Sklar; Not That Kind of Rabbi , hosted by CBC veteran Ralph Benmergui ; and Rivkush , about Jews of colour, hosted by Rivka Campbell. In 2024, The CJN debuted its first original audio drama podcast, Justice: A Holocaust Zombie Story , about media narratives and generational trauma. The show
92-551: Is a non-profit, national, English-language digital-first media organization that serves Canada 's Jewish community. A national edition of the newspaper was published for 60 years in Toronto. A weekly Montreal edition in English with some French began its run in 1976. The newspaper announced its closure in 2013 but was able to continue after restructuring and reorganizing. It again announced its closure on April 2, 2020, due to
115-611: Is named in his honour and his wife's. The Koffler Student Services Centre and the Koffler Institute of Pharmacy Management at the University of Toronto are named in his honour. He donated the land that later became the Koffler Scientific Reserve , University of Toronto's biological research station at Joker's Hill, in King Township, ON . Canadian Jewish News The Canadian Jewish News
138-690: Is still owned by the Koffler family, and there are currently 202 locations in Israel. In addition to his business pursuits, Koffler was a community leader and philanthropist. He received the B'nai B'rith Distinguished Citizen's Award; the Canada Council of Christians and Jews Humanitarian Award; and, with his wife, Dr. Marvelle Koffler, the Israel Cancer Research Fund Humanitarian Award. He served on
161-1040: The Canadian Jewish News . Both Kofflers were major supporters of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel . Both sat on the Institute's board of governors, and Murray was chair of the international board of directors. He was also chairman emeritus of the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute. Another of his contributions to the Weizmann Institute was his funding of the Koffler Accelerator —a sophisticated twin-tower instrument for nuclear research. Koffler died on November 5, 2017, at his home in Toronto. His widow Marvelle Koffer died on January 14, 2020, at
184-640: The Vine Awards for Canadian Jewish Literature and a diverse range of programs in theatre, literature and visual arts. The Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre and the Murray Koffler Urologic Wellness Centre were both established through their generous philanthropy to the Mount Sinai Hospital. In 1969, Koffler rallied the pharmaceutical community, among others, to launch a charitable non-profit association with
207-576: The CJN to continue as an exclusively online publication less reliant on advertising. On June 14, 2013, the CJN's board announced that it would resume publication of its print edition in August 2013 after moving to smaller offices and pending the results of a subscription and advertising drive and various changes to the newspaper's business model. Among others, editor Mordechai Ben-Dat and senior staffer and columnist Sheldon Kirshner were let go. The newspaper
230-600: The age of 90. In 1977, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada "for his many services to his community as businessman, philanthropist and patron of the arts". He was promoted to Officer in 1995. He was awarded the Order of Ontario in 1992. In 1986, the Retail Council of Canada recognized Koffler's ability in leading the Oshawa Group to outstanding business success. In recognition of this accomplishment he
253-929: The board of governors of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, as well as those of Mount Sinai Hospital , the United Jewish Welfare Fund, and the Jerusalem Foundation, and is a past chairman of the United Jewish Appeal. In 1979, he was the Toronto Negev Dinner honoree. Murray and Marvelle established the Koffler Centre of the Arts in 1974. The Koffler and Koffler Gallery present a contemporary cross-disciplinary arts program including
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#1732802533123276-451: The early 1990s. In 1979, the CJN adopted editorial guidelines that prevent articles from criticizing the state of Israel's security policies. By 2013, it had a circulation of 40,000 copies per week. On April 22, 2013, the newspaper issued termination notices to its 50 staff and announced that it will cease printing with its June 20 edition due to financial constraints. The publishers sought benefactors to provide funding that would allow
299-510: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada on its finances. Its final weekly print edition was published on April 9, 2020. In December 2020, it announced its return as a digital-first media company with a new president, Bryan Borzykowski. The Canadian Jewish News was founded by M. J. Nurenberger , a friend of Menachem Begin and supporter of his Herut party, and his wife Dorothy and
322-562: The impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Canada on its finances. CJN president Elizabeth Wolfe stated that "The CJN suffered from a pre-existing condition and has been felled by COVID-19 ." In May 2021, The CJN resumed publication once again, for the first time without a physical weekly newspaper. Instead, it returned at a new website, thecjn.ca, which resumed its reporting tradition. The CJN also printed its first magazine for pre-existing subscribers in March 2021, which has since continued as
345-566: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Koffler_Centre&oldid=932947603 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Murray Koffler Born in Toronto , Ontario , to Romanian-born Jewish immigrant parents, Koffler attended Oakwood Collegiate Institute , and then received
368-562: The mandate to prevent substance abuse through health promotion and education impacting children and youth. CODA develops/delivers preventive drug abuse programs to youth aged 12–19 in 104 Canadian school communities which include students/teachers other youth/adults associated with high school and feeder schools, local community groups/social services/community centres/police and other points of community focus including culturally diverse groups/populations. In 1971, Koffler and two other Jewish community leaders, Albert Latner and Ray Wolfe, purchased
391-474: The newly revamped paper was described as "racier" and was more reliant on freelancers. By 2016, the newspaper's subscriptions remained mostly unchanged at 31,000, but Wolfe reported advertising and subscription revenues were enough to invest in new projects. The paper announced that it would cease publication with its 9 April 2020 issue, with its final circulation estimated at 32,000. It had suffered from financial shortfalls for years, which were exacerbated by
414-570: The time as well as community institutions such as B'nai Brith and the United Jewish Appeal , the latter for its secrecy in how it dispersed money. According to his daughter, Atara Beck, "He believed that a newspaper should be a thorn in the side of the establishment." In 1971, following the death of his wife, Nurenberger sold the newspaper for $ 30,000 to a group of community leaders that included Shoppers Drug Mart founder Murray Koffler and real estate developer Albert Latner and
437-595: Was first published on Friday, January 1, 1960, and was the first exclusively English-language Jewish newspaper published in Ontario . The CJN was considered a "provocative" paper into the 1970s but was later considered something of a "lapdog for the community". The original CJN hewed a line that supported the right in Israeli politics and was critical of the liberal leadership of the Canadian Jewish community at
460-626: Was led by philanthropist and businessman Ray Wolfe. Though independent, the newspaper has been owned, since 1971, by a group of Jewish leaders allied with what was then the Canadian Jewish Congress . Nurenburger soon regretted his decision, discouraged by the new version of the paper's reticence to challenge the community's establishment, and started the Jewish Times in 1974, which was decidedly more right wing than CJN under its new management, and continued publication into
483-760: Was presented with the Distinguished Canadian Retailer of the Year Award. Koffler was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 1991. He was also named to the Order of Ontario in 1992 and received an honorary doctorate from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1976. The Murray Koffler Urologic Wellness Centre and the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto
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#1732802533123506-503: Was produced in association with the Ashkenaz Foundation . At the end of 2023, longtime editor-in-chief Yoni Goldstein stepped down and was replaced by CEO Michael Weisdorf. The CJN also began hosting live podcast tapings across Toronto. Initial guests included actress Jennifer Podemski and sports broadcaster Michael Landsberg . Notable contributors to the newspaper have included Jacob Elbaz and J. B. Salsberg , who
529-469: Was subsequently reorganized under new leadership, and with a drastically reduced staff, beginning in January 2014, with Elizabeth Wolfe, daughter of Ray Wolfe, becoming president and former Jerusalem Report , National Post and Maclean's journalist Yoni Goldstein becoming the newspaper's editor. Goldstein subsequently introduced a more diverse range of contributors to the newspaper. The content of
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