Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
AbbreviationCIJA
Formation
  • 2004
  • 2011
TypeAdvocacy group
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario, Canada
Official languages
  • English
  • French
Chair
Elan Pratzer[1]
President
Noah Shack (interim)
BudgetApprox. $11 million[2] (2012)
Websitecija.ca Edit this at Wikidata
Formerly called
Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA; French: Centre consultatif des relations juives et israéliennes) is a Zionist and Jewish advocacy organization and an agency of the Jewish Federations of Canada. It was founded in 2004 as the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CCIJA) and headquartered in the district of North York within Toronto, Ontario.

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.[3] The group's Chief Executive Officer was Hershell Ezrin, who served in that position until his retirement at the end of 2010.[4] Shimon Fogel, former CEO of the Canada-Israel Committee, then served as CEO until his retirement in December 2024, where he was succeeded by Noah Shack.[5][6]

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs is the advocacy agent of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, representing Jewish Federations across Canada. CIJA represents the diverse perspectives and concerns of more than 150,000 Jewish Canadians affiliated with their local Jewish Federation.

As the Canadian affiliate of the World Jewish Congress, representative to the Claims Conference and to the World Jewish Restitution Organization, CIJA is also connected to the organized Jewish community.

In September 2024, CIJA formally requested of the Canadian government to adopt four new policies to help ensure the safety of Canadian Jews.[7] In October 2024, CIJA reported that 82% of Canadian Jews feel less safe after October 7.[8]

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”.[9][10]

CIJA also faced criticism when it lobbied against islamophobia Motion M103 in a Canadian parliamentary committee, just weeks after the Quebec City mosque shooting, together with B'nai B'rith Canada.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "About Us, Our Team". Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  2. ^ Bybelezer, Charles (10 October 2012). "Center for Israel, Jewish Affairs' Misguided Policy". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. ^ Csillag, Ron (23 August 2011). "Canada's Restructured Jewish Advocacy Agency Gets Name". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  4. ^ Gordon, Sheldon (27 February 2004). "Head of New Canadian Council to Organize Grassroots Efforts". The Forward. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  5. ^ "CIJA Responds to the Final Report of the Canadian Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism" Archived 26 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, CIJA, 7 July 2011
  6. ^ "CIC Exec Named to Lead Restructured Agency". Canadian Jewish News. 23 December 2010. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  7. ^ "CIJA calls on Canadian parliament to take immediate action on antisemitic threats". Jerusalem Post. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  8. ^ Lewinsky, Gil (7 October 2024). "Shadows of hate: The alarming rise of antisemitism in Canada". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  9. ^ "CJPME Condemns Provocative Statements by CIJA's Israel Office Director". Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  10. ^ Weinberg, David (19 October 2018). "Mowing the grass in Gaza". www.israelhayom.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  11. ^ "CIJA's position on M-103". The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2024.


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