Federation CJA


Federation CJA aims to be the driving force in a vibrant and caring Montreal Jewish Community. In partnership with an effective network of organizations, builds and sustains the community by providing principled leadership, by raising and distributing funds, and by facilitating, incubating and overseeing the delivery of services and programs.
Federation CJA embodies the values of the Jewish collective responsibility for one another. The overall goals of Federation CJA, in Montreal, Canada, Israel and the Jewish world are:
Federation CJA is one of the oldest Canadian Jewish organization. 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 all the major issues facing the community over 90 years, including government restrictions on immigration beginning in the 1920s, extreme poverty during the depression, the rise of fascism not only in Europe but also in Quebec during the thirties, 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, Sephardic Jews and Hungarians after the 1956 uprising, 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 anti-semitism and assisting meet the needs of the most vulnerable in Montreal, in Israel, and in other communities under threat around the world.

Fundraising

Combined Jewish Appeal is the fundraising arm of Federation CJA, with over 18,000 generous donors to the annual campaign supporting an array of 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 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. Also Federation CJA is affiliated with the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy.

Agencies

Constituent Agencies of Federation CJA include Agence Ometz, Bronfman Jewish Education Centre, Camp B'nai B'rith, Communauté sépharade unifiée du Québec, 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.

New leadership

In its vision of the future, the director of CJA believes firmly 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 has to be open to change in order 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."