Young Leadership Campaign - Combined Jewish Appeal

Message from David Amiel
Chair, 2011 Young Leadership Campaign

Dear friends,

As the Chair of the 2011 Young Leadership Campaign, I feel very proud to have been given this opportunity in community leadership. I am looking forward to the many occasions that we will have over the coming months to assist those in need in our Jewish community.

While the 2011 Campaign is still a few months away, our team of volunteers and professionals are already hard at work. We are reaching out and engaging members of our community, increasing people’s awareness and involvement, and we are having honest and open discussions regarding the wide range of challenges and needs that face our community.

In addition to introducing myself to you, I want to share my thoughts and feelings on a recent experience which 4 young adults from Montreal (including myself) had the opportunity to be a part of.

We were fortunate enough to participate in the 2011 Kolenu Global Forum that took place in London, England at the end of this past January. The event, the first of its kind, brought together young leaders from 16 communities across the globe in order to share, compare and discuss the many similarities, challenges and opportunities that we face both in our local communities and in the Jewish world as a whole. Participants included Young Community Leadership representatives from Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, South Africa and Israel.

We covered topics ranging from Outreach and Engagement, Technology and Upcoming Trends, to our constantly evolving Relationship with Israel. The format of the gathering was a perfect balance between small, intimate sessions and a wide array of thought-provoking and inspiring panelists and speakers; all the while experiencing it in the heart of one of the world’s most vibrant cities.

We had the tremendous honour to meet with Michael and Adi Strauss, arguably Israel’s most renowned and successful families in both the business and philanthropic worlds. We discussed philanthropy, and particularly the role the “next generation” should play in it. We heard from Aluf Benn, the editor at large for Haaretz newspaper, who shared his country’s views on the global issues and challenges that Israel faces today. We even had the chance to meet with Lord Greville Janner, a highly active and well-respected member of London’s House of Lords who was gracious enough to speak to us and lead a private tour of the House itself.

The Conference also included senior leadership from many different agencies in the Jewish world who shared with us the knowledge and experience they have attained over many years of community work. The most inspiring and memorable aspects of this experience for me, however, lay not in the subject matter we covered but in the relationships built through this shared experience.

There I was, at the “halfway” point between North America and Australia, meeting, working and befriending other young, community-minded Jews. We come from different backgrounds and upbringings, from different cultures and levels of observance, and even from different stages in our young lives. Yet, we all have one thing in common, tikun olam. The belief in the greater good. The belief that each one of us has both the responsibility and the capacity to help Jews in need at home and abroad.

In continued partnership with our sister city of Beer Sheva in Israel, four of their young leaders joined us to share perspectives and life stories, and their belief in a stronger relationship, not only with Montreal’s young Jewish Community, but with the Diaspora. The Israelis were heartened to hear how important their country is to us and how it will continue to be throughout our educational efforts. Their participation made this experience meaningful for both sides; it is a testament to how these interactive meetings and learning opportunities are indeed For One Another.

I returned home to Montreal inspired and motivated. I look forward to working with all of you this year to ensure the strength, security and future of our incredible Jewish community.

Thank you for your continued support for the Young Leadership Campaign of the 2011 Combined Jewish Appeal.

Warmest regards,

David Amiel
Chair
2011 Young Leadership Campaign

My feelings from this year

Shawna Goodman-Sone
Chair, 2010 Young Leadership Campaign

How fortunate I am to have been chosen as Chair of Young Leadership Campaign for 2010. This position has opened doors for me and has granted me an exhilarating experience for personal growth, education and friendship. This past January, I was given the chance to fly to Cuba with a dynamic group of young leaders from across Canada, including seven from Montreal, to meet and provide for the small, yet vibrant, Jewish community in Havana.

Their sense of Jewish identity oozed out of them, whether it was watching the kids dance in Rikkudiah or singing Kabbalat Shabbat. Their pioneering spirit and sense of ownership was infectious and truly recharged my battery and encouraged me to roll up my sleeves and to rethink how I looked at our community today and the gift we have been given.

We, in Montreal, are privileged to live in a community that cares about its survival. Having moved back seven years ago with my family, I am continuously impressed by the people I meet and their sense of commitment to something outside themselves.

I do not take my social responsibility for granted. I have learned that it is ingrained in who we are as Jews. We are a unified people and I believe this is what others envy about us. We are a family, where each member is recognized and needs to be cared for and treated with respect. Le Café is a perfect example of how our community focuses on those in need, providing hot kosher meals twice a week, with dignity. No questions asked.

This past April I was once again blessed with an opportunity to visit with another part of our family, Israel on a CJA mission. I have had a variety of different Israel experiences during my life, beginning with a family mission with my shul, Shaar Hashamayim. I went on a Camp Ramah seminar trip when I was 17, and since then, the many family trips I take with my children. However, never have I felt the way I felt this past trip.

First, it coincided with two vital Israeli milestones. Yom Hazikaron, the day which pays respect to Israel’s fallen soldiers, and Yom Ha’atzmaut, which celebrates Israel’s Independence. Before, my experiences of these two days were marked solely in school with an assembly and eating Israeli food.

Never did I understand the significance as deeply as I did on this past trip.

Firstly, on the eve of Yom Ha’zikaron, we joined together with the Canadian and Cuban March of the Living participants in a memorial for the fallen soldiers. The emotional pull was inescapable.

The juxtaposition of Yom Ha’atzmaut, less than 24 hours later, created a clarity of purpose that I never saw or felt before. In order to fully appreciate the success of Israel, we need to honour and remember the fallen soldiers who have given their lives for us.

We, as Diaspora Jews and as extended family, need to fight as well. It may not be in an F-16 or on a battlefield, but it is in our power to educate and to advocate for our Jewish homeland. Whether it is Amy organizing her knitting group to knit wool hats for our soldiers or Eve baking and selling Hamataschen to help injured soldiers recuperate, the connections are vital for Israel’s strength and morale of its people.

This sense of connection is in turn crucial for us and our children to feel a sense of belonging and safety in knowing we have a Jewish place in this world.

It was only after visiting our twin city, Beer Sheva that I fully understood the meaning of federated giving. At the various organizations Montreal has invested in helping in Beer Sheva, we were met with such gratitude for the financial and creative contributions we have made to programs that just could not exist without our help. We watched children get special tutoring in an empowerment centre, visited the bedroom of a child from a broken family suffering from mental illness with no family support, and saw a community garden that the children created to bring happiness and beauty to their community. I felt so proud of CJA’s choices in allocation and a trust that the dollars were handled responsibly. I found it hard to believe that I hadn’t known this was happening.

Similar to motherhood, there is a thrill of taking care and nurturing those you love. I have learned through my communal experiences that nothing is more meaningful than sharing oneself and doing something kind for someone else. As we learn in Pirkei Avot, the teachings from our fathers guide us. “Do not separate oneself from your community.” This is an invaluable lesson that we need to take seriously, not just for our selves but for our community. We need your membership and contribution to our Jewish community. It will die without your energy and commitment. Please raise your hand and participate and become a shareholder. It belongs to you and your children.

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