“I’m not so much religious as I am concerned about Judaism,” says Gilbert Tordjman when asked to explain his attachment to the Jewish community.

He acts upon this concern by being involved in the Jewish community. He is the treasurer of Or Shalom, the Sephardic synagogue in Dollard des Ormeaux, where he has lived for the past six years with his wife and two children, and sits on the West Island Management Committee of Federation CJA.

“The synagogues do a wonderful job, but our community is multi-dimensional and not every Jew is oriented toward a synagogue,” he said. “The federation is an organization that can appeal to any Jew, on the basis of our common values and the importance we place on reaching out to one another.”

Tordjman, 40, a certified general accountant, has, himself, benefited from the organized Jewish community. Ten years ago, as his career was just getting started, he found a pivotal job through Jewish Employment Montreal (JEM), one of Federation CJA’s family of agencies, when he was hired as a financial management officer by the Jewish General Hospital. He directly credits the experience he gained there with preparing him for his current position as Director of Finance for the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, which he has held for the past year.

“JEM opened an important door for me,” he insists, “which sensitized me to the important role that Federation CJA plays in our community as the umbrella for the agencies that provide services. I would like to see all Jewish West Islanders, whatever their needs, learn about how their lives can be improved by the federation’s family of agencies. But, it’s difficult to increase awareness without a facility that announces your presence, so our new building is very important.”

He identifies a number of constituencies that stand, particularly, to benefit from Federation CJA’s commitment to the West Island. There are those lower income single parents, for example, who can’t easily access services in Cote des Neiges because of the demands jobs and children place on their time. Seniors aren’t yet a sizeable population, but will be a growing concern as West Island residents age or convince their elderly parents to move closer to them. And, above all, there is the youth, who will find in Federation CJA a place where they can connect with peers and their Jewish identity and, like him, find a boost for their career aspirations.

“What is striking about the West Island Management Commitment,” he points out, “is that it is made up of West Island Jews. This isn’t a situation where someone is dictating our needs. We are defining them for ourselves and having them implemented in a fashion that makes the most sense for our community.”

Federation CJA is a registered charitable organization pursuant to the Canadian Income Tax Act - Registration number: 106702251RR0001.
Federation CJA is a 501c(3) non-profit Community Organization - 98-018 3709.
All donations to Federation CJA are tax-deductible in full.