Montreal – January 23, 2024 – Federation CJA is returning to Israel. One mission has just returned, and several others are now being planned.

“I have just returned from a solidarity mission that took place last week,” said Yair Szlak, President and CEO of Federation CJA. “We were 27 Montrealers on a five-day mission to witness firsthand the resilience of the Israeli people and to share our support.”
The group experienced the following highlights and meetings:

• hearing from local dignitaries (ex: Beer Sheva Mayor Ruvik Danilovich; author and political commentator Gil Troy)
• hands-on volunteering (BBQing for Israelis displaced due to the war, agricultural volunteering at Kibbutz Chazor) 
• visiting “Hostage Square”
• meeting with the injured at Soroka Hospital and hearing from the hospital director
• speaking with the families of those still being held hostage
• visiting sites that were most affected by the terrors of October 7th (ex: Re'im - Nova Music Festival, Kibbutz Kfar Aza) 

Highlights of the mission can be seen here: click here. 
 
Solidarity missions will always make a point of spending time in our sister city of Beer Sheva, as well as seeing the direct impact of our Israel Emergency Fund dollars. To date, more than $25 million has been raised as part of this emergency fund.
 
Coming up, we are planning the following additional Solidarity Missions:

• A Volunteer Mission (February 19-27) - this trip will have a heavy emphasis on different hands-on volunteering opportunities.
• A Teachers Mission (February 26-March 1) - this is a program for our community's educators that will have a strong emphasis on the impact of the October 7th on the Israeli Education System.
• A Yom Hazikaron/Yom Ha'atzmaut Mission (May) - this trip strategically coincides with two Important Israeli holidays; an important gesture to stand in solidarity with Israel.

For more information on these missions please contact: Mandy Gillman at [email protected].

About Federation CJA
For over one hundred years, Federation CJA has been at the heart of the organized Jewish community in Montreal. In partnership with a vast network of agencies and organizations locally, nationally, and internationally, Federation CJA builds and sustains this community by providing leadership and by supporting the delivery of services and programs to care for the vulnerable and those in need, to ensure a bright Jewish future, to represent communal interests, and to positively affect issues in the wider society.