Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
Abbreviation	CIJA
Formation	2004; 2011;
Type	Advocacy group
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Official languages	English; French;
Chair	Gail Adelson-Marcovitz
Chief executive officer	Shimon Fogel
Budget (2012)	Approx. $11 million
Website	cija.ca
Formerly called	Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA; French: Centre consultatif des relations juives et israéliennes) is a Zionist and Jewish advocacy organization and an agency of the Jewish Federations of Canada. It was founded in 2004 as the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CCIJA) and headquartered in the district of North York within Toronto, Ontario.

History

In 2011, CIJA assumed its current name following an 18-month restructuring process in which the functions of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Canada-Israel Committee, the Quebec-Israel Committee, and the National Jewish Campus Life and University Outreach Committee were consolidated.^[3] The group's Chief Executive Officer was Hershell Ezrin, who served in that position until his retirement at the end of 2010.^[4] Shimon Fogel, former CEO of the Canada-Israel Committee, now serves as CEO.^[5]^[6]

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs is the advocacy agent of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, representing Jewish Federations across Canada. CIJA represents the diverse perspectives and concerns of more than 150,000 Jewish Canadians affiliated with their local Jewish Federation.

As the Canadian affiliate of the World Jewish Congress, representative to the Claims Conference and to the World Jewish Restitution Organization, CIJA is also connected to the organized Jewish community.

In September 2024, CIJA formally requested of the Canadian government to adopt four new policies to help ensure the safety of Canadian Jews.^[7] In October 2024, CIJA reported that 82% of Canadian Jews feel less safe after October 7.^[8]

Controversies

CIJA has faced criticism due to comments made by staff through news outlets and via its social media accounts. In 2023, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East criticized "provocative statements" made by CIJA Israel office Director David M. Weinberg. His statements make use of dehumanizing terms to refer to Arabs, Muslims, Palestinians, and human rights activists, calling them “weeds”, “snakes”, “barbarians”, and “terrorists”.^[9]^[10]

CIJA also faced criticism when it lobbied against islamophobia Motion M103 in a Canadian parliamentary committee, just weeks after the Quebec City mosque shooting, together with B'nai B'rith Canada.^[11]