Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

History

In 2011, CIJA assumed its current name following an 18-month restructuring process in which the functions of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Canada-Israel Committee, the Quebec-Israel Committee, and the National Jewish Campus Life and University Outreach Committee were consolidated. The group's Chief Executive Officer was Hershell Ezrin, until his retirement at the end of 2010. Shimon Fogel, former CEO of the Canada-Israel Committee, then was CEO until his retirement in December 2024, when he was succeeded by Noah Shack.

In September 2024, CIJA formally requested of the Canadian government to adopt four new policies to help ensure the safety of Canadian Jews. In October 2024, CIJA reported that 82% of Canadian Jews feel less safe after October 7.

Atlantic Jewish Council

The Atlantic Jewish Council, founded in 1975, is CJIA's Atlantic partner and was previously the Atlantic Canadian office of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Howard Conter is the president of its board of directors, and its executive director is Jon Goldberg. As a result of the Canadian Jewish Congress' reorganization in 2007, the AJC became an individual member rather than an affiliate organization of the CJC; this was further reformed after the establishment of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which subsumed the CJC in 2011. The AJC also owns and operates Camp Kadimah.

Camp Kadimah

Camp Kadimah, founded in 1943 and affiliated with Canadian Young Judaea, is located on the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County. Campers range from 8 to 16 years of age. Many of the campers are from Toronto but there remains a large portion of campers from Halifax. Many of the campers also from Israel.

There are 5 sections are the camp. The youngest sections, Giborim and Goshrim occupy the main side of the bridge. Giborim, the youngest section, means 'mighty', or 'heroes' in Hebrew. Goshrim, for children aged 10–11, means 'bridge builders.' Kochot, the next section, means 'power.' Machar, the eldest section means 'tomorrow.' There is also a Counsellors in Training program that fosters the development of teenagers into adults. The CITs live on the Machar side of the bridge. The camp is Kosher and nut-free. In 2009, ten teenagers from Sderot, Israel attended Camp Kadimah.

Controversies

CIJA has faced criticism due to comments made by staff through news outlets and via its social media accounts. In 2023, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East criticized "provocative statements" made by CIJA Israel office director David M. Weinberg. His statements make use of dehumanizing terms to refer to Arabs, Muslims, Palestinians, and human rights activists, calling them “weeds”, “snakes”, “barbarians”, and “terrorists”.

References

References

1. "About Us, Our Team".
2. Bybelezer, Charles. (10 October 2012). "Center for Israel, Jewish Affairs' Misguided Policy". The Jerusalem Post.
3. Csillag, Ron. (23 August 2011). "Canada's Restructured Jewish Advocacy Agency Gets Name". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
4. Gordon, Sheldon. (27 February 2004). "Head of New Canadian Council to Organize Grassroots Efforts". The Forward.
5. [http://www.cicweb.ca/scene/2011/07/cija-responds-to-the-final-report-of-the-canadian-coalition-to-combat-anti-semitism/ "CIJA Responds to the Final Report of the Canadian Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism"] {{webarchive. link. (26 August 2011, CIJA, 7 July 2011)
6. (23 December 2010). "CIC Exec Named to Lead Restructured Agency". Canadian Jewish News.
7. (17 September 2024). "CIJA calls on Canadian parliament to take immediate action on antisemitic threats". Jerusalem Post.
8. Lewinsky, Gil. (7 October 2024). "Shadows of hate: The alarming rise of antisemitism in Canada". Jerusalem Post.
9. "HOME".
10. "The Canadian Jewish News".
11. "CJPME Condemns Provocative Statements by CIJA's Israel Office Director".
12. Weinberg, David. (2018-10-19). "Mowing the grass in Gaza".