Predominant in number and cultural influence throughout much of the 20th century were the Ashkenazi Jews who arrived from Eastern Europe mostly prior to and following World War II; they settled largely along the Main and in the Mile End, a life vividly chronicled by such writers as Mordecai Richler.
There is also a substantial number of French-speaking Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews, originating from former French colonies in the Middle East and North Africa.
[citation needed] Yiddish is still a living part of the Montreal language mix, particularly in the substantial Hasidic community.
Demographically smaller as a result of the exodus that came with the instability provoked by the Quebec sovereignty movement, Montreal's Jewish community has nevertheless been a leading contributor to the city's cultural landscape and is renowned for its level of charitable giving and its plethora of social service community institutions.
The Jewish left and secular Jewish culture have flourished in Montreal, producing notable artists and public figures such as Charles Krauthammer, Mort Zuckerman, Naomi Klein, Leonard Cohen, Irving Layton and Gerald Cohen.
[6]: 226 From 1907 to 1977 the Keneder Adler (Odler, The Canadian Eagle), a Yiddish newspaper, was published in Montreal.
[2]: 33 Today, the Jewish community is primarily concentrated in Côte St. Luc, Hampstead, Snowdon, and the West Island.
Other major Jewish communities exist in Outremont, Park Extension, and Chomedey.
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz," wrote that Jews often faced conflict from both the Francophone and Anglophone sectors of Montreal.