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Federation CJA

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Federation CJA
Formation1916
TypeOrganizations based in Canada
Legal statusactive
HeadquartersMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Region served
Canada
Official language
English, French, Hebrew
CEO
Yair Szlak
Websitewww.federationcja.org

Federation CJA is a Montreal based Jewish community organization.[1] Their mission is to "preserve and strengthen the quality of Jewish life and engagement in Montreal, Israel, and the world".[1] Federation CJA is a part of the Jewish Federations of North America.[2]

History

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Federation CJA is one of the oldest Canadian Jewish organizations.[3] CJA was founded in 1916 with the hope of uniting Montreal's Jewish community and providing a central fundraising organization to serve the 14 founding organizations.[4] It has been involved in major issues facing the community, such as government restrictions on immigration beginning in the 1920s, extreme poverty during the Great Depression, the rise of fascism in Europe and Quebec during the thirties,[5] the Second World War and assisting the remnants of European Jewry, the birth of the State of Israel, waves of immigration including especially Holocaust survivors,[6] Sephardic Jews[7] and Hungarians after the 1956[8] uprising, the rise of the separatist movements and outward immigration, particularly of young Jews that followed in the late '70s and '80s, as well as fighting antisemitism and assisting in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable in Montreal, Israel, and in other communities under threat around the world.

Fundraising

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Combined Jewish Appeal (CJA) is the fundraising arm of Federation CJA, with over 18,000 donors to the annual campaign supporting various local, national, and overseas programs and activities.[citation needed]

Community

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As a community organization, it mobilizes thousands of volunteers who devote their time and energy to raising funds, allocating the proceeds, and assisting in the delivery of services.[citation needed] It is one of 156 North American Jewish federations, a member of the United Israel Appeal Federations Canada, the Jewish Federations of North America, and a contributor to the Jewish Agency for Israel. Federation CJA is also affiliated with the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy.

Agencies

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Constituent agencies of Federation CJA include Agence Ometz, Bronfman Jewish Education Centre, Camp B'nai B'rith, Communauté sépharade unifiée du Québec (United Sefardic Community of Quebec), Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, Hillel Montreal, JEM Workshop Inc., Jewish Public Library, Montreal Holocaust Museum, the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, as well as the YM-YWHA Montreal Jewish Community Centres.

Controversies

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CJA is connected with other groups such as Hillel International.[9] Hillel International has a presence on college campuses to support Jewish students in their college life and to support their connection to Israel as part of their identity. This can sometimes be in conflict with groups supporting other causes and most recently with the Anti-zionist movement gaining momentum from the Israel- Gaza war and the barbaric October 7 attacks by Hamas, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas, a known terrorist group. https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2024/04/29/the-lead-columbia-protest-palestine-israel-students-tapper.cnn.

New leadership

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In its vision of the future,[10] the director of CJA believes that the Federation CJA must be more inclusive[11] and recognize all Jews in a diverse Jewish population of Montreal.[12] Past-President of Federation CJA, Marc Gold, said "the federation recognizes that it must be open to change to be relevant to Montreal Jews, especially the younger generation and those not involved with the organized community, and recognize that all Jews in a diverse Jewish population of Montreal."[13]

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Federation CJA". 2024.
  2. ^ "Fed Finder | The Jewish Federations of North America". www.jewishfederations.org. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  3. ^ (in French) King, Joe (2002) Les Juifs de Montréal, trois siècles de parcours exceptionnel, pages 92 to 102, Editor Édition Carte Blanche.(89590-002-7)
  4. ^ (in French) Linteau, Paul-Andre (1992) Histoire de Montréal depuis la Confédération, Édition Boréal. pages 325 to 330 (ISBN 978-2890524415)
  5. ^ (In French) Légaré Tremblay, Jean-Frédéric (1 April 2010) Adrien Arcand, un fasciste bien de chez nous, Le Devoir.
  6. ^ Montreal is preceded by Israel and New York city for number of Jewish survivors who took up residence after the Second World War there. About 40 000 survivors of the Holocaust came in the late 1940s, seeking a peaceful country, a place where they might have a chance at rebuilding their lives, or simply coming because they had relatives here. Sources (In French) Linteau, Paul-Andre (1992) Histoire de Montréal depuis la Confédération, Editor: Édition Boréal. pages 467 to 468 (ISBN 978-2890524415)
  7. ^ In 1957: Jews from Morocco begin to arrive in numbers (3,000 between 1957-1966). Source: (In French) Berdugo-Cohen, Marie & Cohen, Yolande & Levy, Joseph-J (1987) Juifs marocains à Montréal: témoignages d’une immigration moderne, Montréal. Editor édition VLB
  8. ^ In 1956: 1,500 Jews from Hungary settle at Montreal. Source: (in French) King, Joe (2002) Les Juifs de Montréal, trois siècles de parcours exceptionnel, pages 221 to 228. Editor: Édition Carte Blanche. (89590-002-7)
  9. ^ "Hillel Montreal".
  10. ^ Levy, Elias (7 October 2009). "Les grands défis de la Fédération CJA". Canadian Jewish News (in French).
  11. ^ Arnold, Janice (16 December 2009). "Federation reviewing its role in the community". Canadian Jewish News.
  12. ^ Federation CJA (November 2010) Imagine 2020: Survey reveals a dynamic, diverse and committed community Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine, Tikum Olam, edition 62.
  13. ^ Arnold, Janice (16 December 2009) Federation reviewing its role in the community, Canadian Jewish News.
  14. ^ Shefa, Sheri. "Intermarriage Data from U.S. Poll Cause Stir Here". Canadian Jewish News. October 14, 2013.
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