Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

Abbreviation	CIJA
Formation	2004/2011
Type	Organizations based in Canada
Legal status	active
Purpose	advocacy
Region served	Canada
Official language	English, French
Chief Executive Officer	Shimon Fogel
Website	www.cija.ca

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), formerly the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy, was founded in 2004 as the principal advocacy, oversight and co-ordinating body for a number of Jewish Canadian organizations including the Canada-Israel Committee (and the Quebec-Israel Committee), the Canadian Jewish Congress/United Jewish Appeal and National Jewish Campus Life. Today, CIJA is the advocacy arm of the Jewish Federations of Canada-United Israel Appeal.

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, Quebec-Israel Committee, National Jewish Campus Life and the University Outreach Committee were consolidated.

CIJA's Chief Executive Officer was Hershell Ezrin, who served in that position until his retirement at the end of 2010. The group's current CEO is Shimon Fogel, former CEO of the Canada-Israel Committee.

CIJA maintains offices in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Jerusalem.

The Canadian Rabbinic Caucus, an interdenominational body of Rabbis from across the country, provides support and advice to CIJA on behalf of Canadian synagogues. The Caucus is chaired by Rabbi Reuben Poupko of Montreal.

CIJA's lobbying and outreach efforts have included meetings and functions that attract high-ranking members of the Canadian government, including the Prime Minister, and it has financed trips to Israel for Canadian officials and thought leaders. CIJA's creation has been criticized as an attempt to "corporatize" the funding structure of Jewish community organizations and tie them to pro-Israel lobbying.

CIJA's CEO, Shimon Fogel, explained the logic behind the new advocacy structure in a 2012 column in the Jerusalem Post:

Israel and Jewish causes have benefited from unparalleled support from Canadian governments and from all federal political parties – most intensively over the past eight years. Not coincidentally, it was exactly eight years ago that the Canadian Jewish community reorganized its advocacy efforts into one unified and coordinated operation. ...By consolidating the Canada-Israel Committee, the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Quebec-Israel Committee and the University Outreach Committee into one professionally managed and nationally supervised agency, the voice of Canadian Jews has grown stronger and more credible. Our community now benefits from strategic advocacy planning on the national level, sophisticated outreach abilities, and very effective lobby mechanisms – in addition to better operational accountability and cost savings.

Positions and activities

Domestic Canadian policies

CIJA has regularly condemned acts of vandalism targeting places of worship and faith-based schools in Canada, including acts committed against Jewish, Sikh, and Muslim institutions.

CIJA has been actively involved in the public debate surrounding the balance between protecting free speech and preventing the spread of hate speech. In 2012, in response to concerns toward Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act (hate speech on the internet), CIJA proposed two options to achieve a reasonable balance. The first entailed reforming the existing act, including through measures to increase evidentiary standards, allow for early rejection of inadmissible Section 13 complaints, and discourage frivolous claims (including the assigning of costs to those who launch vexatious complaints). The second option would repeal Section 13 altogether, and assign responsibility for online hate speech exclusively to a more responsive criminal justice system.

In October 2012, CIJA called on the Government of Canada to cancel its proposed plan to cut part-time prison chaplains, which would include all Rabbis and other non-Christian chaplains.

In June 2013, CIJA wrote to the Quebec Soccer Federation, calling on the organization to cancel its ban on Sikh turbans during soccer matches. At the same time, CIJA wrote to FIFA, calling on the international soccer regulator to issue a statement permitting the use of religious headgear on the soccer pitch. On June 15th, 2013, the Quebec Soccer Federation cancelled its ban on turbans.

Opposition to boycotts of Israel

CIJA has fought boycott, divestment and sanctions efforts against Israel in Canada. In August 2012, CIJA campaigned against a United Church of Canada (UCC) boycott of Israeli settlements. At the time, CIJA's CEO Shimon Fogel distinguished between criticism of Israeli policies and initiatives that single out the Jewish state for economic coercion:

Peace will come only through negotiations and painful concessions by both Israelis and Palestinians. This is the consensus among most Canadians and across the political spectrum (the NDP, under both Jack Layton and Thomas Mulcair, firmly rejected boycott, divestment and sanctions efforts). No doubt this reflects the majority of UCC members, who would hope to play a constructive role in supporting the legitimate aspirations of both sides.... The framework for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict described above is also upheld by the mainstream peace movement, which is engaged in a myriad of projects to bring both sides together. To contribute to this movement, one need not refrain from criticizing particular Israeli policies (as Israeli peace activists can attest). One must simply commit to advancing peace through balance, mutual obligations and reconciliation – rather than coercion and the singling out of one side for blame.

CIJA operates the website BuycottIsrael.com, which alerts consumers to Israeli products that are being targeted for boycott by anti-Israel activists and provides details on where those products can be purchased in North America.

Opposition to the Iranian government

For years, CIJA has been at the forefront of efforts to increase Canadian sanctions against Iran, as a diplomatic response to Tehran's violations of UN resolutions and IAEA directives. In 2012, CIJA's CEO, Shimon Fogel, warned of the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran:

...critics dismiss the fact that history is replete with examples of our assumptions crumbling before our very eyes with devastating consequences. The most dangerous assumptions are that rational self-interest will always triumph and no government — even a genocidal one — would really risk the well-being of its own people. If these were rules of nature rather than vain hopes, we would have never witnessed the horrors of World War II. Iran’s leaders would not be the first to take self-destructive actions that seem unimaginable to us, and no one can tell Israel that history will not repeat itself. Indeed, Israelis — or any other people — should not be forced to live under a shadow of nuclear annihilation.

In April 2008, Iran objected to CIJA receiving non-governmental organization accreditation for a United Nations conference on racism; CIJA withdrew its accreditation request.

Concern for Christians in the Middle East

CIJA has regularly spoken out against the phenomenon of rising violence and intimidation against Christians in parts of the Middle East and Africa. In January 2012, a CIJA spokesperson wrote:

There is a strong case to be made that the persecution of Christians in Egypt and elsewhere (including Nigeria, Iraq, Pakistan, and North Korea) should become the equivalent of the “Free Soviet Jewry” movement for the current generation of Christians – with the support of Jews, Muslims, and people of all faiths.

See also

• Canadian Jewish Congress
• B'nai Brith Canada
• Independent Jewish Voices (Canada)
• Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee

External links

• Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
• Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs - Official YouTube Channel
• AIPAC North by Dan Freeman-Maloy