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April 19, 2002
Mobilizing a community
Federation’s three paths to solidarity with Israel.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
At an emergency meeing of the local Council of Presidents April
10, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver put forward a plan
of how the Lower Mainland Jewish community can best support Israel
in its current crisis.
Presidents and executive directors of organizations came together
at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver to discuss Federation’s
ideas and offer some of their own in what is intended to be a co-ordinated
community effort.
To start the meeting, Mark Gurvis, executive director of Federation,
made a presentation that focused on three paths to solidarity: community
education and mobilization, advocacy and financial support.
With respect to the first path, Gurvis pointed to several upcoming
Israel-related community events and asked that organizations try
to include an Israel component in anything they are planning. He
said that an “Israel Now and Forever” logo is being finalized
by Federation and that organizations should display it in any of
their promotional material or newsletters, explaining that its use
will indicate a consistent message of support for Israel.
Working with the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Israel Action
Committee, Gurvis encouraged people to join in an advocacy campaign.
Activities would include writing letters to public officials, involving
public officials in community Israel events, reaching out to business
and community leaders, and being watchful of and responding to any
media bias.
Financial support of Israel is also needed because the escalation
of violence and increased international isolation has taken an enormous
toll in social and economic terms on the country, said Gurvis. He
gave examples of where contributions can be directed: the Jewish
Agency Fund to Benefit Terrorist Victims and Their Familes; security
upgrades for schools and community centres; and the provision of
critical human services affected by government cutbacks that are
being implemented to pay for the military action.
Gurvis acknowledged that many local groups are in the midst of fund-raising
efforts for their own programs and stressed that any monies raised
by Israel Now would be in addition to, rather than instead of, regular
contributions to organizations or the Combined Jewish Appeal. He
said that 100 per cent of any money raised will go directly to urgent
and critical needs in Israel.
Federation wants the mobilization to be a community undertaking
and Gurvis listed the ways in which to become involved: sign on
as an organizational co-sponsor of Israel Now, support the three
elements of the path to solidarity, list pro-Israel events in Federation’s
community calendar, enable Israel Now to brief organizations’
members, disseminate information and flyers on the Mideast situation,
volunteer to be a telephone canvasser, recruit people for a mission
to Israel in June and use the Israel Now logo whenever possible.
After the Federation presentation, some discussion ensued about
how best to show solidarity with Israel. Some of the ideas proposed
were exchange programs in which Israeli teens would come to Canada
for a period of time, the creation of an easy-to-understand information
package for distribution, more solidarity rallies and increased
rabbinical response to the stance of some Christian clergy on what
is happening in the Middle East.
For more information on Israel Now, visit www.jfgv.com.
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