David Cape (photo: Vadim Daniel)

My children have benefitted immensely from Montreal’s vibrant Jewish community: day schools, Jewish camps, synagogues, a strong connection to Israel and Beer Sheva, opportunities to learn the meaning of tzedakah… My wish is that their children, and their children’s children, will benefit from the same Jewish Montreal that we all cherish today. I hope that they, too, will continue to build the great Jewish community we have for generations to come.

This is a key motivation that propels me in my community work. I have often heard from people outside of Montreal how lucky I am to live in such an incredible Jewish community. Our reputation as a powerful community makes us the envy of many others. As President of Federation CJA, I will strive to secure this reputation, and in so doing, we will strengthen our collective Jewish identity.

Hundreds of volunteers and professional staff are working hard every day to ensure that Montreal is the city with the highest quality of Jewish life in North America. Together, we have identified and agreed on some key priorities for the coming two years and have initiated a concrete action plan for success.

We are continuing the implementation of our Imagine 2020 strategic vision. Our goal is for Montreal’s Jewish community to be a dynamic model of creativity, compassion and inclusivity. In this vision, Montreal Jewry is cohesive, yet diverse and pluralistic. It allows every Jew, irrespective of religious ideology, lifestyle choices and ethnic background to find a Jewish option for him or her self. At Federation CJA, we are focused on the Jewish values of caring for those in need, in education and building Jewish identity, in representing and defending our community and in responding to the major issues and global emergencies in our society, whether in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Japan or Haiti.

As I write this, there are several committees already in place and working towards ensuring that these goals are met. I am confident that these exceptional volunteers, together with our dynamic professional leadership, will make this happen.

We must also make our Jewish schools affordable and accessible to all. We have talked for years about giving every child access to a Jewish education and we are committed to making this a reality.

And we have the responsibility to deliver the highest quality of education for our children. A Montreal Jewish education cannot exclude the skills needed to live in Quebec. Our children must be equally comfortable working and living in French and in English. Not only is this imperative in keeping every option of employment, life and culture available to them, not only is this necessary to ensure the continuity of a Montreal Jewish community for the generations, but bilingualism, as a standard, is fundamental to uniting the linguistic groups within our own community.

Finally, we must take action to increase our legacy gifts. We are committed to working with our major donors and our professional leadership to see that our community gets stronger and stronger with every passing generation.

These are some of the highlights of our major objectives. Rest assured that, together, we will work towards the betterment of our Jewish community and assuming our place in the broader society. With your support, and the support of a great team of volunteers and professionals, I am confident that we will get the job done.

Posted in Edition 75 | January 2012, Federation CJA |