Talk:Federation CJA

Latest comment: 13 years ago by Genevieve2 in topic a big disppointement for me

Promotional blurb? edit

I never quite understood Federation CJA. It claims to represent Montreal Jews, but in reality it is run by the "elite" of the Montreal Jewish community, those that finance it, to further their interests.

It may be interesting to put the Federation CJA in historical perspective. To what extent does Federation CJA derive from a kehila, an institution of Jewish self-government. Is it authoritarion or democratic? My view is it is very much authoritarion; cushioned somewhat by the fact that any particular Jew's association with the institution is completely voluntary.

Wikipedia is based on objective fact, not view. And to that point, Federation CJA is a vital component of life in the Montreal Jewish community. The organization, with a major component being volunteers, raises money and provides aide (financial as well as services) to needy individuals and families in Montreal.

This is not a political organization, but a not-for-profit umbrella for the many Jewish community organizations in Montreal.


Some issues that the article should contain are:

  • The "de-Judaizing" of the Ashkenaz Jewish community by seeking acceptance in Protestant schools in the 20th century. Corrective action in this respect was taken, it appears, only in the 21st century, when the network of Jewish schools was expanded; and Jewish children now, I understand, mostly attend Jewish schools of varying quality and outlook from a Jewish point of view;

Interesting, but still not the focus of Federation CJA's activities. This would again be a commentary, rather than objective fact.

  • The Federation's promotion of secular liberalism as opposed to Jewish values in North America's most Orthodox Jewish community; with the effect that many Jews lack a clear Jewish identity, to the community's manifest detriment (Naomi Klein is a product of this community);deration CJA funds and provides services to many groups within the Montreal Jewish Community - including the several Orthodox groups. CJA does not involve itself in religious issues, which are left to the rabbis and the Beit Din, but concentrates on physical, mental, and psychological well-being of the Jewish community. Any discussion of the Federation's supposed promotion of secular liberalism is again opinion, rather than fact.

On the contrary, Fe

  • The Federation's strategy of appeasement to militant French Quebec supremicists in respect of restrictive language laws that left the Ashkenaz Jews, who went to Protestant English-language schools and were accordingly "angloized," with little choice but to leave Quebec, Canada's oldest Jewish community. The Montreal Ashkenaz Jewish community may have been reduced to about 50% of the 1976 population, (a dirty little secret I'm afraid);
  • The islamization of Montreal: Immigration in the last 10-15 years has resulted in more Muslems in Montreal than Jews. The Muslem presence in Montreal, incubated in a place with a long history French-Catholic antisemitism--now secularized--that has actively sought out French-speaking Muslims in an attempt to bolster the French sepratist movement, that seeks a state separate from Canada. My view is that the Federation has its head in the sand on this issue, with the result that the Montreal Jewish community is in physical danger comparable to the Jews of France.

What does the article about a community not-for-profit organization have to do with this?

The aforementioned list is preliminary and far from exhaustive. I look forward to further discussion herein. The article in its current form is a promotional blurb.--Lance talk 07:35, 12 October 2006 (UTC)Reply

The commentary is extranious, and outside the bounds of the article in question. The issues read like a political diatribe rather than a discussion of facts.Stevenbirnam talk 07:35, 17 June 2009 (UTC)Reply

Shalom Steven, Shalom Lance . Thank for yours contributions and opinions. I would like to share a few thoughts with you. I’m not an in expert in Jewish organizations. I believe FEDERATION CJA is open to all opinions and respects the entire ideological spectrum of the Jewish community; Orthodox, Chareidi, Haredi, Hardal, Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform , Reconstructionist, Laic Jews, atheistic Jews. The area of expertise's FEDERATION CJA is only community and the focus of FEDERATION CJA is on the policies, actions and Social programs that Jewish communities give to help care and social work. We are all Jews by choice now. We must first position this issue within a Jewish and a universal context. We currently live in a world where traditional identities—whether national, religious, ethnic or ideological—are challenged. People no longer automatically accept the identity given to them by their parents, grand-parents or by communauty. Each person constructs his/her own identity, meaning that identity, even that of Jewish-born individuals, is, now more than ever, a choice and a personal construction. Furthermore, the identities we construct are partial identities made up of bits and pieces of various identities. For example, Twenty years ago, my Family considered to be a Orthodox Jews. Today (in 2010), I consider my family to be a little bit of everything. Just my grand-parents and one uncle are orthodox now. Other persons of my family are Conservative, Reform. Reconstructionist and Laic ( my mother is Laic non-practising). Depending on the issue, I may have reformist views or reconstructionist views or Laic views. I’m part Canadian federalism, part Israeli, part French Quebecois separatism and part Montrealer. I eat sushi, fish, vegetable pizza, Steak beef and poutine. On my iPod, I have classic (Mozart, Telemann), Israeli (Sarit Hadad, Aviv Geffen, Ninet Tayeb) rock ( Beatles, John lennon, Alanis morisette) jazz (Mile Davis, Chet baker) and French music (Jacques Brel, Richard Séguin, Felix leclerc). I build my identity; most importantly, it is a combination of my personal choices. In this context, the previously well-defined boundaries between various identities are becoming blurred. We are all Jews by choice. Differing opinions on FEDERATION CJA threaten to divide the Jewish population. If we do not reach a consensus, various groups will each establish radically different help care groups or social work's institutions , and certain Jews won’t be considered as such by certain Jewish communities. And they have no help for the food, for the housing, for the work, for Health Care, etc... Jewish communities in montreal with FEDERATION CJA should be inclusive, accepting of and non-threatening. It is very important for all us. Our unity as a Jewish people and maybe even our survival depend on it. Bonne chance מזל טוב --Geneviève (talk) 19:21, 21 December 2010 (UTC)Reply

New page edit

I worked a new page for FEDERATION CJA: the old page + more informations. I have highlighted a few points to consider; however, the subject requires a long, serious importance for all Jews in Montreal urban area. I believe --Geneviève (talk) 19:27, 21 December 2010 (UTC)Reply


a big disppointement for me edit

Shalom, I have a note this morning: read ont my talk page:

I have reverted this series of edits to Federation CJA as they do no comply with Wikipedia's policies on neutrality and promotion. Also, all of the sources you added were primary sources, published by Federation CJA themselves. Please do not use Wikipedia to promote an organization, no matter how worthy the organization may be. WikiDan61ChatMe!ReadMe!! 14:09, 22 December 2010 (UTC)Reply

Hello WikiDan. a Big deception for me. Thank you, merci, תודה --Geneviève (talk) 14:25, 22 December 2010 (UTC)Reply

Sorry WikiDan for my confusion, I will said Disappointment because in french,The word writes is déception ou être déçue. It is a normal human emotion after having to work on these two pages ( Federation CJA and Andres Spokoiny ). I thank you, je vous remercie, אני תודה --Geneviève (talk) 15:28, 22 December 2010 (UTC)Reply