MONTREAL — Stephen Bronfman and his wife Claudine are determined that their three young children will grow up proud to be Jewish and comfortable making their lives in Montreal.
Stephen and Claudine Bronfman
The couple want other Jewish youths to feel the same way, and that’s why they have become co-chairs of Gen J, a long-term project initiated by Federation CJA intended to instil in everyone from toddlers to adults in their 20s a sense of belonging to the Jewish community.
“I find this project as important as any within the realm of the federation or Combined Jewish Appeal. It’s about continuity and creativity, which are vital to the Montreal Jewish community. Montreal was always one of the top communities in world Jewry, and I’m committed to seeing it remain so,” Stephen Bronfman said in an interview.
It was also important to the couple to work on a project together. Each brings a very different perspective to the issue of revitalizing the Montreal Jewish community.
Stephen, 45, is the scion of one of the most prominent Jewish families in Canada and is the only one of his generation still living in Montreal, where he heads the private investment firm Claridge Inc. Claudine is, as she says, “Jewish by choice,” and is eager to share her enthusiasm for the Jewish traditions and values she has adopted, especially with people who are born Jewish but do not necessarily realize how enriching such a heritage is.
They have three children, aged three, two and 10 months, and they think they can provide a role model for the modern Jewish couple – from different backgrounds but desirous of living a traditional Jewish lifestyle.
Their association with Gen J, they say, is not just a case of lending their names. They head up a diverse “cabinet” that will brainstorm on the community’s future, and they intend to go out and meet with young people to canvas their ideas on how Jewish life here can be made more relevant to them.
Stephen has experience in mobilizing teenagers to take an active role in environmental issues through C-Vert, a project of the Stephen R. Bronfman Foundation started a few years ago.
Gen J (originally Generation J) was launched last April with a one-time $1-million grant from the federation coming out of its assets, and not the annual campaign. The federation is now looking to private donors to keep the projects selected in this first year going, and to enable new ones to be supported. The fundraising effort is headed by Joel King and Joel Segal.
Federation president Marc Gold describes Gen J as an investment in the future of the Montreal Jewish community. It is not simply a new fund to which those with innovative projects are invited to apply, but more importantly, an open-ended process intended to encourage a community-wide discussion on how to make being a Jewish Montrealer meaningful to those under 30.
“We are asking young people to recreate the Jewish community in their image,” Gold said.
While schools, synagogues and other organizations are an integral part of this dialogue, Gold hopes Gen J will attract “the grassroots,” people who are not normally engaged in the community structures. Gen J has also consulted North American experts on Jewish continuity on how best to approach the challenge.
For the Bronfmans and Gold, the accent is on inclusiveness and a recognition of how diverse the community is today. “We need to broaden the way we conceive of the Jewish community if we are to remain vibrant,” Gold said.
The criteria for projects that will be considered for funding is, therefore, broad. Among the pilot projects receiving funding are The Moot Court of Jewish Law at four Jewish high schools, which introduces Grade 10 students to Jewish law from a historic perspective and as it applies today; the Academy of the Segal Centre for Performing Arts to enable Grade 7 and 8 students from four high schools to enrol; and the creation of the West Island Jewish Family Learning Centre, where parents of pre-school children can get a grounding in Judaism.