If the Jewish community wants to keep its young people in Quebec, it has to do a better job of teaching them French, chief executive officer Deborah Corber said at Federation CJA’s 99th annual general meeting on Sept. 22.
“The elephant in the room is French,” she stated, and Jewish schools have to ensure that students graduate fully bilingual.
“No family should have to choose between an excellent Jewish school education and great French proficiency,” she said.
Speaking French well not only translates into more university and employment options, she continued, but also enables young Jews to feel comfortable in Quebec and enjoy its culture.
They can be more influential in shaping Quebec society and advocating for the community if they do so with ease in French, Corber said.
Entering its 100th year, the federation is trying to secure the community’s future financially for another century through a special Centennial Campaign.
Stephen Bronfman and Stephen Gross are co-chairing the drive to raise $380 million, on top off the regular Combined Jewish Appeal (CJA).
Provisions for pledges of $200 million have already been made by donors for endowments through the Jewish Community Foundation, and a “quiet campaign” before the official launch has raised $76.2 million, federation president Evan Feldman announced.
A year of activities in celebrating the centennial will be kicked off at the official closing of the 2016 CJA on Nov. 21 at the Palais des Congrès when former Tonight Show host, Jay Leno, will be the special guest.
READ: MONTREAL’S FEDERATION CJA TO CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF ACHIEVEMENT
Campaign general chair Joel Segal reported that, to date, $21 million has been raised for the regular campaign, $982,000 more than at this time last year, donor card over card.
In addition, $2.7 million has been raised in donations designated for specific projects in Montreal or Israel, and another $1.8 million in one-time donations.
Corber stressed that more funds are needed to support local social services immediately.
The $3 million the federation allocates annually to defray Jewish day school fees for needy families is “not nearly enough,” nor is the federation’s overall support for Jewish education.
There’s a need for assisted living facilities for young adults with disabilities and for early-childhood intervention programs. The number of seniors also continues to increase, and affordable housing is lacking.
Over the past year, the federation consolidated its youth programming under a single umbrella, GenMTL, integrating its Young Adult Division, Bronfman Israel Experience Centre and Hillel.
For 2016-2017, the federation budgeted allocations totalling over $31.2 million, 77 per cent of it spent locally.
READ: ACTIVITIES FOR SPECIAL NEEDS YOUNG ADULTS LACKING: PARENTS
The 2015 CJA raised a total of $39.9 million from close to 15,000 donors, according to the federation’s annual report. Overhead is kept down through corporate sponsorships, which for six consecutive years have amounted to over $1 million, said Feldman, allowing nearly 90 cents of every dollar raised to go to the cause.
Treasurer Gilbert Tordjman said a drop in revenue last year from all sources to $46.5 million was due largely to an unfavourable investment climate.
Elsewhere at the AGM, the federation’s highest citation, the Samuel Bronfman Medal, was awarded to Jack Hasen, a past federation president and past CJA chair, who has been volunteering in the community for three decades.
He is currently co-chair, with Gail Adelson-Marcovitz, of the centennial events. Federation past president Marc Gold, who made the presentation to Hasen, spoke of his “modesty and remarkable need not to be in the spotlight.”
“Many people my age [59] started the exodus from Montreal, but I never thought of leaving,” Hasen said. “Montreal is the best city in the world to live in and bring up your children.”
His greatest pleasure is seeing his six kids living here and getting involved in the community.
The guest speaker was Lt.-Gen. (res.) Benny Gantz, who was the Israel Defence Forces’ chief of staff from 2011 to 2015, and is now in the high-tech industry.
The international deal reached last year with Iran has pushed the nuclear threat off by 10 to 15 years, he said. But Israel today has at its borders well-armed enemies in Gaza and especially Lebanon.
With Iranian support, Hezbollah in Lebanon has been re-equipped with many thousands of rockets, and most are hidden in private homes, he said.
If there is war, it will be a “tough fight. Lebanon will suffer terribly… Lebanon will pay a huge price, not just Hezbollah,” said Gantz, who served from 1978 to 2000.
He is confident Israel can meet any security threat, including from ISIS. “I think the military and government are in good hands. I have no doubt Israel can handle [any conflict]. Israel is the strongest country in the Middle East – period.”
Despite these security worries, Gantz believes this is the time for Israel to “initiate something on the political level, but not give an inch on security concerns.”