Federation CJA is a Canadian Jewish organization that raises and distributes funds by facilitating and overseeing the delivery of services and programs. *

History

Federation CJA is one of the oldest Canadian Jewish organizations. 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. 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 Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the rise of

fascism in Europe Fascism in Europe was the set of various fascist ideologies which were practised by governments and political organisations in Europe during the 20th century. Fascism was born in Italy following World War I, and other fascist movements, influe ...

and Quebec during the thirties, the Second World War and assisting the remnants of European Jewry, the birth of the State of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, waves of immigration including especially Holocaust survivors,

Sephardic Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

and Hungarians after the 1956

uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

, the rise of the separatist movements and outward immigration, particularly of young Jews that followed in the late 70's and 80's, as well as fighting

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and assisting in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable in Montreal, Israel, and in other communities under threat around the world.

Fundraising

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.

Community

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. It is one of 156 North

American Jewish American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora ...

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 The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

. Federation CJA is also affiliated with the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy.

Agencies

Constituent agencies of Federation CJA include Agence Ometz,

Bronfman Jewish Education Centre The Bronfman Jewish Education Centre (BJEC) is the planning and coordinating agency for Jewish community educational needs in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Description A constituent agency of the Federation CJA, BJEC strives to respond to the educati ...

, 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 Montreal Holocaust Museum (french: Musée de l'Holocauste Montréal) is a museum located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that is dedicated to educating people of all ages and backgrounds about the Holocaust, while sensitizing the public to the ...

, the

Segal Centre for Performing Arts The Segal Centre for Performing Arts, formerly the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, is a theatre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 5170 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâ ...

, as well as the YM-YWHA Montreal Jewish Community Centres.

New leadership

In its vision of the future, the director of CJA believes that the Federation CJA must be more inclusive and recognize all Jews in a diverse Jewish population of Montreal. 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."Arnold, Janice (16 December 2009
Federation reviewing its role in the community
Canadian Jewish News.

References

External links

Website of Federation CJA

Web Magazine Tikum Olam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federation Cja Jewish community organizations Non-profit organizations based in Montreal Organizations established in 1917 Jewish organizations based in Canada Jews and Judaism in Montreal 1917 establishments in Quebec