Dorothy Reitman, (born 1932) is a Canadian philanthropist and activist who served as first female president of the

Canadian Jewish Congress The Canadian Jewish Congress (, , ) was, for more than ninety years, the main advocacy group for the Jewish community in Canada. Regarded by many as the "Parliament of Canadian Jewry," the Congress was at the forefront of the struggle for human r ...

(CJC) from 1986 to 1989.

Early life

Reitman's parents emigrated from

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

in her infancy. She attended McGill University and in 1952, married Cyril Reitman of the

Reitmans Reitmans Canada Ltd. is a Canadian retailing company, specializing in women's clothing. The company operates several store brands, includinReitmans The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', May 12, 1986Dorothy Reitman
(biography), Jewish Women's Archive She was widowed in 2014. In 1958, her infant son, Joel, was kidnapped by his nanny who held him for $10,000 ransom resulting in the Reitmans going on the radio pleading for his return. Joel Reitman was found unharmed and the nanny was captured and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Philanthropic and advocacy work

She took up a number of philanthropic and social causes and was a founding member of the Portage Program for Drug Dependency, served on the board of the Match International Centre, and through the organization worked on a program to help women in Kenya, the Council of Canadian Unity, and Auberge Shalom for Battered Women. She also helped establish Kosher Meals on Wheels in Montreal. Among the chairmanships she has held are the honorary chair of the McGill University Centre for Research and Teaching for Women, co-chair of the Canadian Conference of Christians and Jews, chair of the Commonwealth Jewish Foundation of Canada, vice-president of the Commonwealth Jewish Council, and trustee of the Commonwealth Jewish Trust. She also served as president of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada from 1975–1977 and participated in the United Nations'

World Conference on Women, 1985 The World Conference on Women, 1985 or the Third World Conference on Women took place between 15 and 26 July 1985 in Nairobi, Kenya, as the end-of-decade assessment of progress and failure in implementing the goals established by the World Plan of ...

at Nairobi as a

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...

delegate."Canadian Jewish Congress elects first woman president", ''The Globe and Mail'', May 12, 1986 The Cyril and Dorothy, Joel and Jill Reitman Alzheimer Support Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto is named after her and her family's charitable support. Her family makes charitable donations through The Cyril & Dorothy, Joel & Jill Reitman Family Foundation.

Canadian Jewish Congress

Reitman defeated Moshe Ronen, who would later win the position, for the CJC presidency in 1986. In 1989, she spoke out in defence of Jewish women who had been attacked by male co-religionists while trying to pray at the

Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط � ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. She also advocated on behalf of

Soviet Jewish The history of the Jews in the Soviet Union is inextricably linked to much earlier Expansionism, expansionist policies of the Russian Empire conquering and ruling the eastern half of the European continent already before the Bolshevik Revolution ...

refusenik Refusenik (russian: отказник, otkaznik, ; alternatively spelt refusnik) was an unofficial term for individuals—typically, but not exclusively, Soviet Jews—who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel, by the authori ...

s attempting to leave the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in the 1980s. As CJC President she also opposed increased restrictions by the Canadian government on the ability of

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s to enter Canada.

Honours and awards

Reitman won the Montreal Jewish Community Leadership Award in 1965 and received the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

in 1977. In 1992, she was awarded the

Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for having "advocated women's equality and opened roads to their empowerment." Five years later, she was inducted into the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in recognition for her volunteer work assisting women as well as with the Jewish community.Dorothy Reitman, C.M.
The Governor General of Canada (website)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reitman, Dorothy Members of the Order of Canada Canadian Jewish Congress Canadian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners Jewish Canadian activists Jewish Canadian philanthropists Activists from Montreal Philanthropists from Quebec 1932 births Living people