Reflecting on the recent history of Federation CJA, former Executive Vice President Manny Batshaw cites the Six Day War in 1967 as a watershed event.

“It was really a galvanizing moment in uniting Montreal’s Jewish community, as well as in establishing us as one of the leading North American communities in terms of support for Israel,” he said. He recalls how Samuel Bronfman – though no longer President of the federation, still the most revered leader of the community – convened a meeting of prominent Jews from across Canada at the Montefiore Club soon after the war broke out. He closed the door and said nobody could leave until everyone tripled their previous year’s gift to the Combined Jewish Appeal in order to assist Israel. They all agreed, at which point Mr. Sam allowed the door to be opened.

“This was a turning point for Jewish life,” Batshaw asserts, “when Jews throughout the Diaspora recognized their mutual dependence with the Jews of Israel. Following 1967, no Jew was indifferent to the fate of Israel. All recognized that our destinies are intertwined.”

It was the following year, 1968, that Batshaw was coaxed into leaving New York, where he was working with the National Jewish Welfare Board, to become Executive Vice President of the Allied Jewish Community Services (AJCS), as Federation CJA was then known. He would serve with great distinction until 1980. Today, at the age of 92, he retains a place of prominence on the Federation CJA masthead as Honourary Executive Vice President.

He refers to the subsequent emergence of the AJCS as the central organization for the entire community, which happened during his tenure, as the next most striking advance in the development of Jewish Montreal.

“It was my belief that we needed to speak with one voice on all aspects of Jewish life,” Batshaw observes. “We gained the ability to mobilize the entire community, whether the issue was philanthropy, social service, community relations, or matters related to Israel. I thought this centralization was very important for our cohesion and credibility.”

Since Federation CJA became recognized as “the central address,” it has attracted the community’s most influential leaders. Batshaw notes that where once there was a shortage of volunteers, today hundreds are committed to giving their expertise, counsel, and time to the federation. At the senior levels, the pool of leadership is two and three deep, such that there are always passionate and inspired people ready to assume the important positions of President and Chair of the Combined Jewish Appeal, as well as heading Community Planning and Allocations, Israel & Overseas, and other key committees. As for the professional staff, he says that while they were certainly competent in the past, today they are characterized by an emotional commitment to serving the Jewish community.

The depth and devotion of leadership is one of the reasons why Batshaw is optimistic about the Jewish future of Montreal.

“There is reason to be concerned, certainly, as we see that adherence to Jewish identity is in flux,” he concedes, “but I don’t see cause for anxiety. We need to engage more of our young people and to inspire their sense of community, even while they live within this broader, open society we have in Quebec and Canada. It is because we are concerned that we are intensifying our efforts to inspire higher levels of Jewish identification. Concern is not negative, but a positive response to reality that is driving us to direct resources toward solving a problem.”

 

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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.
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