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April 7, 2006
A change of scenery
Advocacy groups move down to highrise haven.
VERONIKA STEWART
The recent move of two prominent Jewish advocacy groups in the
Lower Mainland to the downtown core will bring aid to the community's
burgeoning downtown population, according to Mira Oreck, regional
director of Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC).
The offices of the CJC and the local Canada-Israel Committee (CIC)
now have a combined workspace at the corner of Alberni and Thurlow
streets downtown.
After having their office at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater
Vancouver (JCC) for at least 15 years, Oreck said the move is a
reaction to where people now work and live in the community.
"I think [the move is] a great thing for the Vancouver Jewish
community that has a growing population of Jews living downtown.
And it provides a new centre for downtown meetings," Oreck
said.
She said the office will be open for use by organizations not based
in the area of 41st and Oak.
"I think our office will be used by the Downtown Jewish Community
Association, by the Jewish war veterans ... and other Jewish organizations
that need to hold meetings downtown are certainly welcome to use
our space," Oreck said. "It's sort of a new landmark of
Jewish advocacy in Vancouver."
Mark Weintraub, chair of CJC Pacific Region, agreed.
"I see the effect to be a very positive one for the future
of the Jewish community," Weintraub said. "The move to
downtown Vancouver really positions ourselves in the heart of what
is one of the most creative and dynamic urban centres in North America."
He also said because CJC is mostly involved in advocating for Jewish
rights in the non-Jewish community, the downtown office will be
better able to facilitate CJC's meetings with organizations outside
the community.
Previously housed in the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater
Vancouver, CIC director Michael Elterman said, as a new organization,
the CIC didn't really have a home until moving downtown.
"At the point that the CJC decided that they needed to move
out, it was an opportunity for CIC to consolidate the community's
advocacy branches into one space," Elterman explained. "There
was going to be a certain savings and economy of scale by having
just one office that was essentially divided into CJC and the Canada-Israel
Committee."
Elterman said there is a "certain symmetry" in having
an organization responsible within the Jewish community for providing
information on Israel and an organization responsible for the quality
of Jewish life in Canada share the same space.
Elterman said another advantage of sharing space with the CJC downtown
is that while the CIC was located in the JCC, it was assumed their
work was geared solely towards a Jewish audience, which is not the
case.
"In reality, the work of the CIC is actually addressed to the
work of the non-Jewish community: telling the story of what is happening
in Israel and doing advocacy on behalf of Israel to the non-Jewish
community," Elterman said. "So by having an office that
eventually puts us on a professional basis downtown, where we are
close to businesses and to professional associations, was really
putting advocacy on a much more professional level."
Like Oreck, Elterman said he thinks the new locale will cater to
those who base themselves downtown.
"I think it opens up opportunities for us to have more meetings
over lunch hour and during the day for people whose work and business
is in downtown Vancouver," Elterman said.
Established in 1919, CJC is a national organization advocating Jewish
human rights issues. It has been among many groups at the forefront
of advocating a comprehensive approach to human rights, not only
for Jewish Canadians, but other minority groups as well.
Its cohabitant, the Vancouver branch of the CIC, was established
in 2004 and is a representative of Canada's Jewish community on
issues pertaining mainly to Canada-Israel relations. Despite being
a fairly new organization in the area, the CIC has created programs
to keep the community in touch with Israel and its relations with
Canada, including missions to Israel and teaching classes on socioeconomic
issues pertaining to Israel.
Veronika Stewart is a student intern at the Independent.
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